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</ref>. These walls consist of maze-like ruins that form circular enclosures as well as linear pathways. “Among the maze of stonewalling there are three main elements visible today: the homesteads, the terraced fields and the road networks” <ref name=Delius2014/>. These stonewalls are spread all throughout the province. To present day, this site has yet to be excavated and has earned the title as South Africa’s “Lost City”, for its mysterious past. What little we do know about the site comes from interpretations of the site itself as well as the oral histories and written documents that have existed for thousands of years. While the oral histories and written documents give us more knowledge of the site, it is very limited. | </ref>. These walls consist of maze-like ruins that form circular enclosures as well as linear pathways. “Among the maze of stonewalling there are three main elements visible today: the homesteads, the terraced fields and the road networks” <ref name=Delius2014/>. These stonewalls are spread all throughout the province. To present day, this site has yet to be excavated and has earned the title as South Africa’s “Lost City”, for its mysterious past. What little we do know about the site comes from interpretations of the site itself as well as the oral histories and written documents that have existed for thousands of years. While the oral histories and written documents give us more knowledge of the site, it is very limited. | ||
While we use the term the “Bakoni” as a way to reference the site, region, and for the group of people who actually settled in this region; it is important to not assume that the Bakoni people were all from the same origin. Through the interpretation of the Bakoni oral traditions in a collaborative effort between archaeologist Alex Schoeman and Historian Peter Delius, we have concluded that the Bakoni tribe was most likely a consolidated group made up of various neighboring groups that arrived in the Mpumalanga region at different times. It is also important to note that while these oral traditions could be true, over time stories are manipulated to match the biases of the storyteller. | While we use the term the “Bakoni” as a way to reference the site, region, and for the group of people who actually settled in this region; it is important to not assume that the Bakoni people were all from the same origin. Through the interpretation of the Bakoni oral traditions in a collaborative effort between archaeologist Alex Schoeman and Historian Peter Delius, we have concluded that the Bakoni tribe was most likely a consolidated group made up of various neighboring groups that arrived in the Mpumalanga region at different times. It is also important to note that while these oral traditions could be true, over time stories are manipulated to match the biases of the storyteller <ref name=Delius2012> Delius, Peter, Tim Maggs, and Maria Schoeman | ||
2012 Bokoni: Old Structures, New Paradigms? Rethinking Pre-colonial Society from the Perspective of the Stone-Walled Sites in Mpumalanga. Journal of Southern African Studies 38(2): 399–414. | |||
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Revision as of 19:03, 6 December 2019
Introduction
Introduction
The Bakoni Ruins are intriguing to many individuals. Its origin is largely disputed between psuedoarchaeologists and archaeologists. Because of this, the dating of the site widely ranges between 25,000 to 250,000 years old. It is important to note that it was before the colonization of Africa when this land was settled by the Bakoni. This site is located in the province of Mpumalanga, South Africa, which is now referred to as eNtokozweni. The Bakoni Ruins are constructed stonewalls located in mostly grassy pasture areas [1]. These walls consist of maze-like ruins that form circular enclosures as well as linear pathways. “Among the maze of stonewalling there are three main elements visible today: the homesteads, the terraced fields and the road networks” [1]. These stonewalls are spread all throughout the province. To present day, this site has yet to be excavated and has earned the title as South Africa’s “Lost City”, for its mysterious past. What little we do know about the site comes from interpretations of the site itself as well as the oral histories and written documents that have existed for thousands of years. While the oral histories and written documents give us more knowledge of the site, it is very limited.
While we use the term the “Bakoni” as a way to reference the site, region, and for the group of people who actually settled in this region; it is important to not assume that the Bakoni people were all from the same origin. Through the interpretation of the Bakoni oral traditions in a collaborative effort between archaeologist Alex Schoeman and Historian Peter Delius, we have concluded that the Bakoni tribe was most likely a consolidated group made up of various neighboring groups that arrived in the Mpumalanga region at different times. It is also important to note that while these oral traditions could be true, over time stories are manipulated to match the biases of the storyteller [2].
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Delius, Peter, Tim Maggs, and Alex Schoeman 2014 Forgotten world: the stone walled settlements of the Mpumalanga Escarpment. Wits University Press, Johannesburg.
- ↑ Delius, Peter, Tim Maggs, and Maria Schoeman 2012 Bokoni: Old Structures, New Paradigms? Rethinking Pre-colonial Society from the Perspective of the Stone-Walled Sites in Mpumalanga. Journal of Southern African Studies 38(2): 399–414.