' We work to have life '

Abstract

Abstract provided by author:

The second section provides a 'bottom-up' perspective of farm work and class politics. I focus on how the Ju/'hoansi cope with their material conditions, how they understand the value of their own labour, and how they understand their relationships with their employers. I then examine how the paternalism inherent to farm politics is shaped by patriarchal models of family government, and how the farmers' paternalism is accommodated by Ju/'hoan ideas of proper 'helping' and challenged by the Ju/'hoansi's commitments to their own families and community. I argue that paternalism is more particularly a feature of class relations between men: while racial attitudes justifying exploitation and paternalism are more easily challengeable, gender subordination, being a requisite of farm employment, is more deeply hegemonic

The third section examines Ju/'hoan kinship relations, marriage patterns and community dynamics. I focus on how women mobilize support from kin in their dealings with domestic conflicts and in their struggles to cope with their material conditions. I argue that Ju/'hoan kin networks provide a field of relative autonomy and that women's kin-based mutual assistance strategies provide the infrastructure for a broader Ju/'hoan community