Khoi rebel’s line veiled in uncertainty
AUTHORITIES on Dawid Stuurman and the Gamtoos Khoi agree there will be many claimants to the Stuurman lineage, but it is unlikely the Khoi warrior’s full lineage will ever be known and proved.
Port Elizabeth author Amy Shelver, along with former Weekend Post sub-editor and writer Bill Krige, wrote Rogue, Rebel or Revolutionary, which documented Stuurman’s life and examined the Khoi of his era.
Shelver said there were today pockets of claimants to his line in areas where Stuurman had lived, including in an area north of Cape Town.
“But establishing Dawid Stuurman’s direct descendents will be very difficult. One needs to keep in mind he took a number of wives, not only from his own community, but also from others, such as the Xhosa.
“In addition, Stuurman was often on the run, and stayed in different places and kept out of sight,” she said. “While some authorities at the time kept excellent records, it would still be difficult to establish lineage. Even DNA testing would have challenges.
“This would entail first finding Stuurman’s remains and then proving that they are in fact his. And without the remains, there would be no way to conduct DNA tests.”
Shelver said she was pleased at the surge of interest in Stuurman,
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which indicated South Africa was now “going deeper and beyond struggle history” to understand its identity and origins.
She said the campaign to repatriate Stuurman’s remains and recognise his importance should be supported by all.
“This is a man with an incredible history, the only man to have successfully escaped from Robben Island twice. While establishing his descendents is important, the repatriation of his remains may ultimately be largely symbolic and therefore still a celebration and acknowledgement of Stuurman and of our rich and diverse heritage,” she said.
Cape Town historian, author and Khoi researcher Dr Candy Malherbe said while she believed there were legitimate lineage claimants in existence, this would be very difficult to establish.
“I have heard of the Klaas Stuurman claim, but don’t know much about it. The only other claimants I have encountered came after I wrote about Stuurman in the early 90s. Two men approached me in Cape Town and said they were related to him. Apparently they wanted to launch a land claim near the Klein Rivier area.”
Malherbe has been invited to attend a symposium on “The Repatriation of Remains” to be held at NMMU on October 24.
This is a man with an incredible history, the only man to escape from Robben Island twice