06 / the khoi khoi on the cape peninsula:

Education grants the individual the ability to examine aspects of the past. In this instance certain facts gained allows one to take a brief look at earlier citizens, who once lived and moved around the Cape Peninsula and other parts of the Western Cape Province – specifically the Khoi Khoi.

Soon after the Dutch settlers arrived at the Cape of  Good Hope in 1652, they came into contact with some members of the Khoi khoi people in particular the Goringhaiqua and the Gorachoqua clans. The word Khoikhoi  means “men of men” or “real men”. They were a small group of pastoralists who moved their fat tailed sheep and long horn cattle to graze along various routes. The colonists bartered rice, copper, tobacco and trinkets in exchange for cattle, sheep and salt.  In the spring/summer months the Khoi would come down from the West Coast to the Cape Peninsula to graze their animals along the banks of the Liesbeek ( Lies River), then turn towards the Table Valley,  move to the coastal area between what is today Green Point, Sea Point, Camps Bay to Hout Bay.  At this time, the middle seventeenth century, other animals  such as zebra, wildebees, grysbokke and eland were also in competition for the available food source.

Later the Khoi and their animals would cross the mountains leading to the Constantia Valley, then to the Sandvlei/ Muizenberg area and slowly make their way towards Cape Point.  When all the grazing on the Cape Peninsula had been exhausted, the people and their flocks would proceed to other parts of the Western Cape.

In the meanwhile as time passed the settlers had slowly become more self supporting with their own small herds of animals. This is when the interests of the two groups clashed. The result was that with less grazing being available, confrontation was inevitable.  The Commander at the Cape ordered a wild almond hedge to be planted on the outskirts of the settlement.  It would act as a “buffer strip” to keep the different cultural groups apart. As the small settlement extended its range of farming activities, the freedom of the nomadic people to move about as they saw fit, were further disadvantaged.

The Hessequa Khoi lived in the Overberg (over the mountains), moving their herds along the banks of the Breede River. The name Overberg came about when laden ox wagons or those on horse back faced the daunting task of trying to cross the mountains. The area extends from the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the west to Swellendam in the East, the Riviersonderend Mountains in the north  and south to the coast – Hermanus, Gansbaai, Cape Agulhas.  The Chocoqua clan lived in the Boland (high land) and the Swartland.  As time passed  the Khoi began to work on farms after finding it more difficult to gain access to grazing land for their herds. The land being controlled by the farmers and or landowners. They were also employed as herd guards, as wagon drivers. Female Khoi were sometimes employed in the homes of whites.

Opposition to their independence and changing lifestyle led to confrontation with the colonists. On 19 May 1659 raids began on the farms of the Cape Peninsula Free Burghers – the First Khoi Khoi Dutch War had begun. But having no fire power/guns, nor the backing of slaves, peace was negotiated with a resultant stalemate. In other words an unsatisfactory draw resulting in neither side being satisfied. This would last for many a long year.

As a matter of interest members of the Garingqua clan grazed their animals in the area where the ezine ImagineMag! is published.