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THE SETTLERS' CATTLE COMPLEX: THE ETIQUETTE OF CULLING CATTLE IN COLONIAL ZIMBABWE, 1938

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2002

ALLISON K. SHUTT
ALLISON K. SHUTT
Affiliation:
Hendrix College
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Abstract

This paper examines the 1938 cattle culling and sales in Gutu and Victoria reserves, colonial Zimbabwe. What began as a routine culling very quickly became a crisis of authority for the Native Affairs Department since critics of the Department forced an inquiry into the sales. The criticism and defence of the culling facilitated a debate on state and personal justice, as well as a dialogue about the proper behaviour towards Africans, settlers and animals. The critics of the cullings as well as the colonial officers all believed themselves to be experts in African affairs. Thus what began as a criticism of cattle culling revealed tensions within white society, and in particular the need to refashion boundaries of expertise and authority within the Native Affairs Department. A close examination of the scope and development of the ensuing commission of inquiry reveals the importance of etiquette to the colonial enterprise in colonial Zimbabwe.

Keywords

Animal husbandrycolonialZimbabwe
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of African History , Volume 43 , Issue 2 , July 2002 , pp. 263 - 286
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

I first presented this paper to the Economic History seminar at the University of Zimbabwe in August 2000. I subsequently presented revised versions to the Women's Research Group at Hendrix College, the North Eastern Workshop on Southern Africa in Burlington, Vermont, 27–9 October 2000, and the African Studies Association meeting in Nashville, 17 November 2000. I thank all those who commented on various drafts of this paper, especially Nancy Jacobs, Richard Waller, Jock McCulloch, Clifton Crais, Diana Jeater, Eira Kramer, Alois Mlambo, Mark Schantz, Britt Anne Johnsen, Luise White and anonymous reviewers of this journal. Robert Gordon and Jacob Tropp kindly sent me their papers on dogs in Namibia and South Africa respectively. Wolfgang Döpcke, Joseph Dzimbira and David Turkon answered my questions regarding specific sources. As always, the staff at the National Archives in Harare provided me with expert assistance in locating relevant documents. I reserve a special thanks for Carol West, a colleague and friend who made this research possible. Hendrix College provided a generous faculty project grant that allowed me to work in Oxford and London in July 1998 and in Zimbabwe during June and August 2000.