Botshabelo | |
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![]() Cultural heritage monument in Botshabelo | |
Coordinates: 25°41′59″S29°24′35″E / 25.69972°S 29.40972°E | |
Country | South Africa |
Province | Mpumalanga |
District | Nkangala |
Municipality | Steve Tshwete |
Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
Postal code (street) | 9781 |
PO box | 9781 |
Area code | 051 |
Botshabelo ("place of refuge" in the Northern Sotho language) in the district of Middelburg, in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, originated as a mission station established by Alexander Merensky of the Berlin Missionary Society (BMS), in February 1865 in what was then the Transvaal Republic (ZAR). [1] [2] Merensky had fled with a small number of parishioners following the attacks on his previous mission station, Ga-Ratau, by the soldiers of Sekhukhune, the king of the baPedi. Within a year of having established the mission station, the population had grown to 420 persons. In 1873 Merensky was joined by BMS missionary Johannes Winter, who went on to found the mission station at Thaba Mosego and also played an instrumental role in the establishment of the Lutheran Bapedi Church, when they seceded from the BMS in 1889. [3]
The BMS focused on providing schooling and bringing the gospel to people in their own language. Hence the Society’s missionaries were often at the forefront of publishing Bible translations, dictionaries and grammars in indigenous languages. It was as part of this process that Africans, duly trained and sometimes salaried, were accepted into the Society as teachers, catechists and lay-preachers, the so-called Nationalhelferen or national helpers. [4]
One of these was one Jan Sekoto who was sent for further training in Germany. Returning earlier than anticipated, however, he took up a teaching post at Botshabelo. Sekoto’s son Gerard Sekoto, born at Botshabelo in 1913, [5] would later emigrate to Europe, obtaining French citizenship and achieving considerable renown as an artist. [6]
Besides the vestiges of the past, today Botshabelo is a living museum for the Ndebele architecture. Unfortunately, differing opinions on how to manage the site, combined with a lack of resources and expertise, have led to a gradual degradation of a very important historical site and tourist attraction. [7] |other_versions=
Mpumalanga is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares borders with the South African provinces of Limpopo to the north, Gauteng to the west, the Free State to the southwest, and KwaZulu-Natal to the south. The capital is Mbombela.
Middelburg is a large farming and industrial town in the South African province of Mpumalanga.
Gerard Sekoto OIG, was a South African artist and musician. He is recognised as a pioneer of urban black art and social realism. His work was exhibited in Paris, Stockholm, Venice, Washington, and Senegal, as well as in South Africa.
Johann Ludwig Krapf was a German missionary in East Africa, as well as an explorer, linguist, and traveler. Krapf played an important role in exploring East Africa with Johannes Rebmann. They were the first Europeans to see Mount Kenya with the help of Akamba who dwelled at its slopes and Kilimanjaro. Ludwig Krapf visited Ukambani, the homeland of the Kamba people, in 1849 and again in 1850. He successfully translated the New Testament to the Kamba language. Krapf also played a key role in exploring the East African coastline, especially in Mombasa.
Hans Merensky was a South African geologist, prospector, scientist, conservationist and philanthropist.
Friedrich Wilhelm Gottlieb Viehe was a German missionary of the Rheinische Missionsgesellschaft and an early settler in present-day Namibia. He was born in Mennighüffen,.
The Berlin Missionary Society (BMS) or Society for the Advancement of evangelistic Missions amongst the Heathen was a German Protestant (Lutheran) Christian missionary society that was constituted on 29 February 1824 by a group of pious laymen from the Prussian nobility.
Sekhukhune I was the paramount King of the Marota, more commonly known as the Bapedi, from 21 September 1861 until his assassination on 13 August 1882 by his rival and half-brother, Mampuru II. As the Pedi paramount leader he was faced with political challenges from Voortrekkers, the independent South African Republic, the British Empire, and considerable social change caused by Christian missionaries.
Karl/Carl Wilhelm Posselt, was a German missionary from the Berlin Missionary Society and was active in South Africa where he became known as "the missionary with the violin".
Alexander Merensky was a German missionary, working in South Africa (Transvaal) from 1859 to 1892.
Rolf Kühn was a German jazz clarinetist and saxophonist. He was the older brother of the pianist Joachim Kühn.
Pniel was a mission station established by the Berlin Missionary Society on the Vaal River between modern Barkly West and Kimberley, South Africa, in 1845.
Carl August Daniel Heese was a South African missionary murdered during the Second Boer War. Although two officers of the Bushveldt Carbineers (BVC) were tried in connection with the murder and acquitted, there is evidence that one of these – Lieutenant Peter Handcock – afterwards confessed to the killing.
Reverend Johann Heinrich Schmelen, born Johann Hinrich Schmelen was a German missionary and linguist who worked in South Africa and South-West Africa. Traveling through the area of today's northern South Africa and central and southern Namibia he founded the mission stations at Bethanie and Steinkopf and discovered the natural harbour at Walvis Bay. Together with his wife Zara he translated parts of the Bible into Khoekhoegowab (Damara/Nama) and published a dictionary.
Esther Mahlangu is a South African artist. She is known for her bold large-scale contemporary paintings that reference her Ndebele heritage. She is one of South Africa's best known artists.
Schoonoord is a village in Sekhukhune District Municipality in the Limpopo province of South Africa.It is one of first villages to develop early in Sekhukhune. The name Schoonoord is Dutch, it is imposed on the natives of this area by Berlin Missionary Society. Schoonoord is the center of the Sekhukhune District in Limpopo. Another name for it is Sekhukhune
Johannes Dinkwanyane was a member of the Pedi royal family, who was a leading early convert to Christianity. He was the half-brother of the Pedi king Sekhukhune.
Fort Merensky, also called Fort Wilhelm, stands on a prominent hill in a commanding position near Botshabelo, a former Berlin Mission Station (BMS), 13 kilometers from Middelburg on the road to Groblersdal. It was built in order to protect the mission's convert from attacks by the local Bantu tribes using dry wall construction.
Hermann Theodor Wangemann was a German theologian and missionary.
Johannes August Winter was a German Lutheran missionary for the Berlin Missionary Society (BMS) who played an important role in the formation of the Lutheran Bapedi Church in South Africa at the turn of the 19th century, against a backdrop of competing political and economic power struggles between British, Afrikaner and native tribal interests.
Media related to Botshabelo, Middelburg at Wikimedia Commons