The Kariega River ( af, Kariegarivier) is situated in the Eastern Cape province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. This river, which starts 24 km west of

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London. Makhanda is the largest town in the Makana ...

, is characterized by its intermittent flow and empties into the ocean through an

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

. The Kariega River is also the source of the name for the nearby Kariega Park.

Origin of the name

The cave paintings found near the river showcase a variety of creatures, including the Steenbok, and objects such as the Swartberg sailing ship. These paintings also highlight the fact that animals were sometimes depicted in caves that were not their natural habitats, like the Swartberg ship, which was located 100 km from the sea. The

Khoikhoi Khoekhoen (singular Khoekhoe) (or Khoikhoi in the former orthography; formerly also '' Hottentots''"Hottentot, n. and adj." ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/88829. Accessed 13 May 2018. Citing G. S. ...

were the first settlers in much of the Cape region. Although their descendants still live in the area, their language is only spoken in some parts of the Northern Cape. However, many

words are still in use in the country today, particularly in the form of place names, like

Knysna Knysna () is a town with 76,150 inhabitants (2019 mid-year estimates) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. and is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It lies at 34° 2' 6.3168'' S and 23° 2' 47 ...

, meaning "ferns," a town along the Garden Route,

Cango Caves The Cango Caves are located in Precambrian limestones at the foothills of the Swartberg range near the town of Oudtshoorn, in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The principal cave is one of the country's finest, best known, and most pop ...

(Cango meaning "wet mountain"), and Kariega Park, located near the Kariega River. The exact meaning and origin of the name Kariega River is uncertain, but it has ties to the early settlers in the area and is the name of one of the Cape's most attractive and graceful small bucks. Despite not being the natural habitat of the Steenbok, the name is representative of the Cape region and its history.

Other Kariega Rivers

In the Eastern Cape, there are three more Kariega Rivers. The Kariega and the Beervlei Dam The Kariega River drains into the

Beervlei Dam Beervlei Dam is a dam in the Groot River, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was established in 1957, has a capacity of , and a surface area of , and the dam wall is 31 m high. The main purpose of the dam is to provide flood absorption. The Karoo sed ...

north of

Willowmore Willowmore is a town in Sarah Baartman District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The town is situated 140 km north-east of Knysna and 117 km south-west of Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar ...

. The name of this river has occurred in a number of forms, including Karuiga and Karuka and this has led the experts to assume that in this case, the Kariega should, in fact, be one of these older forms and that it alludes to 'buffalo'. After all, the river was known as the ''Buffels'' – Buffalo - by the area's first European residents. However, several sources claim that the name means ' Steenbok,' based not on linguistics but on the presence of the antelope in the area. The Kariega and the Sundays River The Kariega River, a tributary of the

Sundays River The !Khukaǁgamma or Sundaysriver ( af, Sondagsrivier) is a river in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is said to be the fastest flowing river in the country. The Inqua Khoi people, who historically were the wealthiest group in Sou ...

,Catchment N40 - The Sundays River
/ref> is another option. For much of its course, it runs across the Steenbok Flats, where there is a farm called Kariega. Steenbok were common in this area and are still seen there now. As a result, and based on linguistic evidence, experts feel that Kariega does indeed refer to Steenbok in this situation. The Kariega and the Great Fish River The Kariega River, which has its source in the highlands 20 kilometres north of

Somerset East Somerset East ( af, Somerset-Oos) is a town in the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was founded by Lord Charles Somerset in 1825. The Blue Crane Route follows the national road R63 from Pearston, via S ...

, is also a tributary of the Great Fish River. There are no historical records of Steenbok in this location, but the river flows through terrain that is typical of that favoured by this little buck, thus there is no reason to doubt that Kariega also stands for 'Steenbok' in this case.

References

{{reflist

External links

Kariega Game Reserve
Rivers of the Eastern Cape