December 16 is considered, by many Afrikaners, their most holy day.
It
commemorates the December 16, Battle of Blood River in 1838 when they
believe God gave them an unlikely victory against thousands of Zulu
warriors.
Each year, thousands of Afrikaners gather at the
Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria to celebrate and remember that day and
reaffirm their culture values and beliefs.
New Blood River
In many ways they are once again engaged in a 'new battle of Blood
River' as whites - and in particular Afrikaners - are increasingly
marginalised and denied opportunities in South Africa.
When I shot
these pictures a week ago, it was obvious to me that Afrikaners feel
they are a nation under threat that needs to stand together to protect
their culture.
But somehow this year's event was different to those I
have previously witnessed. Gone was the bravado and arrogance that
previously characterised such "saamtrekke". They appeared resigned to
their future - or maybe they are just battle-weary.
Shaft of Sunlight The
monument is designed in such a way that every year, only on December
16, a shaft of sunlight moves up the steps of the cenotaph and is
centered on it at precisely midday.
I sincerely hope I was not photographing a disappearing nation.
The images were shot with a Nikon F3 film camera on Fuji Neopan 400 and developed in a local version of ID-11.
