December 16 marks this year’s Day of Reconciliation, a public holiday dedicated to the promotion of unity between all people who live in South Africa.
Though it only officially came into being in 1995, the day is steeped with the country’s history. According to SA History Online, there are two important events celebrated on this date.
The first was the Battle of Blood River, a day which was originally celebrated as Dingaan’s Day under the apartheid regime.
Picture: PUBLIC DOMAIN
This battle had its origins in the Great Trek, the mass exodus of Dutch immigrants from the Cape Colony in order to escape British rule.
In 1837, the Voortrekkers (as they were known) arrived in Natal and met with the Zulu king Dingane in order to negotiate the purchase of land.
Britannica Online says that Dingane is reported to have offered them land between the Tugela River and the Mzimvubu River in return for the retrieval of stolen cattle from rebel chief Sikyonela.
Voortrekker leader Piet Retief agreed to these terms and in addition to the stolen animals, his forces also managed to capture additional horses, guns and cattle which they planned on using to replenish their own supplies.
When Dingane ordered that the Voortrekkers hand over the additional plunder as well, Retief responded with a letter which invoked their previous military success against the Ndebele people.
Dingane saw this as a threat of assassination and so after luring Retief to a celebration and convincing his followers to disarm, the Zulu king had them all executed.
What followed was a series of battles between Zulu forces and the Voortrekkers, with both sides taking turns on the offensive.
Eventually, the Voortrekkers rallied behind Andries Pretorius and marched on Zulu capital. Knowing they were outnumbered, the Voortrekkers set up near the Ncome River which, thanks to a ravine in the south, offered them a significant tactical advantage.
Thanks to the combination of position and access to firearms, the Voortrekkers were able to kill roughly 3,000 Zulu warriors while the rest were forced to retreat
On December 15, 1838 Zulu forces attempted to cross the Ncome River but for various reasons only half managed to make it. Despite this, the Zulu army – now considerably reduced – continued their assault on the Voortrekker position the next morning.
There was no contest. Thanks to the combination of position and access to firearms, the Voortrekkers were able to kill roughly 3,000 Zulu warriors while the rest were forced to retreat.
The name of the battle came from reports that so much blood had been spilled that day that it had turned the river red.
And so Dingaan’s Day was born, and in 1952 the name was changed to Day of the Covenant by the apartheid government. This was in reference to a vow taken by the Voortrekker forces before the battle that if they were successful, they would build a church and honour the day.
The second important event that fell on December 16 is the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the military wing of the ANC, in 1961.
Until this time, the ANC had advocated strongly for non-violent protest but the Sharpeville Massacre the previous year had forced a sharp rethinking of tactics.
Led by struggle stalwarts including Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Joe Slovo, MK would go on to engage in a number of sabotage attacks aimed at crippling the apartheid government’s efficiency.
When the newly elected ANC government came into power in 1994, they didn’t want to do away with December 16 all together since the day held significance for a large number of people of different races within the country.
Instead they chose to rename it the Day of Reconciliation as an attempt to foster unity among a divided population.
