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Abstract
With a concertina and a ukulele in the trunk of her car, Jo Fourie—a female Dutch immigrant and widow of a prominent Afrikaner—criss-crossed South Africa in the 1950s in search of Afrikaans folk music. Fourie's documents in the National Film, Video and Sound Archives, Pretoria, tell an extraordinary tale of a collector and musician who is now all but forgotten. This article employs biography as interpretive strategy, not only to give credence to the personal meanings Fourie assigned to boeremusiek, but also to highlight the uncertain and ambiguous position of the genre within Afrikaner society of the period. It is argued that Fourie conceived of her identification with boeremusiek as a strategy of integration, when the genre's low social stature for reasons of morality, race and class would have rendered her efforts impossible. In so doing, the competing forces of aesthetic discipline and musical rapture in Fourie's boeremusiek adventures are highlighted.
Keywords:
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank the following persons and institutions, without whose help I could not have completed this research: Kobus Müller, for generously sharing his personal archive with me; Luana Brewis from the National Film, Video and Sound Archives; Jo Fourie's grandchildren, especially Hilde Kucera, for answering all my questions about their grandmother and providing me with photographs and other documents; the National Research Foundation and Stellenbosch University for funding my PhD research; and Stephanus Muller, my mentor, for reading every version of this article and for his invaluable advice and support.
Notes
1The Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk is one of the Afrikaans reformed churches, not to be confused with the much larger Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk. The Hervormde Kerk, founded in Potchefstroom in the nineteenth century, is particularly strong in the rural areas of the northern parts of South Africa and known for its traditionalism. Peculiarly, it has wedded conservative political viewpoints with liberal theological positions.
2The Jo Fourie Collection, held at the National Film, Video and Sound Archives in Pretoria, comprises around 1000 transcriptions, five diaries, 12 notebooks and several folders of personal communication, photographs and fragments. I am grateful to Luana Brewis and Kobus Müller, who facilitated access to this collection.
3Herman Giliomee (Citation2003: 161) describes the Great Trek as follows: ‘Between 1835 and 1845, parties of burgher families, later called Voortrekkers, and their servants, moved out of the Cape Colony in considerable numbers. … In the first wave of the emigration of the Voortrekkers, which ended in 1840, some six thousand people (20 per cent of the whites in the eastern districts and 10 per cent of the colony's whites) trekked’. During the 1930s, in an upsurge of Afrikaner nationalism, the Great Trek became a talking point amongst Afrikaners—especially as the commemoration of the event in 1938 approached (Giliomee Citation2003: 432). ‘The re-enactment of the Trek’, writes Giliomee, ‘turned out to be an electrifying event, sparking mass Afrikaner enthusiasm as the wagons wound their way through hamlets, villages and cities across the land. Men and women, often clad in Voortrekker dress with the men sporting Voortrekker beards, met the wagons. At solemn ceremonies wreaths were laid on the graves of Afrikaner heroes, and streets were re-named for Voortrekker leaders’ (2003: 432).
4All translations by the author. ‘In 1934 het ek nl. 'n wonderlike ondervinding beleef, op die eiland Java, destyds nog nederlandse kolonie. Daar het toe 'n niggie van my gewoon, wat in dieselfde stad in Holland opgegroei het as ek. Na haar troue het sy egter verhuis na wat toe nog nederlands Oos-Indië was. Sy en haar gesin het daardie tyd in die hoofstad Batavia gewoon, oor haar man 'n lid van hulle Volksraad was. (so genoem in navolging van ons s'n) Een aand sit hy soos gewoonlik aan die skryftafel en werk, waarby hy dan altyd die draadloos saggies laat speel. Toe daar aangekondig word dat die volg. no. op die program boeremusiek sal wees, laat hy my roep. Ek kom en luister in verrukking na wat deur een van ons eerste boere-orkeste word gespeel, duisende myle van S. Afrika verwyder—daar in die vreemde land het my ore oop gegaan vir die bekoring van ons eie volksmusiek, ons boere-musiek. Dit is en bly een van die wonderlikste momente in my lewe. En as ek later party keer moed verloor het, het die herinnering aan hierdie moment, my baie gehelp om deur te sit.’
5It is important to note here that Herman Fourie was not particularly conservative. He allowed his daughter to wear pants in an era when such a thing was unheard of and allowed Jo to travel abroad by herself. Yet he was also an important figure in Afrikaner nationalist politics and therefore an implicit supporter of its gender stereotyping.
6‘Behalwe hierdie onmiskenbare kundigheid, het mevrou Fourie die voorsprong bo alle ander navorsers gehad dat sy nie net 'n predikantsvrou was nie, maar daarby die eggenote van dr. H.C.M Fourie, een van die Bybelvertalers.’
7Thank you to Kobus Müller for familiarising me with these interviews. Bosman de Kock's interviews with Jo Fourie are available at the SABC Sound Archives, Cat. No. 39/75–76 (52), Acc. No. 6882.
9‘Al het ek toe nooit spesiaal 'n reis gemaak om boeremusiek op te skryf nie, die wens het in my daarvoor opgekom. Ek het begin besef dat dit nodig is en die enigste manier om ons musiek te bewaar. Min het ek toe vermoed dat daardie geleentheid vir my sou opdaag want wie kon dink dat my goeie man so gou my sou ontval!?’
8And, of course, a paternalist society where a woman's standing in society is totally dependent on that of her husband.
10 Kaaskop (Cheese head) is a derogatory Afrikaans term for a Dutch citizen.
11‘Daar is 'n tyd vir alles in die wêreld, gaan bid nou liewer.’
12‘Uit besprekings blyk dit dat daar geen helderheid bestaan oor wat “Boeremusiek” en 'n “Boere-orkes” werklik beteken nie. Oorspronklik was die orkeste wat vandag as Boere-orkeste bestempel word, orkeste wat die begeleiding op danspartye verskaf het, later is hulle ook by geleentheid by Boerefunksies gebruik, vandaar die naam “Boere-orkeste”. Die S.A.U.K se probleem is dat die luisteraars om meer “Boeremusiek” vra.’
13In fact, there is some ‘evidence’ of the concertina having the opposite effect in military contexts. An Irish soldier involved in the siege of Mafeking from 1899 to 1900 wrote in his diary that ‘[t]he Cape Boys shot a Boer today … The former were playing a concertina, jigging and singing and shouting to the Boers to send over some of their [women], as they wanted dancing partners. One of the Boers looked over the fort wall and was immediately shot dead by our riflemen. Ruse of War’ (quoted by Worrall Citation2009: 14).
14 Volkspele are considered to be a form of Afrikaans folk dance, but were only introduced in South Africa in 1914, after Dr S. H. Pelissier visited Sweden and became acquainted with European traditions of folk dance. The first FAK songbook was published in 1937. Initially it featured mainly translated German folk songs with piano accompaniment—a culturally sanctioned version of popular culture in a largely oral musical landscape.
15The minutes of the FAK Music Committee meetings are held at the Institute of Contemporary History, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.
16‘Die volgende more lê ek en dink oor die uitsonderlike goeie spel van mnr Bleeker, alleen daardie jonge Prins by Ceres en hy het boeremusiek so vertolk, dat my hele siel daarvan tril. Dit klink dalk verspot of sentimenteel ens. maar daar is so-iets besonders in daardie musiek, as ek dit hoor, dat ek ontnugter en teleurgestel is, as ek die note oorkyk, en in gedagte dan hoor, om te sien watter doodgewone stukkies dit is … Mens kan dit vergelyk met baie fyne glaswerk of kant. Soos die twee hoofpersone gespeel het, is enig in my ondervinding. Dit is boere-musiek—NIE soos dit behoort te wees nie, maar soos dit KAN wees, in die hande van gebore kunstenaars. Die eenvoud van volkmusiek kristalliseer hier tot ware kuns. Daar het ook nie eenmaal die gedagte van “lekker dansmusiek” by my opgekom nie, soos anders wel gebeur het, daarvoor het dit te fyn en sag geklink.’
17‘In 1938 (vroeg) het ons weer na Johannesburg gegaan vir die 2de wedstryd toe in die Stadsaal. Ons het totaal verloor hoofsaaklik om ons “vreemde drag”, die matroos-uniform, wat egter baie netjies gelyk het. Na die applous en uitroepe van die toehoorders te oordeel was hul opinie anders van die jury. Ons het toe egter die uniform verander en voortrekkerdrag aangeskaf en die laaste 6 weke voor die eeufees, 12 of 13 uitvoerings op plase rondom Groot Marico gegee—veral om stemming vir die fees te wek.’
19‘U wonder seker watter reg ek, 'n Amerikaanse vrou, het om u op hierdie, u eie volksdag, te kom toespreek? Wel, laat my u sê: Ek dink ek het amper meer reg as u, want sien, u is Afrikaners van geboorte, ek is 'n Afrikaner uit vrye keuse. Ek mag kies! En u pragtige soetklinkende taal het ek ook my taal gemaak.’
18‘Dingane's Day’ was the colloquial name for the Day of the Vow—a religious public holiday in South Africa until 1994—commemorating the Boer victory over the Zulu King Dingane at the battle of Blood River on 16 December 1838. In the week preceding the battle, the beleaguered Boers made a vow that if God granted the men victory, they and their descendants would commemorate the day of battle and would build a church. According to Giliomee (Citation2003: 165), ‘Afrikaner nationalists of the next century considered Blood River the battle that “saved” the trek and secured the victory of Christianity and “civilization”’. The day was renamed Day of Reconciliation in 1994.
20To this day, many European boys’ choirs wear sailor suits (matrozenpakjes) for non-religious performances. The Hague Matrozenkoor, for example, wears authentic sailor suit uniforms ‘giving an [sic] Dutch national touch to the boys’ performance. The sailor suits recall Holland's long maritime history. Little Holland once had the most powerful navy in Europe—rivaling that of England itself’ (Anon Citation2006).
21‘Lank was die [konsertina] vir my stuitlik deur sy skreeuerige geluid tot ek een skemeraand dit op 'n halwe myl afstand hoor speel terwyl ek op die stoep gesit het, en toe hoor ek dit. Vanaf daardie oomblik het ek 'n ander opinie oor die ding gekry, dis of ek aldeur opnuut daardie aand se sensasie beleef as ek dit hoor. Vir my part kan ons dit maar aanneem as ons nasionale instrument soos die Skotte hul bagpipes.’
22‘Terwyl die orkes bestaan begin “Suikerbossie” in die mode te kom. Ek het dit gering geag, plat, van die volkies, en wou dit nie in ons program opneem nie. As ons verdaag vir die oefenaande vir tee, dan sit 'n paar dadelik eenkant en speel net Suikerbossie. Ek verdra dit, maar bly nog van my eerste opinie. Tot ons op 'n plesieraandjie, 'n verjaardag of so van die orkes alleen, my strakke houding laat vaar en begin saamspeel! En dáár pak die ding my, ek kom onder die bekoring van die meeslepende wysie. Van toe af het ons dit met woorde en al in ons programma's opgeneem, o.a. die deel “sy kon nie pap maak nie” ens, en dit gespeel op al die konserte voor die eeufees, tot groot vermaak en bijval van die gehore, my man ingesluit. Hy het die laaste deel self toegevoeg “wat maak 'n mens met so 'n vrou”, ons was onseker daaroor.’
23‘Toevallig was ek daardie aand alleen, en het ingeluister na die uitsending van ‘Uit die jaar vroeg’ en dit baie geniet. Op my eie manier het ek daarby gedans, ek kon eenvoudig nie stil bly sit nie. Dit was in die spaarkamer van mnr. en mev. Rontgen se huis, waar ek toe geloseer het.’