SOHIE

ORIGIN

South Africa, 2012

 

The Call of South Africa

From the blue of our heaven

From the depths of our sea,

Over our eternal mountain ranges

Where the cliffs give answer

Through our far-deserted plains

With the groan of ox-wagon

Rustles the voice of our beloved,

Of our country South Africa

We will answer to your calling,

We will offer what you ask

We will live, we will die

We for Thee, South Africa.

Poem by C.J. Langenhoven, 1918

First verse, National anthem of South Africa from 1957 to 1994

Literal translation in English

 

  

The Great Trek in South Africa was an expression of colonial escape; as Dutch-speaking settlers migrated by ox-wagon from the Cape Colony to escape British colonial administration into the interior of South Africa from 1835 to 1846.

Their route required crossing the imposing Drakensberg mountains, seeking to live beyond the authority of the British. This mass migration eventually led to the displacement of the Northern Ndebele people, and was a decisive factor influencing the decline and collapse of the Zulu Empire.

Captivated by this journey of migration, colonialism and displacement I explored what scars remained at this imposing mountain range; the Drakensberg. I searched what remained at its origin; its history pregnant with hope and yet decimated by its past; 

as it continues to bleed in its colonial consequence.