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Khoekhoen (singular Khoekhoe) (or Khoikhoi in the former orthography; formerly also '' Hottentots''"Hottentot, n. and adj." ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/88829. Accessed 13 May 2018. Citing G. S. Nienaber, 'The origin of the name “Hottentot” ', ''African Studies'', 22:2 (1963), 65-90, . See also . ) are the traditionally nomadic pastoralist indigenous population of southwestern Africa. They are often grouped with the
hunter-gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fung ...
San (literally "Foragers") peoples. The designation "Khoekhoe" is actually a ''kare'' or praise address, not an ethnic endonym, but it has been used in the literature as an ethnic term for Khoe-speaking peoples of Southern Africa, particularly pastoralist groups, such as the !Ora, !Gona, Nama, Xiri and ǂNūkhoe nations. While the presence of Khoekhoen in Southern Africa predates the
Bantu expansion The Bantu expansion is a hypothesis about the history of the major series of migrations of the original Proto-Bantu-speaking group, which spread from an original nucleus around Central Africa across much of sub-Saharan Africa. In the process, ...
, according to a scientific theory based mainly on linguistic evidence, it is not clear when the Khoekhoen began inhabiting the areas where the first contact with Europeans occurred (possibly in the
Late Stone Age The Later Stone Age (LSA) is a period in African prehistory that follows the Middle Stone Age. The Later Stone Age is associated with the advent of modern human behavior in Africa, although definitions of this concept and means of studying it a ...
). At that time, in the 17th century, the Khoekhoen maintained large herds of Nguni cattle in the Cape region. They mostly gave up nomadic pastoralism in the 19th to 20th century. Their Khoekhoe language is related to certain dialects spoken by foraging ''San'' peoples of the Kalahari, such as the
Khwe Khwe (also rendered ''Kxoe, Khoe'' ) is a dialect continuum of the Khoe family of Namibia, Angola, Botswana, South Africa, and parts of Zambia, with some 8,000 speakers. Classification Khwe is a member of the Khoe language family. The 20 ...
and Tshwa, forming the Khoe language family. The main Khoekhoe subdivisions today are the
Nama people Nama (in older sources also called Namaqua) are an African ethnic group of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. They traditionally speak the Nama language of the Khoe-Kwadi language family, although many Nama also speak Afrikaans. The Nama Pe ...
of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa (with numerous clans), the ǂNūkhoeǃhaos of Namibia, the !Orana clans of South Africa (such as ǀHõakhoena or AmaNgqosini), the Xirikua or Griekwa nation of South Africa, and the AmaGqunukhwebe or !Gona clans which fall under the Xhosa-speaking polities. The Xirikua clans (Griqua) developed their own ethnic identity in the 19th century and settled in '' Griqualand''. They are related to the same kinds of clan formations as the
Rehoboth Basters The Basters (also known as Baasters, Rehobothers or Rehoboth Basters) are a Southern African ethnic group descended from white European men and black African women, usually of Khoisan origin, but occasionally also enslaved women from the Cape ...
, who could also be considered a "Khoekhoe" people.


History


Early history

The broad ethnic designation of "Khoekhoen", meaning the peoples originally part of a pastoral culture and language group to be found across Southern Africa, is thought to refer to a population originating in the northern area of modern
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
. This culture steadily spread southward, eventually reaching the Cape approximately 2,000 years ago. "Khoekhoe" groups include ǀAwakhoen to the west, and ǀKx'abakhoena of South and mid-South Africa, and the Eastern Cape. Both of these terms mean "Red People", and are equivalent to the
IsiXhosa Xhosa (, ) also isiXhosa as an endonym, is a Nguni language and one of the official languages of South Africa and Zimbabwe. Xhosa is spoken as a first language by approximately 8.2 million people and by another 11 million as a secon ...
term "amaqaba". Husbandry of sheep, goats and cattle grazing in fertile valleys across the region provided a stable, balanced diet, and allowed these lifestyles to spread, with larger groups forming in a region previously occupied by the subsistence foragers. Ntu-speaking agriculturalist culture is thought to have entered the region in the 3rd century AD, pushing pastoralists into the Western areas. The example of the close relation between the ǃUriǁ’aes (High clan), a cattle keeping population, and the !Uriǁ’aeǀ’ona (High clan children), a more-or-less sedentary forager population (also known as "Strandlopers"), both occupying the area of ǁHuiǃgaeb, shows that the strict distinction between these two lifestyles is unwarranted, as well as the ethnic categories that are derived. Foraging peoples who ideologically value non-accumulation as a social value system would be distinct, however, but the distinctions among “Khoekhoe pastoralists”, “San hunter-gatherers” and “Bantu agriculturalists” do not hold up to scrutiny, and appear to be historical
reductionism Reductionism is any of several related philosophical ideas regarding the associations between phenomena which can be described in terms of other simpler or more fundamental phenomena. It is also described as an intellectual and philosophical po ...
.


Arrival of Europeans

Khoe-speaking peoples traded with seafarers from all over the globe for centuries, going back into ancient times, and this undoubtedly included some Europeans, perhaps even Roman vessels, but Portuguese explorers and merchants are the first to record their contacts, in the 15th and 16th centuries A.D. The ongoing encounters were often violent. In 1510, at the Battle of Salt River,
Francisco de Almeida Dom Francisco de Almeida (), also known as the Great Dom Francisco (c. 1450 – 1 March 1510), was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against ...
and fifty of his men were killed and his party were defeated by ox-mounted !Uriǁ’aekua ("Goringhaiqua" in Dutch approximate spelling), which was one of the so-called Khoekhoe clans of the area that also included the !Uriǁ’aeǀ’ona ("Goringhaicona", also known as "Strandlopers"), said to be the ancestors of the !Ora nation of today. In the late 16th century, Portuguese, French, Danish, Dutch and English but mainly Portuguese ships regularly continued to stop over in Table Bay en route to the Indies. They traded tobacco, copper and iron with the Khoekhoe-speaking clans of the region, in exchange for fresh meat. Local population dropped after
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
contagion was spread through European activity. The Khoe-speaking clans suffered high mortality as immunity to the disease was rare. This increased, as military conflict with the intensification of the colonial expansion of the
United East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock co ...
that began to enclose traditional grazing land for farms. Over the following century, the Khoe-speaking peoples were steadily driven off their land, resulting in numerous northwards migrations, and the reformulation of many nations and clans, as well as the dissolution of many traditional structures. "Khoekhoe" social organisation was thus profoundly damaged by the colonial expansion and land seizure from the late 17th century onwards. As social structures broke down, many Khoekhoen settled on farms and became bondsmen (bondservants, serfs) or farm workers; others were incorporated into clans that persisted. Georg Schmidt, a Moravian Brother from
Herrnhut Herrnhut ( Sorbian: ''Ochranow''; cs, Ochranov) is an Upper Lusatian town in the Görlitz district in Saxony, Germany, known for the community of the Moravian Church established by Nicolas Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf in 1722. Geography It is ...
, Saxony, now Germany, founded
Genadendal Genadendal is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, built on the site of the oldest mission station in the country. It was originally known as Baviaanskloof, but was renamed Genadendal in 1806. Genadendal was the place of the fir ...
in 1738, which was the first mission station in southern Africa, among the Khoe-speaking peoples in Baviaanskloof in the Riviersonderend Mountains. The colonial designation of "Baasters" came to refer to any clans that had European ancestry in some part and adopted certain Western cultural traits. Though these were later known as Griqua (Xirikua or Griekwa) they were known at the time as "
Baster The Basters (also known as Baasters, Rehobothers or Rehoboth Basters) are a Southern African ethnic group descended from white European men and black African women, usually of Khoisan origin, but occasionally also enslaved women from the Cape ...
s" and in some instances are still so called, e. g., the Bosluis Basters of the
Richtersveld The Richtersveld is a desert landscape characterised by rugged kloofs and high mountains, situated in the north-western corner of South Africa’s Northern Cape province. It is full of changing scenery from flat, sandy, coastal plains, to craggy ...
and the Baster community of
Rehoboth, Namibia Rehoboth is a town in central Namibia just north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Located 90 kilometres (55 miles) south of the Namibian capital Windhoek, Rehoboth lies on a high elevation plateau with several natural hot-water springs. It receives ...
, mentioned above. Arguably responding to the influence of missionaries, the states of
Griqualand West Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km2 that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people – a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, wh ...
and Griqualand East were established by the Kok dynasty; these were later absorbed into the
Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with ...
of the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
. Beginning in the late 18th century,
Oorlam The Oorlam or Orlam people (also known as Orlaam, Oorlammers, Oerlams, or Orlamse Hottentots) are a subtribe of the Nama people, largely assimilated after their migration from the Cape Colony (today, part of South Africa) to Namaqualand and Da ...
communities migrated from the Cape Colony north to Namaqualand. They settled places earlier occupied by the Nama. They came partly to escape
Dutch colonial Dutch Colonial is a style of domestic architecture, primarily characterized by gambrel roofs having curved eaves along the length of the house. Modern versions built in the early 20th century are more accurately referred to as "Dutch Colonial R ...
conscription, partly to raid and trade, and partly to obtain herding lands. Some of these emigrant Oorlams (including the band led by the outlaw
Jager Afrikaner Jager Afrikaner ( Nama name: ǀHomǀaramab, baptised Christian Afrikaner (?) at ''Roode Zand'' near Tulbagh, South Africa – 18 August 1823 at Blydeverwacht, South-West Africa) was the third Captain of the Orlam in South West Africa, succeed ...
and his son
Jonker Afrikaner Jonker Afrikaner ( 1785, ''Roode Zand'' near Tulbagh, South Africa – 18 August 1861, Okahandja) was the fourth Captain of the Orlam in South West Africa, succeeding his father, Jager Afrikaner, in 1823. Soon after becoming ''Kaptein'', ...
in the
Transgariep The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north ...
) retained links to Oorlam communities in or close to the borders of the Cape Colony. In the face of gradual Boer expansion and then large-scale Boer migrations away from British rule at the Cape, Jonker Afrikaner brought his people into Namaqualand by the mid-19th century, becoming a formidable force for Oorlam domination over the Nama and against the Bantu-speaking
Herero Herero may refer to: * Herero people The Herero ( hz, Ovaherero) are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. There were an estimated 250,000 Herero people in Namibia in 2013. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language. Though t ...
s for a period.


Kat River settlement (1829–1856) and Khoena in the Cape Colony

By the early 1800s, the remaining Khoe-speakers of the Cape Colony suffered from restricted civil rights and discriminatory laws on land ownership. With this pretext, the powerful Commissioner General of the Eastern Districts,
Andries Stockenstrom Andries is a Dutch and Afrikaans masculine given name or surname equivalent to Andrew. Given name People with this name include * Andries van Artvelt (1590–1652), Flemish painter * Andries Beeckman (1628–1664), Dutch painter * Andries Bekke ...
, facilitated the creation of the "Kat River" Khoe settlement near the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony. The more cynical motive was probably to create a buffer-zone on the Cape's frontier, but the extensive fertile land in the region allowed people to own their land and build communities in peace. The settlements thrived and expanded, and Kat River quickly became a large and successful region of the Cape that subsisted more or less autonomously. The people were predominantly Afrikaans-speaking !Gonakua, but the settlement also began to attract other diverse groups. Khoekua were known at the time for being very good marksmen, and were often invaluable allies of the Cape Colony in its frontier wars with the neighbouring Xhosa politics. In the Seventh Frontier War (1846–1847) against the Gcaleka, the Khoekua gunmen from Kat River distinguished themselves under their leader
Andries Botha Andries Botha may refer to: * Andries Botha (politician) * Andries Botha (artist) Andries Johannes Botha (born 22 September 1952) is an artist and political activist who lives and works in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He is known for his ...
in the assault on the " Amatola fastnesses". (The young
John Molteno Sir John Charles Molteno (5 June 1814 – 1 September 1886) was a soldier, businessman, champion of responsible government and the first Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. Early life Born in London into a large Anglo-Italian family, Molten ...
, later Prime Minister, led a mixed commando in the assault, and later praised the Khoekua as having more bravery and initiative than most of his white soldiers.) However, harsh laws were still implemented in the Eastern Cape, to encourage the Khoena to leave their lands in the Kat River region and to work as labourers on white farms. The growing resentment exploded in 1850. When the Xhosa rose against the Cape Government, large numbers Khoeǀ’ona joined the Xhosa rebels for the first time. After the defeat of the rebellion and the granting of representative government to the Cape Colony in 1853, the new Cape Government endeavoured to grant the Khoena political rights to avert future racial discontent. Attorney General William Porter was famously quoted as saying that he "would rather meet the Hottentot at the hustings, voting for his representative, than meet him in the wilds with his gun upon his shoulder". Thus, the government enacted the Cape franchise in 1853, which decreed that all male citizens meeting a low property test, regardless of colour, had the right to vote and to seek election in Parliament. However, this non-racial principle was eroded in the late 1880s by a literacy test, and later abolished by the Apartheid Government.


Massacres in German South-West Africa

From 1904 to 1907, the Germans took up arms against the Khoekhoe group living in what was then German South-West Africa, along with the
Herero Herero may refer to: * Herero people The Herero ( hz, Ovaherero) are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. There were an estimated 250,000 Herero people in Namibia in 2013. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language. Though t ...
. Over 10,000 Nama, more than half of the total Nama population at the time, may have died in the conflict. This was the single greatest massacre ever witnessed by the Khoekhoe people.Jeremy Sarkin-Hughes (2008) ''Colonial Genocide and Reparations Claims in the 21st Century: The Socio-Legal Context of Claims under International Law by the Herero against Germany for Genocide in Namibia, 1904–1908'', p. 142, Praeger Security International, Westport, Conn.


Culture


Religion

The religious mythology of the Khoe-speaking cultures gives special significance to the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, which may have been viewed as the physical manifestation of a supreme being associated with heaven. Thiǁoab (Tsui'goab) is also believed to be the creator and the guardian of health, while ǁGaunab is primarily an evil being, who causes sickness or death. Many Khoe-speakers have converted to Christianity and Nama Muslims make up a large percentage of Namibia's Muslims.


World Heritage

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
has recognised Khoe-speaking culture through its inscription of the
Richtersveld The Richtersveld is a desert landscape characterised by rugged kloofs and high mountains, situated in the north-western corner of South Africa’s Northern Cape province. It is full of changing scenery from flat, sandy, coastal plains, to craggy ...
as a
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
. This important area is the only place where
transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower val ...
practices associated with the culture continue to any great extent. The
International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...
named the primary component of the
binary star A binary star is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separate stars, in ...
Mu¹ Scorpii after the traditional Khoekhoe language name ''Xami di mûra'' ('eyes of the lion').


List of Khoekhoe peoples

The classification of Khoekhoe peoples can be broken down roughly into two groupings: Northern Khoekhoe & Southern Khoekhoe (''Cape Khoe'').


Northern Khoekhoe

The Northern Khoekhoe are referred to as the Nama or Namaqua and they have among them 11 formal clans: * Khaiǁkhaun (
Red Nation "Red Nation" is a song by American rapper and West Coast hip hop artist Game featuring vocals from rapper Lil Wayne, from his anticipated fourth studio album ''The R.E.D. Album''. Released as the album's lead single on April 12, 2011, the song w ...
) at Hoachanas, the main group and the oldest Nama clan in Namibia * ǀKhowesen (Direct descendants of Captain Hendrik Witbooi) who was killed in the battle with Germans on 29 October 1905. The , Khowesin, reside in modern-day Gibeon under the leadership of Ismael Hendrik Witbooi the 9th Gaob (meaning captain) of the , Khowesen Gibeon, situated 72 km south of Mariental and 176 km north of
Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a city in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia, lying on the Trans-Namib Railway from Windhoek to Upington in South Africa. It is named after Johann Keetman, a German industrialist and benefactor of the city. History B ...
just off the B1, was originally known by the name Khaxa-tsûs. It received its name from
Kido Witbooi Cupido Witbooi, variations: Kido and Kiwitti Witbooi, Nama name: ǂA-ǁêib ǃGâmemab, ( – 31 December 1875) was the first Kaptein of the ǀKhowesin (Witbooi Nama), a subtribe of the Orlam of South-West Africa, present-day Namibia. Witbooi wa ...
first Kaptein of the ǀKhowesin. * ǃGamiǂnun (
Bondelswarts The Bondelswarts are a Nama ethnic group of Southern Africa living in the extreme south of Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land b ...
) at Warmbad * ǂAonin (Southern Topnaars) at Rooibank * ǃGomen (Northern Topnaars) at Sesfontein * ǃKharakhoen (Fransman Nama) at Gochas. After being defeated by
Imperial Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
'' Schutztruppe'' in the Battle of Swartfontein on 15 January 1905, this Nama group split into two. Part of the ǃKharakhoen fled to Lokgwabe, Botswana, and stayed there permanently, the part that remained on South West African soil relocated their tribal centre to Amper-Bo. In 2016 David Hanse was inaugurated as chief of the clan. * ǁHawoben (Veldschoendragers) at
Koës Koës is a village in the ǁKaras Region of south-eastern Namibia. It is situated on the edge of the Kalahari desert and belongs to the Keetmanshoop Rural electoral constituency. The average annual rainfall is about 150-200 mm. Economy and infr ...
* !Aman at
Bethanie Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, " laceof Lazarus"), is a Palestinian town in the West B ...
which was led by Cornelius Frederick * ǁOgain (Groot Doden) at Schlip * ǁKhauǀgoan (Swartbooi Nama) at Rehoboth, later at Salem, Ameib, and Franzfontein * Kharoǃoan (Keetmanshoop Nama) under the leadership of Hendrik Tseib split from the Red Nation in February 1850 and settled at
Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a city in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia, lying on the Trans-Namib Railway from Windhoek to Upington in South Africa. It is named after Johann Keetman, a German industrialist and benefactor of the city. History B ...
. Among the Namaqua are also the Oorlams who are a southern Khoekhoe people of mixed-race ancestry that trekked northwards over the
Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north ...
and where absorbed into the greater Nama identity. The Oorlams themselves are made up of 5 smaller clans: * ǀAixaǀaen (Orlam Afrikaners), the first group to enter and permanently settle in Namibia. Their leader
Klaas Afrikaner Klaas Afrikaner ( Nama name: ǃGaruhamab, born before 1760, died after 1800) was the second Captain of the Orlam Afrikaners, first in the Cape Colony, then in South-West Africa. Klaas became leader of his tribe after his father Oude Ram died in ...
left the
Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with ...
around 1770. The clan first built the fortress of
ǁKhauxaǃnas ǁKhauxaǃnas (Khoekhoegowab: ''passively defend people from an enemy'', Afrikaans / Dutch name Schans Vlakte: ''fortified valley'') is an uninhabited village with a ruined fortress in south-eastern Namibia, east of the Great Karas Mountains. It ...
, then moved to Blydeverwacht, and finally settled at
Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...
. * ǃAman (Bethanie Orlam) subtribe settled at
Bethanie Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, " laceof Lazarus"), is a Palestinian town in the West B ...
at the turn of the eighteenth century. * Kaiǀkhauan (Khauas Nama) subtribe formed in the 1830s, when the Vlermuis clan merged with the Amraal family. Their home settlement became Naosanabis (now Leonardville), which they occupied from 1840 onward. This clan ceased to exist after military defeat by Imperial German '' Schutztruppe'' in 1894 and 1896. * ǀHaiǀkhauan (Berseba Orlam) subtribe formed in 1850, when the Tibot and Goliath families split from the ǃAman to found
Berseba Berseba ( Nama: ǃAutsawises) is a village in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia and the district capital of the Berseba electoral constituency. It is situated north-west of Keetmanshoop near the Brukkaros Mountain, a famous tourist desti ...
. * ǀKhowesin (Witbooi Orlam) subtribe was the last to take up settlement in Namibia. They originated at
Pella Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great. On site of the ancient cit ...
, south of the
Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north ...
. Their home town became Gibeon. These Namaqua inhabit the Great Namaqualand region of
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
. There are also minor Namaqua clans that inhabit the Little Namaqualand regions south of the
Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north ...
in north western
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
.


Southern Khoekhoe (''Cape Khoe'')

The southern band of Khoekhoe peoples (Sometimes also called the Cape Khoe) inhabit the
Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 202 ...
and
Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...
Provinces in the south western coastal regions of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
. They are further divided into 4 subgroups, Eastern Cape Khoe, Central Cape Khoe, Western Cape Khoe and Peninsular Cape Khoe.


The Eastern Cape Khoe

* Hoengeyqua * Damasonqua *
Gonaqua The Gonaqua (or Gonaguas, meaning "borderers") were a Xhosa ethnic group, descendants of a very old union between the Khoikhoi and the Xhosa. This union predates the arrival of Europeans in South Africa. The Gonaqua have been regarded as outcasts by ...


Central Cape Khoe

* Inqua (''also called "Humcumqua"'') * Houtunqua * Gamtobaqua (''possible historical subgroup of the Houtunqua'') * Attaqua * Gouriqua * Chamaqua


Western Cape Khoe

* Chainouoqua * Hawequa (''also called "Obiqua". possible historical subgroup of the Chainouqua'') * Cochoqua * Hessequa * Chairiguriqua


Peninsular Cape Khoe

Goringhaiqua: The Goringhaiqua are a single tribal authority made from the two houses of the Goringhaikona & Gorachouqua.


Early European theories about Khoekhoe origins

European theories about the origins of the Khoekhoe are historically interesting in their own right. Of the European theories proposed, notable is that summarised in the commissioned ''Grammar and Dictionary of the Zulu Language''. Published in 1859, this put forward the idea of an origin from Egypt that appears to have been popular amongst men of learning in the region. The reasoning for this included the (supposed) distinctive Caucasian elements of the Khoekhoe's appearance, a "wont to worship the moon'", an apparent similarity to the antiquities of Old Egypt, and a "very different language" to their neighbours. The ''Grammar'' says that "the best philologists of the present day ... find marked resemblances between the two". This conviction is echoed in an introduction to the Zulu language, which avidly often comments upon the language's various resemblances to Hebrew.


See also

*
Herero and Namaqua genocide The Herero and Namaqua genocide or the Herero and Nama genocide was a campaign of ethnic extermination and collective punishment waged by the German Empire against the Herero (Ovaherero) and the Nama in German South West Africa (now Namibia). I ...
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Nama people Nama (in older sources also called Namaqua) are an African ethnic group of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. They traditionally speak the Nama language of the Khoe-Kwadi language family, although many Nama also speak Afrikaans. The Nama Pe ...
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San religion The San religion is the traditional religion and mythology of the San people. It is poorly attested due to their interactions with Christianity. Gods and mythical figures ;ǀXam The ǀXam prayed to the Sun and Moon. Many myths are ascribed t ...
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Griqua people The Griquas (; af, Griekwa, often confused with ''!Orana'', which is written as ''Korana'' or ''Koranna'') are a subgroup of heterogeneous former Khoe-speaking nations in Southern Africa with a unique origin in the early history of the C ...
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History of South Africa The first modern humans are believed to have inhabited South Africa more than 100,000 years ago. South Africa's prehistory has been divided into two phases based on broad patterns of technology namely the Stone Age and Iron Age. After the d ...
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Khoisan Khoisan , or (), according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography, is a catch-all term for those indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who do not speak one of the Bantu languages, combining the (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the or ( in ...
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Sarah Baartman Sarah Baartman (; 1789– 29 December 1815), also spelt Sara, sometimes in the diminutive form Saartje (), or Saartjie, and Bartman, Bartmann, was a Khoikhoi woman who was exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th-century Europe under the ...
(1789–1815), aka "Hottentot Venus", South African Khoekhoe woman exploited as a freak show attraction in Europe


Notes


References


Further reading

* P. Kolben, ''Present State of the Cape of Good Hope'' (London, 1731–38); * A. Sparman, ''Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope'' (Perth, 1786); *
Sir John Barrow Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1764 – 23 November 1848) was an English geographer, linguist, writer and civil servant best known for term as the Second Secretary to the Admiralty from 1804 until 1845. Early life Barrow was born ...
, ''Travels into the Interior of South Africa'' (London, 1801); * Bleek, Wilhelm, ''Reynard the Fox in South Africa; or Hottentot Fables and Tales'' (London, 1864); * Emil Holub, '' Seven Years in South Africa'' (English translation, Boston, 1881); * G. W. Stow, ''Native Races of South Africa'' (New York, 1905); * A. R. Colquhoun, ''Africander Land'' (New York, 1906); * L. Schultze, ''Aus Namaland und Kalahari'' (Jena, 1907); * Meinhof, Carl, ''Die Sprachen der Hamiten'' (Hamburg, 1912); * Richard Elphick, ''Khoikhoi and the Founding of White South Africa'' (London, 1977)


External links


Cultural Contact in Southern Africa
by Anne Good for th
Women in World History website




{{Authority control Indigenous peoples of Southern Africa Ethnic groups in Namibia Ethnic groups in South Africa African nomads Reduplicants Ancient peoples History of Africa Cape Colony people