Exploring <i>ubuntu</i> discourse in South Africa: Loss, liminality and hope

• Main Author: John L.B. Eliastam
• Format: Article
• Language: Afrikaans
• Published: AOSIS 2015-06-01
• Series: Verbum et Ecclesia
• Subjects: Ubuntu discourse; Social Values; Social cohesion; South Africa
• Online Access: http://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/VE/article/view/1427
• ISSN: 1609-9982; 2074-7705

This article explores the current state of the social value of<em> ubuntu</em>. The notion of<em> ubuntu</em> seems to offer possibilities for nation building and social cohesion in post-Apartheid South Africa.However, this is contested by scholars who argue that the concept is vague and open to abuse.Interviews reveal that, whilst core elements remain, the meaning of <em>ubuntu</em> has been eroded,and is subject to distortion and even abuse. <em>Ubuntu</em> exists tightly interwoven with un-<em>ubuntu</em>. The notion of liminality is introduced to understand the current state of both <em>ubuntu</em> and South African society in transition. A liminal space offers possibilities for the creative re-imaginingand recovery of <em>ubuntu</em> as a social value that can drive social transformation in South Africa.The lens of discursive leadership offers insight into the ways in which leaders can stimulate and shape <em>ubuntu</em> discourse and facilitate the construction of new meaning in society.<br /><br /><strong>Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications:</strong> The article forms part of broader research into perceptions of difference and threat, and prejudice on the part of South Africans towards foreigners.<em> Ubuntu</em> is a social value that should challenge prejudice and xenophobia and shape social relationships. Research in a rural and urban context in the Eastern Cape suggests that <em>ubuntu</em> discourse has been eroded and is in need of reinvigoration.