Anthropology - Living in Multicultural Societies

Anthropology-Living in Multicultural Societies
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(June 25, 2012)
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Anthropology-Living in Multicultural Societies
Multiculturalism identifies with diverse cultures coexisting equitably and peacefully in one nation. The Asian population is significant although small in South Africa. Majority of Asians according to research are merchants. Significant numbers of Asians came to South Africa during the colonial period by the British (Jayasuriya, 2011). During the railway construction, British colonial rulers gained skilled laborers from the Asians gearing at social apartheid. The cultures of the Asians were very different comparing with the African and the European culture. Particularly Indians had different dressing code, different cooking styles, different music and different architectural skills. Research has indicated that at most times, referring Indians incorporates the whole Asian South Africans (Everyculture.com, 2012).
South Africa recognizes eleven languages as official, reflecting on the constitution passed in the year nineteen ninety seven. This made the country multilingual with the democratic constitution. The languages are accorded equal status identifying with English, Afrikaans, IsiNdebele, IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, Sesotho sa Leboa, Setswana, Sesotho, Xitsonga, Tshivenda and SiSwati (Everyculture.com, 2012). There are a number of languages spoken by the Asians, Europeans and the Africans. Research has indicated that current populations of the South Africans are multilingual, with English taken as the commercial and official public language, with IsiZulu taking the second position (Park & Rugunanan, 2009).
Diversity in South Africa has taken shape over the years with more than fifty million people with diverse cultures, languages and religious beliefs (Moia.gov.in, 2010). Statistics in the year two thousand and eleven indicated that the South African population has been increasing over the decades (Jayasuriya, 2011). Africans are the majority incorporating more than eighty percent of the entire population, colored people and the whites taking ten percent wile three percent is taken by the Asian people. The most populated provinces in South Africa identifies with the KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. African populations in South Africa identifies with the Nguni, Sotho-Tswana, Tsonga and the Venda. White South Africans identifies with the Afrikaners, English speakers and the Immigrants (Everyculture.com, 2012).
Indian population takes the biggest chuck of Asian South Africans. Majority of the Indians came to Africa in the nineteenth century as indentured workers (Moia.gov.in, 2010). Early Indians worked on sugar plantations in Natal located Eastern part of the South African coastal area. Majority of the Indian community are descendants and has managed in retaining their original languages (Jayasuriya, 2011). Chinese South Africans are the other group of the Asians in South Africa with approximately more than three hundred thousand people. Research has indicated that majority of the Chinese immigrants came in South Africa in two decades. It is believed that South Africa has more than one point two million people Asian immigrants reflecting to two percent of the South African population (Park & Rugunanan, 2009).
The numbers over the years has been increasing with time; this is contributed by new immigrants and reproduction factors. There are a number of other Asians in South Africa especially from origins of East Asians (Everyculture.com, 2012). Asians in South Africa are commonly referred to as the colored people, meaning mixed race or referred to as the whites in the Apartheid period. Traditional aspect of the Asians classification in South Africa paid less attention to the ‘Cape Malays’ who according to research are believed to be from the South East Asians. They were considered the colored people in the Apartheid period.
Indians are believed to be more than one million people. Majority of Indians worked in the sugar plantations and in mines (Jayasuriya, 2011). Mining of coal took a number of Indians with mining experience; majority of the Indians in South Africa occupied the KwaZulu-Natal which was traditionally known as the colony of Natal. Passenger Indians were mainly traders with majority of Indians in South Africa currently born in South Africa. The cities currently inhabited by Indians identify with Pietermaritzburg, Durban and the areas surroundings.
The second largest groupings of the Asian community in South Africa identifies with the Chinese and the Taiwanese (Taylor, 1994). Research has indicated that the Chinese communities were mainly as a result of migrant workers taking job opportunities in the gold mines especially in regions of Johannesburg in the period of the ninetieth century. There are a number of Chinese workers in South Africa who were repatriated (Everyculture.com, 2012). Immigration and reproduction factors are increasing the Chinese populations in South Africa. Taiwanese population over the recent years has seen sharp increments especially in the apartheid period due to diplomatic relations between Taiwan and South Africa (Moia.gov.in, 2010). Statistics indicates that the Chinese population in South Africa shot from ten thousand in the year nineteen eighties to more than one hundred thousand according to statistics done in the year two thousand.
Chinese immigration in the apartheid regime caused difficulties arising from the fact that majority of the Chinese people was indentured labors in South Africa. Chinese people were considered non-whites by the South African g...