South Africa
An Historical and Ethnic Outline by Craig. M. White
South Afrika.
Bible Prophecy in the 21st Century
The Remarkable Afrikaners
(slightly adapted)
by
Craig M. White.
A Concise Ethnic History of South Africa
South Africa's ethnic history is a multifaceted tapestry influenced with various ethnic groups contributing to its vast diversity. Below is a succinct overview of the ethnic group's resident in the land.
Bushmen (San):
The San, commonly known as "Bushmen," are the earliest inhabitants of Southern Africa.
They were hunter-gatherers, existing in nomadic bands throughout South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia.
The San were progressively displaced by the Khoikhoi and particularly Bantu migrations. Many were killed, enslaved, or assimilated into these communities, although some descendants of the San endure today.
Hottentots (Khoikhoi):
The Khoikhoi, a pastoralist community, likely migrated to Southern Africa approximately 2,000 years ago from regions further north. They share a close relationship with the San, collectively termed Khoisan due to their linguistic and cultural similarities, representing a blend of San and Bantu.
In contrast to the San, the Khoikhoi were herders, raising cattle and sheep, which facilitated a more settled way of life. They resided in semi-nomadic communities and engaged in trade with neighbouring groups.
Origin of the Bushmen and Hottentots:
The Bushmen and Hottentots (termed Khoikhoi or Capoids by anthropologists) are traced to North Africa by Professor Coon and others (C. Coon, The Origin of the Races, p. 649). Who are they and why are they so different to the Bantu and other African peoples?
In many legends along the fringes of the Sahara Desert, mention is made of a non-Caucasoid race whose ancestors were originally in the mountains but moved down to the Dades Valley and found the area occupied by a yellow-skinned race. These they conquered and they soon mixed with the African slaves, producing the Haratin serfs. These Haratin look surprisingly like the Hottentots and to support his claim, Professor Coon produces a photograph of these Haratin (C. Coon, The Living races of Mankind, p. 117). Of further evidence of their origins is that of the Hottentot's cattle. Their cattle are of the long-horned variety, originating in Northeast Africa, and are quite different to the small-horned variety of the nearby Bantu tribes (ibid, plate 160).
Gradually, the Hottentots moved eastward. A stone in the wall of Deir-el-Bahari, close to Thebes, mentions an expedition of Queen Hatshepsut (c1493 BC). In this inscription, the Queen of Punt is shown to be of undoubtedly the Hottentot race (A. Toussaint, History of the Indian Ocean, pp. 13-14; See also D. Rohl Legend. The Genesis of Civilisation, p. 298). They moved down the coast, being pushed further and further south by the advancing Africans. The nearest surviving type to them is the Nama tribe in Namibia numbering 230,000 persons in the region.
They are clearly a mixed people. Topinard writes that they have "a yellow-brown or grey skin ... Their thick, broad, and prominent cheek-bones, and their small and oblique palpobral apertures... remind one of the Chinese races" (P. Topinard, Elements d'Anthropologie Générale, p. 493). Their cephalic index is 74, in between that of the Bushmen and the Africans. In summary, one must conclude that the "Hottentots are hybrids between the Bushmen and the Bantu" (R. Dart "Recent Discoveries Bearing on Human History in Southern Africa", The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 70, No. 1 (1940), p. 16).
A Haratin in North Africa
But what of the Bushmen themselves? What is their origin? They originated in North Africa too. Traces of them may still be witnessed in North Africa amongst certain Berbers. Professor Coon once again presents a photograph to prove his point (Coon, ibid, plate 154). They, like the Hottentots, also moved into East Africa. Researchers have found that their language is similar to that of the East African Cushites. One states that "... the Bush-Hottentot languages are so intimately related to the Hamitic group of languages" (Dart, ibid, p.
22).
Taylor refers to Artemidorus (c270 BC) who makes mention of a group of troglodytes in the eastern desert, who were nomads. They were virtually naked, running around in nothing but a small skin, carrying with them clubs and bows (G. Taylor, Environment and Nation, p. 138) like the Bushmen. They buried their dead under a heap of stones which were surmounted by a goat's horn. This is a Bushmen custom. Even female types of the Bushmen and statuettes have been found in Egyptian tombs (Dart, ibid).
Among the Duwwud in Libya and others in Tanzania are the remnants of these people (C. Coon, The Origin of the Races, p. 648). And small bushman-like midgets are still extant in East Africa (the Dorobs) and South Ethiopia (the Doko) (Taylor, ibid, p. 124). The majority of Bushmen however dwell today in the Kalahari Desert of South Africa and Namibia numbering 100,000.
Their anatomy is quite different to that of the Africans, which means that they cannot be simply another African type. Their skull, vertebrae and even their feet are quite different because they are a mixed people (Taylor, ibid, p. 123), being a mix of Africans and Mongoloids. Perhaps they are those referred to as the "mingled" peoples in North Africa referred to in certain scriptures, being associated with Phut, Cush, Libya and Chub. (Jer. 25:20, 24; Ezek 30:5)
Many commentators make mention of the "riddle" of the Bushmen (J. Broek & J. Weber, A Geography of Mankind, p. 80). They have eye-folds and slanting eyes like that of the Mongoloids, and their skin is a yellow brown colour (Peoples of South Africa, p. 23.). There has been a discovery "at Outenique (Eastern Cape Province) of ancient skulls with a Mongoloid (Asiatic) faces in the midst of a Bush-Boskopoid population"
(Dart, ibid, p. 2). Dart claims that even
"the old Dutch colonists detected the Mongolian appearance of the Eastern Bush and Pygmy peoples and in the negroes of South Africa, the Sudan and the West Coast" (Dart, ibid, p. 12).
Was there at one time a Mongoloid tribe in Northern Africa cut off from the rest of their race due to the scattering at the tower of Babel? Did they mix with the Bantu, there producing the Bushmen? And did further mixing, sometime later, of the Bushmen with the Africans produce the Hottentots?
Bantu-Speaking Peoples:
Bantus migrated southward from West and Central Africa into Southern Africa. These migrations introduced iron working, agriculture, and intricate social structures to the region.
The major Bantu nations in South Africa are:
· BaPedi (North Sotho)
· BaSotho (South Sotho)
· BaTswana
· South Ndebele
· Swazi
· Tsonga
· Venda (including the Lemba referred to below)
· Xhosa
· Zulu
They are as distinct from one another as the various nations that once made up the former Yugoslavia. The Bantu established chiefdoms and kingdoms, including the Zulu Kingdom under the famous Shaka in the 19th century. These Bantu nations engaged in fierce conflicts with one another, particularly during a time known as the Mfecane, and later with the Afrikaners and the British. The Mfecane was a period marked by extensive warfare and population displacement in southern Africa from around 1815 to 1840 - akin to a Bantu world war that spread from East Africa into the southern regions.
One Bantu ethnic group is of special interest. A small tribe living among the Venda is the Lemba, who have kept themselves separate and do not intermarry with any other black tribes, calling them all "pagans".
"Their faces, although black, show Semitic features. The Semitic factor is further stressed by the fact that they do not eat pork, nor any animals which are not kosher - killed by slitting the throat. They also practice circumcision ..." (J. A. Hofmeyer, The Lemba (1967), p. 82).
Some consider themselves Jews and others as Christians or Muslims.
For the Jewish elements, strangers are not permitted to attend their religious ceremonies (S. Itzkoff, "Fossil Humans: The End of Ideology?", The Mankind Quarterly, Vol. 19, Nos. 1&2 (1988), p. 121), they wear skull caps, have slightly lighter skins than the other Bantu and rest on Saturdays. They consist of 13 clans, 6 of which clearly comprise Arabic names (N. J. Warmelo, "The Classification of Cultural Groups", in W. D.
Hammond-Tooke, The Bantu-speaking Peoples of Southern Africa (1974), p.
82) numbering only about 70,000 in South Africa, but a few others may be found in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi.
Some have traditions remarkably similar to the story of Esau and Jacob, the ark of the covenant and a god who protects a chosen people on the move. Many words in their vocabularies are very similar to Indian and Arabic (Warmelo, ibid, pp. 58-59.). Their tradition has them migrating to the Yemen, crossing the Red Sea, they left the Falashas behind in East Africa as they migrated southwards (N. Wade, "Group in Africa has Jewish Roots, DNA Indicates", New York Times, 9 May 1999). It should be emphasised that the amount of Jewish or Semitic DNA is tiny and shows that there was contact many generations ago. In 2001, a documentary was shown on Foxtel cable television on the subject with the misnomer Sons of Abraham: the Lemba which is worth viewing.
Conclusion: The Lemba are Bantu who picked up some Semitic practices from Middle Eastern traders centuries and there was some, though limited, inter-mingling.
Afrikaners:
Afrikaners, commonly referred to as Boers, are the descendants of mainly Dutch settlers who arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652 under the auspices of the Dutch East India Company.
Over the years, they were joined by French Huguenots, Germans, and others, resulting in the formation of a distinct ethnic group.
The Afrikaners cultivated a unique culture, language (Afrikaans), and identity closely linked to agriculture and a Calvinist world view.
They encountered conflicts with Bantu-speaking groups during the Great Trek and frontier wars, and later with the British during the Anglo-Boer Wars (1899-1902). Their political supremacy in the 20th century culminated in the establishment of apartheid, a system characterised by racial segregation.
Also known as the Voortrekkers, they established Boer republics like the Orange Free State and Transvaal; however, the discovery of minerals (diamonds in 1867 and gold in 1886) prompted British intervention and the Anglo-Boer Wars (1880-1881 and 1899-1902). The latter conflict was catastrophic, with British concentration camps resulting in approximately 28,000 Boer fatalities, predominantly among women and children. The defeat led to the unification of South Africa in 1910, yet Afrikaners regained influence through nationalism.
The Afrikaner-led National Party triumphed in the 1948 elections, implementing apartheid-- a system of racial segregation that persisted until 1994, when democratic elections were held under Nelson Mandela.
Presently, Afrikaners number around 2.7-3.5 million, primarily in South Africa, with a Diaspora overseas. They maintain their culture through Afrikaans literature, music, and sports such as rugby, but they face challenges including land expropriation, farm attacks, oppression.
In the 1970s, the South African government covertly engaged with certain French-speaking West African nations and the Soviet Union for trade and, in some instances, for peace initiatives. These interactions were motivated by South Africa's need to navigate international isolation and sanctions resulting from its apartheid policies. However, these initiatives failed to produce the lasting benefits the government sought.
British:
The British initially occupied the Cape Colony in 1795, formally annexing it in 1806. They introduced administrators, settlers, and missionaries, thereby establishing a notable presence in the 19th century, especially following the arrival of the 1820 Settlers in the Eastern Cape province through the town of Port Elizabeth.
The British engaged in conflicts against both Bantu groups (such as the Xhosa Wars) and Afrikaners (during the Anglo-Boer Wars). Their colonial policies established the foundation for South Africa's contemporary economy, while simultaneously exacerbating racial divisions. Descendants of the British, commonly known as Anglo-South Africans, constitute a significant minority, numbering approximately 1.8 million.
In addition, the country has Cape Coloureds (4.2 million), Indians (1.2 million), Malays (325,000) and Chinese (300,000) inhabitants.
Currently, South Africa has an estimated population of around 64 million, with Bantu-speaking groups (including Zulu and Xhosa) accounting for about 80%, Afrikaners making up roughly 5-6%, and individuals of British descent representing a smaller minority. The impact of these ethnic histories continues to shape South Africa's social, political, and economic environment.
Zulu Traditions of the Battle of Blood River
There exists a Zulu oral tradition recounted by survivors of the Battle of Blood River (which took place on 16 December 1838, between the Voortrekker Boers and Zulu forces) that tells of a supernatural vision that contributed to their defeat. According to accounts that have been passed down and shared with Boer families in subsequent years, Zulu warriors gazed toward a nearby mountain during a pivotal moment in the battle and perceived what they believed to be a phantom army charging toward them. This apparition featured a significant number of cavalrymen on white horses, adorned with flowing banners, led by a solitary figure on a white horse wielding a long knife (which they described as a sword). The sight incited panic, causing many to flee and ultimately disrupting the Zulu assault.
This vision was not witnessed by the Voortrekkers or the seasoned Zulu warriors, and some dismissed it as mere "Zulu stories." Nevertheless, it has been preserved in historical accounts as a potential explanation for the abrupt rout, alongside factors such as Boer firepower and tactics.
The Battle of Blood River arose from the betrayal of Zulu King Dingane:
after signing a land treaty with Trekker leader Piet Retief, Dingane orchestrated the massacre of Retief and his party at uMgungundlovu, followed by assaults on Trekker encampments that resulted in the deaths of approximately 500 settlers during the Weenen massacre. In retaliation, 464 Voortrekkers under Andries Pretorius established a defensive laager (wagon circle) by the Ncome River. Prior to the battle, they made a vow to God for victory, pledging to commemorate the day if they were successful. Confronting 25,000-30,000 Zulu warriors, the Voortrekkers employed superior firearms and tactics to fend off successive attacks, inflicting over 3,000 Zulu casualties while sustaining only three minor injuries. The river was reportedly stained red with blood, which gave the battle its name. This decisive victory weakened Dingane's forces, facilitating the establishment of the Republic of Natalia and symbolizing divine favor in Afrikaner tradition, later commemorated as the Day of the Vow (now recognized as South Africa's Day of Reconciliation).
Port Elizabeth library (1901)
Achievements
For a small power, South Africa has a history of exceptional achievements across medical, military, and technological fields. Below is a concise overview of these accomplishments:
· First Heart Transplant by Dr Christiaan Barnard, 3 December
1967.
· Atlas Cheetah Fighter Jet developed in the 1980s.
· Nuclear bomb developed during a covert nuclear weapons program
in the 1970s and 1980s. By 1989, it had built six nuclear devices, with a seventh under construction, before President F.W. de Klerk ordered their dismantlement in 1991.
· Other notable achievements include the Rooivalk Attack
Helicopter; Sasol's Synthetic Fuel Technology - the pioneering of coal-to-liquid and gas-to-liquid (GTL) technologies; contributed to developing the CAT scan through physicist Allan Cormack, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1979 for his work on X-ray imaging; the country is a key host for a massive international radio telescope project. Its MeerKAT telescope, has already made significant astronomical discoveries.
South African flag 1928-94
For information on the evolution of the flag refer to
https://samilhistory.com/2017/03/15/the-inconvenient-and-unknown-history-of-south-africas-national-flags
Afrikaner Links to Ancient Israel
In 1973 or 1974 I purchased a booklet titled "Strange Parallel. The Netherlands a Tribe of Israel." It was updated and republished several times and is still available for purchase online.
There is a belief that Afrikaners, who are primarily descendants of Dutch settlers, are associated with the biblical Tribe of Zebulun (with possible connections made to the tribes of Issachar and Simeon). The theory proposes that certain contemporary populations, particularly those of European ancestry, have ties to the Lost Tribes of Israel. In particular, some references suggest that the Dutch, and consequently Afrikaners, may trace their lineage back to the Tribe of Zebulun due to cultural and historical similarities. In the following sections, I will examine this assertion and any related traditions, drawing upon available data and critical evaluation.
Zebulun was one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, descended from Zebulun, the sixth son of Jacob and Leah (Genesis 30:20). This tribe was linked to maritime trade and commerce, as indicated by Jacob's blessing:
"Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon" (Genesis 49:13). Moses'
blessing further highlights Zebulun's prosperity derived from the seas (Deuteronomy 33:18-19). The territory of this tribe was located in northern Israel, near the Sea of Galilee, and they were recognized for their support of the tribe of Issachar through their trade wealth.
Historically, the Dutch have been regarded as adept seafarers and traders, particularly during the Dutch Golden Age (17th century), when they held a dominant position in global trade through the Dutch East India Company. This reputation aligns with Zebulun's biblical connection to maritime commerce and "havens for ships." Rotterdam, a significant global port, along with Holland's affluence from maritime endeavours, is thought to be fulfilling Zebulun's blessings regarding "sucking the abundance of the seas" (Deuteronomy 33:19).
Advocates of Afrikaner culture, which prioritizes community, commerce, and agricultural efficiency, perceive it as a reflection of Zebulun's associations with "home, productivity, and fertility."
What now South Africa?
Pre-1948 South Africa saw a progression of segregationist policies and laws that laid the foundation for apartheid (segregation). In effect, apartheid was already in existence between the various Bantu nations and between the Whites and Bantu but further developed under the Afrikaner.
For example there were the 1797-1906 Pass Laws; 1835-1848 Post-slavery Ordinances; 1892-1910 Voting Restrictions; 1894-1936 Land Restrictions :
The 1894 Glen Grey Act, 1913 Natives Land Act, and 1936 Native Trust and Land Act limited Black land ownership and such like.
A major plank of the Afrikaners was to ensure that each of the Bantu nations would be provided a homeland, and they attempted to do so.
All ethnic groups deserve a homeland so that they may maintain their identity and culture. The Afrikaners were promised a separate homeland as part of the negotiations to transfer power to Black rule in 1994. The elites cunningly deceived them and never delivered on this promise. Not long after the transfer of power, the various Bantustans which were generally ruled by Christian chieftains were overthrown forcibly and South Africa has been on a downtrend ever since.
Right now South Africa is on the brink. The several Bantu nations cannot get on with each other. White farmers are being murdered, and crime is rising exponentially. The economy is collapsing, and the 8 million illegal migrants do not help the situation. Civil war seems almost inevitable.
Whatever the outcome, the Messiah will be returning as Messiah to rescue scattered tribes of Israel and bringing them to the Holy Land in accordance with many prophecies. He will also be conquering the non-Israelitish peoples and bringing them under His government.
One prophecy suggest that this will be the case: Zephaniah 3:10 states that "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering". This may be interpreted as a prophesy of the return of remnant Israelites from southern Africa.
The Messiah shall indeed return and implement a new order over this world, rescuing the Israelites from a terrible fate and uplifting all peoples to new heights.