The History of the Barolong in the District of Mafikeng: a Study of the Intra-Batswana Ethnicity and Policitcal Culture from 1852 to 1950
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THE HISTORY OF THE BAROLONG IN THE DISTRICT OF MAFIKENG: A STUDY OF THE INTRA-BATSWANA ETHNICITY AND POLICITCAL CULTURE FROM 1852 TO 1950 by MALOSE DANIEL RAMOROKA Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the DEPARTMENT OF ISIZULU NAMAGUGU at the UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND PROMOTER: DR Z.J. MASHIYANE DATE SUBMITTED: MARCH 2009 ii DECLARATION I hereby declare that the thesis entitled: THE HISTORY OF THE BAROLONG IN THE DISTRICT OF MAFIKENG: A STUDY OF THE INTRA-BATSWANA ETHNICITY AND POLICITCAL CULTURE FROM 1852 TO 1950 Is my work both in conception and execution and that information drawn from other sources has been duly acknowledged. ……………………………………………. Malose Daniel Ramoroka iii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my parents: My Pedile Johannes Ramoroka You were the pillar of strength And my mother Motshemane Melita Ramoroka You are the depository of all my knowledge iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my gratitude to Dr Z.J Mashiyane, who served as my supervisor for this research. You were unfailingly available for my questions and concerns and always ready with thoughtful suggestions and insights. You unwavering commitment in reading this research and making me correct errors of editorial and topographical nature is highly appreciated. Many thanks to other experts associated with the University of Zululand including Dr Twala who encouraged me to enrol with the University and Dr Shamase who read this research meticulously and made his inputs. I am also indebted to Prof Mbenga who was my Supervisor for my Master Degree at the University of Northwest and the co-supervisor professor Manson. The two academic supervisors have patiently moulded me into becoming an academic scholar. They have encouraged me to pursuit the study of ethnicity and political culture within the Barolong. Their inputs in this research are highly appreciated. To my friends within the Barolong Kgotla including chief Matlaba, chief Motshewakhumo, and the Molema’s family at Maratiwa in the Stad, I appreciate your oral tradition and primary documentation on the history of the Barolong which you provided to me. The vigour of the royalists at this Kgotla in assisting me record the reminiscences of the Barolong is pleasing. For chief Matlaba I appreciate the fact that you went an extra-mile in making available to me elders from your communities who gave an account of the past actions and activities of Barolong through oral tradition. I also wish to thank the staff at Mafikeng Museum who accommodated me almost on a dally basis and provided me with necessary information. I am also appreciative of the information that I have received from the National Archives of South Africa. The staff in this archive has supported me and I was encouraged by their commitment towards ensuring that I access valuable information regarding the Barolong National Council. I also wish to acknowledge the support of all the Barolong chiefs, head men and ordinary members of the Barolong communities who voluntarily provided valuable information for this research and this would not be been brought to fruition without your support. Lastly, I wish to thank my wife, Lizzy and my child Bontle, for your support and encouragement. I appreciate you more than words can express. v ABSTRACT This study focuses on, among other issues, the early ‘nationalist’ among the Barolong, that is, the Barolong National Council (BNC), formed by the traditional leaders and clerics in the central Transvaal and northern and central Orange Free State in the early 1900s(NASA,Vol.12,1917). Its geographic axises were centred in Kimberly, Mafikeng, Kroonstad and Johannesburg. Its role was both to combat divisive political practices among the Barolong (which alienated already established nationalist-minded leaders like Solomon Plaatje and Chief Montshiwa of the Ratshidi of Mafikeng) and to create a distinctive cultural and economic epi-centre for what they loosely defined as ‘Barolong interest’. This study unravels these neglected ethnic dimensions of early Barolong politics(NASA,Vol.12,1917). The study also seeks to explore the source and the nature of the conflict between two Barolong groups, the Ratshidi and the Rapulana. Firstly it highlights the break-up of the Barolong kingdom after the death of the Barolong king Tau in about 1670 and the polarisation of the Barolong into different sections which developed ultimately into independent chiefdoms such as the Ratlou, Ratshidi, Seleka and Rapulana (Molema,1950: 3). Their relationship during the difaqane and their encounter with the Boers and British, which marked the beginning of the conflict over the Barolong paramountcy between the Ratshidi and Ratlou, are examined. The contribution of the Boers and the British to the contestation over the land of the Barolong is outlined. The consequences of the engagement of the Rapulana and the Ratshidi in the now famous siege of Mafikeng is also explored, in the context of Rapulana-Ratshidi relations. The dynamics of the power relations in Bechuanaland, is analysed. The main focus of this research is the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries because it was a period of intensified disputes that were ultimately fought in court between the Ratshidi and Rapulana. This study also deals with the rise of missionary activities among the Barolong which led to the development of the elites who contributed to the ethnic conflict. vi TABLE OF CONTENT Chapter One 1.0 Introduction, purpose, scope, approach and Methodology…………………………….… 1 1.1 Scope of work …..…………………………………………………………………….………. 3 1.2 Approach to the study.....…………………………………………………….……………..... 5 1.3 Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………… 10 1.4 Literature Review…………………………………………………………….……………….. 14 Chapter Two 2.0 Pre-colonial and colonial period up to 1895……………………………………………….. 26 2.1 Migration, polarisation and chiefdom formation……………………………………………. 31 2.2 The causes of the Ratshidi-Rapulana conflict, 1852 – 1895……………………………... 41 2.3 What were the rationale and impact of the Boer migration into Bechuanaland…………………………………………………………………………………. 14 2.4 The Barolong War of 1881-1884…………………………………………………………….. 62 Chapter Three 3.0 Barolong and the Siege of Mafikeng, 1899 to 1900………………………………………. 72 3.1 The nature of the participation of the Barolong……………………………………………. 78 3.2 The cattle raiding expeditions……………………………………………………………….. 84 3.3 The impact of the Siege on the Barolong………………………………………………….. 88 3.4 The evacuation to Kanye…………………………………………………………………….. 95 3.5 The consequences of the Siege for the Ratshidi-Rapulana relations…………………... 97 Chapter Four 4.0 Missionary activities among the Barolong, 1822 – 1920…………………………………. 101 4.1 Missionary Progress at Thaba-Nchu, the Stad, Lotlhakane and Bodibe…………………………………………………………………………………………. 106 4.2 Capitalists and colonial agents masquerading as missionaries…………………………. 117 4.3 Ethiopian Churches among the Barolong………………………………………………….. 120 Chapter Five 5.0 The intra-Barolong conflict in Lotlhakane and its aftermath……………………………… 128 5.1 What was the nature of the renewed conflict in Lotlhakane?.................................................................................................................... 128 5.2 How did court ruling and litigation impact on the Ratshidi-Rapulana relations…………………………………….…………………………….…………………… 141 5.3 Politics of demarcation…………………..…………………………………………………… 146 5.4 Dispute and Litigation………………………………………………………………………… 148 Chapter Six 6.0 Barolong National Council, 1915 to 1950………………………………………………….. 153 6.1 What was the result of the collapse of the BNC……………….…………………………... 171 Chapter Seven 7.0 The legacy of the Barolong – an evaluation……………………………………………….. 178 7.1 The findings of this study………………………...…………….…………………………….. 190 Sources 1. Archival Sources…………………………………………………………………………...… 193 2. Newspapers, State Library, Pretoria……………………………………………………….. 194 3. Oral Informants……………………………………………………………………………….. 194 4. Diaries…………………………………………………………………………………………. 195 5. Published Secondary Sources……………………………………………………………… 196 1 CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction, Purpose, Scope and Methodology The history of Africa and South Africa in particular consists of pre-colonial and colonial history. The pre-colonial history focused on the origins of the Africans including the Barolong, their traditional governance such as the centralization of authority and traditional practices including lobola, rainmaking ceremony and initiation rites. The colonial history started with the introduction of slavery where European countries used Africa as a reservoir of slaves removed from their families and transported to Europe and America to work in agricultural production. The output of production by slaves was fundamental in establishing the ground work for imperialism, industrialization, capitalism and later globalization. Missionaries and the formal occupation of Africa by European countries followed the slavery. According to Suresh Roberts (2007) the resistance of the Africans to colonialism brought two traditions, namely the imperialist tradition and the resistant tradition within the academic discourse which are still dominant today. The imperialist tradition is a scholarly discourse which justified actions led by the British imperialists and the Afrikaner nationalists. The history of the Barolong is a case in point because they were the victims of the colonization of the conscience by missionaries. They also suffered from slavery and the formal occupation of their land by both the British and the Boers and had witnessed the disintegration