Daniëlskuil is a town in
ZF Mgcawu District Municipality
The ZF Mgcawu District Municipality (; ), known before 1 July 2013 as the Siyanda District Municipality, is one of the 5 districts of the Northern Cape province of South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), ...
in the
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
Description
The settlement is north-west of
Kimberley
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
Queensland
* Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas
South Australia
* County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia
Ta ...
and north-east of
Postmasburg. It takes its name from a cone-shaped depression deep in the dolomitic limestone; with a domed covering, reminiscent of the biblical ‘
Daniel in the lions' den
Daniel in the lions' den (chapter 6 of the Book of Daniel) tells of how the biblical Daniel is saved from Asiatic lions by the God of Israel "because I was found blameless before him" (Daniel 6:22). It parallels and complements chapter 3, the ...
’ (, ‘hole’, ‘pit’). The
Griqua
Griqua may refer to:
* Griqua people, of South Africa
* Griqua language or Xiri language, their endangered Khoi language
* Griquas (rugby)
Griquas (), known as the Suzuki Griquas for sponsorship reasons, are a South African professional rugby ...
leader
Adam Kok is said to have used this depression as a prison, and to also have kept snakes in it. The area was famous because of the Griqua Chief who ruled there by the name of Barend Barends. Barend Barends was the son of a “half-Hottentot Dutchman” and one of the most important leaders along the turbulent northern frontier of the Cape Colony from 1790 to 1834. He was one of the first chiefs of the Griqua tribe, an indigenous Khoi group. A book, Barend Barends - Die Vergete Kaptein van Danielskuil, has been recently published about his story.
During the Anglo Boer war (1899-1902) the British army built and used a blockhouse fort, which overlooks the town from the north.
The area is known for rich asbestos deposits and for diamonds, while marble is also mined. Idwala Lime is the largest mining and processing operation with one of the mines near Danielskuil in the Northern Cape mining high-grade Calcitic Limestone.
The Tswana name of Danielskuil is Tlaka le Tlou or Tlaka-lo-Tlou, ‘elephant reed’.
References
External links
*
Populated places in the Kgatelopele Local Municipality
{{NorthernCape-geo-stub