Rehoboth Basters Namibia
In the old Dutch Cape Colony it became common for the offspring of a racial mixture to marry another person of racial
REHOBOTH BASTERS NAMIBIA . In the old Dutch Cape Colony it became common for the offspring of a racial mixture to marry another person of racial mixture. This 'new race' of light brown…
The Rehoboth Basters a History
The Beginnings of a New Society: In the old Dutch Cape Colony it became common for the offspring of a racial mixture to marry another person of racial mixture. This 'new race' of light brown skinned people was often referred to as being 'coloured' or 'bastards'. The new coloured race found themselves with an identity crisis. They were neither black nor white, but their culture was developing alongside that of the white and they naturally leaned in that direction as they viewed it to be the path to advancement. They adopted the names of the Dutch settlers along with the religion and language. Those who were not employed by white settlers soon began to develop their own small societies and moved out from the confines of the enclave of the Dutch Cape colony.
The Early Migrations North: The ongoing years saw much of this new-found society migrating northwards, away from the white dominated Cape and by the middle of the nineteenth century it was estimated that some 5,000 of them had settled in the north-western Cape. Meanwhile, the British had taken control of the Cape Colony and were encouraging settlement of the land. Immigrants from Britain were being shipped in and many had been encouraged by the promise of land and were in turn making a steady movement northwards from the Cape. The impending conflict of interests regarding the ownership of what was now deemed to be 'Crown Land' was viewed sternly by the British authorities, and they were quick to declare the Baster land settlements to be unauthorized. The conflict of interests was not favourable for the Basters as a whole. It was during this time that a group of about ninety Baster families who had formed a community at a place they named De Tuin (the Garden) in the Bushmanland area of the north western Cape elected to avoid confrontation with the British authorities and move northwards, once again.
The Great Baster Trek: It was on 4 November 1868 that the trekkers began their journey to a new land and hopefully a more promising future. On 16 November they crossed the Transgariep ( Orange River ) into what as known as Great Namaqualand, being what is today the south of Namibia.
They trundled their way to the hot springs at Warmbad, near to present Day Karasburg . Here, free from prejudice they settled for a short while and, following Biblical principals, formulated a constitution as to how they should operate as a society. They named the agreement the Constitution of Nisbeth Bath (referred to today as being the Vaderlike Vette of the Patriarchal Laws). In 1869 and in accordance with the constitution they elected a Legislative Council (Volksraad) and a leader who was given the title Kaptein. The first man to be entrusted with the Kapteincy was Hermanus van Wyk. The Baster Trekkers, now more organised as a group pushed further northwards, crossing the Karas Mountains where they settled temporarily at a place 30 km north of Berseba (near to Brukkaros ).
The Quest For Land: The Basters were searching for land that they could rightfully call their own and their movements took them further northwards to a place about 80 km south of Windhoek called Rehoboth .
Rehoboth: The people of the Red Nation of Hoachanas, the Swartbooi tribe lived in this area. A Rhenish mission station was established there in 1845 and Dr. Carl Hugo Hahn, the missionary named the place Rehoboth using an extract from Biblical scripture Genesis 26:22 "And he removed from thence and digged another well; and for that they strove not; and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land". The Basters numbered under 500 people at this time and they rented the land for the price of 1 horse per year. They claim to have made a later purchase of the area known as the Rehoboth from the Swartbooi Chief for the price of 100 horses and 5 wagons.
The First World War: The Basters had learned their lesson from their previous experience with their German masters and now refused to ally themselves and fight for the German cause. They rightly viewed the conflict as being a 'White Man's War'. The Germans did not respect the neutrality of the Basters and declared war on them in March 1915. The Basters abandoned the settlement at Rehoboth and fled about 80 km westwards to the hilly and better defensible lands known as Sam Kubis. It was here that they waged a guerrilla style defence from the hills against their German foe. They held their lines until 8 May 1915 when the Germans had to make a tactical retreat owing to South African Union Forces taking command of the area.
Dictionaries list the word bastard as being, "one born out of wedlock; unauthorized; illegitimate etc." In certain western countries the word bastard is sometimes used as an insult; whereas In Australia the word is often used as a friendly adjective during conversations between men.
In the Namibian culture and daily used vocabulary the term Bastard or Baster has no association at all with 'illegitimacy'. It refers solely to a member and descendent of that brave and proud group of nineteenth century trekkers who migrated northwards across the river in search of a better life and seeking recognition as being equals to any other human being. Here, in modern day free and independent Namibia the Basters' rights to that equality are firmly entrenched in the Namibian Constitution. The dream of Hermanus van Wyk and the early Baster Pioneers has been realized.
Acknowledgements and further reading: M8. Rehoboth Windhoek
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