Overlooked by history: the intangible heritage of Cornelius Kramer, missionary to the Griqua (1801-1815)

Missionaries played an essential role in developing a Griqua identity at the beginning of the nineteenth century. In this respect, John Campbell, who first coined "Griqua" in August 1813, immediately springs to mind. However, he did not lay the groundwork for uniting various ethnic groups under this new name. It was the missionaries William Anderson and Cornelius Kramer. We examine the life, and intangible heritage of the virtually unknown Dutch missionary, Kramer, who worked amongst the followers of group leaders called kapteins, viz. Barend Barends and Adam Kok II, from 1801 onwards. The missionaries not only spread Christianity north of the Orange River, but they contributed to profound social and cultural realignments in the early 19th-century work at Klaarwater (now Griquatown). Even the unfortunate military attack that Griqua chief Barend Barends launched against the Ndebele in 1831, was strongly inspired by the religious education at Klaarwater.