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Rehoboth is a town in central
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 ...
just north of the
Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reac ...
. Located 90 kilometres (55 miles) south of the Namibian capital
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 ...
, Rehoboth lies on a high elevation plateau with several natural hot-water springs. It receives sparse mean annual rainfall of , although in the 2010/2011 rainy season a record were measured. In 2005, it had a population of 21,378 later increased to 28,843 in 2011, according to the 2011 Namibian Population and Housing Census. Rehoboth is intersected from north to south by the national road B1, which also serves as the border of the two electoral constituencies in the town, Rehoboth Urban West and
Rehoboth Urban East Rehoboth Urban East is an electoral constituency in the Hardap region of Namibia, comprising the suburbs of Rehoboth that are situated to the east of the national road B1. It had a population of 18,035 in 2011, up from 12,891 in 2001. the const ...
. Rehoboth is the core territory of the
Baster The Basters (also known as Baasters, Rehobothers or Rehoboth Basters) are a Southern African ethnic group descended from white European men and black African women, usually of Khoisan origin, but occasionally also enslaved women from the Cape ...
community which still lives according to their ''Paternal Laws'' which were enacted in 1872.


Administration

Rehoboth is divided into eight neighbourhoods, called blocks. The oldest part of the town is blocks A, B and C, of which block B contains most public services and shops. Block D is home to the wealthiest inhabitants of the town. Block E is the poorest neighbourhood and was originally (under
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 ...
) designated for blacks. Blocks F, G and H are the newest neighbourhoods. The current mayor of the town is Mr. Pieters, living in Block E. Public amenities include a public hospital, primary and secondary schools and a district court with resident magistrate. The Oanob Dam, approximately six kilometres (4 miles) from Rehoboth, supplies the town with fresh water. The majority of the population consists of Basters.


History

The aboriginals of Rehoboth and its surroundings are the now seemingly extinct and or greatly assimilated/ accultured San (Haiǁom) and the Damaras, of the ǃAinîn traditional community (or rather the Dama of the ǃAib ka ǀHūǃgaoben, a sub clan of the ǀGowanîn (Dune Damaras/ Damaras of the Kalahari). They first came upon the hot water springs after the fall of the Damara cohession in the 16th century and named the site ǀGaoǁnāǀaus (Fountain of the falling buffalo). The ǃAinîn later permanently settled at ǃNawases NE of Rehoboth in the mid 1700s under the reign of chief Xomaǀkhāb (third in line of chieftain chronology) circa 1725- (1750). The traditional community is as per post-independent Namibian legislative framework is administered by a traditional authority (ǃAinîn Traditional Authority) under the reign of Kai ǀGarub (regnal title- "Great Leopard") Chief Hans Eichab. ǀGaoǁnāǀaus was later renamed ǀAnes (place of smoke) by the Kaiǁkhaun (Rooinasie Nama of ǃHoaxaǃnâs) who for a short period had settled there before migrating to Hoachanas. The "smoke" referred to the steam that was rising over the hot water fountains on cold winter mornings. The ǀHūǃgaoben decided to settle at a distance from the fauna rich springs of Rehoboth so as not chase away game roaming the site. In 1845 ǁKhauǀgôan (Swartbooi) clan arrived under the leadership of Willem Swartbooi (ǃHuiseb ǂHaobemâb) and
Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt (1812–1864) was a German missionary and linguist who worked in southern Africa, now in the region of Namibia. He founded the missionary station and town of Rehoboth and together with Carl Hugo Hahn set up the first ...
of the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
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 i ...
. Kleinschmidt named the place Rehoboth that year, and established a Rhenish Mission Station there. In 1864, the Nama abandoned the area as a result of an attack by the Orlam Afrikaners. Rehoboth means "streets" in Hebrew. The arrival of the ǀHôaǀaran (Oorlam Afrikaner) in ǀAeǁgams (Windhoek) in 1840 marked the start of the ǀHôaǀaran-ǁKhauǀgôan (Oorlam Afrikaner-Swartbooi Nama) feud. This feud lasted from 1840 to 1865, as the Oorlam Afrikaner attacked the Swartbooi Nama at Rehoboth in a bloody clash resulting in the Swartbooi Namas fleeing to ǃAmaib in ǃOeǂgâb (Erongo region). The Rehoboth area was mostly bare except the Swartbooi Nama who were sheltered by the ǀHūǃgaoben. In 1870, the Basters, who had migrated out of the
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 ...
in 1868, moved into the territory and were granted permission to settle at Rehoboth by the participants of the
peace conference of Okahandja Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
on 23 September 1870. Within a few years, the Basters were closely linked to the town of Rehoboth and became identified as
Rehoboth Basters The Basters (also known as Baasters, Rehobothers or Rehoboth Basters) are a Southern African ethnic group descended from white European men and black African women, usually of Khoisan origin, but occasionally also enslaved women from the Cape ...
or Rehobothers. The population increased rapidly from an initial number of 333 in 1870, 800 in 1874 and 1500 by 1885. The growing Baster population settled in the surrounding areas, which would become known as the ''Rehoboth Gebiet'' ("Gebiet": german: area). In 1885, Baster Kaptein
Hermanus van Wyk Hermanus van Wyk (1835–1905) was the first Kaptein of the Baster community at Rehoboth in South-West Africa, today Namibia. Under his leadership, the mixed-race Basters moved from the Northern Cape to leave white racial discrimination, and mig ...
signed a 'Treaty of Protection and Friendship' with the
German Empire 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 ...
which permitted him to retain a degree of autonomy in exchange for recognizing colonial rule. Relations between Rehoboth and
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
remained close for more than twenty years, but in 1914, following the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, Germany's use of Baster soldiers to guard South African prisoners — contrary to the terms of their enlistment — led to armed revolt. German forces then attacked Rehoboth, committed atrocities against Baster civilians and attacked refugees encamped upon the mountain of
Sam Khubis Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictiona ...
, but, despite repeated attacks and the use of superior weaponry, were unable to destroy the Basters' position. On the following day the Germans retreated and Rehoboth's Baster community was reprieved. Namibia was occupied by
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
in 1915 and, ten years later, a second rebellion broke out at Rehoboth. This revolt collapsed, however, when colonial forces, armed with machine guns and supported by two warplanes, marched into the town and arrested more than 600 people.


Politics

Administratively, Rehoboth is classified as a town with its own council of 7 elected individuals. The 2015 local authority election was won by the
SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...
party which gained four seats (4,519 votes), while the local United People's Movement (UPM) gained three seats (3,101 votes). The 2020 local authority election was narrowly won by the newly formed
Landless People's Movement The Landless People's Movement was an independent social movement in South Africa. It consisted of rural people and people living in shack settlements in cities. The Landless People's Movement boycotted parliamentary elections and had a histor ...
(LPM) which scored well all over Hardap. LPM gained 2,468 votes and two seats in the town council, followed by SWAPO with two seats and 2,322 votes. The local Rehoboth Independent Town Management Association also obtained two seats (1,523 votes), and the remaining seat went to the UPM (841 votes).


Transport

The town is served by Rehoboth railway station. There is also a private landing strip for small aircraft near the Oanob Dam. To the west is Gamsberg Nature Reserve.


People from Rehoboth

* Hermanus Beukes, early petitioner for Namibian independence * Vernon Cloete, cricketer * Cliven Loubser, international Rugby Player for Namibia. * Anicia Peters, Dean of Computing and Informatics at
Namibia University of Science and Technology The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), formerly known as Polytechnic of Namibia, is a public university located in the city of Windhoek, Namibia. Andrew Niikondo is its acting vice-chancellor. NUST was headed by the founding ...
*
Piet Junius Petrus "Piet" Matheus Junius (1941 - 3 April 2021) was a Namibian politician who served as the Deputy Education Minister of the Interim Namibian Government from 1985 to 1989. Junius also served as vice-president of the Democratic Turnhalle Ass ...
, Rehoboth Baster politician


References


External links


Rehoboth Basters Site

Rehoboth Town Profile 2005 Published by the Town Council

Video of Rehoboth Town with traditional music by Reho Combo
{{Authority control Rhenish mission stations Populated places in the Hardap Region 1845 establishments in South West Africa Towns in Namibia