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A Monument and a Meal

On the second day of Peter's visit we spent the day rather quietly to allow for the jet lag but we did go out for tea to the Austin Roberts Bird sanctuary and I also took him along on my shopping trips. He was most interested in the variety of goods in the stores. His remark that we have a bigger selection of goods in the grocery stores that what American stores have came as a surprise to me after remembering the vast amounts of goods in the American supermarkets. However I understood better when he pointed out that American stores have a huge variety of similar items but not such a large overall variety of goods. I then remembered looking for various smaller items in American stores that I could not find there and that did not necessarily only include typical South African goods such as our Rooibos, Marmite, Weetbix and Peppermint Crisp and "mieliemeel". American stores also have much larger stocks of convenience foods.

Day three of our trip was "dedicated" to some Afrikaner history and culture...

Our first outing took us on a sightseeing trip to the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria. This monument is regarded as one of the most important in South Africa depicting and commemorating the "Trek" of a large section of the Afrikaans speaking South Africans to the interior of the country during the 18th century. To many Afrikaners this monument is still a symbol of their identity as a nation within a larger, cosmopolitan community.

The Great Trek occurred when a number of Boers decided to move to the interior of the country to escape British rule at the Cape. Later some more Afrikaners from Natal also trekked away from the British. The Trek ended with the Boers settling in various parts of the interior after fierce battles with African peoples. The Voortrekker Monument commemorates some of these battles.

The Monument is a 40 metre high square structure designed by architect Gerhard Moerdijk with some characteristics of the Volkerschlacht-Denkmal, in Leipzig, Germany. It took 11 years to build (1938-1949) and stands on a hill a few kilometres to the south west of Pretoria city centre. The hill forms part of a nature reserve hosting some antelope and the garden has a good selection of indigenous plants.
The most famous feature of the Monument is the cenotaph in the basement. The cenotaph is strategically to allow a beam of direct sunlight to fall (through strategically placed gap in the roof) on the words "Ons vir jou Suid-Afrika" ("We for you South Africa") exactly at noon on 16 December every year. To the Afrikaners 16 December is observed as a day of reconciliation and the day was known as "Geloftedag" or "Day of the Vow" in commemoration of the Battle of Blood River. A few days before the battle the Calvinist Trekkers, who was under siege from the Zulu (in the province now known as Kwa-Zulu Natal), vowed that they would honour the day as a day of worship should they be victorious in the battle. They were successful and overcame the onslaught of the Zulu impi's on the banks of the river Ncome which they re-named Blood River.

The main hall of the monument contains 32 marble panels depicting events during the Great Trek. The scenes include one where one of the leaders, Dirkie Uys, is presented with a Bible and others including scenes from battles, negotiations with African peoples, wagons crossing the daunting Drakensberg mountain, the battle of Blood River and finally the signing of the Sand River Convention when Britain officially recognised the independence of the Transvaal Republic.

One can enter the Monument by climbing a number of steps or by following a gentler walk and entering through a gate in the outer wall. The outer wall is decorated with wagons cast in synthetic granite. These wagons represent the circular way in which the Trekkers set up their wagons to form a laager for protection against wild animals and enemies. A statue of a Voortrekker woman and children by Anton van Wouw dominates the front wall of the monument with granite statues of the four main Trekker leaders on each corner of the monument. A set of steep circular steps or a convenient lift takes one to the top level from where a beautiful view of Pretoria and surroundings can be obtained.

Peter and I spent some time at this level with me pointing out the most important landmarks of Pretoria. We had the benefit of a clear, sunny African day which gave me the perfect opportunity to take some photos of the Pretoria landmarks. These landmarks include the city centre and the Union Buildings to the north; Lynnwood, the suburb where I live to the east; Midrand and the view towards Johannesburg to the south and the headquarters of the Iron and Steel Corporation of South Africa and the Military Hospital to the west.

We also spent time in the museum in the basement of the monument and I was particularly keen to have a look again at a set of beautiful hand-made tapestries depicting scenes from the Trek. I remembered that one of my University colleagues' aunt was one of the women chosen to work on these tapestries. Other exhibitions in the museum shows artefacts from the Trek and displays of ox wagons and implements used during the Trek.

After the museum visit we just had time to go home and get ready for visit to my friends Elize and Willie Le Roux who treated us on a typical South African Braai (Barbeque) with Boerewors, lamb chops and mieliepap! So let me first explain the menu!

Boerewors is a beef and pork sausage but not just any old sausage! The meat is coarsely ground and should not contain too much fat to claim an accolade of good Boerewors. It is spiced with coriander as the main flavour ingredient. Boerewors is so much part of the South African tradition that there are actually Government regulations specifying that sausage may not be called "Boerewors" if it contains less than 10% Pork.

Mieliepap is a thick porridge made from corn meal. Again the corn meal (we call it "mieliemeel" - a staple food for many South Africans) is not refined. The closest I could get to "mieliemeel" in America was "polenta" but even that is not a good substitute for nice South Arican "mieliemeel". Different consistencies of mieliepap ranging from a thick paste called "putu" to a variety with a more crumbly texture, are traditionally served with "braaivleis" (barbequed meat) on the Highveld and in the Free State. The Western Cape people traditionally do not serve "mieliepap" with their "braaivleis". They prepare "roosterkoek" to serve with "braaivleis". "Roosterkoek" is yeast dough bread grilled on the barbeque grid or directly on the coals in hot ash. Much like Italian flatbreads.

Oh yes! Elize served "koeksisters" for dessert. Koeksisters are deep fried, plaited yeast dough strips that is dunked in cold syrup the moment they are fried to allow then to absorb the syrup into the crisply fried outer crust. It is sweet and yummy mostly flavoured with lemon.

Elize and Willie's home is also a guest house and we met their two Spanish guests, Marco and Pedro, who were already staying with them for some time. The conversation posed somewhat of a problem at first because the Spaniards could understand very little English and Peter found the English accents of my Afrikaans speaking fellow South Africans difficult to cope with. However, after a while the conversation really got going when a Brazilian girl and her mother arrived to help out with translation.

Willie took to the task of having Peter try out various South African liquors including some very good brandy and our infamous Mampoer. The latter being a clear, almost 100% proof spirit that demands some daring to try out!!

That brought a perfectly delightful evening and a good introduction to Afrikaner culture to an end quite late that night!! The success of the evening was confirmed to me when Peter commented that he could not remember when last he enjoyed the company of strangers in such a nice manner and with so little effort to hear and be part of the conversation. Oh well, that was just an introduction to South African hospitality...I had similar experiences in store for him later when I introduced him to some of the Kwartels and other South African friends...