Cupido Witbooi, variations: Kido and Kiwitti Witbooi, Nama name: ǂA-ǁêib ǃGâmemab, ( – 31 December 1875) was the first Kaptein of the

ǀKhowesin The ǀKhowesin (literally ''queen bees'', also: Witbooi Nama or Witbooi Orlam) are one of five clans of the Orlam people in Namibia. They originated from Pella in the Cape Colony in South Africa and migrated to South West Africa the 19th century, ...

(Witbooi Nama), a subtribe of the

Orlam The Oorlam or Orlam people (also known as Orlaam, Oorlammers, Oerlams, or Orlamse Hottentots) are a subtribe of the Nama people, largely assimilated after their migration from the Cape Colony (today, part of South Africa) to Namaqualand and Dam ...

of South-West Africa, present-day

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

. Witbooi was born in

Pella Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great. On site of the ancient cit ...

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 ...

in 1780 where several small clans had moved from

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 ...

in the second half of the 18th century. His father, Gamab, and his mother, U-eis, belonged to different tribes. At the time of their marriage the respective tribal councils agreed to merge into one larger group and decided that Gamab's and U-eis' first-born son should assume the chieftaincy of the united clan. Thus when Kido came of age in 1805, the councils made him leader of the ǀKhowesin. Under his leadership the clan trekked first to

Griqualand The Griquas (; af, Griekwa, often confused with ''!Orana'', which is written as ''Korana'' or ''Koranna'') are a subgroup of heterogeneous former Khoe-speaking nations in Southern Africa with a unique origin in the early history of the Cap ...

and then, around 1810, across the Oranje to

Namaqualand Namaqualand (khoekhoe: "Nama-kwa" meaning Nama Khoe people's land) is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of . It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into ...

in South-West Africa. Around 1850 Witbooi and his clan had been invited by

Jonker Afrikaner Jonker Afrikaner ( 1785, ''Roode Zand'' near Tulbagh, South Africa – 18 August 1861, Okahandja) was the fourth Captain of the Orlam in South West Africa, succeeding his father, Jager Afrikaner, in 1823. Soon after becoming ''Kaptein'', h ...

to travel to

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...

. Their fellow Nama chiefs feared that an alliance of Jonker Afrikaner and Kido Witbooi, both admired for their intelligence, would diminish their own influence in South-West Africa. ǁHawoben chief

Hendrik Hendricks Hendrik may refer to: * Hendrik (given name) * Hans Hendrik, Greenlandic Arctic traveller and interpreter * Hendrik Island, an island in Greenland * Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, a municipality in the Netherlands * A character from '' Dragon Quest XI'' ...

sent a message to chief ǁOaseb of the Khaiǁkhaun asking him to stop Kido. Yet when ǁOaseb replied, nobody in the ǁHawoben clan could read. Kido passed both territories undisturbed and reached Khaxa-tsûs in 1863, which he renamed Gibeon. Kido Witbooi died on 31 December 1875. He was married to ǀGâbes and to ǀU-khoms. He had at least 2 children: Johanna (born 1868) and Moses Witbooi (born 1808) who succeeded him as Kaptein of the ǀKhowesin. Gibeon has been the home town of the Witbooi Nama ever since.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Witbooi, Kido Namibian chiefs Nama people 1780 births 1875 deaths