The Living Sea: Conceptualising Narratives of Cultural Seascapes in the Eastern Cape of South Africa

Abstract

The sea exerts a powerful influence over coastal communities, shaping their social and cultural landscapes through a variety of intricate and diverse interactions. While these connections highlight the ocean’s cultural value and its essential place in coastal lives, they are neither uniform nor equally distributed across communities. This article advocates for a broader recognition of these relationships within marine management frameworks, pressing for the inclusion of spiritual and well-being dimensions that are presently overlooked. This article draws on ethnographic research that we conducted from 2021 to 2022 along South Africa’s Eastern Cape coast, from Algoa Bay to East London. It delves into how people perceive and experience the ocean as integral to cultural identity and community well-being. Through twenty in-depth interviews, themes of spirituality, cultural expression, interconnectedness with nature, healing, and the sense of access and loss emerge as crucial aspects of these relationships. This article highlights how differing relationships and understandings of the ocean expose historical divides between communities and ongoing socio-economic disparities that affect access to the sea. These narratives underscore the ocean’s role in supporting health and well-being, affirming the need to incorporate such values into marine management policies.