![Maharero monument Okahandja](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Maharero_monument_Okahandja.jpg)
Maharero kaTjamuaha (
Otjiherero
Herero (, ''Otjiherero'') is a Bantu language spoken by the Herero and Mbanderu peoples in Namibia and Botswana, as well as by small communities of people in southwestern Angola. There were 211,700 speakers in 2014.
Distribution
Its linguist ...
: ''Maharero, son of Tjamuaha'', short: Maharero; 1820 – 7 October 1890)
was one of the most powerful paramount
chiefs of the
Herero people
The Herero ( hz, Ovaherero) are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. There were an estimated 250,000 Herero people in Namibia in 2013. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language. Though the Herero primarily reside in Namibia, t ...
in
South-West Africa
South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...
, today's
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 ...
.
Early life
Maharero, was born about 1820 at
Okahandja
Okahandja is a city of 24,100 inhabitants in Otjozondjupa Region, central Namibia, and the district capital of the Okahandja electoral constituency. It is known as the ''Garden Town of Namibia''. It is located 70 km north of Windhoek on the ...
. In 1843 he went with his father
Tjamuaha
Tjamuaha (also: Tjamuaha waTjirwe, literally en, Tjamuaha, son of Tjirwe, born ca. 1790 in Otjikune, died December 1861 in Okahandja) was a chief of the Herero people in South-West Africa, today's Namibia, and the father of Maharero. He was ...
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 20 ...
to stay with
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 ...
, Captain of the
Oorlam
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 ...
Afrikaners. Tjamuaha was an ally of Jonker Afrikaner until his death in 1861, albeit in a subordinate position.
Maharero a leader of Ovaherero community in (1861-1890) was born in ca 1820 at Otjikune near Okahandja and he was the son of Tjamuaha and his chief wife Tjorozumo. He had several brothers and half-brothers, amongst them were Kavezeri, Kariteova, Kavikunua and Rijarua.
Like his father, Maharero became an ally of Jonker Afrikaner in 1843. As from 1863 onwards, he refused to accept the dominance of the Afrikaners and was recognized by both Herero’s and the European in the country as the representative of all the Hereros. Shortly afterwards he emerged as the first Herero paramount chief though his leadership was not uncontested. He sought to consolidate his position by marrying into all the important Hereros families and he apparently had over 60 wives by the time he was old.
In 1885 he signed a treaty accepting German protection over the country. When he died on October 5, 1890 a serious dispute about his succession erupted. Maharero’s brother Kavezeri, who was born in 1845, became custodian of the sacred fire. His other brother Kavikunua, who had already died in 1858, had a son named Nikodemus (Kambahahiza). Owing to Nikodemus powerful personality he had been in a strong position to become paramount chief of Hereroland but had obviously not been successful. As a result, Maharero requested his son Samuel Maharero to succeed as chief of the Hereros living in the east and
Ovambanderu
The Mbanderu (''Ovambanderu'') are a population inhabiting eastern parts of Namibia and western parts of Botswana. They speak Herero language, Mbanderu (''Otjimbanderu)'' a Bantu language
History and Culture
Etymology
While earlier theories of ...
under Kahimemua and Tjetjoo. His request was supported by the German governor, who subsequently appointed Nikodemus in his new position. Sadly this brought so many arguments on this leadership style, which finally led to both Nikodemus and Kahimemua being captured and executed in Okahandja in 1896.
Herero-Orlam hostilities
When
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 ...
died, he was succeeded by
Christian Afrikaner Christian Afrikaner (before 1820 – 15 June 1863) was the oldest son of Jonker Afrikaner and Beetje Boois. He became the fifth Captain of the mixed-race Orlam Afrikaners in South-West Africa, after the death of his father in 1861.
Christian was ...
. Due to this, Maharero rebelled against 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: ...
. They subsequently attacked Maharero's men at
Otjimbingwe
Otjimbingwe (also: Otjimbingue) is a settlement in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. It has approximately 8,000 inhabitants.
History
The area was already a temporary settlement of some Herero in the early 18th century. Their chief Tjiponda co ...
on 15 June 1863, a battle in which Christian Afrikaner was killed.
Christian's successor,
Jan Jonker Afrikaner
Jan Jonker Afrikaner (c. 1820 in Bethanie, South West Africa – 10 August 1889 near Tsoabis, South West Africa) was the second oldest son of Jonker Afrikaner and Beetje Boois. He became the sixth and last Captain of the Orlam Afrikaners in ...
did not want to allow the Hereros to escape from his overlordship, and so hostilities continued for several years.
Some traders at
Otjimbingwe
Otjimbingwe (also: Otjimbingue) is a settlement in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. It has approximately 8,000 inhabitants.
History
The area was already a temporary settlement of some Herero in the early 18th century. Their chief Tjiponda co ...
, notably
C.J. Andersson and
Frederick Green, considered that the war was bad for trade, and took a hand in organising and leading the Herero army. Green led a force that captured most of the Oorlams cattle, and on 22 June 1864 there was a decisive battle in which Jan Jonker Afrikaner's forces were defeated.
Dispensing with the services of the traders, Maharero won more battles, and took control of
Damaraland
Damaraland was a name given to the north-central part of what later became Namibia, inhabited by the Damara (people), Damaras. It was bounded roughly by Ovamboland in the north, the Namib Desert in the west, the Kalahari Desert in the east, a ...
, and even sent his forces into
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 ...
. Eventually in 1870 a peace was brokered by missionary
Carl Hugo Hahn
Carl Hugo Hahn (1818–1895) was a Baltic German missionary and linguist who worked in South Africa and South-West Africa for most of his life. Together with Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt, he set up the first Rhenish mission station to the Here ...
of the
Rhenish Missionary Society
The Rhenish Missionary Society (''Rhenish'' of the river Rhine) was one of the largest Protestant missionary societies in Germany. Formed from smaller missions founded as far back as 1799, the Society was amalgamated on 23 September 1828, and it ...
.
In the decade that followed, many more white traders entered Damaraland, mostly from the Cape Colony. More serious still were the Boer incursions into the Herero lands from the Boer republics to the east. Maharero complained to the governor of the
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, 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 i ...
about
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 ...
entering the eastern part of the territory. The Cape government sent the
Palgrave Commission
The Palgrave Commission (1876–1885) was a series of diplomatic missions undertaken by Special Commissioner William Coates Palgrave (1833–1897) to the territory of South West Africa (modern Namibia). Palgrave was commissioned by the Cape Gov ...
, and later annexed
Walvis Bay
Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The c ...
in 1878, though this was not actually part of Maharero's territory.
In 1880, there were renewed hostilities between Maharero and
Jan Jonker Afrikaner
Jan Jonker Afrikaner (c. 1820 in Bethanie, South West Africa – 10 August 1889 near Tsoabis, South West Africa) was the second oldest son of Jonker Afrikaner and Beetje Boois. He became the sixth and last Captain of the Orlam Afrikaners in ...
. What was originally a dispute over grazing escalated into a pogrom against all
Nama living in Maharero's territory, and over 200 were killed. One who escaped with his life was
Hendrik Witbooi, who thereafter led the opposition to Maharero.
Also faced with repeated attacks by the
Ç€Khowesin
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, l ...
, a subtribe of the
Khoikhoi
Khoekhoen (singular Khoekhoe) (or Khoikhoi in the former orthography; formerly also ''Hottentot (racial term), Hottentots''"Hottentot, n. and adj." ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/88829. Accessed 13 ...
under
Hendrik Witbooi, Maharero signed a protection treaty with
Imperial Germany
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
's colonial governor
Göring on 21 October 1885 but did not cede the land of the Herero. Due to lack of German support against Witbooi, Maharero renounced this treaty in 1888 and reopened negotiations with the government of the
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, 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 i ...
. But by that time the
Scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonisation of Africa, colonization of most of Africa by seven Western Europe, Western European powers during a ...
was under way, and the Cape Colony government was powerless to intervene, even if it had wanted to. The European powers had by then recognised
South West Africa
South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...
as a German sphere of influence. Maharero reaffirmed the treaty with the Germans in May 1890.
Maharero died on 7 October 1890 in
Okahandja
Okahandja is a city of 24,100 inhabitants in Otjozondjupa Region, central Namibia, and the district capital of the Okahandja electoral constituency. It is known as the ''Garden Town of Namibia''. It is located 70 km north of Windhoek on the ...
. Historian
Heinrich Vedder Hermann Heinrich Vedder (born 3 July 1876 in , Westphalia, Germany; died 26 April 1972 in Okahandja, South-West Africa) was a German missionary, linguist, ethnologist and historian. Originally a silk weaver, he received missionary training by the ...
claims that his main wife Kataree poisoned him in order to prevent him from changing his mind on who his successor should be. His eldest son
Samuel Maharero
Samuel Maharero (1856 – 14 March 1923) was a Paramount Chief of the Herero people in German South West Africa (today Namibia) during their revolts and in connection with the events surrounding the Herero genocide. Today he is considered a na ...
succeeded him as chief of the Herero.
References
Bibliography
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{{Herero Paramount Chiefs
Herero people
1820s births
1890 deaths
People from Otjozondjupa Region
Namibian revolutionaries