History of the Voortrekker Monumwent Tapestries
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Article Differing Interpretations of Reconciliation in South Africa
Article Differing interpretations of reconciliation in South Africa: a discussion of the home for all campaign1 Sally Matthews [email protected] Abstract The theme of reconciliation remains an important one in South African politics. The issue of reconciliation was recently highlighted by South African Human Rights Commission chairperson, Jody Kollapen. According to Kollapen, in South Africa we have a problematic narrow interpretation of reconciliation, one that presents reconciliation and transformation as being in opposition to one another. This paper explores some of the debates about reconciliation as a process and then relates these to the Home for All Campaign. This Campaign was aimed at encouraging white South Africans to acknowledge the injustices of the past and to commit themselves to healing divisions and reducing inequalities in contemporary South Africa. It conceived of reconciliation as a process in which the onus is on white South Africans to take the initiative in reconciling with black South Africans. The Campaign received much publicity and provoked debate but never managed to gain the support of a significant number of white South Africans. In this paper, I explore the reasons for the Campaign’s failure to meet all of its objectives, relating this to contemporary South African discourse on reconciliation. I argue that the Campaign’s interpretation of reconciliation was valuable and necessary and that it remains imperative in South Africa that white South Africans critically reflect upon past and present privileges and take the initiative in processes of inter-racial reconciliation. More than fifteen years after the end of apartheid the topic of post-apartheid inter-racial reconciliation in South Africa remains pertinent. -
RECONCILIATION MONTH “United in Action Against Racism, Gender Based Violence and Other Intolerances”
RECONCILIATION MONTH “United in Action Against Racism, Gender Based Violence and Other Intolerances” ”We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world” Nelson Mandela BACKGROUND TO SOUTH SFRICA’S RECONCILIATION Day of Reconciliation, also called Day of the Vow, Day of the Covenant, or Dingane’s Day, public holiday observed in South Africa on December 16. The holiday originally commemorated the victory of the Voortrekkers (southern Africans of Dutch, German, or Huguenot descent who made the Great Trek) over the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River in 1838. Before the battle, the Voortrekkers had taken a vow that, if they succeeded in defeating the Zulus, they would build a church and observe the day as a religious holiday. The observance became known as Dingane’s Day (after the Zulu king Dingane), and in 1910 the day was established as a public holiday. In 1952 the ruling National Party passed the Public Holidays Act, which changed the holiday’s name to Day of the Covenant (later changed in 1980 to Day of the Vow) and formally declared the day a religious holiday. As a result, activities such as sports events and theatre performances were banned. The Day of Reconciliation is observed on Wednesday, December 16, 2020 in South Africa. The day gained additional significance in 1961, when the military wing of the African National Congress, Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”), chose the date to begin an armed conflict against the ruling government’s policy of apartheid. -
South Africa: Afrikaans Film and the Imagined Boundaries of Afrikanerdom
A new laager for a “new” South Africa: Afrikaans film and the imagined boundaries of Afrikanerdom Adriaan Stefanus Steyn Thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology in the faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Dr Bernard Dubbeld Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology December 2016 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za By submitting this thesis electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. December 2016 Copyright © 2016 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Abstract The Afrikaans film industry came into existence in 1916, with the commercial release of De Voortrekkers (Shaw), and, after 1948, flourished under the guardianship of the National Party. South Africa’s democratic transition, however, seemed to announce the death of the Afrikaans film. In 1998, the industry entered a nine-year slump during which not a single Afrikaans film was released on the commercial circuit. Yet, in 2007, the industry was revived and has been expanding rapidly ever since. This study is an attempt to explain the Afrikaans film industry’s recent success and also to consider some of its consequences. To do this, I situate the Afrikaans film industry within a larger – and equally flourishing – Afrikaans culture industry. -
Designing the South African Nation from Nature to Culture
CHAPTER 3 Designing the South African Nation From Nature to Culture Jacques Lange and Jeanne van Eeden There is to date very little published research and writing about South African design history. One of the main obstacles has been dealing with the legacy of forty years of apartheid censorship (1950 to 1990) that banned and destroyed a vast array of visual culture in the interests of propaganda and national security, according to the Beacon for Freedom of Expression (http://search.beaconforfreedom.org/about_database/south%20africa.html). This paucity of material is aggravated by the general lack of archival and doc- umentary evidence, not just of the struggle against apartheid, but also of the wider domain of design in South Africa. Even mainstream designed mate- rial for the British imperialist and later apartheid government has been lost or neglected in the inadequate archival facilities of the State and influential organizations such as the South African Railways. Efforts to redress this are now appearing as scholars start to piece together fragments, not in order to write a definitive history of South African design, but rather to write histories of design in South Africa that recuperate neglected narratives or revise earlier historiographies. This chapter is accordingly an attempt to document a number of key moments in the creation of South African nationhood between 1910 and 2013 in which communication design played a part. Our point of departure is rooted in Zukin’s (1991: 16) belief that symbolic and material manifestations of power harbour the ideological needs of powerful institutions to manipulate class, gender and race relations, ultimately to serve the needs of capital (and governance). -
A Teachers Guide to Accompany the Slide Show
A Teachers Guide to Accompany the Slide Show by Kevin Danaher A Teachers Guide to Accompany the Slide Show by Kevin Danaher @ 1982 The Washington Office on Africa Educational Fund Contents Introduction .................................................1 Chapter One The Imprisoned Society: An Overview ..................... 5 South Africa: Land of inequality ............................... 5 1. bantustans ................................................6 2. influx Control ..............................................9 3. Pass Laws .................................................9 4. Government Represskn ....................................8 Chapter Two The Soweto Rebellion and Apartheid Schooling ......... 12 Chapter Three Early History ...............................................15 The Cape Colony: European Settlers Encounter African Societies in the 17th Century ................ 15 The European Conquest of Sotho and Nguni Land ............. 17 The Birth d ANC Opens a New Era ........................... 20 Industrialization. ............................................ 20 Foundations of Apartheid .................................... 21 Chapter Four South Africa Since WurJd War II .......................... 24 Constructing Apcrrtheid ........................... J .......... 25 Thd Afriqn National Congress of South Africa ................. 27 The Freedom Chafler ........................................ 29 The Treason Trid ........................................... 33 The Pan Africanht Congress ................................. 34 The -
Early History of South Africa
THE EARLY HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA EVOLUTION OF AFRICAN SOCIETIES . .3 SOUTH AFRICA: THE EARLY INHABITANTS . .5 THE KHOISAN . .6 The San (Bushmen) . .6 The Khoikhoi (Hottentots) . .8 BLACK SETTLEMENT . .9 THE NGUNI . .9 The Xhosa . .10 The Zulu . .11 The Ndebele . .12 The Swazi . .13 THE SOTHO . .13 The Western Sotho . .14 The Southern Sotho . .14 The Northern Sotho (Bapedi) . .14 THE VENDA . .15 THE MASHANGANA-TSONGA . .15 THE MFECANE/DIFAQANE (Total war) Dingiswayo . .16 Shaka . .16 Dingane . .18 Mzilikazi . .19 Soshangane . .20 Mmantatise . .21 Sikonyela . .21 Moshweshwe . .22 Consequences of the Mfecane/Difaqane . .23 Page 1 EUROPEAN INTERESTS The Portuguese . .24 The British . .24 The Dutch . .25 The French . .25 THE SLAVES . .22 THE TREKBOERS (MIGRATING FARMERS) . .27 EUROPEAN OCCUPATIONS OF THE CAPE British Occupation (1795 - 1803) . .29 Batavian rule 1803 - 1806 . .29 Second British Occupation: 1806 . .31 British Governors . .32 Slagtersnek Rebellion . .32 The British Settlers 1820 . .32 THE GREAT TREK Causes of the Great Trek . .34 Different Trek groups . .35 Trichardt and Van Rensburg . .35 Andries Hendrik Potgieter . .35 Gerrit Maritz . .36 Piet Retief . .36 Piet Uys . .36 Voortrekkers in Zululand and Natal . .37 Voortrekker settlement in the Transvaal . .38 Voortrekker settlement in the Orange Free State . .39 THE DISCOVERY OF DIAMONDS AND GOLD . .41 Page 2 EVOLUTION OF AFRICAN SOCIETIES Humankind had its earliest origins in Africa The introduction of iron changed the African and the story of life in South Africa has continent irrevocably and was a large step proven to be a micro-study of life on the forwards in the development of the people. -
The Construction of Eugène Marais As an Afrikaner Hero*
The Construction of Eugène Marais as an Afrikaner Hero* SANDRA SWART (Stellenbosch University) Eugène Marais (1871–1936) is remembered as an Afrikaner hero. There are, however, competing claims as to the meaning of this ‘heroic’ status. Some remember him as the ‘father of Afrikaans poetry’, one of the most lionised writers in Afrikaans and part of the Afrikaner nationalist movement. Yet a second intellectual tradition remembers him as a dissident iconoclast, an Afrikaner rebel. This article seeks to show, first, how these two very different understandings of Marais came to exist, and, secondly, that the course of this rivalry of legends was inextricably bound up with the socio-economic and political history of South Africa. We look at his portrayal at particular historical moments and analyse the changes that have occurred with reference to broader developments in South Africa. This is in order to understand the making of cultural identity as part of nationalism, and opens a window onto the contested process of re-imagining the Afrikaner nation. The article demonstrates how Marais’s changing image was a result of material changes within the socio-economic milieu, and the mutable needs of the Afrikaner establishment. The hagiography of Marais by the Nationalist press, both during his life and after his death, is explored, showing how the socio-political context of the Afrikaans language struggle was influential in shaping his image. The chronology of his representation is traced in terms of the changing self-image of the Afrikaner over the ensuing seven decades. Finally, in order to understand the fractured meaning of Marais today, the need for alternative heroes in the ‘New South Africa’ is considered. -
2001 Lecture
THE JAMES BACKHOUSE LECTURE 2001 RECONCILING OPPOSITES: REFLECTIONS ON PEACEMAKING IN SOUTH AFRICA Hendrik W van der Merwe The James Backhouse Lectures The lectures were instituted by Australia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) on the its establishment of that Yearly Meeting in 1964. James Backhouse and his companion, George Washington Walker were English Friends who visited Australia from 1832 to 1838. They travelled widely, but spent most of their time in Tasmania. It was through their visit that Quaker Meetings were first established in Australia. Coming to Australia under a concern for the conditions of convicts, the two men had access to people with authority in the young colonies, and with influence in Britain, both in Parliament and in the social reform movement. In meticulous reports and personal letters, they made practical suggestions and urged legislative action on penal reform, on the rum trade, and on land rights and the treatment of Aborigines. James Backhouse was a general naturalist and a botanist. He made careful observations and published full accounts of what he saw, in addition to encouraging Friends in the colonies and following the deep concern that had brought him to Australia. Australian Friends hope that this series of Lectures will bring fresh insights into the Truth, and speak to the needs and aspirations of Australian Quakerism. This particular lecture was delivered in Melbourne on 8 January 2001, during the annual meeting of the Society. Colin Wendell-Smith Presiding Clerk Australia Yearly Meeting © Copyright 2001 by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia Incorporated. -
The Role and Application of the Union Defence Force in the Suppression of Internal Unrest, 1912 - 1945
THE ROLE AND APPLICATION OF THE UNION DEFENCE FORCE IN THE SUPPRESSION OF INTERNAL UNREST, 1912 - 1945 Andries Marius Fokkens Thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Military Science (Military History) at the Military Academy, Saldanha, Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University. Supervisor: Lieutenant Colonel (Prof.) G.E. Visser Co-supervisor: Dr. W.P. Visser Date of Submission: September 2006 ii Declaration I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the work contained in this thesis is my own original work and that I have not previously submitted it, in its entirety or in part, to any university for a degree. Signature:…………………….. Date:………………………….. iii ABSTRACT The use of military force to suppress internal unrest has been an integral part of South African history. The European colonisation of South Africa from 1652 was facilitated by the use of force. Boer commandos and British military regiments and volunteer units enforced the peace in outlying areas and fought against the indigenous population as did other colonial powers such as France in North Africa and Germany in German South West Africa, to name but a few. The period 1912 to 1945 is no exception, but with the difference that military force was used to suppress uprisings of white citizens as well. White industrial workers experienced this military suppression in 1907, 1913, 1914 and 1922 when they went on strike. Job insecurity and wages were the main causes of the strikes and militant actions from the strikers forced the government to use military force when the police failed to maintain law and order. -
Chapter 3 the Gustav S Preller-C Louis Leipoldt
87 CHAPTER 3 THE GUSTAV S PRELLER-C LOUIS LEIPOLDT POLEMIC – THE HEDGEHOG AND THE FOX1 Chapter 2 analysed a selection of theoretical works by pioneering thinkers, leading scholars and other authors, against which The Valley as a work of narrative fiction could be read. A selection of writers of theory from ‘standard’ works was made. Newer trends in the theory of history were discussed. And voices of criticism against the deconstructivist paradigm were heard. Against these works, it was seen if historical fiction is fully-enough equipped to provide an alternative (reading of the) past. Put another way, the question is asked whether the profession of history can benefit from the inspiration offered by the work of writers of fiction, such as C Louis Leipoldt’s The Valley trilogy. Chapter 3 examines C Louis Leipoldt’s The Valley trilogy as a set of fictional novels, in their full thrust, as contestation against Preller’s romanticised, idealized and popularized volksgeskiedenis made up of a set of wide-ranging history-as-heritage media, to include enactments, film, the theatre, literature and history, although his predominant medium was his carefully researched historical accounts of the Voortrekkers. This volksgeskiedenis was the prevailing public narrative dominating South African history for the first forty years or so of the twentieth century. This public history-construct, covering a period of circa 100 years ― the time of the start of the Great Trek in 1838 till the commemoration of it a century later culminating in the Voortrekkereeufees2 of 1938 ― was the tireless efforts of Gustav S Preller. -
December 2009 Is Passed on Only Through the Male Line
Volume 36 Number 1 December 2009 is passed on only through the male line. The only source of variation among mtDNA types is mutation, and the number of mutations separating two mtDNA types is a direct measure of the length of time since they shared a common ancestor. Since women do not carry Y-chromosomes, they can only be tested for mtDNA, but men can be tested for both types. Occasionally some of the genes carried by the DNA types mutate and the resultant genetic changes are passed on to future generations. The mapping of these mutations allows geneticists to track the history of various population groups. This has enabled researchers to determine that the most recent common ancestor of all modern humans on the maternal side Reports covering the period February to June 2009 lived some 150 000 years ago, while that on the paternal side dates to somewhere between 60 000 and 80 000 years ago. Prof. Soodyall then provided information on three facets of her work. The first is of a scientific nature and involves mapping the genetic codes of populations around the globe, but in particular in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, and especially those groups that have lived in relative isolation in a particular region over a long period of time. The second aspect of her studies revolves around three burning questions: 1. Is it possible to localise the most likely regions for the origins of various lineages? EVENING LECTURES 2. What impact did trade, which had occurred for well over 2 000 years in the Indian Ocean, have on population groups? 3. -
Sounds of Young Afrikaners
Sounds of young Afrikaners Popular music and processes of social identification in and around Pretoria, South Africa Maike Lolkema Research Master Thesis in African Studies African Studies Centre / Leiden University Sounds of young Afrikaners Popular music and processes of social identification in and around Pretoria, South Africa Name Maike Reinate Lolkema Supervisor Dr. W.M.J. (Ineke) van Kessel Second Reader Dr. H. (Harry) Wels Date July 2014 Pictures used at the cover: Picture at the top: Audience at the performance of Fokofpolisiekar at Oppikoppi Festival at August 10th 2012. Picture at the bottom: Audience at the performance of Steve Hofmeyr at the Pretoria Musiekfees on November 17th 2012. The writer made both pictures. 2 ‘We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom. We know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve success. We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world.’ - Nelson Mandela in his inaugural address May 10th 1994 ‘Een ding het intussen vir my duidelik geword: Dis nie ’n land vir sissies nie.’ - Fred de Vries in Rigting Bedonnerd ‘Revoluties worden op schepen uitgeroepen, utopieën op eilanden geleefd. Dat er nog iets anders moet zijn dan het hier en nu, is een troostende gedachte.’ - Judith Schalansky in De atlas van afgelegen eilanden ‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world.