82-624: The Oorlam or Orlam people (also known as Orlaam, Oorlammers, Oerlams, or Orlamse Hottentots) are a subtribe of the Nama people , largely assimilated after their migration from the Cape Colony (today, part of South Africa) to Namaqualand and Damaraland (now in Namibia). Oorlam clans were originally formed from mixed-race descendants of indigenous Khoikhoi , Europeans and slaves from Mozambique, Madagascar, India and Indonesia. Similar to
164-722: A Moravian Brother from Herrnhut , Saxony, now Germany, founded Genadendal in 1738, which was the first mission station in southern Africa, among the Khoe-speaking peoples in Baviaanskloof in the Riviersonderend Mountains . The colonial designation of "Baasters" came to refer to any clans that had European ancestry in some part and adopted certain Western cultural traits. Though these were later known as Griqua (Xirikua or Griekwa) they were known at
246-405: A beehive shape. It is a dwelling house for all seasons– it is cool and well ventilated in summer, it is naturally insulated by reed carpets in winter, and protected from the rain by the porous stems which swell with water. All materials are organic and not over-harvested; this is a home that truly respects the environment. Women and men take part in the making of it, in the collection of materials, in
328-438: A church and mission station, and also helped found an RMG school in the settlement. In June 1884 Hendrik Witbooi had taken over leadership from his father, and in that year he began the first of his several treks with his people north into central Damaraland in search of new settlement. He had just resigned from his position in church as an elder a year before (1883), he styled himself as a biblical prophet and gained support of
410-514: A communialist society centered on cattle, trade and Christianity. After his death in 1875 Moses Witbooi (Hendrik Witbooi's father) assumed chieftaincy and remained in that position until 1883. Like his father Moses followed Christian practices and worked closely with Johannes Olpp, a Protestant missionary affiliated with Rheinische Missionsgesellschaft ( Rhenish Mission Society , RMG) who arrived in Gibeon in 1868. Moses supported Olpp's efforts to build
492-526: A decade later to the British. They are related to the same kinds of clan formations as Rehoboth Basters , who could also be considered a "Khoekhoe" people. The broad ethnic designation of "Khoekhoen", meaning the peoples originally part of a pastoral culture and language group to be found across Southern Africa, is thought to refer to a population originating in the northern area of modern Botswana . This culture steadily spread southward, eventually reaching
574-532: A deputy officer to Göering wrote to Witbooi inviting him to participate in a conciliatory meeting between the various warring communities in Walvis Bay. With this meeting German authorities had hoped to facilitate a peace treaty, however the Namaqua chief did not comply with the request but instead he wrote a letter in response telling Nels that he will not listen to him. He made it known to Nels that he (Witbooi)
656-617: A large and successful region of the Cape that subsisted more or less autonomously. The people were predominantly Afrikaans-speaking !Gonakua, but the settlement also began to attract other diverse groups. Khoekua were known at the time for being very good marksmen, and were often invaluable allies of the Cape Colony in its frontier wars with the neighbouring Xhosa politics. In the Seventh Frontier War (1846–1847) against
738-546: A mere "tribesman" whom he could defeat easily. He had a notion that his predecessors acted weakly in dealing with the Nama chief and they made too many concessions. François strongly believed that nothing but relentless severity would end Witbooi's resistance decisively. Initially the German official tried to entice with an annual payment of five thousand marks if he would submit, however the Nama chief maintained his stand. François
820-439: A region previously occupied by the subsistence foragers . Ntu-speaking agriculturalist culture is thought to have entered the region in the 3rd century AD, pushing pastoralists into the Western areas. The example of the close relation between the ǃUriǁ'aes (High clan), a cattle-keeping population, and the !Uriǁ'aeǀ'ona (High clan children), a more-or-less sedentary forager population (also known as "Strandlopers"), both occupying
902-483: A trans-frontier park from the west coast of southern Africa to the desert interior, absorbing the Richtersveld National Park. Today, the Richtersveld National Park is one of the few places where the original Nama traditions survive. There, the Nama move with the seasons and speak their language. The traditional Nama dwelling – the |haru oms, or portable rush-mat covered domed hut – protects against
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#1732786918207984-668: Is a chief of his tribe who is free and an autonomous man who answers only to God. The German officials did not respond to Witbooi's diplomatic reproach. With the limits of German on full display, imperial officials were at a loss about how to end the violence in GSWA. In June 1888, Göring wrote Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck and described the overall situation as "not very encouraging". April 1889 Göring went so far as to threaten open war against Witbooi and his tribe if he did not halt his attacks against groups allied with Germany. Witbooi's resistance prompted policy makers to seek immediate solutions to
1066-459: Is also believed to be the creator and the guardian of health, while ǁGaunab is primarily an evil being, who causes sickness or death. Many Khoe-speakers have converted to Christianity and Nama Muslims make up a large percentage of Namibia's Muslims. UNESCO has recognised Khoe-speaking culture through its inscription of the Richtersveld as a World Heritage Site . This important area is
1148-400: Is also celebrated in reverse at the man's family home. White flags are mounted on both families' houses which may not be taken off but wither or are blown off by the wind one day. The wedding preparations can take up to a year. The family of the groom makes a gift to the bride's mother, traditionally a cow and a calf, for she has raised the bride at her breast. A bargaining process accompanies
1230-571: The Bantu-speaking Hereros for a period. Emerging from populations of Khoikhoi servants raised on Boer farms, many of them having been orphaned and captured in Dutch commando raids, Oorlams primarily spoke a version of Dutch or proto- Afrikaans and were much influenced by Cape Dutch colonial ways of life, including adoption of horses and guns, European clothing, and Christianity. However, after two centuries of assimilation into
1312-686: The Griqua , Gona, Nama , Khoemana and Damara nations. The Khoekhoe were once known as Hottentots , a term now considered offensive. While the presence of Khoekhoe in Southern Africa predates the Bantu expansion , according to a scientific theory based mainly on linguistic evidence, it is not clear when, possibly in the Late Stone Age , the Khoekhoe began inhabiting the areas where
1394-621: The Khoisan peoples of South Africa and southern Namibia maintained a nomadic life, the Khoikhoi as pastoralists and the San people as hunter-gatherers. The Nama are a Khoikhoi group. The Nama originally lived around the Orange River in southern Namibia and northern South Africa. The early colonialists referred to them as Hottentots . Their alternative historical name, "Namaqua", stems from
1476-560: The Nama or Namaqua and they have among them 11 formal clans: Among the Namaqua are also the Oorlams who are a southern Khoekhoe people of mixed-race ancestry that trekked northwards over the Orange River and where absorbed into the greater Nama identity. The Oorlams themselves are made up of five smaller clans: These Namaqua inhabit the Great Namaqualand region of Namibia . There are also minor Namaqua clans that inhabit
1558-726: The Nama language of the Khoe-Kwadi language family, although many Nama also speak Afrikaans . The Nama People (or Nama-Khoe people) are the largest group of the Khoikhoi people, most of whom have disappeared as a group, except for the Namas. Many of the Nama clans live in Central Namibia and the other smaller groups live in Namaqualand , which today straddles the Namibian border with South Africa. For thousands of years,
1640-939: The Nama people of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa (with numerous clans), the Damara of Namibia, the Orana clans of South Africa (such as Nama or Ngqosini), the Khoemana or Griqua nation of South Africa, and the Gqunukhwebe or Gona clans which fall under the Xhosa-speaking polities. The Xirikua clans (Griqua) developed their own ethnic identity in the 19th century and settled in Griqualand West. Later, they formed another independent state in Kwazulu Natal named Griqualand East , losing their independence barely
1722-520: The Transgariep ) retained links to Oorlam communities in or close to the borders of the Cape Colony. In the face of gradual Boer expansion and then large-scale Boer migrations, such as the Dorsland Trek , away from British rule in the Cape, Jonker Afrikaner brought his people into Namaqualand by the mid-19th century, becoming a formidable force for Oorlam domination over the Nama and against
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#17327869182071804-406: The 1800s, and this traditional clothing is today an integral part of the Nama nation's culture. The Nama people's hut, also called matjieshuis, is a round hut traditionally made of beautifully designed reed mats on a skeleton of sticks. It corresponds to their nomadic life of the past; matjieshuis is still part of the life of the inhabitants of Richtersveld– a region made up of mountainous deserts in
1886-520: The 18th and 19th centuries, as conflicts intensified and Dutch settlement was expanding and taking up much space in the colony, the expansion of the colony frontier pushed the Khoikhoi Eastwards into the easternmost Cape & the eventual "closed frontier" native reserves (Transkei &Ciskei) and Northwards across the so-called "open frontier" (Northern Cape & South West Africa/Namibia). Some descendants of Khoikhoi communities, including
1968-560: The Cape approximately 2,000 years ago. "Khoekhoe" groups include ǀAwakhoen to the west, and ǀKx'abakhoena of South and mid-South Africa, and the Eastern Cape. Both of these terms mean "Red People", and are equivalent to the IsiXhosa term "amaqaba". Husbandry of sheep, goats and cattle grazing in fertile valleys across the region provided a stable, balanced diet, and allowed these lifestyles to spread, with larger groups forming in
2050-555: The Dutch made a stop at the Cape on the way to the Indonesian archipelago, they were concerned with getting fresh produce and water for their people. Indonesia was rich in crops and spices which could not be produced in Europe, which is why the Dutch had major interest there. The Dutch had enslaved a large number of Indonesians to work on their plantations. In the Cape, Van Riebeek initially attempted to get cattle, land, and labour from
2132-530: The Gcaleka, the Khoekua gunmen from Kat River distinguished themselves under their leader Andries Botha in the assault on the " Amatola fastnesses". (The young John Molteno , later Prime Minister, led a mixed commando in the assault, and later praised the Khoekua as having more bravery and initiative than most of his white soldiers.) However, harsh laws were still implemented in the Eastern Cape, to encourage
2214-482: The German protection. These rivalries between the Nama people and other tribes posed a significant problem for the imperial government because the Germans' mandate for the colony was gradually being weakened. German leaders therefore sought to bring immediate end to the conflicts between Herero people and Witbooi Namaqua. In June 1886, Reichskomissar Göring wrote Witbooi, encouraging him to end his hostile actions in
2296-540: The Khoekhoe form of government. Goringhaiqua: The Goringhaiqua are a single tribal authority made from the two houses of the Goringhaikona and Gorachouqua. A commissioned Grammar and Dictionary of the Zulu Language , published in 1859, put forward the idea of an origin from Egypt that appears to have been popular at the time. The reasoning for this included the (supposed) distinctive Caucasian elements of
2378-585: The Khoena political rights to avert future racial discontent. Attorney General William Porter was famously quoted as saying that he "would rather meet the Hottentot at the hustings, voting for his representative, than meet him in the wilds with his gun upon his shoulder". Thus, the government enacted the Cape franchise in 1853, which decreed that all male citizens meeting a low property test, regardless of colour, had
2460-636: The Khoena to leave their lands in the Kat River region and to work as labourers on white farms. The growing resentment exploded in 1850. When the Xhosa rose against the Cape Government , large numbers Khoeǀ'ona joined the Xhosa rebels for the first time. After the defeat of the rebellion and the granting of representative government to the Cape Colony in 1853, the new Cape Government endeavoured to grant
2542-531: The Khoikhoi people through negotiation, but when these negotiations failed, conflicts began to occur. The Dutch settlers waged wars against the Khoikoi, and seized their lands to construct farms for wheat and other produce, and forced many Khoikoi people to work as labourers. Their livestock was also taken and they were denied access to grazing and water resources unless they worked for the Dutch settlers. During
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2624-513: The Khoikhoi there, who had settled in the Cape region at least a thousand years before the Dutch arrived. The Khoikhoi at the Cape practiced pastoral farming; they were the first pastoralists in Southern Africa. They lived beside the San people , who were hunter-gathers. The Khoikhoi had a lot of Nguni cattle and small livestock which they grazed around the Cape. The region was well suited to their lives as pastoralists because it provided enough water for them and their livestock. Initially, when
2706-750: The Little Namaqualand regions south of the Orange River in north western South Africa . The southern Khoekhoe peoples (Sometimes incorrectly called the Cape Khoe due to the importance of the Cape of Good Hope) inhabit the Western Cape and Eastern Cape Provinces in the south western coastal regions of South Africa . They are divided into four subgroups: Eastern Cape Khoe , Central Cape Khoe , Western Cape Khoe and Peninsular Cape Khoe . Each of these subgroups are further divided into nations and subtribes who constitute an integral part of
2788-459: The Nama and the Herero (a group of Bantu pastoralists), leading to the Herero and Namaqua genocide and a large loss of life for both the Nama and Herero populations. This was motivated by the German desire to establish a prosperous colony which required displacing the indigenous people from their agricultural land. Large herds of cattle were confiscated and Nama and Herero people were driven into
2870-411: The Nama culture, many Oorlams today regard Khoekhoe (Damara/Nama) as their mother tongue. The distinction between Namas and Oorlams has gradually disappeared, such that they are regarded as a single ethnic group, despite their differing origins. The Orlam people comprise various subtribes, clans and families. In South Africa, the Griqua are an influential Oorlam group. The clans that migrated across
2952-499: The Nama culture, many Oorlams today regard Khoikhoigowab (Damara/Nama) as their mother tongue, though others speak Afrikaans . The distinction between Namas and Oorlams has gradually disappeared over time to an extent where they are today regarded as one ethnic group, despite their different ancestries. In general, the Nama practice a policy of communal land ownership. Music, poetry and story telling are very important in Nama culture and many stories have been passed down orally through
3034-494: The Nama people from summer rain. These Huts are very mobile, but also stable, being able to break them down in less than an hour. The huts are also reusable. They have largely abandoned their traditional religion through the sustained efforts of Christian (and now Muslim) missionaries. The majority of the Nama people in Namibia today are therefore Christian while Nama Muslims make up a large percentage of Namibia's Muslims. In
3116-477: The Nama people in South Namibia have lost their lands during German colonialism. New Namibian minister of land reform, Uutoni Nujoma has been accused of preferring other Namibians from other regions over native Namas. The traditional dress of Nama women consists of long, formal dresses that resemble Victorian traditional fashion. The long, flowing dresses were developed from the style of the missionaries in
3198-513: The Nama, fled north of the colony and crossed the Orange River into German South West Africa (present day Namibia ). In 1991, a part of Namaqualand (home of the Nama and one of the last true wilderness areas of South Africa) was named the Richtersveld National Park . In December 2002, ancestral lands, including the park, were returned to community ownership and the governments of South Africa and Namibia began creating
3280-567: The Oranje into South West Africa are, in order of their time of arrival: of the faction supporting SWAPO ; of the faction supporting DTA ; leader of the reunified group ; of the faction supporting the German Empire ; of the faction opposing German Empire; ; acting Nama people Nama (in older sources also called Namaqua ) are an African ethnic group of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana . They traditionally speak
3362-436: The actual burial. During the first two nights of the mourning, there is singing of hymns, preaching, and praying. On the last day of the mourning and the day of the burial, there are speeches presented and messages of condolences. The grave site itself is lined with brick, and once the body is inside, a wooden board is laid upon the top before it is covered with dirt. This style of the burial site makes it easy for preservation of
Oorlam people - Misplaced Pages Continue
3444-547: The addition of the Khoekhoe language suffix "-qua/kwa" , meaning "place of" (found in the names of other Southern African nations like the Griqua ), to the language name. In April 1652, Jan van Riebeeck , an official of the Dutch East India Company , arrived at the Cape of Good Hope with 90 people to start initial Dutch settlement at the request of the company. They found the indigenous settlers called
3526-597: The ancestors of the !Ora nation of today. In the late 16th century, Portuguese, French, Danish, Dutch and English but mainly Portuguese ships regularly continued to stop over in Table Bay en route to the Indies. They traded tobacco, copper and iron with the Khoekhoe -speaking clans of the region, in exchange for fresh meat. Local population dropped after smallpox contagion was spread through European activity. The Khoe-speaking clans suffered high mortality as immunity to
3608-510: The appropriation of traditional lands that had begun early in the colonial period. Under apartheid , remaining pastoralists were encouraged to abandon their traditional lifestyle in favour of village life. At the dawn of the 19th century, Oorlam people encroached into Namaqualand and Damaraland . They likewise descended from indigenous Khoikhoi but were a group with mixed ancestry including Europeans and slaves from Madagascar , India, and Indonesia . After two centuries of assimilation into
3690-490: The area of ǁHuiǃgaeb , shows that the strict distinction between these two lifestyles is unwarranted, as well as the ethnic categories that are derived. Foraging peoples who ideologically value non-accumulation as a social value system would be distinct, however, but the distinctions among "Khoekhoe pastoralists", "San hunter-gatherers" and "Bantu agriculturalists" do not hold up to scrutiny, and appear to be historical reductionism . Portuguese explorers and merchants are
3772-412: The blanket designation of "coloured" (ignoring any nuances of the Khoekhoe peoples' specific cultures or subgroups) contributed to an erasure of Khoekhoe identity and culture, one which modern Khoekhoe people are still working to undo. Apartheid ended in 1994 and so too did the "Coloured" designation. After apartheid, Khoekhoe activists have worked to restore their lost culture, and affirm their ties to
3854-524: The blistering sun, and is easy to move when grazing becomes scarce. Some Khoikhoi groups including the Nama under the leadership of David Witbooi ( Hendrik Witbooi 's grandfather) had crossed the Orange River into South West Africa. David Witbooi was the first Khoikhoi leader to establish a permanent Namaqua settlement north Orange River beginning in the mid-1840s. In 1863, he eventually led his people to Gibeon (south-central Namibia) where he developed
3936-460: The body. Namas have a complicated wedding ritual. First, the man has to discuss his intentions with his family. If they agree they will advise him of the customs to ask the bride's family and then accompany him to the place she lives. The yard at the bride's living place is prepared prior to the future husband's family's arrival; animal hides are laid out in the corners for the different groups to sit down and discuss. The groom's family will ask for
4018-513: The borders of the Cape Colony. In the face of gradual Boer expansion and then large-scale Boer migrations away from British rule at the Cape, Jonker Afrikaner brought his people into Namaqualand by the mid-19th century, becoming a formidable force for Oorlam domination over the Nama and against the Bantu-speaking Hereros for a period. By the early 1800s, the remaining Khoe-speakers of the Cape Colony suffered from restricted civil rights and discriminatory laws on land ownership. With this pretext,
4100-555: The colony. He pleaded with the Nama Chief to return home to Gibeon to be with his father and tribe and live in peace there; he warned that the German government could not allow chieftains who have placed themselves under German protection to support his ambition of driving a protected chiefdom into war. Witbooi and his people ignored this warning and continued his campaign for dominance against the Herero. Later that same year Louis Nels,
4182-412: The conflict began, Maharero had finalized a protection agreement with officials from the newly arrived German colonial administration. Although he knew about Maharero's treaty with Germany, Witbooi never waivered in his decision to confront the Herero people. Witbooi was campaigning for his tribe's supremacy in the colony and he continued to clash with other tribal communities that were under the auspices of
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#17327869182074264-426: The desert and in some cases interned in concentration camps on the coast, for example at Shark Island . Additionally, the Nama and Herero were forced into slave labor to build railways and to dig for diamonds during the diamond rush . In the 1920s diamonds were discovered at the mouth of the Orange River , and prospectors began moving there, establishing towns at Alexander Bay and Port Nolloth . This accelerated
4346-600: The disease was rare. This increased, as military conflict with the intensification of the colonial expansion of the United East India Company that began to enclose traditional grazing land for farms. Over the following century, the Khoe-speaking peoples were steadily driven off their land, resulting in numerous northwards migrations, and the reformulation of many nations and clans, as well as the dissolution of many traditional structures. According to professors Robert K. Hitchcock and Wayne A. Babchuk, "During
4428-479: The early phases of European colonization, tens of thousands of Khoekhoe and San peoples lost their lives as a result of genocide, murder, physical mistreatment, and disease." During an investigation into "bushman hunting" parties and genocidal raids on the San, Louis Anthing commented: "I find now that the transactions are more extensive than did at first appear. I think it not unlikely that we shall find that almost all
4510-414: The far right, while younger brothers and their families on the left. There are no enclosures for adult livestock. They are expected to sleep in front of their owners huts. Calves and lambs are placed in an enclosed area in the middle of camp. The huts were lined with reed mats made by women, and the mats are placed on wooden frames. The reeds are able to soak and absorb water well, thus being able to protect
4592-510: The farmers living near this border are implicated in similar acts ... At present I have only heard of coloured farmers (known as Bastards) as being mixed up with these matters." "Khoekhoe" social organisation was thus profoundly damaged by the colonial expansion and land seizure from the late 17th century onwards. As social structures broke down, many Khoekhoen settled on farms and became bondsmen (bondservants, serfs) or farm workers; others were incorporated into clans that persisted. Georg Schmidt,
4674-595: The first contact with Europeans occurred. At that time, in the 17th century, the Khoekhoe maintained large herds of Nguni cattle in the Cape region . They mostly gave up nomadic pastoralism in the 19th to 20th century. Their Khoekhoe language is related to certain dialects spoken by foraging San peoples of the Kalahari , such as the Khwe and Tshwa , forming the Khoe language family. Khoekhoe subdivisions today are
4756-523: The first to record their contacts, in the 15th and 16th centuries A.D. The ongoing encounters were often violent. In 1510, at the Battle of Salt River , Francisco de Almeida and fifty of his men were killed and his party was defeated by ox-mounted !Uriǁ'aekua ("Goringhaiqua" in Dutch approximate spelling), which was one of the so-called Khoekhoe clans of the area that also included the !Uriǁ'aeǀ'ona ("Goringhaicona", also known as "Strandlopers"), said to be
4838-435: The gate to be opened. If this is granted, the groom is interrogated about details of the bride, including the circumstances of their first meeting and how to identify her body marks to make sure both know each other well. If the bride is pregnant or already has children from her future husband or someone else, the bride is subjected to the "door cleansing" ceremony (slaughtering and consuming a snow-white goat). After several days
4920-441: The generations. The Nama have a culture that is rich in the musical and literary abilities of its people. Traditional music, folk tales, proverbs, and praise poetry have been handed down for generations and form the base for much of their culture. They are known for crafts which include leatherwork, skin karosses and mats, musical instruments (such as reed flutes), jewellery, clay pots, and tortoiseshell powder containers. Many of
5002-443: The gift that can take weeks in itself. On wedding day, both families provide animals and other food and bring it to the bride's home. The wedding itself takes place in a church. Festivities afterward go on for several days. The first night after the wedding the couple spends separately. On the next morning, they set off for their own home. Khoikhoi Khoekhoe ( /ˈkɔɪkɔɪ/ KOY-koy ) (or Khoikhoi in former orthography) are
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#17327869182075084-418: The instability in GSWA. The Namaqua resistance provoked the German authorities to act decisively, after 1889 Germany's military presence in the colony began to grow exponentially. In March 1893 Chancellor Von Caprivi proclaimed GSWA a German settlement colony. November same year Kaiser Wilhelm II appointed Curt von François as Landeshauptmann . A fanatic, François looked at Witbooi with disdain and called him
5166-562: The land. Khoekhoe and Khoisan groups have brought cases to court demanding restitution for 'cultural genocide and discrimination against the Khoisan nation’, as well as land rights and the return of Khoesan corpses from European museums. The religious mythology of the Khoe-speaking cultures gives special significance to the Moon , which may have been viewed as the physical manifestation of a supreme being associated with heaven. Thiǁoab (Tsui'goab)
5248-460: The late 18th century, Oorlam communities migrated from the Cape Colony north to Namaqualand . They settled places earlier occupied by the Nama. They came partly to escape Dutch colonial conscription, partly to raid and trade, and partly to obtain herding lands. Some of these emigrant Oorlams (including the band led by the outlaw Jager Afrikaner and his son Jonker Afrikaner in the Transgariep ) retained links to Oorlam communities in or close to
5330-412: The late 18th century, Oorlam communities migrated from the Cape Colony north to Namaqualand . They settled places earlier occupied by the Nama. They came partly to escape the colonial Dutch East India Company conscription, partly to raid and trade, and partly to obtain herding lands. Some of these emigrant Oorlams (including the band led by the outlaw Jager Afrikaner and his son Jonker Afrikaner in
5412-474: The most prominent families in Gibeon. Witbooi established a settlement in Hoornkrans the very same year he moved from Gibeon. Hoornkrans was an important stronghold territory controlled by the Herero, powerful Bantu pastoralists community led by Chief Maharero . Witbooi's decision to expand his influence into Hoornkrans sparked a protracted military conflict between the two tribes. However, a few months before
5494-527: The nation address. Khoekhoe were classified as "Coloured" under Apartheid. While this meant that they were offered a few privileges not given to the population deemed "black" (such as not having to carry a passbook), they were still subject to discrimination, segregation, and other forms of oppression. This included the forced relocation caused by the Group Areas Act , which broke up families and communities. The destruction of historical communities and
5576-460: The northwest of South Africa. In fact, this is the last place where we can still find them in significant numbers. In the villages currently in the Richtersveld, the matjieshuis are used as a depot to store, as a kitchen, as an additional place to sleep, or even to provide to tourists, like accommodation. These huts, called haru oms in the Nama language, are made of reed mats woven neatly into
5658-482: The only place where transhumance practices associated with the culture continue to any great extent. The International Astronomical Union named the primary component of the binary star Mu¹ Scorpii after the traditional Khoekhoe language name Xami di mûra ('eyes of the lion'). The classification of Khoekhoe peoples can be broken down roughly into two groupings: Northern Khoekhoe & Southern Khoekhoe ( Cape Khoe ) . The Northern Khoekhoe are referred to as
5740-591: The other Afrikaans -speaking group at the time, the Trekboers , Oorlam originally populated the frontiers of the infant Cape Colony, later living as semi-nomadic commandos of mounted gunmen. Also, like the Boers , they migrated inland from the Cape, and established several states in what are now South Africa and Namibia. The Oorlam migration in South Africa also produced the related Griqua people . Beginning in
5822-472: The past funerals were not a big social gathering. The Nama people simply buried the body and never spoke about the person again due to fear of spirits. Today funerals are social solidarity. The position of the person in the community being buried matters– that determines the burial site. Members of close relatives of the deceased person spend a week preparing the grave site, digging, and using flattened oil drums as sheets. The mourning takes place three days before
5904-519: The powerful Commissioner General of the Eastern Districts, Andries Stockenstrom , facilitated the creation of the "Kat River" Khoe settlement near the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony. The more cynical motive was probably to create a buffer-zone on the Cape's frontier, but the extensive fertile land in the region allowed people to own their land and build communities in peace. The settlements thrived and expanded, and Kat River quickly became
5986-421: The preparation of the rugs, and in the assembly of the hut, in a very meticulous process which has remained a true Nama art. Traditionally, Nama camps had 5-30 huts. These huts were circular domes and their doors faced the center of camp. They were also arranged hierarchically; the chief's was placed west and faced east. Other families were placed based on their seniority. Elder brothers and their families were on
6068-466: The raid believing François was still committed to neutrality. Previously Hendrik had scrupulously avoided harming Germans, but now was compelled to join the colonizers in war. In a series of running skirmishes that lasted for more than a year the Namaqua had great success, stealing horses and livestock from the German headquarters in Windhoek. At the end of 1893 Theodor Leutwein replaced Von François, he
6150-533: The right to vote and to seek election in Parliament. However, this non-racial principle was eroded in the late 1880s by a literacy test, and later abolished by the Apartheid Government. From 1904 to 1907, the Germans took up arms against the Khoekhoe group living in what was then German South-West Africa , along with the Herero . Over 10,000 Nama, more than half of the total Nama population at
6232-647: The time as " Basters " and in some instances are still so called, e. g., the Bosluis Basters of the Richtersveld and the Baster community of Rehoboth, Namibia , mentioned above. Arguably responding to the influence of missionaries, the states of Griqualand West and Griqualand East were established by the Kok dynasty; these were later absorbed into the Cape Colony of the British Empire . Beginning in
6314-508: The time, may have died in the conflict. This was the single greatest massacre ever witnessed by the Khoekhoe people. As native African people, Khoekhoe and other dark-skinned, indigenous groups were oppressed and subjugated under the white-supremacist Apartheid regime. In particular, some consider Khoekhoe and related ethnic groups to have been some of the most heavily marginalized groups during Apartheid's reign, as referenced by previous South African president Jacob Zuma in his 2012 state of
6396-405: The traditionally nomadic pastoralist indigenous population of South Africa. They are often grouped with the hunter-gatherer San (literally "Foragers") peoples. The designation "Khoekhoe" is actually a kare or praise address, not an ethnic endonym, but it has been used in the literature as an ethnic term for Khoe -speaking peoples of Southern Africa, particularly pastoralist groups, such as
6478-407: The wars in the colony. He employed a policy of extermination of the whole African tribes in the colony. The Nama people were fighters in pre-colonial times, the Namas and the Herero people fought for control of pastures in central Namibia. The battle continued for a long part of the 19th century. From 1904 to 1908, the German Empire , which had colonized present-day Namibia , waged a war against
6560-513: The wedding ritual continues in reverse; the bride's family visits the clan of the groom. If all is to the satisfaction of the two clans, an engagement day is announced. At the engagement, the groom's family brings live animals to the woman's family home. The animals are slaughtered, hung on three sticks, and each part is offered to the bride's family. Other items like bags of sugar or flour are only offered in quantities of two or four to indicate that there will always be abundance of food. This process
6642-642: Was appointed to the colony to investigate the reasons for continuing failure to subdue the Nama people. In July 1894 Leutwein asked for 250 troops, with the enlarged army he was able to defeat the Nama people who at the time had run out of ammunition; the English at the Cape and Walvis Bay had refused them assistance. Leiutwein successfully subdued the Nama and forced Hendrik to sign a protection treaty. June 1904 Kaiser Wilhelm replaced Leutwein with Lieutenant General Lothar von Trotha ; like his predecessor, von Trotha believed that violence would ultimately put an end to
6724-580: Was pressured by the Colonial Society to take action against Witbooi, subsequently on April 12, 1893, he launched a surprise attack on Witbooi and his tribe at Hoornkrans. 214 soldiers had been sent with an ultimate objective to "destroy the Witbooi Nama tribe". Though Witbooi and majority of his male soldiers escaped the encirclement, German troops killed nearly one hundred Namaqua women and children in their sleep. The Namaqua were unprepared for
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