White Tribalism

South Africa's Afrikaners lost the Boer War of 1899-1902 but won the country. Even so, they remain suspicious of the English-speaking white minority, and in moments of political stress, the Afrikaners--whose native tongue is related to Dutch--trot out their sacred tribal memories of the bloody fighting between Boer and Briton. Thus last week, in the midst of a parliamentary debate, Defense Minister Piet Botha declared that there were elements of the predominantly English United Party "who hate the Afrikaner." An opposition member replied, "You're a scandalous liar," and walked out. One M.P. addressed another as "the Honorable Maggot." Other Afrikaner members of the ruling National Party carried on the verbal war, calling English M.P.s "Baboons" and "Jingoes."

Speaking to a gathering of Afrikaners, Prime Minister John Vorster took the Boerehaat (Boer hate) campaign a step further. "Because of the things that threaten us," he cried, "we need a militant youth." Then he quoted a line from an old Boer war song, "I've always been afraid the English soldiers would catch me," adding: "If there's any catching to be done, we will do it, and the time has now come!"

The outbreak of white tribalism seemed especially curious because South Africa's political mood has mellowed in recent years. Opposition leaders suspected that the renewal of Boerehaat could be traced to the troubles of the Afrikaner-dominated National Party, which lost eight seats in the 1970 election and faces continuing tension between its moderate verligte (enlightened) and archconservative verkrampte (narrow-minded) wings.

Boer War barnstorming seemed to be paying off for the Nationalist leaders. At last week's special election in Oudtshoorn, an Afrikaner stronghold 278 miles east of Cape Town, the National Party candidate defeated both his United Party opponent and a right-wing Afrikaner splinter candidate by an unusually wide margin. "An inspiring test of strength," beamed Prime Minister Vorster. Opposition leaders, though, insisted that Oudtshoorn--which is best known in South Africa for the ostriches it raises--was hardly an index of the national mood. "The Afrikaners here will get a shock," said one United Party politician, "when they, like their ostriches, take their heads out of the sand."

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