Picture courtesy Picturenet. Photographer Joao Silva

Opinion Piece: Michele Pickover

Since the Ukweshwama ritual it has come under the public spotlight there has been a hostile backlash by those who purport to talk on behalf of all Zulus.  What is of concern is that this response is by default contradictory and paradoxical, promoting cultural homogeneity, imposing a unitary interpretation on traditions and the concept of culture itself. This will inevitably suppress and deny the rights of other groups and individuals in South Africa.

The strategy devised to deal with the so-called “noise” of these perceived “cultural enemies” is to smear them. As if discussion around cultural practices is taboo and untouchable  and cannot be questioned or contested, as if the values of tradition and modernity cannot be put to the test to scrutinise who they serve; for what purpose and to which ends. Critics are branded as racist, as ignorant, as having a lack of respect for Zulu culture, of promoting Western hegemony and of not engaging with other forms of animal exploitation and suffering.  Not only is this inaccurate and untrue but alarmingly, but this knee-jerk response flies in the face of our constitutional democracy.

Societies are always changing and can never be static. Culture is capable of significant adaptation as circumstances change. It is dynamic, evolving, flexible and fluid by nature. Traditions are social constructions and therefore contested. Not all traditions are worthy of admiration and respect. Tradition should never be an excuse for cruelty and surely harmful practices should not be condoned just because they are cultural practices?  Cannibalism, infanticide, female circumcision, slavery, the suppression of women, exploitation of children, bullfighting, bear baiting, fox hunting, foot binding and sati are among so-called “cultural traditions” practiced by some groups - the loss of which should not be mourned.

Cultures necessarily change as contexts change, accruing and losing features over time. Indeed, the only cultures that do not change are those that are dead. Evidence has also shown that cultural identity does not have to depend upon practices that harm sentient beings. While traditional and religious practices and beliefs should be respected, this must not lead to the disregard for the interests of animals in our care. Harmful aspects of some cultural practices need to be modified. This can be done while at the same time maintaining cultural identity.  As aspects of our old cultures change, adapt, maybe disappear, we have the opportunity to create something new – drawing on the, cosmopolitan nature of modern South Africa to create something that is a unique mixture of both.

Humans are not unique in their possession of complex emotions like love, loneliness, and shame; of sophisticated behaviours and communities and globally and locally there is an increasing questioning of the ‘human exceptionalism” paradigm. We need to awaken our sensibilities and capacity for compassion, mercy and empathy toward other animals killed by the billions annually in our name (over 60 billion land-based animals are killed as food every year). Animals have a life before they turn into food, trophies, sacrifices, etc. Animals have agency and they are “subjects of their own life”.  Indeed, they have their own cultures and traditions – which also adapt to changing circumstances or environments.

Compassion for (all) living beings is a trans-cultural and meta-historical idea, shared by many different peoples, around the world, including Africans and South Africans. It represents a dissolving of the bounds of personal interest and incorporates the understanding that all life is interconnected and deserving of our respect. Our humanity and humility is at stake. There needs to be a swing to a culture of compassion and on-going conversations and unpacking of what depersonalises and devalues both humans and animals alike and makes oppression possible.

There is an inextricable link between our treatment and slaughter of animals and our treatment and slaughter of other human beings. Concern for humans and concern for other animals are not as divergent as some would think and these concerns do not take place in a social or economic vacuum or outside of political ideology.  What we need is inclusive justice, where the interests of animals and humans are considered.

Most of the suffering and death inflicted upon other animals is not a consequence of isolated cases of cruel actions, but of social attitudes rarely questioned. To try to argue that animals do not suffer pain or that it does not matter if they do is not only unfathomable and deeply flawed but simply unconscionable. So, what this debate is really about is suffering and about acknowledging suffering. And because animals have no voice does not mean we should exploit them – whether for traditional reasons or for the culture of profit.

We need to rethink what it means to be human on Earth. We need to be sensitive to vulnerability – this means a special concern for the helpless, for other animals, the poor, the young, the undefended, the marginalised and concern for future generations.  Through notions of justice, democracy, reconciliation, inclusiveness and Ubuntu we can heal ourselves and unite and intermingle in a web of commonality. There is plenty of room for engaging in dialogue with all cultures on the issue of animal exploitation. If we can listen to each other with respect and openness, our cultural needs can be met in other, less destructive and cruel ways.

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For ARA Press Release on the Ukweshwama issue:

http://www.animalrightsafrica.org/PR_22Nov09_ARA_UKWESHWAMA_Ritual.php
http://www.animalrightsafrica.org/PR_25Nov09_ARA_UKWESHWAMA_CourtAction.php
http://www.animalrightsafrica.org/PR_02Dec09_ARA_UKWESHWAMA_AboutTheBull.php
http://www.animalrightsafrica.org/PR_04Dec09_ARA_ThinkOfTheBull.php

For other articles in the press on the ukweshwama issue:

Ritual: bull takes 20 min to die: http://www.news24.com/Content/SouthAfrica/News/1059/3bb64e765525451ea44d4ba09786a672/07-12-2009-12-04/Ritual_bull_takes_20_min_to_die

Sometimes culture is a load of bull: http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/bernardallen/2009/12/02/sometimes-culture-is-a-load-of-bull/

Forward Comrades to a more glorious past :  http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/columnists/article221277.ece

Caught in cycle of paranoia and powerlessness :  http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/Content.aspx?id=89235

Justice Malala: culture no excuse for cruelty : http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/columnists/article222462.ece

Spilling the Blood of Bulls to Preserve Zulu Tradition : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/world/africa/09safrica.html?_r=1&ref=world

Ukweshwama: what is all this bull?  http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/sentletsediakanyo/2009/12/04/ukweshwama-what-is-all-this-bull/