'-r~• ' .. IDENTIFYING~\ND RECORDING THREE OF THE tl ·' IMPORTANT HERITAGE SITES PERTAINING TO THE HISTORY OF THE BLACK PEOPLE IN THE FREE STATE ., ,- By . ' .·. .:-~ ' .... : CHITJA M TWALA '· SHORT DISSERTATION SUBMITTi:D IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF AN HONOURS DEGREE In the FACULTY OF ARTS (DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY) Atthe . ' UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE BLOEMFONTEIN SUPERVISOR : MR NL COMBRINK OCTOBER 1997 ~-----------~ LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BMS Berlin Missionary Society ANC African National -Congress NMC National Monum.e_nts Council - BNVC Bloemfontein Native Vigila.iiQiit:l Committee .. ORNC Orange River Native Congress SANC South African _Native National Congress .. CPSA '' . Communist Party of South Africa ·~ --· - SACP '' South African Communist Party . ' AAC All African Convention NRC Native Representative Council SAP South African Police MEC Member of the Executive Council UOFS University of the Orange Free State Page LIST·.OF ABBREVIATIONS 1. INTRODUCTION 1 ,., .. . 1 .'1 Objectives and justification of the study 1 ' 1·;2 Historiographical discus~jon 6 ~',., ..... 2. HERITAGE SITES IN THE FREE STA TE 7 2. 1 Missionary History : Batlkground to missionary stations in the Free State 7 2.2 Bethanie Mission Station as an example of missionary history site 9 2.3 Conclusion 24 3 .. POLITICAL HISTORY 25 3.1 · The background to the Mapikela House in Batho Location . (Mangaung) 25 3.2 A short history on the life and struggle of Mapikela 29 4. , THE MAPIKELA HOUSE IN BATHO LOCATION, MAN GAU NG 39 4.1 The present appearance of the house 42 4.2 The Mapikela House as a halfway house and its role as a m~eting place 45 4.3 The attempts to declare the Mapikela's House a national monument 50 4.4 Present concerns and approaches to the future 54 r \ - 2 - Page 4.4. 1 Scenario 1 55 4.4.2 Scenario 2 56 4.4.3 Scenario 3 56 ~·· ... • '< .: -· 4.4.4 Scenario 4 57 " ·: · · ' . 4:. 5 Conclusion 58 ':::. 5~ TR,IBAL HISTORY IN THE FREE STATE 58 ·-~. . -s:·1 The historical and cultural heritage sites of Nkoe/Sefate and Joalaboholo 60 5.2 Location of Nkoe/Sefate and Joalaboholo sites 62 5.3 The present conditions of Nkoe/Sefate and Joalaboholo sites 63 5.4 Visible artefacts on the sites 68 5.5 The historical significance of these sites 69 5.6 Conservation potential 75 5.7 Conclusion 76 6. SUMMARY 76 APPENDIX A 78 APPENDIX B 79 APPENDIX C 80 APPENDIX D 81 APPENDIX E 82 APPENDIX F 83 AEPENDIX G 84 SOURCE LIST 85 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 OBJECTIVES AND JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY Democratisation in South Africa has undoubtedly stimulated people's concern about their past. This interest resulted ~,n. a demand for information on the history o_f the Free . State by various traditional communities, landowners, State .: Departments, the National Monuments -Council, the National ·-· · ·'Mtlseums, and to a larger extent by the media.'. ) .... _,. .·.. 1.1 -he protection of traditional and historical sites is a characteristic of almost all countries and the existing -·~;!·~~,t~rd to- b~ck history will certainly have to be addressed. Protecting and preserving such sites won't be beneficial only to the historians but they would be .. memorable sites for attracting tourists to the Free State province. They woulQ. also be of value and" interest for disciplines like geology, geography, anthropology and arch~eolo9i(. Memorable sites without be_ing~,;il.ttractive fo:i; tourists, they are also antiques which usually increase in value, hence identification and preservation is of utmost importance . The urge to protect natural and historical· sites and objects often has a powerful and emotional connotation. Human beings seem to want to breathe something of the good old times in our modern world of violence and uncertainty. Unblemished nature, the mysterious cave, the intimate homely life of an old house, or the atmosphere of an old . ·-- _·-··~.-_'!, ",~,~· ,....._..~ ·~·""-· ~ .. ' 2 church, school brings something of the quiet and timelessness of times gone by. But the strongest reason for protection is probably pride in national achievement, the drive to protect one's own heritage which is an important factor in patriotism. 1 The Free State province has many monuments and places of h~storical interest depictirrg the history of the whites in t~is count;ry, but to date, very few pertaining to black .~-. ' h>i:st;ory. Whilst ·traditionally, visits to places of hl:storical interest had been mainly the domain of the /< +'} 1,-· ~~ites, the changing political environment will definitely have an impact on this in the near future. In the Free State, the blacks have played an important role, but very little tangible evidence of their history and cultural heritage has been preserved for posterity. Blacks have played an enormous part in the history of the Free State, ! and this project is.really a vast one. Unfortunately funds and time are-pressin~ and only a few important places of interest could be investigated and described. From the historical point of view, the reconstructing of the history of any t~aditional group is in line with the location of those sites where people were living. The main objective of this study is to identify a few heritage sites for the blacks in the Free State and also identifying their locality. These sites and the history they represent should be made known to the largest number of readers as possible. This study also includes the sites and places of Oberholster, J.J., Die Historiese Monumente van Suid-Afrika, p. xix. ··~;- '=-· . ""'~-----. 3 interest that signify black participation and contributiop to modern and social history. There is an uncompromising need to protect these sites for generations to come. In this study an attempts has been made to evaluate the sites which are accorded the status of being of historical importance. All historical sites are important but not necessarily equally so. Certain sites pertaining to very ·.· important historical events or persons, may definitely be "') {; more important than others. The Free State's historical hetitage consists of the buildings, works, places and objec' ts which are associated, on national, regional or local levels with people or events in our history, our social and cultural activities. The Free State has a rich heritage, both natural and cultural, to which numerous cultures, both past and present, have contributed. Due to the fact that this heritage is valuable and non-renewable, each generation has a responsibility to act as its trustees and pass it on to future generations. This is not the first project dealing with black historical and cultural sites. The first study was undertaken iP--1995 by Raditlhare Tshidiso, an honours student in the Department of History at the University of the Orange Free State. This research project is the second on this topic, but wishes to look at these sites from another perspective and will explore other sites which had not been previously researched. ~. .., ,. . ~ -~ ,,::. .. - -~~~"· 4 The sites of historical importa~ce differ, namely, graves of specific and named ancestors, may have special, even religious meaning for a group of people who do not wish people visiting their sites unless prior permission has been granted by family members. Certain sites may be very important, but for practical reasons, are difficult to gain access to. "•"-i ( The main objectives of this research" topic is to identify historical sites and objects of .j,11terest regarding t).1.e history of black people in the Fr·ee State in order to .\ rectify the eurocentric identification of these sites and -·present a more balanced view of the history of the Free State people. Some sites may have a very local and restricted significance, but if exposed, may draw attention and interest from the outsiders ~o visit this province. Examples of such sites are many in the Free State : Nkoe (Harri smith) where a monument to commemorate eight generations of the Batlokoa chiefs buried in the area was erected in 1962 by the late Chief Wessels Mota; Ntswanatsatsi (Vrede/Frankfor-t)- where the Bakwena of Napa initially settled; 2 Kurutlele (Senekal) where the Bafokeng of Patsa settled until they were uprooted by the Batlokoa of Mantatisi in 1822, Maphororong (Ventersburg) where the Batuang of Mokhoana and Moletsane settled; Mabolela (Clocolan) the site where the Bahlakoana of Tseele settled 2 Machobane. L.B.B.J., A short historv of Lesotho, p. 32., Maggs, T.M.o.c:, Iron Age Communities of the Southern Highveld, p. 142. • - ,.:-r 5 ·· before J._815 until they were driven away by Mpangazitha' s Hlubi in 1823; 3 at Mabolela the remains of the mission house established by the Rev. Jean Daniel Kock in 1858 is still to be seen; Meriba (Ventersburg) was the living place of the Bakubung of Mosheing; Joalaboholo (Ficksburg) was a mountain occupied by Sekonyela' s Batlokoa until attacked and destroyed by Moshoeshoe in 1853; Bethanie (Edenburg) was a mission station depicting the history of the Tswana's ih the Free State; Tihela (Exc.;:lsior) a mountain once inhabited by the Bataung of Ramokhele; Mapikela's House ,. (Bloem:Eontein) ... where it is alleged that the African : ~· '. ' ' National Congress was formed in 1912. This contribution about these sites should not be seen as a closed source in itself. If the History Departments of the different universities in the Free State, in c·onjunction with allied disciplines such as the Departments of Anthropology, Archaeology and Geography and display artists from the National Museum, the National Monuments Council (NMC) and other interested parties, were to work jointly in identifying and recording all the main historical sites pertaining to black history in the Free State, a significant and context sensitive, contribution towards the reconstruction and development programme could be made and a better understanding of the history of the people of the Free State region could be gai~ed. 3 Ellenberger, D.F., Historv of the Basuto, p. 126. 6 1.2 HISTORIOGRAPHICAL DISCUSSION The task of answering issues raised in this discussion, demands the use of a variety of sources and conducting informal interviews. From the source material used, three main streams of thought can be briefly defined. Certain authors are extreme'iy pro-black and very much sympathetic . ·. to its cause, but un~ortunately tend to be very unrealistic and unfair when evaluating black history in isolation of Soµ th' Africa' s wh·i te. history. They apparently deliberately ',· ignored certain bastes of black history, for example, knowing the origiri~ of a certain clan. Such authors attempt to place the blame for most of black history distortions squarely on the illiterate conditions of the black people they found themselves in, hence unable to narrate their history properly. Authors assbciated with this school of th9ught are : Ellenberger, V.; Ellenberger, D.F. The second group of authors can be distinguished by their strong academic approach to the black history itself. These authors are far more realistic in their evaluation. Most notable authors from this group are : Schoeman, K., Maggs, T. M. o., Machobane, L.B. B. J. The third group of authors tend to ignore certain flaws made by the blacks themselves. They ·tend, instead, to place the blame on those people who had steadfastly refused to have any contact with the blacks. The authors who are associated with this group are : Odendaal, A., Van der Merwe, W. .... 7 This study will try to give, as far as possible, C!...balanced perspective of the issues surrounding the importance of identifying and recording heritage sites related to the history of the black people in the Free State. For the purpose of this study, only three important and most relevant sites are to be dealt with in detail. The sites · will be categorised into three main sections, that is, ·. ., . missionary history (Bethanie Mission StatiQn) in the ~~..- ~.·._ ; . Edenburg district; political history (Mapikela'i·s House) in Bloemfontein and lastly tribal history (Sefate and Joalaboholo) in Harrismith and Ficksburg respectively. ,. . 2. HERITAGE SITES IN THE FREE STA'rt 2.1 MISSIONARY HISTORY BACKGROUND TO MISSIONARY STATIONS IN THE FREE STATE Missionary activity in South Africa during the nineteenth century was probably as intense as anywhere else in the world at the time. Missionary societies were in operation as early as 1834 in South Africa. Dating the sites such long shows that many of such sites needs upgrading and preservation; some are in a total state of €ollapse. It is well known that the condition of many of such stations and their environment has deteriorated rapidly due to some pressures or problems, for example, the effects of ap.artheid policy, the changing character of church institutions, poverty and declining local economics, changing demographic profiles, badly managed growth, ~ -<~· 8 depopulation and violenc.e. 4 Mission stations were seen as centres of civilisation. Several mission stations were established in the Free State during the 1830's. Among them was Carmel, Bethulie, Beersheba, Umpukani, Mequatling, Makwasie and Bethanie. Within a radius of 50 km from Smithfield, there remains two Fren. ch mission stations, Carmel and Beersheba . These ;. remains represent a piece of forgotten history of.the two sta. .t .. ions . Both tell stories of faith, perseverance and l).ai,q "work in the face of adversity. Despite the fact that ' . 'most of the buildings have been destroyed, their history stands as part of our heritage. 5 In 1826 the mission assistant at Phillipolis, James Clark, approached the Colonial Government to establish the mission of Bushman Station hence the Bethulie mission station was established.' Durihg the same 1930's, in Thaba' Nchu, the Moroka Missionary Institute was established which attempted a more advanced training of future catechists and school teachers. 7 All these missionary stations played an important role and had a large impact on black development. Not all developments were positive, however. It is for this reason then that in this trtudy the researcher will specifically look at Bethanie as an example of such sites and to construct and reconstruct something of its history which is important to the reader. 4 Japha, D., and Japha, V., Mission settlements in South Africa. p. 1. 5 Badenhorst, L., Fragments of forgotten Free State historv, p. 35 and Gaus, H., Carmel-Sendlngstasie, p. 11. 6 Schoeman, L., Die London se Sendingqenootskap en die San 1816-1838, p. 132. 7 Venter, l.S.J., Die sendinqstasie by Thaba'Nchu 1833-1900. p. 54. '• ·~. 9 2. 2-· BETHANIE MISSION STATION AS AN EXAMPLE OF A MISSIONARY HISTORY SITE In the Free State, only two missions are known to have survived to the present day in any recognisable form, namely, Bethanie and Modderpoort stations.' Modderpoort station has a splendid complex of sa~dstone buildings which was once a school but now used as a conference venue. This study is intended primarily at describing the present state on. Bethanie mission re·lating it to its initial settlement. To unperstand the present structure and character of this mission st·ation and its pattern of survival, various historical process which affected missions had to be investigated. Bethanie station is one of the missionary stations that accommodated black people and offered various social services, of which education was the most important. Missions of this kind were ~lways intended to be economically productive institut'ions. This part of the study of Bethanie also addresses .the problem of ownership to land and that is what makes the Bethanie area to be one of the most important historical places for the blacks in the Free State. The Berlin Missionary Society (BMS) established the Bethanie mission station in 1834 on the area previously o~cupied by the Griquas and the Tswanas. The missionaries initially occupied the Phillipolis district but later asked Adam Kok II for a settlement area in the interior of the Free State. Co-incidentally the Griquas at Bethanie had 8 Japha, p.69. .,,_,.~ ·""~~.._.. , .1: 10 asked protection against the Boers from Adam Kok I I, therefore, Kok II sent the missionaries tp Bethanie to offer protection hence the establishment of the mission station. Kok II gave them a little portion of the land, not the whole area as claimed by the missionaries. This later brought tensions between the initial inhabitants of the area and the missionaries. Bethanie station is situatetl in an outlying and inhospitable part of the Free ... State to which casual visitors have seldom penetrated, in the Edep.bur~ district.' In April 1834 missionaries, namely, Gregorowski R.T., Kraut D.A., Lange A.F., Schmidt, J. and Gebel A., established the oldest mission station in the Free State along the Riet River, which today is situated a few kilometres west of the Nl road between Bloemfontein and Edenburg. The Berlin Missio~ary Society had intentions of assisting the Griquas of Kol< II in the establishment of their political power over the nomadic Koranna people. The Korannas were persuaded to accept the authority of the Griqua Council. Another intention was to spread the gospel among the Tswanas .in Bethanie. By so doing, the missionaries guaranteed their permanent settlement at Bethanie. On the 24th September 1834 a station was opened and named Bethanie which means "House of Misery" . 10 Bethanie for most of its existence had been singularly unsuccessful. The missionaries had it tough to inculcate the Korannas into Christian thought. To the Tswanas it was much better 9 Schoeman, K., The British Presence in Transorangia 1845·1854. p. 58. 10 Schoeman, K., Die Huis van die armes. p. 24. -. • 11 because they were regarded by the missionaries as a prosperous community and as essential for the spread of the Word of God and the creation of truly Christian communities. The missionaries also experienced problems in this regard. The problems mainly arose from the fact that they had to minister to people whose nature and habits they hardly understood. 11 One must bear in mind that only the church was regarded as the. House of Misery or "Die Huis van die armes". The church was called trre House of Misery because it was the only institution in the area which accommodated the spiritually poor people. The way it is depicted in Schoeman's book, sounds as if all the people of Bethanie were poor, therefore, the coming of the missionaries alleviated their poverty. Today the people of Bethanie ·claims that the missionaries made them poor because they '(missionaries) barred them from ploughing and declaring the land as suitable for stock-farming only. Many people left the area to work in nearby towns of Edenburg, Reddersburg and Bloemfontein in order to maintain their families. Rev. Carl Frederick Wuras12 pioneered the building of the church and school in Bethanie. The Korannas who were not interested in Christianity as a religion vacated the area and the Tswanas occupied the area in great numbers. This was the realisation of a long awaited dream of the 11 Schoeman, K., Free State Heritage. p. 5. 12 Wuras was 28 years when he arrived in Bethanie. He was instrumental in the development of the Bethanie area. He consolidated spiritual development as a material building block to the development of Bethanie. ~ .... 12 missionaries of ~egarding the Tswanas as the most desired people to be preached to. Richard Miles who was a Tswana- speaking person, was the first Tswana convert to the Berlin missionaries in Bethanie area. He later helped in interpreting between the Tswanas and the missionaries. 13 Towards the end of 1856, there were about 150 Tswana huts of people who had accepted the missionary message against 15 huts of the Koranna people. This helps _to explain why Bethanie was dominated mos.tly by the. Tswana-speaking people. 14 Lat.er after the Tswana 'people, the Coloured people also ca.me to settle in Bethanie. Bethanie became helpful to the black communities. The blacks in the area learnt bricklaying and how to build. On the 11th May 1845, a new church was built in Bethanie. Today if one visits Bethanie, one can still see the remains of the old church in the same vicinity where the new church is today. Unlike the first church that was built with mud and reeds, the new church was built from bricks. 15 The black people of Bethanie assisted in the building of this church. The church was erected with great difficulty because timb&~-had to be collected from the eastern Cape. Towards 1867, there were about 118 communicants and it became necessary to enlarge the church. In· 1868 the corner-stone of the new enlarged church, 13 Van der Merwe, W ., Die Berlynse Sendelinqe van Bethanie en die Kora 1834-1856. p. 40. 14 Van Schoor. M.C.E., and Moll, J.C., Edenburq 1863-1963, p.28. 15 Van der Bank, D.A., National Museum News. No. 25, p. 9. • 13 designed by the Bloemfontein master-builder, Richard Wacke, was laid. The new church had a capacity of accommodating about 500 people. With such a capacity, this church became one of the biggest rural church buildings in the Free State at that time. The construction work ·was pursued by the inhabitants of the station, that is, the Tswanas. The involvement of the Tswanas in the construction process made this station to be of value to the black people because they were not only involved in the building process ' ... but some became Christian converts . The Tswanas were . ~t involv,ed in the building process on a daily basis without •:•· any p.ayment whatsoever. 16 An inauguration of the church building took place on the 25th September 1869 and more than 700 people attended the celebration, including the hard-working Tswanas of Bethanie, whites from the surrounding areas and the Dutch community from Bloemfontein. When visiting Bethanie today, a simple flat-roofed school is seen some distance from the church, partly still provided with reed ceilings which also dates back from the last century. A few metres away from the school there is a bell cage with a bell underneath. To the northern side of the church lies a cemete1'.y with eleven graves. The church grounds also form a particularly attractive entity an'd serve as a striking reminder of the golden age of missionary work in the Free State and the numerous forgotten missionaries who worked in the Free State region. 16 Van der Merwe, W., Bethanie in die Oranje-Vrystaat, p. 53. 14 The first school was a hut made up of reeds. 17 Later bricks were used in building two additional classrooms. The Kora and the Tswana families began to send their children to this school. Between 1914 and 1923, three Tswana· male teachers taught at this school, Mr Nicodemus Mathe, Mr Solomon Mereko and Mr Andreas Rampai with the enrolment of 184 pupils. The school by then started from Sub-Standard A to Standard III and mostly housed the Tswana speaking ',·• . - ~· .. children. 18 The openi~g of the school signalled the .... beginning of education for the community of Bethanie. This ... s'chool was a mission school, therefore, religious instruction formed the central theme of the subject matter. Like the church, the school was also built by the Tswanas under the supervision of Rev. L. Meyfarth. The official opening of the school was on the 30th October 1860 and the costs estimated to Rl4 O. 19 Bethanie farm-church and school, benefited most of the Tswanas. Some of these people became prominent leaders amongst the black communities. The valuable contribution made by this church and school to the black people makes these two institutions historically important and worth restoring for' future generations. Solomon Plaatj e, the first secretary of the African National Congress (ANC) once stayed in Bethanie farm. After his birth in 1896, his parents moved from Doornfontein farm to Bethanie. Four months after his birth, Plaatje was baptised at Bethanie. 17 Schoeman, K., Die Huis van die armes. p. 24. 18 (S00/1 /1/95/N19/3) File from the Free State Archive. 19 Report to the National Monuments Council: Bethanie-sendingstasie-Edenburg: Restourasie in voile gang, p. 8. -~.· 15 The baptismal ceremony took place at Bethanie on 14 January 1877, and was performed by the senior missionary, the Rev. C.F. Wuras. 20 The return of Plaatje's parents to Bethanie for his baptism dates back to the fact that they had trust to Rev. Wuras, and they had friends and relatives left in Bethanie as part of the Bethanie' s community; they had contributed to the development of Bethanie and they identified themselves with its values and religious beliefs. 21 Oh the arrival d~ the missionaries in Bethanie, they found > • r J, ; that the Tswanas' were interested in farming. A;Eter 1860, : ·-: the missionaries also turned to farming, thus sharing some of the land belonging to the Tswanas. The Tswanas were encouraged by the very same missionaries to attend school in order to maintain their farms effectively. Although the missionaries' introduction of education can be viewed in a positive light, their farming activities could also be negatively interpreted as a means of dispossessing the blacks of their land of origin. In Bethanie, the missionaries took up large tracts of black land. This reminds one of the Kikuyi saying on the West coast of Africa which says : "You preach the golden rule but practise the rule of gold ... When you came here we had the land and yoµ had the Bible, now we've 20 Willian, 8., Sol Plaatje: South African Nationalist 1876·1932, p. 3. 21 lbid.,p.11. .,.... 16 got the B:i,_ble, you have the land" . 22 Later after 1870, the Tswanas became the labourers and were taught trade in order to work in the neighbouring farms now owned by the missionaries. The farms owned by the missionaries were Poortj iesfontein, Waschbank, Waterval, Viviera, Karroo, Melkbosch, Mullersrust, Elim, Daskop, Vooruitsig, Koelfontein, Poortjie, Kleinvooruitsig and Kopie-alleen. (See Appendix A) Rev. Ficµardt one of the ,. ·:: missionaries in Bethanie owned a wool washing indus.try and r .. employed about 400 black labourers. In 1894 the Tswanas ' , also playep a significant role in the construction of a railway station in Bethanie. This railway line pass through Bethanie area giving the area the status of being both a mission station and also a railway station. This facilitated transportation of goods and communication improved because letters and telegrams could be delivered and received with ease. As early as 1910 after the formation of the Union of South Africa, the blacks gradually showed signs of dissatisfaction in South Africa and became more politically inclined. --This inclination also exhibited itsel,f at Bethanie whereby most of the blacks started claiming some of the properties and land owned by the missionaries·. In 1914 Rev. August Klonus put some restrictions on the blacks at' the station. The Tswanas at Bethanie were prevented from having meetings as this was viewed as a way of influencing each other. An incident by Klonus of shooting 22 Grove, C.P., Missionarv and humanitarian aspect of imperialism from 1870·1940, p. 492 . ...:....J..~~·-- .S!ti£:..:_..:~ - ------------------------------- "" - .~ 17 and killing a young Tswana boy outside the church building intensified the looming hatred between the Tswanas and the missionaries. For months later, the first world war broke out, marking the end of the Berlin missionary involvement in South Africa. 23 The black population of the Bethanie mission station who •. - • .,. . £"> played such a significant role in the building of the ,·,' ,·'-,: >t' church, the school and who· were also helpful in the general 1ct:evelopment pf the area,. found it difficult to mobilise and ,",., .· ···'demand their land back due to the legislation's passed by '?· :1··· • ti.t :·the Nationalist Party government in the early 1950' s. Following the proclamation of the Group Areas Act (1950), the inhabitants of Bethanie, particularly the Tswana people, were forcefully removed from Bethanie to Thaba'Nchu which was by then under the Bophuthatswana's government. 24 Bare and without basic necessities such as water, the new place brought tremendous hardships. For many years, members of the Bethanie Committee were not allowed to set foot in the area which was "a haven of pleasure in the ·midst of poverty" under apartheid rule. Some of the Tswanas who couldn't go to Thaba'Nchu, were accommodated in the neighbouring towns of Edenburg, Reddersburg and some came to Bloemfontein. Only a handful came to the latter mentioned places because it was the Nationalist Party's po~icy of grouping people according to their ethnic groups hence many people flocked to Thaba'Nchu in the township of 23 Van der Merwe, W., Die Berlynse Sendelinge van Bethanie, p. 06. 24 Van der Merwe, W., Bethanie in die Vrystaat, p. 58. ·~ .....s ~,;.:. *?· .~ 18 Selosesha. Few Tswanas remained in. .. Bethanie, most of the remaining ones were elderly people. The Bethanie-Committee25 under the chair of Mr Johannes Kraalshoek denies the government's statistics that only 65 families were removed to Thaba'Nchu. The Committee claims that some people left the area before force-removals fearing for their lives and confiscation of the properties by the government's officials, bence they left earlier . . _ ·. According to this committee, the government's statistics a re ba:'sed only on those people who were transported to .T.hab~INchu by the government's lorry .. The committee also claim~ that more than 103 families were removed. The Group Areas Act, 1950 has been called the cornerstone of apartheid, made provision for the physical separation of the various races. In terms of this Act, residential apartheid was forced upon most communities. Owing to the fact that the Coloureds obviously received better treatment than the blacks, it is believed that many black people who remained in the area, had their surnames changed in order to be accep-ted within the Coloured community of Bethanie; for example Temeku became Temekie. The coloured people who remained in Bethanie are today owning plots in the area. Examples of those people are Mr. H. Booysen, Mr. A. Kraalshoek and Mr. J. Vinger. This endorses the fact that the coloureds were not treated in 25 Bethanie-Committee is a committee looking at the returning of the Bethanie area to its original inhabitants. The members of this committee are Mr. J. Kraalshoek, Mrs. L.L. Boom, Mrs. P. Bonyonyo, Mr. P. Bahomi and Mr. C. Olifant. I ~;:_:+.~•+,,. ' , 19 the same manner as the blacks. Imbalances existed between the coloureds and the blacks. Generally speaking the Tswanas of Bethanie have for more than a quarter of a century lamented the dispossession of their ancestral land, forcibly taken from them to provide for missionary activities. However, today their'.tears may soon change to gold due to the involvement of· different committees which propagate the ret·urn of the TswJnas to their dispossessed area . ... ·~ Recently on the 21st January 1993, the Bethanie-project committee" was convened by the National Monuments Council Free State region under the chair of Ms. Herma Gous, the chairperson of the National Monuments Council (NMC) in the Free State. The aim of this committee was to look at the possibility of restoring the old buildings of Bethanie and to organise funds for such a project. Despite the dilapidated area of Bethanie where the church is.situated, the missionary work still continues today and services are conducted to the small population remaining. On Sund-a-y the 9th May 1993, the Bethanie-project committee announced its restoration project. The costs of restoration were estimated at approximately R200 ooo to complete the project. The project committee began renovations on the church building early in 1994. Sanlam 26 The members of the Bethanie-project committee are Ms. H. Gous, Mr. 0. Liebenberg, Prof. D.W.B. Yuill from the National Monuments Council; Ms. I. Howard from the Simon van der Ste I Foundation; Prof. K. van Delft from the Free State Branch of the South African Dutch Cultural Union; Pastor J. Britz and Mr. P. Peterson from the Evangelists Lutheran Church and Mr. J. Kraalshoek from the Free State Aural Committee. -,.,._ 20 donated .R35 000 in 1995 for the restoration of the old school building but the estimated costs are far more than the received money. Hence, to date the school is still in dilapidated conditions. This is regarded as the oldest school building in the Free State which is still in use today for conducting classes. 27 According to Mr. T. E. -. Temeku, the former principal of Bethanie Missionary School, the school i;s presentJ.y used as a primary school for Bethanie children and the surrounding neighbouring farms. Presenc·ly there is a hot debate and an unresolved problem •,,•., p~rtai~{ng to.the future of Bethanie area. The original inhabitants of the area under the committee known as the Bethanie-committee are still negotiating with the Lutheran Church Bishop Hart on the possibility of getting their land back. This renewed demands for a return of the land to its original Tswana inhabitants was aroused by the fact that the Lutheran Church .. wanted to sell the whole of the Bethanie complex. 28 What puzzles the original Tswana inhabitants of Bethanie on the issue of receiving their land back is that the Church leadership denies responsibility of doing so. They are referred to the present occupants of the land. The present farms are occupied by the Boers who also denies responsibility of handing over land to the Tswanas. These Tswanas are being sent from pillar to post. Facing those difficulties, in 1994, the Bethanie-committee drafted a 27 Die Volksblad 6 September 1995. 28 The Citizen, 5 August 1993. 21 letter to the Berlin Missionswork (Berlin) inquiring about .. whose responsibility it is to hand land to the original owners. Responding to the Bethanie-committee's letter, Rev. D. Gerd indicated that the committee should direct its concerns to the following bodies, that is, ELCSA Church Council and the ELCSA Property Management Company. The concerns were to be directed to individuals such as Rev. Thomas Mbuli and Rev. Reinhardt Schultz (ELCSA) and also to Mr. Martin von Fintel d.,t the PMC off_ices in Pietermaritzburg. According to Rev. Gerd, the bishops of the Lutheran church had no right to sell land from the Bethanie area. (See Appendix B). It has been years since Bethanie residents under the banner . of the Bethanie-committee first lodged a claim with the Land Claims Court for the return of their ancestral land from which they were evicted and termed "squatters" by the Nationalist Party government during the 1950 's when the Prohibition of Squatters Act was issued. At the meeting held in Bloemfontein on Wednesday 25th June 1997 between the Bethanie-committee; the Land Commission, and the representatives from the Lutheran Church council ttiat currently claims ownership of the land the return of the area to its original inhabitants was debated. According to the representatives of the Church Council, the church was prepared to hand over only the western side of the area to the original Tswana inhabitants of Bethanie and not the whole area. (See the shaded area on the attached 22 map : Appendix A) . The Bethan:LS"-committee and the Land Commissioner Dr. Peter Mayende objected to that proposal by the church leadership. The court was to intervene and make a ruling only on who owns the land if the pa~ties involved in the dispute fail to reach a settlement. Unfortunately when conducting research for this dissertation (1997) , no concrete resolution has been reached by the two conflicting , ' , '• According to the rec,ords of the Bethanie Committee taken from Mr. P.J. de Wet, a land surveyor in August 1993, Bethanie farm is 11 , ~62' 91 72 hectares, therefore, the committee expect~d ai:i: area far bigger. than the hectares indicated as the area should include some neighbouring farms' which initially formed part and parcel of the Bethanie-area. According to Mr. Motshidisi Moleme from the Free State Land Committee, a task team was also appointed at the meeting of the 25th June 1997 to examine the documentation and other matters in order to effect the claim. 29 The resolution taken at that meeting was that the task team should compile a report not later than October 1997 for a final decision to be effected by the Land Commission. According to Mr. J. Kraalshoek of the Bethanie-Committee, harmony can prevail in Bethanie among the church representatives and the original occupants of the land only if the bishops could be the "baas van die kerk" and exercise their authority over church matters only. 29 Die Volksblad, 28 June 1997. .~ .,.-.,_.- .. :~~1:.i.,_ ' • 23 According to him, the original inhabitants should then become the "baas van die grond". To the church representatives such words are hard to swallow, because they claim that they are in possession of a title-deed_ 30 Some black people still residing in Bethanie today (September 1997), have a lot to._say about the loss of their stock to the church leaders. Few of the people who became victims are Mr. Papi ·Joseph Manka with eight dependants but .. . , owning one cow and a horse; ·Mr. Dawid Booysen with five :' ' ' .... d7pendants is having four cows, four sheep and four horses; •• ¢ l':lr. John Lecoko with ten dependants, is having twenty ""- sneep, five COWS and four horses. 31 All these people are presently unemployed and only depends on stock-farming which is also not so effective nowadays. While the debate on the claim,of the land still continues, one could hasten to make a conclusion that despite all the problems existing between the· church leaders and the Bethanie-committee, the missionaries on their coming to the Free State region had both positive and negative impact to the indigenous population of this region, particularly the Tswanas at Bethanie. The missionaries provided a.basis of modern school systems with a general aim of teaching people reading skills to read Bible and spread the gospel on to others. The Tswanas 30 Die Volksblad, 10 November 1995. 31 Information and statistics taken from the Bethanie-committee offices while the committee was busy compiling a list of people who supported an idea of bringing the Bethanie land back to its rightful owners, June 1997. 24 were also taught new methods of cultivation, irrigation systems, disease awareness. The missionaries were also pioneers in the fields of health care. Besides the positive effects, there were some negative too. ·The negative effects were that the missionary groups came as competing institutions in the Free State, namely Catholics, Lutheran, Methodists, this led to much confusion among the people. Bethanie as a mission station took up large tracts of the blacks land and subsequently owned by the missionaries. There was also a neglect of the blacks traditional rituals by the missionaries wht\ - referred to /.1 · ~. :them as barbaric acts. The missionaries felt superior to "the so-called" inferior Africans with prim_itive, pagan and backward customs. Missionaries undermined the power and status of chiefs. Nevertheless( the positive roles outweighed the negative aspects of missionary activity at Bethanie. '(.. If thE? Bethanie community succeeds in reclaiming their land; the implication for standards of living could be significant. Among the Bethanie community, there is optimism that the land will one day be returned to them. 2 . 3 CONCLUSION The m:i,ssionaries also played a significant role in the social and educational development of the black people in the· Free State; hence the study of the Bethanie mission station could also promote understanding of the role of missionaries to people who have viewed their coming ...-. . ·~ . .:.J 25 negatively. This study shows that the role. of missionaries had both positive as well as the negative aspects. This is depicted by the protracted debate about ownership of Bethanie mission. This issue had a negative impact in the Free State, especially on the Tswanas of Bethanie who had lost their land. On the one ,hand the introduction of Christianity undermined the black community of Bethanie by prohibiting them from performing their cultural rituals, but it also introduced them to western values and Ettcindards. 3. POLITICAL HISTORY 3 . 1 THE BACKGROUND TO THE MAPIKELA HOUSE IN BATHO LOCATION (MANGAUNG) In the Free State province, there are several houses of historical significance. The house number 73 in President Reitz Avenue in Bloemfontein is of historical importance to the Free State region. This is where an activist Abram Fischer grew up. Today the house is used as offices for a group of architects. Another important house, is Winnie Mandela' s house in Brandfort where she spent time under.house arrest imposed on her by the apartheid government. This four-roomed house today houses two families who are renting it. The house presently belongs to the Brandfort town council. Presently the town council showed its commitment in announcing its intentions to preserve and restore this house as a national ~"!'-~~-­ -~ 26 monument and for future utilisation as a museum. Dr. James Moroka's house in Thabe'Nchu is also of historical importance due to its association with a political figure who once became the president of the African National Congress (ANC) . Presently. (1·997) the National Monuments Council has taken initiat"ives in d~claring this house a national monument. Be.-s. ipes the few above-mentioned houses, the Mapikela house ip .B.at)\o location· (Bloemfontein) played a signifi9ant role ' '! :i.n :.,b o.tl'i local and n;;i.tional politics of this country. All " ' '~ the· ·houses· mentioned above are equally historically important. For the purpose of this study, however, only one house will be thoroughly studied, that is, the Mapikela House, because very little has been written about its hiseorical importance . ... There was and there is still a negative perception or rumour that exist among many people that this is the house where the African National Congress was founded in 1912, t.h erefore, that conflicting information about its historical ·origin made the researcher undertake this study to get to the real truth. The fact that the African National Congress was found_ed in 1912 and the house built in 192 6, does not make the house less importaLJ.t. The importance of this house does not fully lie with the founding of the African National Congress. The house is of major historical significance because of its association with Mapikela who was one of the founding fathers of the 27 African National Congress and the speaker of the organisation for more than 28 years. 32 The Mapikela' s House is a symbol of unity among the blacks because the founding fathers of the African National Congress met in this house after its construction in 1926, hence this house became so '~ significant. Map~kela's involvement in civic and political matters had far~reaching implications for the political development of ' bl.a ~k people in the Ora.nge Free State, particularly for the ·;,.,, cit~/ of Bloemfontein (Mangaung) area where most of his . l act~yities took place. The Mapikela house was a personal ,, ~ .pro~~rty of the late Thomas Mtobi Mapikela, the builder and its·owner. The African National Congress was not involved in the construction of this house whether by means of financial assistance or otherwise. To all the residents of Batho township, the building of the houses were the responsibility of the ·owners. The issue of housing · in general became a heated issue during and just after the Second World War. The South African Architectural Record of 1943 devoted several issues to the housing question in South Africa. The contribution for Bloemfontein was written by Mr. J.R. Cooper who was for 22 years the Superintendent of the Native Administration Department in Bloemfontein. 33 Cooper took up office in .. Bloemfontein. He was generally popular with the 32 Verwey, E.J., (ed), New Dictionary of South African Biography, vol. 1, p. 155. 33 South African Architectural Record. The Mi.Jnicipality of Bloemfontein. Native housing and accommodation by J.R. Cooper, June 1943. .~ ... . ;.~-~ ~-,,!~;:,: ----------------------------,... -..e,. .. ------------ ---------- -- .. . 28 inhabitants and even lived near the entrance of Batho township, probably close to Mapikela .. 34 With the help from Cooper, Mapikela built his own house and took out smaller loans from the local authority to complete the house. Mapikela permanently had lodgers at his house and he was in fact obliged to have. his lodging fees paid ·in Cooper's office at one stage, tp reduce loans taken out by him. 35 . ,, .Mapikela is no more, and what remains as a last monuni:ent to •\.' '.:. ·.\J'.11s struggling days ·; i,s his house i.n Ba tho township. The . ' . t ·~ '· ;~ . 'M.. apikela house should''be valued and considered a valuable " ~·' ',l; "'·i;\.'sset of the Free Sta\~ province's heritage because of its ~ .;·_,1: ; ''close association with Mr. Thomas Mtobi Mapikela (1869- ,..,: f 194 5) ) 36 Today Mapikela still lives on in the hearts and minds of .the people of Bloemfontein and Batho township in particular. This legacy also remains visible in Mapikela's ,., , dwelling . ' ' ' To reach an informed and scientific conclusion about the importance of this house, one had to depend on oral sources, and therefore, informal interviews were conducted. ·such sources are limited and, as much as they are reliable, they have their own flaws; because many of those people available were still very young at that stage. The interviewees also had a very fragmented memory of certain aspects. Secondary sources written about Thomas Mtobi 34 City of Bloemfontein. Various dates. Erf 1436/7. File containing various correspondence and documents relating to the above erven. Photocopies are available at the National Monuments Council, Bloemfontein. 35 Ibid. 36 Mancoe, J., Bloemfontein Bantu and Coloured People's Dictionary : Bloemfontein, p. 72. ~------------------- ~~J'i .:;. 29 Mapikela are very limited and nothing at all on his house. To understand the importance of this house, one need to provide a short history on the life and struggle of : Mapikela within a local, national and global context. 3.2 A SHORT HISTORY ON THE LIFE AND STRUGGLE OF MAPIKELA ·, '· Map'ikela was born on the 21st November 1869 at Hleuhoeng in I Ll=sotho (then Basutoland).· Hleuhoeng ·ha Motsarapana is ~proximately · 10 km south. ~f Ficksburg. Mapikela was a '." :_;·· { . ·.· Hlubi of. the Radebe clan by' birth and a descendant of the ~ ..f ;. f~-' ,:z;y.lu '.tribe. He was nicknamed "Map of Africa" because he t· .~: i · ...... ·ni:!O. ,a vision that the whol~ of Africa was the' African's •,, ,·. c~untry. 37 His parents left for the then Cape Colony while he was at a tender age. Opportunities were more promising at the Cape Colony than in the Free State Republic and Basutoland. He got his primary education at Queenstown.· fn 1886 Mapikela took a four yea+s·' apprenticeship in c:arpentry in Queenstown and · obtainec). a first class certificate in cabinet making. 38 At the age of 23, in June 1892, Mapikela went to Bloemfontein and settled in the Waaihoek township" as carpenter and building contractor. The Waaihoek township stood in strong contrast to the rest of Bloemfontein and visitors from overseas described the living conditions here as "most extraordinary and cramped 37 Dictionarv of African Biography, vol. 3. Algonac : Refererice Publications, p. 146. 38 Verwey, p. 155. 39 Haasbroek, J., Die Sosiaal en Vermaaklikheidslewe van die swart inwoners van Waaihoek: Waaihoek was so called probably due to the wind-swept location of the township on the outside "corner" ( = hoekl of Bloemfontein 1; p. 138. ~-----------•.. - 30 ... little mud kraals, more like ant heaps than dwelling places". 40 These .cramped and overcrowded conditions, the mostly unsuccessful attempts of the black community to obtain even ·'". ' the most basic improvements in their living environment, as ·' i .... ,• well· as a whole set of restrictive and discriminatory regulations promulgated by ,;\ihe local authority, led to great _frustrat:i.,~:m and hardsh-~p:'. 41 ,~ -- ~ ~~- . .. . '·".J • I ' _,,- ~ ·' .... 'In 1903, Mapikela set up hifi/'bwn independent business as ~ ': ~ '';;: ' '·l 2ontractor. Realising his ski1'ls and efficient workmanship '(• ' ? .;~ a builder, carpenter and cabinetmaker, the government '' -engaged him in the m~ing of many descriptions of furniture ·· for the .Girls' High School, 42 the Grey, and Normal Colleges .in Bloemfontein. Mapikela was in demand because of his ,excellent services as both black and white people sought ; :· his s_ervice. 43 Carpenters were mainly involved in the erection 9f timber roof structures, the installation or fabrication of specialist wooden items, most notably furniture. According , to Mapikela' s grandson Mr. Sandy Thomas Mt obi Mapikela, named after his grandfather, Mapikela helped the black community with his construction skills. To show his willingness to help, the Mangaung Primary School ceiling 40 Schoeman, K., Bloemfontein. Die ontstaan van 'n stad 1846-1946, p. 130. 41 Ibid., p. 218. 42 No actual name is given for this Girls' High School, but it could probably be Eunice High School. 43 Mweli-Skota, T.D., The African Yearly Register !Who's Whal of Black Folks in Africa, p. 185. .~ " ~ ··""•' ~;~z_ ., .... 31 t~ ~ -::;; was constructed by Mapikela himself and assisted by his co- worker Mr. S. Mohapi. Using his skills as a contractor, Mapikela built himself an imposing double-storey house in Batho township. As a contractor he was also optimistic in obtaining work as several imposing structures were in the '" process 6f being erected in Bloemfontein, the new Raadzaal ~"'· . in President Brand Street being the most impressive. M' 4pikela:was also kept busy by making coffins in his back ~ ~ · Y'.lrd because of the lack of mortuary facilitie... s in the ·•'' .,.;'.";' ~· ' 'J!. ~ . '· Bes.ides his business commitments, Mapikela was 'an active ' i: t~- .':~ ··memJ:>er of the St. John's Methodist Church where~he held a n:umb.er of key positions. Among the positions he held in church, was that of a Circuit Steward, Ex-officio Synod member, a Lay member representative. He also served in d.ii.fferent committees like in education; missionary; local ·•.''I·- preacher's; trust property; and Sunday School Committee. He was also the founder and promoter of the Independent " Order of True Templars. 45 All these positions were ' . influenced in one way or the other by his political ;I',.·,· . activities. In all these positions, Mapikela built up his influence and his political co' nstituency. Holding such a great number of prominent and responsible positions in the community of Bloemfontein and nationally, is a proof enough that he was a man of great talent and sound leadership qlialities and that he was accepted as such by the communities that put their trust in him, when they elected 44 Interview with Mr. Sandy Thomas Mtobi Mapikela, 20 September 1997. 45 Mancoe, p. 72. .. •• 32 ... him to these positions. The trust placed on him by the people who voted him to such positions was e·xtended into the political sphere as well . ..,· . Prior to 1900 there was no political consciousness in the Free State, at least not on an organized scale. After the annexation of the Free State Republic by Great Britain in 1900, African political organizations emerged. Mapikela's ... political accivities commenced in about May 1903 whe·n the Bloemfontein Native Vigilance Committee (BN'{C) was ···If'!! establishe"d and in 1904 formed with other!;"j similar •. - , organizati,ons in the Orange River Colony (ORC) ;,, tfie ORC -'. _'-!; , Native VigiJance Association (later renamed the OR<·· ~ • ., : ·.". "' .;·;~1~ 'A.t:cording to Prof. Mapikela played an important role as a national pol.itical figure within the African National Congress. Shortly before the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, Mapikela was closely Jp.volv~d with black protests against the colour bar in. the draft constitution of the National Convention. 52 He". was organiser-in-chief and subsequently President of.the Or~nge Free State Native Congress from 1907. He layed an important role in convening the South African Native . ' Convention (SANC) meeting held from the 24th to 26th March .' ·.' 1909 in Waaihoek township to discuss the draft constitution of the SANC and to counter against the proposed formation of the Union of South Africa which was scheduled for 1910'. 53 50 Odendaal, A., Vukani Bantu!, p. 76. 51 Verwey, p. 156. 52 Le Roux, C.J.P., Roi van die Naturelle - adviesraad Contree 25, 1989, p. 5. 53 Verwey, p. 156. ···o/l.~~..-=-r~ .t <:'-·~a::~ .. ..~~~ ... :s'o.!.Z ~·W'-i ' :~-~~:._: ~.~~5.., ~ ~· 34 The SANC became the first supra-tribal organisation to be formed in Bloemfontein. It was counter-convention to the South African National Convention of 1908 which met in Durban to draft the terms of the Union of South Africa. The SANC represented black grievances, and was also founded to overcome tribal divisions, and to attempt to get acceptance within the white polity through education, self- help and the accumulation·. of property. Mapikela . highlighted the plight of the blacks under the different : d~scriminatory laws which were passed by the different '0 ~-l}..; 't ~ .. go;o.' vernments o.f- South Africa during the period 1909 until ., ,/': ,., . ris death in 1945. ;. ~ -r As a delegate of the SANC deputation to London in 1909, he felt humiliated when the British parliament rejected their claim on the illegitimacy of the draft constitution with its colour bar acts. The British government paid no heed to the pleas of the delegatic;>n, and the draft Act of Union was passed unchanged ·as the South Africa Act which came into effect on 31 May 1910. 54 · The SANC was the most broadly representative African gathering to that date. It included such prominent African leaders as Mapikela himself, John Langalibalele Dube and John Tengo Jabavu to name the' few. Groups and delegates from all the colonies were present. They represented both .. the small minority of Cape voters and the overwhelming majority of non-enfranchised Africans especially from Orange Free State, Transvaal and from Natal including 54 Roth, M., The Foundation of the Native Representative Council, p. 126. <:fl~""' --~~ --.-~~~ ·.;;.-.:r::l$~fi5"·· 35 ' respected tribal authorities. 55 The SANC deputation's failure spurred Mapikela on, to look for a broader unity among the black organisations and political structures that existed. To achieve their aim of African national unity, Mapikela and other members of the Ora:lge River Colony Native Congress took the initiative to ,· extend an invitation to as many bla'ck people as possibl.e to join the Orange River Colony Native congress. 56 Mapikela' s flair for languages qnd his command of ther ;·· .. Xhosa, Engli;"sh, Tswana, Zulu and Sq.tho languages counted in c . his favour, hence he became the ·speaker of the ANC for almost three decades. In 1911 Mapikela became involved in the. attempts to establish the SANC as a permanent body. The first step in the establishment of such a body was taken shortly after the unification, when Dr. Pixley Ka -lyaka Seme57 did not hesitate to draw up a press release in 19.11, pleading for the establishment of a South African Native National Congress in 1912. The organisation he envisaged was to provide a forum for all ~Flcan viewpoints, forcefully present African grievances to the new·union government and to white public opinion, and serve as a new rallying point for political pressure on behalf of Africans throughout South Africa. 55 Ibid. 56 Verwey, p. 156. 57 Pixley, K.J. Seme was a lawyer and politician; he was the principal founder of the ANC. He was educated at Columbia University in USA; Oxford University and the Middle Temple, London. He served as President of the ANC between 1930 and 1937. --- - --- ___ii_ 36 On the 8th January 1912 representativ.es from the local Vigilante groups, chiefs and other prominent black leaders from throughout South Africa assembled in the vicinity where the Community hall -stands today in Batho township. At this meeting, the SANNC was founded. In 1923 the SANNC was renamed the African National Congress. In his inaugural keynote address, Seme emphasised both the negative impact of tribalism and disunity among the Africans as the reason for their defeat in the hands of the white government. 58 Writing in a newspaper 'Imvo Z~bantsundu' in Octobek 1911, Seme made an impassioned plea '·.-l tor unity endorsing Mapikela's dream of unity. Rejecting intertribal conflicts, Seme uttered the following : "The demon racialism must be buried and forgotten ... We are one people. 1159 In this meeting, Mapikela with a good command of the African languages became a natural choice for the position of speaker in the subsequent congresses of the South African Native National congress. 60 Politically some of the highlights of Mapikela' s career were his visits to England in 1909 and again in 1914. The second deputation was to protest against the Native Land 58 Meli, F., A history of the ANC: South Africa belongs to us, p. 38. 59 Reader's Digest: Illustrated historv of South Africa, p. 289. 60 Karis, T., Carter, G., (eds), From protest to challenge, vol. iv, p. 74. 37 Act of 191·'.r. ' 1 With the Native Land Act, the white government laid a firm foundation for a race-based system of oppression and exploitation. This second deputation was also unsuccessful. After the return from England, Mapikela did not despair in his attempts to unite blacks with a view of building resistance in a constitutionally ac.ceptable manner against laws that discriminated against blacks, for example, the Native Land Act of 1913 which prohibited black people for vagabondage, squatting, and it also took effective measures to restrict the purchase and lease of }and by blacks. It is through Mapikela's pleas that the IJ~·partment of Native Affairs in 1918 made land available for black farmers in Thabe'Nchu, Seliba and Witsieshoek and land certificates were issued to a number of black farmers. 62 Mapikela was constantly involved in protests against pass legislation and other discriminatory measures. He played an important role in the agitation for the repeal of the African Women's Free State pass laws. He also assisted in the establishment of an African Women's Movement in Bloemfontein to protest the pass laws. 63 In 1919 Mapikela became involved in the drafting of the SANNC's constitution. For Mapikela to have been a co-drafter of the organisation's 1919 constitution, shows the confidence 61 The Native Land Act of 1913 attempted to regulate the land question. It stipulated that no person who was not black could obtain land from a black and the blacks could not buy land outside certain scheduled areas except with the consent of the Governor·Gerneral. The scheduled areas included the existing reserved areas, townships and black trust lands. 62 Le Roux, C.J.P., Die openbare lewe van Thomas Mapikela, p.5. 63 Roth, p. 126. .• :...f,l!f''.. ~- -:. . ,'l'":i?;<.. ·"' --~·~ 38 people had in him, his talents and his commitment to the movement. Mapikela supported the African National Congress after 1923 in the resolution that the ANC should assist the government in shaping its racial policy, and encouraged the establishment of local councils. He was a moderate leader. With other conservative ANC leaders he was concerned about the growing ·support among black people for the Communist ',• Pa;rty 'of South Africa·. (CPSA) in the 1920 's. The CPSA which was later renamed the South African Communist Party (SACP) . Mapikela's finest political hour was his role as an acting president-general of the African National Congress in 1929 , after being instrumental in the removal of J.C. Gumede who has strong communist leanings. 64 Seme unsuccessfully took over as president,general in 1930. Mapikela's contribution, however, lies in his ability to organise endless meetings (within which his houses in Waaihoek and Batho played an important part) and his moderate and non- confrontational approach to politics. He remained committed to constructive dialogue with the white authorities and in Bloemfontein, served on the Native Advisory Council for more than 20 years. 65 Mapikela was also a founder member of the All African Convention (AAC) in 1935. The Convention was formed as a reaction of the African people of South Africa against the 64 Verwey, p, 156. 65 Le Roux, C.J.P., Roi van die Naturelle·adviesraad, p. 8. 39 Hertzog bills such as the Native Representative Bill and the Land Act and the Trust Act Bill. 66 According to Prof. Tom Lodge, the AAC failed because it used the traditional techniques of African pressure group politics like the deputations, vague calls for African unity and the adoption of a number of resolutions without engaging the government through the strikes, resistance campaigns or stay-away calls. 67 In 1937 Mapikela wa·s··'chosen as a member 'of the Native Representative Council ~NRC) which was created as a result of the Native Representative Act. ~J :i;t is against this background knowledge about Thomas Mtobi Map;ikela, that one could understand the ·historical importance of his house in Batho township (Mangaung) , the house presently known as the Mapikela House. The house itself derives its historical significance f~m its association with its owner and builder, Thomas Mtobi Mapikela. Today (1997) the house has undergone some renovations and alterations were also made by the present occupants of the house. These alterations only add to the architectural value of the house without really diminishing its politi--cal· and historical significance. 4. THE MAPIKELA HOUSE IN BATHO LOCATION, MANGAUNG Thomas Mtobi Mapikela is one of the founding fathers of the 66 Grabler. J., pp. 59 - 70. 67 Lodge, T ., Black Politics in South Africa since 1945, p. 11. 40 African National Congress, a poli)::.ical party that finally reached its goal when South Africa, in 1994, was peacefully transformed to a democracy. Mapikela is in a sense different than other political leaders. Other leaders followed an aggressive path to reform and broke down barriers, both literally and figuratively. Mapikela built the African National Congress, intellectual brick by intellectual brick, under difficult circumstances, much as he built his own house in Community Street, Batho township,· B;J.oemfontein. With his mind:· he contributed to the ·formation of the ANC but with hi~ hands he built the house for unity. Now that South Africa is at a dawn of the new era, the places behind the birth and inception of the ideas of the African National Congress could be traced by studying the _Mapikela House as the only remnant to accelerate the spirit o_f unity among the South Africans. In this study, the Mapikela House will be investigated as an important local of events as well as an architectural artefact of considerable significance. The house will also be considered within its wider urban context. --· It is important for one to get information on the motives that persuaded Mapikela in the building of this house which is so famous today. Mapikela initially resided in the old location of Waaihoek where he owned two houses before coming to Batho township. When the ANC (then called SANNC) was formed in 1912, Mapikela was still residing in Waaihoek and it was probably here that his political ideas were ----:--::---------------- -- - ii::?= .......~ .+ 41 shaped quring visits by other prominent leaders of the ANC. Little is known about his house in Waaihoek. The Waaihoek township was situated where the Bloemfontein Electricity Power Station stands today in the city of Bloemfontein. If one looks at the locality of Waaihoek it is clear that Waaihoek was just a stone throw from the city of Bloemfontein. (See Appendix C). Waaihoek.was bulldozed in 1923 by the Bloemfontein City Cquncil because it was not situated at the right spot in terms of the segregation 'p?licies of that time. The systematic razing of the Waai·hoek township in Bloemfontein t~at started in 1923 was · coinpleted in 1940 1941. The ·expansion of Waaihoek location threatened the City Council. The overcrowding in Waaihoek, the proximity of this township to white residential areas and the fact that land was needed to erect a power-station for Bloemfontein, were some of the factors that hastened the· establi~hment of the Batho township directly east of Waaihoek and the railway line and the so-called Cape Stands which housed the coloured community adjacent to the north. Tl;le arrival of the--railway line in Bloemfontein in 1890 with the concomitant availability of employment opportunities, attracted many black people to the town. In Bloemfontein Waaihoek township, between 1896 and 1904, the population grew from 1 302 in 1896 to 18 382 in 1904. 68 By 1895 blacks for the first time, outnumbered white citizens in Bloemfontein. 68 Le Roux, C.J.P., Roi van die Naturelle+adviesraad. p. 5. .. 42 When Waaihoek was demolished, the residents of Waaihoek were taken to the present Batho township. As indicated before that Mapikela had two houses in Waaihoek, when the township was destroyed, so were his two houses. By the year 1923, restrictive laws on black ownership of the land were intense, therefore, Mapikela could not rebuilt his two demolished houses :i,n the new Batho township. He thus decided to build one house on top of the other; this is depicted by his double storey house built at Batho township near,. the Community hall. This also shows the influence he '• haCI.· on the Bloemfontein Municipality and his financial s t;:-a l;l ; ,,,; lS . 4.1 THE PRESENT APPEARANCE OF THE HOUSE ' Although it was originally thought that the African National Congress, was founded in the dwelling under discussion, it has since been established through this research project that Mapikela's house in Batho was only erected in 1926. The Batho house and its location are, however, in the researcher's view, of greater importance than the Waaihoek houses. The stand number 22093 initially registered as Erf ' 1436/7 in Batho township is the Mapikela's House presently owned by his grandson, Mr. Bobby Mapikela. The township was laid out in 1918 and the b~ilding of new houses commenced soon after. 69 People held deeds to the land in Waaihoek, and Mapikela who owned two houses in Waaihoek, was allocated two Erven in Batho namely Erf 1436 and 1437. 69 Schoeman, K., Bloemfontein : Die ontstaan, p. 285. .. 43 The architectural background to the house will ass~st the reader in understanding the whole study about this house. The house is a red-brick double storey building with pitched corrugated iron roof. The ground-floor of the house has seven rooms while the first floor has six rooms (See Appendix D) The double storey residence even today, dominates the immediate residential skyline. In the 1920's double storey houses were an exception. Double storey dwellings in Bloemfontein were only erected by the wealthy af.· ter 1900 along Park Road, and also along Aliwal street w.e " . : re, it thrust northward past Naval Hill . It is quite pos.s ible that Mapikela wanted to follow this trend, but . ' gerl~rally he explained his house by ref erring to the fact that he was not allowed to erect tw? houses in Batho, due ~ to the progressively stringent laws governing landownership for blacks. Originally this house was not plastered as it is today with two facades covered with cement. This misplaced attempt at "neatening" the house by plastering the two street facades has strongly affected the visual appearance of the house. The house has a veranda with arched openings, as well as a balcony with a timber floor. The front entrance. into the veranda is led by stairs. On the riser of step leading to the front door of the house, partially hidden by a second step, added later is the inscription "Ulundi Kaya" that literally means "horizon house". Traditionally the house or ikhaya expressed both shared cultural beliefs whilst allowing individual expression. Spaces between structures were and still are, important places where day-to-day ··.~, . 44 activities and rituals take place. More than one house per member because of the belief in the .extended family. The interior of the house was primarily the domain of the woman within which rituals, such as communicating with the ancestral spirits (amadlozi) to intercede with God (Unkulunkulu) to provide rain, good harvests, children, health and so forth, were performed. This traditional lifestyle - an authentic way of dwelling - was more or less eradicated by urbanization and restrictive pol'itical, social and economic laws. 1).t the rear of the .house there .is an enclosed lean-to corrtlgated veranda between.the three projecting bays. The front entrance into the house is provided with a glazed timber door. Unfortunately the original brick pillars on the balcony have been replaced with steel pillars. Most of the original timber windows were replaced with steel windows. The interior of the building is provided w.ith_. timber floors and ceilings. There is also a flight of timber steps going upstairs. As a carpenter, Mapikela constructed the steps himself. The rooms on both floors were protected on the street facades (north and east) with verandas, arched bricKwork on the ground floor and brick columns on the first floor. Mapikela' s study room was conveniently situated on the ground floor. The building is almost in its original form except for modifications here and there. The roof has two chimneys protruding from it. The original louvered timber ventilators on the side walls are still retained. Like it ~~.- --_.. ~ ·.. 45 i's the case with outside doors, the house is provided with timber doors in the inside. The building also has a built- in fire place in the dining room. Inside the house timber chairs are still kept. 4.2 THE MAPIKELA HOUSE AS A HALFWAY HOUS~ AND ITS ROLE AS A $ETING PLACE Acco.rding to Mapikela' s grandson, ;Mr. Sandy Thomas Mtobi . ~ . Mapikela; the house played a signi.'ricant role of being a halfway ~r lodging house for travellers who used trains as a mdQ.e of transport to their respective destinations. These '· travellers used to sleep in this house, due to the fact that the hotels had restrictions in terms of accommodating blacks. The blacks had no other places for sleep except sleeping in the dilapidated, unsafe waiting room~ provided by the railway stations. The other alternative except the railway waiting rooms, was the Mapikela house. Bloemfontein being the country's centre- city needed more lodging houses for people travelling and passing through Bloemfontein. A wise plan by Mapikela for using his house as a halfway house benefited the people of Mangaung and nationally. In this house, Mangaung residents could meet and talk to p~ominent ANC leaders. The house did not only accommodate the ANC leaders but also people who were travelling for non-political business. To have a halfway house in Bloemfontein was long overdue especially when lo61{1ing at the centrality of Bloemfontein geographically. While ,.,...-----------------~., :----c:.----~--' ~·-·~··· ··-··-·~ .,.,r.,,o~·· ·-~- ;-~ 46 Mapikela was still residing at the Waaihoek location, with the support of the other residents, he tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Mayor of Bloemfontein to grant permission for the opening of the Native home or lodging house in Waaihoek. This never materialised until the people were removed from·. Waaihoek. Hence on his arriva1 to a new location of Batho, Mapikela used his new spacious house to serve that purpose. Here is a copy of an open letter wr.itten by Mapikela to the Bloemfontein Mayor in 1909 (See .'· . Appendix E)· . ., . Mapikela was later granted permission in 1909 to open a "native ·home" since "Native Religi.ous, Educational and Political Conferences" were frequently held in Bloemfontein and delegates to such meetings were often left stranded when coming to accommodation facilities. 70 According to Belot, S.T., Mapikela was highly religious and served in various official capacities in first, the local Wesleyan Church and later, the Anglican Church hence his house was mostly used·: 71 His involvement in church affairs as a prominent leader also had a significant impact on the politicisation of the people in the church. Some of the meetings pertaining to church affairs were held in his house and he indirectly influenced the people on political matters. The black community was generally church-bound and that enabled Mapikela to communicate his political desires and 70 Interview with Mr Sandy Thomas Mtobi Mapikela, 30 September 1997. 71 Belot, pp. 6 · 7. ·~ '. ~ .- ~··; 47 intentions to his people. By so doing Mapikela-increased his scope of influence and source of information to the community as a whole. Mapikela never separated his political activities from church responsibilities, and used this platform to propagate his political ideals. 72 The house became important for the fact that Mapikela s·"e rved in a number of committees, of which many meetings ~ere held in his house. It was in this house where most .m e.e tings of the Local Advisory Board Congress were held. It was from sµ~h meetings that Mapikela got support from o. ther board members to name some of the Mangaung township streets after the founding fathers of the African National Congress. Such a decision was taken during the 1930's in the Local Advisory Board Congress meeting held in the Mapikela's house. Among these street names are Msimang, Rubusana, Mahabane, Dube, Jabavu, Kadalie and Mapikela himself, whose street is somewhat longer than most of the others. With street names now bearing the names of the leading members of the African National Congress, Mapikela could instil political consciousness and a cultural awareness of resisting injustices among the Free State and· Bloemfontein blacks. Mapikela also fostered-the.culture of serving in the community organisations among the people. As it was also the policy of the African National Congress to have street committees to assist the Blackman, Mapikela won some of the South African Police (SAP) members over to the African National Congress side as some of these SAP 72 Interview with Sandy Mapikela, 30 September 1997. ~ ,~, 48 members became the stree.t committee members. 73 With the demolition of Waaihoek, Mapikela was one of the early residents in Batho township to start with the construction of his house, sometime during 1923. From the available information it seems that Mapikela did not intend the house to be merely a dwelling, but being a business minded person,. he also thought of using this house for financial gain. Even though he and his wife, Martha (nee Schultz) had six. daughters and three sons, he used his house as a native eating house and for polit.ical interest :: as a me~ting house. By 1934 only one son (Winnington) and four daughters had survived of which three were married. According to Mrs. A.M. Jacobs, Mapikela's daughter, the house was sometimes used as a protecting or hiding place for African political activists, particularly those who were harassed by the South African Police. Mrs. Jacobs stated that the house played a significant role in her father's political career and activity : "There were always people coming in and out of the house. Our dining-room table could seat 12 and there were always meetings there. "74 To Mrs. Jacobs, Bl'Cfemfontein was the headquarters of the African National Congress; thus Mapikela's house became the meeting offices. She stated that prominent ANC Youth League leaders also met in this house before the death of Mapikela in May 1945. She quotes leaders like Nelson , 73 Free State Archive : File number MBL 1 /2/4/1 /1 74 Sunday Times, 12.1.1992. • .i =d~ ·~.~- • 49 Mandela and Walter Sisulu among the youth leaders. 75 The role played by Mapikela as a member of the ANC and his role in the socio-political activities of the Mangaung· township justifies the attention given·to this house; both from the . African National Congress and the National Monuments·Council. Mapikela being the speaker of the ANC, he had to organise and ';arrange all the infrastructure needed to the ANC conferences mostly held in Bloemfontein. ±t is through his house t~~t Mapikela managed to popularise '. the ANC and bring it td the members of his immediate :· ' community. The house itself became a unifying zone. ·lilesides his positions in the political arena, Mapikela held position of Superintendent of the African Life Assurance Co., President of the Bantu Trader's Association and the Non-European Cricket and Soccer Union. 76 Most meetings of these sporting activities were usually held in this house therefore putting the house in the spotlight for recognition as an important historical building. As a Headman of the new Batho township, Mapikela easily propagated the African National Congress programme through the blockmen. The blockmen were in charge of the different wards. The participation of the blockmen in arranging for the African National Congress conferences politicised them and ultimately their wards were politicised as the people h;d trust in their blockmen. Since it was customary then to call community meetings to discuss matters of local 75 Interview with Mrs. A.M. Jacobs - Nee Mapikela, 14 July 1997. 76 Mancoe, p. 72. ...·...+.' ~".',".'.--.-~.. .~a1:_:-•~• .·'··..~... -- .f.i !L..· 50 concern,. the blockmen could communicate the African National Congress messages to their wards at such meetings. 77 4. 3 THE ATTEMPTS TO DECLARE THE MAPIKELA' S HOUSE A NATIONAL MONUMENT ~~~.:.:. As early ~~,: February 1990, the Free State Regional ';/'" ~ \~! Committee comprised of Prof. A. Wessels and Prof. G. Mills ·" wa~ instruc,t.ed by the National Monuments Council (NMC) to pursue a res'earch on the possibility of preserving the ' '·. . . Mapikela H~~se. Unfortunately no submissions were r •'~ ; ,i,l · . ' ,f 1, ~.~._._ forwarded .tq;":the NMC by the two academics . " . '· According to Prof. A. Wessels, such a study needed people who knew the language spoken at Batho township, namely Sotho or Tswana in order to effectively communicate with the people of the area. Another obstacle· was that fact that, the house itself was not the place allegedly to have been the house where the ANC was formed in 1912. They discovered that the house was built in 1926 long after the ANC has been founded. Prof. Wessels indicated that the impression they had about the house was vague; and that is the reason why a formal report was not submitted to the National Monuments Council. He also indicated that there were some misunderstandings within the Regional Committee itself on why is the house to be preserved if it is not the ANC's house. Such misunderstandings led to the withdrawal of some members from the committee, Prof. Wessels being one 77 Belot, pp. 28 • 30. ~· ... ' -==-=- 51 of them. 78 According to Prof. Dawid Yuill, the former Head of Architecture Department at the Free State University and a local architect, the house played an important role in ,-... popularising the African National Congress in Mangaung and the Free State at large. Prof. Yuill initially q;,.ted the construction of the house to the late 1890's. This was .,.• ' 1 .".~ based on the visual elements of the house and strengthens the argument that much of the building material was "recycled. Due to the fact that the building of houses in Batho township remained the responsibility of owners, it is ·~·:. ;, ~ ) ,:t" ' ,' '· "'. '.si i ·wite likely that many inhabitants used materials such as br,icks, window and door frames and corrugated iron roof sheets that were salvaged from the demolished houses in Waaihoek. His viewpoint on the architectural features of the house, that is, the size of the house showed that it was sizeable enough to could have housed a substantial number of people hence the ANC members could assemble in On the 20th February 1991, the Free State Regional Committee comprised of Prof. Yuill, Ms. Herma Gous made a submission to the National Monuments Council that the house deserve to be preserved and restored. After this submission to the Council, a mammoth task began on the side of the NMC to get permission from the present owners and occupants of the house about a move of attempting to preserve and declare 78 Interview with Prof. A. Wessels, 30 September 1997. !VISTA UNIVERS~ 79 Interview with Prof. 0. Yuill, 9 October 1996. I ,(i6~a-P~t Iii~ BLOEMFONTEIN CA~i:'.H~J,~ 1--·- • --- 52 the house as a national monume_nt. To proceed with the project of preserving and declaring the house, the family's approval was necessary. According to the National Monuments Council, the current owner of the house, Mr_ Bobby Mapikela, showed willingness to co-operate in an attempt to preserve the house_ 80 This was seen as a plus factor by the NMC because getting approval from the family i members would facilitate the restoration and decla.ration ::J. process with ease. ·'· M'i-. Thamsayi Makhubalo, the then Professional Officer of '·if• · tpe National Monuments Council in the Free State and North ; ?~ff w4st provinces, played a significant role in explaining to the family members why the house should be preserved and declared as a national monument. After the explanations by Mr_ Makhubalo, the family ~embers promised mutual co- operation during the process of declaring the house a national monument -81 Though the house is structurally s•.o und, it needs some repair and painting. Long before the National Monuments Council could take the front seat in the attempts of declaring the house, as early as 1990, Mr. Segopi Malebo-;-- the then chairperson of the Southern Free State branch of the African National Congress proposed to the African National Congress to recommend for the restoration and declaration of the house as a national monument. Mr. s. Malebo was asked by the Free State 80 Interview with Ms. Herma Gous, Area Manager of the National Monuments Council in the Free State Province, 28 May 1996. 81 Interview with Mr. Thamsayi Makhubalo, 28 May 1996. ..... _ . . indicated that the Free State ·~~~vince has several houses of historical importance, the Mapikela House also included. 85 By the time of writing this dissertation (1997), the house was in urgent need of repair. Although the structure is sound, serious damage is caused to brickwork. ·due to gutters and downpipes being rusted through. Acc9rding to Mr Anton Roodt, a senior lecturer at the Architecture Department at UOFS, the roof sheeting will need replacement and the slender brick columns supporting the roof ove+ the veranda on the first floor have been replaced by steel pipe columns." 4.4 PRESENT CONCERNS AND APPROACHES TO THE FUTURE , The current and previous owners of the house have also 84 Express, 2. 7 .1997. 85 lnteiview with the MEC for Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mr. Tate Makgoe, 8 August 1997. 86 Interview with Mr. Anton Roodt, 13 August 1997. 55 attempted to "modernize" the house by removing. wooden windows (that had probably disintegrated due to the effect of sun and rain) and making unsympathetic additions. The National.Monuments Council has made funds.available to address the most serious maintenance problems. ·These funds will, however, not cover the rehabilitation or restoration G~ the structure and additional funds will have to be .. t ·"'J "s:Ought. The researcher suggests a number of scenarios in ·",J; t.·,·--.h..' is dissertation that could assist with a final approach of utilizing this house profitably. ;\c·~., i 1 .> ,>~;:.~ ·r' -,.- y:~::~~,. ·. . '4;'./. 4'..1 SCENARIO 1 : The current owners are descendants '· from Thomas Mapikela and continue the tradition of taking in lodgers. Historically ti would be fitting that this situation continue as it would preserve living ties with the past. .. One of the ground floor rooms could be converted : 'J to a r':'.ception room with an exhibition of relevant material. The Mapikela' s could possibly even act as guides or information officers and could charge a small entrance fee. -·A visitors centre could be erected as part of the Community hall. This would eliminate the need for the owners to engage with visitors. The centre could then serve as a museum and might even contain a small commercial outlet that could sell books and memorabilia. ~~ ..• ~ 4 wz. -- 56 4.4.2 SCENARIO 2 : The house could be purchas.ed from the owners. The house could then be ·converted in toto to a museum that could displ) • W, .i th the research~r's tecent visit to the sites, it was noticed that walls were sometimes destroyed by grass growing within the walls bearing testimony to the neglect cj.f the sites. In an informal interview conducted with the MEC for Environmebtal and Tourism Affairs, Mr. T. Makgoe, .si;tows that the MEC himself would like many of the black ., cultural sites to be restored and preserved. Refetring 1:0 the sites that need immediate attention the MEC mentioned the Nkoe/Sefate and the Joalaboholo sites. The main impediment was however, the lack of government finances. This lack of funds will prolong the urgent need of preserving these sites. These sites need protection, for example, to have fences erected around the stone walls. According to the MEC, it is the responsibility of both the National Monuments Council and the Free State Department of Environmental and Tourism Affairs to look at the possibility of upgrading these sites and later to be ------------------- ----- - -.-;'1'.;,/1 ·.,;t~_;,;;:;. ~~. -~ ~ ~i.'f•.,...;i-1 ,!l.~ 76 declared as national monument.s. 106 5.7 CONCLUSION .·· •'., .~ · ... . Tribal history also deserves a place in the study of the . ' Flfee State history. This province has a rich legacy <·· --··.' -~ . i. ' :1'.. pertaining to this kind of history. There are many tribal '· ·~:. group sites around this province which need to be -~·· ... .. . investigated by undertaking studies such as this one on . \·., . those sites. The history of the _Fre_e State is important '\ '· :, for both .':local, regional and national people. The Free (· State its' elf is a historical region which needs to be surveyed and excavated to enable historians to write black history of the Free State from mostly non-documentary sources. 6 . Sl:JMMARY This project is aimed at identifying historical places of interest concerning black history. A similar project has been done before by Tshi~iso Ratithlare. This shows that black history has been ignored for a very long time. This has brought about a lack of self-identification and confidence in black people and also implanted an inferiority complex towards their own history. The identification and preservation of the heritage sites 106 Interview with Mr. T. Makgoe, 15 August 1997. 77 is an emotional issue which can either rally or divide people. The story of site tells, can be one person's dre.am and another's nightmare. South Africa is a particularly fragmented society, and many people clutch onto the safety and familiarity of the exclusive and divisive symbols at hand. Sites themselves seek to include group members in a shared understanding of culture and herit.~ge. '. ' ~·:: :·· ·::' .~ i . . ·. .,.. .. B~coming a more democratic· soc.iE;ty means, inter alia, ~ ~~~ding new heritage sites that reflect ~nd reinforce this l c • • ..'.' • 1 ,.n .e, w identity. However, heritage sites should not be allowed to become a political football and arouse conflict, ' ·.~ : "·~.· \ 1'.j\Jld great circumspection should be exercised with the ·~. :· ! ~hoice of heritage sites. The sites discussed in this dissertation are not only of ·ipterest or importance to blacks, but a,lso to the entire population of South Africa, particularly of the Free State province. In the Free State province there is a wealth of historical resources "still to be tapped. History as a discipline must proceed alongside adjacent disciplines such as archaeology, ethnology, geography, anthropology and the e:lcpertise of the National Monuments Council and National Museums must be utilized. -* .. ;. :,;.. .;;. .. APPENDIX A 78 r ·----=----- ·--------: ' SKETSPLAN VAN DI( Vocrgeste!de ONOCRVERDELIHGS en SER'n'JTUUTGEBIEDE Y2!1 di~ p!;i;is BETHAHi 610 AOH\)llSTRATIE\.'E OI.S..T R\X, fDfN8URG · PROV\/iSI[ ORAHJ(-YRYST.IAT x . } 111 0(~ <· J .. ., . \· .... ~ ., ~ ;'.t. : ·-·-·-1 •,; ~ t 'I .... ._...,,., __ :--. A SOURCE FILE FROM THE OFFICES OF THE LAND SURVEYORS IN BLOEMFONTEIN -·- 79 .. APPENDIX B -------· -----~---- 1.1.~-...!"r.,i:u t'!' ~.,~J•C. i.:.i,<::". \ Ir' &.~1y,1.(>;,Y'(H::-<;.. L1."c:t1Q1("~A"•~·~u I-Ir. :Joh;innc:3 :t.I ~·:1:1c. r..i~(I•'. ti\ l ~ .. L~H(JH ... Telef~~ : oo27-Sl-471o2J tl1:n.•t•1m!Gi'.:•l!.r.1:J BLOE;·tFOMTEIN, 9Jo6 OS,'\ --;r-------------------- lll:ro C'?J F.~·. .. ...-_ ),j,,-;.,,_ 1,,, !,J:.,e." \--------------------- • T :\>.f,•t: 0 1111! ! I j.-i 11 7.ll:1,,r:'. T~n': t!! + ... -~ •1 ' . .. ~. ·.-: !,'_~., . 'Z •'\: 1.1 S001/l/95/Nl9/3 1.2 . T.C .. 193/09 1.3 MBL ,J. I 2 I 4 I 1I1 . -. ·. . ·\. •' ; '. -.~ . ·2 . MANUSCRIPTS .. ' "" Le Roux, C. J.P., Die openbare lewe van Thomas Mapikela, 'n oorsig, 1869 - 1945, Bloemfontein, [ ±:988. 3. NEWSPAPERS 3.1 Sunday Times, 12 January 1992. 3.2 The Citizen, 5 August 1993. 3.3 Die Volksblad, 6 September 1995. 3.4 Die Volksblad, 10 November 1995. 3.5 Die Volksblad, 28 June 1997. 3.6 E:;s:press, 28 May 1997. 3.7 Express, 2 July 1997. ,,,-'• 86 B ACADEMIC JOURNALS AND NOTES Badenhorst, L., Fragments of forgotten Free State history, Lantern, 42(2), 1993, pp. 35 - 38. ,1,. . City of Bloemfontein. Various dates. Erf 1436/7. File containing various correspondence and ···· ·.documents relating to the above erven. Photocopies J are available at the National Monuments Council, B;..; !.oemfontein . T: :' ·.' D.reyer, · JrJ.B., The Iron Age Archaeology of '\;• ~ :~~:.~;, ~ q-9ornpoort; Winburg, Orange Free State. Navorsinge ' . ·r 1f1n Nasionale Museum, Bloemfontein, Vol. 8(7), pp. 261 - 278. (\ous, H., Carmel-sendingstasie, Cura, 1, 1992, pp. ' -;~ ].~; 15; 18. Haasbroek, J. Die Sosiale en Vermaaklikheidslewe van swart inwoners van Waaihoek, Bloemfontein, ' tydens die Oranjerivierkolonie tydperk (1900- 1910), in Navorsinge van die Nasionale Museum;-·- Bloemfontein, Vol. 13, Deel 4. Le Roux, C.J.P., Rol van die Naturelle-adviesraad op plaaslike bestuurvlak in Bloemfontein, 1923 - 1948, Contree 25, 1989, p. 5. -~-----,,,-~ - ---~ ............... ----~~~ 87 Le Roux, C. J.P., Die Bloemfonteinse oproer van 1925, Contree, 29, 1991. Report to the National Monuments Council Bethanie-sendingstasie - Edenburg : Restourasie in v6lle gang. l ,J "1:1f hoeman, K . , Free State heritage, Roodepoort, .,. '- ·~ ••• ·! i ~ - i~s5. I;:' " . K., Die Londonse Sendinggenootskap en die 1838, Kaapstad, 1980. I :. Bank, D .A., Bethanie-sendingstasie, National Museum News, No-25, Oktober, 1983, pp. 8 - 9 . V.an der Merwe, W., Die Berlynse sendelinge van die ·-'-', B;ethanie (Oranje-Vrystaat) en die Kora, 1834 1856, pp. 40 - 63. C DISSERTATIONS AND THESES Be lot, S. T. , The Life history of Thomas Mtobi Mapikela 1869 - 1945. His role in the African National Congress (Honours Dissertation, Vista University, Bloemfontein, 1991). Roth, M., The Foundation of the Native Representative Council (M.A. Dissertation, University of South Africa, Pretoria, 1979) . :-~--~ 88 D INTERVIEWS Interview with Mr. J.J.B. Dreyer, Head of Department, National Museum, Bloemfontein. 13 August 1997 . . ·. . . . Interview with Ms. H. Gaus, Chairperson of the .. N?tional Monuments Council, Free State.province. ~ ~ 28 May 1996 apd August 1997. ;, . ~·. . .I• nterview with Mr. T. Makgoe, MEC for Environmental ,. .. a'nd Tourism Affairs, Free State province. August . '1997. '· ' Interview with Mr. J. Kraalshoek, Representative of the Bethanie Committee. 12 July 1991. ;rnterview wit'h Mrs. A. M. Jacobs - Nee Mapikela, daughter of Thomas Mtobi Mapikela, 84 years old. 14 July 1997. Interview with Mr. S.T.M. Mapikela, grandson of Thom~s 'Mtobi Mapikela, 74 years old. ·September 1997. Interview with Prof. A. Wessels, History lectur€r at the Free State University, September 1997. Interview with Prof. D.W. Yuill, former Head of Department of Architecture at the Free State University. 9 October 1996. - --= . ,_ -~ .. ~--~~""""~,,.,. "~ ~~~. 89 Interview with Mr. W. S. Sharrat, owner of the -Sunrise farm, Nkoe/Sefate site. August 1997. Interview with Mr. T. Makhubalo, Professional Officer of the National Monuments Council in the ..'· ~ '· Free State and North West provinces. 28 May 1996. ....' : :. D~ctionary of African Biography, Vol. 3. Alganac .... Reference Publications, 1995 . ... ·~ ·; - ' . ' E" > ;Llenberger, D. F. , History of the Basut o, Monja, 1°992. Grabler, J., A decisive clash? A short history of the black protest in South Africas 1875 - 1976, .· Pretoria, 1988. Grove, C. P., Missionary and humanitarian aspects of imperialism from 1870 - 1940, London, 1978. Japha, D., and Japha, V., Mission settlements in South Africa, Cape Town, 1993. K~ris, T. and Carter, G. (eds), From protest to challenge, Vol. IV, California, 1977. Lodge, T., Black Politics in South Africa since 1945, Johannesburg, 1983. ------------------------------- -" .- - ... 1" '-'•!:': . ·~.i ~ ;;· ·--.~·~ 90 Machobane, L.B. B. J. , A -short history of Lesoth<2._, Morija, 1993. ·- Maggs, T. 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