Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
: Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging), ATKV, is a society that aims to promote the Afrikaans language and culture. The association was founded in 1930 in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
. Since its inception and up to the end of
Apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
in 1994, membership was only open to members of the
Afrikaner
Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...
Christian community. Membership was thereafter opened to include people of all
ethnicities
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
, sharing the same values as the ATKV (i.e. speaking Afrikaans and belonging to the Christian faith).
History
The
Witwatersrand Gold Rush
The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was a part of the Mineral Revolution.
Origins
In the modern day province of Mpumalanga, gold miners in the alluvial mines of B ...
of 1886 and
Anglo Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
British colonies
A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...
right after the
Anglo Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
, the
Afrikaners
Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...
felt marginalised and stigmatised. This culminated in the mass urbanisation of unskilled Afrikaners during the
great depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
years. Like many British soldiers and immigrants the
impoverished
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
South African Railways
Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people ...
. Provision was made for them by the
South African Government
The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa.
Executive authority ...
in railway camps ( a forerunner of the Apartheid Township) later known as "Spoorwegkampe".
The combination of the above factors caused the Afrikaners to fear erosion of their culture and language. In 1930 Edwin Robert Carney and Sybrand (Sybie) Jacobus van der Spuy started talking about an association for Afrikaners. Van der Spuy felt that an Afrikaans
debate
Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...
association would be sufficient. Edwin Carney showed preference to the idea of an Afrikaans language and culture association because in his opinion such an association would have more bargaining power to the authorities.
On Tuesday, 19 August 1930, twelve Afrikaners from different sections of the railway services met in Cape Town and the Afrikaans Language and Cultural Association (ATKV) was founded. Sybie van der Spuy was chosen as the first chairman and HJ Kamerman as the first secretary of the newly founded ATKV.
Controversy
The ATKV has been controversial on membership issues in the past, most notably:
* In 2000 the ATKV rejected two applicants because they did not comply with the organisation's policy that members had to belong to the Christian faith.
* Again, in 2004 the ATKV was as the center of a membership issue when it denied a Muslim couple membership to its Goudini spa. Fritz Kok (managing director of the organisation at that time) said: "We do not exclude other religious beliefs and cultures from participating in projects and festivals which we run throughout the year. Everyone is welcome. However, when it comes to applying for membership, we have to be united in our beliefs as we are the ones who formulate important policies on various issues. The ATKV was founded with Christian values at the core of its operations. We follow all our business dealings and other operations under the guidance of what the Bible says. Therefore we cannot have members of other faiths join – there would be conflict of beliefs,".
Publications
''Die Taalgenoot'' is a quarterly magazine published by the ATKV for its members, with content sourced from Afrikaans speaking people in South Africa and in the
diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
.
Holiday resorts
The ATKV owns and operates seven holiday resorts in South Africa. Historically these resorts were only open to white Afrikaans speakers that were members of the ATKV. Since the early 1990s these resorts have been open to the general public with discount to organisation members.
These seven resorts are:
* Buffelspoort (near
Rustenburg
Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a city at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West province, South Africa (549,575 in 2011 and 626,522 in the 2016 census). In 2017 ...
).
* Drakensville (nestles in the foothills of the majestic Amphitheatre in the Northern
Drakensberg
The Drakensberg (Afrikaans: Drakensberge, Zulu: uKhahlambha, Sotho: Maluti) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – within th ...
, approximately 350 km from Johannesburg and 250 km from Durban between the town Bergville and Jagersrust .
* Eiland Spa (within the Hans Merensky-nature reserve).
* Goudini Spa (near
Worcester, Western Cape
Worcester ( ) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is located north-east of Cape Town on the N1 highway north to Johannesburg.
Being the largest town in the Western Cape's interior region, it serves as the administrative capital o ...
).
* Hartenbos (in
Hartenbos
Hartenbos is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located some 45 kilometres outside George, South Africa. It belongs, together with 20 other settlements, to the Mossel Bay Local Municipality. Originally a farm, the So ...
).
* Klein-Kariba (near
Bela-Bela
Bela-Bela (Tswana language, Tswana/Pedi for "the pot that boils") is a town in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Deriving its name from the geothermic hot springs around which the town was built, it was called Warmbaths, until 2002.
The tow ...
Beginning 1994, ATKV started organising an annual music competition dedicated to Afrikaans music. The competition was known as Crescendo from its inception until 2005. In 2006, it was renamed CrescendoKreatief and became a songwriting-based competition.''Republikein'': ATKV-Crescendo slaan nuwe musikale rigting in (27 July 2006) The competition was terminated after the 2012 competition season.
;Winners of Crescendo
* 1974 – Eoudia de Kock / Rouel Beukes
* 1975 – Randall Wicomb
* 1976 – Randall Wicomb
* 1977 – Randall Wicomb
* 1978 – Rina Hugo / Bruce Sanderson
* 1979 – Anneli van Rooyen
* 1980 – Karin Hougaard
* 1981 – Gisela de Villiers
* 1982 – Johan Badenhorst
* 1983 – Stephen Mundell
* 1984 – Take 5
* 1985 – Innes / Franna Benadé
* 1986 – Pieter van der Westhuizen / Gavin Davies
* 1987 – Bosch-Troebadoers
* 1988 – Coleské
* 1989 – Greta Jones
* 1990 – Die Boschenzangers
* 1991 – Rian du Toit
* 1992 – Natasja Groeneveld
* 1993 – Lizanne Helberg
* 1994 – Sanet Nel
* 1995 –
Wikus du Toit
Wikus du Toit (born 18 June 1972) is a South African producer, actor, comedian, composer, and director.
Background
He was born in Bethal on 18 June 1972 and went on to study drama at the Tshwane University of Technology where he completed a ma ...
* 1997 – Anna Davel
* 1998 – B-Natural
* 1999 – Petronel Baard
* 2000 – Réana Nel
* 2001 – Joe Niemand / Jaco du Plessis
* 2002 – Jak de Priester
* 2003 – Hi-5
* 2004 – Werner van Coller
* 2005 – Carlè van Deventer
;Winners of CrescendoKreatief
* 2006 – Hanno van Heerden
* 2007 – Geen
* 2008 – William Loots
* 2009 – Shane Heynie
* 2010 – Elzahn Rinquest
* 2011 – Babette Viljoen
* 2012 – Fran Carstens
Projects
The ATKV has been active in many areas of South African culture and language.
Some projects ATKV are part of or sponsor include:ATKV – Projects
* National Afrikaans OlympiadNational Afrikaans Olympiad /ref>
* RieldansNews24 Article on the National Rieldans Championships
* Ligteliedjiewerkswinkel (Song writing)
* Mediaveertjies (Media Awards)
* ATKV-Tienertoneel (Teen – Drama) https://atkv.org.za/neem-deel/jeugprojekte/tienertoneel/
* ATKV-Tjokkertoneel (Primary School - Drama) https://atkv.org.za/neem-deel/jeugprojekte/tjokkertoneel/
* ATKV-Skryfskool (Writing School)
* ATKV-Applous (School Choir Competition)https://atkv.org.za/neem-deel/jeugprojekte/applous/
* ATKV-Komposisiekompetisie (Composition Competition) https://atkv.org.za/neem-deel/musiek-en-dansprojekte/komposisiekompetisie/
* ATKV-Entrepreneurs https://atkv.org.za/neem-deel/jeugprojekte/entrepreneurs/
* ATKV-Redenaars (Public speaking) https://atkv.org.za/neem-deel/jeugprojekte/redenaars/
* ATKV-Spanredenaars (Public Speaking)
* ATKV-Debat (Debate)https://atkv.org.za/neem-deel/jeugprojekte/debat/
* ATKV-Jeugleierssimposium (Youth leaders symposium) https://atkv.org.za/neem-deel/jeugprojekte/jeugleiersimposium/
* ATKV-Jeugberaad (Youth Discussion)https://atkv.org.za/neem-deel/jeugprojekte/jeugberaad/
* ATKV-Leiersontwikkeling (Leader Development)
* ATKV-Spelathon (Spelling competition) https://atkv.org.za/neem-deel/jeugprojekte/spelathon/
They also sponsor several South African arts festivals:
*
Aardklop
Aardklop is an annual South African arts festival held in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Potchefstroom has always been a cultural city and home to several well-known South African writers and artists.
The Aardklop National Arts Festival has been ...
* KKNK (
Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees
The Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (Afrikaans for ''Little Karoo National Arts Festival'' and usually abbreviated to ''KKNK'') is an Afrikaans language arts festival that takes place yearly in the South African town of Oudtshoorn. The festival i ...
)
* Nampo – Agricultural Trade Show (Held annually near
Bothaville
Bothaville is a maize farming town situated near the Vaal River in the Lejweleputswa DM of the Free State province, South Africa. It is situated 60 km east of the Vaal, on the bank of its Vals River tributary. Bothaville and the adjacent Kgo ...
in the
Free State Province
The Free State, known as Orange Free State until the 28th of June 1995 when its name was changed, is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer ...
During 1937 the ATKV decided to establish a museum in
Hartenbos
Hartenbos is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located some 45 kilometres outside George, South Africa. It belongs, together with 20 other settlements, to the Mossel Bay Local Municipality. Originally a farm, the So ...
. As the idea of the Symbolic Ox Wagon Trek of 1938 originated in Hartenbos, the museum concentrates on the
Great Trek
The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyon ...
of 1838 (when the
Boers
Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this area ...
, dissatisfied with British rule, left the Cape Colony
en masse
Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Engli ...
weapons
A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...
, and other historic artefacts, and is divided into ten halls depicting various aspects of the overall theme:
* Hall 1: Preparation for the
Great Trek
The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyon ...
;
* Hall 2: Outspan (camping and relaxing) at the end of a day's journey;
* Hall 3: Repairing the ox wagons;
* Hall 4: Building the
laager
A wagon fort, wagon fortress, or corral, often referred to as circling the wagons, is a temporary fortification made of wagons arranged into a rectangle, circle, or other shape and possibly joined with each other to produce an improvised militar ...
(a camp with the wagons drawn into a circle for protections against attack);
* Hall 5: Relaxation during the Great Trek
* Hall 6: Daily activities (baking bread, candle making);
* Hall 7: Settling after the journey (featuring family worship in a
Boer
Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape Colony, Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controll ...
homestead);
* Hall 8: The Voortrekkers’ freedom struggle;
* Hall 9: The Symbolic Ox Wagon Trek of 1938;
* Hall 10: The History of
Hartenbos
Hartenbos is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located some 45 kilometres outside George, South Africa. It belongs, together with 20 other settlements, to the Mossel Bay Local Municipality. Originally a farm, the So ...