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Rurbanisation of Traditional Authority Land: The Views of Villagers on Chiefs Granting Newcomers the Right to Occupy Land in Mokhurumela and Dikgale (Limpopo Province)
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2026
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| _version_ | 1867614138115555328 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Molele, Mmatlou Annett |
| author2 | Donaldson, Sybrand |
| author_browse | Donaldson, Sybrand Molele, Mmatlou Annett |
| author_facet | Donaldson, Sybrand Molele, Mmatlou Annett |
| author_sort | Molele, Mmatlou Annett |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/136165 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:47:16.314Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/136165 Rurbanisation of Traditional Authority Land: The Views of Villagers on Chiefs Granting Newcomers the Right to Occupy Land in Mokhurumela and Dikgale (Limpopo Province) Molele, Mmatlou Annett Donaldson, Sybrand Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies. Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. Molele, M. A. 2026. Rurbanisation of Traditional Authority Land: The Views of Villagers on Chiefs Granting Newcomers the Right to Occupy Land in Mokhurumela and Dikgale (Limpopo Province). Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/fc9b7ec8-bafc-4aa0-ac89-da59cefb5ca6 The governance of land in rural villages is increasingly shaped by the intersection of customary authority, market pressures, the global phenomenon of rurbanisation, and the hybridisation of rural spaces with urban forms. Globally, this transformation often produces ambiguous governance environments, especially where traditional institutions coexist with modern state structures. In South Africa, these tensions are especially pronounced in traditional authority areas where chiefs, as custodians of communal land, are both empowered and constrained by historical legacies of colonialism and apartheid. This study examines the case of the villages of Mokhurumela and Dikgale in Limpopo Province, where traditional leaders play a pivotal role in granting residential land to newcomers amidst ongoing rurbanisation. While these processes offer pathways for rural development, they also generate new risks of land commodification, spatial fragmentation, and the erosion of cultural heritage. The analysis reveals how chiefs, historically transformed from autonomous leaders into agents of indirect colonial rule, are currently navigating complex roles as cultural custodians, economic brokers, and political intermediaries. Global parallels, such as chiefly authority in Pacific Island states and customary leadership systems in indigenous North American communities, reveal similar dilemmas where traditional governance is both valorised for cultural preservation and criticised for perpetuating exclusion. In the South African context, legal frameworks such as the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act 16 of 2013 (SPLUMA) and the Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act 31 of 1996 (IPILRA) remain inadequately enforced, enabling traditional leaders to negotiate land deals with limited community oversight. Thus, the study argues for integrated, participatory rural planning models that reconcile traditional authority with democratic accountability, ensuring that rural transformation sustains, not undermines, the cultural and socio-spatial fabric of rural communities. Masters 2026-04-23T14:23:37Z 2026-04-23T14:23:37Z 2026-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/136165 en Stellenbosch University 149 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Molele, Mmatlou Annett Rurbanisation of Traditional Authority Land: The Views of Villagers on Chiefs Granting Newcomers the Right to Occupy Land in Mokhurumela and Dikgale (Limpopo Province) |
| title | Rurbanisation of Traditional Authority Land: The Views of Villagers on Chiefs Granting Newcomers the Right to Occupy Land in Mokhurumela and Dikgale (Limpopo Province) |
| title_full | Rurbanisation of Traditional Authority Land: The Views of Villagers on Chiefs Granting Newcomers the Right to Occupy Land in Mokhurumela and Dikgale (Limpopo Province) |
| title_fullStr | Rurbanisation of Traditional Authority Land: The Views of Villagers on Chiefs Granting Newcomers the Right to Occupy Land in Mokhurumela and Dikgale (Limpopo Province) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rurbanisation of Traditional Authority Land: The Views of Villagers on Chiefs Granting Newcomers the Right to Occupy Land in Mokhurumela and Dikgale (Limpopo Province) |
| title_short | Rurbanisation of Traditional Authority Land: The Views of Villagers on Chiefs Granting Newcomers the Right to Occupy Land in Mokhurumela and Dikgale (Limpopo Province) |
| title_sort | rurbanisation of traditional authority land the views of villagers on chiefs granting newcomers the right to occupy land in mokhurumela and dikgale limpopo province |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/136165 |
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