Dithakong
Encyclopedia
Dithakong is the name of a place east of Kuruman
in the Northern Cape
, South Africa
, which had been a major destination for several of the earliest nineteenth century expditions from the Cape to the interior of the subcontinent. In colonial literature the name is often rendered Litakun, Litakoo, Lattakoo, etc.
, with well-known watercolour illustrations by Samuel Daniell
. Kgosi Mothibi, son of Molehebangwe, had succeeded as leader of the BaTlhaping by the time that William Burchell visited there in 1811.
The early traveller accounts refer to an impressively large town consisting of mud houses, traces of which have yet to be located archaeologically.
The Battle of Dithakong in 1823 was part of the conflict and upheavals ending a period of strife referred to in the interior as the Difaqane, and is subject to debate following Cobbing's critique
of once orthodox views of the Mfecane
as a period of conflict generated by Zulu
expansion.
Dithakong was later subjected to bombardment by colonial forces (under Charles Warren
) suppressing a Tswana uprising in 1878.
Dithakong is the birthplace of Matthews Batswadi
, the first black South African athlete to be awarded national sporting colours, known as Springbok Colours, after the institutionalisation of Apartheid by the Nationalist Party government following its election victory in 1948. Batswadi was born in the village in 1949 and has lived there ever since retiring from work at the Beatrix Gold Mine in the Free State and from active competition in 1986. He was awarded Springbok Colours in 1977 after racial discrimination was removed from the constitution of the then controlling body, the South African Amateur Athletics Union, thereby allowing blacks to receive national sporting colours.
Kuruman
Kuruman is a town with 12,701 inhabitants in Northern Cape province of South Africa, famous for its scenic beauty and the Eye of Kuruman, a geological feature bringing water from deep underground to the surface in the Kalahari Desert....
in the Northern Cape
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of an international park shared with Botswana...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, which had been a major destination for several of the earliest nineteenth century expditions from the Cape to the interior of the subcontinent. In colonial literature the name is often rendered Litakun, Litakoo, Lattakoo, etc.
The nineteenth century Tswana town
At the time of the 1801 Truter-Somerville Expedition Dithakong was an important BaTlhaping (BaTswana) capital under Kgosi ('Chief') Molehebangwe. Significant accounts of this first expedition were left by, amongst others, William Somerville and John BarrowSir John Barrow, 1st Baronet
Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, FRS, FRGS was an English statesman.-Career:He was born the son of Roger Barrow in the village of Dragley Beck, in the parish of Ulverston then in Lancashire, now in Cumbria...
, with well-known watercolour illustrations by Samuel Daniell
Samuel Daniell
Samuel Daniell was an English painter of natural history and other scenes in Africa and Ceylon.- Life :...
. Kgosi Mothibi, son of Molehebangwe, had succeeded as leader of the BaTlhaping by the time that William Burchell visited there in 1811.
The early traveller accounts refer to an impressively large town consisting of mud houses, traces of which have yet to be located archaeologically.
The Battle of Dithakong in 1823 was part of the conflict and upheavals ending a period of strife referred to in the interior as the Difaqane, and is subject to debate following Cobbing's critique
Julian Cobbing
Julian Raymond Dennis Cobbing is an English historian, and professor of History at Rhodes University , known best for his controversial and groundbreaking research into Zulu culture of the early 19th century....
of once orthodox views of the Mfecane
Mfecane
Mfecane , also known by the Sesotho name Difaqane or Lifaqane, was a period of widespread chaos and warfare among indigenous tribes in southern Africa during the period between 1815 to about 1840....
as a period of conflict generated by Zulu
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
expansion.
Dithakong was later subjected to bombardment by colonial forces (under Charles Warren
Charles Warren
General Sir Charles Warren, GCMG, KCB, FRS was an officer in the British Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of Temple Mount...
) suppressing a Tswana uprising in 1878.
The earlier stone walled settlement
On adjacent hills are stone walled ruins, also referred to as Dithakong (in fact the name means 'place of ruins'), about which Somerville enquired in 1801. The BaTlhaping claimed not to have known who had made or lived in this earlier town. Archaeological investigations have established Tswana affinities in this earlier settlement (itself showing more than one episode of development) which includes features indicative of frontier complexity at this south-western edge of Tswana expansion.Modern Dithakong
Dithakong today is a local centre in the Moshaweng Municipality of the John Taola Gaetsewe District Municipality.Dithakong is the birthplace of Matthews Batswadi
Matthews Batswadi
Matthews Batswadi , a South African athlete, was the first black athlete to be awarded Springbok Colours, the name then given to South African national sporting colours, after the implementation of the policy of apartheid by the National Party in 1948.Batswadi received Springbok Colours in 1977...
, the first black South African athlete to be awarded national sporting colours, known as Springbok Colours, after the institutionalisation of Apartheid by the Nationalist Party government following its election victory in 1948. Batswadi was born in the village in 1949 and has lived there ever since retiring from work at the Beatrix Gold Mine in the Free State and from active competition in 1986. He was awarded Springbok Colours in 1977 after racial discrimination was removed from the constitution of the then controlling body, the South African Amateur Athletics Union, thereby allowing blacks to receive national sporting colours.