Keiskammahoek Rural Survey 1948-1950
South Africa, 1948 - 1950
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Reference ID
zaf-ncsr-krs-1948-1950-v1
Producer(s)
National Council for Social Research, DataFirst
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Metadata
Created on
Feb 05, 2016
Last modified
Apr 02, 2020
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246078
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Identification
Survey ID Number
zaf-ncsr-krs-1948-1950-v1
Title
Keiskammahoek Rural Survey 1948-1950
Country
| Name |
|---|
| South Africa |
Study type
Household Survey [hh]
Abstract
In 1947 South Africa's National Council for Social Research initiated and funded an investigation into the social conditions in a "Native Reserve" in South Africa. The Keiskammahoek District in the Ciskei, in the eastern part of the Union of South Africa, was selected as a sample native rural area for this study. The region was about 220 square miles with a population of approximately 18,000 inhabitants. The survey was directed by Lindsay Robb of the Native Affairs Department, and carried out by voluntary workers from South Africa's universities and staff from various government departments. The study became known as the Keiskammahoek Rural Survey, and was a series of studies of the region. The dataset provided here is from an economic survey from a sample of 227 households 5 villages in the Keiskammahoek region. These were Chata (households with the prefix K), Gxulu (T), Lenye-Burnshill (S), Mthwaku (J) and Rabula (M). DataFirst, supported by the Neil Agget Labour Studies unit at the Institute for Social and Economic Research and the Corey Library for Historical Research at Rhodes University, digitised the contents of the KRS questionnaires housed in the library. DataFirst has prepared the data in a research-ready formats and publish these to open them data up for further analyses.
The study includes:
1. A Family Budget Survey, which as conducted from 1948 to 1950 on a sample of 277 households in five villages in the area (Chatha, Gxulu, Lenye-Burnshill, Mthwaku, and Rabula). The findings from this survey were summarised in an "Economic sheet". A field study was undertaken of cultivation and crop yields during the survey by measuring areas sown and weighing harvest yields of households in the Family Budget Survey during the 194-1950 seasons.
2. A Survey on Migration, Urbanisation, Employment, and Marriage of a subset of these villages. Data for this was collected with a questionnaire and an employment sheet.
The migration study included the collection in 1950 of genealogies from households in three of the villages (Lenye-Burnshill, Mthwaku, and Rabula). These family histories were updated in 1986 by researchers in the Department of Anthropology at Rhodes University. The 1948-1950 genealogies have been scanned, and also reproduced in R (Note: In the R versions, squares are for male and circles for female, and solid shapes are for deceased family members). The 1986 updates to these genealogies have also been scanned. Because these genealogies contain disclosive data, they are only available for analysis in our secure research data centre in the School of Economics at UCT. Researchers can contact us at support@data1st.org to use these data.
Other studies also undertaken for the Keiskammahoek Rural Survey, for which we don't have the primary data, include:
1. An investigation of trade in the district, based on the analysis of the books of twenty-four of the thirty traders in the District
2. A study of the physical environment, including climate data, a geological survey, a soil survey and a botanical survey. The botanical survey report, compiled by the Department of Agriculture of the Union of South Africa, is included with this dataset.
3. A land tenure study undertaken in three villages (Burnshill, Chatha, and Rabula), from October 1949 to July1950, which also collected data on freehold and quitrent villages.
4. An inquiry into family structure and women's work in two communal villages, (Gwili-Gwili and Upper Nqhumeya), including:
5. A survey on illegitimacy
6. An agricultural survey (Upper Nqhumeya only)
7. A survey on school education, conducted by the Bureau for Educational Research of the Union Education Department
8. Collection of data on male initiation (done during the land tenure study).
The study includes:
1. A Family Budget Survey, which as conducted from 1948 to 1950 on a sample of 277 households in five villages in the area (Chatha, Gxulu, Lenye-Burnshill, Mthwaku, and Rabula). The findings from this survey were summarised in an "Economic sheet". A field study was undertaken of cultivation and crop yields during the survey by measuring areas sown and weighing harvest yields of households in the Family Budget Survey during the 194-1950 seasons.
2. A Survey on Migration, Urbanisation, Employment, and Marriage of a subset of these villages. Data for this was collected with a questionnaire and an employment sheet.
The migration study included the collection in 1950 of genealogies from households in three of the villages (Lenye-Burnshill, Mthwaku, and Rabula). These family histories were updated in 1986 by researchers in the Department of Anthropology at Rhodes University. The 1948-1950 genealogies have been scanned, and also reproduced in R (Note: In the R versions, squares are for male and circles for female, and solid shapes are for deceased family members). The 1986 updates to these genealogies have also been scanned. Because these genealogies contain disclosive data, they are only available for analysis in our secure research data centre in the School of Economics at UCT. Researchers can contact us at support@data1st.org to use these data.
Other studies also undertaken for the Keiskammahoek Rural Survey, for which we don't have the primary data, include:
1. An investigation of trade in the district, based on the analysis of the books of twenty-four of the thirty traders in the District
2. A study of the physical environment, including climate data, a geological survey, a soil survey and a botanical survey. The botanical survey report, compiled by the Department of Agriculture of the Union of South Africa, is included with this dataset.
3. A land tenure study undertaken in three villages (Burnshill, Chatha, and Rabula), from October 1949 to July1950, which also collected data on freehold and quitrent villages.
4. An inquiry into family structure and women's work in two communal villages, (Gwili-Gwili and Upper Nqhumeya), including:
5. A survey on illegitimacy
6. An agricultural survey (Upper Nqhumeya only)
7. A survey on school education, conducted by the Bureau for Educational Research of the Union Education Department
8. Collection of data on male initiation (done during the land tenure study).
Kind of Data
Sample survey data
Unit of Analysis
Households and individuals
Version
Version Description
Version 1: Edited, anonymised dataset for public distribution
Version Date
2017
Scope
Notes
Demographic characteristics (age, gender), mortality, marital type and status, education, religion, employment, income (including pensions and remittances) and expenditure, family debt, ownership and type of dwelling, ownership of stock, land use and tenure, and migration. Genealogical records are also provided on households in the study.
Keywords
| Keyword |
|---|
| rural areas |
| Ciskei |
| Keiskammahoek |
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
The Keiskammahoek Rural Survey covered the Keiskammahoek area of the Ciskei, in the eastern part of the Union of South Africa, now the Eastern Cape Province. Data in the current dataset is for the five villages in which households were enumerated. These are: Mthwaku (households coded J1-50), Catha (K1-75), Rabula ( M1-M50), Lenye-Burnshill (S1-S52), and
Gxulu (T1-T50).
Gxulu (T1-T50).
Geographic Unit
The data is at the level of household, for each village surveyed.
Universe
The universe of the survey was all household members in each Umzi (household unit) in the five villages.
Producers and sponsors
Primary investigators
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| National Council for Social Research | Government of the Union of South Africa |
| DataFirst | University of Cape Town |
Producers
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Rhodes University | Investigator | |
| Department of Native Affairs | Government of the Union of South Africa | Investigator |
Funding Agency/Sponsor
| Name | Abbreviation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| National Council for Social Research | NCSR | Funder of the original data collection |
| Andrew W. Mellon Foundation | Funder of the data rescue initiative | |
| Neil Agget Labour Studies Unit, ISER, Rhodes University | Funder of the data rescue project |
Data Collection
Dates of Data Collection
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| 1948 | 1950 |
Data Collection Mode
Face-to-face [f2f]
Data Collection Notes
Data collection was carried out on a voluntary basis by staff from Rhodes University and the University of Pretoria.
Data Collectors
| Name | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| Rhodes University | RU |
| DataFirst, University of Cape Town |
Questionnaires
Questionnaires
The study collected the data by means of:
A budget survey questionnaire, which included a household roster with questions on remitters, and income and expenditure sheets. After the survey, data from this questionnaire was aggregated on an "economic section" sheet.
A household roster sheet with questions on migration, marriage, and employment (including an employment history sheet).
A budget survey questionnaire, which included a household roster with questions on remitters, and income and expenditure sheets. After the survey, data from this questionnaire was aggregated on an "economic section" sheet.
A household roster sheet with questions on migration, marriage, and employment (including an employment history sheet).
Data Processing
Data Editing
Codes used for missing data in the data files are:
-3 = missing
-5 = not applicable
-9 = don't know
-3 = missing
-5 = not applicable
-9 = don't know
Data Appraisal
Data Appraisal
Many of the questionnaires from Chatha (K1-K75) had responses to Question 2:" Persons in Homestead" altered from the original responses to reflect an average household size from years 1948 and 1950, rather than from all three periods covered by the survey (1948, 1949, 1950). There is no explanation available for this. We have reverted to the original values of an average for all three years when inputting the data. This is to ensure household size is comparable across all villages enumerated.
Access policy
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DataFirst | University of Cape Town | support@data1st.org | Link |
Access conditions
Public use files, available to all
Citation requirements
National Council for Social Research. Keiskammahoek Rural Survey 1948-1950 [dataset]. Version 1. South Africa: National Council for Social Research (NCSR) [producer], 1952. Cape Town: DataFirst [distributor], 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25828/drdb-p626
Access authority
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DataFirst | University of Cape Town | support@data1st.org | Link |
Metadata production
Producers
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| DataFirst | University of Cape Town | Metadata producer |
Date of Metadata Production
2020-04-02
DDI Document version
Version 5