'De la Rey' and the Revival of 'Boer Heritage': Nostalgia in the Post-apartheid Afrikaner Culture Industry

An Afrikaans popular song about a general of the Anglo-Boer War, 'De la Rey' was received with great enthusiasm among white Afrikaans-speakers in 2007, but also generated much controversy about the possible implications of re-ethnicisation among Afrikaners. What did this manifestation of p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of southern African studies Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 763 - 779
Main Authors: van der Waal, Kees (C.S.), Robins, Steven
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford Taylor & Francis Group 01.12.2011
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects:
African culture
African history
Afrikaaners
Afrikaans language
Afrikaners
Apartheid
Boundaries
Business
Celebrations
Cultural heritage
Cultural identity
Cultural preservation
Cultural property
Ethnic Identity
Ethnicity
Germanic Languages
Heroes
Identity
Identity Politics
Industry
Language culture relationship
Language history
Language use
Legitimacy
Markets
Music
Nostalgia
Political identity
Political parties
Politics
Popular culture
Popular songs
Public Sphere
Race
Reactions to Political Threat and Upheaval
Resilience
South Africa
Southern African cultural groups
Threat
Transformation
Trucks
War
White people
Whites
ISSN:0305-7070, 1465-3893
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:An Afrikaans popular song about a general of the Anglo-Boer War, 'De la Rey' was received with great enthusiasm among white Afrikaans-speakers in 2007, but also generated much controversy about the possible implications of re-ethnicisation among Afrikaners. What did this manifestation of popular culture say about the resilience of Afrikaner identity and the impact of the New South Africa? This article examines the ways in which this song entered into the post-apartheid public sphere, and investigates how De la Rey revivalism can be related to Afrikaners' experience of post-apartheid transformation. The 'De la Rey song' was created for a market that was ripe for a nostalgic celebration of a revamped but less party-political Afrikaans ethnic identity. The song soon became a rallying point for Afrikaners who perceived themselves to be under threat from the ANC government. The heroic figure of De la Rey was invoked as a saviour who would be able to lead the threatened Afrikaners symbolically to a safe place. The song tapped into the profoundly unsettled identity politics of many white Afrikaans-speakers whose continued commitment to a racially exclusivist identity was no longer politically acceptable. The song succeeded because it was a muted affirmation of white Afrikaner identity and helped to reassert the imagined boundaries of white Afrikanerdom while speaking the legitimate language of history and cultural heritage.
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ISSN:0305-7070
1465-3893
DOI:10.1080/03057070.2011.617219