The De la Rey uprising

When the Johannesburg airport’s name was changed to OR Tambo, an airport sign was vandalised by someone who thought De la Rey International was the way to go. The long-dead South African Anglo-Boer War hero, General Koos de la Rey, has become a new cult figure for many Afrikaners as the result of a song by musician Bok van Blerk.

At Van Blerk’s sold-out concerts, people call for the song De la Rey as he steps on stage. ‘De la Rey, De la Rey, sal jy die boere kom lei? [De la Rey, will you come to lead the Boers?]” they thunder. Van Blerk’s voice is drowned out by the singing crowd, standing to attention, some with old South African flags.

The award-winning music video is a rousing, emotional tour of the Anglo-Boer War, with recreated footage of women in British concentration camps and battlefield bravery.

Van Blerk’s debut CD, also titled De la Rey, is South Africa’s best ever debut album, with 115 000 sales to date. The song has even prompted a statement by Arts Minister Pallo Jordan: ‘Sadly, the popular song is in danger of being hijacked by a minority of right-wingers who not only regard De la Rey as a war hero, but also want to mislead sections of Afrikaans-speaking society into thinking that this is a ‘struggle song’ that sends out a ‘call to arms’.”

Theo Venter, a political analyst from the University of North West, said the song tapped into an emotional and ‘gatvol [fed up]” market, even though De la Rey himself was a peacemaker and reconciler. ‘The song should have been about bellicose General Christiaan de Wet instead, whose name does not rhyme with lei,” he said.

Other Afrikaans musicians are tapping into the ‘gatvol” market. Rock band Klopjag sings: ‘Ek sal nie langer jammer sê nie [I won’t say sorry any more],” in protest against perceived Afrikaner guilt trips about apartheid, while Steve Hofmeyr has become the ultimate Afrikaner-issue activist.

Hofmeyr has been prominent at protest rallies over the proposed change to Pretoria’s name, crime, and for the addition of South African Defence Force members’ names to the Freedom Park memorial.

Venter said Afrikaners were rudderless and that popular musicians who conveyed a message of solidarity and hope filled the leadership void.

‘De la Rey fell on fertile ground,” he said. ‘The Afrikaner is leaderless and feels marginalised. The youth experience a feeling of animosity in the country.”

The Afrikaners’ ‘power loss syndrome” was typical of a group that ruled the roost for many years. Its symptoms included hostility towards the present government and a compensatory belief that it could do better, said Venter. Afrikaans youth, the so-called ‘De la Rey generation”, picked up a lot of their parents’ baggage.

Afrikaner alienation was not high on the ANC government’s agenda, he said. ‘But it would be a pity to ignore them, as they have skills and old money and could make a big difference to the country.”

In an interview, Van Blerk, real name Louis Pepler, said the inspiration for De la Rey was his desire to ‘do something for the language and culture of Afrikaans people. I am a musician, not a politician.”

But he added that the song’s success stemmed from the fact that it restored Afrikaners’ ‘proud place” in history. ‘Young Afrikaners are tired of having the apartheid guilt trip shoved down their throats. This song makes them proud of their heritage.”

Responding to Jordan’s definition of De la Rey as a ‘struggle song”, he said: ‘The implication is not that people should take up arms, it’s just music; I can’t help they way people interpret it.”

Van Blerk said he did not endorse the waving of the old flag at his concerts. ‘It’s baggage,” he said. ‘The Springboks can’t help it if their supporters bring the flag to stadiums, and the same goes for me.”

Stirring lyrics

On a mountain in the night

We are ready