Afrikaans – Herman van Bon Photography

Egyptian Geese in flight

(Alopachen aegyptiacus. In Dutch/Afrikaans: ‘Kolgans)

What’s in a name?

Afrikaners call it a ‘Skoenlapper’ but I’ve never seen a ‘Vlinder’ (=Dutch) repairing a shoe.
The English name it ‘Butterfly’.
Have you ever seen one on butter?

The Big Sand Slide

(in Afrikaans: grootzanddrift)

the-big-sand-slide

VETplant

Is Afrikaans for (literally): FAT plant. It’s the equivalent of succulent plant. Here is one:

vet-plant

A book review: The Boer War

It’s very unusual that I write a book review although I read many books. Writing a book review in a photography blog goes beyond usual but since I like the unusual … 😉

I’m living now for fourtheenandahalf year plus almost two months in South Africa and have read many books about its history but this one about THE BOER WAR beats them all….

De Boeren Oorlog (The Boer War) Author: Martin Bossenbroek. Publisher: Athenaeum, Amsterdam. ISBN: 9789025369934/NUR686

I’ve read many books about the history of South Africa, virtually all written by English and Afrikaans speaking South Africans and that includes literature about the Boer War (1899-1902). But never a book written from such a wide perspective (and from a variety of angles) as this 610 pages (including >40 with footnotes and index) masterpiece. It’s written in Dutch and hopefully English translations will be on the market soon for it should be read by South Africans of all walks of life… Until so far I only read books about the subject written from British or Afrikaner perspective. This book adds the Dutch angle to both perspectives. ‘The Dutch connection’ as Bossenbroek writes plays an important role in the years before the Boer War broke out. The story is mainly based on diaries, notes, letters, memoires and articles of British war correspondent Winston Churchill, Boer commander Deneys Reitz and Willem Leyds (Dutch State Attorney in the Transvaal).

The Boer War is intriguing is many aspects. It shows clearly that history repeats itself and that every war is nothing more than a ‘power game’ (or ‘money game’ if you like) on the expense of innocent people. It also learns that the British introduced ‘concentration camps’, which they already did a few centuries before in Australia, with the difference that this time more than 40,000 people (of the estimated >200,000) died in bizar circumstances during their ‘internship’; mainly children. It took over 100 years before the English government made some kind of apology … The Boer War is a ‘forgotten’ war but many used strategies (policies, etc.) were repeated (and sometimes perfected) in World Wars 1 (1914-1918) and 2 (1939-1945) by all involved parties (‘aggressors’, ‘allies’ and ‘resistance’).

In our previous South African residence (in a farm community near Robertson in the Western Cape) one of our neighbours once said (in Afrikaans) that a “book about Africa, South Africa included, can only be written by a true Afrikaner” ….. In essence not much has changed since the Boer War.

The (his)story of the Boer War begins in 1884 in the Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam ….

‘Foggy’ Adeniums on the ‘Stoep’

(‘Stoep’ = Afrikaans for ‘Verandah’. It originates from the Dutch ‘Stoep’ but the Dutch ‘Stoep’ is not a verandah; in fact it’s just a small step-up in front of a (front-)door sometimes covered by a mat to wipe your feet off… This Dutchman in South Africa has a south African ‘Stoep’ including ‘Braai’ – ‘Braai’ in our case is a giant BBQ-installation including chimney, etc. 😉 )

‘Die Uitvreter’

‘Uitvreter’ is the Afrikaans for somebody who parasites on others. In this case a parasite plant that grows in trees.

'Weltevreden' homestead

One of the few left original Cape Dutch farm homesteads in the Breede River Valley. Pity that the owning family (6 or 7 generations) has replaced the tatched roof with one of cheap maintenance free corrugated steel. ‘Weltevreden’ is Dutch/Afrikaans for ‘Content’.

‘Weltevreden’ homestead

Street Photography 10: The Border

Living at the edge of the village has its advantages. Our street borders a stream (“Vlei” in Afrikaans) with an abundance of winged wildlife. Every morning I let the dog out and we are greeted by ducks, seagulls (the ocean is only a few kilometers in bird flight) and other birds I don’t know the name of. People jogging or on their way to work, etc. Rain or shine; it’s always wonderful and there are always ‘subjects’ to photograph. This serie of 10 begins with a duck in full flight and ends with our border along the wooden fence.