Africo was the leader of a Khoekhoe clan living near the Sonderend River in 1737 [MS]. When Georg Schmidt arrived in the area that year, he pitched his tent at Africo’s kraal [MS]. Africo became one of Schmidt’s best students, and in 1742 he was among the first people Schmidt baptised, with the name Christian [MS]. The meeting of 1738 that the valley will mark in 2038 began, in practice, as a welcome at his kraal.
What the letters in square brackets mean
Facts on this page are followed by a tag that shows where they come from.
- [IC] Independently Corroborated. Confirmed by at least two sources that do not depend on each other, or by an official record.
- [MS] Mission-Sourced. Comes from Moravian records, above all Georg Schmidt’s own diary, and the histories written from it. Almost everything known about Africo was written by Schmidt. No account from Africo’s side survives.
- [TBV] To Be Verified. Seems likely, but nobody has confirmed it yet.
At a glance
| Born | Not known |
| Died | Not known. He had died before the missionaries returned in 1792 [MS]. |
| Known for | Hosting Georg Schmidt at his kraal in 1737, and being among the first people baptised in the valley [MS] |
| Link to the valley | The Khoekhoe leader who first received Georg Schmidt |
His life
In 1737 Africo led a clan whose kraal stood near a Dutch East India Company cattle post called Soetmelksvlei, roughly halfway between present-day Genadendal and Riviersonderend [MS]. The company had expanded its post there in 1727, to farm timber and cattle [IC]. Africo’s people lived beside the colony’s frontier and its demand for cattle.
He owned a hartebeeshuis, a house of reeds, mud, and thatch [MS]. When Schmidt arrived later in 1737, he pitched his tent at Africo’s kraal and began teaching there [MS]. In 1738 Schmidt and eighteen followers moved to Sergeants River, the place later called Baviaanskloof and now Genadendal [MS]. The sources do not say whether Africo’s whole clan moved with him.
Africo learned Dutch and helped Schmidt in his first months [MS]. He was one of Schmidt’s four best students, with Kupido, Willem, and Vehettge (Magdalena) [MS]. In December 1739 Schmidt recorded Africo adding a clay wall to a matjieshuis, a house of reed mats [MS].
In 1742 Schmidt baptised him with the name Christian [MS]. The historian Mansell Upham, working from Schmidt’s records, describes Africo as Willem’s brother-in-law [MS]. Some accounts say he was the first person Schmidt baptised, and others say Willem was first, on 2 April 1742 [MS]. The sources name five people baptised in that year: Christian (Africo), Josua (Willem), Jonas (Kybbodo or Kupido), Christina, and Magdalena (Vehettge) [MS].
Nothing is known of his later life. He had died by the time the missionaries returned in 1792 [MS].
Links to other figures
- Georg Schmidt taught first at his kraal, and baptised him in 1742.
- Magdalena was a fellow student and was baptised in the same year.
- Soeswa had led the Chainoqua, the Khoekhoe people of this part of the Overberg, eighty years earlier. Whether Africo’s clan was Chainoqua is not recorded [TBV].
What is still open
- His Khoekhoe name. “Africo” may be a name given by colonists [TBV].
- Which Khoekhoe group his clan belonged to.
- Whether he moved to Baviaanskloof in 1738, and where he lived after Schmidt left in 1744.
- When he died, and whether families in the valley descend from him.
Related
- Valley History
- Khoekhoe
- Chainoqua
- History of the Valley
- Georg Schmidt
- Magdalena
- Kupido and Willem
- Christina
- Soeswa
References
- Genadendal Project. History of Genadendal and Surrounds. His kraal near Soetmelksvlei, his house, the move of 1738, the clay wall of 1739, and his baptismal name.
- Millard, J.A. (1999). Tikhuie, Vehettge Magdalena. Dictionary of African Christian Biography. Schmidt’s four best students, and Africo as the first convert baptised.
- Moravian Church in America. Coffee with Moravian Ancestors: Georg Schmidt (2021). The five baptisms and the names given.
- Muatze (Mansell Upham). Moravian missionary Georg Schmidt (1709 to 1785) prohibited (1742) from baptising Cape of Good Hope aborigines (2022). Willem as Africo’s brother-in-law, and the date of Willem’s baptism.
- Wikipedia. Genadendal. The first converts and their baptismal names.
- Schmidt, G. and others (1981). Das Tagebuch und die Briefe von Georg Schmidt, dem ersten Missionar in Südafrika (1737 to 1744). Bellville: Wes-Kaaplandse Instituut vir Historiese Navorsing (Western Cape Institute for Historical Research). See Georg Schmidt’s Diary. The primary source for his life.