Rehoboth honours history at 111th Sam !Khubis commemoration

Heather Erdmann REHOBOTH — The 111th Sam !Khubis commemoration opened in Rehoboth last Thursday with solemn rituals, prayer and reflection as community members marked one of the most significant dates on their cultural calendar. Day one concluded with the Gelofte Diens (Vow Service) at the Hermanus van Wyk Gedenksaal (community hall), followed by a church service at Paulus Lutheran Congregational Church, drawing elders, church leaders and community members into a moment of remembrance shaped by faith, history and identity. The programme began with the lowering of the Mourning Flag (Rou Vlag), the raising of the Namibian and Rehoboth Baster flags, and the lighting of the ceremonial torch (Die Vakkel).

The recitation of the Gelofte (The Vow) followed before the community gathered at the Old Kapteinsboom, a symbolic site of remembrance, ahead of departure for the Sam !Khubis terrain, about 80 kilometres south of Rehoboth. The commemoration marks the 1915 Battle of Sam !Khubis, where the Rehoboth Baster community resisted German colonial forces. The event remains a defining moment of survival, faith and identity, observed annually as part of the community’s living history.