The Dongas Tribe was a collection of road protesters and travellers in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, noted for their occupation of

Twyford Down Twyford Down is an area of chalk downland lying directly to the southeast of Winchester, Hampshire, England next to St. Catherine's Hill, Hampshire, St. Catherine's Hill and close to the South Downs National Park. It has been settled since pre ...

outside

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. The name ''Dongas'' comes from the Matabele word for "gully", given by Winchester locals to the deep drovers' tracks on Twyford Down. John Vidal, writing in ''The Guardian'' in 2012, said of The Dongas that "the 15-20 urban youths who camped out to try to defend Twyford Down in 1992 are recognised to have fired up British environmental protest and kickstarted a major shift in green attitudes in both government and the public."

History

The Twyford Down protest was a protest against the

M3 motorway M3 motorway may refer to: * M3 motorway or Riverside Expressway, part of the Pacific Motorway in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia * M3 motorway (Great Britain), a motorway in England * M3 motorway (Hungary), a motorway in Hungary * M3 motorway in ...

extension which destroyed some rich ecological sites, one of the very few habitats of the Chalkhill Blue butterfly and six species of rare orchid, and ancient monuments there (

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

and

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

). The Conservative government was planning to construct a new roadway through the area. Following "Yellow Wednesday", when hordes of

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

and security guards invaded the camp to bulldoze the area, the Dongas Tribe left Twyford Down for

Bramdean Common Bramdean Common is situated in Bramdean, Hampshire, England. Bramdean Common is one of the many commons that served local parishioners and provided collectively owned lands which could be worked or used without the need to pay rent.Heal, C. Ro ...

Earth First! Earth First! is a radical environmentalism, radical Environmental movement, environmental advocacy group that originated in the Southwestern United States. It was founded in 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron K ...

, who had been heavily involved in the setting up and support of the camp and actions, continued the protests and restarted a camp in Plague Pits Valley. Twyford Down memorial stone - geograph

They constituted about twenty people. Of them, seven were sent to prison in 1993 for breaking an injunction. In one incident, around fifty protesters chained themselves to a bridge, leading to the arrest of some. At least one protester (

Paul Kingsnorth Paul Kingsnorth (born 1972) is an English writer who lives in the west of Ireland. He is a former deputy editor of ''The Ecologist'' and a co-founder of the Dark Mountain Project. Kingsnorth's nonfiction writing tends to address macro themes ...

) subsequently sued the police and received a $5000 settlement. Twyford down

Some of the 'original Dongas' (as they became called) of the mid-1990s were musicians who made a living by

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...

, sometimes using traditional music from Brittany. The first child born in the Dongas tribe, to Rosie Lambert, was named May Brigit "Donga" Lambert and was born on 1 May 1994. In late 2012, original members of the Dongas, as well as hundreds of others, returned to the hillside on the protest's 20th anniversary. They expressed warnings about the government's more than forty new road plans.

Influence

The Dongas road protests inspired a major change in green attitudes among both the public and the government, radicalizing a generation of British youth. Among them,

The Dark Mountain Project Paul Kingsnorth (born 1972) is an English writer who lives in the west of Ireland. He is a former deputy editor of ''The Ecologist'' and a co-founder of the Dark Mountain Project. Kingsnorth's nonfiction writing tends to address macro themes l ...

credits his arrest at Twyford Down as his impetus for engaging in further protests.

References

External links

Dongas Tribe musical field recordings
*{{usurped,
"Call for Donga for Rath Lugh"
} Anti-road protests in the United Kingdom DIY culture Squatters' movements

History

Influence

See also

References

Further reading

External links