Who the Korana were
South African History Online describes the Korana (Kora) as a nomadic Khoikhoi group. The name probably comes from a chief called Kora or Gora, originally a leader of the Gorachouqua, who split off with followers and became the first great Korana chief; another suggestion is that the name means “the real thing”. The article says the group began as two main divisions, the Great Korana and the Little Korana, which broke into splinter groups, many of whose names were lost. Splits usually followed quarrels over water, grazing, women or livestock, and a group usually took its leader’s name or the name of a place where it had lived a long time (for example Hoogekraal, the original name of Pacaltsdorp near George). Family names often described a trait or trade, such as the Towenaars (“Sorcerers”) and the Regshande (“Right-handers”).
Migration and settlement
The article says most Korana lived near the Gariep (Orange), Vaal and Harts rivers, while others moved into the Overberg and Karoo, and that in the late 17th century they made their last great trek from the south-western Cape chiefdoms to escape pressure from settlers, travelling north along the western trade routes to the Gariep. They lived among Nama herders and San hunter-gatherers, became well armed and rode horses, and settled in what became Koranaland (Gordonia) in the Free State. The article stresses that raiding was done by a minority of the Korana.
Leaders named in the article
- Karel Ruyter (Ruiters), an escaped slave, chief of the Hoengei group of Gona in the Zuurveld in the mid-18th century.
- Piet Rooi, Jan Kupido, Klaas Lukas and Pofadder. Klaas Lukas, at Olyvenhoutsdrift (Upington), was the most powerful chief.
The 1869 conflict
The article says the colonial government created a special magisterial district and passed the Northern Border Protection Act in 1868, links the tensions to Korana wars of 1869 and 1878 (and describes only 1869 in detail), and says that in 1869 Sir Walter Currie led an armed force that scattered the Korana without capturing them. Klaas Lukas handed over the raid leaders, who were banished to Robben Island. After a long drought he gathered about 1,000 armed men, with support from most of the Korana, Nama Afrikanders under Jacobus Afrikander and Griqua rebels under Gamka Pienaar; the raiders were defeated and came under Cape control, and Korana who rejected colonial rule trekked into the Kalahari. The article says the Cape settled Basters near Upington as a buffer. It also notes that “Baster” is a derogatory term. It ends by saying the Korana have almost entirely disappeared as a separate group through assimilation.
What we have not read
SAHO’s article cites a West Coast history website, khoisan.org, Alan Barnard’s Hunters and Herders of Southern Africa and the Miscast volume; we have read none of them. It is a colonial-period account of the Korana from outside, and we have found no account from descendants. The name list here is the article’s own, and we cannot say who in the Northern Cape or Free State identifies as Korana today.
Izithakazelo and totem
We have found no recorded praises or totem for the Korana, so we are printing none. If you identify as Korana and want family or community history recorded here, with your permission and credited to you, we would like to hear from you.
Sources and further reading
Do you identify as Korana? Tell us your family’s or community’s history and we will add it, credited to you. Share what you know or WhatsApp 065 138 8213.