Formal and informal dispute resolution in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Kees van der Waal is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. His current research focuses on complexity in organizational interaction in the rural Western Cape and formal and informal conflict resolution in Limpopo Province. Among his recent publications are ‘Diverse approaches in a South African debate on language and diversity in higher education’ in Anthropology Southern Africa and ‘Culture, power and inequality in South Africa: The relevance of the anthropology of development and organisations’, his inaugural address at the University of Stellenbosch on 22 July 2003.

Discussant: Professor Robert Ross, Cultures and Languages of Africa, Leiden University

The study of customary law benefits from a focus on both the formal rules and mechanisms as well as the informal aspect. The complexity of ‘living law’ is best captured by attention to process and context. The working of the three-levelled formal traditional courts of the Nkuna Tribal Authority near Tzaneen in Limpopo Province is complemented by informal mechanisms and processes for adjudication and intervention in conflicts. The civic association, relatives, the police and other organized groups or networks are playing a significant role inside and outside the formal traditional courts. Case material shows the strategic use of these various mechanisms by the poor rural population, depending on their social and economic position.