IMAGES THAT TELL STORIES
Below: Race and gender biases wanted to deny that our great, great great grandmother existed. It was even attempted, by historians and family alike, to give her another name. Since 2014 she has a name and face. The image below was created by artist Christine Crowley. Whether a true likeness or not, it has helped us all imagine who Zara Hendriks-//Geixas-Gwarretjie was. This is part of our family effort to re-write and re-imagine the colonial and apartheid history we inherited.
Below:
A classroom and belfry behind the Pella Catholic Cathedral. Signage informs you that it is the the original church built by the London Mission Society. The church was also the classroom and where catechism classes took place. Hinrich Schmelen describes how he first noted Zara and her sister here in late 1811 or 1812. He and Zara married in 1814.
A classroom and belfry behind the Pella Catholic Cathedral. Signage informs you that it is the the original church built by the London Mission Society. The church was also the classroom and where catechism classes took place. Hinrich Schmelen describes how he first noted Zara and her sister here in late 1811 or 1812. He and Zara married in 1814.
BELOW:
Karibib, ca 1912. Kleinschmidt siblings Mathilde, Heinrich, Gerhard (my grandfather) and Helene. All born in what today is Namibia.
Mathilde and Fritz Ewald wanted to marry in 1913. New colonial rules however described her as 'not white' and thus unable to marry a 'white' man. On appeal in Windhoek permission was granted on the basis of evidence by a Karibib Pastor (not a Missionary!) that she might not be 'white' but she conducted herself like white people did. They left for Germany just prior to WWI. Family records state that Fritz died in action on 11.12.1916. Rumours however state that Fritz's family were not in favour of Mathilde - they being farmers in the Tanganyika colony. According to the rumour he committed suicide on that day. Any reasons are speculation.
Heinrich, here donning a Schutztruppen uniform. In 1912 he was not yet 30 years of age. Was he part of the genocide of the Herero and nama people in the 1904 - 1908 war? His mother was half Nama. We know nothing about him other than that he went to Germany and on 1.8.1915 he was killed in action near Warsaw.
Gerhard, was a mission farmer in the service of the Rhenish Mission. The 1904 -1908 war appears to have compelled the mission to relocate from Otjimbingue, in the heart of the war, to Ghaub near Grootfontein in the north. He was conscripted into the Schutztruppe in 1914 to repel the advancing troops from South Africa - part of the WWI. He was soon taken prisoner. In his absence the farm Ghaub became the theatre for the last battle before the German colonial army surrendered. They had used the mission buildings as a rampart. Grandma Klara survived the events. My dad, Wilhelm, not yet a year old is seen at the farm on grandma's arm and three year-old Helmut tugging at her dress. The peace of Korab placed German South West Africa under South African martial law. Opa Gerhard, upon being released returned to a destroyed farm. He used the war debris to create enclosures for the roaming mission cattle and sheep. He was soon arrested and charged under martial law for tampering with enemy and victor war materials. The trial dragged on for five years. In 1921 the charges against him were dropped after the League of Nations mandated South Africa to become caretaker of the territory.
Worse awaited Opa Gerhard. The economic situation in Germany forced the Rhenish Mission in Barmen to shut down and thus its subsidies to the colonies ended. Opa was retrenched in an acrimonious dissolution of mission assettes. Ultimately he went with his family to Karibib to start a wagon repair shop. The new South African administration side-lined all white men identified as German. Half of them were sent back to Germany but those allowed to stay (he, and his father were born in Namibia) could not get work easily (let alone Black persons) were not employed. South Africa used the occasion to try and solve its own so-called 'poor-white problem'. The cloud of him being considered not white added further woes. The best was not to attract attention. The wagon repair shop did not do well and by 1930 both uncle Helmut and my dad, Wilheld were taken out of school because grandad could not pay the fees. Neither had a school-leaving certificate. The family owned no land, no cattle - never had and never did.
Helene: She got married to Ludwig Cosmas in Germany but I have no information about them.
Karibib, ca 1912. Kleinschmidt siblings Mathilde, Heinrich, Gerhard (my grandfather) and Helene. All born in what today is Namibia.
Mathilde and Fritz Ewald wanted to marry in 1913. New colonial rules however described her as 'not white' and thus unable to marry a 'white' man. On appeal in Windhoek permission was granted on the basis of evidence by a Karibib Pastor (not a Missionary!) that she might not be 'white' but she conducted herself like white people did. They left for Germany just prior to WWI. Family records state that Fritz died in action on 11.12.1916. Rumours however state that Fritz's family were not in favour of Mathilde - they being farmers in the Tanganyika colony. According to the rumour he committed suicide on that day. Any reasons are speculation.
Heinrich, here donning a Schutztruppen uniform. In 1912 he was not yet 30 years of age. Was he part of the genocide of the Herero and nama people in the 1904 - 1908 war? His mother was half Nama. We know nothing about him other than that he went to Germany and on 1.8.1915 he was killed in action near Warsaw.
Gerhard, was a mission farmer in the service of the Rhenish Mission. The 1904 -1908 war appears to have compelled the mission to relocate from Otjimbingue, in the heart of the war, to Ghaub near Grootfontein in the north. He was conscripted into the Schutztruppe in 1914 to repel the advancing troops from South Africa - part of the WWI. He was soon taken prisoner. In his absence the farm Ghaub became the theatre for the last battle before the German colonial army surrendered. They had used the mission buildings as a rampart. Grandma Klara survived the events. My dad, Wilhelm, not yet a year old is seen at the farm on grandma's arm and three year-old Helmut tugging at her dress. The peace of Korab placed German South West Africa under South African martial law. Opa Gerhard, upon being released returned to a destroyed farm. He used the war debris to create enclosures for the roaming mission cattle and sheep. He was soon arrested and charged under martial law for tampering with enemy and victor war materials. The trial dragged on for five years. In 1921 the charges against him were dropped after the League of Nations mandated South Africa to become caretaker of the territory.
Worse awaited Opa Gerhard. The economic situation in Germany forced the Rhenish Mission in Barmen to shut down and thus its subsidies to the colonies ended. Opa was retrenched in an acrimonious dissolution of mission assettes. Ultimately he went with his family to Karibib to start a wagon repair shop. The new South African administration side-lined all white men identified as German. Half of them were sent back to Germany but those allowed to stay (he, and his father were born in Namibia) could not get work easily (let alone Black persons) were not employed. South Africa used the occasion to try and solve its own so-called 'poor-white problem'. The cloud of him being considered not white added further woes. The best was not to attract attention. The wagon repair shop did not do well and by 1930 both uncle Helmut and my dad, Wilheld were taken out of school because grandad could not pay the fees. Neither had a school-leaving certificate. The family owned no land, no cattle - never had and never did.
Helene: She got married to Ludwig Cosmas in Germany but I have no information about them.
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Above left: My grandparents Klara and Gerhard. Klara born Heuer 1883 in Germanydied in Windhoek in 1968. Gerhard born in Rehoboth 1883, died in Karibib 1949. The children are, on Grandma's lap Wilhelm (may father born 1914 at Ghaub/Ganachams near Grootfontein. The older child is Helmut - my uncle.
The photo must have been taken before WWI started for grandpa, then a mission farmer was conscripted into the Schutztruppe soon after this photo was taken. The farm was also the place where the last battle between the Schutztruppe and SA Union militia took place - which the Schutztruppe lost. The peace of Korab was signed as a result of this last defeat. Opa was already a POW when the battle took place. Right:Grandfather Opa Gerhard Kleinschmidt on the right. He was the oldest. His siblings: Heinrich, Mathilde (Tilly) and Helene. The mother, born Mathilde Sophie Krause (1847 - 1905) came from Levern in Germany. The father, Franz Heinrich (jr) (Rehoboth 1851 - Otjimbingue 1896) |
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The Schmelen descendents are connected with many of the towns identified below.
1. Bethanien - named as such by Hinrich Schmelen. Established the same year Zara and him got married.
2. Berseba - the mission started by missionary Hegner who married a Kleinschmidt daughter.
3. Rehoboth - named as such by missionary Kleinschmidt.
4. Windhoek - named such by Jonker Afrikaner who invited missionaries Kleinschmidt and Bam - but the attempt was ill-fated
5. Gross Barmen - Kleinschmidt and Hahn started a mission amongst Herero here.
6. Otjimbingue - a center of Rhenish mission activity - several Kleinschmidt graves are here.
7. Franzfontein - where the Damara branch of the Kleinschmidt family settled after Jonker et al drove them from Rehoboth
8. Grootfontein - more specifically Ghaub where the Rhenish mission relocated to during the Herero-Nama war against German occupation. Otjimbingue was at the heart of German military repression and the mission was abandoned.
9. Ondangwa - where Finnish missionaries Rautanen and Bjoerklund established missions. Both were married to Kleinschmidt daughters.
One could add non mission related places: near Engela on the Angolan border is Swartbooi's Drift, where the Damara first trekked to after they had to leave Rehoboth. Disease amongst their animals made them return and settle at Fransfontein.
On the southern border, along the Oranje revier, at its most northern bend in the Richtersfeld is Sendelingsdrift - the place Schmelen and others used to cross the river. It was wide here and thus shallower, making crossings easier.
And Rietfontein, also in the south. My father was tell us, on our long trips between Johannesburg and Windhoek, that Opa Gerhard Kleinschmidt was overpowered here after he was conscripted into the Schutztruppe in 1914 to defend the German colony against the southern English colony. He and others, so the story went, defended Rietfontein (indeed a Rhenish mission station) believing it to be part of German South West Africa, when it was in fact South African territory. He was a POW in Aus, near Bethanien. But was released in 1915 when SA troops had defeated the German militia.
The Schmelen descendents are connected with many of the towns identified below.
1. Bethanien - named as such by Hinrich Schmelen. Established the same year Zara and him got married.
2. Berseba - the mission started by missionary Hegner who married a Kleinschmidt daughter.
3. Rehoboth - named as such by missionary Kleinschmidt.
4. Windhoek - named such by Jonker Afrikaner who invited missionaries Kleinschmidt and Bam - but the attempt was ill-fated
5. Gross Barmen - Kleinschmidt and Hahn started a mission amongst Herero here.
6. Otjimbingue - a center of Rhenish mission activity - several Kleinschmidt graves are here.
7. Franzfontein - where the Damara branch of the Kleinschmidt family settled after Jonker et al drove them from Rehoboth
8. Grootfontein - more specifically Ghaub where the Rhenish mission relocated to during the Herero-Nama war against German occupation. Otjimbingue was at the heart of German military repression and the mission was abandoned.
9. Ondangwa - where Finnish missionaries Rautanen and Bjoerklund established missions. Both were married to Kleinschmidt daughters.
One could add non mission related places: near Engela on the Angolan border is Swartbooi's Drift, where the Damara first trekked to after they had to leave Rehoboth. Disease amongst their animals made them return and settle at Fransfontein.
On the southern border, along the Oranje revier, at its most northern bend in the Richtersfeld is Sendelingsdrift - the place Schmelen and others used to cross the river. It was wide here and thus shallower, making crossings easier.
And Rietfontein, also in the south. My father was tell us, on our long trips between Johannesburg and Windhoek, that Opa Gerhard Kleinschmidt was overpowered here after he was conscripted into the Schutztruppe in 1914 to defend the German colony against the southern English colony. He and others, so the story went, defended Rietfontein (indeed a Rhenish mission station) believing it to be part of German South West Africa, when it was in fact South African territory. He was a POW in Aus, near Bethanien. But was released in 1915 when SA troops had defeated the German militia.
Below:
The Namaqua grammer first compiled by Zara and Hinrich Schmelen, later expanded by missionary Knudsen.
The Namaqua grammer first compiled by Zara and Hinrich Schmelen, later expanded by missionary Knudsen.
Missionary Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt, who gave Rehoboth its name. Died in 1864 after he, with the entire village fled because of an armed attack by Jonker Afrikaner and his men. The people with him identified as Damara, whose descendants live (in part) in Fransfontein. They are relatives of the Kleinschmidts - through the generation after Franz Heinrich.
Below: Rainer Heller in Köln wrote in August 2020: Unsere Oma kommt kommt ins Museum! - zu einer Ausstellung des Historischen Museums Berlin.
Topnaar people. From WikipediaThe Topnaar people (ǂAonin) are a clan of the Nama people in Namibia. Their settlements are all situated on the Kuiseb River in the Erongo Region of central Namibia, the largest one is Utuseb.[1][2]
History[edit]Topnaars began settling in the area of Walvis Bay and along the Kuiseb River during the start of the 19th century. They first occupied the area at the mouth of the Swakop River, today the city of Swakopmund, and moved south beyond Walvis Bay to the Kuiseb mouth between 1820 and 1830. A small faction moved upriver to Sandfontein but was attacked and driven away by warriors of the Red Nation. They receded to Rooibank (Scheppmannsdorf during Imperial Germany's colonial rule of South-West Africa).[3]
Missionary Heinrich Schmelen and Captain Amraal Lambert of the Kaiǀkhauan (Khauas Nama) visited the Topnaar around 1824 or 1825 while searching for a hospitable place at the coast to improve logistics for the support of the missionaries in the hinterland.[4]
Culture and living conditions[edit]ǃNara melons which grow on the banks of the Kuiseb are the primary staple food of the Topnaars.[5] Apart from ǃNara products which are also sold to tourists, most Topnaar people depend on livestock farming and old-age grants.
Seth Kooitjie is the Chief of the Topnaar people. The traditional authority gains money from tourism concessions and fishing quotas in their tribal area but these monies have yet to bring about upliftment of the community which lives without access to sewerage and electricity.[6]
History[edit]Topnaars began settling in the area of Walvis Bay and along the Kuiseb River during the start of the 19th century. They first occupied the area at the mouth of the Swakop River, today the city of Swakopmund, and moved south beyond Walvis Bay to the Kuiseb mouth between 1820 and 1830. A small faction moved upriver to Sandfontein but was attacked and driven away by warriors of the Red Nation. They receded to Rooibank (Scheppmannsdorf during Imperial Germany's colonial rule of South-West Africa).[3]
Missionary Heinrich Schmelen and Captain Amraal Lambert of the Kaiǀkhauan (Khauas Nama) visited the Topnaar around 1824 or 1825 while searching for a hospitable place at the coast to improve logistics for the support of the missionaries in the hinterland.[4]
Culture and living conditions[edit]ǃNara melons which grow on the banks of the Kuiseb are the primary staple food of the Topnaars.[5] Apart from ǃNara products which are also sold to tourists, most Topnaar people depend on livestock farming and old-age grants.
Seth Kooitjie is the Chief of the Topnaar people. The traditional authority gains money from tourism concessions and fishing quotas in their tribal area but these monies have yet to bring about upliftment of the community which lives without access to sewerage and electricity.[6]
Exclusion defines the Khoi and San existence since 1652 when colonial rule started. Democracy in 1994 has not changed much. Yes, every citizen now has the right to vote, but the Khoi/Namaqua and San language was not included among the 11 official languages nor has land restitution been implemented in so far as it affects this community. If there was one overwhelming impression I went away with, after attending below meeting, it was the sense of continued exclusion. Zara Schmelen may yet be seen as a powerful symbol in the demand for Khoi language recognition in South Africa. But a long struggle lies ahead.
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| Amraal Lamberts was Hinrich Schmelens ox wagon driver and accompanied the Schmelen's to Bethany |
A new book by Prof Nigel Penn. The 4th essay deals with the dubious activities of missionary Seidenfaden, but it reflects on the situation of missionaries who married Khoi women. The life of the Schmelen's comes under the spotlight also. It is of marginal interest that the 1st essay deals with the family descendants who today own the farm near the Berg River, where Zara Schmelen was buried.
Unter dem Titel „Familientreffen mit besonderer Bedeutung für ganz Südafrika“ ist am 21. August 2015 der Beitrag und das Inteview mit Horst Kleinschmidt im Deutschlandfunk gelaufen.
http://www.deutschlandradio.de/audio-archiv.260.de.html?drau:broadcast_id=171
- Familientreffen mit besonderer Bedeutung für ganz Südafrfika Sendezeit:21. August 2015, 09:48 UhrAutor:Clausewitz, Bettina vonProgramm:DeutschlandfunkSendung:Tag für TagLänge:05:48 MinutenMP3:Audio abspielen
Hier direkt zum Nachören als mp3:
http://ondemand-mp3.dradio.de/file/dradio/2015/08/21/dlf_20150821_0948_d063d46e.mp3
Die Journalistin Bettina von Clausewitz hat das Programme zusammen gestellt.
| Indaba 85/15 (Austria). Bericht auf Deutsch zu dem Komaggas Treffen, September 2014. |
| Newsletter 24 - The wound of racism in our family |
Christine and Horst erecting signs for family and friends to find their way to Zara's graveside
| Newsletter 23 - Honouring the diversity in our family |
The above entry appears in Die Groot Afrikaanse Familienaamboek, by C. Pama, published by Human and Rousseau in 1983. The book does not have an entry for the Schmelens. This is presumably because the book dealt with families considered to be 'white'. The book appeared during the height of apartheid.
This page is under construction. More texts and images will be uploaded during October 2014.
The South African print, radio, and television media covered the Komaggas events (18 - 23 September 2014) beyond our expectations. The significance of what we did is clearly important for the national narrative. The coverage has projected Zara, our Khoi ancestor, into national prominence. We would argue that her absence there has been a serious omission and we hope that Zara will now receive proper recognition either on National Heritage Day or National Women’s Day.
The visual, audio and written media pieces are available below.
1. Die Burger, Afrikaans daily in the Cape, provided excellent coverage in its Saturday supplement on 20 September 2014. (http://www.netwerk24.com/ontspan/2014-09-20-die-sendeling-en-sy-onsigbare-nama-vrou?redirect_from=beeld)
2. The Cape Argus followed on 24 September, South Africa’s National Heritage Day with a full page coverage of the homage we paid to Zara at her presumed graveside. (http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/reunion-honours-an-ancestor-1.1755461#.VDGdiimSzoE)
3. The Week-end Argus then followed up with a cover page piece in the News Review section. Journalist John Yeld attended the Komaggas events and brilliantly reflects the events and atmosphere. (http://www.iol.co.za/news/special-features/family-reconnects-at-200th-wedding-anniversary-1.1757762#.VDGdUCmSzoE)
4. The South African Broadcasting Corporation also gave coverage on its news and background programs. You can view three pieces on YouTube (or by going to the SABC website).
SABC title: We are all one family: Descendant (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUuV_mPHz6c)
SABC title: Zara Hendricks honoured (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ7pOFB86XQ)
SABC title: Great pleasure that Zara honoured (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLjTb04lBRQ)
The SABC TV programme “Fokus” has a two million viewership. The fifteen minute film on our celebration can be viewed below.
Jackie Loos of the Cape Argus dealt with the story in her column on 2 October 2014, The New Age daily gave prominence to the story on 29 September 2014 and NFM, a radio station in Namaqualand covered the story extensively before and during the gathering.
Eventually a film on the event will be made. The German film team have all the necessary footage and remain committed to the project. They came to South Africa even without an adequate budget and will still need to secure funds to make the film a reality.
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On 18 September 2014, descendants and friends of Zara Schmelen, the Khoi woman from Little Namaqualand came to pay homage to her at her presumed graveside on a farm between Saron and Porterville, Western Cape. The photo's were kindly provided by John Yeld. Should you reproduce them, kindly credit him.
| Nama and English text displayed at Zara's grave .docx |
| Bethel, the first Schmelen Church |
| A play on the Schmelens written in 1979 as a protest against apartheid.pdf |
During the thanksgiving service in the VGK Church in Komaggas, descendants of Zara from Namibia sing hymns that Hanna Kleinschmidt, Zara's daughter translated from German into Nama. The hymns form part of the modern Nama hymn book and credit Hanna accordingly.
Below
2014: Rieël dancers from different Cape villages came to perform at the Schmelen anniversary family gathering
2014: Rieël dancers from different Cape villages came to perform at the Schmelen anniversary family gathering
Komaggas - and the mine deaths of 2012
In 2012 I wrote about the injustice over the mining deaths at Bontekoe, near Komaggas. Despite the SA Human Rights Commission intervention little has changed. Read the excellent essays by free-lance journalist, Kimon de Greef, who visited the area earlier this year.
| The Bontekoe deaths of 2012 - four years later, more unfinished business |
| New article by Terry Bell, acclaimed writer and journalist on the criminalisation of desperate mine workers |
For more on Khoi and San research and history, visit below website
https://camissapeople.wordpress.com/
https://camissapeople.wordpress.com/
For more on inter-racial marriages visit: http://10and5.com/2018/01/31/love-across-racial-lines-cape-town-graduate-reimagines-familys-painful-past-in-new-work/