No White Feathers: Misreading a Key Element of the Material Culture of the Witbooi Nama in 1904

At the outset of the German -Herero War in January, 1904, the white soldiers of the Schutztruppe and its reserves were bolstered by several hundred African allies.  The largest group of these native soldiers was a contingent of about 120 men from a Nama sub-group known as the Witboois. 

They were an Oorlam or mixed race people and the last of five Oorlam clans that made the the trek north from the Cape in the early to mid-19th century to settle in what is now south central Namibia.  Since then, the Witbooi have assimilated more thoroughly with the Nama, referring themselves by the clan name ǀKhowesin in the Khoikhoigowab or Damara/Nama language, but during the German colonial period they more commonly used a variant of Afrikaans, and the name "Witbooi "means just what it sounds like in that language.

Hendrik Witbooi (d.1905) and others wearing the knotted white turban of their clan

Their leader during the critical period between 1885 and 1905 was Hendrik Witbooi, a remarkable person who fought against both the Germans and the Herero in the 1890s, then allied with the colonial power until October of 1904 when he lead his people in a guerrilla war of resistance.

Hendrick Witbooi and Nama Horsemen wearing Imperial armbands (likely late 1890s).

 The men riding with Hendrick Witbooi in the image, above, wear white turbans around the crown of their hats, and in one case, a pith helmet with a hatband in Imperial colors.  Many writers have concluded that the tail end of white cloth that extends above the knot on the top of the hat, clearly visible in this and other contemporary images as well as in versions of the Witbooi turban used today as ceremonial regalia,  is actually a white feather.  I believe this comes from a misreading of a section of Witbooi's  October 3, 1904 letter in which he announces his declaration of war ; 

"...I have now stopped walking submissively and will write a letter to the [German] Captain saying that I have put on the white feather and that the time is over when I will walk behind him ̧ The Savior himself will now act and He will free us through His grace and compassion...."
 
It is clear from the images provided here that this is not a correct interpretation of the meaning of Witbooi's (translated) words.  It is the turban itself to which he refers, worn during times of war. A metaphorical feather, perhaps, is formed by the topknot, but there is no evidence that a real feather was ever stuck in the turban, nor is one used in modern versions of the same turban (color photos below courtesy of the Gibeon Village Council website).

Reverend Hendrick Witbooi (1934-2009) wearing the traditional knotted white turban covering the crown of his hat.

Honor guard at Rev. Witbooi's funeral, including horsemen wearing the knotted white turban.

An image of Lt. Gen. Lothar v. Trotha inspecting Witbooi troopers at Okahandja in June 1904 (source Bayer)

Fate was not kind to the Witbooi troopers who served under the Germans during the Herero War of 1904.  19 of them deserted with their arms after Hamakari and returned to Hendrik Witbooi at their home place of Gibeon.  It is said that they were alarmed that their people might be crushed just as brutally by the Germans as the Herero and that their report was part of what motivated Witbooi to declare war in October, 1904.  

The remaining 90 or more Witbooi auxiliaries were disarmed when hostilities began with the Nama and were sent in a group of 118 prisoners to labor in German Togo where at least 63 of them died of disease. The survivors were transferred to German Cameroon in 1905 along with more Witbooi Nama prisoners, and there were more deaths in exile until they were  finally repatriated to Southwest Africa by Governor Lindquist after the fighting found down and the Nama had been broken and decimated.

First Batch Painted Dismounted DSWA Schutztruppen 25mm - 30mm

Dismounted DSWA Schutztruppe Miniatures,  25mm - 28mm Figures, Various Manufacturers

In addition to the four mounted figures featured in the previous post, I have also finished painting my first batch of Schutztruppe figures on foot.  These include officers, NCOs, a musician, a two figure wounded set, and a number of private soldiers from a range of manufacturers in 25mm - 28mm scale.  Those who wargame in 25mm scale will need to rely on a large number of  Matchlock/Falcon and Askari's figures for this period, while choices are more numerous and varied  in 28mm.

Officer and men, Honourable Lead Boilersuit Company (HLBS), 28mm

These three figures are from the Honourable Lead Boilersuit Company's late, lamented German Colonial line.  I picked them up on Ebay last November, but based them and repainted everything from the neck down, mainly because they were in their gray, home uniforms rather than tropical khaki "feldrock".  I wish I had the ability to paint the eyes the way these were done by the previous owner, however, and aspire to develop that technique.  I have another, rather expensive eBay lot of HLBS that requires complete repainting and includes duplicates of these three figures, along with three other soldiers advancing, two other officers, an NCO and a two man Maxim gun section.  HLBS Co.'s Schutztruppe came properly equipped with cavalry boots and accoutrements and I wish they were still in production.  The commander figures are extremely helpful for meeting the field, line and staff officer requirements to complete the German forces in the  much anticipated Jones /Alvarado Herero War scenario and rules book.

Brigade Games, Great War in Africa, Germans in Slouch Hats

HLBS is comparable in scale to the 28mm Great War in Africa figures produced by Brigade Games.  Although they are wearing puttees and do not have the cavalry accoutrements  that were issued to the Schutztruppe in Southwest Africa, I have a few of these and they paint up well.  I also painted the German big game hunter from a set in Wargames Foundry's 28mm Darkest Africa Line, complete with monocle, as if he were an officer in the Schutztruppe.  It's not easy to find on the Foundry website, but is often

Foundry, Big Game Hunter 28mm

offered directly from the manufacturer on eBay.

Pulp Miniatures make lively and robust 28mm German colonial figures, both Schutztruppe and Seebataillon, and though they too lack the ammunition belts and harness that were issued in Southwest Africa, they are wonderfully detailed , very clean sculpts.  I painted up two in Südwester hats and one marine in a feldcap as if he were in the Schutztruppe.  I worked very hard to get all the detail painted correctly on his hat, including the blue piping around the crown of the hat and a leather chin strap above the visor.  It took me longer to finish painting these than the

Pulp Figures, Colonial Germans 28mm

others, in part because their faces were sometimes hard to get at with my brush and also because of the richness of the detail.  While they are slightly larger than the HLBS and Brigade Games figures it is not particularly noticeable when they are mixed together.

Tiger miniatures produce Schutztruppe figures that are larger than the 28mm offerings from other manufacturers, with some approaching 30mm scale.  The one I painted up, an officer in a double breasted greatcoat, shown here with a Tiger mounted Schutztruppe figure that was discussed in the previous post.  The officer on foot came with a five figure artillery crew, and when he is placed next to smaller figures such as those produced by Old Glory, Askari, or the diminutive

Tiger Miniatures, 30mm

Matchbox/Falcon lines , he is a true giant.  Tiger sculpts are rougher than the others brands discussed here, but a careful paint job can help add detail and they have figures advancing at the trail that are not available elsewhere, so I am likely to include a few of these on my table.

Old Glory makes a 4 figure German Maxim gun set that they call their Spanish Fantasy Pack (SAW-26).  It took a while for them to get my order straight but once I received the right set I painted up the officer as if he were wearing the brownish "kord waffenrock" piped in blue with blue cuffs and collar and silver

Old Glory Germans from the SAW and Boxer Ranges, 25mm

litzen (white for private solders) at the collar and cuffs.  Here he is, at left, with another Old Glory mounted officer figure that I shared earlier.  He is too small to stand in a unit with the Tiger figures but can serve with the other 28mm makes.

Askari Miniatures produced these wonderful 25mm  figures, below, as part of a four piece Schutztruppe command set released last October.  I am very pleased to have been able to paint the cord and tastle around the bugle on the musician's back in the imperial colors, and the blue and white "swallows nest" on each shoulder.  The tip of the rifle snapped off, unfortunately, but I am still delighted with how the figure turned out.  The officer with the drawn sword makes a nice change from the many others with binoculars.  Askari are closer to 26mm in scale, a bit small along side the 28mm but still usable with them.

Askari Miniatures, German Commander and Musician, 25mm

Matchlock Miniatures produces most (but not all) of the German Colonial figures originally sculpted by Falcon.  As Falcon has been unresponsive to my efforts to contact them, I have made two purchases from Matchbox, ordering single figures in each pose.  They are very small, a true 25mm, and will not look right next to those that are 28mm or larger.   Most are sculpted as if wearing the corduroy waffenrock uniform, and they include some unusual figures such as these walking wounded.  My plan is to use a small number of these dismounted figures on my table, and perhaps to paint some of them as Hereros in captured uniforms (though the scale issue will be a factor there as well).

Matchlock/Falcon Miniatures, 25mm

I painted all of these figures in a mix of Vallejo Acrylics.  The khaki is largely German Camouflage Orange Ochre 128 with lighter and darker shades created by adding either Dark Sand or Ochre Brown.  I used a range of blues and grays to get the hat and trim colors, and the leather is a base of Cavalry Brown with a touch of Light Rust and New Wood.  I also used English Uniform and Tan Yellow, as the khaki and corduroy were often mixed even in the same unit and faded to a range of shades. 

I am still working on how best to add highlights and shading to faces, as was done with the HLBS figures, above, and  how much I want to outline edges in a darker color to make things like chevrons and marksman's cords stand out.  I still have not solved the problem of how to make the shoulder straps in this scale look like they are comprised of 4 cords woven in imperial colors.  Still, I feel good about what I've managed to do thus far.  Next up,  Native Auxiliaries (Witboois)!  Meanwhile, here is the vanguard of the Schutztruppe to take its curtain call.

First Batch of Painted, Mounted Schutztruppen (25mm - 30mm)

DSWA Schutztruppen on Horseback, Various Manufacturers

Mounted Rider with Slung Rifle (Matchlock 25mm)

The German Southwest Africa Schutztruppe was mounted infantry, and during the German - Herero War of 1904 the riders fought most of their engagements on foot.  The Jones - Alvarado Herero War Scenario and Rules Book, scheduled for release next month, calls for just a single 8 man mounted section with an officer and NCO and six troopers.  Three mounted command figures are also needed. 

This still presents a challenge, as there are only a few sources for mounted Schutztruppen in 25mm or 28mm scale, and one of the best - those from the Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company - are no longer in production.

Nevertheless, I managed to find 10 HLBS mounted figures, including an officer, NCO and eight riders, in an unpainted condition on eBay.  They are 28mm scale, came from a seller in France and were a steal - not always the case.   I have painted one of the HLBS riders up in a test batch of 4 mounted figures, one from each manufacture.  The results are here before you.

The single rider, above, is from Matchlock

HLBS, left and Tiger Miniatures, right: 28mm

Miniatures, cast using molds from Falcon Miniatures USA .  I have found Falcon to be singularly unresponsive to requests for its own offerings.  Not so with Matchlock, which has many but not all of the falcon Line available.  This figutre is in true 25mm scale and looks positively hobbit like next to the largest figures from HLBS and Tiger miniatures (at right).  The Tiger trooper, closer to 30mm than 28mm, came in a set with 2 riders on camels, but I swapped out the mount for a horse that came with another set with 2 riders wearing WWI era Tropenhelms.

The last figure, below,  is a German officer from the Old Glory Boxer Rebellion range that came in the Great Powers High Command set of six mounted figures representing the various powers that fought in China in 1900.  It is a hefty 25mm scale that works with 28mm figures.  He required a little bit of putty to fill in a gap in the brim of his Südwester hat but is one of only a couple of options for mounted German commanders available that will work for this period and his horse is suitably spirited.

Old Glory German High Command Figure (Boxer range, 25mm)

Alternate View, Old Glory German Commander

I have decided to use the Tiger and HLBS figures for my gaming table.  Possibly I will paint one of each as Hereros in captured uniforms, perhaps one of them as a Herero commander.  That will still give me enough to meet my needs for mounted Germans, though I would very much like to have another Officer figure.

No manufacture of mounted Schutztruppen thus far has sculpted horses with proper tack and associated accoutrements, including the bucket holders for the rifles that were attached to the saddle in front of the rider's right leg. There is a good possibility, though, that Askari Miniatures will produce mounted Germans this year. They are closer to 26mm in size, but beggars cannot be choosers and I am sure will be as admirably detailed as their dismounted compatriots.

Tiger Mounted and Dismounted Figures (really 30mm, esp the officer)

Mounted Schutztruppen: Tiger, HLBS, Old Glory, Matchlock/Falcon

Scenics: Springbok Herd and a Lion

Antelope from Irregular Miniatures Painted as Springbok

I'm working through my first batches of German Schutztruppe, both mounted and on foot, and it's taken me longer than the first Hereros did because I've been struggling to get the paint mix right for the various shades of faded khaki and corduroy brown (not to mention the whites of their eyes).

Along the way, I've taken the opportunity to use some of that excess paint to work on some scenic elements, particularly wildlife.  That has been a welcome change, using different techniques, and I'm quite pleased with the results.

Here are some antelope figures I picked up from Irregular Miniatures and have painted as Springbok.

They work fine for 28mm scale, though they are well fed little antelope and my partner teases me about my "goats".  I am very fond of them, as they remind me of the herds I used to see in Namibia.  I used a palette of orange ocher mixed with sand yellow for their fur, and dark brown with grey highlights for the horns.   I have other antelope that I will get around to painting - gemsbok and greater kudu,- and my gaming table could start to look like Etosha Pan (which would really only be appropriate only for the attack of 500 Owambo warriors on a handful of Schutztruppe at Fort Namutoni).

The springbok seem blissfully unaware that there is danger nearby.  I picked up this lion in a Big Game Hunt set by Foundry that also had a great German figure in a Sudwester hat and a monocle, and some Africans in European clothing who have gone off to join the Herero forces.  I used various tans and sand colors for his tawny coat, dry brushing the mane and using a stone gray for his underbelly.  I am especially pleased by his eye, the same orange ocher as the Springbok with a black spot in the center which I added with the aid of a round, pointed toothpick.  I have more to do with the groundwork on this figure and will be adding tufts of grass, but he is quite splendid and I guess I'll have to get some crouching lionesses to add to his pride.

Images of Herero Leaders: Tjetjo Kandji and Traugott Tjetjo

Tjetjo Kandji in dark coat, center, and his son Traugott Tjetjo on the white horse

This is one of my favorite images of Herero leaders from the German colonial period in Southwest Africa.  I cannot find an electronic version of it online without watermarks, and if you expand this one you will see a faint white grid superimposed across the photograph.  Originals are in the United Evangelical Mission Archives, Wuppertal. There is also second variant of this image, in which the man next to the chicken has moved slightly and the riders are oriented on a slightly different angle.

The man on the dark horse at the center of the image, wearing a dark coat and with a kerchief under his hat, is Tjetjo Kandji, a leader of an eastern group of Hereros.  His son Traugott Tjetjo is also in the image.  He rides a white horse and wears a sash over his uniform.  There is no way to be certain in this black and white photograph, but it could be the red sash worn as a badge of office by those service as police in German Southwest Africa.   The photograph itself may have been taken in the mid 1890s, during the boundary dispute over which areas would be reserved for African settlement and those that would be restricted for the colonists.

These two men were central, tragic figures in the dispossession of the Herero in Southwest Africa, but also skilled military leaders who dealt the Germans one of their greatest battlefield defeats of the 1904 war.  

Tjetjo unsuccessfully opposed Governor Leutwein's elevation of  Samuel Maharero as paramount chief, contrary to Herero dual descent inheritance and clan structures. He inherited most of the wealth of Maharero Tjamuaha through matrilineal (Eanda) descent, and supported the old chief's half brother and war leader, Riarua , over Samuel Mahareo as Herero chief at Okahandja.  The Germans backed Samuel, however, and Tjetjo was eventually compelled to surrender other inherited cattle to Samuel in 1895 and to recognize him as his paramount chief. 

Following the German war in 1896 with the Otjiherero-speaking Ovambanderu people and their Namaqua allies the Khauas-Khoi, one of Samuel's lieutenant's, Kajata, moved into Tjetjo's territory on the Black Nossob and raided the cattle of his followers.  Traugott Tjetjo retaliated and rode with the Germans on cattle raids of their own.  Several hundred Mbanderu were disarmed and placed under his control after one raid.  These cattle raids were instigated to offset the devastating lose of Herero herds to the Rinderpest outbreak and were necessitated to pay off debts to European traders, which was a factor contributing to the tension and resentment that lead to the German-Herero war of 1904.  In 1899, the Germans moved to disarm Tjetjo and Traugott's people because they refused to register their rifles.

 In early January, 1904, Tjetjo was in the Gobabis district. On January 6th, less than a week before the opening of hostilities, Tjetjo met with Kurt Streitwolf , a German official who reported afterward to his superiors that he believed that war was not imminent. 

Tjetjo's people represented a considerable force, estimated in February by Streitwolf to have at least 1,000 men (with 500 rifles) moving from Kehoro toward the Onjati Mountains.  Governor Leutwein sent the Ostabteilung under Seebataillon Major von Glasnapp to prevent them from escaping to Bechuanaland.  Instead, Tjetjo and his band stayed ahead of the Germans, moving north.  Tjetjo ultimately rounded on them at Owikokerero, where an advance party of the Germans, including a large number of officers, suffered heavy casualties.  A second battle between Tjetjo's people and von Glasnapp's force at Okaharui ended the campaign for the Ostabteilung.

After the battle of Hamakari,  Tjetjo and Traugott and another chief called Mambo retreated along the dry Eiseb River into the Omaheke desert.  They travelled seperately from the main Herero groups under Samuel and his other followers, and were vulnerable both to thirst and to the pursuing Germans.  Major von Estorff's column attacked Tjetjo's people at Owinuau Naua and forced them to flee further into the desert.  Tjetjo ultimately died of thirst near a waterhole called Oruaromunjo.  Mambo is reported to have died of exhaustion, and Traugott Tjetjo is also believed to have died along with so many others trying to reach Bechuanaland.

Images of Herero Leaders: Mbandjo/Bandju.

from an 1897 woodblock engraving

One of the less well known African leaders from the period of the German - Herero War of 1904 was Mbandjo (Banjo/ Bandju), the headman of the Herero who lived in the vicinity of Otjombonde, a few days travel to the north of Omaruru. 

Mbandjo was the leader of a  northern Herero community that followed traditional practices rather than Christianity. The woodcut at left shows him as he appeared in 1897, wearing the regalia of a Herero headman, including a necklace of large white seashells.

Mbandjo is mentioned in the Journal of Gustaf De Vylder, a naturalist and trader who made several excursions in Hereroland in the mid 1870s.  During a trek made by ox wagon between Omaruru and Otjozondjupa near the Waterberg, De Vylder notes that while stopped at Ondombo:  "The chief, Bandju, came and begged as usual for everything he saw.  He selected a rifle that he said he wished to buy."  The next day De Vylder "bought a 'kru' bird from Banju for a rifled musket." 

Aside from illustrating the complex mercantile system that influenced and affected the economy of traditional  Herero communities during this period, De Vylder's account also shows that he had met Mbanjo before and that as a European trader he viewed the Africa leader's interest in receiving a gift of valuable trade goods with disdain.

Mbandjo was still the headman of the Otjombonde Herero at the time of the Rinderpest

outbreak in 1897, and is described in German accounts as allowing his herds to be vaccinated and his sick cattle shot for their gall to be used for inoculation.  Around this same period, most likely at the same time that the portrait was made, above, another image was taken of Mbandjo and his family,  later reproduced as the fancifully tinted German colonial postcard, at right.

I have not yet determined Chief Mbandjo's and his followers movements  prior to the battle of Hamakari at the Waterberg.  Possibly he fought against Captain Franke's 2nd Feldcompanie at Omaruru in February or against Estorff's Westabteilung at Otjihaenamaperero in March, 1904.  Captured Herero leader Zacharias Zeraua reported under interrogation that during the flight through the Omaheke, Mbandjo was among the Herero leaders who were gathered at Osombo Onjatu on the Eiseb River in September.  Subsequent margin notes on his testimony thought by historian Jan-Bart Gewald to have been made by Major Ludwig von Estorff indicate that Mbanjo was dead, and one of his sons, Moses Mbandjo or M'Buanjo, was among the leaders of the Herero survivors who returned to Southwest Africa after the South African invasion in 1915 and later headman in Omaruru. 

First Batch of Painted and Based Herero Figures

Mix of figures from Perry, Black Tree, Foundry. North Star, Askari and Empress

This is my first effort at painting up the very large number of figures from numerous manufacturers that I have pulled together for this project.  I'm still getting a feel for both painting and basing, and this includes everything from how to get the eyes right to finding the right mix of colors.  I decided to start with the Hereros, and these are the result.

I decided to paint up examples of each of the figures I am using to represent the Herero during the German-Herero War of 1904.  They range from Empress and Askari, which are closer to 25mm, all the way up to Tiger which approaches 30mm. I am using Vallejo paint and have given them simple bases.  One or two of them were actually cast as boers but make excellent Hereros in European clothing.  I'll describe the process further in subsequent posts, but for now, here they are to enjoy.

Black Tree (from a boer set)

Perry Mafeking and Askari Herero

Tiger, North Star, Brigade Games, Foundry, Black Tree, Redoubt

Tiger, Redoubt, Foundry (some of the largest figures)

North Star Africa! range  Matabele rebels make great Herero!

Brigade Games, Black Tree and Foundry.  The rider and kneeling figure are boer sculpts.