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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Die mondelinge oorlewering oor Ruitertjie Ruiters, 'Leeu van die Langkloof'
Author:John, Philip
Year:2006
Periodical:Tydskrif vir letterkunde
Volume:43
Issue:2
Pages:13-30
Language:Afrikaans
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:oral traditions
offenders
Khoikhoi
Afrikaans language
About person:Ruiter Ruiters
External link:https://doi.org/10.4314/tvl.v43i2.29743
Abstract:This article deals with the life and heritage of Ruiter Ruiters, a man who lived in the Langkloof area of the Eastern Cape of South Africa and who attained legendary status. Ruiters was born during the second decade of the 20th century and started a career of petty crime, serving a number of short gaol sentences. His 'career' became a matter of concern when he started developing a reputation for easily evading apprehension. After a manhunt lasting two years and a court case in which he was charged with over eighty offences, he was declared a habitual criminal in 1948. The focus of the article is not the biographical Ruiters, but rather the oral testimonies on his exploits recorded in the Langkloof and other areas at the end of the 1990s. The article relates these oral narratives to the Khoe heritage, specifically the stories on Heitsi Eibib. It concludes that in their renderings the storytellers make use of a number of heterogeneous cultural sources. Bibliogr., note, sum. in English, text in Afrikaans. [Journal abstract]
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