Rise and Fall of the Herero. From Kaokoveld to Waterberg

Textbook , 2023 , 201 Pages

History - Africa

This book is an attempt to outline the customs and traditions as well as the history of the Herero since their emigration from Kaokoveld and to estimate the development and the size of their population based on natural conditions and historical events. The book focuses especially on the disastrous years of 1896-1900 and their consequences for the Herero, which seem to have been insufficiently investigated by historians so far.

By the middle of the 18th century courageous groups of the Herero began to leave their homeland Kaokoveld and started to enter the middle part of Namibia. Until 1830 they colonized the area up to the Swakop Rivier. During their acquisition of the land they displaced, killed or enslaved the indigenous ethnic groups, the San and Damara, who had already settled there for many thousands of years. Finally, they came into contact with the Nama people who had left the Cape region under the pressure of the white men. On their way to the North, they also had displaced or killed the native population.

For decades both peoples fought each other. In the eighteen-eighties the country got gradually under the control of German colonists. During a series of disastrous years (1896-1900) considerable parts of the herds of the Herero were diminished above all by cattle plague. A great famine was the first result. Subsequently many thousand Herero died of diseases. Drought, locusts and beasts of prey aggravated the situation even more.

After the loss of their cattle the Herero were impoverished and in a desperate situation. Hard and partly unfair treatment by arrogant white settlers and impertinent traders increased the bitterness and the hatred against the intruders. All this finally led to a general uprising in 1904. Finally, the decisive battle of Waterberg was fought. The Herero were forced to give up and withdraw. Many of them tried to escape to British-Bechuanaland. But crossing the arid area of the Omaheke thousands died of thirst and starvation. In 1912 only about 20,000 Herero still existed in GSWA. A few thousand lived as refugees in Bechuanaland, the Kaokoveld, in Ovamboland and in other places. The nation was shattered.

Contents

1. Foreword

Acknowledgements

2. Namibia
2.1. Location
2.2. Climate
2.3. The indigenous population of the country

3. The Herero people
3.1. Manners and customs
3.2. Diet and clothing
3.3. Religion.
3.4. Classification and organisation of the people
3.5. Relationships, course of life.

4. Early history
4.1. Origin of the Herero
4.2. Reasons for emigration
4.3. Size of the population when abandoning Kaokoveld around 1750

5. Struggle for the land
5.1. Taking possession of the land
5.2. Struggle against Nama and Afrikaner in the time of about 1830 – 1840
5.3. Two decades of supremacy of Jonker Afrikaner, impoverishment of the Herero and decline
5.4. Peace attempts

6. The Herero’s liberation war 1862 –
6.1. Maharero leaves Okahandja
6.2. Military conflicts in 1863
6.3. Encounters 1864
6.4. Raids and battles in 1865
6.5. The year 1867
6.6. Last actions
6.7. The peace of Okahandja

7. Reconstruction of the country and the herds 1870 – 1880

8. Ten year’s war, 1880 –
8.1. Controversial subjects
8.2. The casus belli – the Gurumanas incident
8.3. Maharero’s revenge – the massacre of Okahandja and the destruction of Windhoek
8.4. Counter-attacks of the Nama
8.5. Maharero draws the border of the Herero’s territory
8.6. The new opponent - Hendrik Witbooi
8.6.1. The day of Onguheva
8.6.2. The trap of Osona
8.6.3. Raid on Okahandja and predatory war against the Herero
8.6.4. Hendrik’s rivalry in his own tribe
8.7. The end of the old South-West-Africa

9. The last years of the 19th century

9.1. The question of succession

9.2. Struggle with Hendrik Witbooi and peace

9.3. Divide et impera or Leutwein’s way

9.4. Consolidation of Samuel’s authority

9.5. The border questions

9.6. Turmoil in November 1895

9.7. The rebellion of 1896

10. Rinderpest – Cattle Plague
10.1. About the disease
10.2. Affected species
10.3. History and origin of cattle plague
10.4. The Great African Rinderpest Panzootic
10.4.1. Effects in Ethiopia, Somalia and in Sudan
10.4.2. Cattle plague to the South of the Equator
10.4.2.1. Effects on the Maasai
10.4.2.2. Cattle plague reaches South Africa
10.4.2.3. Social effects
10.4.2.4. Effects on transportation
10.4.2.5. Mistrust and uprisings
10.4.2.6. The Second Matabele War
10.4.2.7. The Langeberg Rebellion
10.4.2.8. The reactions of the whites
10.5. Search for a cure
10.6. Vaccination

11. Cattle plague in GSWA/Namibia
11.1. The advance of the rinderpest
11.2. The struggle against the disease
11.3. The extent of the losses
11.4. Multiple disasters and their effects
11.4.1. Drought, locusts, Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) 1896
11.4.2. Malaria 1896-97
11.4.3. Cattle plague, malaria, famine, locusts 1897
11.4.4. Disastrous year 1898: Ojopesta, the year of human epidemics famine, malaria, typhoid, botulism – Texas fever, CBPP, cattle plague
11.4.5. The years 1899-1900
11.4.6. Aftermath of the disasters: Debt overload and loss of land

12. Towards rebellion
12.1. The losses
12.2. The problem of reservation
12.3. The credit regulation

13. The outbreak of the uprising
13.1. Futile search for allies
13.2. Initial successes of the Herero
13.3. The Herero lose the initiative
13.4. The Empire strikes back
13.4.1. Leutwein assails
13.4.2. The new opponent – von Trotha
13.4.3. Von Trotha’s plan
13.4.4. The encounters at Waterberg
13.4.5. Withdrawal and pursuit

14. Conclusion
14.1. Exodus from Kaokoveld
14.2. Struggle against Nama und Orlam
14.3. A new era
14.4. The uprising
14.5. The survivors

Appendix
Population
Treaties
Schutztruppe
The mission
The traders
Trade data
Livestock in Namibia
Transportation problems
Railways
Communication and news
Cattle diseases
Vaccination methods of the time
Botulism
Catering for the troops
Biltong
Vitamins and deficiency diseases
Fire arms
v. Trotha’s proclamation to the Herero
Climate of Namibia

Literature

From Kaokoveld to Waterberg

Rise and Fall of the Herero

An attempt of reconstruction

1. Foreword

By the middle of the 18th¹ century courageous groups of the Herero began to leave their homeland Kaokoveld and started to enter the middle part of Namibia. It’s presumed that hunting groups were the first ones who dared to take the initial step, followed by groups of herdsmen. Until 1830 they colonized the area up to the Swakop Rivier. During their acquisition of the land they displaced, killed or enslaved the indigenous ethnic groups, the San and Damara, who had already settled there for many thousands of years. Finally, they came into contact with the Nama people who had left the Cape region under the pressure of the white men. On their way to the North they also had displaced or killed the native population.

For decades both peoples fought each other. The struggles were interrupted by episodes of peace when the opponents were exhausted. In the eigteeneighties the country got gradually under the control of German colonists. During a series of disastrous years (1896-1900) considerable parts of the herds of the Herero were diminished above all by cattle plague. A great famine was the first result. Subsequently many thousand Herero died of malaria, typhoid and botulism. Drought and locusts and beasts of prey aggravated the situation even more.²

After the loss of their cattle the Herero were impoverished and in a desperate situation. Amongst other things this led to land sales to an extent that threatened the existence of the Herero. Hard and partly unfair treatment by arrogant white settlers and impertinent traders increased the bitterness and the hatred against the intruders. All this finally led to a general uprising, which started on January the 12th 1904. After initial successes the Herero lost the initiative and slipped into a defensive position. Finally, the decisive battle of Waterberg was fought. After heavy encounters the lack of ammunition forced the Herero to give up the fight and withdraw. After they had disengaged many of them tried to escape to British-Bechuana­land. But crossing the arid area of the Omaheke thousands died of thirst and starvation.

In 1912 only about 20,000 Herero still existed in GSWA. A few thousand lived as refugees in Bechuanaland, the Kaokoveld, in Ovamboland and in other places. The nation was shattered.³

This book is an attempt to outline the customs and traditions as well as the history of the Herero since their emigration from Kaokoveld and to estimate the development and the size of their population based on natural conditions and historical events. The book focuses especially on the disastrous years of 1896-1900 and their consequences for the Herero, which seem to have been insufficiently investigated by historians so far.

About the book

The author:

Rainer Tröndle was born in Metz/Lorraine and grew up in Baden-Baden (southern Germany). After passing his A-levels and serving three years in the army he studied education science at the University of Karlsruhe. Afterwards he worked as a teacher at different schools. As part of his teaching assignment, he became head of the media center of the district of Karlsruhe in 1984. His principal task was to select, purchase and manage the media for the educational institutions in the district as well as to consult the schools on this topic. In his private life modern history is one of his main interests.

The book:

While working on his first book Gewisse Ungewissheiten (Certain Uncertainties) published in 2012 the author noticed the ancient reports and information about the years of 1896 - 1900 being rather scarce. Present-day literature usually mentions this period only “en passant”, as though involving nothing of any major significance. But indeed, these were fateful years for Africa and for the Herero people. The main objective of this new work was to find out more of the events of that time.

Cattle Plague, a book of the biologists and ecologists Clive A. Spinage, offered a closer view into the events of those years with all the resulting problems, but still with almost no consideration of Namibia. Fortunately, abundant documents about those days were to be found in the archives of the Rhenish Mission (today VEM) in Wuppertal and in the diaries and the letters of some officers of the “Schutztruppe”. The overall picture resulting from these documents is devastating: epidemics of human and animal diseases, natural disasters and resulting famines hit Africa and consequently Namibia on a biblical scale.

Diseases, disasters and wars are generally important factors for the development of a nation. In the past, they minimized the population’s growth in the world as a whole and thus in Africa. Sometimes they even caused drastic declines. The picture didn’t change until the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the improvement of living conditions. Africa was delayed until the middle of the 19th century. Thus, it is a second intent of this work, to assess the possible development of the Herero after their departure from the Kaokoveld, influenced by the historical events and the climatic conditions. It became evident, that the disasters of the last years of the 19th century were of extraordinary importance. They shook the Herero to the core. Without them, the history of Namibia probably would have taken a different course. Lord Lugard⁴ phrased it in this way:

“In some respects, … the rinderpest has favoured our enterprise. Powerful and warlike as the pastoral tribes are, their pride has been humbled and our progress facilitated by this awful visitation. The advent of the white man had else not been so peaceful “.

Acknowledgements:

I would like to send Mr. Apelt a cordial “Vergelt’s Gott” (“May God reward you”). His advices and his generous support were of great value for the study of the Namibian history and the adversities of 1896 – 1900 in the archives of the Vereinte Evangelische Mission in Wuppertal.

For his all-fabulous assistance, I also want to thank Dr. A. Eckl for his support and important notes.

I am most grateful to my very dear friend Elizabeth Pogson, BSc. for helping me to translate this book into English as well as my daughters Dr. Stefanie Tröndle and Dorothee Tröndle, Dipl. Biol. for special help.

Finally, I want to give my thanks to all those who supported me with so much kindness and enthusiasm throughout my research at home and in Namibia.

The author, Waghäusel 2023

Further books of the author:

Seemacht im 19. Jahrhundert. Technische Entwicklungen und Rüstung der Seemächte und ihre Auswirkungen - Vom Linienschiff zum Schlachtschiff, München 2021, ISBN 978 334 6 362407

Gewisse Ungewissheiten, Überlegungen zum Krieg der Herero gegen die Deutschen, insbeson­dere zu den Ereignissen am Waterberg und danach, Windhoek 2012, ISBN 978 3 941 602 73 1

Briefe und Berichte von Wilhelm Schaar, Missionar in Okombahe, Deutsch-Südwestafrika, 1890-1900, eingeleitet und transkribiert von Rainer Tröndle, Bochum 2021, ISBN 978 3 939886 05 1

Briefe und Berichte von Wilhelm und Emilie Eich, Missionsstation Otjozondjupa / Waterberg, Deutsch-Südwestafrika, 1889-1899, eingeleitet und transkribiert von Rainer Tröndle, Bochum 2022, ISBN 978 3 939886 10 5

Briefe von Else und Christian Spellmeyer aus !Gochas und Gibeon, Deutsch-Südwestafrika, 1899 – 1913, eingeleitet und transkribiert von Rainer Tröndle, Bochum 2023, ISBN 978 3 939886 12 9

2. Namibia

2.1. Location

Namibia is situated in the Southwest of Africa between approx. 17 °-29 ° southern latitude and 12 °-25 ° eastern longitude. Its boundaries are formed by the Orange-River in the South, the Kalahari dry savannah in the East, and the Okavango- and the Kunene-River in the North. In the West the southern Atlantic is the border and there the oldest and maybe also the driest desert of the world, the Namib hampers admission to the inner part of the country. In this way the central areas of Namibia were protected for a long time by their natural borders. In our time the name of the desert was chosen as the name of the country.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten⁵

2.2. Climate

Namibia lies in the tropical to semitropical part of southern Africa. The rain falls, which can vary a lot depending on time and region, are characteristic for the climate.

Whereas the North-East in particular the Caprivi-Strip gets enough water (about 600 mm p.a.) the amount of rain fall declines considerably towards the South-West. In the Namib there is virtually no rain. Preci­pi­tation is predominant around the (southern) summer; during winter­time there is practically no rain. The agricultural use and the colonisation of the land depend on the distribution of the water.

Along the Atlantic coast there is the desert strip of the Namib with precipitation of less than 50 mm p.a. The few animals and plants in this area rely on coastal fog which is caused by warm aerial masses meeting the cold Benguela currant and is pushed into the desert by onshore winds. This part of the land is largely unsuitable for human settlement.

This image has been removed for copyright reasons. ⁶

In the East of the Namib the precipitation slowly increases to 100-200 mm p.a. In this area of the semi deserts, in particular in South-East Namibia, breeding of goats and sheep is possible, especially along the rivers. In some places a cattle breeding is also possible. Only in remote areas hunter and gatherer groups do still exist. In former times they inhabited the more fertile parts of the land but were driven out by cattle breeders later.

With a precipitation of approx. 200-450 mm p.a. the middle part of Namibia is formed by dry savannas and thorn-bush savannas. Here extensive livestock breeding is possible. In the North cattle breeding is prevailing while in drier southern areas goat and sheep farming are more suitable. In a few climatically favourable places in this area agriculture and fruit growing is possible too The North with its comparatively high amount of rain fall is the most suitable area for agricultural purposes. In particular along the courses of the Okavango and the Kunene River as well as in the area of Tsumeb intensive crop farming is possible.

2.3. The indigenous population of the country

For thousands or even ten thousands of years, the natives of Namibia, the San and later the Damara, usually lived peacefully as hunters and gatherers. Today numerous rock paintings still testify to their lifestyle and artistic skills.⁷

In the 17th century Nama people entered the country coming from the South. Under pressure from the Europeans at the Cape of Good Hope they moved northwards. Some of them had already converted to Christianity and the missionaries had taught them to read and to write. In addition, they had acquired knowledge in horse riding and the use of firearms which enabled them to develop new skills in hunting as well as in fighting. The Orlam tribes, who followed later, were relatives to the Nama. They were descendants of Dutch farmers and Nama women.

During the same period Bantu tribes intruded into Namibia coming from the North. These were the agricultural Ovambo and the cattle breeding Mbanderu and Herero. Their exact origin is uncertain; however, it is thought to be in the area of the Great African lakes or in the upper course of the Zambezi. The reasons for their migration are also unknown. The pressure of a growing population seems rather unlikely, as Africa at that time was sparsely populated.⁸ More probable explanations are struggles with other tribes or the menace by merciless Arab-Muslim slave hunters who have terrorised Africa, hunting for white and “black” ivory. Operating inter alia from the East African coast they raided the continent for more than thirteen centuries.⁹ During the 17th and the 18th century the Herero entered Kaokoveld and settled there. Still today a splinter group of the people, the Ovahimba, live in this barely accessible and barren area in the traditional way.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten^{10 11}

When conquering the land, the Nama as well as the Herero killed or enslaved the autochthonous hunter- gatherer populations (if they could not escape to peripheral and more inhospitable areas). There San and Hill-Damara lived a meagre life full of privation. Nama and Herero took over the watering places and the hunting areas with beautiful wildlife became their pastures.

White hunters, investigators and traders as well as missionaries explored the country at the end of the 18th and at the beginning of the 19th century. As the Nama had done before, they came from the South because the hinterland of Namibia wasn’t yet accessible in any other way.

Finally, from 1883 Namibia came under German control then renamed Deutsch Südwest-Afrika (German South-West Africa). It was one of the last African areas that were occupied by European colonizers. After a relatively short time of occupation there were several uprisings of the resident freedom-loving, powerful and warlike tribes against the white intruders. The biggest and most serious ones were the Herero uprising of 1904 and the following Nama war.

In particular the Herero uprising has found much interest in historiography because of the high numbers of victims. Yet the assessments of the encounters that took place at that time are controversial and the numbers of population and the numbers of victims are questionable, as they cannot be verified.

3. The Herero people

3.1. Manners and customs

The Herero were semi nomadic cattle breeders. A tribe normally had a main settlement which could be moved if necessary. Most of the cattle of a clan were spread across a number of mobile stations in the surrounding area and were kept there. The centre point of these cattle posts were the watering places where the animals could drink. This system optimised the use of the pastures. Nevertheless, new pastures had to be sought in times of drought or after excessive increase of the herds.

The Herero were zealous cattle breeders; in addition to that they had goats and sheep. Moreover, they hunted game and collected “veldkost” (wild onions, roots, berries, honey and others)¹². After the arrival of European traders, they satisfied their newly created desire for European goods, in particular for arms, alcohol and clothes as well as objects of the daily use by trading off cattle. Moreover, the Herero organised big game hunting in the eighteen seventies and sold a lot of ostrich feathers and elephant tusks.¹³ In later years they earned money by selling oxen for the transportation business and even acted as hauliers.

The tall, slim and chocolate-coloured Herero were of imposing figure and they had a corresponding behaviour. They despised the hunters and gatherers as well as peasants who were fettered to their soil and toiling hard. Missionary Vedder characterised them as a

“real master race with many good sides and all the bad characteristics of such groups. “ ¹⁴

Like most nomads the Herero were able-bodied and warlike. This is not surprising as on their wanderings they had to protect their numerous livestock and themselves against predators and assert themselves against competing people. In the beginning their arms were the usual assegais and spears as well as bow and arrow. Besides this they also brilliantly wielded the Kirri, a slash and throw club. But with these arms they were inferior to the Orlam who appeared at about 1830. These already owned firearms.

This changed when the Herero tribes of Tjamuaha and Kahitjene entered into an alliance with Jonker Afrikaner (Christmas peace in 1842). After that the sons of the captains were educated together and firearms in increasing numbers got into the hands of the Herero. A few decades later they were equipped very well with „guns from the flintlock type up to the finest English and German models “¹⁵ The English Resident Palgrave noted in 1876:

„All the men, and even boys of twelve, carried guns, and these most rifles. ¹⁶ The only flint guns I saw had been relegated by the original owners to the youngest of their sons able to carry them… ; so overstocked is the gun market, that at the time of which I write there were 6,000 in the country waiting sale; and not less, probably much more, than 20 tons of gunpowder and a proportionate weight of lead.”¹⁷

At the beginning of 1903 the Herero are supposed to have had about 12,531 guns, Irle estimated the number even at 15,000.¹⁸ Although many of these weapons were not up-to-date the Herero had a considerable quantity of modern breech-loaders and were well equipped and well prepared when they started their uprising.^{19 20}

3.2. Diet and clothing

The traditional staple food of the Herero was the milk of their cattle which was normally drunk as curdled milk (omeire), but also the milk of the goats.²¹ For meat the Herero primarily used sheep and goats. Cattle were only killed and consumed for special occasions. Venison and veldkost (roots, bulbs, grains and fruits) were of secondary importance. If there was veldkost in abundance the Herero enjoyed it, however this was rare. In such times the calves got more milk which contributed to their prospering.²² Poor members of the tribe were supported by a part of the herd that was communal property and was managed by the chief. Only destitute Herero (so called field-Herero) lived exclusively on hunting and veldkost just like the San and Damara.

For the Herero the cattle were the most important resources which provided not only milk but also hides, skins and bones, the raw materials for clothes and some tools. At the same time, they were the paramount status symbol. As in other cattle breeding societies, their preservation and their increase in numbers were the uppermost aims in life and the Herero dedicated all their strength, their time and often their life to this end. So, they absolutely were not the “lazy set” as they often were called by the white men. Their profession was cattle breeding, not agriculture or craft. Indeed, this form of life led to conflicts with the neighbours when the herds increased or when there was a shortage of water and new pastures were needed. And there was always the risk of overgrazing with all its negative effects.

In contrast to the cattle the land was inalienable. It was communal property and foreigners only could receive a right of use. Only after the disastrous years of 1896-1900 and the misery that followed land was sold more extensively in particular by Paramount Chief Samuel Maharero. He often did this without consulting the other captains and even sometimes against their will.²³

The traditional clothes of the Herero were simple. They consisted of tanned sheep and goat skins and hides of certain wild animals. Around the hips the Herero wore a "hunger strap"²⁴ of several metres length to which a fur was fixed like a loin cloth. A few straps with iron pearls and some iron bands around arms- and ankles were the whole jewellery of a man. When required (if it was cold) a kaross, a fur cape also was in use.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten²⁵ Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten²⁶

The woman’s clothes were more extravagant. Her fur loincloth was longer and her back was protected by an attractively decorated fur with pearls around the edge. A bodice-like meshwork of skilfully joined small pieces of ostrich eggshells covered hips and lower abdomen, the breasts remained bare. The married woman wore a three-tipped cap on her head, from which a heavy network of iron pearls was falling over her back. In addition to this she wore a headscarf of tanned soft goatskin. Chains of pearls made of iron and of ostrich eggshell were used as necklaces and as an adornment for arms and legs. In particular the leg decoration could reach an enormous weight (about ten pounds). It is not surprising that the women thus burdened could walk only slowly. ²⁷

3.3. Religion

As Irle wrote the Herero believed in a supreme God (Ndjambi Karunga). However, he only gave blessings, he did not punish; hence no offerings were made to him. On the other side the ancestors (ovakuru) had to be feared. Amongst these the most recently deceased chiefs of a tribe took the first places. The ancient forefathers were not revered. Their names were barely known and their graves in Kaokoveld were forgotten. Only the omumborombonga tree (combretum imberbe, lead wood) which according to the legends was the origin of the first human beings, represented these ancestors. Holy sticks, the ozohongue (branches of the raisin shrub) which were kept in the pontok of the chief, were allegories for these forefathers. Each little stick symbolised a forefather. When a chief died, a new one was added.

Further holy objects in the chief’s possession were the stick of the omumborombonga tree and tinder-like pieces of the roots of the holy shrub (omumpendaruua) which were required to ignite again the Holy Fire, if it happened to go out. If such a fire could not be lit again, the whole tribe was also considered as extinct. Survivors could accept the Holy Fire of another tribe and in this way become integrated there.²⁸ Thus they enjoyed the protection of the new captain and in return they strengthened his power and his reputation. Accordingly, in the eighteen fifties the remainders of the tribes of Kahitjene and Mungunda accepted Mahareros fire and were integrated in his tribe.

Mismanaging the herds or disregarding the food laws could invoke the wreath of the ovakuru. Hence, a Herero had to gain the favour of the ancestors by a lot of offerings. The most important ones were made at the birth of a child, when people were sick or when they died. ²⁹

3.4. Classification and organisation of the people

Traditionally the nation was composed of independent tribes. Each tribe was guided by its own chief³⁰ or ovahona. He ruled the tribe together with his brothers, the foremen, but his foremen acted almost independently in their own domains. Only if they had serious problems, which they could not solve alone, they asked the chief or paramount chief for advice and help.³¹ But they did not have absolute and dictatorial power; they had to consider the opinions and the advice of the elders. Thus, many members of the tribe had the right to put in a word or two. This very democratic custom, unusual in Africa (and elsewhere at that time) prevented submissiveness which was quite normal to many German colonists. Hence, many of them showed a lack of understanding and great displeasure about the natives who always and everywhere wanted to join the conversation, even the women.³²

Furthermore, all Herero were members of an omaanda (sing. eanda) and an otuzo (sing. oruzo). The omaanda were social-economic groups with matrilinear descend. They could not be changed. Irle takes the view that in this way the Herero tried to keep the tribe pure.³³

The otuzo were religious groupings. They defined amongst other things the food-laws as well as the religious customs. They derived from the father's side. The man belonged to his otuzo throughout his life but the woman changed to that of the husband when she married. Every Herero knew exactly where he belonged. Omaanda as well as otuzo were of great importance for the complex law of succession of the Herero. Gerhard Pool describes it as follows:

“During the 19th century a Herero thus had two channels through which his legacy was divided. The first followed the line of his head wife’s eanda. This meant that the deceased’s wife and her heirs, for example, inherited a large part of the cattle herd. The second channel followed the line of the male oruzo. Aspects such as leadership and everything having to do with religion came under this heading. Accordingly, only someone who belonged to the same oruzo as well as eanda as the deceased could inherit the full estate. The only other person or persons who qualified in this way were the deceased’s own brother or brothers, as they shared the same parents. If the deceased had only a half-brother, i.e., from a different mother, that half-brother could only claim the oruzo inheritance on his father’s side. If there was no half-brother either, the oruzo inheritance went to the eldest son of the deceased. In both the latter cases the eldest son of the deceased’s eldest sister then received the eanda estate.

The fact that the Herero did not always keep to their tribal customs when appointing a successor, and in no way considered it to be a law of the Medes and Persians, complicated the whole question of the succession even further.

It should be clear from this simplified version of the Herero’s laws of succession why the Germans did not always understand the actions of the Herero. The German system of succession was, after all, very simple; when the emperor died, his eldest son succeeded him.” ³⁴

In addition, one should bear in mind that a Herero who had converted to Christianity could not claim the oruzo inheritance at all. As a Christian he was not allowed to celebrate the pagan ceremonies, moreover, he was not accepted as a priest by those tribesmen who had remained in the old faith. ³⁵

3.5. Relationships, course of life

The Herero welcomed the birth of a child with joy, particularly that of a boy. At the altar of the tribe the new born child was solemnly accepted by the captain and the other men and was named. Then it was given a female calf as a present, his first property (never to be sold) and a symbolic basis of his later herds.

The children were very pampered and cosseted. The reputation of a Herero rose with the number of his children. The sons were more important. The girls were paid for with a lot of cattle when they married; however, with the marriage they left their parents. The sons however remained and increased the power of the village as well as the reputation of their parents.

After a long period of breastfeeding the small children were primarily fed with curdled milk. Some of them also got a goat and they quickly learned to milk it directly into their mouth. As soon as they could walk, the boys got a fur cloth and the girls an apron of small straps as clothing. This remained until the boys were circumcised and the girls reached sexual maturity (for the missionaries this must have been an absolute horror).

The little ones were primarily educated by their mothers as their fathers mostly were on the move with the cattle and were absent for days or even weeks. Besides, the whole village took an interest in their education. This is not surprising, as the population of such a settlement seldom exceeded 100-200 people and therefore everyone knew everybody and everybody was related to most of the others. In principle the children learned by watching and imitating.³⁶ For missionary Irle this was not a real education; however, in his view, it facilitated an absolute free and independent development and showed in an early stage, if the child had a good or a bad disposition.

"All the parents demand from their children from the age of 5-20 is to become skilful herdsmen. Hence from their early youth on the boys tend to the cattle and the constant observation of the animals influences their thoughts and behaviour. In that period of time the seed of unchastity is budding in the youthful Herero and starts to grow in their young hearts. Falseness and mendacity join it...dealing with the livestock does not require specific physical nor mental effort. It is mainly idleness."

"The girls have even less to do than the boys. They go into the fields and dig ondjes (little onions), look for berries and resin, or at the utmost search for some fire wood and fetch some water if they are commanded to do so. So, the adolescent Herero mature early into evil habits." ³⁷

At the age of 7-10 years the boys were circumcised during extensive ceremonies. Normally the festivities lasted several days and on this occasion a lot of sacrificial oxen were strangled and consumed according to old customs. When the wounds were healed the boys were accepted as adult men with all rights and duties. Everyone who was circumcised at the same time was seen and treated as of the same age.

At the age of about three years the girls had their hair shaved. Only a small part was left. When the girls were declared mature plaits of roots and bast mixed with clay were braided into the remaining hair which then hung from the head like thick strings of peals.³⁸ One or more cattle were slaughtered and consumed by everyone except the girls. For them the meat was impure. A piece of meat was sacrificed to the forefathers but there were no further sacrifices and festivities.³⁹

With the admission into the group of the adults the young people had unrestricted liberty in sexual intercourse.⁴⁰ Obviously they used this liberty extensively. Missionary Irle wrote:

"Even children aged 10 years or older are too often unrestrained in fornication." ⁴¹

At the age of 15-17 years the young people became engaged. Usually, this union was arranged by their parents. Only if this did not happen, the young man could go out looking for a bride by himself. After the engagement, the kraal of the bride was off limits for the young man and the betrothed were not allowed to meet until the marriage. In reality, as H. v. François noted, from the time of the engagement, sexual intercourse continued to happen. If the future mother-in-law agreed, the fiancées could meet in a certain pontok at night. But the young man had to leave quietly before daybreak if he didn’t want to get into trouble.⁴²

The extent of the wedding celebration depended on the wealth of the parents of the fiancés but normally many guests were invited. At the altar of the clan bride and bridegroom were blessed. Then several oxen and a “wedding sheep” were slaughtered in the traditional way⁴³ and everyone feasted heartily. When the guests left, they were given a lot of meat as a present. Whilst the bride, the parents and the guests celebrated the wedding, the bridegroom had to stay outside the kraal. If his bride liked him very much, she sent him some oxen which he could kill and consume with his friends. After the celebration the young man took his bride to his kraal. Here they walked around and were presented as a couple. From now on the woman wore the clothes of a married woman with the three-tipped cap, the fur coat on her back, a bodice of ostrich egg shell pearls and a loin fur. In addition, she also wore heavy chains of iron pearls on arms and legs which considerably hampered walking.⁴⁴

Normally a man did not marry before the age of about 30. Until then he belonged to the warriors (the estimation of the line of ancestors is based on this custom⁴⁵ ). Girls married earlier; some were even promised to older chiefs as a child.

Polygamy was a common practise with the Herero, but every wife with her children had her own pontok.⁴⁶ The number of wives depended upon the wealth of the husband. Five to ten were normal among the rich; Maharero is even reported to have had more than thirty wives.⁴⁷ He married some captain's daughters to commit their fathers to him. Besides, there was the custom that the successor of a captain also inherited his wives. Monogamy was rather rare and did only happen among poor Herero and those who had become Christians.⁴⁸

Now polygamy usually results in a few rich men of a society owning many women and a lot of poor lads having no chance to get married and to have descendants. This may lead to social tensions. A custom of the Herero, called oupanga, was probably a way to ease such tensions. It meant that two men presented each other with a gift of cattle and thus formed an alliance. In that way they ensured mutual support in all cases of predicament and also allowed the partner to take cattle for slaughter if necessary. But doing so, they even permitted mutual cohabitation with their wives⁴⁹ (probably not with all, annotation of the author). The women were not asked. A child of such connections belonged to the man whose wife had born it and it also got his name.⁵⁰

H. v. François noted that in such cases in which this alliance did not exist but sexual intercourse had taken place nonetheless, the duped husband immediately went to the wife of the other man and urged her to cohabit. To illustrate the liberal views of the Herero regarding sexual life he mentioned two of their phrases:

„onduesu kai ronda ongombe imue“, i.e., “a bull mounts not only one cow“

and

„ongombe ondendu kai rondua onduesu imue”, i.e., “a cow is mounted not by only one bull”⁵¹

A further, similar custom of the Herero is not mentioned explicitly by the missionaries and in the historic literature. However, it might also have been a reason for the complaints about the unchaste conduct and the moral laxness of the people as well as for the remark of Irle that

"the paternity of the child in most cases is more than questionable." ⁵²

The custom is called tjiramue. Even today it is still alive in Namibia and currently it is responsible for the quick spreading of AIDS. In their study “Multiple and Concurrent Sexual Partnerships in Namibia “, the authors Julia Shipena and Finelda Khuruses describe tjiramue as follows:

“According to the Herero culture, tjiramue is the practice where a man can sleep with as many of his cousins as he wants, regardless of whether he or they are married.” ⁵³

They note that all participants of the study concur that cultural reasons favour the practise of having several sex-partners. In the cultures of the Herero and the Ovambo it was accepted that a man had several sexual partners, and male participants declared that this behaviour runs in their blood because their fathers and grandfathers had also done so.⁵⁴ A male participant added:

“With our tradition in the Hereros we have tjiramues. You can have five cousins, but they are all your tjiramues. So, my cousins and I definitely have to have sex, and this cousin does not only sleep with me. She can also give it to Martin and John, and all the other cousins.”⁵⁵

And a woman meant:

“In our culture there is the tjiramue, you know… the story of the tjiramues, the thing is so strong… when you go to the farm you will just be told so and so is your tjiramue, and then you do not have a choice. He can sleep with you he can do whatever he wants. And then he can sleep with other tjiramues and so on… it is a pattern that just goes on.”⁵⁶

In the study the meaning of the word “cousin” is not exactly defined. The exact meaning is “the children of uncles and aunts”. But in a broader interpretation it may include all of the same age in a clan or all who had been circumcised at the same time.

Oupanga as well as tjiramue may have been good in their beginnings (as Irle noted about oupanga). Certainly, they were a strategy to tighten the bonds of friendship, for mutual protection as well as to avoid social tensions or to reduce them. Of course, for religious reasons they were absolutely unacceptable for the missionaries. Today they are an extreme health hazard and so they are fought against. The Maasai and the neighbours of the Herero, the Nama, are known to have similar customs and sexual permissiveness. From those James E. Alexander reported:

„Chastity is of small account among the Namaquas: the chiefs even when they go to the sea, lend their wives to the white men for cotton handkerchiefs, or brandy; and if a husband has been out hunting, and on his return finds his place occupied, he sits down at the door of his hut, and the paramour handing him out a bit of tobacco, the injured man contently smokes it, till the other chooses to retire. This surely is the acmé of complaisance “. ⁵⁷

In the end, it was not only polygamy and oupanga and tjiramue which excited the displeasure of the missionaries. Evidently even the small children were sexually active. When herding the cattle, they got well acquainted with the fundamentals of reproduction and thus their interest in sexuality awoke. Hence Irle wrote (see above):

“Hence from their early youth on the boys tend the cattle and the constant observations of the animals influence their thoughts and behaviour. In that period of time the seed of unchastity is budding in the young Herero and starts to grow in their young hearts.” ⁵⁸

And missionary Kleinschmidt plainly recorded in his diary:

“About ten children punished for fornication. In addition to serious exhortations, they were of course severely castigated and the culprits had to stay imprisoned all day without food. It hurt me most that even the small ones (5 to 6 years), have committed this sin. A girl had actually used milk to buy herself a paramour.” ⁵⁹

And missionary Hahn wrote in a letter about the moral state of the Herero:

“The Damra women and girls are so voluptuous that they set all possible traps and snares for an unmarried missionary to get illicit intercourse with him. When I was with the Damras, e.g., a beautiful naked woman ⁶⁰ came to me in the evening and lay down on my lap. And she did so in the presence of many others. – Of course, the young pagans always think this one could be my husband, and all people think the unmarried missionary is living in fornication.” ⁶¹

According to Hahn only homosexuality seems not to have been a vice of the Herero.⁶²

According to Viehe,⁶³ there was no slavery in the usual sense. The little children the Herero kidnapped occasionally on their raids of the settlements of the Hill-Damara, were brought up normally and considered as a sort of serfs. Despite all that there are some reports which might indicate the existence of slavery, for example statements about the status of the Hill-Damara settlement of Okombahe. On the other hand, these serfs were not commercial objects but they were obliged to tributes and to render service.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten⁶⁴

Hospitality was important for the Herero.

The traveller can be sure to get a warm-hearted and friendly welcome in every werf. The Herero offers whatever is possible without major inconvenience for himself, a place to rest, water for the animals, firewood, and milk in different preparations for food; but he doesn’t like to give more. ⁶⁵

Irle reports the same. But he also cites the Herero proverb

„omuenda u parura omuini uonganda“ (The traveller supports the owner of the werf)⁶⁶

which shows that corresponding gifts were expected from the guest.

The Herero would go quite far for the well-being of his guest especially for a high-ranking person. V. François wrote:

“Rather than handing over one of his animals a Herero prefers to make a much more dubious gift: a female. – They don’t know any better than to honour a superior person, e.g., a chief in this way: For a bit of tobacco or a similar small gift a father would offer his daughter and a husband his wife.” ⁶⁷

The inferior stranger, especially if he was no Herero or a white, could not expect this hospitality. The indigenous population, the San and the Hill-Damara were despised and hunted and with the Nama and the Orlam the Herero in general lived in a kind of pretty disharmony.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten⁶⁸

Irle reported that when a Herero died,⁶⁹ the relatives and friends started to lament and to moan and this lasted for hours and often for the whole night. Professional mourners joined them. The lamentations about the dead person were repeated for three weeks every morning and evening when the cattle were driven out or came back. The spine of the dead person was broken or cut in two so that the soul could be freed from the body. If this was missed a ghost arose from the dead person which bothered the people and could harm them.⁷⁰ Finally the corpse was tied together, with the head between the knees, and wrapped in coats. Thus, it was buried during a ceremony, often in the shade of a camel thorn tree, the face looking North-East in the direction of the old native country of the Herero. The horns of the favourite oxen of the dead were common grave goods. His pontok remained empty and was left to fall into disrepair. When a chief or foreman died, the whole kraal was abandoned and the people moved to another place. When a woman or a child died and also someone who is poor, there were no funeral festivities and no grave goods.

4. Early history

4.1. Origin of the Herero

As shown at the beginning the origin of the Herero is supposed to be in the area of the Great African lakes or in the upper course of the Zambezi. Otjiherero is related to the language of the Barotse and Bailunda and the idioms of the people in the Southern Congo basin as well as in Angola.⁷¹ Vedder thinks the ancient people first moved into Bechuanaland. After a time, there were problems with the resident population. Thus, one group (the Herero) moved away, whilst a second one (the Mbanderu) remained peacefully with the Bechuanas.⁷² A retreat to the North was impossible because of the mighty Ovambo living there. Thus, the Herero could only leave in a western direction to the Kaokoveld (surface approx. 20,000 sq. mi. and today about 15,000 inhabitants), at that time presumed to be still uninhabited and hardly accessible.

Irle has a different opinion about the immigration of the Herero. He too supposes the original home of the people in the above-mentioned area because of the linguistic relationship, but his view is that the stories about Bechuanaland and Lake Ngami only refer to the Mbanderu.⁷³ He thinks that the Herero entered Kaokoveld coming from the North through Angola and crossing the Kunene. A proof for this view is the fact that there are other tribes, related to the Herero, living on the northern bank of the lower Kunene. There is agreement among the experts that the Herero advanced from Kaokoveld to the South by the middle or the end of the 18th century. The first ones who ventured this step were courageous hunters. At the Swakop-Rivier they found abundant hunting-grounds. But they didn’t only hunt game; they also robbed some of the cattle of the Nama who had come from Cape Good Hope and at that time had reached the Swakop too.⁷⁴ When they took possession of the land the Herero also displaced and killed the ancient population of the San and Damara living there for millennia. The San and Damara defended their land and their watering places against the newcomers, who however, were greatly numerically and physically superior.

Having got information about this marvellous land, other groups too moved southward to obtain new pasture there. Among these immigrants was Mutjise, the grandfather of Tjamuaha. He and his people moved to the area of what is now Okahandja and surroundings.⁷⁵

4.2. Reasons for emigration

It is improbable that the Herero spontaneously left Kaokoveld where they had spent far more than a hundred years (as well as the abandonment of the original home). A man who is familiar with his surrounding, knowing each inch of his area will not leave his country if it is not essential; in particular when the graves of the important ancestors are there. So, it can be assumed that there were good reasons to abandon Kaokoveld.

It is unlikely that the neighbouring Ovambo threatened the Herero. The Ovambo lived on agriculture and for this Kaokoveld is very unsuitable for climatic and geologic reasons. Hence, it might be presumed that the people and the herds had grown in the meantime and there was not enough lebensraum (living space) and a lack of water and pasture. Such a predicament can be caused by overgrazing which in addition lowers the productivity of the available land.⁷⁶

The increase of the herds required too, the extension or the new construction of kraals to protect the animals. In this nexus Hugo v. François refers to the high consumption of briers for the construction of kraals and for their renewal about every three months. Though the old dried briers are used as fuel afterwards the consumption is high and the deforestation has unwelcome consequences on the precipitation and it accelerates the erosion of the soil.⁷⁷ In addition the many bush- and grass fires, that the residents created before the beginning of the rainy season also promoted the desertification of the country and thus over time the destitution of the population.⁷⁸

Changes in climate can also have played a role as a trigger. The climate in Namibia shows periodical changes which can be extreme. Droughts return regularly. As Vedder wrote times of dryness of five to ten years interchange with times of rich precipitation,⁷⁹ and Irle added, that intensive droughts occurred approx. all 30 years, recorded since 1762.⁸⁰ Besides, a possible cause for the changes between dryness and fertile precipitation could be the phenomenon El Niño.⁸¹ It has determining influence on the precipitation in the southern hemisphere and thus also on the precipitation in Southern Africa.

Apart from these short-term oscillations much more precipitation must have been in these areas in former times. This could be an explanation for the rock drawings of the natives showing a rich fauna where it cannot exist today.

Early European travellers and explorers (e.g., S. van Reenen and P. Pienaar in 1773)⁸² reported about rhinos, elephants⁸³ and giraffes and numerous other wild animals in the bay of Nonidas. Missionary Irle mentioned stories of hundred-year-old Herero who described wide floods of the Omaruru Rivier, with "sea cows" (probably hippopotami, annotation of the author) in it.⁸⁴ Hugo v. François noted, that a chief of the Nkung [!Xun] bushmen who had guided the traveller Green up to the Okavango in 1860 declared, that there had been much more water in former times. Many water holes which were dry now, were then filled permanently.⁸⁵

Now the same rules that apply for the world go for Africa too: The climate is not a static matter with small, short-term oscillations. In the course of longer periods there are distinct changes which have serious influence on flora and fauna. In particular for Europe, but also for other parts of the world, the climate history for a longer period is already well investigated and documented by data from natural as well as historical archives and proxy data. Besides, the area of approx. 1350-1850 is known as the „small ice age “. Dark summers and extremely cold winters followed a warmer epoch in the Middle-Ages. The pack-ice edge in the North Atlantic moved southward, the glaciers in the Alps grew. Around 1650 their expansion reached a maximum.⁸⁶ Christian Pfister writes:

“A temporary reduction of the sunlight is thought to have caused this climate drop. Between 1645 and 1715 the sunspots, the indicator of solar activity, decreased significantly; from 1675 to 1704 they disappeared completely. During that time, the cold ocean currents advanced far to the South.” ⁸⁷

He further notes that the decade of 1720-30 was a bit warmer, however, that in the late 18th and in the early 19th century phases with dank summers occurred again. At this time bad harvests in Europe and worldwide are documented. They were a trigger of the French Revolution. However, the cause of the climate change was not only the reduced solar activity but volcanic activities too. The eruption clouds which were flung into the stratosphere by the outbreak of the Lakargígar ⁸⁸ on Iceland reduced, in addition, the solar irradiation and caused subsequent harvest failures. There were bad harvests too in the second decade of the 19th century. At that time the activities of the volcano Tambora ⁸⁹ in Indonesia influenced the climate; a well-known result was the “year without summer” in 1816. Here too gigantic clouds of volcanic ashes and gases were flung into the stratosphere. Worldwide they reduced the solar irradiation for years.

It is to be assumed that the “small ice age” as well as the volcano eruptions have influenced the climate and the living conditions also in Namibia and in Kaokoveld. Additional researches need be done. Of course, in Kaokoveld there is less man-made data compared with that available in Europe, North America and in Asia. However, natural archives like annual rings in living and fossil trees, pollens in ground profiles as well as certain sediments and fossils should also exist in Kaokoveld or in nearby areas and enable research of the climate of the last centuries.

4.3. Size of the population when abandoning Kaokoveld at about 1750

The secluded Kaokoveld has a surface of approx. 20,000 sq. mi. and today is the native country of about 15,000 Ovahimba. They lead a simple life in a traditional way; however, in the meantime, they also get support from the government of Namibia (education, medicine, food). In addition, they can earn some money by a "soft" tourism (regulated by the government and caused by the inaccessibility of the region). This justifies the assumption that the early Herero people about 250 years ago were hardly more numerous than the recent population of the Ovahimba. Included the Mbanderu with approx. ¼ - ⅓ of the number of the Herero, the topmost limit for both groups might be at about 20,000 – 24,000 people.⁹⁰

Estimated Herero population at about 1750 ≈ 20,000 – 24,000 inhabitants (incl. Mbanderu)

5. Struggle for the land

5.1. Taking possession of the land

The problems of the Herero penetrating to the South were manifold during the first years. San and Damara bravely defended their watering places and hunting grounds against the newcomers and probably considered their herds as a welcome prey. Even the Herero hunters robbed the cattle of their own tribesmen.⁹¹ Further enemies were the Nama who were challenged for the pasture areas. Some Herero groups penetrated the land of the Bechuanas in the East and were deprived of their cattle. The Herero searched for revenge and war was the result.⁹² Finally, the first Herero immigrants were not amused about late comers. Here and there small chieftaincies developed depriving and fighting each other.⁹³ Objects of the quarrels were the pastures and above all the watering places.⁹⁴

Probably until 1820-30 the Herero had conquered the land up to the Swakop. At that time the Herero had enslaved or killed the native population of the San and Damara or they had expelled them into the pathless mountain regions and into the desolate thorn bush savannas.

In the North of Namibia there was almost no precipitation in 1829/30. There was a great drought in the country, but enough rain had fallen South of Swakop and Kuiseb. Accordingly, the Herero with their cattle moved further to the South and after heavy fights they repulsed the Nama living there up to Gibeon. Now Herero cattle grazed on their pastures. It is said that groups of Herero with their cattle had advanced even to Keetmanshoop.⁹⁵ Vedder remarked:

“The menace of these facts was not the pasture being grazed by alien cattle for one year but it was well known that grazing a pasture was a way to take possession of the land. As the Nama said, »wherever the foot of our hunters trod, there's Nama-land«, so the Herero said »where ever my cattle grazed, there's Hereroland«.” ⁹⁶

However, an expansion to the North-East did not happen. An occasional attack to the Ambo (about 1830) was mainly unsuccessful, as the powerful chiefs in the North had a suitable answer.⁹⁷

***

Within about 80 years the Herero had penetrated and occupied the middle of Namibia. It was a time of constant wandering and struggle. Pugnacity and ability to fight as well as self-confidence must have grown widely under these circumstances. For their neighbours, the San, Damara and Nama, the Herero had become dangerous adversaries. In this time the Herero could substantially increase their herds and with this the living of the people. In this period the population may have grown from 20-24.000 to about 32.000 - 45.000 (incl. Mbanderu). However, the average growth rate necessary for this is about 0.6-0.8% which is very high for that time and the given circumstances (a lot of movement and fights). It exceeds the average growth rate for Africa in this time tenfold. ⁹⁸

Estimated Herero population 1830: ca. 32,000 – 45,000 (growth 0.6% - 0.8% p.a.)

5.2. Struggle against Nama and Afrikaner in the time of about 1830 - 1840

The Nama were breeders, living in a similar life as the Herero. Because of the scantier nature of Southern Namibia, breeding of goats and sheep was more important than for the Herero. They were also keen hunters and raiders. They were tough and courageous and accustomed to a hard life. But they were smaller than the Herero and physically inferior. In 1845 Missionary Rath noted about this:

“The people (Herero, annotation of the author), especially the rich, are big, strong people. A Namaqua (Nama, annotation of the author) standing beside a Herero looks like a locust.” ⁹⁹

And Vedder wrote:

“The big Herero were not afraid of the small Nama. They did what they considered to be good, and they slew whoever opposed them.” ¹⁰⁰

In the past the Nama had lived in the Cape region, but they had been expelled to the North by the European colonists in the middle of the 17th century. They had had early contacts to the missionaries too who taught them the Christian faith as well as reading and writing with more or less success. Besides, some groups also had experience in handling firearms and riding horses.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten¹⁰¹

The so called “Red Nation” (kai||khaun) had crossed the Orange River (Gariep) and had advanced farthest to the North. They were the first to come into contact with the Herero and therefore they suffered most from their attacks. Combined with the other Nama tribes the Red Nation could have been strong enough to repulse the penetrating Herero; however, their bonds were weakened at that time, because a woman (Games) ruled the Red Nation. Being in trouble she asked Jonker Afrikaner and his group for help. Jonker Afrikaner was an Orlam and a dreaded gang leader on the banks of the Orange River. His men had guns¹⁰² and so they were superior opponents. Jonker promised aid on condition that he got free choice of a residence and pasture fields for himself and for his people in the area of the Red Nation. Games agreed and Jonker marched off.¹⁰³

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten¹⁰⁴

The first encounter happened in the area south of Gibeon.¹⁰⁵ Those of the Herero who didn’t run away fast enough were massacred, their cattle were stolen and the pasture was recaptured. The Herero could only look on, gritting their teeth. Their superiority was broken, their advance was stopped. The first encounter happened in the area south of Gibeon.¹⁰⁶ Those of the Herero who didn’t run away fast enough were massacred, their cattle were stolen and the pasture was recaptured. The Herero could only look on, gritting their teeth. Their superiority was broken, their advance was stopped. With their assegais and their kirries they were inferior. With further attacks Jonker Afrikaner expelled the Herero also from the area of Rehoboth and in a third offensive he threw them back behind the Auas Mountains.¹⁰⁷ He regained IAi=IIgams (Khoekhoegowab = hot springs) and destroyed the Herero settlement there and in the end, he captured Okahandja whose population had fled. In the valley of IAi=IIgams Jonker Afrikaner established his residence. He named the place Windhoek. From here he continued to raid the Herero and to take their cattle.¹⁰⁸

***

After initial successes against the inferior Nama of the Red Nation the expansion of the Herero was stopped by the intervention of the Afrikaner clan. They were pushed back in heavy fights to their starting positions of 1830. They had spent a lot of blood and had lost lots of cattle. The size of the population and of their herds cannot have grown during these ten years. There must have been a decline.

Estimated Herero population 1840: 31,500 – 44,500 (decrease about 0.1% p.a.)¹⁰⁹

5.3. Two decades of supremacy of Jonker Afrikaner, impoverishment of the Herero and decline

The Herero had been pushed back by Jonker Afrikaner and his warriors. The new border was the Swakop. The Herero had lost a lot of land and cattle. Many families retreated along the Omuramba Omatako towards Omaheke or went back to the Kaokoveld. Only a few re­mained in the upper course of the Swakop, amongst them the chiefs Tjamuaha and Kahitjene. At Christmas 1842 they made peace with Jonker and his Afrikaners.¹¹⁰ Both sides profited from the cooperation: The Herero who by order of Jonker settled with him at Windhoek got the protection and the good will of the mighty Afrikaner. At the same time, they got instructions in the use of firearms. In return Jonker got their official consent to settle in Windhoek. Thus, he gained a certain independence from the Red Nation who was his suzerain in Namaqua Land.

Now there was a peace between the clans of Tjamuaha and Kahitjene and the tribe of the Afrikaner, however, there was neither a peace between the Afrikaner and the other Herero nor between the Nama and the Herero. In 1844 Chief Oasib of the Red Nation made a bloody raid against Kahitjene.¹¹¹ Against all agreements Jonker African didn’t protect his ally,¹¹² and so Kahitjene broke with him. Two years later some Herero attacked the neighbouring Mbanderu, killed many people and stole some cattle. In this case Jonker pursued the culprits.¹¹³ However, they had been informed in time and had retreated with their prey into the vastness of the country. As Jonker could not catch the robbers, he attacked another group of Herero who had not been involved in this abuse at all.¹¹⁴ With this violation of the peace a general murder, robbing and sacking started again.¹¹⁵ The Red Nation pressed the Mbanderu, Jonker attacked his former allied Kahitjene, Mbanderu fought against the Afrikaner, Jonker together with the Nama as confederates made war upon the Mbanderu and even Herero fought against Herero.¹¹⁶ In addition this awful war was assisted by white traders of the Cape who supplied the enemies with guns, lead, powder and brandy in any desired amount. However, they had to be paid. Missionary Irle wrote:

“What follows is a period of the most gruesome atrocities and the richest bloodshed ... The large herds of the Herero were stolen. There was a constant phrase under the Nama, once their prey run low: “Come, let’s harvest our gardens, i.e., the cattle posts of the Herero.” Jonker and his hordes crossed the country, murdering and plundering. The Bergdama were his spies.” ¹¹⁷

In 1850 Jonker African “cleaned” Windhoek (bloodbath of Windhoek). He ordered all Herero to be killed, no matter where they belonged. Those who could escape ran the risk of being murdered by the Herero outside as Jonkers collaborators.¹¹⁸ On this occasion other Herero clans in the area of Windhoek were annihilated too.

A bit later Jonker attacked Okahandja. Chief Kahitjene hardly escaped the bloodbath of Okahandja, but he lost almost his whole tribe. Even old people, women and children were slain and stabbed, all properties were stolen. Only Tjamuaha’s tribe was not attacked,¹¹⁹ obviously he was a docile accomplice. Subsequently the Nama called him and his men Jonker’s dogs.¹²⁰

In 1851 the English adventurer and explorer Francis Galton mediated a peace between Nama and Herero which was, however, only of short duration. Now jealousy and envy were between the Herero chiefs. An inheritance dispute unleashed a family feud between the tribes of Kahitjene and Mungunda, the leaders fell victim to together with many of their people. Thus, both tribes were decimated and without chiefs. Captain Christian Zeraua of Otjimbingwe should have integrated them in his tribe, as he was their next relative. However, he refused, as he could not feed them with his small livestock (compare below in 1862). In the end, the orphaned groups were integrated in Tjamuaha’s tribe and subordinated to his son Maharero.¹²¹ Vedder wrote that this was only one example of many of the brother's fights between the Herero.

“As soon as they were no longer troubled by the ... Orlam and Nama, they quarrelled with each other more eagerly. It was a war of all against all. Every little chief who still had some cattle, robbed and murdered the others, who had a little more The whole country was filled with bloodshed and violence, murder and horror and in fact it was questionable whether one should have preferred the time when the mighty Jonker kept everyone in fear and terror.” ¹²²

Tjamuaha committed the next violation of the peace, presumably in arrangement with Jonker Afrikaner. Near Kleinbarmen (Otjikangotjoruvangu) a wealthy Herero had settled a cattle post. Tjamuaha’s men attacked this and urged the residents to go into the cattle kraal. Then it was closed and set on fire. The wretched prisoners died from heat and smoke. Tjamuaha took the cattle.¹²³ Thus it was evident that because the peace could be broken without punishment Galton was powerless.

Jonker too went on robbing for pleasure. Vedder wrote about:

“Like a lion he assailed the Herero”, ¹²⁴

Together with his assistants and accomplices he deprived the Herero tribes of their cattle and treated his allies similarly. Several tribes were exterminated completely. With the war-booty he paid his assistants and the traders who supplied him with arms and ammunition and all that he and his people required. The government in the Cape tried in vain to stop the trading of powder and lead. However, the traders always found means and ways to continue their ugly business.

Amongst the Herero a famine broke out. Without cattle they could neither drink milk, nor eat meat nor had they any cattle to give in exchange for other food. Many starved. Mothers left their children outside to die of exposure or tried to kill them because they could not feed them anymore.¹²⁵ Finally a smallpox epidemic damped the bellicosity of the Orlam and Nama, in particular Oasib with his Red Nation, who were jealous competitors to Jonker. May be the Herero would have been exterminated without that. Nevertheless, the proceedings of the conference of the Rhenish Mission in Otjimbingwe of 10th Mar. 1856 report:

“As far as we know it the people of the Herero have ceased to exist. There are only isolated individuals roaming about in very miserable conditions. The actual situation in the North is unknown to us. We are unable to assess whether there are still tribes, as some people say, or whether there is only bad, almost uninhabited country, as others tell us.” ¹²⁶

And yet in 1852 the explorer C. J. Andersson had the opinion that the Herero would disappear completely within a hundred years,¹²⁷ and James Chapman, who met with a party of them at Elephant’s Kloof in September 1855 described them as

“poor, lean, emaciated shrivelled and scabby creatures, equalling in poverty some of the most wretched Bushmen, … a very cowardly or enervated people”¹²⁸

Jonker Afrikaner interpreted the reports of the missionaries to the government in the Cape and their protests as a treachery. Therefore, he made life hard for them and he further pursued the Herero. Hence, Vedder wrote:

“In about 1857 Jonker’s work in Hereroland could be considered as accomplished. The southern areas were depopulated and without herds. Even the Kaokoveld was empty as Andersson found out. The fleeing Herero were far in the North. At the Omuramba too he met no more herds in 1858. No man will ever report how many people perished, how many herds were driven towards Jonker and the dealers, which atrocities were committed. Jonker ordered stones to be fixed on the backs of captured chiefs to prevent them from escaping when led away. Children and women were enslaved.” ¹²⁹

And Irle noted:

“Hence, the Herero were really subjugated and enslaved by the Nama as the old Boers formerly cruelly treated the Bushmen, so their disciples and offspring mistreated the Herero. The Nama considered the Herero, as the black cattle and baboons, just as these had previously viewed the Bushmen.” ¹³⁰

5.4. Peace attempts

There had been several attempts to make peace. In Kupferberg Oasib and Jonker concluded an agreement (24th Nov.1855) which confirmed Oasib as the leader of the Nama people. Jonker was acknowledged as an independent chief on a par with Oasib.¹³¹

In the peace of Hoachanas (09th Jan.1858) numerous other Nama chiefs confirmed the positions of both rivals in addition Jonker Afrikaner was respected as head of Hereroland. Twelve articles stipulated the terms for litigations, the treatment of refugees and the obligations of the allied. Regular annual meetings were arranged and thereafter the assignment of mining rights as well as land sales needed the approval of all the captains.¹³² Vedder noted:

“The chiefs returned; everyone to his tribe's land. The twelve articles of Hoachanas give eloquent witness that there was no lack of knowledge of what the land now needed. The further history shows that a firm hand was lacking to realise the regulations (and the good will of many participants; author’s remark).” ¹³³

The peace regulations also protected the Herero. Campaigns against them were prohibited, unless the Herero had caused a provocation. Thus, Jonker’s hands were bound. However, this treaty was not effective for the Ambo tribes in the North. Cruelties against two missionaries (Hahn and Rath) and quarrel about succession were the occasion for him to “intervene”. He stole a lot of cattle and people and dragged them away. En passant his men murdered Herero herdsmen at Grootfontein and stole their cattle.¹³⁴

Another raid took place in 1860. This time too Jonker returned with a lot of booty, however, the joy did not last long. Soon afterwards among the herds a lung sickness (Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia) broke out and a lot of cattle perished. Vedder wrote, the cattle economy had been thrown back a decade¹³⁵ which was equivalent to a loss of approx. ½ - ⅔ of the herds. Jonker had fallen ill too. On the 18th Aug.1861 he died in Okahandja while at the zenith of his power.

A short time later Tjamuaha died too (both born about 1790).¹³⁶ Jonkers successor was his first-born son Christian and after his death the second-born Jan Jonker. Successor of Tjamuaha was his son Maharero (also named Kamaherero).

***

The time between 1840 and 1861 was characterized, by bloody wars between Herero, Orlam, Nama and Mbanderu. The occasions were different, the alliances changed. Not only were the warriors the victims of atrocities, but women and children too were bestially murdered robbed and enslaved. Many herds were lost.

At about 1850 Jonker Afrikaner controlled the Herero and the land. For a short time, he was impressed by the English adventurer and explorer Galton and kept peace, but soon he continued his thoughtless predatory and suppressive policies.

He had almost realised his possible aim to establish a great Afrikaner- empire with Herero and Nama. Tjamuaha and his tribe and others had supported his efforts. The pay for the collaborators was their survival. About 1857 Hereroland was "cleaned". Whosoever of the Herero people were still alive were Jonkers servile vassal or had fled far to the North or had hidden in the vastness of the countryside. The people of the Herero had lost their country, their cattle and their power and vegetated destitute in the area. While attempting to escape many of them lived in fear and misery, many of them also died from starvation.

Jonkers last raid to the Ambo in the North once again brought rich booty, but probably also the lung sickness which broke out a short time later. ¹³⁷ This dreaded disease destroyed a large part of the cattle and so the Orlam and Nama became impoverished too. Moreover, on this campaign the Afrikaner leader had become ill himself. He died, finally, in Okahandja (18th Aug.1861). His vassal Tjamuaha followed him a short time later. Thus, both great protagonists on the Namibian stage were dead. A new time could start.

During these tumultuous and bloody years, the population must have decreased again. Murders, lootings and famines took their toll.

Estimated Herero population 1861: 30,500 – 43,000 (decrease 0.1% - 0.2% p.a.)

6. The Herero’s liberation war 1862 - 1870

6.1. Maharero leaves Okahandja

The death of Jonker Afrikaner and Tjamuaha in 1861 was a turning point. It was the occasion for Maharero to shake off the yoke of the Orlam and Nama. The hated and dreaded tyrant was dead; his successor was still not firmly established. Maharero, however, was the undisputed heir of his father. He had inherited not only the worldly position as a chief but also the role as the religious leader, as the guardian of the Holy Fire. Besides, his clan had been increased by the survivors of the tribes of Mungunda and Kahitjene. In addition, there was chief Kambazembi with his people. He was an uncle of Maharero and had left the Kaokoveld after the death of Jonker and Tjamuaha. Now he settled near Waterberg.¹³⁸

Captain Zeraua of Otjimbingwe was related to Maharero too. He had lived under the protection of the Rhenish Mission and the owner of the copper mine nearby. Zeraua didn’t count as a great captain, because his ability to light the Holy Fire was not accepted by everyone. However, he was rich and he had a lot of influence.¹³⁹

Virtually, no other important chiefs existed anymore; they had been killed by Jonker Afrikaner during the previous years or in the fights against each other.¹⁴⁰ The Mbanderu (Herero of the East) did not belong to these clans and there were no marriages between them. Even today they lay particular emphasis on their independence of the Herero.

Christian Afrikaner's position was weaker than that of Maharero. His younger brother Jan felt disadvantaged with the distribution of the inheritance and was discontented and others from the family were too. When he died Jonker Afrikaner had wished a brotherly cooperation of his sons with Maharero but it is questionable if this would have been possible under these conditions. Though Christian, Jan and Maharero had been educated together like brothers, Jonker had always been a tyrant who commanded, tormented and suppressed particularly the Herero. Even Tjamuaha was only safe as long as he was willing and submissive – otherwise he would have had the fate of the other "ally", Kahitjene. Neither the father nor the son had forgotten this hard treatment. When he died Tjamuaha had refused to give the blessing to Christian¹⁴¹ and Maharero had made excuses not to give the symbolic inheritance to him.¹⁴²

Using the old custom to move the kraal after the death of a captain he left the common residence Okahandja and installed the new kraal not far away at a strategically favourable place (plateau at Kaiser-Wilhelm-mountain in the East of Okahandja). Secondly (in 1862) he transferred his people peu à peu to Otjimbingwe to his friend Zeraua. Thus, they were safe from a sudden attack by the Orlam. Finally, he also drew off his herds. Among these there were cattle which belonged, actually, to Christian. Maharero refused their return demanded by the young Afrikaner chief. Instead, he secretly had alarmed all accessible Herero and had ordered them to come to Otjimbingwe. When Christian realised Mahareros plans, it was too late. The Herero army he suddenly was confronted with was superior. He could not hinder the final retreat.¹⁴³

In Otjimbingwe there was not only the kraal of Captain Zeraua. There was also a small Nama kraal as well as a house of the Rhenish mission and nearby was the trading post and a copper mine of the Swedish businessman Carl J. Andersson. The Herero could count on his support and on that of his workers and employees.¹⁴⁴ After the arrival of Maharero and his people Otjimbingwe became the most populous place in South-West Africa. There were more than a thousand huts.¹⁴⁵ Thus Maharero was well prepared for an attack of the Afrikaner.

Christian too made his preparations. He arranged a meeting of all the chiefs of Namaland to gain their support for a war against the Herero. However, his expectations were disappointed. Only Hendrik Ses, captain of the Feldschuhträger (Veldskoendraers, //Habobes) as well as Oasib and his Red Nation promised to help him. The other tribes were not belligerent. On one hand they did not see the Herero as the “dogs, baboons and nuts”¹⁴⁶ of the Nama, on the other hand they did not want to violate the peace of Hoachanas, and, finally, Jonker and the Afrikaner had always repaid their allies with ingratitude. This was not forgotten!

6.2. Military conflicts in 1863

To get the Herero under his heel again Christian with his warriors attacked Otjimbingwe (15th Jun.1863). Nevertheless, the enterprise failed with heavy losses, as in the meantime the Herero too had learned to use guns, and Andersson was a mighty supporter who delivered arms, ammunition as well as men. In the end, the Herero pursued the fleeing enemy and killed whoever they could get. More than 200 Nama, more than one third of their troops¹⁴⁷ were dead amongst them their leader Christian Afrikaner.¹⁴⁸ The Herero had 60 victims. This was the beginning of the decline of the Afrikaner and Nama.

Christian's successor was his younger brother Jan Jonker. However, he enjoyed little confidence, because he was suspected to be on friendly terms with Maharero.¹⁴⁹ Maybe he really tended to a peace, but the "war party" of the Nama demanded revenge. He could not refuse this without endangering his claim to leadership. Andersson and the other Europeans in Otjimbingwe also favoured the continuation of the war. They believed that only a decisive defeat could stop the Afrikaner.

After the victory the Herero again were jealous and divided. To stop this, a paramount chief¹⁵⁰ was needed. On Andersson’s suggestion Zeraua should be elected. Zeraua (he was the older), refused and thus Maharero became paramount chief. As thanks for this and as acknowledgements for his support with the defence of Otjimbingwe Andersson became “regent and military commander of all Herero for his lifetime”. This was a unique honour for a European in South-West Africa. Thus, Andersson had a certain warrant for future enterprises against the Nama who often disturbed his trading interests.

6.3. Encounters 1864

Andersson made the first blow in his new position in March 1864. His armed forces surprised the opponent at Witvlei. In a bold stroke cattle and big ammunition stocks were carried off. At about the same time rumours about plans of Jonker and the Nama to attack the Herero and Mbanderu triggered an uprising of the Herero in Gobabis (April 1864). Some inhabitants were murdered; a lot of cattle were led away. After that the robbers disappeared.¹⁵¹ As revenge Jan Jonker's men raided a cattle transport of Andersson to the Cape (21st Apr.1864). The escorting crew was murdered, the cattle were stolen. Andersson’s answer came right away: By general mobilisation the Herero put up an army of 4,000 men¹⁵² joined by the Swartboois of Rehoboth with their chief Willem. Actually, these were a splinter group of the Red Nation and so their aiding the Herero was high treason against Captain Oasib. The battle was fought at Otjonguere (|Gam-|| gam) on the 22nd Jun.1864. Again, the Afrikaner were hit and they lost a lot of property.¹⁵³ Nevertheless, Jan Jonker and the majority of his men escaped.

The high treason of the Swartboois could not remain unpunished. Jan Jonker planned Rehoboth’s destruction. In anticipation of this the place was evacuated; the Swartboois were to be resettled in the area of the lower Swakop. On the 18th Aug.1864 Orlam and Nama attacked the fleeing Swartboois and killed a large number of them. Afterwards the few survivors settled near Otjimbingwe and later near Franzfontein.¹⁵⁴

6.4. Raids and battles in 1865

In August 1865 Hendrik Ses and Jan Jonker became active again. On the 31st Aug.1865 they made a raid on Barmen (Otjikango). As they were warned early many Herero had fled and thus there were only a few victims.¹⁵⁵ Some days later the Nama attacked Otjimbingwe (3rd Sept.1865). They failed as bloodily as they did two years previously. During the pursuit Captain Ses and many warriors lost their lives, Jan Jonker survived and withdrew to Gobabis. It took two years, before the Nama and the Afrikaner had recovered from this defeat.¹⁵⁶ In the meantime, Maharero had made peace with the Topnaars of the Rehoboth area and with Chief Oasib of the Red Nation. This increased his reputation, strengthened the bonds of the Herero and sowed distrust and suspicion amongst the enemies.

6.5. The year 1867

In November, 1867 the Afrikaner and Boois were ready to fight again. Struggle within their own tribes had occupied them temporarily. Once more the target was Otjimbingwe (12th Dec.1867). The Herero were well prepared; nevertheless, they were surprised at the break of dawn and suffered considerable losses. The battle took the whole day; however, none of the opponents dared an assault. At night the Afrikaner and Nama withdrew, and so there was no decision. Eventually, the Herero decided to pursue the enemy. They caught the surprised Afrikaner and Nama at Anawood in the night of 22nd Dec.1867. After harsh losses (Hahn talked of a slaughter¹⁵⁷ ) Jan Jonker and Jakobus Boois and their men managed to escape. After this defeat they moved to Walvis-Bay, looting the stores and ware houses on their way.

For the moment the war came to an end. After plentiful rainfall in the years of 1863-66 the precipitation was missing in 1867-68, the increasing dryness prevented big operations. The pastures in the surrounding of Otjimbingwe were overgrazed, woods had been cut down¹⁵⁸ and there were disputes between Maharero and Zeraua. So Zeraua moved to the Omaruru Rivier and Maharero too left Otjimbingwe. Following the advice of his sorcerers, he went back to Okahandja to the grave of his father Tjamuaha.¹⁵⁹

[...]

---

¹ Epupa-Falls, own picture

² Waterberg, own picture

³ See Pool, Gerhard, Samuel Maharero, Windhoek 1991, p. 299

⁴ Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard GCMG, CB, DSO, PC (22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945), was a British soldier, mercenary, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator. He pushed for native rule in African colonies. He reasoned that black Africans were very different from white Europeans. He considered that natives should act as a sort of middle manager in colonial governance. This would avoid revolt because, as Lugard believed, the people of Africa would be more likely to follow someone who looked like them, spoke their languages, and shared their customs.

⁵ http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Karte_Namibia-Pos.png. GNU Free Documentation License, Author: Tzzzpfff at German Wikipedia

⁶ Basis of this map: Atlas of Namibia Project, 2002, Directorate of Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Tourism, modified by the author.

⁷ It is supposed that an even older population had existed in this area that became extinct. Certain rock paintings point to that possibility (e.g., Twyfelfontein).

⁸ Estimated < 100 million, see appendix, development of population.

⁹ Compare Heers, Jaques, Les négriers en terre d’islam, Paris 2003, édition 2007, p. 86 ff and Tidiane N’diaye, Der verschleierte Völkermord, die Geschichte des muslimischen Sklavenhandels in Afrika, Berlin 2010

¹⁰Damara-Group, Schinz, Hans, Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika, Oldenburg 1891, S. 208

¹¹Bush People, Leutwein, Theodor, Elf Jahre Gouverneur in Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Berlin 1906, S. 3

¹² See too Dinter, Kurt, Die vegetabilische Veldkost Deutsch Südwest-Afrikas, Okahandja, 1912

¹³ Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 165

¹⁴ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p.44.

¹⁵ Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 165

¹⁶ See appendix: fire arms

¹⁷ Palgrave, W. Coates, Esq., Report of, Special Commissioner to the tribes North of the Orange River, of his mission to Damaraland and Great Namaqualand in 1876. Editor: Cape of Good Hope. Ministerial Department of Native Affairs, Cape Town. (Reprint Pretoria, 1969) p. 22. Compare Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 165

¹⁸ ibid. S. 165, see also appendix: fire arms

¹⁹ Compare Bayer, Maximilian, Mit dem Hauptquartier in Südwestafrika, Berlin 1909, p.11

²⁰ Compare Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 55 ff and Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p.44.

²¹ This nutrition is remarkable as it is also a safe water supply. In many parts of the world water was (and still is today) risky to drink.

²² Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906 p. 113

²³ Compare Pool, Gerhard, Samuel Maharero, Windhoek 1991, p. 177-78

²⁴ This strap was tied wide in good times and tight in times of destitution

²⁵Herero-man, Schinz, Hans, Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika, Oldenburg 1891, S. 152

²⁶Herero-woman, Schinz, Hans, Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika, Oldenburg 1891, S. 153

²⁷ comp. Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 72 ff

²⁸ comp. Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 81

²⁹ comp. Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 87

³⁰ The Dutch used the word “Kapitän”, captain. Both terms are used similarly in this book.

³¹ In former times there was no paramount chief. It was Kamaharero (Maharero) who was elected first paramount chief. The trader Andersson suggested so in June 1863 to stop disagreement in between the Herero. His position and rights never were clarified.

³² H. v. François described it in this way: „Im Übrigen ist’s der Zustand wie in Alt-Israel, zu der Zeit als noch kein König war und jeder that [sic] was ihm däuchte [sic].“ Translated: “As for the rest it is a situation like in Old-Israel when there was still no king and everyone did what he liked to do.” François, Hugo von, Nama und Damara, Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Magdeburg 1896, p. 174

³³ Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 100

³⁴ Pool, Gerhard, Samuel Maharero, Windhoek 1991, p. 77-78, compare: François, Hugo von, Nama und Damara, Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Magdeburg 1896, p. 202

³⁵ Comp. Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 93

³⁶ Compare the situation of the Himba people today, see, Brodbeck, Horst, Einige Anmerkungen zur Kindheit bei den Himba, Ratingen 2009

³⁷ Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 100 ff

³⁸ This is impossible with the own peppercorn hair of the girls.

³⁹ Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906 p. 104

⁴⁰ François, Hugo von, Nama und Damara, Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Magdeburg 1896, p. 198

⁴¹ Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, S. 59

⁴² François, Hugo von, Nama und Damara, Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Magdeburg 1896, p. 195

⁴³ They were strangled

⁴⁴ See Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 106 f

⁴⁵ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 158-159

⁴⁶ Viehe, Gottlieb, Die Ovaherero in Deutsch Südwest-Afrika in Rechtsverhältnisse von eingeborenen Völkern in Afrika und Ozeanien, bearbeitet von S. R. Steinmetz, Berlin, 1903, p. 306

⁴⁷ Vedder even wrote of about sixty, see below

⁴⁸ Compare Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 109 ff, Irle noted that Herero living in polygamy only had few children. Those who lived monogamous had more.

⁴⁹ Viehe, Gottlieb, Die Ovaherero in Deutsch Südwest-Afrika in: Rechtsverhältnisse von eingeborenen Völkern in Afrika und Ozeanien, bearbeitet von S. R. Steinmetz, Berlin, 1903, p. 304 and Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 110. The original sense of the word oupanga was friendship. But used too for the depraved custom of common sexual intercourse in such an alliance the word became a bad one and is no longer used in the old sense. See Brinkers Wörterbuch des Herero, 1886 p. 227. See too, François, Hugo von, Nama und Damara, Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Magdeburg 1896, p. 198-199

⁵⁰ Irle, Johann, J., Die Oupanga der Ovaherero, März 1891 archive RMG 1.605.

⁵¹ François, Hugo von, Nama und Damara, Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Magdeburg 1896, p. 199

⁵² Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p.100

⁵³ Shipena, Julia and Khuruses, Finelda, Multiple and Concurrent Sexual Partnerships in Namibia. A Target Audience Research Report September 2008, Namibia, p.11

⁵⁴ ibidem, p.11

⁵⁵ ibidem, p.11

⁵⁶ ibidem, p.11

⁵⁷ Alexander, James, E., An Expedition of Discovery into the Interior of Africa, through the hitherto undescribed Countries of Great Namaquas, Boschmans, and Hill Damaras, London 1838, vol.1, p. 196

⁵⁸ Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 100-101

⁵⁹ Moritz, Eduard Hrsg.), Die ältesten Reiseberichte über Namibia, Teil 2. Die Berichte der Rheinischen Mission bis zum Jahre 1846, Vorwort und Bearbeitung Helmut Bistri, Windhoek, 2003, p. 160

⁶⁰ Remark of the author: Probably not completely naked but dressed with the usual scarce clothing of the Herero with bare breasts.

⁶¹ Moritz, Eduard Hrsg.), Die ältesten Reiseberichte über Namibia, Teil 2. Die Berichte der Rheinischen Mission bis zum Jahre 1846, Vorwort und Bearbeitung Helmut Bistri, Windhoek, 2003, p. 170

⁶² ibidem, p. 149

⁶³ Viehe, Gottlieb, Die Ovaherero in Deutsch Südwest-Afrika in Rechtsverhältnisse von eingeborenen Völkern in Afrika und Ozeanien, bearbeitet von S. R. Steinmetz, Berlin, 1903, p. 304

⁶⁴ Bergdama settlement Okombahe, Irle, Johann, Die Herero, Gütersloh 1906, S. 156

⁶⁵ François, Hugo von, Nama und Damara, Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Magdeburg 1896, p. 178

⁶⁶ Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 61

⁶⁷ François, Hugo von, Nama und Damara, Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Magdeburg 1896, p. 178

⁶⁸ Afrikanischer Zugochse, Schinz, Hans, Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika, Oldenburg 1891, S. 16

⁶⁹ Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 128-129

⁷⁰ This superstition is one of the motives for the mutilation of fallen German soldiers during the war against the Herero. For the natives the soldiers were not definitely dead. They had to be finally put out of action in such a way. Of course, in the eyes of the Germans this custom was a despicable necrophilia. See Irle, Die Herero, p. 198

⁷¹ Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 50 ff

⁷² Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934 p. 134 ff

⁷³ Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p.50 ff

⁷⁴ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 137

⁷⁵ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 141

⁷⁶ Extremely risky is sheep- and goat farming. These rugged and frugal animals eat the fodder plants almost to the bottom and often plug them out together with the roots. They also eat all available buds, leaves and twigs of the bushes and trees and even their bark thus causing the death of the plant. Kept in great numbers they promote the degradation of the soil up to erosion. Still today the Himbas of Kaokoveld have to struggle with this problem.

⁷⁷ François, Hugo von, Nama und Damara, Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Magdeburg 1896, p. 55

⁷⁸ At the end of the 19th century missionary Irle noticed the same. So, it may be concluded that the sensitive ecosystem of the area had been damaged by excessive pasture and woodcutting. This had happened only about one hundred years after the immigration of the Herero. See: Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 23. See too: Leutwein, Theodor G., Elf Jahre Gouverneur in Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Berlin 1906, p. 338 ff.

⁷⁹ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 43

⁸⁰ Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 22

⁸¹ El Niño / Southern Oscillation – ENSO and Benguela Niño

⁸² Moritz, Eduard (Hrsg.), Die ältesten Reiseberichte über Namibia, Teil 1. Die frühesten Landreisen 1760-1842, Vorwort und Bearbeitung Maria Fisch, Windhoek, 2003, p. 13 ff and p. 69 ff

⁸³ The today existing elephants of the Namib must be the remainder of that population which have adapted to the changing climate and thus have survived.

⁸⁴ Irle, Johann. J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906, p. 21

⁸⁵ François, Hugo von, Nama und Damara, Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Magdeburg 1896, p. 29

⁸⁶ Pfister, Christian, Wetter-Nachhersage, in Mannheimer Forum 89/90, p. 230, Mannheim 1990

⁸⁷ Pfister, Christian, Wetter-Nachhersage, in Mannheimer Forum 89/90, p. 237, Mannheim 1990

⁸⁸ Lakicrater, Vatnajökull national park, Island – eruption from 08.06.1783 until 07.02.1784

⁸⁹ Tambora, Sumbawa, Sunda islands, Indonesia – eruption from 1815

⁹⁰ See appendix, statistics of population

⁹¹ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 141

⁹² Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 142

⁹³ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 144

⁹⁴ François, Hugo von, Nama und Damara, Deutsch-Südwestafrika, Magdeburg 1896, p. 100 ff

⁹⁵ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 181

⁹⁶ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 181

⁹⁷ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 179

⁹⁸ See appendix, statistics of population

⁹⁹ Moritz, Eduard Hrsg.), Die ältesten Reiseberichte über Namibia, Teil 2. Die Berichte der Rheinischen Mission bis zum Jahre 1846, Vorwort und Bearbeitung Helmut Bistri, Windhoek, 2003, p. 179

¹⁰⁰ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 182

¹⁰¹ Nama-Mattenhaus, François, Hugo v., Nama und Damara, Magdeburg 1896, S. 209

¹⁰² At that time these were muzzle loaders with flintlock and low fire rate. See appendix firearms.

¹⁰³ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 184

¹⁰⁴ Jonker Afrikaner, Andersson, Charles, John, Lake Ngami, London 1856, S. 232

¹⁰⁵ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 184

¹⁰⁶ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 184

¹⁰⁷ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 185

¹⁰⁸ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 186-187

¹⁰⁹ Annotation of the author: In 1836 J. E. Alexander estimated 1,200 inhabitants in Niais where Jonker Afrikaner and his kinsmen lived before they moved to Windhoek. Vedder and Dierks estimated the population of Windhoek in 1840 up to 2,000 the Afrikaner being a minority of about 800. They were enforced by Nama and Damara. So about 800 Afrikaner equipped with firearms were superior to the Herero tribes (without Tjamuaha) which had about 6,000 warriors! So, the estimate of the Herero population in 1840 (31,500 – 44,500) should not be too low.

¹¹⁰ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 216 ff

¹¹¹ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 223 ff

¹¹² Maybe he didn’t dare to offend his suzerain (annotation of the author)

¹¹³ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 227

¹¹⁴ See also Hahn’s diary in: Moritz, Eduard Hrsg.), Die ältesten Reiseberichte über Namibia, Teil 2. Die Berichte der Rheinischen Mission bis zum Jahre 1846, Vorwort und Bearbeitung Helmut Bistri, Windhoek, 2003, p. 140

¹¹⁵ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 231

¹¹⁶ See also Hahns Tagebuchaufzeichnungen in: Moritz, Eduard Hrsg.), Die ältesten Reiseberichte über Namibia, Teil 2. Die Berichte der Rheinischen Mission bis zum Jahre 1846, Vorwort und Bearbeitung Helmut Bistri, Windhoek, 2003, p. 170

¹¹⁷ Irle, Johann, J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906 p. 174

¹¹⁸ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 236

¹¹⁹ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 237

¹²⁰ Comp. Irle, Johann, J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906 p. 174

¹²¹ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 286 und Dierks, supra, p. 32

¹²² Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 287

¹²³ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 289

¹²⁴ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 289

¹²⁵ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 291

¹²⁶ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 369

¹²⁷ Andersson, Charles, J., Lake Ngami, London 1856, 1967 edition, Cape Town

¹²⁸ Chapman, Charles, Travels in the Interior of South Africa, London 1868, vol 1st, p. 322-323

¹²⁹ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 293

¹³⁰ Irle, Johann, J., Die Herero. Ein Beitrag zur Landes-, Volks- und Missionskunde, Gütersloh 1906 p. 176

¹³¹ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 302

¹³² Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 306 ff and Dierks, supra, S. 39

¹³³ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 308

¹³⁴ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 309

¹³⁵ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 341

¹³⁶ Dierks, Klaus, Chronologie der Namibischen Geschichte, Windhoek 2003, p. 12

¹³⁷ Later, in 1861missionary Fr. H. Vollmer introduced a successful method of immunisation of the cattle developed by the Dutch doctor Dr. Louis Willems (1822-1907). Thereby a contaminated cotton thread is drawn through the root of the tail of the animal which generates a mild, immunising course of the disease.

¹³⁸ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 398ff

¹³⁹ When Kahitjene died ten years ago, obviously, he wasn’t, see above (annotation of the author)

¹⁴⁰ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 398ff

¹⁴¹ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 318

¹⁴² Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 403

¹⁴³ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 404-406

¹⁴⁴ To protect his property Andersson maintained a small but well-armed private army at this time.

¹⁴⁵ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 406, remark of the author: 1,000 huts correspond to approx. 5,000-6,000 inhabitants, i.e., the tribes of Zeraua and Maharero must have had this size at about 1862. They cannot have been much more. Just six years later, the pasture which Galton in 1850 had described as in abundance had become insufficient causing a dispute between Zeraua and Maharero. Thus, they split up; Zeraua went to Omaruru Rivier and Maharero returned to Okahandja. See too remark 145 below

¹⁴⁶ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 407-408

¹⁴⁷ Dierks, Klaus, Chronologie der Namibischen Geschichte, Windhoek 2003, p. 43

¹⁴⁸ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 410

¹⁴⁹ See also Moritz, Walter, Jonker Afrikaner und Missionar Kleinschmidt, Windhoek 2006, p. 98 ff.

¹⁵⁰ Annotation of the author: The competences of the paramount chief were never properly defined. As a result, the other chiefs considered him as a primus inter pares without the right to give them orders and at best as a leader in a war. This was of importance when the Germans later regarded Maharero’s son Samuel as a sovereign.

¹⁵¹ Dierks, Klaus, Chronologie der Namibischen Geschichte, Windhoek 2003, p. 45, Vedder, supra, p. 429

¹⁵² Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 421-422. From this fact Hahn deduced that the Herero people who had survived the years of pursuit must have been about 24,000.

¹⁵³ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 423, Vedder wrote the booty were 22 ox-wagons with household effects, 1,000 pounds powder, 1,000 cattle and a lot of sheep and goats. So, there might have been about 400-600 defenders (annotation of the author).

¹⁵⁴ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 424 and Dierks, Klaus, Chronologie der Namibischen Geschichte, Windhoek, 2003, p. 45

¹⁵⁵ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 431

¹⁵⁶ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 433

¹⁵⁷ Dierks, Klaus, Chronologie der Namibischen Geschichte, Windhoek 2003, p.48

¹⁵⁸ According to missionary Büttner Otjimbingwe had about 500 to 600 inhabitants in the eighteen seventies. There were 1,200 cows, 1,000 calves and 2,000 sheep and goats. This was obviously too much for the area. Shrubs and trees had been cut down within a wide radius. See Henrichsen, Dag, Herrschaft und Alltag im vorkolonialen Zentralnamibia: Das Herero- und Damaraland im 19. Jahrhundert, Windhoek 2011, p. 26 and 28

¹⁵⁹ Vedder, Heinrich, Das alte Südwestafrika, Berlin 1934, p. 439

• Author: Rainer Tröndle (Author)
• Publication Year: 2023
• Pages: 201
• Catalog Number: V1360705
• ISBN (PDF): 9783346883599
• ISBN (Book): 9783346883605
• Language: English
• Tags: cattle plague, colonialisme, Damara, Herero, Herero uprising, Maharero, Nama, Namibia, Samuel Maharero, San, Waterberg