The ovamboland expedition of 1917: the deposing of King Mandume

ABSTRACT

Mandume ya Ndemufayo, the last king of the Oukwanyama, resisted the subjugation of his people by colonial powers. To the Portuguese, Germans, and South Africans (and other missionaries), he was a recalcitrant, bloodthirsty, and murderous despot. But to the people of Namibia and Angola, he is a hero of the African people, with permanent remembrance at the Namibian National Heroes’ Acre, a university named after him in the City of Lubango, with street names, monuments, and memorials commemorating his acts of resistance against colonial rule. His demise at the hands of the Ovamboland Expeditionary Force on 6 February 1917 is the archetypal story of the colonial period in Africa – and elsewhere – that opposition to colonial rule was not tolerated and subdued, forcefully if necessary. European interests, along with superior firepower, facilitated the subjugation of many indigenous populations. It was no different in Ovamboland, yet in a period where kingdoms were tumbling, the Oukwanyama resisted.

KEYWORDS:

• Mandume
• punitive expedition
• resistance
• subjugation
• oukwanyama
• colonisation
• suppression of unrest

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Oukwanyama refers to the Ovambo polity as a whole. Kwanyama refers to the people of Oukwanyama (see Hayes, ‘Order Out of Chaos’). The Union Government used the spelling Ovakuanyama as reflected in the government reports.

2. Shiweda, “Mandume ya Ndemufayo”s Memorials in Namibia and Angola,” 93–96; Hayes, “Order Out of Chaos,” 89–113.

3. Silvester, Wallace, and Hayes, “Trees Never Meet,” 16–17.

4. National Archives of Namibia (Hereafter NAN): OCT (Officer Commanding Union Troops) 16, File O.2, Patrol Report to Kuring-kuru and Okavango River, Dated 17 September 1916; Silvester, Wallace, and Hayes, “Trees Never Meet,” 17.

5. Union of South Africa: UG 38–15: Report on Tour to Ovamboland, October 1915 by Maj S.M. Pritchard; Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917.

6. Silvester, Wallace, and Hayes, “Trees Never Meet,” 18.

7. Werner, “Struggles in the Namibian Countryside,” 269–271.

8. Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917; Silvester, Wallace, and Hayes, “Trees Never Meet,” 8–9; Werner, “Struggles in the Namibian Countryside,” 270–271.

9. Hayes, “Order Out of Chaos,” 101–102; Shiweda, “Mandume ya Ndemufayo”s Memorials in Namibia and Angola,” 18.

10. Hayes, “Order Out of Chaos,” 92–94; Clarence-Smith and Moorsom, “Underdevelopment and Class Formation in Ovamboland,” 177–178.

11. Okasava is the traditional seizure of cattle for the king”s court. Both Hayes and Clarence-Smith and Moorsom provide detailed explanations of its abuse and use for taxation.

12. Hayes, “Order Out of Chaos,” 93–94; Kreike “De-Globalisation and Deforestation,” 85–86; Clarence-Smith and Moorsom, “Underdevelopment and Class Formation in Ovamboland,” 178–181.

13. Hayes, “Order Out of Chaos,” 92

14. Hayes, “Order Out of Chaos,” 95–96; Hayes and Haipinge, Healing the Land, 12–13.

15. Brambilla, “Borders and Identities/Border Identities,” 23–24; Bothma, Vang “n Boer, 67.

16. NAN: ADM (Secretary for the Protectorate) 48, File 629 Boundary Between South West Africa, Report of the South West Africa Protectorate Secretary on the disputed boundary, Dated 11 February 1926; UG 38–15: Report on Tour to Ovamboland, 10 October 1915; Hayes, “Order Out of Chaos,” 90; Vigne, “The Movable Frontier,” 292; Bothma, Vang “n Boer, 96.

17. Hayes, “Order Out of Chaos,” 90; Bothma, Vang “n Boer, 98; Clarence-Smith and Moorsom, “Underdevelopment and Class Formation in Ovamboland,” 183; Hayes, “Order Out of Chaos,” 2.

18. Hayes, “Order Out of Chaos,” 90; Bothma, Vang “n Boer, 67, 82–87.

19. NAN: ADM 257, File 35, Appendix 2 Ovamboland War Diary, 8; Union of South Africa: UG 38–15: Report on Tour to Ovamboland, October 1915 by Maj S.M. Pritchard, 8; Hayes, “A History of the Ovambo,” 194–195; Bothma, Vang “n Boer, 116–117.

20. Union of South Africa: UG 38–15: Report on Tour to Ovamboland, October 1915 by Maj S.M. Pritchard, 1, 4–8; Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917, 1; Hayes, “A History of the Ovambo,” 197–199.

21. Union of South Africa: UG 38–15: Report on Tour to Ovamboland, October 1915 by Maj S.M. Pritchard, 6

22. Union of South Africa: UG 38–15: Report on Tour to Ovamboland, October 1915 by Maj S.M. Pritchard, 7–8; Bothma, Vang “n Boer, 118.

23. Union of South Africa: UG 38–15: Report on Tour to Ovamboland, October 1915 by Maj S.M. Pritchard, 9.

24. Bothma, Vang “n Boer, 121.

25. NAN: ADM 48, File 629/1 Report on Angola Ovamboland Boundary Line and Neutral Zone, British-Portuguese Representatives at Namakunde and Chief Mandume”s position by Maj C.N. Manning, Dated 20 March 1916.

26. NAN: ADM 48, File 629/1 Incident Report of Mandume Entering the Neutral Zone on 17 February 1916 from Maj C.E. Fairlie to Maj C.N. Manning, Dated 21 February 1916.

27. NAN: ADM 48, File 629 Part 1, Boundary Between Angola and South West Africa. (*The author acknowledges Dr T. Flügel, former senior lecturer in Military Geography, Faculty of Military Science, for reworking the map and providing a digital copy for publication.)

28. Silvester, Wallace and Hayes, “Trees Never Meet,” 16–17; Shiweda, “Mandume ya Ndemufayo”s Memorials in Namibia and Angola,” 28.

29. NAN: ADM 48, File 629/1 Annexure A, Capt Liefeldt to Maj Pritchard, Dated 7 October 1915, to the Report on Chief Mandume”s Affairs, Violation of Angola-Ovamboland Boundary, Dated 14 May 1916.

30. NAN: ADM 48, File 629/1 Report on Chief Mandume”s Affairs, Violation of Angola-Ovamboland Boundary, Dated 14 May 1916.

31. NAN: ADM 48, File 629/1 Report on Chief Mandume”s Affairs, Violation of Angola-Ovamboland Boundary, Dated 15 May 1916.

32. NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Memorandum by Resident Commissioner, Dated 3 November 1916; NAN: ADM 48, File 629/1 Report from Maj C.E. Fairlie to Maj C.N. Manning Regarding Mandume Entering the Neutral Zone on 17 February 1916, Dated 21 February 1916; Shiweda, “Mandume ya Ndemufayo”s Memorials in Namibia and Angola,” 27–28.

33. Also spelled Mapangasha by Maj Manning in his Memorandum Dated 3 November 1916 (see endnote 32 above).

34. NAN: ADM 48, File 629/1 Annexure 3, Government Representative Neutral Zone to the Resident Commissioner, Dated 10 May 1916, to the Report on Chief Mandume”s Affairs, Violation of Angola-Ovamboland Boundary, Dated 14 May 1916; NAN: ADM 48, File 629/1 Resident Commissioner to Secretary for the Protectorate on Chief Mandume”s Affairs, Dated 15 February 1916; NAN: ADM 48, File 629/1 Portuguese Resident in Neutral Zone to Government Representative in Neutral Zone, Maj C.E. Fairlie, Dated 2 March 1916.

35. NAN: ADM 48, File 629/1 Report on Chief Mandume”s Affairs, Violation of Angola-Ovamboland Boundary, Dated 14 May 1916.

36. NAN: ADM 48, File 629/1 Report on Chief Mandume”s Affairs, Violation of Angola-Ovamboland Boundary, Dated 14 May 1916; South African National Defence Force Archives (Hereafter SANDFA) World War 1 German South West Africa and German East Africa (WW1 GSWA&GEA) 22, File 1705/9199 Report to Deputy Secretary for the Protectorate on Arms and Ammunition in Ovamboland by Maj C.N. Manning, Dated 6 August 1916.

37. NAN: ADM 48, File 629 Visit Report from Maj C.E. Fairlie to Maj C.N. Manning, Dated 13 May 1915.

38. NAN: ADM 48, File 629 Report to Secretary for Defence from Administrator for the Protectorate, Dated 26 May 1916.

39. NAN: ADM 48, File 629/3 Report on Chief Mandume”s Affairs and Violation of Angola-Ovamboland Boundary, Dated 31 May 1916.

40. Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917, 3; NAN: ADM 48, File 629 Report to Secretary for Defence from Administrator for the Protectorate, Dated 26 May 1916.

41. NAN: ADM 48, File 629 Report to Secretary for Defence from Administrator for the Protectorate, Dated 26 May 1916; NAN: ADM 48, File 629/4 Letter from Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affair to the British Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Portugal, Dated 25 May 1916.

42. Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917, 4; Instruction to the Officer Commanding, 1 SAMR, Detachment of 1 SAMR for Special Duty on Ovamboland, Dated 21 September 1916; NAN: OCT 18 AU3: Ovamboland Expeditionary Force War Diary, 7; NAN: ADM 48, File 629/4 Report on the Establishing a Garrison at Namakunde, Dated 16 October 1916.

43. NAN: ADM 48, File 629/4 Report on Defence at Namakunde Residence, Dated 22 October 1916; NAN: ADM 48, File 629/4 Correspondence Between Maj C.E. Fairlie and Maj C.N. Manning on Mandume, Dated 24 October 1916; NAN 16, File O.2, Situation Report by OC “A” Squadron, 1 SAMR, Lt M.M. Jackson, Dated 26 October 1916.

44. NAN: ADM 48, File 629/4, Resident Commissioner to Deputy Secretary for the Protectorate on the Establishment of a Garrison at Namakunde, Dated 16 October 1916. (*The author acknowledges Dr T. Flügel, former senior lecturer in Military Geography, Faculty of Military Science, for reworking the figure and providing a digital copy for publication.)

45. NAN: ADM 48, File 629/4 Chief Mandume and Armed Followers at Namakunde Station, Dated 15 October 1916; NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Memorandum by Maj C.N. Manning, Dated 3 November 1916.

46. NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Memorandum by Maj C.N. Manning, Dated 3 November 1916; NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Report to Resident Commissioner by Maj C.E. Fairlie, n.d.; NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Report to Resident Commissioner by Maj C.E. Fairlie, Dated 30 October 1915.

47. NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Report to Resident Commissioner regarding Mandume by Maj C.E. Fairlie, Dated 27 October 1916; NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Report to Deputy Secretary for the Protectorate on Mandume by Maj C.N. Manning, Dated 23 October 1916; Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917, 5.

48. NAN: OCT 16, File 629/4 O.2 Intelligence Report on Ovamboland by Lt C.H.L. Hahn, Dated 6 December 1916.

49. Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917, 3–5.

50. SANDFA: WW1 GSWA and GEA 1&2, File 1705.9199, Correspondence Between Protectorate Administrator and Minister for Defence, Dated 23 October 1916; SANDFA: WW1 GSWA and GEA 1&2, File 1705.9199, Correspondence Between Protectorate Administrator and OC Union Troops, Dated 24 November 1916.

51. SANDFA: WW1 GSWA and GEA 1&2, File 1705.9199, Correspondence Between Protectorate Administrator and Minister for Defence, Dated 24 October 1916; Smit, Gedenkboek van M.J. de Jager, 22–24.

52. Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917, 7; NAN: OCT 17, O.32 Secret Directive from OC Union Troops to Director of Works, Dated 23 November 1916.

53. Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917, 7–9.

54. Hayes et al., Namibia under South African Rule, xviii.

55. NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Field State of Ovamboland Expeditionary Force, Dated 31 December 1916, as Annexure B to the Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland by Col M.J. de Jager, Dated 31 March 1917.

56. Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917, 9.

57. NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Field State of Ovamboland Expeditionary Force, Dated 31 December 1916, as Annexure C to the Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland by Col M.J. de Jager, Dated 31 March 1917.

58. NAN: OCT 16, O.36 Ovamboland Expedition War Diaries, 1 SAMR, 2 to 3 February 1917; Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917, 14–15.

59. NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Field State of Ovamboland Expeditionary Force, Dated 31 December 1916, as Annexure D to the Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland by Col M.J. de Jager, Dated 31 March 1917.

60. SANDFA: WW1 GSWA & GEA 1&2, File 1705/9199, Telegram from the Minister of Defence to Protectorate Administrator, Dated 14 December 1914, Providing Specific Instructions to Prevent the Portuguese from Crossing South of the Neutral Zone and to Only Assist if Asked to Do So.

61. Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917, 16.

62. NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Field State of Ovamboland Expeditionary Force, Dated 31 December 1916, as Annexure E to the Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland by Col M.J. de Jager, Dated 31 March 1917.

63. NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Map of Ovamboland as Annexure A to the Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland by Col M.J. de Jager, Dated 31 March 1917.

64. Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917, 16–17.

65. See note 62 above 1917.

66. Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917, 17; NAN: OCT 16, O.36 Ovamboland Expedition War Diaries, 1 SAMR, 6 February 1917; Hayes, “A History of the Ovambo,” 233–236.

67. NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Statements Identifying Mandume”s Body as Annexure F to the Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland by Col M.J. de Jager, Dated 31 March 1917; Hayes, “A History of the Ovambo,” 233–236.

68. Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917, 18; NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Summary of Killed and Wounded in Action as Annexure G to the Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland by Col M.J. de Jager, Dated 31 March 1917; Hayes, “A History of the Ovambo,” 233–236.

69. Union of South Africa: UG 37–17: Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland, 11 April 1917, 20–21.

70. NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Animal Casualties, Ovamboland Expedition as Annexure J to the Report on the Conduct of the Ovakuanyama Chief Mandume and on the Military Operations Conducted Against Him in Ovamboland by Col M.J. de Jager, Dated 31 March 1917.

71. NAN: ADM 49, File 629/4 Verbatim Report of a Meeting Held at the Government Residency, Namakunde, on 14 February 1917, Between Col De Jager, Officer Commanding Ovamboland Expeditionary Force, and Various Headmen of the Ovakuanyama Tribe; Shiweda, “Mandume ya Ndemufayo”s Memorials in Namibia and Angola,” 31–32.

72. Hayes, “Order Out of Chaos,” 91, 101–102.

73. Wallace, A History of Namibia, 210.

74. Hartman, Silvester, and Hayes, The Colonising Camera, 69.

75. Katjavivi, A History of Resistance in Namibia, 18.

76. Bothma, Vang “n Boer, 83.

77. Statement by His Excellency Hifikepunye Pohamba, President of the Republic of Namibia on the Occasion of the Commemoration of the Death of Ohamba Mandume ya Ndemuyao (1893–1917) at Omhedi, Ohangwena Region, Dated 2 March 2013.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Andries M. Fokkens

Andries M. Fokkens (MMil in Military History) holds an administrative position at the Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University