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Photo, Print, Drawing Khoi Women Dancing. Vijf danssende Hottentottinnen

About this Item

Title

  • Khoi Women Dancing.

Other Title

  • Vijf danssende Hottentottinnen

Summary

  • These depictions of Khoi women are from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. In these drawings, the artist has caught the movement of the bodies, clothing, and beads. The annotation, in Dutch, refers to "five dancing Hottentot women," the latter being the historic name given to the Khoikhoi at the time of white settlement, and now considered derogatory. The note under the middle dancer states: "This one seems to be a widow who has had the first joint of the little finger amputated, by which she is indicating that she is willing to marry once more. Before she could marry a third time, the first joint of the next finger will have to go." This appears to have been a custom among the Khoi, reported by several authors. Much information about the Khoikhoi is available from early European accounts, but few illustrations exist. The drawings in the collection were made in situ and, unlike most early European depictions of the Khoikhoi, were never filtered through the eyes of European engravers. The artist most likely was a Dutchman, born in the 17th century, who was attached in some capacity to the Dutch East India Company and possibly en route to the Dutch East Indies or on his way back to the Netherlands when he visited the Cape. Evidence suggests that the drawings were made no later than 1713, and possibly a good deal earlier. Most of the drawings have annotations, in Dutch, made by another person, also unidentified, after 1730.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [1700 to 1740]

Headings

  • -  South Africa--Western Cape
  • -  1700 to 1740
  • -  Cape of Good Hope
  • -  Folk dancing
  • -  Indigenous peoples
  • -  Khoikhoi (African people)
  • -  Manners and customs
  • -  Women

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  "Also known as: Five dancing Hottentot Women. Reproduced as Plate 13 in: The Khoikhoi at the Cape of Good Hope: Seventeenth-century drawings in the South African Library / text by Andrew B. Smith, from which this description is adapted. On recto of Khoikhoi drinking from kaross (INIL 6263v); number 6263 of a set: INIL 6250-6264."--Note extracted from World Digital Library.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 drawing : pen and black ink and wash on paper ; 24 x 37 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: National Library of South Africa.
  • -  Content in Dutch.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • The Khoikhoi at the Cape of Good Hope

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021670548

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Khoi Women Dancing. Western Cape South Africa, 1700. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1740] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670548/.

APA citation style:

(1700) Khoi Women Dancing. Western Cape South Africa, 1700. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1740] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670548/.

MLA citation style:

Khoi Women Dancing. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1740] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021670548/>.