Introduction

The area generally referred to as the Ciskei is situated on the eastern seaboard of South Africa between the Stormberg escarpment and the sea, the Great Kei River in the east and the Great Fish and Kat rivers in the west. The Ciskei for instance exports labour both to East London and beyond, to the southern Transvaal. The East London region has been very slow to develop industrially, and has required outside stimulus to encourage investment. The Ciskei has been the scene of conflict and interaction between black and white since the early eighteenth century. The Ciskei Research Project was undertaken in 1974 in order to explore the interconnections between black and white in this area of South Africa at the present time. The technique of participant observation was used in both rural and urban areas.