Archief AL3289 - Mafela Trust collection

Identificatie

referentie code

ZA SAHA AL3289

Titel

Mafela Trust collection

Datum(s)

  • 1990 - 2009 (Accumulation)
  • 1979 - 2011 (Accumulation)

Beschrijvingsniveau

Archief

Omvang en medium

0.5 linear metres (5 archival boxes) of paper-based materials; digital materials; photographs; audio and video materials

Context

Naam van de archiefvormer

Biografie

The Mafela Trust organisation was established in 1989 by a group of freedom fighters of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) to research and document the political and military activities of ZAPU and its armed wing, the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZPRA), during the liberation war in Zimbabwe. Records pertaining to ZAPU and ZPRA history, including war records, were confiscated by the government-led Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) in 1982 during the post-independence struggle, and never returned.

In the absence of a documented history, the Mafela Trust has been guided by their mission statement "When you go home tell them of us and say for your tomorrow we gave our today", to launch numerous national projects in an attempt to recoup what has been lost. Most notable of these projects are the 'Fallen Heroes' project - an identification and commemoration of those who died during the liberation war, and the ‘War Graves’ project – the location and subsequent exhumation of war graves. Further research and oral history projects bear testament to the Mafela Trust's determination to recover the ZAPU/ZPRA history, including documenting the history around the formal alliance with Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC).

The materials produced as part of these projects form the bulk of the Mafela Trust collection at SAHA and include paper-based and digital materials, photographs, oral history interviews and video material. These materials were identified as endangered in the course of a research, digitisation and oral history project conducted by SAHA in 2010 and 2011, and the materials were relocated to Johannesburg in 2011 for comprehensive archival processing. A selection of materials in this collection has been digitised.

ANC - African National Congress

MK - Umkhonto we Sizwe

MOU - Memorandum of Understanding

MWHA - Matopo World Heritage Area

RSA - Republic of South Africa

ZANU - Zimbabwe African National Union

ZAPU - Zimbabwe African People's Union

ZPRA - Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army

Geschiedenis van het archief

Directe bron van verwerving of overbrenging

Inhoud en structuur

Bereik en inhoud

The Mafela Trust collection consists of paper-based materials, digital materials, photographs, oral history interviews (audio cassettes and Hi8 video cassettes), and VHS video material.

The original order in which materials were received was not retained. A discussion with the Mafela Trust's national coordinator revealed that no proper filing system was in place in the office of origin, and his subsequent artificial order (defined by sections Vatican A, B, C etc.) did not allow for effective and systematic arrangement and retrieval of archival materials. (Meticulous record-keeping allows for reversal of current arrangement). The current system of arrangement embarks on an attempt to reflect the organisation's developmental history in terms of its aims and objectives, and thus allows for more effective access to the materials.

The paper-based and digital collections of the Mafela Trust archives have been arranged as two separate series. Although some duplication of documents exist, especially with materials created around 2000 onwards, the first series of paper-based materials contain archives that were generally created prior to 2000, and includes a fairly large number of handwritten and manuscript material. 49 items (625pp) from this series have been digitised to facilitate access. The digital collection commences circa late 1990s/2000+. It should be noted that the arrangement of the paper-based collection does not correspond with that of the digital collection.

Waardering, vernietiging en slectie

Aanvullingen

Ordeningstelsel

Voorwaarden voor toegang en gebruik

Voorwaarden voor raadpleging

This collection is open for research

Voorwaarden voor reproductie

Taal van het materiaal

Schrift van het materiaal

Taal en schrift aantekeningen

Fysieke eigenschappen en technische eisen

Toegangen

Uploaded finding aid

Verwante materialen

Bestaan en verblifplaats van originelen

Bestaan en verblijfplaats van kopieën

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Aantekeningen

Alternative identifier(s)

Trefwoorden

Onderwerp trefwoord

Geografische trefwoorden

Naam ontsluitingsterm

Genre access points

Beschrijvingsbeheer

Identificatie van de beschrijving

Identificatiecode van de instelling

Toegepaste regels en/of conventies

Status

Niveau van detaillering

Verwijdering van datering archiefvorming

20120120

Taal (talen)

Schrift(en)

Bronnen

Voorwaarden voor raadpleging en gebruik

Related subjects

Related people and organizations

Related genres

Related places