The curse of Ham: An Africentric-postcolonial reading of Genesis 9:18-27 in the context of the coloured people of the Cape, South Africa

Allies, André Christain

The curse of Ham: An Africentric-postcolonial reading of Genesis 9:18-27 in the context of the coloured people of the Cape, South Africa

Thesis / Dissertation

2024

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Religious Studies

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

his dissertation investigates the history of the interpretation of Genesis 9:18-27, erroneously referred to as ‘the curse of Ham' and its application in the social-cultural history of the coloured people of the Cape in South Africa. The term Gam (which is the Afrikaans word for ‘Ham') is embraced and accepted by many coloured people on the Cape Flats as a descriptor of their ethnic and cultural identity. Yet also, many other coloured people reject this concept of Gam given the connotations of slavery and servitude that are connected to it. This dissertation unpacks the notion of Gam, and the ethnic and racial classification ‘coloured', and seeks to trace the origins of these terminologies and concepts dating back to the colonial period, and how they came to be linked to the biblical ‘Ham'. This dissertation interrogates the extent to which rhetoric was used for the promotion of the curse of Ham (for example, Separatism and Chosen people), to justify the enslavement of Black people, for slavery was considered a godly imperative to be used by the colonisers and slavedrivers to cure the degradation of the African slave. In unpacking the biblical text, an Africentric – postcolonial interpretation is used as a tool to analyse, reread, and reconstruct the text. This dissertation determines how this text has been used ideologically to justify oppression and marginalization of dark-skinned people. This dissertation concludes with demythologising the terms Gam and ‘coloured', starting with the biblical text and the colonial narratives that supported oppressive and exploitative interpretations, and a consideration of these terms to be used as catalysts for inclusivity and nation-building. It ends by highlighting the unique contribution that coloured people can bring about when they embrace their African-ness, knowing that every other person in South Africa, irrespective of ethnicity or race, has a connection with the coloured people of the Cape because of the heterogeneity of the coloured people.

Keywords

religious studies

Reference:

Collections

PhD / Doctoral

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