First Fifty Years - a project collating Cape of Good Hope records

Osaoa of the Goringhaiqua¹

M, #18915, b. circa 1630

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Last Edited

25/01/2018

BirthOrigin*

Osaoa was presumably born in the area of what is now Cape Town and was perhaps born circa 1630. The date is estimated based on him being described as a chief Caapmans in 1658.²

(Member) PeopleGroup

In 1652 Gogosoa was the leader of the Goringhaiqua, a Khoen group which Van Riebeeck said comprised about 300 fighting men. The number of women and children was not recorded, but if each of these men had a wife and just one child, the group would have numbered around 900. They lived closest to the VOC settlement and claimed the area as their own. They also appear in the record as Choeringaina, Goeringaiqua and Goringhoina, and were also called Caepmans/Caapmans by the settlers. Together with the Goringhaicona and the Gorachouquas they were one people, although quite fractious at times, with the Goringhaiquas being the senior group. They were the ancestral people of the modern day Korana . The Goringhaiquas included the following indidividuals: Osinghkamma, Khuma, Otegno, Doman and Osaoa.²

(Abductee) Abduction

Between 22 June 1658 and 23 June 1658 Schacher, Pieter and Osaoa were abducted by Johan Anthoniszoon van Riebeeck and the council in an attempt to force Gogosoa of the Goringhaiqua to hand over to the settlers the slaves (most if not all of whom were Angolan) who had recently absconded. They were held against their will in the kitchen of the surgeon, and were to be well treated. This enraged Doman of the Goringhaiqua who blamed the develoment on Krotoa of the Goringhaicona and he proceeded to insistently demand that in the interests of fairness that one of Herry of the Goringhaicona's people also be detained. After consulting Willem Bastincq a visiting senior merchant, the council resolved to also take Jan Cou as a hostage, which was immediately done.¹

Citations

[S405] H.B. Thom, editor, Journal of Jan van Riebeeck Vol II 1656-1658 translated by J. Smuts from the original Dutch, (Cape Town, Amsterdam: A.A. Balkema, 1954), p.129-130. Hereinafter cited as Journal of Jan van Riebeeck Vol II 1656-1658.
[S846] I. Schapera, editor, The early Cape Hottentots: Olfert Dapper, Willem ten Rhyne en Johannes Gulielmus de
Grevenbroek (http://www.dbnl.org/index.php: DBNL digitale bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse letteren, 2011), p.11, including notes.. Hereinafter cited as The early Cape Hottentots.