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Written by Bradlox
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Wednesday, 20 May 2009 |
Ceremony Opening Address Today we find ourselves, at a very historic location in the Cape, ||Hui !Gais. This very location along the banks of the Black River and the Liesbeeck on the one side and the Liesbeeck river on the other; is the place where great Khoe Khoe Chiefs once lived. This location was also chose as it is the burial grounds for Opperhoof Chief Gogosoa of the Goringhai Khoe. A Chief of great repute amongst the Khoe Khoe in the Cape Peninsula, at the time of the early settlers.
After consultation a symbolic burial site for Chief Gogosoa was located right here where we are, on an elevated terrain on the grounds amidst these trees. This sand and stones that was placed on the symbolic grave, were brought from the Liesbeeck River, a significant river in the history of the Cape. The place where the Khoe Khoe annually brought the cattle for grazing, the place where the first skirmishes took place in the Peninsula and eventually the place where the great Khoe-Dutch Wars broke out. We are connected to this land historically, ancestrally, spiritually...
"Isa tses ge ama tama e." The strength of a culture is the strength of its language. We are here today to strengthen our own culture, through the use of our very own language. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 18 June 2009 )
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