Izikhothane: a deeper history of a South African youth subculture where luxury items are trashed

In South Africa, a skhothane is a young, fashionably dressed black urban resident who engages in destructive conspicuous consumption. This involves regular get-togethers on weekends in which groups of izikhothane – most likely male teenagers – gather to compete in mock battles where luxury items are often destroyed.

The name is derived from a word in the Zulu language, ukukhotha, meaning “to lick”, but in urban slang it means to boast.

There’s no consensus about when exactly this “youth craze” emerged. But there’s reason to believe the ukukhothana subculture can be traced as far back as 2005, first in the townships of the East Rand of Gauteng province before spreading to other provinces. In South Africa, townships are human settlements established outside towns and cities by the white minority apartheid government as areas for people categorised as black to live in.

At ukukhothana events, izikhothane show up wearing expensive designer