Burial, Reburial: The Cultural Cost of Development in South Africa

Abstract

This article presents the first systematic study of cultural impacts caused by infrastructure building, resource extraction (particularly mining), and renewable energy systems in South Africa since democratisation, focusing on burial grounds and graves. We argue that South African policies supporting growth in these sectors have created a reburial industry that perpetuates inter-generational trauma and capitalises on the dead at the expense of the living. This compromises heritage protections and undermines post-apartheid promises of restitution. Our analysis of over 20,000 regulatory records identifies industrial contributions to burial disturbance and frequencies of planned versus unplanned reburials. We characterise the burial industry that has emerged since 1999; the ambivalent role of traditional authorities as mediators; and the experiences of communities negotiating or resisting reburial.