Dr. Andrew Smith is in 1797 gebore in nederige omstandighede in Roxburghshire. Soos vele ander Lowland Skotte, het hy deur harde werk ‘n goeie opvoeding verkry en het in medisyne gekwalifiseer in Edinburgh. Hy het die weermag mediese diens betree, en is in 1820 na die Kaap van Goeie Hoop gestuur om toesig te hou oor die mediese sorg van soldate. Hy was in Grahamstad gebaseer in word in 1822 aangestel as die Albany distrikgeneesheer. Hy is ook die vader van dierkunde in Suid-Afrika. Sy publikasie, Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa, beskryf ‘n wye verskeidenheid spesies.
Sir Andrew Smith nadat hy sy ridderskap ontvang het in 1856
Bronsbeeld van Dingaan by Moropeng in die “Long March to Freeedom” – uitstalling
In 1832 is Dr Andrew Smith gevra om ‘n geheime ekspedisie na Dingaan te lei, maar sy instruksies was om voor te gee of die reistog slegs vir wetenskaplike doeleindes was. Smith het sonder twyfel Natal se potensiaal raakgesien, maar sy mening is nie gedeel deur diegene wat destyds in gesagsposisies was nie.
Smith se besoek aan Dingaan, waarvan die dagboek in hierdie bundel gepubliseer is, het die verloop van Suid-Afrikaanse geskiedenis op verskeie manier beïnvloed. ‘n Jong man van Nederlandse herkoms, Hermanus, Barry, was deel van Smith se reisgeselskap. Hy was vreeslik beïndruk deur die skoonheid en potensiaal van Port Natal, en daar word geglo dat sy sieninge die Uys familie in Uitenhage bereik het. Dit het ‘n invloed gehad op Piet Uys, die Voortrekker, se besluit om in 1836 Natal toe te trek.
Vroeg in 1834 het verskeie handelaars in Kaapstad ‘n petisie saamgestel waarin die Koning versoek is om stappe te neem om ‘n regering in Port Natal te vestig, met genoegsame militêre magte om die handel wat daar geskied te beskerm. Dit was egter eers in 1842 wat die koloniale kantoor uiteindelik besluit het om ‘n kolonie in Natal te vestig.
Goewerneurs het Smith verskeie kere gestuur om die inheemse stamme buite die Kolonie grense te besoek. Tydens hierdie ekspedisies kon hy sy nuuskierigheid oor natuurlike geskiedenis en antropologie bevredig.
In 1830 het ‘n afvaardiging van Dingaan, koning van die Zoeloes, in Grahamstad aangekom. Sy boodskap was dat hy graag wou handel dryf met die Kolonie en dat hy graag ‘n sendeling wou ontvang wat sy mense sou onderrig.
Sir Lowry Cole het vir amptelike toestemming gevra om ‘n persoon te stuur in wie se oordeel hy ten volle kan vertrou, wie geen belangstelling sal hê om die regering te mislei nie, om die werklike wense van Dingaan, die Zoeloe-hoof, sowel as die aard en vermoëns van sy land vas te stel.”
Kaart van Port Natal en omgewing 1824-1842 (www.salbu.co.za)
Sketskaart van die Suidoostelike kus van Afrika deur Sir James Alexander
Hierdie bundel bevat ‘n verslag van sy besoek aan Dingaan asook notas oor die verskillende stamgroepe wat hy teëgekom het, die Kaapstad Handelaars Petisie van 1835, asook sommige rekords van die Suid-Afrikaanse Grond- en Emigrasievereniging.
UITTREKSEL UIT DIE TEKS
[It is] not permitted to spit, cough or blow the nose in his presence whilst he is eating; punishment for doing either the one or the other, death.
There is a woman living in Dingaan’s kraal who was intended for the wife of his father who never had connection with her. Dingaan calls her his mother, and she can never have connection with anyone. She lives with the king.
The Zoola men allow their finger nails to grow to a very great length, and they pride themselves in keeping them very clean; sometimes an inch and a half long, the thumb ones in particular. They wear the gall bladder of a sheep inflated and attached to the hinder part of the head ring; the gall bladder of black cattle stuffed with fat round the arm. They sprinkle the bile over the body, and drink a little of it. When old men throw away the stuffed bladders others hang them up in their houses and others burn them. They think that by so doing they will have good luck and become possessed of many cattle.
When a woman has a difficult labour they tie a string round each ankle and put it out through the house. Then people pull at it till she is delivered. When delivered a charcoal fire is kindled behind the house and roots burned upon it. The child is then drawn through the smoak every day when washed until it can walk. When a woman is pregnant she goes to the doctor and gets a root which she boils and carries about with her. She drinks a little of it till the child is born, then ceases herself and gives it to the child. When labour is tedious they often kill a cow and the moment the cow falls they say the child is brought forth. The doctor sometimes says that during tedious labour the spirit of the woman’s father or brothers want more cattle, and then the husband must pay more cattle. Umbilical hernia is very common.
When going on to attack they advance in divisions in eschellon [sic]. When the first comes into action the second rushes up and so on. They have three sorts of noise they make in rushing on the enemy, one ‘biz-biz’ through the teeth like to a hive of bees in their flight, another ‘hish’ like to the sound arising from heavy drops of rain falling plentifully upon a dense foliage, and the third a tremendous yell. The ‘biz’ has the most depressing effect upon the spirits of listeners.
When Dingaan leaves the spot where he may have been sitting, the people near where he passes rise up and stand half stooping as he passes and say ‘Byatt’. A party immediately falls in behind him and follows him at a little distance as far as the gate by which he enters to his houses.
A woman was killed by order of Dingaan because she would not marry a man to whom the king had given her. Dingaan assumes the right of taking any man’s daughter and giving her as a wife to any man he chooses without any return. The regiment of women named ‘Englishmen’ were ordered to marry by Dingaan.
The Umtetuas were governed by Tingaswau. Small pox appeared amongst them and destroyed many of them about 16 years ago. The Umtetuas lived between the Umclateuse and Umfolosi towards the coast.
Several men seen amongst the Zoolas are marked by small pox. Amakinguani, another king who supported Chaka in his claim to the Zoola chieftainship, was afterwards attacked and completely destroyed by him.
REDAKTEUR
Uitgesoek, geredigeer en van verklarings voorsien deur Percival R. Kirby, Professor Emeritus (Musiek en die Geskiedenis van Musiek), Universiteit van die Witwatersrand, Johannesburg