The Ovambogefahr: the Ovamboland reservation in the making

Abstract

None provided. The following is taken fronm the author's '1. 3 Object of the present research':

This account attempts to offer the public new information on the early colonial history of Northern Namibia. Using hitherto underused first-hand Finnish and German sources, it aims to discover answers to the questions: How did the Ovamboland Reservation come into being? Why was Ovambo land not taken under direct colonial rule like the other parts of GSW A

Up till now explanations have mainly been sought on the German side, in matters such as their need for migrant labour. This represents only one side of the coin, however, and in fact leads one to underestimate the role of the Africans as subjects of history

In order to build up a more comprehensive picture of the historical process in the far north of GSW A, this work will primarily focus on the African side, recognizing the importance of their initiatives and responses towards the German colonial power. It will also aim to take into account internal politics on the African side

In this case, we have to cope with the task by utilizing the records of Finnish missionaries, which are the written sources closest to the local African population. When studying the Africans' confrontation with colonialism it is also essential to consult the colonial records of their opposite number, the Germans

The present account concentrates on the Kingdom of Ondonga, which held a special position among the small polities of Ovamboland throughout the German period. Being the most southerly of them, it had to experience the pressure of the German colonial power most severely, in addition to which it had the longest traditions of dealing with Europeans, from the 1850s onward and above all, it served from 1870 onwards as the centre for Finnish missionaries, who were to function as the key link between the Africans and the Germans

Due to the long, continuous, rich series of Finnish records on that particular polity, the Kingdom of Ondonga also offers us the best possibilities for penetrating deeper into affairs on the African side. The missionaries were usually the only record-keepers on the spot, and as participatory observers they could produce written information about local events and objects which is unavailable elsewhere

In view of the demands that have arisen from Namibian historiography and of the Sources available, the specific object of investigation concerns political responses of the Kingdom of Ondonga to the German colonial power. Emphasis is laid on the policies which the two simultaneous rulers of Ondonga, King Kambonde kaMpingana and his younger brother Chief Nehale lyaMpingana, pursued towards the Germans. Both rulers were in power during the crucial years of the German colonial conquest and played a key role in the process which manifested itself to the Germans as the Ovambogefahr (the Ovambo threat), a security risk which finally resulted in the creation of Ovamboland Reservation

Ondonga was ruled by King Kambonde from 1884 to 1909, although in actual fact he had to limit his power only to Onamayongo, the western part of the realm, while his younger brother and rival, Chief Nehale, held sovereignty over Oshitambi, the eastern part, after the division of the Kingdom in the late 1880s. Chief Nehale died in 1908

The aim is not to analyse German colonialism as such, but only those parts which had a concrete effect at the grass roots level in Ondonga and influenced the policies of the two rulers. Such concrete phenomena included the German expeditions to the region, for example. Neither is it intended here to write the history of Finnish mission work in Ovamboland, except that attention will be paid to the missionaries' role as middle-men between the Africans and the Colonial Government

Since the polities in Ovamboland were in close interaction with each other, and even with those further south, it will also be necessary to touch upon Ondonga's neighbours, inasfar as they affected its rulers' policies towards the Germans. The two rulers' initiatives and responses to German colonialism will be examined expressly in the light of the polity's internal situation, in particular the rivalry between them and other power centres

The period concerned starts from 1884, when King Kambonde ascended to the throne, coincidentally in the same year as the Colony, German South West Africa, was founded, and ends with the colonial involvement in the succession crisis after King Kambonde kaMpingana's death in 1909 and the final designation of the Reservation in 1910

In terms of the relations between Ovamboland and the German colonial power, the last five years from 1910 to 1915 were characterized by an expansion of the migrant labour system. This question of major importance has recently been investigated elsewhere64 already, and is therefore deemed to lie beyond the scope of the present investigation