SCHAPERA, ISAAC

born June 23, 1905, Garies, S.Af. South African social anthropologist known for his detailed ethnographic and typological work on the tribal peoples of South Africa and Botswana. Schapera's numerous field trips to Bechuanaland (now Botswana) during 20 years allowed him to record oral history accounts in the native tongue as well as to make minute observations of the effects of exposure to other cultures. His analysis of cross-racial influences between the Boers and Hottentots (or Khoi) in South Africa, and between the Tswana and native Bushmen (or San) and whites in Bechuanaland led to his recommendation that applied anthropology be used as a tool in resolving other racial problems in South Africa. Schapera worked with both British and native political structures in his studies of land tenure and migration and was able to analyze the effects of government colonial policy in several areas. Schapera received his M.A. from the University of Cape Town and his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science. His work was influenced by his instructors A.R. Radcliffe-Brown and Bronislaw Malinowski, from whom he learned structural and functional analysis. His work tended to document the dynamic acculturation theories of Radcliffe-Brown over Malinowski's then-prevailing ahistorical model. In his own work, Schapera emphasized the empirical and historical perspective. Schapera taught at the University of Cape Town until 1950 and at the University of London between 1950 and 1969. His published works include A Handbook of Tswana Law and Custom (1938), Praise Poems of Tswana Chiefs (1965), Rainmaking Rites of Tswana Tribes (1971), and Kinship Terminology in Jane Austen's Novels (1977).