Toyota US Woordfees 2020: HemelBesem en Tilman Dedering vertel meer oor Nama-vryheidsvegter Hendrik Witbooi - Voertaal
Menán van Heerden, HemelBesem, Tilman Dedering Interviews 2020-03-09
Komende Woensdag 11 Maart gesels Albert Grundlingh by die Toyota US Woordfees met Simon “HemelBesem” Witbooi en Tilman Dedering oor die Nederlandse skrywer Conny Braam se biografiese roman Ek is Hendrik Witbooi:
Met Simon “Hemelbesem” Witbooi en Tilman Dedering, in gesprek met Albert Grundlingh
In 1884 trek Hendrik Witbooi en sy Namavolk noorde toe om weg te kom van die droë Kalahari-woestyn. Terselfdertyd stap die keiserlike afgevaardigde dr. Göring aan wal in die nuwe Duitse kolonie Suidwes-Afrika (vandag Namibië). In 2016 eis Namibië dat Duitsland die uitwissing van tienduisende Namas en Herero’s erken.
Maar hoe behoort ons Witbooi te onthou, ’n man wie se nasate Auschwitz toe gestuur is – as ’n gesofistikeerde politikus, vryheidsvegter, of wrede krygsheer?
Albert Grundlingh gesels met Tilman Dedering, ’n kenner veral oor die Duitse en koloniale geskiedenis van Namibië, en Simon Witbooi (ook bekend as Hemelbesem), ’n agterkleinseun van Hendrik, oor die Nederlandse skrywer Conny Braam se Ek is Hendrik Witbooi.
Hemelbesem rond die gesprek met musiek af.
Menán van Heerden gesels met Tilman Dedering, ’n kenner veral oor die Duitse en koloniale geskiedenis van Namibië, en HemelBesem, ’n agterkleinseun van Hendrik, oor die Duitse en koloniale geskiedenis van Namibië en die Nama-vryheidsvegter Hendrik Witbooi.
Tilman, baie dankie dat jy met ons gesels! Is die Duitse en koloniale geskiedenis van Namibië algemeen bekend in Suid-Afrika en Namibië? Wat is die belangrikste aspekte van hierdie geskiedenis?
Relatively few South African scholars have written on the history of German colonialism in Namibia. South African interest in Namibia has focused more on the period of the South African occupation of South West Africa from 1915 until 1990.
In contrast, the period of German colonialism has been of great importance for historical and political debates in Namibia. A central and sinister chapter in this history is the genocide committed by German colonial troops during the uprising of the Nama and Herero against German rule (1903–1907).
Until recently, debates about the repercussions of this brutal colonial war and about the question of the acknowledgement of Germany’s historical responsibility have had a disruptive influence on the relations between Windhoek and Berlin.
Wat wil jy graag hê Suid-Afrikaners en Namibiërs moet weet van die Nama-vryheidsvegter Hendrik Witbooi?
Hendrik Witbooi was an African leader who was astutely aware of the threat posed to the independence and the traditional lifestyle of African communities during the period of the European penetration of indigenous societies.
Born south of the Orange River in 1830, the chief’s son experienced the gradual extension of the colonial frontier from the Cape and the immigration of the so-called Oorlam Nama, to which the Witboois belonged, into what was then called Great Namaqualand. From 1863, Gibeon in southern Namibia was the new settlement of the Witboois. Hendrik was mission-educated and played a leading role in the development of an independent Christian church among his people.
Drawn into the internal feuding among the different Nama groups in Namibia, he quickly established a dominant position, which he tried to defend against the Germans who annexed the territory in 1884. An outstanding feature of Hendrik Witbooi’s was that he left a collection of letters and other documents that provide us with insights into his politics and his relations with other chiefs and with the Germans.
His ambitions as an important figure in the complex relations among the different Namibian groups were often couched in religious language. Faced with the new pressures on the independence and resources of the Witboois during the early period of German colonial rule, he tried to preserve the increasingly shrinking space and freedom left for his community by accepting the role of a military auxiliary of German rule.
This tenuous link with the colonisers did not survive the outbreak of the anti-colonial war in 1903. Hendrik Witbooi realised that the Germans intended to subjugate all Namibian communities in a genocidal confrontation. He died fighting the Germans in 1905.
HemelBesem, ’n agterkleinseun van Hendrik Witbooi (Foto: Izak de Vries)
Jou PhD-navorsing fokus op die interaksie tussen die eerste Europese sendelinge en inheemse gemeenskappe in die vroeë 19de eeu in Namibië. Wat was/is die verreikende gevolge van hierdie interaksie?
From 1806, missionaries from various European mission societies established stations in southern Namibia. These settlements became important hubs of economic and social change during a period when Namibian communities did not yet live under colonial rule.
Mission work became an important catalyst of social change in Namibian communities, who often viewed missionaries as useful in providing important services ranging from spiritual support to economic aid. Missionaries became drawn into the complicated power relations and frequent clashes among the different communities because they helped to establish economic ties with the Cape economy. Hendrik Witbooi often articulated his political ambitions in Biblical language.
Van waar jou belangstelling vir die Duitse en koloniale geskiedenis van Namibië?
When I studied for my MA in social anthropology at the Free University Berlin from 1978, very little scholarly work on German colonial history existed apart from broader studies on international relations.
Germany had lost all of its colonies in 1918, and the Second World War ended with the defeat of the genocidal Nazi regime. After 1945 most Germans had very little appetite to explore their colonial history with all of its dark sides.
Compared with the longer imperialist traditions of other European colonial empires, Germany’s foray into colonialism had been relatively brief. This facilitated a narrative that falsely claimed that Germany did not need to bother much with reflecting on its colonialist past. For a young student, this opened up an exciting, and often depressing, intellectual journey into a forgotten chapter of his own history.
HemelBesem, dankie dat jy met ons gesels! Wat wil jy graag hê Suid-Afrikaners en Namibiërs moet weet van die Nama-vryheidsvegter Hendrik Witbooi?
Hy was gelowig.
Hy was ’n man van integriteit.
Hy was ’n brugbouer.
Hy was ’n man van tale.
En hy was ’n kanniedood.
Seker die skerm se weergawe van ’n William Wallace. Die balans tussen savage en gentleman handhaaf in ’n wêreld waar die idee van “being civilised” selfsugtig en kortsigtig was.
In ’n Voertaal-artikel word daar genoem dat jy ’n tatoe van Hendrik Witbooi het. Vertel meer?
Dis die 50-dollar-noot op my voorarm, omdat in Suid-Afrika so min mense van hom weet of leer. Jy kry feitlik nêrens literatuur oor hom nie. So dis ’n lekker geselsknoper as ek onderhoude het op televisie, asook musiekvideo’s ens. Ek probeer maar in ’n mate op só n manier ’n voorblad wees en dra van ’n boek wat jy nie kry in Suid Afrika nie.