Hilda Beemer Kuper (''
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
'' Beemer; 23 August 1911 – 23 April 1992
) was a
social anthropologist
Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...
most notable for her extensive work on
Swazi culture.
She started studying the Swazi culture and associating with the Swaziland's royal family after she was awarded with a grant by the International African Institute of London. She studied and illustrated Swazi traditions embodied in the political vision of
King Sobhuza II
Sobhuza II (; also known as Nkhotfotjeni, Mona; 22 July 1899 – 21 August 1982) was ''Ngwenyama'' (King) of Swaziland (now Eswatini) for 82 years and 254 days, the longest verifiable reign of any monarch in recorded history.
Sobhuza was bo ...
, who later became a close friend. King Sobhuza II personally awarded Kuper with Swazi citizenship in 1970.
Early life and education
Born to
Lithuanian Jewish
{{Infobox ethnic group
, group = Litvaks
, image =
, caption =
, poptime =
, region1 = {{flag, Lithuania
, pop1 = 2,800
, region2 =
{{flag, South Africa
, pop2 = 6 ...
and
Austrian Jewish parents in
Bulawayo
Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...
,
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...
, Kuper moved to
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
after the death of her father. She studied at the
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...
and, afterwards, at the
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
under
Malinowski.
Doctoral fieldwork and anthropological career
In 1934, Kuper won a fellowship from the International African Institute to study in Swaziland.
In July of that year, while at an education conference in Johannesburg, she met
Sobhuza II
Sobhuza II (; also known as Nkhotfotjeni, Mona; 22 July 1899 – 21 August 1982) was ''Ngwenyama'' (King) of Swaziland (now Eswatini) for 82 years and 254 days, the longest verifiable reign of any monarch in recorded history.
Sobhuza was bo ...
, paramount chief and later king of Swaziland.
With assistance from Sobhuza and Malinowski, Kuper moved to the royal village of
Lobamba
Lobamba is a town in Eswatini located in between Eswatini's two main cities, Mbabane and Manzini.
It falls under the Hhohho Region, Hhohho region, with Mbabane being its city and Lusushwana river being the nearest river. It is found between Ezulw ...
and was introduced to Sobhuza's mother, the queen mother
Lomawa.
Here Kuper learned
siSwati
Swazi or siSwati is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and South Africa by the Swati people. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 4.7 million including first and second langua ...
and pursued her fieldwork.
This phase of Kuper's researches into Swazi culture culminated in the two-part dissertation, ''An African Aristocracy: Rank among the Swazi'' (1947) and ''The Uniform of Colour: a Study of White–Black Relationships in Swaziland'' (1947).
In the early 1950s, Kuper moved to
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Situated on the east coast of South ...
.
During that decade, she focused her studies on the Indian community in the
Natal
NATAL or Natal may refer to:
Places
* Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil
* Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa
** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843)
** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...
region, as summarised in ''Indian People in Natal'' (1960).
In 1953, Kuper received a senior lectureship at the
University of Natal
The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...
in Durban. In addition to her academic work, together with her husband,
Leo Kuper, she helped to found the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
in
Natal
NATAL or Natal may refer to:
Places
* Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil
* Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa
** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843)
** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...
.
In the 1950s, she also wrote the play ''A Witch in My Heart'', which was first published in an isiZulu translation in 1962, before the original English language text was published in 1970.
She later described this play as the best ethnography she ever wrote.
In 1961, the Kupers moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, to escape the harassment of liberals that was increasingly prevalent in
apartheid
Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
South Africa, and to enable Leo to accept a professorship in sociology at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
.
In 1963, Kuper published ''The Swazi: a South African Kingdom'' and was herself appointed professor of anthropology at UCLA.
Kuper was a popular teacher,
and in 1969, won a Guggenheim fellowship.
In 1978, Kuper published an extensive, official biography of Sobhuza II, ''King Sobhuza II, Ngwenyama and King of Swaziland''.
Awards
Personal life
Kuper married
Leo Kuper in 1936. They had two daughters, Mary and Jenny.
Her nephew,
Adam Kuper, is also an anthropologist.
Publications
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
** First published in 1962 as ''Inhliziyo Ngumthakathi'', a translation into isiZulu by Trevor Cope
** Published in 1978 as ''Inhlitiyo Ngumtsakatsi'', a translation into siSwati by Thembi Mthembu and Zodwa Ginindza
*
*
References
*
External links
*
Archive at the University of California
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuper, Hilda
1911 births
1992 deaths
People from Bulawayo
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Liberal Party of South Africa politicians
Rhodesian emigrants to South Africa
Rhodesian Jews
Rhodesian novelists
Social anthropologists
South African Jews
South African people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
South African people of Austrian-Jewish descent
South African women anthropologists
Culture of Eswatini
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
University of the Witwatersrand alumni
Rhodesian people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
Jewish scholars
20th-century South African anthropologists