Land and Society in the Komaggas region of Namaqualand

Bregman, Joel

Land and Society in the Komaggas region of Namaqualand

Master Thesis

2010

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Historical Studies

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

This paper explores the history of Namaqualand and specifically the Komaggas community. By taking note of the major developments that occurred in the area, the effects on this community over the last 200 or so years have been established. The focal point follows the history of land; its usage, dispossession and importance to the survival of Namaqualanders. Using the records of travellers to the region, the views of government officials, local inhabitants as well as numerous analyses of contemporary authors, a detailed understanding of this area has emerged. Among other things, the research has attempted to ascertain whether the current Komaggas community has a claim to a greater portion of land than it currently holds. Overwhelming evidence exists that supports the idea that the Khoi grouping known as the Nama did indeed make use of a large portion of Namaqualand practicing transhumance in order to survive. Centuries of beneficial use led to local systems of understanding whereby certain tribes had predominance in particular areas and assumed a right to these lands through continual usage. Following colonisation, the movement of Europeans away from the original settlement at Cape Town, slowly but steadily began to undermine the original inhabitants of the Cape. While Namaqualand was able to withstand this push longer than other areas by virtue of its location, its inhabitants began to be negatively affected by the 1800s. The Nama began to lose their most important commodity, cattle, suffered disease, and were pushed off their ancestral lands and denied access to water sources. A lack of understanding and rationalisation of aboriginal practices relating to land usage and various other customs, as well as a growing racially-charged landscape meant that the Nama, like other Khoi groups, while not explicitly relegated to second class citizens by government, were certainly not supported or given equal treatment. As Europeans were able to secure title and tenure to the best lands in the region, the Nama were sidelined. When Namaqualand became profitable because of copper in the 1850s, the quest for land became even more fervent. The building of an infrastructure over the next decades would facilitate the diamond industry that began in the 1920s, a defining moment that signalled the end of any autonomy of movement for the people of Komaggas. Apartheid further relegated their position in society and today Komaggas is a poor and underdeveloped place with few prospects. However, given the importance of the land agenda in post-1994 South Africa and the success of the Richtersvelders in gaining compensation for loss of land, there is hope for Komaggas. The evidence will show that the Komaggas community certainly made use of lands outside its current boundaries. Examining the doctrine of aboriginal title it will be argued that they certainly have a claim to some form of land redistribution or restitution. This is based on historical evidence as well as the present need to increase agriculture production and to have access to more land for their livestock.

Keywords

Historical Studies

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