Who the Griqua are
Wikipedia describes the Griqua (also Griekwa) as a mixed-descent, Afrikaans-speaking people of South Africa, with some communities in Namibia. It says they descend from Dutch colonists and local Khoikhoi, with later genetic evidence pointing to Tswana, San and Xhosa ancestry, and that they regard themselves as “South Africa’s first multiracial nation”. The article carries a “needs more citations” banner dated September 2025 and several unresolved tags, so we use it with care and mark where its text is unclear.
Name and origin
The article says the group emerged in the Cape Colony in the 17th and 18th centuries from unions between European men and Khoikhoi women, whose children were shut out of colonial legal status because only Christian marriages were recognised. The term “Basters” was used for such communities; today it is regarded as a derogatory colonial label, and the South African History Online article on the Korana says so. The name “Griqua” is first recorded in 1730 through the Dutch historian Isaak Tirion, and in 1813 the missionary John Campbell of the London Missionary Society used it for a mixed group at Klaarwater, later renamed Griquatown. The article links the name to the Chariguriqua, a Khoikhoi group, through the marriage of Adam Kok I.
Captaincies and treks
- The Kok line. Adam Kok I led followers north from the Cape. His descendants led groups at Philippolis, and Adam Kok III took a large party over the Drakensberg in 1861 to 1863 to found a new territory, with Kokstad as its main centre today. See Kok.
- The Waterboer line. Andries Waterboer became captain at Griquatown in 1820, and the Cape recognised his state by treaty in 1834. Diamonds found in the area in 1866 led to a contest for Griqualand West, which the British annexed in 1880, according to the article. See Waterboer.
- The Le Fleur line. Andries le Fleur campaigned for Griqua land rights from the 1890s. See Le Fleur.
The article says Boer and colonial expansion cost the Griqua their land and traditional economy, that most were classified “Coloured” under apartheid, and that the Griqua Church remains a focus of cultural identity.
Where the Griqua are today
The article lists communities around Campbell and Griquatown (Northern Cape), Kranshoek (Western Cape), Kokstad (KwaZulu-Natal) and parts of Namibia, and says population estimates are uncertain because many people were classified Coloured. It says the National Khoisan Consultative Conference, formed in 2001, represents Khoisan interests and that the Le Fleur clan is prominent in it. At Kranshoek, Don Pinnock’s Daily Maverick report quotes Chief Samuel Jansen saying young people are mostly not interested in their Griqua origins and are “just coloureds now”.
Where the sources disagree or are unclear
Wikipedia calls Cornelius both Adam Kok III’s son and Adam Kok I’s son. Pinnock says Adam Kok I was born about 1710 to a slave mother and an unidentified Dutch father; Wikipedia calls him a former slave who bought his freedom. Neither is cited in a way we could check. The article also uses “Hottentots” for the Khoikhoi, a term now regarded as offensive. Please treat the dates here as the sources’ own.
Izithakazelo and totem
The Griqua do not have a clan praise or totem system that we have found recorded, so we are printing none. If you are Griqua and want family or captaincy histories recorded here, with your permission and credited to you, we would like to hear from you.
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Griqua people (cites Cavanagh 2011, Waldman 2001, Morris 2009, Ross 2022 and others; carries a citation notice)
- Don Pinnock, Daily Maverick: The Kok family and the longest trek in South Africa (2021)
- South African History Online: Kora
See also Korana, Nama and the Khoi and San overview.
Are you Griqua? Tell us the history of your family or captaincy and we will add it, credited to you. Share what you know or WhatsApp 065 138 8213.