Koranna struggle against the colonial church: the case of Brandewynsfontein

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Periodical article

Title:	Koranna struggle against the colonial church: the case of Brandewynsfontein
Author:	Erasmus, Piet
Year:	2007
Periodical:	Anthropology Southern Africa
Volume:	30
Issue:	1
Pages:	29-35
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	land conflicts Korana missions colonial period
Abstract:	The Dutch occupation of South Africa's Cape drove the Koranna (or Korana) from their original place of habitation and forced them to settle in the vicinity of Brandewynsfontein, alongside the Riet River in the southern Free State, towards the beginning of the 1800s. In Koranna society, religious beliefs and behaviour are closely linked to Koranna conceptions of nature and land. In 1834, the first missionaries of the Berlin Missionary Society started to work amongst the Koranna of Brandewynsfontein. This paper elucidates the role played by the Society in undermining the culture of the Koranna from the 1830s onward through the Society's lust for land. Particular attention is paid to the struggle - between 1838 and 1875 - of Goliath Yzerbek, one of the most senior Koranna leaders, to safeguard the perceived land rights of the Koranna. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [ASC Leiden abstract]