Die Stem van Suid-Afrika
Encyclopedia
Die Stem van Suid-Afrika (The Call of South Africa) was the national anthem of South Africa
from 1957 to 1994, and shared national anthem status with Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
until 1997, when a new hybrid anthem was adopted. It was also the anthem for South-West Africa (modern Namibia
) under South African mandate until 1990.
wrote an Afrikaans
poem called Die Stem, for which music was composed by the Reverend Marthinus Lourens de Villiers in 1921. It was widely used by the South African Broadcasting Corporation
in the 1920s, which played it at the close of daily broadcasts, along with God Save the King. It was sung publicly for the first time on 31 May 1928.
It was not translated into English
until 1952, while God Save the Queen
did not cease to have official status until 1957. The poem originally had only three verses, but the government asked the author to add a fourth verse with a religious theme.
The anthem speaks throughout of commitment to the Vaderland (father land) and to God. However, the anthem was generally disliked by black
South Africans, who saw it as triumphalist and associated it with the apartheid regime where one verse shows dedication to Afrikaner
s. As the dismantling of apartheid began in the early 1990s, South African teams were readmitted to international sporting events, which presented a problem as to the choice of national identity South Africa had to present. Agreements were made with the African National Congress
that Die Stem would not be sung at rugby matches, but at a rugby union
test match against New Zealand
in 1992, the crowd spontaneously sang it when requested to observe a minute of silence. At the 1992 Summer Olympics
in Barcelona
that year, Schiller's Ode to Joy
, as set to Beethoven
's music, was used instead, along with a neutral Olympic flag.
In spite of this, Die Stem retained official status after the advent of full democracy which followed the 1994 general election
. The anthem shared equal status with Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
, which had long been a traditional hymn used by the ANC. In a remarkable gesture in 1995, Die Stem was sung by a black choir at the Rugby World Cup
final match
The practice of singing two different anthems had been a cumbersome arrangement during the transitional phase of the new South African era. In 1997, following the adoption of a new constitution
, a new hybrid anthem
was introduced, which combined Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika and Die Stem. Only the first verse of the Stem was sung at schools and ceremonies in both official languages prior 1994.
National anthem of South Africa
Since 1997, the South African national anthem has been a hybrid song combining new English lyrics with extracts of the hymn "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" and the former anthem "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" . The fact that it shifts and ends in a different key, a feature it shares with the Italian national...
from 1957 to 1994, and shared national anthem status with Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" , was originally composed as a hymn by a Methodist mission school in Johannesburg teacher, Enoch Sontonga in 1897, to the tune 'Aberystwyth' by Joseph Parry...
until 1997, when a new hybrid anthem was adopted. It was also the anthem for South-West Africa (modern Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
) under South African mandate until 1990.
Background
In May 1918, C.J. LangenhovenCornelis Jacobus Langenhoven
Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven , wrote under the pen name C.J. Langenhoven and was better known as Sagmoedige Neelsie or Kerneels. He had a formidable role in South Africa's Afrikaans literature and cultural history, and was one of the young language's foremost promoters...
wrote an Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
poem called Die Stem, for which music was composed by the Reverend Marthinus Lourens de Villiers in 1921. It was widely used by the South African Broadcasting Corporation
South African Broadcasting Corporation
The South African Broadcasting Corporation is the state-owned broadcaster in South Africa and provides 18 radio stations as well as 3 television broadcasts to the general public.-Early years:Radio broadcasting began in South Africa in 1923...
in the 1920s, which played it at the close of daily broadcasts, along with God Save the King. It was sung publicly for the first time on 31 May 1928.
It was not translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
until 1952, while God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
did not cease to have official status until 1957. The poem originally had only three verses, but the government asked the author to add a fourth verse with a religious theme.
The anthem speaks throughout of commitment to the Vaderland (father land) and to God. However, the anthem was generally disliked by black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
South Africans, who saw it as triumphalist and associated it with the apartheid regime where one verse shows dedication to Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
s. As the dismantling of apartheid began in the early 1990s, South African teams were readmitted to international sporting events, which presented a problem as to the choice of national identity South Africa had to present. Agreements were made with the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
that Die Stem would not be sung at rugby matches, but at a rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
test match against New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 1992, the crowd spontaneously sang it when requested to observe a minute of silence. At the 1992 Summer Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
that year, Schiller's Ode to Joy
Ode to Joy
"Ode to Joy" is an ode written in 1785 by the German poet, playwright and historian Friedrich Schiller, enthusiastically celebrating the brotherhood and unity of all mankind...
, as set to Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's music, was used instead, along with a neutral Olympic flag.
In spite of this, Die Stem retained official status after the advent of full democracy which followed the 1994 general election
South African general election, 1994
The South African general election of 1994 was an election held in South Africa to mark the end of apartheid, therefore also the first held with universal adult suffrage. The election was conducted under the direction of the Independent Electoral Commission .Millions queued in lines over a three...
. The anthem shared equal status with Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" , was originally composed as a hymn by a Methodist mission school in Johannesburg teacher, Enoch Sontonga in 1897, to the tune 'Aberystwyth' by Joseph Parry...
, which had long been a traditional hymn used by the ANC. In a remarkable gesture in 1995, Die Stem was sung by a black choir at the Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
final match
The practice of singing two different anthems had been a cumbersome arrangement during the transitional phase of the new South African era. In 1997, following the adoption of a new constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
, a new hybrid anthem
National anthem of South Africa
Since 1997, the South African national anthem has been a hybrid song combining new English lyrics with extracts of the hymn "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" and the former anthem "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" . The fact that it shifts and ends in a different key, a feature it shares with the Italian national...
was introduced, which combined Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika and Die Stem. Only the first verse of the Stem was sung at schools and ceremonies in both official languages prior 1994.
Lyrics
| Die Stem van Suid-Afrika | The Call of South Africa | Literal translation from Afrikaans |
| First verse | ||
|---|---|---|
| Uit die blou van onse hemel, | Ringing out from our blue heavens, | From the blue of our heaven |
| Uit die diepte van ons see, | From our deep seas breaking round, | From the depths of our sea, |
| Oor ons ewige gebergtes | Over everlasting mountains, | Over our eternal mountain ranges |
| Waar die kranse antwoord gee. | Where the echoing crags resound, | Where the cliffs give answer |
| Deur ons vêr verlate vlaktes | From our plains where creaking wagons, | Through our far-deserted plains |
| Met die kreun van ossewa. | Cut their trails into the earth, | With the groan of ox-wagon |
| Ruis die stem van ons geliefde, | Calls the spirit of our country, | Rises the voice of our beloved, |
| Van ons land Suid-Afrika. | Of the land that gave us birth. | Of our country South Africa |
| Ons sal antwoord op jou roepstem, | At thy call we shall not falter, | We will answer to your calling, |
| Ons sal offer wat jy vra: | Firm and steadfast we shall stand, | We will offer what you ask |
| Ons sal lewe, ons sal sterwe, | At thy will to live or perish, | We will live, we will die |
| Ons vir jou, Suid-Afrika. | O South Africa, dear land. | We for Thee, South Africa |
| Second verse | ||
| In die murg van ons gebeente, | In our body and our spirit, | In the marrow of our bones |
| in ons hart en siel en gees, | In our inmost heart held fast; | In our heart and soul and spirit |
| In ons roem op ons verlede, | In the promise of our future, | In the glory of our past |
| In ons hoop op wat sal wees. | And the glory of our past; | In our hope of what will be |
| In ons wil en werk en wandel, | In our will, our work, our striving, | In our will and work and wander, |
| Van ons wieg tot aan ons graf. | From the cradle to the grave- | From our crib to our grave |
| Deel geen ander land ons liefde, | There's no land that shares our loving, | Share no other land our love, |
| Trek geen ander trou ons af. | And no bond that can enslave. | No other loyalty can sway us. |
| Vaderland, ons sal die adel, | Thou hast borne us and we know thee, | Fatherland! We will bear the nobility |
| Van jou naam met ere dra: | May our deeds to all proclaim | Of your name with honour: |
| Waar en trou as Afrikaners, | Our enduring love and service | Dedicated and true as Afrikaners, |
| Kinders van Suid-Afrika. | To thy honour and thy name. | Children of South Africa |
| Third verse | ||
| In die songloed van ons somer, | In the golden warmth of summer, | In the sunglow of our summer, |
| in ons winternag se kou, | In the chill of winter's air, | In our winter night's cold |
| In die lente van ons liefde, | In the surging life of springtime, | In the spring of our love, |
| in die lanfer van ons rou. | In the autumn of despair; | In the autumn of our sorrow |
| By die klink van huw'liksklokkies, | When the wedding bells are chiming, | At the sound of wedding bells, |
| by die kluit-klap op die kis. | Or when those we love do depart, | At the stonefall on the coffin. |
| Streel jou stem ons nooit verniet nie, | Thou dost know us for thy children | Soothes your voice us never in vain, |
| Weet jy waar jou kinders is. | And dost take us to thy heart | You know where your children are. |
| Op jou roep sê ons nooit née nie, | Loudly peals the answering chorus; | At your call we never say no, |
| Sê ons altyd, altyd ja: | We are thine, and we shall stand, | We always, always say yes: |
| Om te lewe, om te sterwe - | Be it life or death, to answer | To live, to die - |
| Ja, ons kom, Suid-Afrika. | To thy call, beloved land. | Yes, we come South Africa |
| Fourth verse | ||
| Op U Almag vas vertrouend | In thy power, Almighty, trusting, | On your almight steadfast entrusted |
| het ons vadere gebou: | Did our fathers build of old; | Had our fathers built: |
| Skenk ook ons die krag, o Here! | Strengthen then, O Lord, their children | Give to us also the strength, o Lord! |
| Om te handhaaf en te hou. | To defend, to love, to hold- | To sustain and to preserve. |
| Dat die erwe van ons vadere | That the heritage they gave us | That the heritage of our fathers |
| Vir ons kinders erwe bly: | For our children yet may be; | For our children heritage remain |
| Knegte van die Allerhoogste, | Bondsmen only to the Highest | Servants of the almighty, |
| Teen die hele wêreld vry. | And before the whole world free. | Against the whole world free. |
| Soos ons vadere vertrou het, | As our fathers trusted humbly, | As our fathers trusted, |
| Leer ook ons vertrou, o Heer: | Teach us, Lord to trust Thee still; | Teach us also to trust, o Lord: |
| Met ons land en met ons nasie | Guard our land and guide our people | With our land and with our nation |
| Sal dit wel wees, God regeer. | In Thy way to do Thy will. | It will be well, God reigns. |
See also
- National anthem of South AfricaNational anthem of South AfricaSince 1997, the South African national anthem has been a hybrid song combining new English lyrics with extracts of the hymn "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" and the former anthem "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" . The fact that it shifts and ends in a different key, a feature it shares with the Italian national...
- National anthem of the TransvaalNational anthem of the TransvaalThe national anthem of the Transvaal was the national anthem of the independent Boer Republic of the South African Republic, which was also known as the Transvaal Republic...
- National anthem of the Orange Free StateNational anthem of the Orange Free StateThe national anthem of the Orange Free State was used from 1854 until 1902 as the national anthem of the Orange Free State.-Lyrics:-Published versions:-See also:...
- List of historical national anthems