THE TRIBES OF GERMAN SOUTH WEST AFRICA
By Dennis Bishop
THE LAND
The area populated by the tribes of the German colony
can be divided into two
distinct types of topography. These are the healthy
grasslands of the Central
Plateau and the deserts. There are no perennial rivers and
only a few
"periodic" rivers like the Swakoo River. The landscape had
only a few tracks
and one railroad, although later a second railroad would be
built.
THE HERERO
The Herero numbered 80,000 people in 1904. These people
were divided into
nine different tribes. Most of these people were
Christians, had European
names, wore European clothes and were armed with hunting
rifles and shotguns.
They were also good horsemen.
The tribes were organized under a Supreme Kaptein
elected by the other
Kapteins. In 1904 this was Samuel Maharero who resided
with the Okahandja tribe
of 20,700 people living in 150 villages. The Okahandja
tribe was the largest
and wealthiest of the Herero tribes.
The Waterberg Herero of Kaptein David consisted of
4500 dependents and
500 warriors and Kaptein Kambazeni with a like number of
people. They were
located to the north of the Okahandja tribe and may formed
the reserve which
attacked the German farms.
To the west of the tribal grounds of the Okhandja
were the Omaruru and
Otjimbingwe Herero. The larger Omaruru tribe of Kaptein
Manasse consisted of
13, 000 people and Kaptein Michael led the 800 warriors.
The Otjimbingwe were
led by Kaptein Zacharias and counted 7800 people and 700
warriors led by Kaptein
Ouanja.
The 2000 Otjinga of Kaptein were located somewhere
to the south of the
Okhandja. This small tribe shared grazing lands with the
larger Okombahe tribe
led by Kaptein Kaptein David Kariko. His tribe counted
9000 people.
The five remaining tribes were identified to the
east. These tribes
had no exact count made, so the table is conjectural. The
Kapteins of the
tribes were: Tjetjo and Traugott, Mambo, Ombondju Ombondja,
while the last was
presided over by the father and son combination of Riarua
and Asa-Riarua.
THE HOTTENTOT
Unlike the Herero, who were generally concentrated in
one area, the Hottentot
were spread over several different areas. The term
Hottentot is a general term
applied to several different peoples. These peoples
numbered approximately
20,000 in 1904 and according to records it appears that one
in twenty-three of
these was a warrior. While owning fewer cattle than the
Herero, these warriors
were more experienced in Boer tactics which relied upon
raids using rifle armed
mounted men.
The northern most tribe of the Topnaar Hottentots
were led by Kaptein
Jan Uichaman. There are no reliable numbers for the size
of the tribe as it
wavered at the beginning of the rebellion and was disarmed.
However, it does
appear that 33 armed warriors joined the rebels.
To the south of this tribe was the Zwartbooi.
This tribe also wavered
and was disarmed. Distinguishable leaders included
Kapteins David Zwartbooi,
Samuel Zwartbooi and Joel Zwartbooi.
The most influential and numerous tribe of the
Witbooi Hottentot was
not Namas, but Orlams. The Orlams were "mixed blood"
people that the Dutch
refused to recognize as legitimate products of sanctioned
unions. These tribes
were led by Kaptein Hendrik Witbooi and numbered
approximately 2000 people in
1904. When the Witbooi Herero surrendered there were 420
warriors and 500
non-combatants. The other tribes included: Kaptein Isaak
Witbooi's 200 warriors
and 172 non-combatants, Kaptein Samuel Isaak's 74 warriors
and 65
non-combatants, and Kaptein Sebulon's following of 105
warriors and 172
non-combatants.
To the west of the Witboois was the Franzmann
tribe led by Kaptein
Simon Kopper. This tribe contributed 120 warriors to the
rebellion. The
Franzmann tribe was supported by 190 warriors of the "Red
Nation."
South of the Witbooi were the Veldschoendrager Hottentot
lead by Kaptein Hans
Hendrick. This tribe contributed 150 to 200 warriors to
the rebellion. Further
south were the Bondelzwart Hottentot led by Kaptein
Johannes Christian. It has
been written that this tribe contributed 120 warriors to
the rebellion.
In addition to these tribes, there were the Orlam,
or Baster, tribes.
These were tribes made up of "mixed blood" people like the
Witbooi. These
tribes split in their loyalties so that while some joined
the Germans others
joined the rebellion. Jan Jonker Afrikanaar's Aicha-Ain
tribe, Hermanus van
Wyk's Rehobother tribe and Christian Goliath's Bersheba
tribe remained loyal to
the Germans. The Bethanie tribe of Paul Fredrik remained
loyal to the Germans,
while the Bethanie tribe of Cornelius Sturman joined the
rebellion with 200
warriors and 176 dependents.
THE OVAMBOS
On the extreme northern border of the colony were
located the tribes of the
Ovambo. These tribes consisted of 100,000 to 150,000
people divided into seven
general tribal groups. Unlike their neighbors to the
south, the Herero, these
warriors were armed with only bows, knobkerries and
daggers. These warriors
fought on foot.
THE BERG DAMARA AND BUSHMEN
The Berg Damaras, "mountain blacks" numbered
approximately 30,000 people.
These were generally subjects of the Hottentot. The
deserts were populated by
3,000 people called San, or Bushmen, who lived in small
family groups.
| HERERO TRIBES
|
| These are numbers identified as being
involved in the conflict,
not total numbers of people in the tribes.
|
| Tribe
| Kaptein
| Warriors
| Dependents
|
| Supreme Kaptein
| Samuel Maharero
| 0
| 20,700
|
| Okahanja
| Frederick Maharero
| 800
|
|
| Willi Maharero
| 400
|
|
| Kajata
| 500
|
|
| Joel Kavizeri
| 400
|
|
| Justus Kavizeri
| 200
|
|
| Otjimbingwe
| Zacharias
| 450
| 4,500
|
| Ouanja
| 350
| 3,500
|
| Omaruru
| Manasse
| 1500
| 15,000
|
| Okombahe
| Daniel Kariko
| 1000
| 9,000
|
| Waterburg
| David
| 500
| 4,500
|
| Kambazeni
| 500
| 4,500
|
| Otjinga
| Saul
| 200
| 2,000
|
| Eastern Tribes
| Tjetjo/Traugott
| 500
| 5,000
|
| Mambo
| 200
| 2,000
|
| Ombondju
| 200
| 2,000
|
| Riarua
| 300
| 3,000
|
| Asa-Riarua
| 100
| 1,000
|
| HOTTENTOT TRIBES
|
| Bondelzwart
| Johannes Christian
| 120
| 100
|
| Witbooi
| Hendrik Witbooi
| 420
| 500
|
| Isaak Witbooi
| 200
| 172
|
| Samuel Isaak
| 74
| 65
|
| Sebulon
| 105
| 172
|
| Franzmann
| Simon Kopper
| 120
| 100
|
| Veldtschoendragers
| Hans Hendrick
| 150
| 130
|
| Red Nation
| Manesse Noreseb
| 100
| 100
|
| Noreseb
|
| 90
| 100
|
| Zwartbooi
| David Zwartbooi
| 50
| 100
|
| Samuel Zwartbooi
| 50
| 100
|
| Joel Zwartbooi
| 50
| 100
|
| Topnaar
| Jan Uichamab
| 35
| 50
|
| BASTER TRIBES (Orlams, or half-breeds)
|
| Bethanie
| Cornelius Sturman
| 200
| 176
|
| Paul Frederick
| 50
| 45
|
| David Christian
| 46
| 40
|
| Bersheba
| Christian Goliath
| 25
| 20
|
| Rehobother
| Hermanus van Wyk
| 20
| 20
|
| Aicha-Ain
| Jan Jonker Afrikander
| 15
| 20
|
| BUSHMAN TRIBES
|
| There were approximately 10, 000 Bushman
living in small genes in
the Namib Desert.
|
| OVAMBO TRIBES
|
| Ukuanyama
|
|
|
|
| Ondonga
|
|
|
|
| Ukuambi
|
|
|
|
| Ungandjera
|
|
|
|
| Ukualiuzi
|
|
|
|
| Ombalantu
|
|
|
|
| Ukolukazi
|
|
|
|
Close this window to return to the Table Of
Contents