Manasse !noreseb Xamaob, Part I: In Remembrance of His Death in Battle in 1905, at !gubu'oms (Aminuis)

In Remembrance of the Death in Battle of 

Manasse !noreseb Xamaob 

at !gubu'oms (Aminuis) on 1 December, 1905

against the German Schutztruppe

by 

Dr. Klaus Dierks

On the occasion of Heroes' Day, 5 December, 2004

As a German-speaking Namibian, I am honoured and deeply touched to be invited to participate in today's 99th Heroes' Day at !hoaxa'!nâs (Hoachanas). 

    At this historical place, I wish to pay my respects and tribute to one of the most outstanding Namibian freedom fighters, the great Kaiǁkhaun, or Red Nation, leader Manasse !noreseb Xamaob (1840 - 1905), who died in action against the German colonial power, on horseback, on 1 December, 1905, in the Battle of !gubu'oms, present-day Aminuis. I also pay tribute to all those brave Namibian women and men, and even children, who fought and suffered for the liberation and independence of Namibia. 

    This year, we remember the greatest tragedy in the history of Namibia, the German-Namibian War of 1903 to 1913. We remember the genocide committed against the Ovaherero and the Nama and against other Namibian communities in the year 1904, and thereafter. In this year of remembrance, 2004, everyone in the international world is talking about the genocide against the Ovaherero. But, other Namibian communities suffered as well and fought much longer against the German colonial authority, especially the Nama groups of Namibia, and especially the Kaiǁkhaun community of !hoaxa'!nâs. 

    Some of the Nama leaders, like Manasse !noreseb Xamaob*, Hendrik Witbooi, and Jakob Marengo, fell in battle against the Germans, while most of the Ovaherero leaders fled to neighbouring countries. Today, we have overcome this tragic history and have entered into a policy of national reconciliation that includes all Namibian communities. If this reconciliation programme we are talking about is not broadened to include all Namibian population groups who have suffered under, and fought against German colonial rule, then I see a big problem coming. 

    It is, therefore, important that we remember Chief Manasse !noreseb Xamaob and the Nama community of the Red Nation of !hoaxa'!nâs, a kingpin in Namibian history, a history of resistance wars against various colonial powers that for so long had oppressed the Namibian people. 

    Namibian history did not begin when the first European adventurers, hunters, traders, missionaries, and settlers arrived in Namibia as uninvited guests. Namibian societies had been  living, changing, and developing in this part of Africa for many centuries before the first Europeans arrived. The history of the Namibian community of the Red Nation is a symbol of Namibia's pre-colonial history, and recounts the complex history of Namibia's struggle for nationhood.

    Manasse !noreseb Xamaob was one of the most powerful African leaders in Namibia at the time the Germans began colonising this country. His insight that the African conflicts between Namibian communities were secondary to a threat of an entirely new dimension of immense proportions, namely conquest and colonisation by Germany, could only be resolved by internal African unity, makes Manasse one of the major resistance fighters against colonial rule in Namibia. He fought the war against the Germans for more than a year, side by side with other leaders like Hendrik Witbooi, Jakob Marengo, and Simon Kooper.

    What was the historical environment of the Kaiǁkhaun community of !hoaxa'!nâs? The Kaiǁkhaun can be regarded as the oldest Nama-speaking group in Namibia, and represents the original source of all Nama communities in Namibia. Their historical roots in Namibia can be traced back to 1695. In Kaiǁkhaun history, we can differentiate between four (4) periods: 

    1. A defensive period before 1820 against foreign influences from outside Namibia;

    2. The missionary period between 1820 to 1860;

    3. An active resistance period from 1904 to 1913;

    4. The actual resistance period from 1922 to 1990 against South African colonial rule. 

    Before I pay tribute to Manasse !noreseb Xamaob, allow me to give some historical background on the Red Nation.

    In 1695, the Nama leader of the Kaiǁkhaun, the main group of all Nama groups in Namibia, ǂhâb (Ou Plat), was in all likelihood the first chief of this community. He was involved in several conflicts with Sān and Dama groups. ǂhâb unified the various Nama groups: the Bondel (!gami'ǂnûn), the Topnaar (ǂaonin), the Fransman Nama (!khara'khoen), the Veldschoendrager (ǁhawoben), the Great Dead (ǁō'ǁaen / Groot Dood), the Swartboois (ǁkhau'|gôan), and the Kharo'!oan of present-day Keetmanshoop. The Kaiǁkhaun played a leading role in unifying these groups. Later, the ǁkhau'|gôan and Kharo'!oan would become the first groups to separate from the Red Nation. 

    In 1710, the Nama chief of the Kaiǁkhaun, ǂhâb, died. His successor was ǁkhomab ǂhâmab. In 1725, ǁkhomab ǂhâmab died, and was succeeded by ǁkhaub gaib'ǁkhomab. During his reign, a rift developed between the Kaiǁkhaun and the Swartboois who left !hoaxa'!nâs and settled at |anes (in 1843, the Rhenish missionary, Carl Hugo Hahn, proposed the name change to ''Rehoboth'').

    In 1740, the chief of the Kaiǁkhaun, ǁkhaub gaib'ǁkhomab, died. His successor was ǂō'ǁnâib Khaumab. He died in 1755, and his successor was !hanab ǂō'ǁnâimab. He was followed by !gaob |hanamab, in 1770.

    In 1778 to 1779, the South African, Hendrik Jacob Wikar, explored the areas around the Kai !garib (Orange River). Wikar mentioned the leader of the Red Nation, !gaob |hanamab, in his diaries. Under |hanamab's rule, the Nama controlled an area stretching from the upper Fish River to the Orange River. In 1800, !gaob |hanamab died at !hoaxa'!nâs or at the ǂkhoa'aib (Olifantsrivier / Elephants' River). His successor was Gameb !gaomab who ruled until 1814. Gameb was followed by Tsawub Xamaob. In 1820, James Kitchingman of the London Missionary Society, together with missionaries Shaw and Schmelen, visited Tsawub Xamaob. But, in 1822, Schmelen left Bethanie due to the dissatisfaction of the Bethanie Nama with missionary work among the Red Nation (after he had ''...almost begged them upon my knees that they should come to church but they would not...''). This somehow represented the beginning of the resistance period against European influence and missionaries. In 1824, Tsawub died and was succeeded by !na'khom Xamaob.

    In the 1830s, the powerful Nama leader, Jonker Afrikaner, established his sovereignty in the southern and central regions of the territory. An alliance between the Afrikaners and Kaiǁkhaun was established. In later years, these two Namibian communities represented the Anti-European and anti-missionary alliance. They were the first root against foreign dominance and colonialism in Namibia, and the Red Nation of !hoaxa'!nâs played a leading role. However, historical justice must also report that it was during this time that the first conflicts among Namibian groups arose. 

    Oral history tells that during the drought of 1829 and 1830, some Ovaherero groups moved further south where they came in conflict with local Nama communities like the Red Nation. This was called Goman Torob, the Cattle War. These conflicts resulted in the settlement of some Ovaherero in the south and speaking Khoekhoegowab. They are the so-called Ovaherero-Nama, or Ovaherero-Oorlams.

    In 1840, the leader of the Kaiǁkhaun, !na'khom Xamaob, died. His successor was ǁoaseb (Gewillig / Willing) !na'khomab, one of the greatest sons of the Red Nation. ǁoaseb and his Nama community settled in an area in the vicinity of their Oorlam ally, Jonker Afrikaner, in the valley of the Skaaprivier (Gūbakop River), |anes (Rehoboth), and Tsebris. The Oorlam Afrikaner-Red Nation alliance was cemented in 1841 when the Nama leader of the Kai|khauan, Amraal Lambert, initiated a formal peace treaty between ǁoaseb and Jonker Afrikaner. On 14 April, 1843, ǁoaseb attacked the Ovaherero leader, Oove ua Muhoko Kahitjene, without Jonker Afrikaner helping Kahitjene. Kahitjene's defeat is directly attributed to his attempts to gain independent access to guns, horses, and information with the assistance of a European missionary, Carl Hugo Hahn.

    These events triggered developments where the Ovaherero were supported by European missionaries, especially Carl Hugo Hahn, European traders and hunters, while the Nama alliance between the Red Nation and Oorlam Afrikaners represented the Anti-European alliance by Namibians trying to establish a rudimentary Namibian state. 

    In the end, the European missionary-Ovaherero alliance defeated the Nama and opened the way for formal German colonialism in the 1880s. 

    On 12 December, 1846, Carl Hugo Hahn reported that the Oorlam Afrikaners under Jonker Afrikaner and Kaiǁkhaun under ǁoaseb were the ''centres of resistance'' against the German missionaries. Only the Swartbooi Nama, under the influence of the German Rhenish missionary, Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt, did not take part in the Anti-European Alliance. In February, 1850, the Nama leader, Tseib (Tsaib), split from the Red Nation and moved further south to establish the Kharo'!oan at Keetmanshoop. 

    However, in 1854, ǁoaseb attacked Jonker Afrikaner, who had earlier that year attacked the ǂaonin (Topnaar Nama), who were under the protection of ǁoaseb, at the time. The arrival of European mineworkers further intensified conflict between Jonker Afrikaner and other Nama leaders, such as ǁoaseb and Willem Swartbooi, !huiseb ǂhaobemab, from |anes. In 1856, ǁoaseb attacked Hendrik Hendricks of the ǁhawoben (Veldschoendragers) and Ua Tjirue Tjamuaha of the Ovaherero, without success. 

    On 9 January, 1858, Jonker Afrikaner and ǁoaseb signed a peace agreement at !hoaxa'!nâs and again, formed an alliance. On this occasion, ǁoaseb also ratified the terms of the original alliance formed in 1820. He recognised Jonker Afrikaner as being his equal in status and as the overlord of Hereroland. 

    The Red Nation's territory stretched from the Kalahari to the Auas Mountains, a 50-kilometre long mountain range south-east of Windhoek, with the !kuiseb River flowing south-west towards the Atlantic ocean, as its farthest border. However, the twelve (12) clauses of the peace agreement did not include a clause for cooperation against exploitation by traders which later proved to be a significant omission.

    The Treaty of !hoaxa'!nâs of 1858 was ratified by thirteen (13) Nama leaders, and Jan and Piet Kopervoet, the sons of Ua Tjirue Tjamuaha. On 22 April, 1858, the treaty was followed by an agreement outlawing mining concessions and land sales to European colonists, except by common agreement. Unfortunately for pre-colonial Namibia, due to the subversive influence of Rhenish missionaries, the treaty was never strictly adhered to nor enforced.

    At the end of the 1850s, the new political constellation could be described as follows: ǁoaseb of the Kaiǁkhaun, Amraal Lambert of the Kai'|khauan, Piet Kooper !gamab of the Fransman, Hendrik Henricks or !nanib gaib ǂarisemab (Kleinman / Mannetjie) of the ||hawoben, and Jacobus Boois of Bethanie supported Jonker Afrikaner, while Willem Swartbooi or !huiseb ǂhaobemab from |anes, the leaders from Bethanie and Berseba, and later, Kido Witbooi of Gibeon assisted by Chief Tsaib from Keetmanshoop, formed the anti-Jonker coalition. Undoubtedly, the roles played by Rhenish missionaries and European traders greatly added to divisions between different Namibian groups. Their intent was to destroy Jonker and ǁoaseb's nascent state formation structures in order to weaken any local political power that might resist the missionaries' objectives and later, colonial annexation. 

    Jonker's slogan, ''Africa for Africans, but Namaland and Hereroland for us'', was an unacceptable challenge to German missionaries. Increasingly, local economic power slipped out of the hands of various Nama territorial leaders and their councils, and passed into the hands of European missionaries and traders. A new form of European colonial domination was unofficially introduced by the missionary-trader alliance, long before official colonial annexation took place, in 1884. This alliance paved the way for the overthrow of Jonker Afrikaner and his ally, ǁoaseb, in the 1860s.

    On 19 December, 1867, Kido Witbooi, Dawid Christian Fredericks, and Paul Goliat (Goliath) concluded a peace treaty at Gibeon, known as the Oorlam Peace of 1867. The treaty was aimed against the Red Nation leader at !hoaxa'!nâs, ǂgoraxab ǁoasmab (Barnabas), ǁoaseb's successor. On 21 May, 1871, Barnabas died. His successor was Gôbeb ǂgoraxab (Petrus).

    And, now we come to the great Kaiǁkhaun leader, Manasse !noreseb Xamaob, 13th leader of the Kaiǁkhaun (Red Nation), also known as Manasse of Hoachanas.

    On 12 December, 1880, Wilhelm Maharero defeated Jan Jonker Afrikaner but was wounded at the battle of Otjikango. The three sons of Chief Kukuri of Otjosazu were killed. On the Nama side, Dawid Christian Fredericks of Bethanie was killed, and the leader of !hoaxa'!nâs, Petrus, was in all likelihood murdered during the battle. Oral evidence tells that it was his successor, Manasse !noreseb Xamaob, who ruled from 1881 to 1 December, 1905, who gave the order to murder Gôbeb (Petrus).

    However, in 1888, when the German colonial authority had taken over the area, Manasse !noreseb Xamaob made peace with rival leader, !hoeb ǁoasmab (Fritz ǁoaseb), but in March, 1889, Fritz ǁoaseb joined Hendrik Witbooi. Manasse !noreseb Xamaob sought the protection of the Ovaherero chief, Maharero, settled at Seeïs, and only returned to !hoaxa'!nâs in 1895, after the defeat of Hendrik Witbooi in the Naukluft, in 1894. 

    The inter-community conflict between Manasse !noreseb Xamaob and Hendrik Witbooi considerably weakened the Namibian position against the Germans. A mere ten (10) years later, after colonial oppression and dispossession became unbearable for most Namibian groups, did Manasse !noreseb Xamaob join Hendrik Witbooi in his struggle against colonialism.

    In 1902, the German colonial authority created a native reserve (50,000 hectares) for the Kaiǁkhaun (Red Nation), at !hoaxa'!nâs. 

***

    End of Part I.

    *Local suggestions are that the correct spellings of his honourable name are ''Xamaob / Xam'aob'' and not ''Gamab'' as in historical documents. Xamaob / Xam'aob means ''lion-man / he-lion''. Photo: Manasse !noreseb Xamaob, seated centre, with several Nama leaders at !hoaxa'!nâs, Bundesarchiv (1897)

    Read Part II here.