Cape Town – Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula says the commemoration of Krotoa is significant as it symbolises the painful role that women have played in the country’s history.
Krotoa, a Khoi woman, worked as a servant in the household of Dutch settlers leader in the Cape of Good Hope, Jan Van Riebeeck, from when she was still 10 years old. She is credited with being instrumental in working out the terms for ending the first Dutch-Khoi War after the arrival of the colonialist in 1652.
Now hailed as a Khoi heroine, Krotoa demonstrated an aptness for languages, and later established herself as a reliable interpreter between the Dutch and the Khoi tribes.
Speaking to journalists following the official commemoration of the life and times of Krotoa at the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town on Friday, Minister Mapisa-Nqakula said as South Africa also commemorates the 60th anniversary of the 1956 women’s march to the Union Buildings, the story of Krotoa is important as her role helped to shape the destiny of the nation.
“[The commemoration of Krotoa is] very important because this is a woman who is the founder of this nation.
“If you listen to her story, if you listen to her experiences, you actually realise just how strong a woman she was.
“She was a slave, abused by her masters, but she wouldn’t allow that to determine her history,” the Minister said.
Following the role that Krotoa played in facilitating talks between the Dutch and the Khoi tribes, she was baptised as a Christian and named Eva, and was later married off to a Danish surgeon called Pieter van Meerhof in what was to become the first recorded official mixed race marriage in South Africa.
After her husband was killed in a slave hunt in Madagascar, Krotoa returned to the Dutch Colony to reclaim her status, but was unfortunately declined.
Krotoa was later banished to Robben Island where she stayed until she died.
Her children were sent to Mauritius, but later returned to South Africa after her death.
The Minister said despite being depicted as a controversial figure caught between two competing worlds of the Dutch and the Khoi, she helped champion a new indigenous common language and is today credited with being among the chief architects of the Afrikaans language.
“She was a very resilient woman, very strong woman, a woman we have not heard about, we have not learnt about. I’m sure if you were to check with children as to what it is they learn about our history, [they] were taught about Jan Van Riebeeck and how he arrived in South Africa when he was in fact was looking for spices (sic).
“No one ever told the story of Krotoa and for me, the preparation of this anniversary has been an eye opener. It has been very empowering. It has helped me understand the history even more as a South African.
“It is important that we are told of the story of a South African woman. For me, she is a symbol of defiance, a symbol of resistance, a symbol of resilience.
“She symbolises everything a South African woman stands for,” she said.
President Zuma to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Castle of Good Hope
The Minister said, meanwhile, that on 30 September, which falls under Heritage Month, President Zuma will lead a government delegation to the Castle of Good Hope to the 350th anniversary celebration of the site.
The Minister said it was important that the Castle of Good Hope, which also housed the first formal seat of Parliament, is seen by all citizens as part of their heritage.
Prior to the official commemoration event, the Minister attended the repatriation of Krotoa’s spirit at the Die Groote Kerk in the Cape Town CBD – where she was baptised and where her remains were reburied – back to the Castle of Good Hope where her bones were removed a century after her burial. – SAnews.gov.za
