In South Africa, tribe has been naturalized, presumed to be part of a timeless native—that is, African—culture. In the former Bantustans, the regime of customary law remains substantially unreformed. In rural South Africa, violence continues among Africans who define themselves as tribally distinct. Africans are still denied rights under the customary regime, should they live in the “wrong” tribal homeland. In urban South Africa, Africans and other persons of color seen as tribal strangers, and thus intruders, are periodically the target of what is called xenophobic violence. South Africa’s
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