Day of the Vow

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The Day of the Vow was a public holiday in South Africa until 1994. It has now been replaced by the Day of Reconciliation although in some Afrikaner circles it retains its original significance as a private religious holiday.

1 Origin
2 Wording
3 Social Debates Over the Holiday
4 Present Activities
5 External links

[edit] Origin

The day is observed as a religious holiday by some Afrikaners in memory of The Battle of Blood River between a group of about 470 Voortrekkers and a much larger Zulu force on 16 December 1838.

Before the battle, the Voortrekkers had received word that a force of 10 to 20 thousand Zulu was approaching. Certain of being overwhelmed, the Voortrekkers assumed a prime defensive location at what is now known as Blood River. As the Zulus approached, the Voortrekkers prayed that they would not be killed. The name Day of the Vow stems from this prayer, in which they made a covenant to God that, if they were delivered, they would build a church there and keep the day as a holy Sabbath for them and all that followed in their lineage. At the end of the battle, only three Afrikaners were wounded, although over 3,000 Zulu warriors had lost their lives. The Voortrekkers built a church at the location, and passed the vow to their descendants.

[edit] Wording

The wording of the Vow in Afrikaans is as follows :

Hier staan ons voor die heilige GOD van hemel en aarde om ´n gelofte aan Hom te doen dat as Hy ons sal beskerm en ons vyand in ons hand sal gee, ons die dag en datum elke jaar as ´n dankdag soos ´n sabbat sal deurbring, en dat ons ´n huis tot sy eer sal oprig waar dit Hom behaag, en dat ons ook aan ons kinders sal sê dat hulle met ons daarin moet deel tot nagedagtenis ook vir die opkomende geslagte.

Want die eer van Sy naam sal verheerlik word deur die roem en die eer van oorwinning aan hom te gee.

[edit] Social Debates Over the Holiday

Some have said that racial superiority was encouraged by the victory, claiming it to be a sign from God confirming the white people over the black people. This also was interpreted by some to be a sort of divine seal upon the Boers settling and taking power in South Africa. The holiday has been critiqued by some, who say that it is a racist holiday, celebrating successful white western imperialism over the native African Zulus. Those who still celebrate the holiday hold that the commemoration has nothing to do with racial dynamics; rather it is simply a day of remembering thanksgiving for a divine deliverance from a brutal and certain destruction. They claim that such thanksgiving is outside of whether the victors were of a certain race and the defeated were of another.

[edit] Present Activities

After 1994, the holiday was renamed the Day of Reconciliation to foster reconciliation and national unity.

The day remains Christian significance for some Afrikaners in South Africa, with special church services held in commemoration. Some emigrants from South Africa also still hold this day in reverence.