Urli c cs i'iy Urli c cs i'iy 01 ~30L3 ~1'dfld 4' I) m r " prI C [! -i (Ct" C~f .llisios WAR, FLIGHT, ASYLUM: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE OVAMBANDERU OF NGAMILAND, BOTSWANA, 1896-1961. BY KAENDEE ua KANDAPAERA SUPERVISOR: DR B.T.O. MOKOPAKGOSI A student Research Essay Submittedein partial fulfilment of the requirements of B.Ed. Deqtee in Humanities. MAY 1992 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work is dedicated to all those Africans who selflessly died in defence of Namibia from the German colonizers in the !896 and 1904/5 wars. Their sacrifice has indeed been a motivating factor during the course of my research. Secondly the work has by no means exhausted all that needs to be kno,: about the Ovambanderu and other related issues, hence I hope that this humble beginning will inspire more energetic scholars to take up the challenge. I wish to extend my sincere thanks to the History Department of the University of Botswana for the funds and materialz which helped me to prepare this essay. I also thank my H403 collegues, and all the lecturers who attended our course seminars for their valuable contributions. I am especially grateful to Dr Brian T.0 Mokopakgosi for his valuable criticism and advice on all that was required in preparation of this paper. Special thanks also go to Dr R.H. Kofi Darkwah for advice and enduring our seemingly never ending requests. My thanks also go to my parents for realizing the need for me to go to school, without their support and care i would not have reached this stage. May I also extend my thanks to the staff of both the Botswana National Archives and the Namibia National Archives for their assistance during my research. Lastly, I wish to pass my thanks to all my informants and all those who assisted me during my field CONTENTS PAGE 1. INTRODUCTION ........................... ........ 1 2. BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW ................. 3 3. THE OVAMBANDERU PEOPLE BEFORE 1896 ................. 7 4. GERMAN COLONIZATION: GERMAN-MBANDERU WAR (1896) AND FIRST MBANDERU FLIGHT TO BOTSWANA ............. 16 5. THE OVAMBANDERU IN EAST NAMIBIA 1896-1904: THE GREAT RISING AND THE SECOND MBANDERU FLIGHT TO BOTSWANA ........................................ .29 6. EARLY BATAWANA-MBANDERU POLITICS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES:916-1923 .......................... 36 7. RESISTANCE TO MAUN SETTLEMENT PLAN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES:924-1941 .......................... 45 8. ENTER THE HAWK: BATAWANA-MBANDERU POLITICS IN THE AGE OF MUNJUKU II ........................... 53 9. FOOTNOTES ....................................... 62 10. BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................... 70 11. APPENDICES ...................................... ..77 1. INTRODUCTION This paper is basically an attempt to write the history of the Ovambanderu people who live in the Ngamiland district of modern Botswana. Very little has been written on this group. This has therefore made the Ovambaderu one of the least known groups in historical scholarly circles. The Ovambanderu people have many things in common with the Ovaherero. It is held that the two groups speak the same language. But discernible differences in the version spoken by each group make one contend that the two groups speak dialects of the same language. Traditionally both practice pastoralism, Lastly, both groups have a double descent pattern of social organization based on Omaanda, matriclans or mother groups, and the Otuzo, patriclans. Many of these similarities make the Ovambanderu and the Ovaherero appear to be one and the same especially to the outsiders. Despite these similarities, however, some writers have correctly observed with regard to those in Ngamiland, that: they remain distinct sections divided by an ethnic boundary which goes back to their different areas of origin in Namibia. The number of intermarriages across the sections is negligible, so that each is endogamous. Furthermore, most if not all the social relationshipl they have are contained within their own section. The point therefore is that the two groups have existed as separate political entities. It is the objective of this paper among other things to show that while the two groups share common origins, by 1890 each was managing its own affairs. The Ovambanderu came to Botswana (then Bechuanaland Protectorate) in two waves: in 1896/7 and 1904/5 as a result of German conquest of their lands.2 They were hosted by the Batawana in Ngamiland who were themselves under the control of 3ritain. Thus in their new land they had to deal not only with the Batawana, but also with the British administration. The relations between the Ovambanderu and their hosts, the Batawana, were not always good. Thus while initially there were good relations between the two parties, after the Ovambanderu had recuperated from the effects of the wars, both in terms of political regrouping and livestock accumulation, the relations gradually became strained. The outcome of these poor relations were migrations from Ngamiland to Chobe in 1918 and to Ghanzi in 1942. There were also other problems in the 1950s and early 1960s which reflected animosity between the two groups. In between the periods of crises there were periods of peace. The period between 1941 and 1957 was relatively peaceful. It was in this period that the Ovambanderu made attempts to restore their 'chieftainship', which had been disrupted by war with the German colonizers in Namibia. A few methodological difficulties respecting this study warrant mention. The first one is that while this study focuses on the Ovambanderu, there are areas and scenarios where separating the Obambanderu from the Ovaherero is difficult. This is because in the context of the history of Ngainiland there were cases in which the forces acting on both groups were the same. Secondly, most oral data collected in Botswana for this work was collected during the christmas festive season, hence this posed a few logistical problems - time was short, the area was very wide, and transport was unreliable. Lastly, almost all records on this subject at the national Archives of Namibia are in German or Afrikaans, both of which this author cannot read. 2. BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW The Ovambanderu of Ngamiland are part of the Herero-speaking people who fled to Botswana following German conquest of Central, Eastern and Southern Namibia (the area comprising Hereroland and Namaland) in the period between 1894 and 1904. The Herero-speaking groups who fled to Bechuanaland comprised the Ovambanderu and the Ovaherero. The Ngamiland Ovambanderu were not the only Mbanderu group that escaped the German wars by crossing into Botswana. Other Mbanderu groups fled into other districts of Botswana: Ghanzi, Kgalagadi and Kweneng. In addition some Ovambanderu escaped into the Cape colony3 The Ngamiland group was the largest, and it had among it the legitimate heirs to the Mbanderu throne. Possibly due to these factors and others, this group, unlike the others, succeeded in holding on to its identity. Loss of the Mbanderu- Herero language, loss of Omaanda and Otuzo and other 4banderu ways of living are some manifestations of loss of indentity among the other groups. The Ngamiland group's internal dynamics geared towards political re-organization caused misunderstandings with the Batawana. The Ovambanderu of Ngamiland today constitute a significant percentage of the district's population. In 1978 Uri Almagor estimated that there were approximately 5000 Ovambanderu at Lake Ngami.4 Irrespective of whether this figure is correct or not, it seems safe to say that the present figure, though officially not known, is probably well over 5000. The Ovambanderu are found in and around the following places in Ngamiland: Sehitwa, Maun, Kareng, Tsau, Bothatogo, Bodibeng, Toteng, Nokaneng, Habu and Xaxa. Many historians have written on the Herero-speaking people. These historians mostly concentrate on the period following German declaration of a protectorate over Namibia in 1884. A good number of these authors however, adopt the view that the Herero-speaking people, excluding the Ovahimba and Ovatjimba of Kaokoveld, constitute a single group. Whether by design or error many historians have not clearly distinguished the Ovambanderu and Ovaherero groups from one ancther. The result is that the history' the aharsr- under Maharero (son of Tjamuaha) and later under his son, Samuel, became the main current in the history of the Herero-speaking people of Central-Eastern Namibia. Authors, therefore, who have written on the flight of the Herero- speaking people into Botswana during and after the 1896 and 1904 wars have referred to the Herero-speakers who came to Botswana as 'Herero' or even worse, 'Damara .5 h;s approach has resulted in confusion and has therefore left many events untold. Thus the main thrust of this study is to place the Ovambanderu in history with particular focus cn their flight and settlement in the Ngamiland district of Botswana. Some authors, for example 0. Levinson, citing H. Vedder, do, however, acknowledge the existence of two 'Herero' groups in early Namibia: the Ovaherero and Ovambanderu.6 Some also do mention the role of the Ovambanderu in the 1896 Boundary War with the Germans. But apart from such sprinklings the Ovambanderu hardly play a significant role in the events which were later to force many of their Kinsmen to flee to various parts of Botswana and South Africa. In his book, A History of Ngamiland -1750 to 1906, T. Tlou traces the origins of the Herero-Batawana contact. However, he does not take into account that these 'Herero' comprised Ovaherero and Ovambanderu.7 Two other works by T. Tlou are 6 important to the history of the Ovambanderu of Ngamiland. The first one HISTORY OF BOTSWANA by T.Tlou and A. Campbell, discusses the origins of the Ovambanderu, and their early 19th Century migrations in the country of eastern Namibia and parts of modern Ghanzi district.8 These accounts provide useful information on the Ovambanderu in that period. But the book does not go further than that.