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I TOOK AN ALLEGIANCE TO SECRECY: COMPLEXITIES OF CONDUCTING ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH AT HOME

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 April 2014

Keletso Gaone Setlhabi
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Abstract

Anthropological research was traditionally conducted by foreign researchers in ‘exotic’ places. However, the trend changed over the years due to various reasons such as less funding for research abroad, resistance from new independent states, and the realization that, after all, the ‘exotic’ could be found even ‘at home’. The research dynamics changed further when those who were studied earlier began to study their own. This paper is a reflection of my participatory observation in the 2009 bojale (girls’ initiation) revival ceremony of Bakgatla-baga-Kgafela in Botswana. I entered bojale with dual roles of initiate and participant observer for my research. My ethnographic research was among my own and I was expected to adhere to the ceremony's rules in the same way as the other initiates. The discussion reflects on my dual identity experiences and relationships during initiation in order to interrogate ethnography among one's own culture. I conclude that, even though being ‘at home’ has advantages such as less travelling requirements and easy rapport, it is a complex process when it involves sacred ceremonies such as bojale because of the societal obligations such as adherence to secrecy that the researcher is bound by during and after the research.

Résumé

Traditionnellement, la recherche anthropologique était menée par des chercheurs étrangers dans des lieux « exotiques ». Cette tendance a cependant évolué au fil des années pour des raisons diverses comme la réduction du financement de la recherche à l’étranger, la résistance des nouveaux États indépendants et la prise de conscience que l'on pouvait aussi, après tout, trouver de l’« exotique »  dans son propre pays. La dynamique de recherche a évolué encore un peu plus lorsque ceux qui étaient autrefois étudiés ont commencé à s’étudier eux-mêmes. Dans cet article, l'auteur offre une réflexion sur son observation participative en 2009 du bojale, cérémonie d'initiation des jeunes filles de la communauté Bakgatla-baga-Kgafela, au Botswana. Pour sa recherche, l'auteur a observé le bojale à double titre, comme initiée et participante. Menant cette recherche ethnographique au sein de sa propre communauté, l'auteur se devait de respecter les règles de la cérémonie de la même manière que les autres initiées. La discussion reflète les expériences et les relations de l'auteur, au titre de cette double identité, durant l'initiation pour interroger l'ethnographie au sein de sa propre culture. L'auteur conclut qu'en dépit des avantages que confère le fait d’être « chez soi », comme le fait de limiter les besoins de déplacement et de faciliter les rapports, il s'agit d'un processus complexe s'agissant de cérémonies sacrées comme le bojale en raison des obligations sociétales telles que l'observation du secret auquel est tenu le chercheur durant et après la recherche.

Type
Hidden Potential
Information
Africa , Volume 84 , Issue 2 , May 2014 , pp. 314 - 334
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2014 

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