AA 2004 Volume 36 Issue 2

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Open Access
Ethnic humour, identity, and the loss of Afrikaner hegemony
(University of the Free State, 2004) Erasmus, Piet
English: Humour is multi-faceted, and this article demonstrates that one of these facets relates to the notion of ethnic identity. The ethnic humour of the Afrikaner is analysed and the conclusion is drawn that the Afrikaner has used ethnic humour as a hegemonic instrument for categorising “others” in predominantly negative ways. At present Afrikaners constitute a minority group in the country, no longer possessing constitutional power, and their cultural values and opinions are no longer dominant. The article maintains that, if Afrikaners find it possible to discard the idea of “identity-as-negative-otherness”, they should be able to carve out a positive and empowering identity within the South African discourse by using humour. Furthermore, this same sense of humour may be employed as a literature of protest or as a “minority literature” to oppose the “new” hegemonic order in the country.