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19 Afrikaans and Afrikaner Nationalism in Deon Opperman's Donkerland Marisa Keuris University of South Africa

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19 Afrikaans and Afrikaner Nationalism in Deon Opperman's Donkerland Marisa Keuris University of South Africa 19 Afrikaans and Afrikaner Nationalism in Deon Opperman’s Donkerland Marisa Keuris University of South Africa One of the most well-known South African Afrikaans playwrights, Deon Opperman, wrote an epic play in 1996 on Afrikaner history and Afrikaner Nationalism, entitled Donkerland (Dark country). In this chapter I focus on two related issues, namely (1) the role played by Afrikaans in Afrikaner Nationalism–as depicted in this play– and (2) the use of numerous literary allusions and other textual references in Donkerland. Both issues are discussed within the context of Afrikaner nationalism and Afrikaner identity. Key words: Apartheid, Afrikaans, Afrikaner, nationalism, identity, intertextuality Introduction Deon Opperman’s Donkerland is a drama of epic proportions and one that is unique within Afrikaans theatre (probably even South African theatre as a whole), because of its sheer scope and epic proportions: it is 160 pages long and performance time is approximately 5 hours (presented on two consecu- tive evenings). The play has been performed at the Klein-Karoo Kunstefees (KKNK) in 1996, the Grahamstown-festival (1996) and in the Pretoria State Theatre. Deon Opperman received the prestigious Hertzog-prize for drama for five of his plays (including Donkerland) in 2005/6. Most reviewers and commentators have seen the play as a tour de force – and an ambitious en- deavour to comment on six generations of Afrikaner history in South Africa. The play encompasses 158 years of Afrikaner history – from the Great Trek in 1838 up to and including the first two years after the South African democratic election of 1994. Various important historical events within this period of 158 years that characterise Afrikaner development are portrayed in the successive episodes in the drama. These include the Anglo-Boer War, the border wars with the Xhosas and Zulus, the discovery of gold, the ur- banisation of the Afrikaner, the emergence of the Black Consciousness Movement, the birth of the ‘new’ South Africa, and the Diaspora of the Afrikaner. One could sum up this portrayal of Afrikaners and their history in one phrase: ‘the rise and fall of Afrikaner Nationalism.’1 1 For a detailed discussion see, Keuris 1-15. 404 Marisa Keuris The play is divided into two sections: Section I (1838-1901) and Section II (1929 – 1996). Both sections consist of various episodes and scenes por- traying the trials and tribulations of one white Afrikaner family (the patriarch of this family, Pieter de Witt, and his descendants) on one ‘piece of land,’ the farm Donkerland. In this essay, my particular focus is the role of Afri- kaans within the context of Afrikaner Nationalism – specifically from two perspectives: first, the language itself, i.e Afrikaans as the language of the Afrikaner, the recognition of its official status, and the way it relates to other indigenous (black) languages, as well as English; and second, the use of the numerous literary and other references that usually introduce the various episodes in the play, and which comprise quotations from the work of vari- ous well-known literary figures in the history of Afrikaans literature. The particular focus in this chapter on language and literary issues is linked to the viewpoint of many theorists (see Spencer and Wollman) writ- ing on the aspect of ‘nationalism’ who highlight the important roles fulfilled by these issues in determining various specific nationalisms. Commenting on Afrikaner Nationalism and literature for example, Isabel Hofmeyr, states that the ‘manufacture of an Afrikaans literary culture was an important terrain in which nationalist ideologies were elaborated’ (95). Language: Afrikaans and the Afrikaner It is inevitable that Deon Opperman has to address the Afrikaans language issue to some degree in his play when he is portraying 158 years of an Afri- kaner family’s existence in South Africa. Afrikaans is considered to be the only indigenous language to have developed from a mainly European back- ground in Africa. The development of this language went hand-in-hand with the birth of an emerging ‘Afrikaner’ identity during the 1770s and 1780s in the Cape. Giliomee (Afrikaners 52) mentions that the first use of the name ‘Africaan’ can be found in the 1790s and that ‘the name ‘Afrikaner’ grew to be more broadly used to refer to Europeans who spoke Dutch or Afri- kaans’. Afrikaans, as Giliomee also states ‘in essence a dialect of Dutch,’ but one that underwent ‘a limited measure of creolization or deviation from the basic Dutch structure’ when for 50–70 years it were influenced by languages spoken by the slaves (Malayo-Portuguese and Khoikhoi) (53). Before 1924 Dutch and English were the official languages of South Africa – none of the indigenous languages had this status. Afrikaans received official status in 1925 and almost immediately replaced Dutch as medium of instruction (schools) and as the language in which laws and official documents were published (Giliomee, Afrikaners 377). It is only after the 1994 elections when the ANC came into power that all the indigenous languages in South Africa also received official status. .
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