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'''Tsala ea Batho / Tsala ea Becauna''' (“Friend of the people” or “Friend of the Becuana”) was a Tswana and English language newspaper based in [[Kimberly]], [[Northern Cape]] between 1910-1915. It was a politically nonpartisan newspaper, running topical news and opinions that would interest black people in South Africa. |
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'''Platfontein''' is a community located in an arid region of the Northern Cape Province, 15 kilometers outside the town Kimberley. The community consists of two San tribes, the !Xun and the Khwe. “The San of Platfontein” is a collective name used for both the !Xun and Khwe. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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The residents of Platfontein originate from the northern parts of Namibia and southern Angola <ref name= "military">[http://dspace.nwu.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10394/14280/08%20Van%20Wyk%20.pdf;sequence=1 Van Wyk, A. "The militarisation of the Platfontein San (!Xun and Khwe): |
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The initial years 1966–1974" TD The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, vol. 10, no. 3, 2014, pp. 133-151]</ref>. In both Namibia and Angola, the !Xun and the Khwe were militarised first by the Portuguese Army during the [[Angolan War of Independence]]. They had been part of the [[Flechas]], a unit of the Portuguese Special Forces.With the [[Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola]] (MPLA) assuming power in Angola in November 1975, many joined the [[South African National Defence Force]]<ref = "military"/>. |
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Tsala ea Becauna was founded by [[Sol Plaatje]] in 1910 in [[Kimberly]], [[Northern Cape]]. Tsala ea Becauna was the second Tswana and English language newspaper [[Sol Plaaje]] founded and edited. Articles in Sepedi often featured in the publication too. The newspaper was published multilingually as Plaatje was concerned that Setswana could disappear completely due to decreasing use. The first newspaper, Koranta ea Becauna was founded in Mafikeng in 1901, but the newspaper collapsed at the end of May 1909 because of financial difficulties. |
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In the [[South African National Defence Force]], these San soldiers were part of [[31 Battalion (SWATF)]] fighting at a base called Omega, located in the Western Caprivi, the Zambezi region of Namibia, on the Namibian border with Angola. “The San of Platfontein” were involved in counter-insurgency operations during the [[South African Border War]] <ref = "military"/>. This war was between the [[South African Defence Force]], in alliance with the South-West Africa Territory Force, against the [[People’s Liberation Army of Namibia]], the active military wing of [[SWAPO]]. The conflict spanned a period, from 1966 to 1989. |
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Along with his family, Plaatje left Mafikeng for Kimberly, where the Seleka Barolong of the Tswana Nation funded the establishment of Tsala ea Batho<ref name= “Alternative”>[ https://books.google.co.za/books?id=a5ROAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA75&lpg=PA75&dq=Koranta+ea+Becoana&source=bl&ots=u08lXlNmre&sig=xaBCqOlyapmGp5GssBz3Rdiou5k&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiv47nS_8_XAhVVGsAKHaK2DeAQ6AEIVzAI#v=onepage&q=tsala&f=false. Switzer, L. “South Africa’s Alternate Press: Voices of Protest and Restance, 1880-1960” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1997]</ref>. The Seleka Barolong were wealthy business people who lived in the [[Wesleyan Methodist]] mission community of [[Thaba Nchu]] in the [[Orange Free State]]<ref name= “Alternative”/>. |
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This war service was not always voluntary: in 1998 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard several first-hand accounts of forced conscription and brutal treatment of men in the Battalion <ref name “Kalahari”>[http://kalaharipeoples.matrix.msu.edu/article.php?i=152&c=11 Palmer, C. “The History of the !Xun and Khwe” Kalahari People’s Network. Accessed 13 November]</ref>. They San of the batallion were used for their tracking skills. 31 Battalion was disbanded on 7 March 1993 and the memorabilia of the battalion form part of an exhibition at the McGregor Museum at Wildebeestkuil, Northern Cape. |
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The first edition of Tsala ea Becauna was published in June 1910 <ref name= “Pariah”>[ http://www.thejournalist.org.za/pioneers/sol-t-plaatje Jaffer, Z. and Tshabala, S. “Sol Plaatje: Pariah in the Land of His Birth” The Journalist. Accessed 23 November.]</ref> It was a four-page weekly aimed at Tswana speakers in the Becuanaland protectorate and other Tswana speakers in South Africa <ref name= “Alternative”>. The newspaper eventually began to have national reach. |
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==Housing== |
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==Editorial== |
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When the battalion was disbanded, the [[SANDF]] relocated approximately 4000 !Xun and Khwe soldiers, men, women and children. They were moved from the Omega base to Mangetti Dune in Bushmanland, Namibia, and then to [[Schmidtsdrift]] in South Africa <ref name= “Bushmen”>[https://books.google.co.za/books?id=xEeuCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA323&dq=platfontein&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJi_CArcLXAhXCJ8AKHShgCDIQ6AEIPDAF#v=onepage&q=truth&f=false Uys, I. “Bushmen Soldiers: The History of 31, 201 & 203 Battalions During the Border War, 1974-90”. 2014 Helion & Company: Warwickshire. Accessed 19 November]</ref> . In Schmidtsdrift they lived in make-shift army tents. The land on which the San were living at Schmidtsdrift formed part of the ancestral lands of ethnic Tswana, Bathlapin and a group of Griqua people. The claim to the land by these groups was approved and the San of Schmidtsdrift had to be relocated. They were scheduled for relocation to Platfontein where they reside today in a small community. |
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In the first year of publication, the newspaper was focussed on the impending union of the colonies and republics - Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal and Orange Free State - together as the Union of South Africa <ref name= “Alternative. Tsala ea Becauna was against the union because it would grant dominion to the White minority over Africans. The union between the British and the Afrikaner excluded Africans from the vote and stripped Africans from their land. Tsala ea Becauna advocated for the [[Bechaunaland Protectorate]], now the Republic of Botswana, [[Swaziland]] and [[Basotholand]], now the Kingdom of Lesotho to join South Africa. |
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Under the Land Redistribution Progamme, the Department of Land Affairs identified Platfontein as possible land to settle the the !Xun and the Khwe people. In May 1999, former South African President [[Nelson Mandela]] presented the community with the title deed for this land <ref name= "Slim">[https://www.news24.com/xArchive/Archive/Slim-hope-of-homes-for-San-group-20010129 "Slim Hopes of Homes for San People" South African Press Association, 2001]</ref>. The residents of Platfontein number about 7 000 people. They live in low-income, government-built [[Reconstruction and Development Programme]] housing. Since being handed over by the Department of Housing, these RDP houses have not all been provided with proper water, sanitation and electricity by the [[Sol Plaatje]] Local Municipality. |
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With Plaatje as the editor, Tsala ea Becuana also reported on the Native Land Act and the paper referred to the act as the “extermination” of black Africans in the country. |
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Despite being relocated and settled together, the !Xun and Khwe have chosen to live in different parts of the settlement due to differences in the community; in Platfontein the basic services that are available are a school, two shops, a municipal building and a health clinic which both the !Xun and Khwe share <ref name= "field">[https://yhteisillatulilla.weebly.com/yhteisillauml-tulilla/party-field-work-and-research-among-san-youth-in-south-africa "Field Work and research among San Youth in South Africa" Juvonen, T. 2017Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lapland.]</ref> |
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Tsala ea Becauna often published news on strikes and letters from miners among reports of African welfare, industrial colour bars, poor wage earnings and low pensions <ref name= “Resistance”>[ https://books.google.co.za/books?id=bUvA7PHnCrUC&pg=PA119&lpg=PA119&dq=Koranta+ea+Becoana&source=bl&ots=yR0gk5CumD&sig=trZ1FS8qFuj-pTFxCqa50QKVytA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiv47nS_8_XAhVVGsAKHaK2DeAQ6AEIWTAJ#v=onepage&q=tsalade&f=false Switzer, L. and Adhikari, M. “South Africa’s Restance Press: Alternative Voices in the last Generation Under Apartheid” Ohio: Centre for International Studies. 2000]</ref> . The newspaper could not ignore miners and their concerns in Kimberly because of predominance of mine labourers <ref name= “Resistance”>. The newspaper also carried national and international correspondence obtained from other publications and editorials and commentaries on their editorial page. The newspaper reported on matters if interest such as assaults committed by white miners against against black labourers. The newspaper enjoyed watchdog status. |
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==Culture== |
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The newspaper expressed modest views as is exemplified by their opposition to strikes <ref name= “Resistance”/>. |
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The San community of Platfontein are former hunting, foraging, and pastoral people. The community has been who subject to complex socio-economic and political change. Traditionally the San, lived a mobile life closely associated with the seasonal availability of water supplies. They have traditionally moved around in search of food making dwellings and sites of residence temporary. Being in permanent homes has disrupted this traditional way of life. Many of the Khwe traditions such as folklore and storytelling, tracking, traditional music and healing dances are being lost and giving way to the modern practices and ways of living preferred by the younger generation <ref name= "Hip">[http://ccms.ukzn.ac.za/Libraries/Masters_Dessertations/Itunu_Masters_Dissertation.sflb.ashx Bodurin, I. "The Emergence of Hip-Hop Subculture among the Khwe Bushmen of Platfontein, Northern Cape, South Africa" 2014. Accessed 20 November.]</ref> |
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After [[Sol Plaatje]] became the first General Secretary of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), later [[African National Congress]], the newspaper was increasingly viewed as an organ of the party by its readers <ref name= “Resistance”/>. The newspaper contains records of the early meetings of the African National Congress. |
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The [[South African Broadcasting Corporation]],(SABC) has a radio station called X-K FM located in Platfontein. The station and the community are involved in making of radio programs in !Xun and the Khwedam languages. 56 per centof the population speak !Xun and 35 per cent of the population speaks Khwedam. These efforts are aimed at preserving culture, identity and languages. !Xun and the Khwedam languages are disappearing because Afrikaans and English are the main languages used at schools and public services. |
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Tsala ea Becauna was renamed to Tsala ea Batho “Friend of the People” in April 1913<ref name= “Sol”>[ https://books.google.co.za/books?id=UotZ6YAyMroC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=Koranta+ea+Becoana&source=bl&ots=x9ExfY257t&sig=nEc3XY4n8sUlWKVoFYjhWpumcaI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifosrmgtDXAhUnB8AKHb43CyA4ChDoAQgvMAM#v=onepage&q=tsala&f=false Van Wyk, C. “Sol Plaatje”Johannesburg: Awareness Publishing. 2001.]</ref> The name change reflected a growing national awareness and a shift from tribe to nation <ref name= “European”>[ https://books.google.co.za/books?id=gt07FgJovZEC&pg=PA196&lpg=PA196&dq=%22tsala+ea+batho%22&source=bl&ots=Z12EZ4pLMM&sig=XIGARD-ThWG3GgKpLXZvNHja3LM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwisuOCQx9LXAhWhA8AKHS7PB1oQ6AEINzAD#v=onepage&q=%22tsala%20ea%20batho%22&f=false Gerard, AS. “European-Language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. Budapest: Akademiai Kaido. 1986]</ref> |
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The publication struggled to stay open despite a circulation reportedly in the thousands and consistent advertising. Another contributing factor was that Plaatje left for Britain in May 1914, on the brink of World War I, as a member of the SANNC deputation protesting the Natives’ Land Act, and Tsala ea Batho came to an end during the prolonged time he was forced to spend overseas. |
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*[[Inequality in post-apartheid South Africa]] |
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*[[San people]] |
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The English-Setswana weekly, Tsala ea Becauna, was one of the organs of black political news and opinion for the turbulent period of its existence |
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*[[!Kung]] |
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*[[Xhosa language newspapers]] |
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==External Links== |
==External Links== |
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*[[ |
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*[https://books.google.co.za/books?id=xEeuCAAAQBAJ&dq=platfontein&source=gbs_navlinks_s "Bushmen Soldiers: The History of 31, 201 & 203 Battalions During the Border War 1974-90"] |
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*[http://dspace.nwu.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10394/14280/08%20Van%20Wyk%20.pdf;sequence=1 "The militarisation of the Platfontein San (!Xun and Khwe): |
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The initial years 1966–1974] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{ref list |
{{ref list]] |
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[[Category:Media in South Africa]] |
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[[Category:Tswana-language media|newspapers]] |
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Revision as of 13:46, 23 November 2017
Tsala ea Batho / Tsala ea Becauna (“Friend of the people” or “Friend of the Becuana”) was a Tswana and English language newspaper based in Kimberly, Northern Cape between 1910-1915. It was a politically nonpartisan newspaper, running topical news and opinions that would interest black people in South Africa.
History
Tsala ea Becauna was founded by Sol Plaatje in 1910 in Kimberly, Northern Cape. Tsala ea Becauna was the second Tswana and English language newspaper Sol Plaaje founded and edited. Articles in Sepedi often featured in the publication too. The newspaper was published multilingually as Plaatje was concerned that Setswana could disappear completely due to decreasing use. The first newspaper, Koranta ea Becauna was founded in Mafikeng in 1901, but the newspaper collapsed at the end of May 1909 because of financial difficulties.
Along with his family, Plaatje left Mafikeng for Kimberly, where the Seleka Barolong of the Tswana Nation funded the establishment of Tsala ea Batho[1]. The Seleka Barolong were wealthy business people who lived in the Wesleyan Methodist mission community of Thaba Nchu in the Orange Free State[1].
The first edition of Tsala ea Becauna was published in June 1910 [2] It was a four-page weekly aimed at Tswana speakers in the Becuanaland protectorate and other Tswana speakers in South Africa Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). . The newspaper could not ignore miners and their concerns in Kimberly because of predominance of mine labourers Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). The name change reflected a growing national awareness and a shift from tribe to nation [3]
The publication struggled to stay open despite a circulation reportedly in the thousands and consistent advertising. Another contributing factor was that Plaatje left for Britain in May 1914, on the brink of World War I, as a member of the SANNC deputation protesting the Natives’ Land Act, and Tsala ea Batho came to an end during the prolonged time he was forced to spend overseas.
The English-Setswana weekly, Tsala ea Becauna, was one of the organs of black political news and opinion for the turbulent period of its existence
See Also
External Links
- [[
References
{{ref list]]
- ^ a b [ https://books.google.co.za/books?id=a5ROAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA75&lpg=PA75&dq=Koranta+ea+Becoana&source=bl&ots=u08lXlNmre&sig=xaBCqOlyapmGp5GssBz3Rdiou5k&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiv47nS_8_XAhVVGsAKHaK2DeAQ6AEIVzAI#v=onepage&q=tsala&f=false. Switzer, L. “South Africa’s Alternate Press: Voices of Protest and Restance, 1880-1960” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1997]
- ^ [ http://www.thejournalist.org.za/pioneers/sol-t-plaatje Jaffer, Z. and Tshabala, S. “Sol Plaatje: Pariah in the Land of His Birth” The Journalist. Accessed 23 November.]
- ^ [ https://books.google.co.za/books?id=gt07FgJovZEC&pg=PA196&lpg=PA196&dq=%22tsala+ea+batho%22&source=bl&ots=Z12EZ4pLMM&sig=XIGARD-ThWG3GgKpLXZvNHja3LM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwisuOCQx9LXAhWhA8AKHS7PB1oQ6AEINzAD#v=onepage&q=%22tsala%20ea%20batho%22&f=false Gerard, AS. “European-Language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. Budapest: Akademiai Kaido. 1986]