Modderpoort
Encyclopedia
Modderpoort, also known as Lekhalong la Bo Tau or ‘The Pass of the Lions’, is the site in the eastern Free State
, South Africa
, where the Anglican Missionary
Brotherhood, the Brotherhood of St Augustine of Hippo
, was established by Bishop Edward Twells
in the late 1860s. It is also associated with the BaSotho
prophetess Mantsopa, while the ‘sacred landscape’ in the vicinity includes San
rock painting sites. Ouzman, S. 1998. Heritage site of the Free State: Magical Modderpoort. Document on Modderpoort sacred site prepared for the Free State Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in connection with site worthy of consideration for World Heritage Sites status.
purchased the farms Modderpoort and Modderpoort Spruit in 1865 as a base for missionary work in the area. The property was situated within the so-called ‘Conquered Territory’ lost by the BaSotho through conquest in the years 1843-1869. Coplan, D.B. 2003. Land from the Ancestors: Popular Religious Pilgrimage along the South Africa-Lesotho Border. Journal of Southern African Studies 29(4). It was in fact not before 1869 that Canon Henry Beckett, the Superior of the Society of St Augustine, accompanied by four brothers, set up the mission, initially in a cave converted as church and dwelling (see below).
In 1871 the Priory was built while the sandstone Chapel, badly damaged in a mountain fire, was enlarged and rededicated in 1903. Meanwhile Modderpoort had been taken over, in 1902, by the Anglican Society of the Sacred Mission
(SSM).
Alongside the Priory is the cemetery, containing inter alia the graves of the Anglican Brothers who served at Modderpoort. Their graves are capped with beautifully carved sandstone which was quarried from the surrounding hills (the sandstone for the Union Buildings
in Pretoria
came from the same source). The sparrow that features in some of the carvings has reference to St Matthew 10:29-30.
By 1928, the SSM had established a School and a Training College for black teachers. Both these institutions were closed down in 1955, however, following the introduction of Apartheid and the implementation of the Bantu Education Act
of 1953. Alumni from Modderpoort include Winkie Direko
, a Premier
of the Free State Province.
St Augustine’s operated subsequently as a Conference and Synod Centre and today includes Bed & Breakfast facilities.
. So it is said, Matsopa fled, finding refuge in the valley of Modderpoort. Here she was Christianised, baptized on 13 March 1870, and taking the name Anna. (Moshoeshoe was to have been baptized on the same day, but died two days previously). Ouzman, S. 1998. Heritage site of the Free State: Magical Modderpoort. Document on Modderpoort sacred site prepared for the Free State Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in connection with site worthy of consideration for World Heritage Sites status.
Mantsopa, it is suggested, practised a combination of Christian and traditional African rites which probably anticipated those of the modern Zionist Christian Church. Ouzman, S. 1998. Heritage site of the Free State: Magical Modderpoort. Document on Modderpoort sacred site prepared for the Free State Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in connection with site worthy of consideration for World Heritage Sites status. Her memory is revered to this day, with Modderpoort becoming a site of pilgrimage
in recent years, Coplan, D.B. 2003. Land from the Ancestors: Popular Religious Pilgrimage along the South Africa-Lesotho Border. Journal of Southern African Studies 29(4). when offerings are sometimes placed at her grave or in the nearby Cave Church. Particularly, a sacred spring of fresh water at Modderpoort is associated with the Matsopa cult. Pilgrims collect “Matsopa Water” (now bottled) from the sacred spring, well regarded for its healing qualities.
Coplan indicates that these rites are but a part of a larger phenomenon of re-occupation, by re-use, of heritage and ritual sites in the Free State-Lesotho frontier. He notes that “Pilgrims to the sacred caves practise every form of African religion from pre-Christian Basotho ritual and medicine to independent Apostolic to established mission church Christianity.” Coplan, D.B. 2003. Land from the Ancestors: Popular Religious Pilgrimage along the South Africa-Lesotho Border. Journal of Southern African Studies 29(4).
has been placed on South Africa's Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage inscription.
Free State
The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans...
, 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...
, where the Anglican Missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
Brotherhood, the Brotherhood of St Augustine of Hippo
Brotherhood of St Augustine of Hippo
The Brotherhood of St Augustine of Hippo was an Anglican Brotherhood founded in the Free State, South Africa, in 1867, and based at Modderpoort from 1869, in the Diocese of Bloemfontein....
, was established by Bishop Edward Twells
Edward Twells
Edward Twells was the first Bishop of Bloemfontein in South Africa from 1863 to 1869.Twells was consecrated Bishop of the Orange Free State in Westminster Abbey in 1863 under the Jerusalem Act, and went out to the colony, in the interior of South Africa, with three priests and two schoolmasters.In...
in the late 1860s. It is also associated with the BaSotho
Basotho
The ancestors of the Sotho people have lived in southern Africa since around the fifth century. The Sotho nation emerged from the accomplished diplomacy of Moshoeshoe I who gathered together disparate clans of Sotho–Tswana origin that had dispersed across southern Africa in the early 19th century...
prophetess Mantsopa, while the ‘sacred landscape’ in the vicinity includes San
Bushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
rock painting sites. Ouzman, S. 1998. Heritage site of the Free State: Magical Modderpoort. Document on Modderpoort sacred site prepared for the Free State Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in connection with site worthy of consideration for World Heritage Sites status.
St Augustine’s
Bishop Twells of BloemfonteinAnglican Diocese of the Free State
The Anglican Diocese of the Free State is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.-History:The first service North of the Orange River to be taken by an Anglican clergyman was conducted in 1850 by Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town. In 1863, Edward Twells was consecrated the...
purchased the farms Modderpoort and Modderpoort Spruit in 1865 as a base for missionary work in the area. The property was situated within the so-called ‘Conquered Territory’ lost by the BaSotho through conquest in the years 1843-1869. Coplan, D.B. 2003. Land from the Ancestors: Popular Religious Pilgrimage along the South Africa-Lesotho Border. Journal of Southern African Studies 29(4). It was in fact not before 1869 that Canon Henry Beckett, the Superior of the Society of St Augustine, accompanied by four brothers, set up the mission, initially in a cave converted as church and dwelling (see below).
In 1871 the Priory was built while the sandstone Chapel, badly damaged in a mountain fire, was enlarged and rededicated in 1903. Meanwhile Modderpoort had been taken over, in 1902, by the Anglican Society of the Sacred Mission
Society of the Sacred Mission
The Society of the Sacred Mission is an Anglican religious order founded in 1893 by Father Herbert Kelly, envisaged such that "members of the Society share a common life of prayer and fellowship in a variety of educational, pastoral and community activities in England, Australia, Japan, Lesotho,...
(SSM).
Alongside the Priory is the cemetery, containing inter alia the graves of the Anglican Brothers who served at Modderpoort. Their graves are capped with beautifully carved sandstone which was quarried from the surrounding hills (the sandstone for the Union Buildings
Union Buildings
The Union Buildings form the official seat of the South African government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa. The imposing buildings are located in Pretoria, atop Meintjieskop at the Northern end of Arcadia, close to historic Church Square and the Voortrekker Monument...
in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
came from the same source). The sparrow that features in some of the carvings has reference to St Matthew 10:29-30.
By 1928, the SSM had established a School and a Training College for black teachers. Both these institutions were closed down in 1955, however, following the introduction of Apartheid and the implementation of the Bantu Education Act
Bantu Education Act
Bantu Education Act of 1953 was a South African law which codified several aspects of the apartheid system. Its major provision was enforced separation of races in all educational institutions. Even universities were made 'tribal', and all but three Missionary schools chose to close down when the...
of 1953. Alumni from Modderpoort include Winkie Direko
Winkie Direko
Isabella Winkie Direko is a South African politician .Direko was born in 1929 in Bloemfontein. Before entering politics, she was a teacher. She was a member of the National Council of Provinces from 1994 to 1999 and Premier of the Free State from 15 June 1999 until 26 April 2004.-References:*...
, a Premier
Premier (South Africa)
In South Africa, a Premier is the head of government of one of South Africa's nine provinces. The Premier of a province plays for that province a role similar to that played by the President for the country as a whole.-Election:...
of the Free State Province.
St Augustine’s operated subsequently as a Conference and Synod Centre and today includes Bed & Breakfast facilities.
Mantsopa
In the cemetery alongside the Priory lie the remains, besides those of missionary brothers and other former residents, of the legendary BaSotho prophetess Mantsopa, who died here on 11 November 1906. Makhetha Mantsopa was born in the region in about 1795. In 1851 she predicted that the BaSotho would triumph over colonial troops led by Major Warden. Renowned amongst her people for her seeing into the future and communicating with the ancestors, she was recognized instantly as a prophetess. Legend has it that over the years her influence became a threat to the power of the Basotho King MoshoeshoeMoshoeshoe
Moshoeshoe may refer to:* Moshoeshoe I, c.1786-1870; paramount chief of southern Sotho; founder of Basuto kingdom * Moshoeshoe II, 1938-1996, king of Lesotho...
. So it is said, Matsopa fled, finding refuge in the valley of Modderpoort. Here she was Christianised, baptized on 13 March 1870, and taking the name Anna. (Moshoeshoe was to have been baptized on the same day, but died two days previously). Ouzman, S. 1998. Heritage site of the Free State: Magical Modderpoort. Document on Modderpoort sacred site prepared for the Free State Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in connection with site worthy of consideration for World Heritage Sites status.
Mantsopa, it is suggested, practised a combination of Christian and traditional African rites which probably anticipated those of the modern Zionist Christian Church. Ouzman, S. 1998. Heritage site of the Free State: Magical Modderpoort. Document on Modderpoort sacred site prepared for the Free State Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in connection with site worthy of consideration for World Heritage Sites status. Her memory is revered to this day, with Modderpoort becoming a site of pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
in recent years, Coplan, D.B. 2003. Land from the Ancestors: Popular Religious Pilgrimage along the South Africa-Lesotho Border. Journal of Southern African Studies 29(4). when offerings are sometimes placed at her grave or in the nearby Cave Church. Particularly, a sacred spring of fresh water at Modderpoort is associated with the Matsopa cult. Pilgrims collect “Matsopa Water” (now bottled) from the sacred spring, well regarded for its healing qualities.
Coplan indicates that these rites are but a part of a larger phenomenon of re-occupation, by re-use, of heritage and ritual sites in the Free State-Lesotho frontier. He notes that “Pilgrims to the sacred caves practise every form of African religion from pre-Christian Basotho ritual and medicine to independent Apostolic to established mission church Christianity.” Coplan, D.B. 2003. Land from the Ancestors: Popular Religious Pilgrimage along the South Africa-Lesotho Border. Journal of Southern African Studies 29(4).
Cave Church
The Cave Church, also known as the Rose Chapel, having been inhabited in Later Stone Age times, provided the first Anglican missionaries with shelter and their first place of worship. A century later, from 1970, members of the Zionist Christian Church (ZCC) began using it as an important pilgrimage site where the ancestors are felt to be strongly present. Offerings are typically placed here – snuff, that the ancestors may ‘breathe’ better; gambling tokens; scratch-and-win cards; crockery; food; money; written appeals and so forth. Candles are burnt during ceremonies which can involve several hundred people.Ouzman, S. 1998. Heritage site of the Free State: Magical Modderpoort. Document on Modderpoort sacred site prepared for the Free State Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in connection with site worthy of consideration for World Heritage Sites status.San rock art
Additionally, rock painting sites form part of this ‘sacred landscape’ where the rock art relates to the beliefs and shamanistic ritual performances of San hunter-gatherers of the precolonial era. The site above the mission was declared a National Monument in 1936. It has been abused by visitors who have vandalized the paintings or splashed water to bring out the colours (depositing a film of salts, causing them to fade). The main panel at the site contains remarkable depictions of birds and an unusual winged figure with zigzag legs, believed to represent a shaman or priest who had assumed bird-like form to undertake the journey to the spirit world. Flight is a widespread and recurring metaphor for altered states of consciousness in South African rock art and folklore. Ouzman, S. 1998. Heritage site of the Free State: Magical Modderpoort. Document on Modderpoort sacred site prepared for the Free State Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in connection with site worthy of consideration for World Heritage Sites status.Tentative World Heritage Listing
Modderpoort Sacred SitesModderpoort Sacred Sites
The Sacred Sites of Modderpoort are located in the Eastern Free State of South Africa. Four sites are included in the overall collection:*The San Rock Paintings*The Anglican Church and Cemetery*Mantsopa's Grave*The Cave Church The Sacred Sites of Modderpoort are located in the Eastern Free State...
has been placed on South Africa's Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage inscription.