Hilda Kuper

Hilda Beemer Kuper (née Beemer; 23 August 1911 – 23 April 1992 ) was a social anthropologist most notable for her extensive work on Swazi culture. She started studying the Swazi culture and associating with the Swaziland's royal family after she was awarded with a grant by the International African Institute of London. She studied and illustrated Swazi traditions embodied in the political vision of King Sobhuza II, who later became a close friend. King Sobhuza II personally awarded Kuper with Swazi citizenship in 1970.

Early life and education Born to Lithuanian Jewish and Austrian Jewish parents in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia, Kuper moved to South Africa after the death of her father. She studied at the University of the Witwatersrand and, afterwards, at the London School of Economics under Malinowski.

Doctoral fieldwork and anthropological career In 1934, Kuper won a fellowship from the International African Institute to study in Swaziland. In July of that year, while at an education conference in Johannesburg, she met Sobhuza II, paramount chief and later king of Swaziland. She later described this play as the best ethnography she ever wrote.

Awards

Personal life Kuper married Leo Kuper in 1936. They had two daughters, Mary and Jenny.

First published in 1962 as Inhliziyo Ngumthakathi, a translation into isiZulu by Trevor Cope