Boers

[Breytenbach, C T]

I've been away for a few days, and hope I'll be able to shed some 
light on the subject of Boers, being one myself, in a manner of 
speaking.

The word "Boer" originated a little more than a century ago, and was 
used to refer to people fighting on the side of the Zuid-Afrikaansche 
Republiek (which became Transvaal after the Anglo-Boer War) and the 
Oranje-Vrijstaatsche Republiek (later to become the Oranje Vrystaat or 
Orange Free State). These commandos were mostly farmers ("boeren" in 
Dutch and "boere" in Afrikaans), who frequently left the commandos for 
a spot of plowing and sowing whenever there were good rains, later 
returning for the harvest. At the start of the war (1899) they left 
their wives and children to tend to the farms, but towards the end of 
the war (1901-1902) the wives and children were sent to British 
concentration camps. The Boers spoke a form of Dutch. Afrikaans as a 
language gradually developed, and was recognised a official language 
in the place of Dutch only in 1925.

"Afrikaners" (not Afrikaaners, as it is misspelt) refers to people who 
speak Afrikaans, but curiously "Afrikaan" denotes anybody born on the 
African continent (the Afrikaans equivalent of "African").

It would be correct to say that the Boers evolved into the Afrikaners. 
The word "Boer" became anachronistic after 1925, but later returned 
during the struggle against apartheid, at first to refer to the 
Nationalists, but later more specifically the right wing Afrikaners. 
Hence the Pan Africanist Congress' slogan "Kill a Boer, kill a 
farmer".

The Boers refered to the British soldier as red necks for a very 
simple reason: the British uniform did not give ample protection 
against the sun, especially the sides of their necks. By the time the 
British soldiers were issued with protective gear, the name had stuck. 
I think someone on the list has in fact already pointed this out. 
Apart from red necks, they were also known by the derogatory 
"soutpiel", which refers to a person standing with one leg in Africa, 
the other in Europe, and with his member (piel) hanging in the salty 
(sout) water.

Kerneels Breytenbach

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