Ntaba KaNdoda
The memorial Ntaba KaNdoda National Monument was opened on August 14, 1981 near the South African township Dimbaza by the territorial authority of the Ciskei . Your name derives from the Khoi - Chief Ndoda from, said to have lived here in the 18th century and by the Xhosa was killed. His wife later handed over the land he ruled to the Xhosa. The memorial was created with the intention of commemorating those Xhosa chiefs who died in the clashes with the white colonizers over land use rights. The building was designed by Zakrzewski Associates.
Origin and use
The poet Samuel Mqhayi becomes known to every Xhosa schoolchild during their school years. He wrote a verse on which the later idea of this memorial is based: “ You should bless this Ntaba kaNdoda! You should wish good grace to Ntaba kaNdoda! I speak to you, nations of the Xhosa, You are the great nations of the Creations. “Symbolically, this alludes to the superiority of the Xhosa warriors over the white colonial forces .
The Ciskei government is said to have spent at least 860,000 rand on the construction of the Ntaba KaNdoda National Monument . The execution was in the hands of a company LTA, which was under the direction of government officials.
The building was primarily an area for conferences and party events. An open-air arena offered 18,000 seats. In the vicinity of the monument, it was planned to bury politically deserved and deceased personalities, including the chiefs in the Ciskei , on a so-called Heroes Acre . Not all officials were positively affected by this idea and a loyal Mfengu boss refused to accept this request.
The memorial was also used as a meeting place during the reign of President Lennox Leslie Sebe , who was also seen here as a life-size statue. The participation of the population in events is said to have been forced in many cases and absenteeism was punishable by penalties. Because of this, this place was not very popular among the population. As a result, after the end of Sebes' reign and the dissolution of the Homelands, the complex suffered repeated vandalism and became increasingly dilapidated.
In the communication organ of the Ciskei government, Umthombo , she instrumentalized the memorial for her political ceremonies and the like. a. with the request: " ... if you are proud of your country, you should show your presence in Ntaba kaNdoda ". All civil servants, teachers, employees of public companies, other officials and all persons with claims to such activities had to appear at the invited events at this location. When the residents of Zwelitsha Township threatened to boycott Homeland's independence celebrations in 1985, President Sebe threatened to cut off the water and electricity supplies in this settlement. This memorial, intended as a national symbol, was created at a time when the Homeland Ciskei was shaken by cases of corruption , civil unrest and a culmination attempt against its president. The ruling group of people lived in a strongly prestige-oriented style that was far removed from the conditions in the majority population. That is why the propaganda staged identification events at this location were intended to create an image of the supposed unity of the Ciskei population in terms of domestic and foreign policy.
On February 26, 2011 an event was held by the administration of the Amathole District Municipality , which served to re-evaluate the monument as a testimony to the history of the country and to include it in the Amathole Heritage Initiative (AHI) program.
Miscellaneous
In a Ciskei stamp series from December 4, 1986 on the 5th anniversary of the proclaimed independence of Homeland, there was a depiction of the monument on the 20-cent value.
The Ciskei Police awarded an award for senior officers with the designation Order of Ntaba kaNdoda (NKN) between 1981 and 1995 .
A medal of merit for civilians awarded in Ciskei between 1987 and 1994, known as the Ciskei Decoration for Merit (CDM), shows the memorial on its back.
reception
A citizens' initiative founded in 2002 in and around Keiskammahoek with the name Ntinga Ntaba kaNdoda articulates interests from the rural communities of this region. The main concern of their demands is an ecologically sustainable development for this area and solidarity-based forms of organization in society.
Web links
- Illustrations of the memorial . on www.artefacts.co.za (English)
- Thando Mama: Forgetting Ntaba kaNdoda (MFA Exhibition) . Brief description of the photo exhibition in the Albany Museum , Makhanda / Grahamstown. at www.ru.ac.za (English)
further reading
- Leroy Vail (Ed.): The Creation of Tribalism in Southern Africa . Berkeley 1989, pp. 405-406 Link
- Janet Hodgson: Ntaba KaNdoda: Orchestrating Symbols for National Unity in Ciskei . In: Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, No. 58 (March 1987), pp. 18-31
Individual evidence
- ↑ Buffalo City Tourism: Ntaba kaNdoda . on www.bctourism.co.za (English)
- ^ David Goldblatt : The National Monument of the Republic of Ciskei at Ntaba kaNdoda . (Draft according to the picture caption)
- ^ Gail Pullen: Cleansing ceremony at Ntaba'kaNdoda . Announcement from February 15, 2010 on www.amathole.gov.za
- ^ Christoph Kohl: Postage stamps as mirror images of racism and apartheid . on www.uni-hildesheim.de
- ^ South African Honors and Awards. Ciskei Police. on www.samw.hwmw.net46.net ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ South African Honors and Awards. Ciskei. on www.samw.hwmw.net46.net ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Africans in the Diaspora: Ntinga Ntaba kaNdoda . at www.africansinthediaspora.org (English)
- ↑ Luam Kidane: Ntinga Ntaba kaNdoda: African-centered, self-determined, and people powered . Posted November 1, 2017 on wwwthousandcurrents.org (English)
Coordinates: 32 ° 48 ′ 2.9 ″ S , 27 ° 7 ′ 47.3 ″ E