"It is the evening of 9 December 1838. The recently elected commandant general Andries Pretorius, with 464 Voortrekkers, some servants and wagon drivers, three British settlers and some 120 “tame” Zulus draw a laager at Wasbank, near the current Dundee. They are on their way to uMgundgundlovu, capital of the Zulu king, Dingane to try and break the might of the Zulu force that has caused them so much heartache and sorrow. First the Voortrekker leader Piet Retief and his men were murdered after land negotiations on 6 February 1838 and then hundreds of Voortrekkers and their servants died at Blaaukrantz and Weenen, killed by the Zulu force.
Sarel Cilliers takes the lead and the handful of men solemnly promise that:
If He would protect them and deliver the enemy into their hands, they would build a House in His name and that the day of their triumph would be known unto the last generation because it would be commemorated in His honour;
What followed is familiar to most of the older generation of Afrikaners. The battle of Blood River that took place on the banks of the Ncome River on 16 December 1838, was, according to most historians a turning point in the history of South Africa. The Voortrekkers in their ‘fortified’ laager and with their front-loading rifles and 2-3 cannons repelled wave after wave of Zulus whose force consisted of between 9 000 and 12 000 men. By 11:00 that morning the Zulu forces began to pull back. By this time they had already lost 3 000 warriors on the battlefield while only three Voortrekkers were wounded.
It was an absolute miracle to the Voortrekkers – an act of mercy from God and even though the Zulus were not totally defeated, their victory initiated the way to an independent state for the Voortrekkers in Natal.
Throughout the years historians and others have analysed, criticized and looked at the occurrences of 16 December from different perspectives. Today, while our country’s history is being “re-written”, Afrikaner historians are blamed of distorting and fabricating the facts. Despite this, very little in Afrikaner history draws as much attention as the Covenant of Blood River.
For more information about the Blood River site, please contact Cecilia Kruger or Estelle Pretorius at the Voortreker Monument (012) 326 6770.
For more information about the commemoration of the Covenant on site or at the Voortrekker Monument please contact Deon van Onselen at the same number"
Covenant of Blood River
Even to this day, Afrikaners (also known as Boers, who are decendants of the old Voortrekkers) commemorate this day, viewing the 'ritual' not only as a fulfillment of their duties, but also as a renewal of the covenant of 1838. History repeats itself, as the Boers are in the same situation they were in during 1838. The gruesome torture, rape and murder of Boer men, women and babies are commonplace in South Africa. Violent crimes are not only a plague in the country, but also in metropolitan areas. South Africa is ranked as the country with both the highest murder rate and rape rate in the world. The Boers are indeed in the same position they were in in 1838.
The SA government, an (ANC) autocratic government who are the allies of Robert Mugabe (Iran, China, India, Russia and also Zimbabwe's Zanu-PF, who are notorious for land evictions and other human right infringements), are currently attempting to "erase" the day of the covenant by euphemistically renaming it to "Reconciliation Day". (Note the reporter's biased reporting).
Desperate attempts of the South African government to try and discredit the covenant of Bloedrivier should be shunned and disregarded with the utmost of discontent that their fallacies deserve.
To all the people of South Africa (Especially the Boers):
May you find the freedom that you have longed for for so long!
Sources:
http://www.voortrekkermon.org.za/Bloedrivier/BREnglish/B01.02_The%20Covenant.htm
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national&articleid=259404
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boer
