Die Boer-Hananwa-Oorlog ("Malaboch-Oorlog") van 1894: 'n oorsig oor navorsingsuitsette

Abstract

In December 1997 a year-long exhibition on the Hananwa, the People of the Blue Mountains, was launched by the National Cultural Historical Museum at their African Window in Pretoria. The prominent exhibition only reconfirms the extent to which this Sepedi-speaking community of Blouberg in the Northern Province has been under the searchlight in recent years. The aim of this survey is to identify and contemplate the value of currently available research outputs which might shed more light upon, or at least contextualise, a very significant episode in Hananwa history: their violent confrontation with the Boers of the South African Republic in 1894. As most of the investigations into the so-called Malaboch War had been conducted as part of masters or doctoral studies, the bulk of the findings on the events of 1894 was produced in dissertations and theses, which are consequently also the focus of this survey. The survey is conducted in four parts. Studies relevant to historical investigation into the Boer-Hananwa War, which were completed in disciplines related to history, are identified in the first section. In the second section, research onthe role of missionary activity in the Boer-Hananwa conflict is contemplated. Thirdly, studies contextualising the Boer Hananwa War of 1894 as part of the broader conflict which had been going on between black and white in the greater Soutpansberg District atthe time, are investigated. The last section is an investigation into research outputs dealing specifically with the 1894 conflict between the Boers and the Hananwa of chief Mmaleboho. In the conclusion, the necessity for researchers to co-ordinate or at least to juxtapose their often contradictory findings, is emphasised.