A knobkerrie, also spelled knobkerry, knobkierie, and knopkierie (Afrikaans), is a form of wooden club, used mainly in Southern Africa and Eastern Africa. Typically they have a large knob at one end and can be used for throwing at animals in hunting or for clubbing an enemy's head. For the various peoples who use them, they often have marked cultural significance. Being able to carry the knobkerrie has also had a political dimension, especially in South Africa. [1]
The name derives from the Afrikaans word knop, meaning knob or ball and the Khoekhoe or San word kirri, meaning walking stick. [2] The name has been extended to similar weapons used by the native peoples of Australia, the Pacific islands, and other places, and was also used in the British army.
Knobkerries were an indispensable weapon of war both in Africa and abroad. In Africa, the weapon found particular use among Nguni peoples. Among the Zulu people they are known as iwisa. The iwisa was not typically used in combat – though they were occasionally used as thrown weapons in place of the throwing spear or isijula. Instead, the Zulu used iwisa as swagger sticks, ceremonial objects, or even as snuff containers. In the 20th century, the Zulu nationalist movement Inkatha viewed iwisa as traditional weapons and lobbied for the right to carry such weapons in public. [3] [4] However, many sources emphasise the historical use of the iwisa in close-combat, where it was used to deliver blows, and also in executions. [5] [6]
The Ndebele variant was known as induku and is similar in design to the Zulu iwisa. It was used as a swagger stick or thrown weapon. The induku could also be fashioned into the handle of a fighting axe which, unlike the Zulu, the Ndebele used as weapons of war. Tsonga clubs were also similar to the Zulu and Ndebele type with spherical heads but variants with more elongated oval heads were also used in what is now Mozambique. The Sotho under Mosheshe did not adopt Zulu style weapons and tactics and so unlike the Zulus it was regarded as an important weapon of war. [3]
Outside Africa, the British called their trench clubs knobkerries during World War I, though their form was often not traditional. [7] [8] [9] The weapon was used in No Man's Land by the poet Siegfried Sassoon as relayed in the Sherston trilogy, his pseudonymous autobiography. [10]
During the Apartheid era in South Africa, they were often carried and used by protesters and sometimes by the police opposing them. [11] [12] Knobkerries are still widely carried, especially in rural areas, while in times of peace it serves as a walking-stick, sometimes ornamental. Knobkerries are still commonly carried by protesters. [13] [14]
Knobkerries commonly feature on national and other symbols in Southern Africa. In South Africa they feature on the South African Coat of Arms, [15] though lying down symbolising peace. They are also depicted on the Order of Mendi for Bravery. [16] A knobkerrie appeared on the former flag of Lesotho between 1987 and 2006, on the Coat of Arms and royal standards of Lesotho since its independence in 1966, and on the Coat of Arms of the former (nominally independent) republic of Ciskei.
Known as molamu or thoka, it is a stick and can be a walking stick or alternatively, it can be used as a weapon. [17] The molamu is a stick that is made from the Mohlware tree Olea africana. [18] It is a fighting stick carried by men and boys from puberty.
A molamu symbolises authority and power, and represents a readiness to separate an enemy from a friend. The molamu is symbolically used to break, to protect, to judge and to rectify social injustices.
The molamu is an indicator of one's adult male status along with the Basotho blanket seana marena, and are visual expressions of both practical and esoteric Sesotho ideals. [17] Molamu is a sign of manhood, all male initiates carry it upon their return from lebollo la banna. The molamu is traditionally passed down from one generation to another as men go through initiation. It is used to declare to Badimo that the young man has returned from his initiation, and garners their support and blessings. [19] The molamu is held up while the initiates sing “ditoko”, with the singer's eyes intently focused upon it. The molamu is also used to teach initiates the methods of “ho ya ka lanwa”, which is a historical Sesotho martial art. [17]
The molamu is also used to bind empowering medicines, or moriana, to the staff, which affects the “seriti” which is the character or spirit of the owner. It is also a visual indicator of one's transition to adulthood, and maintains spiritual significance in Sesotho society. [17]
Following an initiate's public introduction as a functioning member of Basotho adult society the molamu is typically stored in the ceiling of one's home, and represents the physical presence of the unseen.
In contemporary southern Africa, one can also find decorative variations carried by new initiates after returning to their homes. These serve as accessories to the heavily ornamented outfits worn by the young men as a sign of celebration during the weeks following their return, and equally express the celebration of newly gained adulthood, drawing attention to the initiates. [20]
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SothoSesotho, also known as Southern Sotho or Sesotho sa Borwa is a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken in Lesotho, and South Africa where it is an official language;
The Sotho, also known as the Basotho, are a prominent Sotho-Tswana ethnic group native to Southern Africa. They primarily inhabit the regions of Lesotho and South Africa.
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Lesotho is a Southern African nation surrounded entirely by South Africa. The largest ethnic group is the Basotho. The Basotho culture is immersed in musical traditions.
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Phuthi (Síphùthì) is a Nguni Bantu language spoken in southern Lesotho and areas in South Africa adjacent to the same border. The closest substantial living relative of Phuthi is Swati, spoken in Eswatini and the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Although there is no contemporary sociocultural or political contact, Phuthi is linguistically part of a historic dialect continuum with Swati. Phuthi is heavily influenced by the surrounding Sesotho and Xhosa languages, but retains a distinct core of lexicon and grammar not found in either Xhosa or Sesotho, and found only partly in Swati to the north.
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Lourens Jacobus (Louw) Wepener was born on 21 July 1812. He was the son of a German immigrant – Frederick Jacobus Wepener – and a Cape Colony woman – Johanna Maria Erasmus. Wepener was born in Graaf-Reinet and lived with his uncle – Lourens. He was christened by Reverend Andrew Murray of the Dutch Reformed Church. Wepener was first married to Hester Susanna Nel and then later to Hilletje Maria Levina Van Aardt. He had nine children with his second wife.
The coat of arms of Lesotho was adopted on 4 October 2006, after Lesotho's 40th anniversary of independence. Pictured is a crocodile on a Basotho shield. This is the symbol of the dynasty of Lesotho's largest ethnicity, the Bakoena. Behind the shield there are two crossed weapons, an assegai (lance) and a knobkierie (club). To the left and right of the shield are supporters of the shield, two Basotho horses. In the foreground there is a ribbon with the national motto of Lesotho: Khotso, Pula, Nala. The crocodile on the shield has been retained from the arms of Basutoland, the predecessor to Lesotho.
South African Bantu-speaking peoples represent the majority ethno-racial group of South Africans. Occasionally grouped as Bantu, the term itself is derived from the English word "people", common to many of the Bantu languages. The Oxford Dictionary of South African English describes "Bantu", when used in a contemporary usage or racial context as "obsolescent and offensive", because of its strong association with the "white minority rule" with their Apartheid system. However, Bantu is used without pejorative connotations in other parts of Africa and is still used in South Africa as the group term for the language family.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to South Africa:
The Southern Bantu languages are a large group of Bantu languages, largely validated in Janson (1991/92). They are nearly synonymous with Guthrie's Bantu zone S, apart from the exclusion of Shona and the inclusion of Makhuwa. They include all of the major Bantu languages of South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique, with outliers such as Lozi in Zambia and Namibia, and Ngoni in Zambia, Tanzania and Malawi.
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The Basotho blanket is a distinctive form of woollen blanket commonly worn by Sotho people in Lesotho and South Africa.
Lebollo la banna is a Sesotho term for male initiation.
Lebollo la basadi also known as female initiation among the Basotho is a rite of passage ritual which marks the transition of girls into womanhood. This activity is still practiced in the Free State, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal provinces of South Africa. In Sesotho, lebollo means initiation. The Basotho rite of passage ritual, unlike other practices in Africa, does not involve procedures which remove parts of the female genital organ. However, the inner folds of the labia are enlarged and elongated by stretching for a more pleasurable sexual experience. In areas where initiation is still valued, uninitiated girls are ridiculed by society.
Sesotho poetry is a form of artistic expression using the written and spoken word practiced by the Basotho people in Southern Africa. Written poetry in the Sesotho language has existed for over 150 years however, the oral poetry has been practiced throughout Basotho history.
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