Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven (13 August 1873 – 15 July 1932), who published under his initials C.J. Langenhoven, was a South African poet who played a major role in the development of
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 ...
literature and cultural history. His poetry was one of the then young language's foremost promoters. He is best known for writing the words for the national anthem of South Africa, "
Die Stem van Suid-Afrika
Die Stem van Suid-Afrika (, ), also known as "The Call of South Africa" or simply "Die Stem" (), is a former national anthem of South Africa. There are two versions of the song, one in English and the other in Afrikaans, which were in use earl ...
", which was used during the
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 ...
era. He was affectionately known as ''Sagmoedige Neelsie'' (Gentle Neelsie) or ''Kerneels''. His childhood friend who helped him get into poetry was called Hans Conrodius van Zyl.
Biography
Langenhoven was born at Hoeko, near
Ladismith
Ladismith is a town and agricultural centre in the western Little Karoo region of South Africa's Western Cape province.
Geography
It is situated adjacent to a series of fertile, irrigated valleys, at an elevation of 550 m above sea level, at ...
, in the then
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...
, and later moved to
Oudtshoorn
Oudtshoorn (, ), the "ostrich capital of the world", is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865– ...
where he became its most famous resident. In 1897 he married the widow Lenie van Velden. They had one child, a daughter named Engela, who was born in 1901. By 1914 he became a member of parliament (first as member of The House of Assembly, and later as Senator) where he took to the next level the struggle to have Afrikaans officially recognised. He was also a founding member of the Afrikaans newspaper
Die Burger
''Die Burger'' (English: The Citizen) is a daily Afrikaans-language newspaper, published by Naspers. By 2008, it had a circulation of 91,665 in the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa. Along with ''Beeld'' and ''Volksblad'', it is ...
, and a
South African Freemason.
His most famous work is the former South African national anthem "
Die Stem
Die Stem van Suid-Afrika (, ), also known as "The Call of South Africa" or simply "Die Stem" (), is a former national anthem of South Africa. There are two versions of the song, one in English and the other in Afrikaans, which were in use ear ...
", which he wrote in 1918. Parts of it have been incorporated into the
current national anthem, used since the abolition 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 the 1990s. To celebrate the centenary of his birth, in 1973 the South African Post Office issued a series of stamps (in 4-cent, 5-cent and 15-cent denominations).
Langenhoven's writing career spanned almost every genre, from poetry to ghost and alien stories. He also translated several works into
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 ...
, amongst which was the
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
''Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám'' is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his 1859 translation from Persian to English of a selection of quatrains (') attributed to Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), dubbed "the Astronomer-Poet of Persia".
Altho ...
. He was instrumental in the movement for the acceptance of
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 ...
as a language, and for it to be taught as the first language in schools instead of
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
. This culminated in the language officially being used in parliament in 1925, and by 1927 it was recognised as an official language of South Africa, together with English and Dutch, although it effectively replaced Dutch in general usage.
Personality
Considered one of the most versatile writers in
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 ...
, he was a master of the short form of prose and is best remembered for his humorous and
satirical works, illustrated by a nonsense-verse "love poem" he wrote for his dog. Langenhoven was well known for his sharp wit and gentle manner. He owned an imaginary elephant named ''Herrie'' ("Harry") that appeared in many of his stories. He even carved its name onto a boulder next to the N12 highway near
Meiringspoort
Meiringspoort (Afrikaans for "Meiring's pass") is a South African mountain pass on the N12 national road, where it crosses the Swartberg mountain range.
Geography
The pass is a gateway that connects the Little Karoo and the Great Karoo, throug ...
(outside
Oudtshoorn
Oudtshoorn (, ), the "ostrich capital of the world", is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865– ...
) in 1929. This boulder, known as ''Herrie's Stone'' ("Herrie se Klip", in
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 ...
), has been declared a
provincial heritage site.
Legacy
* The
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...
Student Center is named after him and is affectionately known as "Die Neelsie" ("The Neelsie").
* South African filmmaker
Manie van Rensburg
Manie is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Międzyrzec Podlaski, within Biała Podlaska County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It lies approximately north of Międzyrzec Podlaski
Międzyrzec Podlaski ( la, Meserici, ...
made a light-hearted comedic television series based on Langenhoven's work in 1983, titled ''Sagmoedige Neelsie''.
* To celebrate the
centenary of his birth, the South African Post Office issued C.J. Langenhoven
stamps
Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to:
Official documents and related impressions
* Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail
* Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods
* Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...
in 1973.
* A suburb in the west of Bloemfontein called
Langenhoven Park was named after him.
* Langenhoven is regarded as one of the most prolific and most versatile
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 ...
writers still today, his Collected Works comprising 16 volumes. He is also fondly remembered and referred to for his quirky personality.
* The place he and his family lived in, called the ''Arbeidsgenot'', (meaning "the pleasure of work" or "the joy of labour") has been turned into a house museum. They lived there from 1901 until 1950.
*
Nelson Mandela recounts that in 1964 while in prison he read a book by Langenhoven called ''Shadows of Nazareth'' about the trial of Jesus Christ that deeply affected him. Mandela describes how in Langenhoven's book Pilate agreed to judge Jesus, then offered the public a choice that freed not Jesus but the zealot Barabbas, and then how he, Pilate, finally ordered Jesus brought into the Roman court. "He gazed upwards and his eyes seemed to pierce through the roof and to see right beyond the stars," wrote Langenhoven. "It became clear that in that courtroom authority was not in me as a judge, but was down below in the dock where the prisoner was."
References
Notes
External links
The home of C.J. Langenhoven in Oudtshoorn
:''See also the
Afrikaans link from which this translation was originally derived''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langenhoven, Cornelis Jacobus
1873 births
1932 deaths
Afrikaans-language poets
People from the Western Cape
Afrikaner people
South African people of German descent
South African people of Dutch descent
20th-century South African poets
Stellenbosch University alumni
National anthem writers
Hertzog Prize winners for prose
South African politicians
South African male poets
20th-century South African male writers
South African Freemasons
Translators to Afrikaans