Camissa Africans, namely those assimilated and classified as ‘Coloured’ by colonialism in the first census of the Union of South Africa and later refined by the Population Registration Act of 1950 by the Apartheid regime, have the following roots of origin.
- Cape Indigenous Africans (42 roots of origin)
- African & Asian Enslaved Peoples (105 roots of origin)
- The Free Blacks of the Cape (same 105 roots of origin as previous)
- Cape Non-Conformist Europeans (18 roots of origin)
- Maroons, Orlam & Drosters (9 original self-determined revived communities)
- Exiles, Refugees & Convicts (7 roots of origin)
- Apprentices, Sailors, Indentures & Other Migrants of Colour (14 roots of origin)
Cape Indigenous Africans
African & Asian Enslaved Peoples
The Free Blacks of the Cape
Cape Non-Conformist Europeans
Maroons, Orlam & Drosters
Exiles, Refugees & Convicts
Apprentices, Sailors, Indentures...
In all, over 195 roots of origin, predominantly African (68%) with Asian admixture (32%) which includes some Eurasian and European roots too. Over 400 years since 1600 these have largely integrated with only one sharp division between those who are organised as old separate traditional indigenous community structures or revived community structures who legitimate self-assert San and Khoe identities, and those who do not follow this path and instead chose to celebrate their multi-ethnic ancestral and cultural heritage including that of indigenous African roots of origin. The Camissa Museum upholds the rights of both of these streams to self-determination and urges mutual respect and understanding without endorsing notions of primacy and opposing any ethno-chauvinist, nationalist, and racist behaviours that can arise from time during tensions between communities. At all times the bottom line in relations between all communities in South Africa has to be governed by mutual respect.
The first stream of roots involved local over 42 local indigenous African roots of origin in the following peoples - ǀXam (including Sonqua and Ubiqua), !Kun, !Kwi, Nǀu, !Ga Ne, Eis [Koow Einas, Naw Keis, Kein Eis], Hoekeikoa, Noueikoa, Au Nameikoa, Cammagakoa, Naningai, Moncoboo [San]; early Khoe-ǁKosa, Thembu, Xhosa Izizwe’ - Gcaleka and Rharhabe, Gqunukhwebe [Inqua, Gonaqua, Gamtoos, Hoengiqua (Gikwa), Ntinde, Thathu, Sukwini, Gqwashu, Cete, Nqarwane] all Khoe-Xhosa; Gouriqua, Attaqua, Outeniqua, Hessequa, Chainouqua, Cochouqua, Goringhaiqua, Gorachoqua, Chariguriqua, and later the splintered off ǁAmmaqua traders (Goringhaicona); Hlubi, Mpondo, Zizi, Bhele, Mpondomise, and Bhaca, (later migrant Nguni formations within the Xhosa confederation of peoples); Nama, the baSotho, baTswana, Ngqosini (a Sotho-Khoe people), Gyzikoa (a Tswana-Khoe people), and the Aukokoa, Kukoa, Namykoa, Naugaap (Kai !Gariep Khoe peoples).
The second stream of roots involves 105 places of origin of African and Asian enslaved persons from Africa and Madagascar (47 300); from India, Sri Lanka, West Bengal & Bangladesh (17 200); and from Southeast Asia (13 500). These places can be identified as – WEST & EAST AFRICA – Guinea-Benin; Cabo Verde; Angola; Tanganyika & Zanzibar (Tanzania); Kenya; Ethiopia/Somalia; MADAGASCAR - Morombe, Toliary, Bezaha, Cape San Marie, Tolerano, Mahavalona, St Augustine Bay, Amboasary; Cape St Andre, Mahajanga, Ambanja, Analalava, Anjanjavi, Vilamatsa; Ambanja; Bay of Antogil, Moroantsetra, Seranambe, Antanambe, Morondava, Isle St Marie; MASBIEKERS – including –Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Congo, Swaziland, Limpopo Province; Mpumalanga Province, KZN Province; MASCARENES - Mauritius and the Mascarene Islands; INDIA - West Bengal, Surat; Mumbai; Goa; Cochin; Tuticorin; Malabar Coast; Kerala; Negapatam; Tranquebar; Pondicherry; Palicat; Masulpatnam; Coromandel Coast; Bay of Bengal; Kolkota; Dakha; SRI LANKA - Colombo; Galle; SOUTHEAST ASIA & CHINA & JAPAN - Myanmar (Arakan/Rakhine); Laos; Siam (Thailand); Vietnam (Tonkin-Hanoi); Cambodia; Singapore; Malaysia (Malacca); Guandong China; Taiwan (Formosa), Philippines; Japan, Brunei; - INDONESIAN ARCHIPELAGO: Sumatra; Nias; Mannacabo; Padang; Djambi; Soekadana; Jakarta (Batavia)/ Java; Cheribon; Teagal; Semarang; Remban; Soerabaya; Bali; Soembawa; Bima; Soemba; Mangersi; Endeh; Saloor; Alor; Timor; Roma; Banda; Ambonya; Madoera; Flores; Sateir; Boeton; Sanpeng; Molaccas; Terenate; Sulawezi/Celebes/Makassar; Borneo; ELSEWHERE - Solomon Islands.
The third stream of roots of the Free Blacks are the same as those of the African-Asian enslaved.
The fourth stream of roots is that of the 18 places of origin of Non-conformist Europeans who self-assimilated with black people. These were from – Dutch, French, German, Portuguese, Scottish, Irish, English, Danes, Belgians, Swiss, Norwegian, Austrian, Italian, Russian, Polish, Spanish, Swedes, Welsh. These diverse peoples of Europe also largely chose to assimilate into a common white settler community.
A fifth stream of roots is that of 9 sub-streams of new revived societies with a strong Khoe refugee foundation but which also assimilated a broad range of ethnicities as Maroons, Drosters and Orlam societies that include the Griqua, Korana, Orlam Afrikaners, Witbooi ǀKhowesen, Hill Damara, Danster Orlam, Springbok Orlam, De Buys Clan, Eastern Cape Marooned shipwreck survivours.
A sixth stream of roots is that of 7 sub-streams of Exiled political religious leaders from across Southeast Asia, persons convicted to serve sentences at the Cape by the VOC court in Batavia, and Refugees from wars and political turbulences such as that in the Philippines and Java. This includes Indonesians, Yemeni Aliyah, Makkah Aliyah, Iraqi Aliyah, Peranakan Chinese, Manilas from Philippines, and Mauritius relocators.
The seventh stream of roots involve at least 14 roots of origin of Apprentices, Indentured Labourers, Liberated Africans and other Migrants of Colour – Liberated Africans, Sidees, Lascars, Kroomen, Saint Helenians, Zanzibaris, Chinese, Caribbeans & African Americans, Australian-Aborigines, Turks, British Indians, British Africans and Masbieker Indentures. Notably in this last two of the seven tributaries new refugees and migrants join South African communities every year. The Camissa African communities have strong Pan-African and Global Community roots and therefore the Camissa Museum opposes any form of Xenophobia from Afro-Phobia to Sino-Phobia that haunts our country and from time to time result in violent extremist behaviours.