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Next to Terry Lumber, no less. Tram cars for the Universal Studios Tour, a few miles to the south on Lankershim Blvd, sit on flatcars delivered by the Van Nuys Local on the Southern Pacific Burbank Branch at North Hollywood, California.
These appear to be of the same generation of trams portrayed in a billboard I saw later on, that can be seen here.
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Governor of Florida Jeb Bush at TurboCam, Barrington, New Hampshire on August 7th by Michael Vadon Part 1 of 4
CONCORD, N.H. —Less than a day after the first debate of the GOP primary, former Florida governor Jeb Bush is back in New Hampshire campaigning.
Less than a day after the first debate of the GOP primary, former Florida governor Jeb Bush is back in New Hampshire campaigning.
At a town hall Friday night in Barrington, Bush spoke about how he won't campaign with anger and instead spoke a lot about policy.
He started his day at Brown's Lobster Pound in Seabrook. After greeting voters -- trying a lobster roll -- Bush told reporters he plans to campaign hard on and off the debate stage between now and the primaries.
"I think I did fine (in the debate). I am who I am," Bush said.
He's declining to criticize his Republican rivals, including Donald Trump, who refused to pledge support to the party's eventual nominee. Instead, Bush says he's focused on sharing his record as governor with voters and letting people get to know who he is.
"So you take advantage of opportunities when you have them, speak from your heart," Bush said. "I don't view this debating as question of winning or losing. It's the cumulative effect of shaping peoples opinion of who you are over the long haul."
Bush said Democrats' attacks against him show he is the candidate they fear most.
"Let me think why they would be. Because maybe it's because they consider me the biggest threat," Bush said.
Jeb Bush – Town Hall Barrington
August 7 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Jeb Bush Town Hall in Barrington
Friday August 7th, 6:00 PM
Turbocam, 863 Franklin Pierce Highway
Barrington, NH
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007.
Bush is the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush, and the younger brother of former President George W. Bush, grandson of the late Prescott Sheldon Bush, American Banker and United States Senator from Connecticut. He grew up in Houston, Texas. He graduated from the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and attended the University of Texas, where he earned a degree in Latin American affairs. Following his father's successful run for Vice President in 1980, he moved to Florida and pursued a career in real estate development. In 1986, Bush was named Florida's Secretary of Commerce, a position he held until his resignation in 1988 to help his father's successful campaign for the Presidency.
In 1994, Bush made his first run for office, narrowly losing the election for governor by less than two percentage points to the incumbent Lawton Chiles. Bush ran again in 1998 and defeated Lieutenant Governor Buddy MacKay with 55 percent of the vote. He ran for reelection in 2002 and won with 56 percent to become Florida's first two-term Republican governor. During his eight years as governor, Bush was credited with initiating environmental improvements, such as conservation in the Everglades, supporting caps for medical malpractice litigation, moving Medicaid recipients to private systems, and instituting reforms to the state education system, including the issuance of vouchers and promoting school choice.
Bush is a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
Volunteer vacation in Kenya, Kenya holidays and safaris, A taste of volunteering14Days 13Nights
Explore the wonders of Kenya while helping those less fortunate than you. This two-week journey gives you a wonderful introduction to the famous safari country whilst also providing you with the opportunity to help some of the abandoned children of the area.
On this trip, you will spend your mornings working at the nearby Children’s Home, Leo community development network(Lecden-kenya)
Leo community development network(Lecden-kenya). Lecden-kenya is a children’s home located near Buru buru phase 1 at Slum called Kiambiu slum, Kibera Laini Saba in Kibera and Kogelo village in Siaya, Kenya, currently housing over two hundred and thirty one abandoned boys and girls, ranging from five to sixteen years old. The children live in dormitories, furnished with small wooden beds. They have access to drop toilets, water and basic showers. There is limited clothing, medical supplies and no school transport.
This permanent home was built in January 1997 on eleven acres of land donated by a generous Kenyan Businessmen. Two acres of the land have been used for the facilities which include one dormitory for boys, one dormitory for girls and arts and crafts, one kitchen/store/dining verandah, three showers and four drop toilets. The remaining land is used as a fruit and vegetable farm. Lecden-kenya committee needs help with their plans to add a vocational training center, including a commercial farm and wood carving shop, for the home and local community.For more information,please visit, www.lecdenkenya.com
When you’re not helping Lecden-Kenya, you’ll stay in a clean, but basic hotel/Hostel in Nairobi city centre. Your meals are of western standard; your rooms will have air conditioning and running hot and cold water, there is also a lovely swimming pool and friendly staff to help you to enjoy your stay.
Your afternoons are spent exploring the wonders of the Kenya Nairobi area, Nairobi Tours.
Bomas Of Kenya , Carnivore Restaurant , Daphne Sheldrick Baby Elephant Orphanage , Giraffe Center , Karen Blixen Museum , Lake Nakuru National Park Day Safari ,Nairobi City Tour ,Nairobi National Park Safari
day-by-day itinerary
departures: The itinerary below is an example of what we can offer. However, the trip can be also be arranged on a tailor-made basis for 2 or more people and altered to suit your requirements. This trip can depart any time to suit you but some set departure dates are available
Day 1: Arrive into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi Kenya. Met and transferred to your Hotel/Hostel. Overnight at Hotel.
Day 2: After breakfast, your driver and the Lecden-Kenya Director will take you to the home, introduce you to the children and the staff and give you a guided tour. The ongoing projects with which you will help, such as farming, building, cooking, home repairs, sewing and just spending time with the children, will be explained and chores designated to each volunteer. You’ll return to the hotel in time for a late lunch. The afternoon is at leisure to ensure you are fully recovered from jetlag and can acclimatize to the heat.
Day 3: After breakfast, it’s back to the home for the start of your projects. You’ll work until lunchtime at which point you’ll return to the hotel for a quick shower before climbing aboard your tour van for a guided Nairobi excursion in the Nairobi National Park with a our tour guide expert who has studied the park for over 20 years. The evening is at leisure.
Day 4: Once again the morning is spent at the home on the various projects. A picnic lunch is taken with you today though, as on your way back to Nairobi national park we’ll stop off at the Giraffe Center for an afternoon guided tour Dinner and overnight at Hotel/Hostel.
Day 5: Back once again to the children for the morning before a return to the hotel at 2pm. The afternoon is at leisure at Bomas Of Kenya tribe’s culture and a traditional African meal.
Day 6: Today you have a day off to explore the area at your leisure or to simply relax on the swimming pool and enjoy the Nairobi ambiance. All meals and overnight at Hotel/Hostel.
Day 7: At your leisure, relaxing while doing the Nairobi city walk or lazing around the pool. Dine and overnight at the Hotel/Hostel.
Day 8: Continue your volunteer work at the home. Lunch is at the hotel where you have a few hours rest before heading to the | Karen Blixen Museum for a nature walk with one of the local guides. Keep an eye out for the best attractions that are found nowhere else in the world! Dinner and overnight at hotel/Hostel.
Day 9: This morning you jump aboard our tour van as you set out beyond the Lake Nakuru to search for the Flamingoes in the area. Your guide will ensure you learn about these playful, intelligent Birds as your van travels gently along. Lunch at the hotel with afternoon game drive. Dinner and over night at Lake Nakuru Lion hill hotel
Day 10:Early morning game drive enroute to Nairobi, arriving late in the afternoon. Later in the afternoon if you are willing ,we go to children Home to finish up those projects.
Day 11: It’s the last working day today. The morning will be spent in a frenzy of activity no doubt as the last minute final touches are put to your projects. The afternoon is spent at leisure, shopping, relaxing or Carnivore Restaurant.
Day 12: You’ll go the Masai Mara, via Nairobi, this morning and game drive enroute to the camp. Spend the rest of the day exploring Mara. Dinner and overnight at the camp/Lodge.
Day 13: This whole day is spent in your safari vehicles game driving though the Mara in search of the animals, birds, plants and insects that make up this fascinating eco-system. All meals and overnight at the camp/Lodge.
Day 14: After breakfast, enjoy a game drive enroute to the airstrip where you catch your flight back to Nairobi and your onward international connection.
Cost include;
• Accommodation
• Guide/Driver
• All entry fees
• All breakfasts
• All meals with one beverage, as listed
on itinerary
• Ground transport in 4x4wd to locations
on itinerary
• Bottled water
• Supplies for the project (separate fee)
Package Excludes :-
• Any extra items of personal nature
• Additional snacks, drinks and beverages
• Any activities or meals not listed on the itinerary
• White-water rafting (optional)
• Tips and gratuities
• Flights
• Visa/Passport
• Vaccinations/Jabs
• Personal insurance
• Meals on arrival/departure dates not known at this time,
depending on your flight times. (You pay for your own
lunches these days)
• Service charge fees (differ depending on if you use PayPal
or make a wire transfer)
Individual and discounted group rates also available on request
info@lecdenkenya.com
Kenya gap year – Gap year programmes in Kenya,Travel Kenya on your gap year. Ideas for gap year travel to Kenya.
Kenya is the classic African destination for wildlife and Kenya is probably the best place in the world in which to go on safari. All of the ‘big five’ animals (lion, buffalo, elephant, leopard and rhino) can be seen in Kenya, and Kenya’s unique natural environment make it an excellent place to visit if you’re passionate about African wildlife.
Kenya‘s most popular and widely visited game reserve is the Massai Mara. The Massai Mara, in western Kenya, has an amazing density of wildlife and is the main reason why most people have come to Kenya in the first place. Of Kenya’s big cats, lions can be found in large prides throughout the Massai Mara. Leopards and cheetahs are more difficult to see, but are still relatively common. Hippos, zebras, buffaloes and elephants can all be seen in large numbers. The famous annual migration of the wildebeest occurs in July and August when literally millions of these animals, along with accompanying zebras, move north towards Kenya from the Serengeti in searcher of better grass to feed on. If you want to get involved in a wildlife volunteer project in Kenya, we offer two excellent Maasai wildlife programmes. The Maasai Elephant Conservation and the Maasai Lion Research Kenya. These volunteer project work directly with the Maasai Tribes of Kenya and are excellent programmes if you are looking to volunteer with wildlife and African communities. Our other Kenya volunteer programmes involve working with children, communities and with other animals.
If you plan to stay in Kenya for a while, and don’t want to spend the entire time looking at wildlife, there are some superb beaches to be found along Kenya’s Indian Ocean coastline. The beaches north and south of Mombassa are some of the most picturesque in Africa. If you’re in to snorkelling or diving, this section of the coastline in Kenya has some excellent coral reefs.
Mount Kenya National Park, in Kenya’s Central Highlands, is another highlight of any stay in Kenya. Mount Kenya is Africa’s second highest mountain, (5199 metres to be precise), and its snow-covered peaks can be seen from miles away. Mount Kenya’s two highest peaks can only be reached by experienced mountaineers. However the third highest peak, Point Lenana, can be reached simply by trekking. Those who make the effort are rewarded with some amazing views of Kenya.
Without a doubt the wildlife viewing in Kenya is amongst the very best, if not the best, in Africa. If wildlife and the environment are a passion of yours then you are guaranteed not to leave Kenya disappointed.
Kenya gap year – Gap year programmes in Kenya,Gap Years & Volunteering in Kenya
Kenya is ‘Lion King’ country and one of Africa’s most scenic. From forested highlands to rolling savannah grasslands, from palm-fringed beaches to world famous national reserves and parks.
Combine all these with the smiles, the glamour and cultural variety of its people, and your volunteering experience is made up of warmth, colour, huge vistas, sunsets, dust and adventure.
Volunteer Teaching in Kenya
The only way to immerse yourself in Africa is to live it, and there’s no better way than volunteer teaching in Kenya with AV. You will be based in rural schools and communities, teaching anything from academic subjects, music, drama, arts and crafts, coaching sport or even helping to renovate dilapidated classrooms and working on environmental programmes…
Volunteer Teaching in Kenya ,Sports’ coaching in Kenya
Whatever your sport – football, rugby, basketball, netball, hockey or cricket – we will place you in a school that plays and enjoys them. This is where AVs can really make the most of their gap year to make a difference and leave their mark.
Volunteer Sports Coaching in Kenya,Environment and Community in Kenya
This scheme involves three one-month projects – for example one on the coast near the Tanzanian border, one in a rural village in the Taru Desert and another on a game conservancy in the Great Rift Valley. You’ll spend your volunteering time working with the communities on renovating schools and helping with whatever is seasonal – village life depends a lot on everyone working together to survive.You could also spend your time working closely with conservancy management on wildlife related tasks.
Environment, Community & Conservation Volunteering in Kenya,Orphanages in Kenya
Sadly, there is one growth area in the developing world that doesn’t get the attention it deserves – that of the orphans. Whether it is the scourge of AIDS and other diseases, war, famine or straightforward poverty – on a scale few of us can imagine – orphans are in need of special attention. They are everywhere you will be – every school, every village and every community. We are focusing special attention on the orphans of western Kenya for your gap year placement.
Volunteer teaching in Kenya
Our 3 week or 5-week Ventures are community volunteering projects on the Kenya coast and are for students, undergraduates or graduates, who want a summer experience second-to-none. These volunteer placements combine time helping to renovate community schools on Kenya’s beautiful coastline, with weekends snorkelling or scuba diving in its marine parks and relaxing on sandy beaches. This will be followed by a safari and adventure activities.
3 week Community Volunteering in Kenya
5 week Community Volunteering in Kenya
3 & 5 WEEK VENTURE PHOTO GALLERY
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Volunteer in kenya with Lecden-kenya in Kenya community volunteer orgarnization kenya volunteering programs and kenya volunteer work opportunities .
Lecden-Kenya currently has opportunities to help develop communities through our partner organization in Kenya.
Lecden-kenya comprehensively organized directory of volunteer abroad programs in Kenya.
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the Lecden-kenya in Kenya , volunteer programs in Kenya along with participant reports by those who volunteered with various organizations.
Lecden-kenya provide volunteer work in Kenya, projects, programs & voluntary work in Kenya. Volunteer in Kenya with wildlife, communities or children.
Volunteer in Kenya: Kenya volunteering opportunities – International volunteers get Kenya volunteer jobs, work & opportunity in orphanages.
Lecden-kenya is an innovative online charity assisting with sustainable development via online & onsite volunteering in rural Kenya, East Africa.
Volunteer in Kenya and see the best of Africa’s wildlife while helping to preserve their natural habitat and make a vital contribution to local .
So volunteer in Kenya Maasai project and help these unique tribes to prosper. By aiding in this effort, you’ll also learn about their amazing culture.
Volunteer vacation in Kenya, Kenya holidays and safaris, A taste of volunteering14Days 13Nights.
Please join us in our Charity Work, Volunteer vacations, the ultimate Ethical Wild Life Safaris, medical elective placements, corporate company breaks, Outreach mission trips, Volunteer africa, volunteer nairobi kenya, volunteer in an orphanage, volunteer teaching kenya , volunteer teaching africa, volunteeer HIV/AIDS awareness projects in Kenya, volunteer in old age Homes, volunteer, volunteer abroad, volunteer overseas, volunteer placement, medical internships, veterinary internship africa, kenya, medical internship, dental internship, internship in kenya, internship in Africa Educational Student &school trips.
Together we can make a difference to Orphans and other vulnerable Children/widows/ women/People lives
see our chip in widget, lecdenkenya.chipin.com/lecden-kenya-a-non-profit-for-the-...
Regards
Steve
info@lecdenkenya.com
faure/macassar, western cape- kramat of sheikh yussuf
A Kramat is a shrine or mausoleum that has been built over the burial place of a Muslim who's particular piety and practice of the teachings of Islam is recognised by the community. I have been engaged in documenting these sites around Cape Town over several visits at different times over the last few years. They range widely from graves marked by an edge of stones to more elaborate tombs sheltered by buildings of various styles. They are cultural markers that speak of a culture was shaped by life at the Cape and that infuses Cape Town at large.
In my searches used the guide put out by the Cape Masaar Society as a basic guide to locate some recognised sites. Even so some were not that easy to find.
In the context of the Muslims at the Cape, historically the kramats represented places of focus for the faithful and were/are often places of local pilgrimage. When the Dutch and the VOC (United East India Company aka Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) set up a refuelling station and a settlement at the Cape, Muslims from their territories in the East Indies and Batavia were with them from the start as soldiers, slaves and 'Vryswarten'; (freemen). As the settlement established itself as a colony the Cape became a useful place to banish political opponents from the heart of their eastern empire. Some exiles were of royal lineage and there were also scholars amongst them. One of the most well known of these exiles was Sheik Yusuf who was cordially received by Govenor van der Stel as befitted his rank (he and his entourage where eventually housed on an estate away from the main settlement so that he was less likely to have an influence over the local population), others were imprisoned for a time both in Cape Town and on Robben island. It is said that the first Koran in the Cape was first written out from memory by Sheik Yusuf after his arrival. There were several Islamic scholars in his retinue and these men encouraged something of an Islamic revival amoung the isolated community. Their influence over the enslaved “Malay” population who were already nominally Muslim was considerable and through the ministrations of other teachers to the underclasses the influence of Islam became quite marked. As political opponents to the governing powers the teachers became focus points for escaped slaves in the outlying areas.
Under the VOC it was forbidden to practice any other faith other than Christianity in public which meant that there was no provision for mosques or madrasas. The faith was maintained informally until the end of the C18th when plans were made for the first mosque and promises of land to be granted for a specific burial ground in the Bo Kaap were given in negotiations for support against an imminent British invasion. These promises were honoured by the British after their victory.
There is talk of a prophecy of a protective circle of Islam that would surround Cape Town. I cannot find the specifics of this prophecy but the 27 kramats of the “Auliyah” or friends of Allah, as these honoured individuals are known, do form a loose circle of saints. Some of the Auliyah are credited with miraculous powers in legends that speak of their life and works. Within the folk tradition some are believed to be able to intercede on behalf of supplicants (even though this more part of a mystical philosophy (keramat) and is not strictly accepted in mainstream contemporary Islamic teaching) and even today some visitors may offer special prayers at their grave sites in much the same way as Christians might direct prayer at the shrine of a particular saint.
photographer's note-
sheikh yussuf was the brother of the king of Goa (Gowa) with it's capital of Makassar. yussuf fought in battles against the Dutch and was eventually captured. he was transferred to the cape of good hope in 1693. he died in 1699. he had 2 wives, 2 concubines, 12 children and 14 male and female slaves.
*********************************************
Die Kramat van Sjeg Yusuf, Faure
Die Kramat1 van Sjeg Yusuf (Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep)2 op 'n klein heuwel naby die mond van die Eersterivier in Makassar, Faure, is 'n terrein waarheen Kaapse Moslems oor die laaste drie eeue pelgrimstogte onderneem. Yusuf is op 23 April 1699 oorlede en op die heuwel begrawe. Volgens predikant en skrywer, Francois Valentyn (1666-1727), wat sy graf in 1705 besoek het, was dit "een cierlyke Mohammedaansch tombe, wat van zeer hoog opgezette steenen, verheerlykt was".3 Dit is nie heeltemal duidelik of hy van 'n hoog opgeboude graf of 'n struktuur daaroor praat nie.
Dié tombe moes mettertyd veranderings en verbouings het en volgens Biskop Patrick Griffith (1798-1862) wat dit meer as 'n eeu later op 25 Januarie 1839 besoek het, het dit heel anders daar uitgesien...
and proceeded to a Mr Cloete's where we took horses and road (sic) to a Malay Mosque [i.e. the kramat] situated on the summit of a hill, to which we ascended by a rude Stone Stair Case, rather Circular and partly cut out of Limestone rock, by an hundred steps. We left our horses below tied to the door of a Caravansery where the Pilgrims who come every year from Cape Town and all around, lodge while they go thro' their devotions. Both Lodging House and Mosque are at present deserted and we cd. only see the Exterior of both. The Mosque has a small Mineret (sic) in the centre and contains the Tomb of some Prince and Priest of the Sect. The Building is square and low with a portico: the windows are screened within and all that could be seen through some chinks in the walls was some drapery. A curious sight, however, exists outside: graves covered with white Clothes, five or six of which graves are enclosed together with a low wall round them; two or three more are apart; each has a round black stone at the head round which a Malay handkerchief is tied, with another black stone at foot, represents the feet, so that with the white sheet over the body, one wd. imagine at first view that it was a corpse was directly before him, the representation of it is so like reality. These White cloths (of calico) are renewed every year and we found some sixty or more rotten ones under each of the last white Coverings."1
Die terrein is in 1862 deur die imam van die Jamia-moskee in Chiappinistraat, Abdol Wahab, aangekoop,5 maar die gebou het tot vroeg in die 20ste eeu bewaar gebly, hoewel dit by verskeie geleenthede klein veranderings en herstelwerk moes ondergaan het.
Die Oostenrykse wetenskaplike, diplomaat en ontdekkingsreisiger, Karl Ritter von Scherzer (1821-1903) het die Kaap in Oktober 1857 aan boord die Novara, op 'n omseilingstog van die wêreld, aangedoen. Hy het die volgende waardevolle beskrywing, deurdrenk met sy eie voor- en afkeure, nagelaat:
"The following morning we drove to a hill, ahout a mile and a half distant from Zandvliet, known as Macassar Downs, on which is the spot of interment, (Krammat or Brammat), of a Malay prophet.
This individual, so honoured in death, was, if we are to believe the Malays, a direct descendant of Mahomet, named Sheikh Joseph, who, expelled from Batavia by the Dutch Government for political reasons, settled in the colony about a century and a half ago, and died and was buried in the neighbourhood of Zandvliet. An especial deputation came over from Malacca to Cape Colony to fetch away the corpse of the defunct prophet, for conveyance to the land of his birth; but at the disinterment it happened that the little finger of the prophet, in spite of the most persevering research, could nowhere be found. This circumstance appeared to those simple believers sufficient reason for erecting a monument over the spot in which the finger of a Malay prophet lay hid from view. Even to this day the Malays from time to time perform a pilgrimage to the Colony and celebrate their religious ceremonies at the Mausoleum. Four followers of the prophet are buried with him, two of them Mahometan priests, who are regarded with much veneration by the Malays.
An extensive flight of stone steps leads to the tomb, the exterior of which is very insignificant, and, but for a small pointed turret, hardly differs from an ordinary dwelling-house. On entering, a low-roofed vault is visible, a sort of front outhouse, which rather disfigures the facade, and much more resembles a cellar than the portal of a Mausoleum. Above the arch of this vault an Arabic inscription has been engraved with a stylus but this is so painted over in brick colour that it has already become almost illegible. Judging by the few words that have been deciphered, it seems to consist of the first propositions of the Koran.
The inner room, provided on two sides with modern glazed windows at irregular intervals, is about the size of an ordinary room of 12 feet long, 9 wide, and 7 high (3.66m long, 2.74 wide, and 2.13 high). In the middle rises the monument, to which access is had by some more brick steps. Immense quantities of unwashed white linen cloth are heaped upon it, which seem occasionally sprinkled with a brown odoriferous liquid (dupa). As at the head of Sheikh Joseph, so at his feet several figures, resembling those in enamel used to ornament tarts, are drawn upon the linen cloth with the overflowings of the unguent. These have undoubtedly been formed accidentally, and it appears wrong and unfair to attribute to them any more recondite significance. The monument rests upon four wooden pillars, with pyramidal pinnacles or ornaments, and is richly decorated with fine white muslin, which gives to the whole very much the appearance of an old-fashioned English "fourposter," with its costly drapery and curtains. While the curtains are spread out all around, several small green and white bannerets stand at the upper and lower end of the sarcophagus. The whole interior is, as it were, impregnated with the incense which devout Malay pilgrims from time to time burn here, especially after the forty days' fast (Ramadan), or leave behind upon the steps of the tomb in flasks or in paper-boxes. On such occasions, they always bring wax-candles and linen cloth as an offering, with the latter of which they deck the tomb afresh, so that a perfect mountain of white linen rises above the stone floor. During their devotions they unceasingly kiss this white mass of stuff, and as they are continually chewing tobacco, this filthy habit produces disgustingly loathsome stains.
On the same hill which boasts the tomb of Sheikh Joseph, there are also, in ground that is common property, nine other graves of eminent Malays, enclosed with carefully-selected stones, and likewise covered over with large broad strips of bleached linen cloth, protected by stones from any injury by weather or violence. At the head and foot of each individual interred, is a single stone of larger size. Formerly the black inhabitants of the neighbourhood made use of this store of linen cloth to make shirts for themselves, without further thought upon the propriety of the matter. Latterly, however, a shrewd Malay priest spread a report that one of these ebony linen stealers had lost all the fingers off one hand, since which the graves of those departed worthies remain inviolate and unprofaned.
At the foot of the hill are some small half-fallen-in buildings, near a large hall, painted white, red, and yellow, consisting of a small apartment and a kitchen, the whole in a most dirty, neglected, and desolate condition. At this point the Moslems must have accomplished certain prayers, before they can climb the hill and proceed to visit the tomb. Over the door of this singular house of prayer some words are likewise engraved in the Arabic character, which, however, are now entirely illegible.
On quitting the Malay Krammat, we next undertook a tolerably difficult walk to the Downs or sand-dunes, which at this point extend along the entire coast line, on which the wax-berry shrub, as already mentioned, grows wild in vast quantities, and visibly prevents the further encroachments of the moving sand. The Eerst Rivier (First River) may be regarded as the limit of demarcation between the sand-dunes and the soil adapted for vegetation."6
'n Britse joernalis en historikus, Ian Duncan Colvin (1877-1938), beskryf sy besoek aan die Kramat vyftig jaar later in die begin van die 20ste eeu:
"It was in springtime that we made the pilgrimage, in October, the springtime of the south... We passed through cow-scented pasture and the cornlands of Zandvliet, and so towards the sea, guided by the white star of the tomb.
It stands upon a sandstone rock which the Eerste River bends round on its way to the sea, and you can hear the breakers roaring, though unseen behind the sand-dunes. A little wooden bridge crosses the river beside the drift... On the farther side the little hill rises steeply, and under it nestles a row of very ancient and dilapidated cottages. One of them is used as a stable by the pilgrims and another as a mosque, and upon its porch you will see a little notice in English that 'women are not allowed inside the church', a warning signed with all the weight and authority of the late Haji Abdul Kalil... Inside, this little chapel is touchingly primitive and simple, with blue sky showing through the thatched roof, and a martin's nest plastered on the ceiling of the little alcove. Between these cottages and the stream is a field of sweet marjoram, no doubt grown for the service of the shrine, and the way up the hill is made easy by a flight of steps build perhaps centuries ago, and ruinous with age. With their white balustrades, and overgrown as they are with grass and wild-flowers, they are very beautiful, and in pilgrimage-time we may suppose them bright with Malays ascending and descending. We mounted them to the top, where they open on a little courtyard roughly paved and encinctured by a low white wall. On the farther side, opposite the top of the stairs, is the tomb itself, a little white building with an archway leading into a porch. Beyond is a door, of the sort common in Cape farm-houses, divided into two across the middle. Of course, we did not dare to open it and peep inside; but I am told by a Mahomedan friend that the inner tomb is of white stucco with four pillars of a pleasant design. It is upholstered in bright-coloured plush, and copies of the Koran lie open upon it. The inside of the room is papered in the best Malay fashion, and over the window is a veil of tinselled green gauze. From the roof several ostrich eggs hang on strings, and altogether it is the gayest and brightest little shrine. The ostrich eggs hanging on their strings made me think of a much more splendid tomb which Akbar, the first greatest of the Moguls, build for his friend Selim Chisti, a humble ascetic, in the centre of the mosque at Fatehpur Sikri.7 If any of my readers have made a pilgrimage to that wonderful deserted city, they will remember the tomb build of fretted marble, white and delicate as lace, in the centre of the great silent mosque of red sandstone – surely the finest testimonial to disinterested and spiritual friendship that exists in the world. And, if they look inside, they will recollect that around the inner shrine of mother o’pearl hang ostrich eggs just as they hang in Sheik Joseph’s tomb on the Cape Flats. But this digression is only to show that the Malay of Cape Town knows what is proper to the ornamentation of kramats. The shrine is tended with pious care, kept clean and white by the good Malays – a people of whom it may be said truly that they hold cleanliness as a virtue next to godliness."8
Hierdie beskrywing kom ooreen met dié van Scherzer en 'n foto in die Elliot-versameling in die Kaapse argief. Die minaret wat deur Biskop Griffith genoem en deur Scherzer geïllustreer is, en moontlik van hout gemaak was, het intussen verdwyn.
In 1925 het die Indiese filantroop, Hadji Sulaiman Sjah Mohamed Ali, opdrag vir 'n nuwe tombe gegee en is die huidige vierkantige en gekoepelde Moghul- of Delhi-inspireerde struktuur opgerig. Die argitek was F.K. KENDALL wat van 1896 tot 1918 in vennootskap met Herbert BAKER praktiseer het.
Die kramat vorm deel van die sogenaamde beskermende "Heilige Sirkel van Islam" wat strek van die kramatte teen die hange van Seinheuwel bo die klipgroef waar die eerste openbare Moslemgebede aan die Kaap gehou is, deur die kramatte op die rug van die heuwel en die kramat van Sjeg Noorul Mubeen by Oudekraal, en om die berg na die kramatte van Constantia, Faure, Robbeneiland, terug na Seinheuwel.
Sjeg Yusuf van Makassar (1626-1699)
Sjeg Yusuf (Abadin Tadia Tjoesoep) is in 1626 te Gowa by Makassar (Mangkasara), op die suidwestelike punt van die Sulawesi-eiland (voorheen Celebes) langs die Straat van Makassar, gebore. Toe die Portugese dit vroeg in die sestiende eeu bereik het, was dit 'n besige handelshawe waar Arabiese, Indiese, Javaanse, Maleise Siamese en Chinese skepe aangedoen en hulle produkte geruil en verkoop het. Met die koms van die Nederlanders, wat die speseryhandel wou monopoliseer en Britse deelname daaraan wou stuit, is die tradisie van vrye handel aan die begin van die 17de eeu omvergewerp. Nadat hulle die fort van Makassar ingeneem het, is dit herbou en as Fort Rotterdam herdoop. Van hier het hulle die vestings van die Sultan van Gowa geteiken.
Toe hy agtien jaar oud was, het Yusuf op 'n pelgrims- en studietog na Mekka vertrek waar hy verskeie jare deurgebring het. Met sy terugkeer het hy die Nederlanders in Makassar vermy en hom in Bantam in Wes-Java aan die hof van Sultan Ageng (Abulfatah Agung, 1631-1695) as onderwyser en geestelike rigter gevestig. Hy het die sultan se seuns onderrig en met een van sy dogters getrou. Hy was deeglik in die Shari'ah (Moslem kode en godsdienstige wet) onderlê en diep betrokke by die mistieke aspekte van sy geloof met die gevolg dat sy reputasie as 'n vrome persoon en heilige kenner en geleerde vinnig versprei het.
Hoewel die Nederlanders die handel op Java beheer het, het Bantam 'n sterk mate van onafhanklikheid behou. Yusuf was 'n vurige teenstander van die VOC en het en ook 'n rebellie teen die Europeërs gelei toe 'n ouer vredesooreenkoms tussen hulle in 1656 gebreek is. 'n Nuwe ooreenkoms is in 1659 bereik, maar 'n interne tweestryd in die Sultanaat het in die VOC se kraam gepas. Die sultan se seun, later as Sultan Hadji bekend, het met die hulle saamgespan teen sy vader en jonger broer wat voorkeur aan die Britse en Deense handelaars gegee het. Die breuk het in 1680 gekom toe Ageng oorlog teen Batavia (Jakarta) verklaar het. Hadji het 'n opstand teen sy vader gelei wat Ageng tot sy woning beperk het. Hoewel sy volgelinge teruggeveg het, het die Nederlanders Hadji te hulp gesnel en is Ageng na die hooglande verdryf waar hy in Maart 1683 oorgegee het. Hierna is hy na Batavia geneem waar hy oorlede is.
Yusuf het die verset voortgesit en is eers teen die einde van 1683 gevange geneem waarna hy ook na Batavia geneem is. Sy invloed in die Moslemgemeenskap van die VOC se hoofkwartier in die Ooste, waar hy as heilige vereer is, asook die aandrang op sy vrystelling deur die vorste van Gowa (Makassar) – wat toe bondgenote van die VOC was – het daartoe gelei dat Yusuf en sy gevolg eers na Ceylon (Sri Lanka) en daarna na die Kaap verban is. Sjeg Yusuf en sy "aanhang", soos in die notules van die Politieke Raad aangedui is, het op 31 Maart 1694 aan boord die Voetboog in Tafelbaai aangekom. Hier is hulle gul deur goewerneur Simon van der Stel ontvang, maar in die Kasteel gehou totdat daar in Junie besluit is om hulle na die mond van die Eersterivier, wat oor die plaas Zandvliet van ds P. Kalden uitgekyk het, te stuur.9
Hier in die duine, wat later as Makassar en Makassarstrand bekend sou word, het Yusuf en sy gevolg hulle gevestig. Volgens oorlewering was dit die eerste sentrum van Islam en Islamitiese onderrig in Suid-Afrika en het die terrein 'n sakrosante ereplek gebly na Yusuf se afsterwe op 23 April 1699 en sy begrafnis op die heuwel. Hoewel sommige skrywers nie oortuig is dat ook Yusuf se oorskot na die Ooste terug is nie, argumenteer André van Rensburg dat dit wel gebeur het.
"Hoewel 'n aanvanklike versoek van 31 Desember 1701 dat Yusuf se oorskot opgegrawe en na Indonesië gestuur word, geweier is, is in 'n verslag van 26 Februarie 1703 deur die Here XVII gelas dat die sjeg se naasbestaandes en sy oorskot na Indonesië weggebring moes word.
Op 26 Februarie 1704 het die amptelike geskrewe instruksies van die VOC in die Kaap aangekom. Die weduwee van Yusuf, hul jong kinders en ander lede van sy gevolg moes toegelaat word om na Indonesië terug te keer.
Daar is ook bepaal dat die oorskot van Yusuf onopsigtelik opgegrawe moes word sodat die naasbestaandes dit kon saamneem. Voorsorg moes egter getref word dat ander Oosterse bannelinge nie ontsnap deur voor te gee dat hulle naasbestaandes van sjeg Yusuf is nie."10
Die gevolg van Sjeg Yusuf het op 5 Oktober 1704 aan boord van De Spiegel uit Tafelbaai met sy oorskot vertrek en op 10 Desember in Batavia anker gegooi. Hierna is sy hulle na Makassar waar sy oorskot op 6 April 1705 op Lakiung in Ujung Pandang herbegrawe is. Bo-oor Yusuf se nuwe graf is 'n kramat of ko'bang deur die Chinese bouer Dju Kian Kiu opgerig. Ook hierdie Kramat word druk deur pelgrims besoek.
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Kramat is die algemeen Kaapse term vir die tombe van 'n [Moslem] heilige of Wali van Allah; in Urdu verwys karamat of keramat na die wonderwerking van 'n heilige, soms word dit ook as sinoniem vir heilige gebruik.
Die meer algemeen gebruikte spelling word hier in plaas van die erkende Afrikaanse "Joesoef" gebruik.
Raidt, E.H. 1971. François Valentyn Beshryvinge van de Kaap der Goede Hoop met de zaaken daar toe behoorende. Kaapstad: Van Riebeeck Vereniging, Vol. 1, p. 198.
Brain, J.S. (ed.). 1988. The Cape diary of bishop Patrick Raymond Griffith for the years 1837-1839. Cape Town: Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, pp. 189-90.
Aktekantoor, Kaapstad, Akte 6/3/1862, no. 121.
Scherzer, K. 1861. Narrative of the circumnavigation of the globe by the Austrian frigate Novara, (commodore b. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,): undertaken by order of the imperial government, in the years l857,1858, & 1859. London: Saunders, Otley & Co, pp. 244-248.
Seremoniële hoofstad [Fatehpur = stad van oorwinning] van 1569 tot 1574 deur die Mughale Keiser Akbar (1542-1605) by Sikri, die hermitage van sy spirituele gids, Sjeg Salim Chisti, opgerig. Die tombe wat deur Colvin beskryf word, is deur Shah Jahan (1592-1666) herbou.
Colvin, I.D. 1909. Romance of Empire, South Africa. London: TC & EL Jack, pp. 16168.
Böeseken, A.J. 1961. Resolusies van die Politieke Raad III 1681-1707. Kaapstad: Argiefkomitee, p. 283 (14.06.1694).
Van Rensburg, A. & Van Bart, M. 2004. Waar rus Sjeg Yusuf: van die Kaap tot in Makassar. Kultuurkroniek, Bylae by Die Burger, 10 Julie, pp. 12-13
Van Rensburg, A. & Van Bart, M. 2004. Waar rus Sjeg Yusuf: van die Kaap tot in Makassar. Kultuurkroniek, Bylae by Die Burger, 10 Julie, p.13.
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Schalk W le Roux, Gordonsbaai, Februarie 2013
See also Van Bart, M. & Van Rensburg A.
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Wording on Minaret:
IN MEMORY OF
SHEIKH YUSUF
MARTYR & HERO
OF BANTAM
1629 - 1699
THIS MINARET
WAS ERECTED BY
HAJEE SULLAIMAN
SHAHMAHOMED
IN THE REIGN OF
KING GEORGE V
MAY 1925
_____________________
THIS MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED
19TH DECEMBER 1925 BY
SIR FREDERIC DE WAAL
KCMG:LLD:FIRST ADMINISTRATOR
OF THE CAPE PROVINCE
IN THE YEAR WHEN THIS
DISTRICT WAS VISITED BY
HIS ROYAL HIGNESS
THE PRINCE OF WALES
4TH MAY 1925
_____________________
THE "DARGAN" OF ASHBAT
[COMPANIONS] OF SAINT SHEIKH YUSSUF
[GALERAN TUANSE] OF MACASSAR.
_____
HERE LIE THE REMAINS OF FOUR OF FORTY-NINE
FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS WHO AFTER SERVING
IN THE BANTAM WAR OF 1682-83, ARRIVED WITH
SHEIKH YUSSUF AT THE CAPE FROM CEYLON,
IN THE SHIP "VOETBOOG" IN THE YEAR 1694.
_____
THIS COMMEMORATION TABLET WAS ERECTED
DURING THE GREAT WAR ON 8 JANUARY 1918.
BY HAJEE SULLAIMAN SHAHMAHOMED.
SENIOR TRUSTEE.
Wording on plaque:
PRESIDENT SOEHARTO
OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
VISITED THIS SHRINE ON 21 NOVEMBER 1997
TO PAY RESPECT TO THE LATE SHEIKH YUSSUF OF
MACASSAR UPON WHOM THE TITLE OF NATIONAL
HERO WAS CONFERRED BY THE INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT
ON 7 AUGUST 1995
Writings about this Kramat of Sheikh Yusuf
Davids, Achmat. 1980. The Mosques of Bo-Kaap - A social history of Islam at the Cape. Athlone, Cape: The South African Institute of Arabic and Islamic Research. pp 37-40.
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De Bosdari, C. 1971. Cape Dutch Houses and Farms. Cape Town: AA Balkema. pp 73.
_______________________________________________
De Kock, WJ. 1976. Suid-Afrikaanse biografiese woordeboek : Deel 1. Kaapstad: RGN/Tafelberg. pp 429-430.
_______________________________________________
Du Plessis, Izak David. 1944. The Cape Malays. Cape Town: Maskew Miller. pp 4-7.
_______________________________________________
Jaffer, M. 2001. Guide to the Kramats of the Western Cape. Cape Town: Cape Mazaar (Kramat) Society. pp 17-19.
_______________________________________________
Jaffer, Mansoor. 1996. Guide to the Kramats of the Western Cape. Cape Town: Cape Mazaar Kramat Society. pp 17.
_______________________________________________
Le Roux, SW. 1992. Vormgewende invloede op die ontwikkeling van moskee-argitektuur binne die Heilige Sirkel aan die Kaap tot 1950 . Pretoria: PhD-verhandeling: Universiteit van Pretoria. pp 201-202.
_______________________________________________
Oxley, John. 1992. Places of Worship in South Africa. Halfway House: Southern Book Publishers. pp 63-64.
_______________________________________________
Potgieter, DJ (Editor-in-chief). 1975. Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 11 Tur-Zwe. Cape Town: Nasou. pp 567.
_______________________________________________
Potgieter, DJ (Editor-in-chief). 1972. Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 6 Hun-Lit. Cape Town: Nasou. pp 454-455.
_______________________________________________
Rhoda, E. 2010. Hajee Sullaiman Shahmahomed and the shrine of Shayk Yusuf of Macassar at Faure. : Unpublished manuscript.
_______________________________________________
Van Selms, A. Joesoef, Sjeik: in De Kock, WJ. 1976. Suid-Afrikaanse biografiese woordeboek : Deel 1: pp 429-430
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Shaykh Yusuf was born at Macassar in 1626. He was also known as Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep. He was of noble birth, a maternal nephew of King Biset of Goa. He studied in Arabia under the tutelage of several pious teachers.
When Shaykh Yusuf arrives at the Cape, on the Voetboeg, he was royally welcomed by Governor Simon van de Stel. His Indonesian background necessitated that he and his 49 followers be settled well away from Cape Town. They were housed on the farm Zandvliet, near the mouth of the Eeste River, in the general area now called Macassar. He received an allowance of 12rix dollars from the Cape authorities for support of himself and his party. At Zandvliet Shaykh Yusuf’s settlement soon became a sanctuary for fugitive slaves. It was here that the first cohesive Muslim community in S.A. was established. The first settlement of Muslims in South Africa was a vibrant one, despite its isolation. It was from here that the message of Islam was disseminated to the slave community living in Cape Town. When Shaykh Yusuf died on 23 May 1699, he was buried on the hill overlooking Macassar at Faure. A shrine was constructed over his grave. Over the years this shrine has been rebuilt and renewed. Today it remains a place of pilgrimage.
It removes less used or un-used Apps as we go and now has 5Gb available out of 64Gb 29th Dec 2024
Bluetooth and Wi_Fi but no SIM card so no GPS on the road but ExploreOZ and Guru display maps then pan around to location or if passing some local Wi-Fi the GPS seems to locate us.
serial number DMPDGJSELM95 See About and Contacts..
shot this screen for its icon image...
Just so easy to fire off an auto shot with the a6000
This site isn’t so much for travel narrative as it is for looking at pictures, so I’ll cut out a full day’s narrative, save for this:
Thursday was close to an eleven hour day of travel to get from Yangshuo to Detian. I spent less than 90 minutes shooting at the falls. From Detian (western part of the province on the Vietnamese border), I had to make my way to Beihai (southern, coastal city on the Gulf of Tonkin). It was, in distance, much shorter than Yangshuo-Detian. However, it turned into a reasonably miserable travel day and took about twelve hours (with about five of those hours spent in a bus station waiting room in Nanning). I got to my hotel in Beihai around 9:30 p.m. on Friday night. (I would stay in the same hotel Sunday night as well.)
The only positive to come from Friday’s travel was on the bus from Detian to Daxin (and on to Nanning). There was a very nice girl traveling with her parents who wanted to practice her English who happened to have visited Beihai. I think she said she was from Guangdong, too. Anyway, what I wanted to do most in Beihai was go to Weizhou Island (Weizhou Dao). She suggested (almost implied it was required) that I needed to book tickets on the ferry to Weizhou Dao in advance, so she helped me and called someone she knew in Beihai to reserve a ticket for me at 8:30 on Saturday morning.
I really didn’t know too much about Weizhou Dao, except that it was listed in Lonely Planet as a place to go. I did try to research it online, too, but couldn’t find too many pictures of the island. I found a few, though, and it was enough to convince me that it was worth going. Besides, Beihai honestly didn’t have too many places I was interested in seeing for two days.
So, I decided before the trip that I would come out and spend the night here on Weizhou Island. That turned out to be about the best decision I made for this trip, as it was much better than I was expecting from the lack of information I could find about the place.
I fell in love with this island. The ride across the Gulf of Tonkin takes a little over an hour on a high-speed boat. The cost is 150 RMB, which also includes admission to the island. The island is the remnants of a volcano, I believe, and is a reasonably circular island with a total area of 25-30 square kilometers. So…it’s small.
The port at Weizhou Dao is on the northwest corner of the island. The main city (that is to say the one place where there’s a main street running along the water for about 1 km) is called Nanwan (South Bay). To get around the island, you can either walk, rent a bike, or take a san lun che (tuk tuk). San lun che is the easiest. Depending on where you want to go on the island, it costs between 20 and 40 RMB to go from place to place. There are cars on the island, and people (though not many) do live here year-round, but for public transportation, those are your options, and they’re more than enough.
I think I paid 30 RMB to a guy to get me down to Nanwan. I hadn’t booked anything in advance (though I tried), so went to the first place that Lonely Planet mentioned: Piggybar. This was a very cheap place and as close to a dive as any place I’ve stayed in China.
This was the tropics in June, so the weather was sweltering. It turns out that I wouldn’t be alone in my room. I stopped counting how many cockroaches I killed somewhere after five or so. Big-sized suckers, too. But, that would be later in the day. At night, the electricity constantly cut out. This was only a slight annoyance because it would turn the air conditioner off. Sleeping wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. I also stopped counting how many times the power would go off. (It was never for more than 5 minutes, though.) I certainly don’t fault the Piggybar for this. The power apparently just goes out around Nanwan like that.
I did enjoy the main drag in Nanwan. There are a lot of neat little bars and restaurants (and what seemed like a much nicer hotel about midway along the road). I don’t remember the name of the place, but if I make it back there, I’d definitely stay at that place instead.
After I checked into my room in the morning, I took stock of things, thought the view in the south bay was pretty nice, and headed out for a walk towards the rest of the main drag. As this is an island, almost all restaurants have fresh seafood (which, for anyone who knows me, isn’t appealing…but seafood lovers would be in heaven here). I stopped at a restaurant and grabbed an early lunch of generic non-seafood Chinese food. It was so generic that it was forgettable. Maybe it was huntun, which is like a small dumpling soup. I really don’t remember.
While sitting there in the open-air shade enjoying the view of the sea, three college girls came along on bikes they rented and joined me. They, too, were from Guangdong if I remember correctly. I was beginning to think everyone was from Guangdong, but I know better than that. At any rate, they were friendly and we were talking about what to do around the island.
For me, the most interesting place to photograph was going to be the Catholic church. There are two churches on the island – one Catholic (founded by the French), one protestant (founded by Germans, I believe), both around 100 years old, if not a little older. Of the two, the Catholic church is the much more photogenic of the two, so that was what I was most looking forward to shooting, and that was the first place I was going to head via san lun che. It cost 40 RMB to get there. The girls had bikes, so I told them to try to get there – it was on the opposite side of the island…somewhere in the northeast part, but not on the water. They didn’t quite make it, but no worries. I saw them later, and they told me they did eventually get to it.
I wandered around the church and church grounds, and also the streets in front of it for an hour or so in the early afternoon. The church itself was quiet and peaceful and the street in front of it was lively with lots of vendors.
Besides the church, there are a lot of places with natural beauty on this island. As it’s created from a volcano, there are a lot of fascinating rock formations, but those tend to shoot best in lower light closer to sunrise or sunset. There’s even another small island nearby that you can apparently get boat rides to. While near the church, I was enjoying a map of the island with its scenic spots and their flowery names. I decided to go to one that they called Drippy Red Screen. (After all, who doesn’t want to see a screen that drips like blood?)
Really, it’s called that because it’s a dark-colored rock that, close to sunset, apparently turns a vibrant red. I figured, if this is a good place to see a sunset over the sea, I’m there. I left the church around 3:00, and paid a guy another 40 RMB to wheel me back across to the southwest corner of the island.
Though it was far from sunset, I was all too happy to go rent an umbrella and wooden beach chair for 30 RMB with a “front row view” of the sunset. This was vacation, after all, and what better way to spend it than relaxing next to a beach, people watching. At first, there weren’t too many people around. Just a few groups of entrepreneurs like these who took a little area of the beach and rented the umbrellas/chairs. There were also people who you could pay to take you around on jet skis and things like that. Other than that, just sit back, enjoy a drink, and watch boats drift by in seemingly slow motion. This was a good afternoon.
After a few hours, as it got closer to sunset, the tide started to roll out, though, and my front row view began to take more and more of a back seat. Not to umbrellas, but just to people crowding the view. During the 4 or so hours that I was at the beach here, I did manage to take a walk down the way to the Drippy (Not So) Red Screen closer to sunset to see that it wasn’t quite what they hyped it up to be. (That’s a shock…) I didn’t wander more because, as a lone traveler, I was worried they might sell my spot to someone else, even though I said I’d be back. They didn’t, though, and I returned to my umbrella for a few minutes more. There came a tipping point, though – before sunset – when I made the decision that the sunset wasn’t shaping up to be so spectacular that it would warrant being in this crowded an area, so I eventually abandoned hopes of getting jaw-dropping sunset pictures and made my way back to Nanwan before the rest of the crowd did the same. At least this san lun che would only cost 20 RMB, since Nanwan was barely a 10-15 minute ride away.
Back on Nanwan’s main drag, I had the driver drop me in front of the hotel, but I wasn’t ready to go in. I just wanted to walk along the main road there, and eventually discovered all of these unique indoor-outdoor bars. I stopped and had dinner (fried rice, if I remember) and a mango smoothie that was so good that I had a second one in this neat little restaurant where tourists write their memories on the walls.
After that, I continued down the road – all this as the sunset was turning the sky to a deep blue (and I was, after all, quite pleased with what I was able to see here) – and stopped at another bar for a drink. I had a mojito that was honestly forgettable. It tasted more like carbonated soda water than anything. Not seeing much to do besides drink myself into oblivion (which I don’t care to do), I went back out and enjoyed the last of the day’s light before walking back towards the Piggybar. On the way back, I bumped into my college friends from earlier, who told me they’d enjoyed the island, and they did get to the church after all. On the way back is when the first of the power “flickers” happened with electricity dropping on the island.
Without much to do in my hotel room, I tried to stay as comfortable as possible with the air conditioning that continued to go off. It wasn’t as hard to fall asleep as I imagined, and I fell asleep early, which also gave me an early start the next morning for sunrise over the bay.
After checking out of the hotel, still very early (around 8:00), I set off with my backpack and bag and started the walk uphill. My only goal for Sunday morning on the island was to go to the protestant church and photograph there before heading to the dock and making my way back to Beihai.
It was a nice little walk as the road away from Nanwan does a zigzag straight uphill to give a nice view of the town and bay. Also, like western Guangxi, Weizhou Dao’s “countryside” is nothing but banana farms, which was quite nice to see. I shot there a little bit and, when I tired of walking after an hour or so, flagged down a san lun che and paid 30 RMB for him to take me to the protestant church, then to the dock.
The protestant church, unlike the Catholic one, had a 10 RMB admission, and wasn’t nearly as interesting (for me, at least) as the more famous Catholic church. It was nice, however, and I was glad to see it as my “farewell” to the island. From there, I went to the dock and got a ticket for the first available boat back to Beihai.
I really enjoyed my day and night here on Weizhou Dao and was looking forward to one last, relaxing evening in Beihai before getting back to the daily tedium of Chengdu. But first, one more night to go…
faure/macassar, western cape- kramat of sheikh yussuf
A Kramat is a shrine or mausoleum that has been built over the burial place of a Muslim who's particular piety and practice of the teachings of Islam is recognised by the community. I have been engaged in documenting these sites around Cape Town over several visits at different times over the last few years. They range widely from graves marked by an edge of stones to more elaborate tombs sheltered by buildings of various styles. They are cultural markers that speak of a culture was shaped by life at the Cape and that infuses Cape Town at large.
In my searches used the guide put out by the Cape Masaar Society as a basic guide to locate some recognised sites. Even so some were not that easy to find.
In the context of the Muslims at the Cape, historically the kramats represented places of focus for the faithful and were/are often places of local pilgrimage. When the Dutch and the VOC (United East India Company aka Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) set up a refuelling station and a settlement at the Cape, Muslims from their territories in the East Indies and Batavia were with them from the start as soldiers, slaves and 'Vryswarten'; (freemen). As the settlement established itself as a colony the Cape became a useful place to banish political opponents from the heart of their eastern empire. Some exiles were of royal lineage and there were also scholars amongst them. One of the most well known of these exiles was Sheik Yusuf who was cordially received by Govenor van der Stel as befitted his rank (he and his entourage where eventually housed on an estate away from the main settlement so that he was less likely to have an influence over the local population), others were imprisoned for a time both in Cape Town and on Robben island. It is said that the first Koran in the Cape was first written out from memory by Sheik Yusuf after his arrival. There were several Islamic scholars in his retinue and these men encouraged something of an Islamic revival amoung the isolated community. Their influence over the enslaved “Malay” population who were already nominally Muslim was considerable and through the ministrations of other teachers to the underclasses the influence of Islam became quite marked. As political opponents to the governing powers the teachers became focus points for escaped slaves in the outlying areas.
Under the VOC it was forbidden to practice any other faith other than Christianity in public which meant that there was no provision for mosques or madrasas. The faith was maintained informally until the end of the C18th when plans were made for the first mosque and promises of land to be granted for a specific burial ground in the Bo Kaap were given in negotiations for support against an imminent British invasion. These promises were honoured by the British after their victory.
There is talk of a prophecy of a protective circle of Islam that would surround Cape Town. I cannot find the specifics of this prophecy but the 27 kramats of the “Auliyah” or friends of Allah, as these honoured individuals are known, do form a loose circle of saints. Some of the Auliyah are credited with miraculous powers in legends that speak of their life and works. Within the folk tradition some are believed to be able to intercede on behalf of supplicants (even though this more part of a mystical philosophy (keramat) and is not strictly accepted in mainstream contemporary Islamic teaching) and even today some visitors may offer special prayers at their grave sites in much the same way as Christians might direct prayer at the shrine of a particular saint.
photographer's note-
sheikh yussuf was the brother of the king of Goa (Gowa) with it's capital of Makassar. yussuf fought in battles against the Dutch and was eventually captured. he was transferred to the cape of good hope in 1693. he died in 1699. he had 2 wives, 2 concubines, 12 children and 14 male and female slaves.
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Die Kramat van Sjeg Yusuf, Faure
Die Kramat1 van Sjeg Yusuf (Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep)2 op 'n klein heuwel naby die mond van die Eersterivier in Makassar, Faure, is 'n terrein waarheen Kaapse Moslems oor die laaste drie eeue pelgrimstogte onderneem. Yusuf is op 23 April 1699 oorlede en op die heuwel begrawe. Volgens predikant en skrywer, Francois Valentyn (1666-1727), wat sy graf in 1705 besoek het, was dit "een cierlyke Mohammedaansch tombe, wat van zeer hoog opgezette steenen, verheerlykt was".3 Dit is nie heeltemal duidelik of hy van 'n hoog opgeboude graf of 'n struktuur daaroor praat nie.
Dié tombe moes mettertyd veranderings en verbouings het en volgens Biskop Patrick Griffith (1798-1862) wat dit meer as 'n eeu later op 25 Januarie 1839 besoek het, het dit heel anders daar uitgesien...
and proceeded to a Mr Cloete's where we took horses and road (sic) to a Malay Mosque [i.e. the kramat] situated on the summit of a hill, to which we ascended by a rude Stone Stair Case, rather Circular and partly cut out of Limestone rock, by an hundred steps. We left our horses below tied to the door of a Caravansery where the Pilgrims who come every year from Cape Town and all around, lodge while they go thro' their devotions. Both Lodging House and Mosque are at present deserted and we cd. only see the Exterior of both. The Mosque has a small Mineret (sic) in the centre and contains the Tomb of some Prince and Priest of the Sect. The Building is square and low with a portico: the windows are screened within and all that could be seen through some chinks in the walls was some drapery. A curious sight, however, exists outside: graves covered with white Clothes, five or six of which graves are enclosed together with a low wall round them; two or three more are apart; each has a round black stone at the head round which a Malay handkerchief is tied, with another black stone at foot, represents the feet, so that with the white sheet over the body, one wd. imagine at first view that it was a corpse was directly before him, the representation of it is so like reality. These White cloths (of calico) are renewed every year and we found some sixty or more rotten ones under each of the last white Coverings."1
Die terrein is in 1862 deur die imam van die Jamia-moskee in Chiappinistraat, Abdol Wahab, aangekoop,5 maar die gebou het tot vroeg in die 20ste eeu bewaar gebly, hoewel dit by verskeie geleenthede klein veranderings en herstelwerk moes ondergaan het.
Die Oostenrykse wetenskaplike, diplomaat en ontdekkingsreisiger, Karl Ritter von Scherzer (1821-1903) het die Kaap in Oktober 1857 aan boord die Novara, op 'n omseilingstog van die wêreld, aangedoen. Hy het die volgende waardevolle beskrywing, deurdrenk met sy eie voor- en afkeure, nagelaat:
"The following morning we drove to a hill, ahout a mile and a half distant from Zandvliet, known as Macassar Downs, on which is the spot of interment, (Krammat or Brammat), of a Malay prophet.
This individual, so honoured in death, was, if we are to believe the Malays, a direct descendant of Mahomet, named Sheikh Joseph, who, expelled from Batavia by the Dutch Government for political reasons, settled in the colony about a century and a half ago, and died and was buried in the neighbourhood of Zandvliet. An especial deputation came over from Malacca to Cape Colony to fetch away the corpse of the defunct prophet, for conveyance to the land of his birth; but at the disinterment it happened that the little finger of the prophet, in spite of the most persevering research, could nowhere be found. This circumstance appeared to those simple believers sufficient reason for erecting a monument over the spot in which the finger of a Malay prophet lay hid from view. Even to this day the Malays from time to time perform a pilgrimage to the Colony and celebrate their religious ceremonies at the Mausoleum. Four followers of the prophet are buried with him, two of them Mahometan priests, who are regarded with much veneration by the Malays.
An extensive flight of stone steps leads to the tomb, the exterior of which is very insignificant, and, but for a small pointed turret, hardly differs from an ordinary dwelling-house. On entering, a low-roofed vault is visible, a sort of front outhouse, which rather disfigures the facade, and much more resembles a cellar than the portal of a Mausoleum. Above the arch of this vault an Arabic inscription has been engraved with a stylus but this is so painted over in brick colour that it has already become almost illegible. Judging by the few words that have been deciphered, it seems to consist of the first propositions of the Koran.
The inner room, provided on two sides with modern glazed windows at irregular intervals, is about the size of an ordinary room of 12 feet long, 9 wide, and 7 high (3.66m long, 2.74 wide, and 2.13 high). In the middle rises the monument, to which access is had by some more brick steps. Immense quantities of unwashed white linen cloth are heaped upon it, which seem occasionally sprinkled with a brown odoriferous liquid (dupa). As at the head of Sheikh Joseph, so at his feet several figures, resembling those in enamel used to ornament tarts, are drawn upon the linen cloth with the overflowings of the unguent. These have undoubtedly been formed accidentally, and it appears wrong and unfair to attribute to them any more recondite significance. The monument rests upon four wooden pillars, with pyramidal pinnacles or ornaments, and is richly decorated with fine white muslin, which gives to the whole very much the appearance of an old-fashioned English "fourposter," with its costly drapery and curtains. While the curtains are spread out all around, several small green and white bannerets stand at the upper and lower end of the sarcophagus. The whole interior is, as it were, impregnated with the incense which devout Malay pilgrims from time to time burn here, especially after the forty days' fast (Ramadan), or leave behind upon the steps of the tomb in flasks or in paper-boxes. On such occasions, they always bring wax-candles and linen cloth as an offering, with the latter of which they deck the tomb afresh, so that a perfect mountain of white linen rises above the stone floor. During their devotions they unceasingly kiss this white mass of stuff, and as they are continually chewing tobacco, this filthy habit produces disgustingly loathsome stains.
On the same hill which boasts the tomb of Sheikh Joseph, there are also, in ground that is common property, nine other graves of eminent Malays, enclosed with carefully-selected stones, and likewise covered over with large broad strips of bleached linen cloth, protected by stones from any injury by weather or violence. At the head and foot of each individual interred, is a single stone of larger size. Formerly the black inhabitants of the neighbourhood made use of this store of linen cloth to make shirts for themselves, without further thought upon the propriety of the matter. Latterly, however, a shrewd Malay priest spread a report that one of these ebony linen stealers had lost all the fingers off one hand, since which the graves of those departed worthies remain inviolate and unprofaned.
At the foot of the hill are some small half-fallen-in buildings, near a large hall, painted white, red, and yellow, consisting of a small apartment and a kitchen, the whole in a most dirty, neglected, and desolate condition. At this point the Moslems must have accomplished certain prayers, before they can climb the hill and proceed to visit the tomb. Over the door of this singular house of prayer some words are likewise engraved in the Arabic character, which, however, are now entirely illegible.
On quitting the Malay Krammat, we next undertook a tolerably difficult walk to the Downs or sand-dunes, which at this point extend along the entire coast line, on which the wax-berry shrub, as already mentioned, grows wild in vast quantities, and visibly prevents the further encroachments of the moving sand. The Eerst Rivier (First River) may be regarded as the limit of demarcation between the sand-dunes and the soil adapted for vegetation."6
'n Britse joernalis en historikus, Ian Duncan Colvin (1877-1938), beskryf sy besoek aan die Kramat vyftig jaar later in die begin van die 20ste eeu:
"It was in springtime that we made the pilgrimage, in October, the springtime of the south... We passed through cow-scented pasture and the cornlands of Zandvliet, and so towards the sea, guided by the white star of the tomb.
It stands upon a sandstone rock which the Eerste River bends round on its way to the sea, and you can hear the breakers roaring, though unseen behind the sand-dunes. A little wooden bridge crosses the river beside the drift... On the farther side the little hill rises steeply, and under it nestles a row of very ancient and dilapidated cottages. One of them is used as a stable by the pilgrims and another as a mosque, and upon its porch you will see a little notice in English that 'women are not allowed inside the church', a warning signed with all the weight and authority of the late Haji Abdul Kalil... Inside, this little chapel is touchingly primitive and simple, with blue sky showing through the thatched roof, and a martin's nest plastered on the ceiling of the little alcove. Between these cottages and the stream is a field of sweet marjoram, no doubt grown for the service of the shrine, and the way up the hill is made easy by a flight of steps build perhaps centuries ago, and ruinous with age. With their white balustrades, and overgrown as they are with grass and wild-flowers, they are very beautiful, and in pilgrimage-time we may suppose them bright with Malays ascending and descending. We mounted them to the top, where they open on a little courtyard roughly paved and encinctured by a low white wall. On the farther side, opposite the top of the stairs, is the tomb itself, a little white building with an archway leading into a porch. Beyond is a door, of the sort common in Cape farm-houses, divided into two across the middle. Of course, we did not dare to open it and peep inside; but I am told by a Mahomedan friend that the inner tomb is of white stucco with four pillars of a pleasant design. It is upholstered in bright-coloured plush, and copies of the Koran lie open upon it. The inside of the room is papered in the best Malay fashion, and over the window is a veil of tinselled green gauze. From the roof several ostrich eggs hang on strings, and altogether it is the gayest and brightest little shrine. The ostrich eggs hanging on their strings made me think of a much more splendid tomb which Akbar, the first greatest of the Moguls, build for his friend Selim Chisti, a humble ascetic, in the centre of the mosque at Fatehpur Sikri.7 If any of my readers have made a pilgrimage to that wonderful deserted city, they will remember the tomb build of fretted marble, white and delicate as lace, in the centre of the great silent mosque of red sandstone – surely the finest testimonial to disinterested and spiritual friendship that exists in the world. And, if they look inside, they will recollect that around the inner shrine of mother o’pearl hang ostrich eggs just as they hang in Sheik Joseph’s tomb on the Cape Flats. But this digression is only to show that the Malay of Cape Town knows what is proper to the ornamentation of kramats. The shrine is tended with pious care, kept clean and white by the good Malays – a people of whom it may be said truly that they hold cleanliness as a virtue next to godliness."8
Hierdie beskrywing kom ooreen met dié van Scherzer en 'n foto in die Elliot-versameling in die Kaapse argief. Die minaret wat deur Biskop Griffith genoem en deur Scherzer geïllustreer is, en moontlik van hout gemaak was, het intussen verdwyn.
In 1925 het die Indiese filantroop, Hadji Sulaiman Sjah Mohamed Ali, opdrag vir 'n nuwe tombe gegee en is die huidige vierkantige en gekoepelde Moghul- of Delhi-inspireerde struktuur opgerig. Die argitek was F.K. KENDALL wat van 1896 tot 1918 in vennootskap met Herbert BAKER praktiseer het.
Die kramat vorm deel van die sogenaamde beskermende "Heilige Sirkel van Islam" wat strek van die kramatte teen die hange van Seinheuwel bo die klipgroef waar die eerste openbare Moslemgebede aan die Kaap gehou is, deur die kramatte op die rug van die heuwel en die kramat van Sjeg Noorul Mubeen by Oudekraal, en om die berg na die kramatte van Constantia, Faure, Robbeneiland, terug na Seinheuwel.
Sjeg Yusuf van Makassar (1626-1699)
Sjeg Yusuf (Abadin Tadia Tjoesoep) is in 1626 te Gowa by Makassar (Mangkasara), op die suidwestelike punt van die Sulawesi-eiland (voorheen Celebes) langs die Straat van Makassar, gebore. Toe die Portugese dit vroeg in die sestiende eeu bereik het, was dit 'n besige handelshawe waar Arabiese, Indiese, Javaanse, Maleise Siamese en Chinese skepe aangedoen en hulle produkte geruil en verkoop het. Met die koms van die Nederlanders, wat die speseryhandel wou monopoliseer en Britse deelname daaraan wou stuit, is die tradisie van vrye handel aan die begin van die 17de eeu omvergewerp. Nadat hulle die fort van Makassar ingeneem het, is dit herbou en as Fort Rotterdam herdoop. Van hier het hulle die vestings van die Sultan van Gowa geteiken.
Toe hy agtien jaar oud was, het Yusuf op 'n pelgrims- en studietog na Mekka vertrek waar hy verskeie jare deurgebring het. Met sy terugkeer het hy die Nederlanders in Makassar vermy en hom in Bantam in Wes-Java aan die hof van Sultan Ageng (Abulfatah Agung, 1631-1695) as onderwyser en geestelike rigter gevestig. Hy het die sultan se seuns onderrig en met een van sy dogters getrou. Hy was deeglik in die Shari'ah (Moslem kode en godsdienstige wet) onderlê en diep betrokke by die mistieke aspekte van sy geloof met die gevolg dat sy reputasie as 'n vrome persoon en heilige kenner en geleerde vinnig versprei het.
Hoewel die Nederlanders die handel op Java beheer het, het Bantam 'n sterk mate van onafhanklikheid behou. Yusuf was 'n vurige teenstander van die VOC en het en ook 'n rebellie teen die Europeërs gelei toe 'n ouer vredesooreenkoms tussen hulle in 1656 gebreek is. 'n Nuwe ooreenkoms is in 1659 bereik, maar 'n interne tweestryd in die Sultanaat het in die VOC se kraam gepas. Die sultan se seun, later as Sultan Hadji bekend, het met die hulle saamgespan teen sy vader en jonger broer wat voorkeur aan die Britse en Deense handelaars gegee het. Die breuk het in 1680 gekom toe Ageng oorlog teen Batavia (Jakarta) verklaar het. Hadji het 'n opstand teen sy vader gelei wat Ageng tot sy woning beperk het. Hoewel sy volgelinge teruggeveg het, het die Nederlanders Hadji te hulp gesnel en is Ageng na die hooglande verdryf waar hy in Maart 1683 oorgegee het. Hierna is hy na Batavia geneem waar hy oorlede is.
Yusuf het die verset voortgesit en is eers teen die einde van 1683 gevange geneem waarna hy ook na Batavia geneem is. Sy invloed in die Moslemgemeenskap van die VOC se hoofkwartier in die Ooste, waar hy as heilige vereer is, asook die aandrang op sy vrystelling deur die vorste van Gowa (Makassar) – wat toe bondgenote van die VOC was – het daartoe gelei dat Yusuf en sy gevolg eers na Ceylon (Sri Lanka) en daarna na die Kaap verban is. Sjeg Yusuf en sy "aanhang", soos in die notules van die Politieke Raad aangedui is, het op 31 Maart 1694 aan boord die Voetboog in Tafelbaai aangekom. Hier is hulle gul deur goewerneur Simon van der Stel ontvang, maar in die Kasteel gehou totdat daar in Junie besluit is om hulle na die mond van die Eersterivier, wat oor die plaas Zandvliet van ds P. Kalden uitgekyk het, te stuur.9
Hier in die duine, wat later as Makassar en Makassarstrand bekend sou word, het Yusuf en sy gevolg hulle gevestig. Volgens oorlewering was dit die eerste sentrum van Islam en Islamitiese onderrig in Suid-Afrika en het die terrein 'n sakrosante ereplek gebly na Yusuf se afsterwe op 23 April 1699 en sy begrafnis op die heuwel. Hoewel sommige skrywers nie oortuig is dat ook Yusuf se oorskot na die Ooste terug is nie, argumenteer André van Rensburg dat dit wel gebeur het.
"Hoewel 'n aanvanklike versoek van 31 Desember 1701 dat Yusuf se oorskot opgegrawe en na Indonesië gestuur word, geweier is, is in 'n verslag van 26 Februarie 1703 deur die Here XVII gelas dat die sjeg se naasbestaandes en sy oorskot na Indonesië weggebring moes word.
Op 26 Februarie 1704 het die amptelike geskrewe instruksies van die VOC in die Kaap aangekom. Die weduwee van Yusuf, hul jong kinders en ander lede van sy gevolg moes toegelaat word om na Indonesië terug te keer.
Daar is ook bepaal dat die oorskot van Yusuf onopsigtelik opgegrawe moes word sodat die naasbestaandes dit kon saamneem. Voorsorg moes egter getref word dat ander Oosterse bannelinge nie ontsnap deur voor te gee dat hulle naasbestaandes van sjeg Yusuf is nie."10
Die gevolg van Sjeg Yusuf het op 5 Oktober 1704 aan boord van De Spiegel uit Tafelbaai met sy oorskot vertrek en op 10 Desember in Batavia anker gegooi. Hierna is sy hulle na Makassar waar sy oorskot op 6 April 1705 op Lakiung in Ujung Pandang herbegrawe is. Bo-oor Yusuf se nuwe graf is 'n kramat of ko'bang deur die Chinese bouer Dju Kian Kiu opgerig. Ook hierdie Kramat word druk deur pelgrims besoek.
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Kramat is die algemeen Kaapse term vir die tombe van 'n [Moslem] heilige of Wali van Allah; in Urdu verwys karamat of keramat na die wonderwerking van 'n heilige, soms word dit ook as sinoniem vir heilige gebruik.
Die meer algemeen gebruikte spelling word hier in plaas van die erkende Afrikaanse "Joesoef" gebruik.
Raidt, E.H. 1971. François Valentyn Beshryvinge van de Kaap der Goede Hoop met de zaaken daar toe behoorende. Kaapstad: Van Riebeeck Vereniging, Vol. 1, p. 198.
Brain, J.S. (ed.). 1988. The Cape diary of bishop Patrick Raymond Griffith for the years 1837-1839. Cape Town: Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, pp. 189-90.
Aktekantoor, Kaapstad, Akte 6/3/1862, no. 121.
Scherzer, K. 1861. Narrative of the circumnavigation of the globe by the Austrian frigate Novara, (commodore b. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,): undertaken by order of the imperial government, in the years l857,1858, & 1859. London: Saunders, Otley & Co, pp. 244-248.
Seremoniële hoofstad [Fatehpur = stad van oorwinning] van 1569 tot 1574 deur die Mughale Keiser Akbar (1542-1605) by Sikri, die hermitage van sy spirituele gids, Sjeg Salim Chisti, opgerig. Die tombe wat deur Colvin beskryf word, is deur Shah Jahan (1592-1666) herbou.
Colvin, I.D. 1909. Romance of Empire, South Africa. London: TC & EL Jack, pp. 16168.
Böeseken, A.J. 1961. Resolusies van die Politieke Raad III 1681-1707. Kaapstad: Argiefkomitee, p. 283 (14.06.1694).
Van Rensburg, A. & Van Bart, M. 2004. Waar rus Sjeg Yusuf: van die Kaap tot in Makassar. Kultuurkroniek, Bylae by Die Burger, 10 Julie, pp. 12-13
Van Rensburg, A. & Van Bart, M. 2004. Waar rus Sjeg Yusuf: van die Kaap tot in Makassar. Kultuurkroniek, Bylae by Die Burger, 10 Julie, p.13.
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Schalk W le Roux, Gordonsbaai, Februarie 2013
See also Van Bart, M. & Van Rensburg A.
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Wording on Minaret:
IN MEMORY OF
SHEIKH YUSUF
MARTYR & HERO
OF BANTAM
1629 - 1699
THIS MINARET
WAS ERECTED BY
HAJEE SULLAIMAN
SHAHMAHOMED
IN THE REIGN OF
KING GEORGE V
MAY 1925
_____________________
THIS MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED
19TH DECEMBER 1925 BY
SIR FREDERIC DE WAAL
KCMG:LLD:FIRST ADMINISTRATOR
OF THE CAPE PROVINCE
IN THE YEAR WHEN THIS
DISTRICT WAS VISITED BY
HIS ROYAL HIGNESS
THE PRINCE OF WALES
4TH MAY 1925
_____________________
THE "DARGAN" OF ASHBAT
[COMPANIONS] OF SAINT SHEIKH YUSSUF
[GALERAN TUANSE] OF MACASSAR.
_____
HERE LIE THE REMAINS OF FOUR OF FORTY-NINE
FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS WHO AFTER SERVING
IN THE BANTAM WAR OF 1682-83, ARRIVED WITH
SHEIKH YUSSUF AT THE CAPE FROM CEYLON,
IN THE SHIP "VOETBOOG" IN THE YEAR 1694.
_____
THIS COMMEMORATION TABLET WAS ERECTED
DURING THE GREAT WAR ON 8 JANUARY 1918.
BY HAJEE SULLAIMAN SHAHMAHOMED.
SENIOR TRUSTEE.
Wording on plaque:
PRESIDENT SOEHARTO
OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
VISITED THIS SHRINE ON 21 NOVEMBER 1997
TO PAY RESPECT TO THE LATE SHEIKH YUSSUF OF
MACASSAR UPON WHOM THE TITLE OF NATIONAL
HERO WAS CONFERRED BY THE INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT
ON 7 AUGUST 1995
Writings about this Kramat of Sheikh Yusuf
Davids, Achmat. 1980. The Mosques of Bo-Kaap - A social history of Islam at the Cape. Athlone, Cape: The South African Institute of Arabic and Islamic Research. pp 37-40.
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De Bosdari, C. 1971. Cape Dutch Houses and Farms. Cape Town: AA Balkema. pp 73.
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De Kock, WJ. 1976. Suid-Afrikaanse biografiese woordeboek : Deel 1. Kaapstad: RGN/Tafelberg. pp 429-430.
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Du Plessis, Izak David. 1944. The Cape Malays. Cape Town: Maskew Miller. pp 4-7.
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Jaffer, M. 2001. Guide to the Kramats of the Western Cape. Cape Town: Cape Mazaar (Kramat) Society. pp 17-19.
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Jaffer, Mansoor. 1996. Guide to the Kramats of the Western Cape. Cape Town: Cape Mazaar Kramat Society. pp 17.
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Le Roux, SW. 1992. Vormgewende invloede op die ontwikkeling van moskee-argitektuur binne die Heilige Sirkel aan die Kaap tot 1950 . Pretoria: PhD-verhandeling: Universiteit van Pretoria. pp 201-202.
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Oxley, John. 1992. Places of Worship in South Africa. Halfway House: Southern Book Publishers. pp 63-64.
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Potgieter, DJ (Editor-in-chief). 1975. Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 11 Tur-Zwe. Cape Town: Nasou. pp 567.
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Potgieter, DJ (Editor-in-chief). 1972. Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 6 Hun-Lit. Cape Town: Nasou. pp 454-455.
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Rhoda, E. 2010. Hajee Sullaiman Shahmahomed and the shrine of Shayk Yusuf of Macassar at Faure. : Unpublished manuscript.
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Van Selms, A. Joesoef, Sjeik: in De Kock, WJ. 1976. Suid-Afrikaanse biografiese woordeboek : Deel 1: pp 429-430
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Shaykh Yusuf was born at Macassar in 1626. He was also known as Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep. He was of noble birth, a maternal nephew of King Biset of Goa. He studied in Arabia under the tutelage of several pious teachers.
When Shaykh Yusuf arrives at the Cape, on the Voetboeg, he was royally welcomed by Governor Simon van de Stel. His Indonesian background necessitated that he and his 49 followers be settled well away from Cape Town. They were housed on the farm Zandvliet, near the mouth of the Eeste River, in the general area now called Macassar. He received an allowance of 12rix dollars from the Cape authorities for support of himself and his party. At Zandvliet Shaykh Yusuf’s settlement soon became a sanctuary for fugitive slaves. It was here that the first cohesive Muslim community in S.A. was established. The first settlement of Muslims in South Africa was a vibrant one, despite its isolation. It was from here that the message of Islam was disseminated to the slave community living in Cape Town. When Shaykh Yusuf died on 23 May 1699, he was buried on the hill overlooking Macassar at Faure. A shrine was constructed over his grave. Over the years this shrine has been rebuilt and renewed. Today it remains a place of pilgrimage.
Young Ten was at the guest house just after 7:30. He went across the street and got me the potato curry and naan for my breakfast. We left for the Shangri-la airport just after 8. It was about 15 minutes away. I had a connecting flight in Kunming, but Young Ten was able to check my bag all the way to Xishuangbanna. However my two bags now weighed too much to check both of them on a domestic flight. I had to carry one. The flight was less than an hour. I only had a short wait in Kunming.
Flying into Xishuangbanna was gorgeous. There are rows and rows of manicured rubber trees along the lush green hills. I found out later that these all used to be old growth forests and during the cultural revolution, the workers from the city (the ones needing re-education) had to clear the forests and plant the rubber trees. Now rubber is big business here. Tea and rice are secondary.
Xishuangbanna has a long history as the tea plant was discovered there sometime around 2700 BC. Originally tea was used for medicinal purposes, but Lu Yu (sometimes called the father of tea) popularized tea. He wrote about tea cultivation, the best ways to make and drink it, which utensils to use, and the best water sources for tea. Slowly by 1000 AD, tea had evolved from a medicinal beverage to more of a social custom and tradition for China's elite.
Tea used to grow on trees in old growth forests. In this part of China, there are still wild tea trees. Some being trees from cultivated plants that were let to grow wild due to lack of care. But there are other trees that grow wild in the forest. Many tea trees in this area are hundreds of years old.
I knew the weather would be hot and tropical. But when I left Shangri-la in the morning, it was still cool. I was
definitely overdressed for Xishuangbanna. My guide Tony was there waiting for me. He was half Dai and half Han Chinese. At first I thought he was going to be a great guide. But found out later his understanding of English was not as good as I originally thought. I asked if he wanted to see my itinerary to be sure it was the same as his. He said no, it was fine. Instead he was trying to sell me tickets for some musical performance this evening at like 400 yuan ($60). I said that I was not interested. The guides are not supposed to do this and they know it. I was dropped off at the hotel and they would pick me up tomorrow at 8:30.
I wanted to make sure I had a good hotel here. Xishuangbanna is near the Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand borders. It's an earthquake prone zone. There were two relatively large quakes in the last six months so I had to have a sturdy building. I've heard some horrible stories about sub-par buildings in China. For Chinese standards my hotel was listed as 4 star, but for my own personal standards it was somewhere around 3. It was clean but well worn.
Anyway it had air conditioning. I needed to cool down and take a shower after all my traveling and climate changes. I showered and set out to explore Xishuangbanna or more properly the city of Jinghong.
So starting this morning my day changed from the beginning of spring at 3600 meters to a lush tropical rainforest with summer heat and humidity and at 600 meters. This was a weird and strange feeling all in one day. But I embraced where I was now. In the part of San Francisco where I live, it is rare to be outside in the afternoon and especially the evening this time of the year without a jacket (and sometimes even hat, scarf, and gloves).
So as it turned out, this was a very centrally located hotel to the restaurants and cafes. All I had to do was turn right and walk less than a quarter mile and all the western travelers and ex-pats were here, mixed in with some Chinese tourists and locals. I went to the first place that had wifi and an English and Chinese menu. I thought about tea for a second. Then ordered a beer. It was so hot just walking down the street such a short distance. I couldn't imagine drinking something warm.
I hadn't really eaten since my great breakfast, so I was hungry and ordered Yangshou fried rice. It went perfectly with the beer. When I finished eating and was still sipping the beer, Nicole sat down at a table near mine.
We started chatting immediately. She was from Australia (originally Cannes). She had just finished taking the test to teach English in China. She would hear the results in 14 days. I think she said she wanted to teach in Guilin or Yangshou? I can't seem to remember now. She had been traveling in Laos most recently and had only been here a day or two before I arrived. She ordered a beer too and then we continued to hang out and split another beer. I didn't want to drink all day since I just arrived and wanted to explore. And because of the hot weather it would have been easy. We exchanged email and hoped to meet up later or for dinner, etc.
I had purchased a map at the hotel. As soon as I went to use it, I realized it was mainly in Chinese. However, I got an idea of the city lay out, parks, etc.
I couldn't get over the people here. Looking at them, I really felt like I wasn't in China. The Dai people are the largest ethnic minority in this region. Many of the signs would give the Chinese, English, and this third language. I thought it might be Thai. Later I found out it was the Dai language. It is a cross between Thai and Laos. Although, speaking the language, Dai, Thai, and Laos are very similar.
I headed towards a mainly local neighborhood. There was a mini market on the streets and I saw all types of fruits and veggies as usual. This time, I saw some eel too. The temples here were different. We were back to more of the Indian influenced Buddhism versus Tibetan. Many women were dressed in what looked to me more like a traditional Thai dress or some sort of cross between Indian and Thai. Again really beautiful colors and patterns, but not as ornate as the saris.
Lots of buildings had elephants on them and there were many sculptures of elephants around too. I turned around and walked the other direction. Then I tried to find some places that were listed in the guidebook. There weren't very many recommendations in this city, so I figured I would check them all out.
The Wangtianshu Deli actually had a lot of western products, homemade breads, but the homemade sweet section had already been picked over. If I wanted to find something here, it would have to be early morning. I book marked it on my map just in case.
I was also keeping a watch for tea houses and some nice teaware. There were several tea shops but none that looked so inspiring.
I kept walking. It was still light out, but the night market was setting up. There was some interesting stuff. I'll probably walk by it again soon as it is close to the hotel. By now it was 8 or 9 and I was hungry again. I went to MeiMei Cafe. I could get local Dai noodles and a pot of puerh. There is seating indoors, outdoors, and a patio in the back. I hung out for a while and people watched as I drank my tea. I headed back to the hotel by 11.
The following day, I met my guide and we were heading to the elephant sanctuary and the Dai village. Just as we started driving he told me today we would be going to the Botanical Gardens first then the elephant sanctuary. I said there is a mistake. Can we please stop the car and straighten this out. I knew I should have discussed this with him yesterday. So he reviewed my itinerary, made some phone calls, and then we headed to the Dai village. I also made him read the rest of my itinerary too to make sure there were no more surprises.
We went to the village first and then the local market. There was a buddhist temple. Again, this was rebuilt after it had been destroyed during the cultural revolution. We walked by the local homes. Typically the homes are on two floors and built on stilts. The downstairs is where the animals live and is used for food storage. Then the bedrooms are on the second floor. Each family had such beautiful gardens. Tony knows a lot about the local plants. He showed me papayas, mangoes, plum trees, peach trees, black pepper plants, lemon grass, jack fruit, teak wood trees, and probably a few more. I was impressed. The Dai people mainly are farmers.
We got back in the car and drove a little way to see the local market. I walked for around 45 minutes. This market was huge. It was inside a large covered area. You could get any type of spice, fruit, noodles (either for take away or to cook at your home later) vegetables, chicken (dead or alive), meat, snakes, toys, fabrics, etc. The market is there and is this size every single day.
The drive there and back was along the Mekong River. There were hills rising up on both sides and the predominant thing growing was rubber trees.
This road was really bumpy. Apparently it was being re-surfaced. I noticed a chairlift going over the river and asked what it was. Right now it was closed down due to the road construction, but it goes to a monkey sanctuary.
So we were now on the way to the elephant sanctuary. In my mind, I had such a different thought of what this would be like. Instead of really being a sanctuary, it was more of a theme park. There were so many buses filled with tourists.
I specifically had written in my itinerary--no elephant show. Tony asked me if I wanted to watch the elephant show??? Then he said we should eat as it was noon. I told him I wasn't hungry. We both had eaten a huge buffet breakfast at my hotel at 8. I said maybe we should eat later. Everyone was watching the elephant show right now so it would be pretty quiet at the park. He said he wanted to eat. I asked him if this place right here was the only place in the entire park you could get something to eat. I asked him twice. He said yes. So he went to eat while I walked around.
I saw several other places to eat besides, where he went. I went to look at some of the snake and outdoor exhibits. I couldn't tell if Tony and I were having communication problems due to cultural differences or if he didn't really understand English that well.
We met a little later and went to see the butterfly area. This section was completely enclosed in a large dome shape. There were lots of plants inside that attracted butterflies.
Then we walked to get in line for the chairlift. The bird show just letting out and everyone was also running to get in line for the chairlift.
The line ended up taking about 20 minutes. The chairlift ride itself took about 30 minutes. It was beautiful. The lush tropical forests were below. There were mountains in the distance. Several times a car passed by in the opposite direction and someone was playing the wooden flute. We went uphill on the lift for a while then we would go back down and then back up again.
Finally we got off with everyone else. I waited a while to let the groups go through. I figured there would be absolutely no chance to see an elephant while hanging out with 50 people and a loudspeaker. I walked slowly and took a lot of pictures. Finally the big group got ahead of us. There was a walkway which was mostly elevated. There were also a lot of Eco-huts sprinkled around the beginning of the park. These were now closed. Apparently you used to be able to spend the night here. I don't know why they closed them. The accommodations were pretty basic, but it would have been cool to see the elephants beneath you.
I also found out that the park adds salt to the lake below to attract the elephants to the tourist path. We could see footprints here and there but I knew there would be no chance to see elephants. Tony told me that early in the morning and then after 4 in the afternoon are the best times to see the elephants. After walking about the first 10 minutes, I finally began to enjoy the park for what it was--just being out in nature. The cicadas were making such loud noises. We actually saw some on the tree branches. Apparently if locals find them, soon they will cooked up in hot oil and eaten.
From time to time, Tony would point out new and different plant species that we hadn't seen before. The total walk was about 40 minutes. I also asked him when was the last time he actually saw an elephant at this park. I was really skeptical that it ever happened. But he said it was less than a month ago. I was really surprised.
So when we got back to the car, I was trying to tell Tony that I really wanted to see the big tea trees. I asked him if it was possible when we met again in two days, if we could skip the Hani village and go to see the big tea trees. He said it would cost a lot of money. I said how could that be? I showed him where it was on the map and it was just before we would reach the tea plantation.
I told him that maybe I will take a bus on my own then. I asked him to write down for me the directions to get there or the names of the towns nearby in Chinese and he wouldn't.
I was very frustrated. I then asked him what the best hotel in the entire city was. I said if the president of China came here, where would he stay? He pointed to a place on the map, that was very close to my hotel. The reason I asked him this is that I wanted to try to find an English speaker to help me get to the big tea trees. Worst case scenario, they would have good teas in the hotel so I could drink tea.
I told him I will contact my travel coordinator in Shanghai. Maybe something could be done to change my schedule. We agreed to meet at 8:30 in two days.
I was hungry when we got back so I went out to eat. It was getting close to dinner time. I still didn't know what to do about the tea trees. I wanted to do that more than anything and had a free day tomorrow and again two days later.
I went to the Mekong Cafe. The menu was outside the cafe and the owner quickly came by to explain it to me. He was originally from France but married a local woman and has a 4 year old child.
Just as I was sitting down I saw Nicole. She asked me to join her. She was talking to a couple. He was from Melbourne. She was from China originally, but they met in Melbourne five years ago where she was studying English.
It sounded like he has several businesses in Australia, but he also opened up a guesthouse 5 kilometers from Lijiang. He said it's peaceful and quiet and there are great views. It sounded more like it was his holiday home and whenever was convenient for him, he would allow guests. At some point he would have a restaurant too. As he continued to talk, it sounded more like she was going to get stuck running it while he hung out and drank beers with his friends. He said there is a tight group of expats in Lijiang. There are about 40 of them running various businesses.
Nicole and I caught up briefly about what we had been up to and what we were doing later today. Also the owner dropped by and gave us each a good map in English! I told Nicole about my desire to see the big tea trees and that I didn't know how I was going to get there. She said that maybe I should ask the Chinese woman to translate a couple a words and then I would at least have a starting point tomorrow. She said I should hurry though because they are leaving soon, and then they are going back to Lijiang.
I went up to the woman and showed her in the lonely planet guide where it was marked "king of tea trees" on the map. She said she had never heard of it before. I said I thought there were some very old tea trees there. 300-500 years for sure but possibly older.
She looked at the book and the two maps I gave her. She wrote the English and Chinese words for me for king of tea trees, Nannoushan, and then ask how to get to Banpolaozhai.
Wow, this was at least a start. I didn't know if I would go tomorrow or wait and see if I can get the guide to take me.
I ordered food and Nicole was just finishing up. Then we split another beer. She was trying to get to the rice terraces in the east. She had heard that the bus left at 6:30 in the morning and there is only one bus per day. This bus wouldn't even get her all the way. She would have to stay overnight and transfer to another bus. Her second problem was that she had to get to a bank and convert her Thai money to Chinese before she could go. She didn't think she was going to get there tomorrow. Then she said maybe she would end up going to Kunming instead. She didn't want to miss the rice terraces, but couldn't afford to waste another day when her time was limited.
I told her I was going to head out and walk to this hotel my guide told me about. It was supposedly really nice. They would probably have good tea and maybe an English speaker.
So she said she wanted to come. I was glad to have someone with me. But I was so used to walking around by myself even at night. We both said that we felt very safe here.
We walked by the night market. They were just setting up. She showed me the teapot she had been eyeing. A Chinese man came up to us and started speaking English. She asked the merchant how much. After she said the price, the man told her the price she could really get it for if she was a good bargainer.
He had told us he just got done working on a co-sponsored project with the Chinese and Germans. It was a three year project on climate change. He said he had learned quite a bit himself just being a translator. He was a nice man and we chatted a little more with him. Then we headed for the hotel or tea or whatever. It looked like this hotel was in a park.
When we got there it looked large and beautiful from the outside. From the inside there was a huge lobby but not one person hanging out. We went to the front desk to see if the woman could be any help. She didn't speak English and there was no tea house. So we used the restrooms. There was no way this hotel was the best hotel in the city.
We turned around. We had passed a few tea houses on the way. Maybe we should go for tea anyway. There was one on my google map. We tried asking some people if they knew where it was. Nicole spoke a little Chinese.
We kept being sent to different places with no luck. Then we walked to the opposite side of the street where the park was. We found a family exiting a restaurant and they were helpful. What we think they said was turn left and when you come to an intersection turn left again and you will find a tea house. Nicole was a good sport. She hadn't been to any tea houses in China yet so she wanted to keep up the search. We finally found it. It was quite large and there were three older woman there drinking tea.
She tried asking in Chinese if we could taste tea. They didn't understand her so I just said "puerh cha". Then they motioned for us to sit down with them. They were drinking a shou cha which is a dark and fermented tea. I had no idea about how old it was. We couldn't tell. It was nice. I was trying to explain a few things to Nicole about tea. Every once in a while the woman would say something in English. Between the two of us, we would say a few Chinese words too.
The woman pouring the tea called her friend who spoke English. She handed the phone to me. We didn't know anything about her but on the phone she said she was having dinner right now. Maybe we could meet her in about 1/2 hour she would take us to a tea shop. She said we should meet her at MeiMei Cafe. She said the tea shop is very close by.
So Nicole was still with me. She enjoyed the chase. We thanked the women for the tea and said goodbye. We walked back. The night market was hopping now. She looked at the teapots again but couldn't get to the price she wanted. She saw some dolls in all sorts of Chinese ethnic minority costumes. She had two nieces in Australia to buy for. She found two she liked and got a great price. Then we walked the rest of the way to MeiMei Cafe.
The woman who spoke to me on the phone was there. She was originally from Hong Kong. She was living in Jinghong for 7 years now. We walked through the back door. She told us all these shops back here were tea shops. It's called tea alley. We walked a little way and into a tea shop. There was a young Russian guy in there drinking tea. We sat down. The woman poured us the two teas that he was already drinking. One was a shou cha--5 years old. It sounded like the leaves were from this county but we didn't get a specific region or mountain. The other was a 1 year old sheng cha (green tea that was unfermented) from Yi Wa. I enjoyed both.
Nicole was mesmerized by the whole process. Watching the woman wash the cups and the tea. Pouring the tea. Straining it into a glass pot. Using the tea utensils. She really enjoyed the shou cha.
It turned out the Russian guy, Nikita, spoke English well. He was most recently in Laos and Puerh City and just arrived today. In Moscow, he had a partner that was in the tea business. He said he helped him and was traveling around trying teas. And if he found a good connection, he would try to get samples for his partner or maybe buy teas.
He was very interesting. He had his own ceramic cup for drinking tea. And he had this plastic business sized card. He always placed his tea cup on it. He said his partner created the card. He said it changes the composition of the water in some way to make the tea taste better. He had no idea what compound or component made it work, but he said it made a difference in the way the tea tasted for him, so he used it all the time.
The next tea we tried was a 5 year old fermented tea stored in bamboo. I wasn't particularly interested in trying this one. But she was interested in telling us about it. She was actually a math teacher and this was her son's business. She enjoyed teaching people. She brewed the tea and made everyone try it. She wanted everyone's opinion. I didn't really get much flavor at all until the end. It was ok, but nothing special for me. But, I didn't want to offend her, so I just said I could only taste the flavor at the end.
Nikita said he liked it. After everyone tried it, she told us the tea was bad. She said see how your mouth feels. Maybe it's a little numb. This is not a good tea. She was exactly right. I did get that numbing sensation in my mouth and on my lips. I stopped drinking that tea.
She poured one more tea for us and it was another sheng cha from Yi Wa. I liked this one better. It was also from last year. We drank that for a while. In conversation it came up that maybe Nikita would be hiring the Hong Kong woman and her partner to go visit tea plantations. I told Nikita about the old tea trees. He was very interested. We said that maybe we could coordinate a trip together and use them as guides.
We kept drinking the tea. Nikita had the woman pouring tea for us try drinking two separate cups. One cup would have the plastic business card underneath and one without. She laughed and said she didn't notice any difference. She also let Nikita make tea for us and then gave him a few pointers. He was pouring the tea from too great a distance into the cup and also, he moved the lid of the gaiwan too often. She said the tea would be too harsh that way.
He said he was experimenting making it a few ways. He says he had a different set up at home and was getting used to hers. She also said he was too serious and he should loosen up. He said he felt very self conscious and wanted to make some good tea for everyone. Of course he was being serious!
Nicole was having a great time. I told her to just be careful drinking tea. It is possible to drink too much if you are not used to it.
Nicole kept lamenting that it didn't look like she was getting to the rice terraces this trip. The woman from Hong Kong asked her why. She said that the bus tomorrow was so early, plus she still needed to change money.
The woman from Hong Kong got on the phone and called someone. It turned out that there was a direct bus to the town. This bus would leave at 9:30 instead of 6:30. Nicole was thrilled she would possibly be able to make that one.
Then the Hong Kong woman and her partner started talking to Nikita and I about a trip tomorrow. She quoted him a price for one person with a driver, guide, and lunch for 650. For the two of us it would be 450 each. I thought that was a little rich. None of them had heard about the old tea trees until I mentioned it. So I wasn't even sure they would know how to find the place or identify the trees.
Then Nikita asked about the price for a half day trip for one person. They said 550. They said there were still some fixed costs so that was the lowest she would go.
Nikita and I briefly concurred that it was too much money. But we decided that we should meet tomorrow and try to go there on our own. I told him I had the Chinese and English names written down of how to get there. It would be a lot cheaper and it sounded like we could take a bus to Nannoushan and then ask for directions once we got there. We agreed to meet here at 8:30 and plan our course. He was staying across the street from the tea house so Nicole and I said goodbye to him. We walked towards her guest house. Mine was just a little bit further down the road.
What an interesting evening that turned out to be! I felt bad for the Hong Kong woman and her partner. They got nothing out of the evening but did a lot of translating. Their prices were simply too high and they didn't even want to bargain. Everyone else got information or connections we were looking for.
faure/macassar, western cape- kramat of sheikh yussuf
A Kramat is a shrine or mausoleum that has been built over the burial place of a Muslim who's particular piety and practice of the teachings of Islam is recognised by the community. I have been engaged in documenting these sites around Cape Town over several visits at different times over the last few years. They range widely from graves marked by an edge of stones to more elaborate tombs sheltered by buildings of various styles. They are cultural markers that speak of a culture was shaped by life at the Cape and that infuses Cape Town at large.
In my searches used the guide put out by the Cape Masaar Society as a basic guide to locate some recognised sites. Even so some were not that easy to find.
In the context of the Muslims at the Cape, historically the kramats represented places of focus for the faithful and were/are often places of local pilgrimage. When the Dutch and the VOC (United East India Company aka Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) set up a refuelling station and a settlement at the Cape, Muslims from their territories in the East Indies and Batavia were with them from the start as soldiers, slaves and 'Vryswarten'; (freemen). As the settlement established itself as a colony the Cape became a useful place to banish political opponents from the heart of their eastern empire. Some exiles were of royal lineage and there were also scholars amongst them. One of the most well known of these exiles was Sheik Yusuf who was cordially received by Govenor van der Stel as befitted his rank (he and his entourage where eventually housed on an estate away from the main settlement so that he was less likely to have an influence over the local population), others were imprisoned for a time both in Cape Town and on Robben island. It is said that the first Koran in the Cape was first written out from memory by Sheik Yusuf after his arrival. There were several Islamic scholars in his retinue and these men encouraged something of an Islamic revival amoung the isolated community. Their influence over the enslaved “Malay” population who were already nominally Muslim was considerable and through the ministrations of other teachers to the underclasses the influence of Islam became quite marked. As political opponents to the governing powers the teachers became focus points for escaped slaves in the outlying areas.
Under the VOC it was forbidden to practice any other faith other than Christianity in public which meant that there was no provision for mosques or madrasas. The faith was maintained informally until the end of the C18th when plans were made for the first mosque and promises of land to be granted for a specific burial ground in the Bo Kaap were given in negotiations for support against an imminent British invasion. These promises were honoured by the British after their victory.
There is talk of a prophecy of a protective circle of Islam that would surround Cape Town. I cannot find the specifics of this prophecy but the 27 kramats of the “Auliyah” or friends of Allah, as these honoured individuals are known, do form a loose circle of saints. Some of the Auliyah are credited with miraculous powers in legends that speak of their life and works. Within the folk tradition some are believed to be able to intercede on behalf of supplicants (even though this more part of a mystical philosophy (keramat) and is not strictly accepted in mainstream contemporary Islamic teaching) and even today some visitors may offer special prayers at their grave sites in much the same way as Christians might direct prayer at the shrine of a particular saint.
photographer's note-
sheikh yussuf was the brother of the king of Goa (Gowa) with it's capital of Makassar. yussuf fought in battles against the Dutch and was eventually captured. he was transferred to the cape of good hope in 1693. he died in 1699. he had 2 wives, 2 concubines, 12 children and 14 male and female slaves.
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Die Kramat van Sjeg Yusuf, Faure
Die Kramat1 van Sjeg Yusuf (Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep)2 op 'n klein heuwel naby die mond van die Eersterivier in Makassar, Faure, is 'n terrein waarheen Kaapse Moslems oor die laaste drie eeue pelgrimstogte onderneem. Yusuf is op 23 April 1699 oorlede en op die heuwel begrawe. Volgens predikant en skrywer, Francois Valentyn (1666-1727), wat sy graf in 1705 besoek het, was dit "een cierlyke Mohammedaansch tombe, wat van zeer hoog opgezette steenen, verheerlykt was".3 Dit is nie heeltemal duidelik of hy van 'n hoog opgeboude graf of 'n struktuur daaroor praat nie.
Dié tombe moes mettertyd veranderings en verbouings het en volgens Biskop Patrick Griffith (1798-1862) wat dit meer as 'n eeu later op 25 Januarie 1839 besoek het, het dit heel anders daar uitgesien...
and proceeded to a Mr Cloete's where we took horses and road (sic) to a Malay Mosque [i.e. the kramat] situated on the summit of a hill, to which we ascended by a rude Stone Stair Case, rather Circular and partly cut out of Limestone rock, by an hundred steps. We left our horses below tied to the door of a Caravansery where the Pilgrims who come every year from Cape Town and all around, lodge while they go thro' their devotions. Both Lodging House and Mosque are at present deserted and we cd. only see the Exterior of both. The Mosque has a small Mineret (sic) in the centre and contains the Tomb of some Prince and Priest of the Sect. The Building is square and low with a portico: the windows are screened within and all that could be seen through some chinks in the walls was some drapery. A curious sight, however, exists outside: graves covered with white Clothes, five or six of which graves are enclosed together with a low wall round them; two or three more are apart; each has a round black stone at the head round which a Malay handkerchief is tied, with another black stone at foot, represents the feet, so that with the white sheet over the body, one wd. imagine at first view that it was a corpse was directly before him, the representation of it is so like reality. These White cloths (of calico) are renewed every year and we found some sixty or more rotten ones under each of the last white Coverings."1
Die terrein is in 1862 deur die imam van die Jamia-moskee in Chiappinistraat, Abdol Wahab, aangekoop,5 maar die gebou het tot vroeg in die 20ste eeu bewaar gebly, hoewel dit by verskeie geleenthede klein veranderings en herstelwerk moes ondergaan het.
Die Oostenrykse wetenskaplike, diplomaat en ontdekkingsreisiger, Karl Ritter von Scherzer (1821-1903) het die Kaap in Oktober 1857 aan boord die Novara, op 'n omseilingstog van die wêreld, aangedoen. Hy het die volgende waardevolle beskrywing, deurdrenk met sy eie voor- en afkeure, nagelaat:
"The following morning we drove to a hill, ahout a mile and a half distant from Zandvliet, known as Macassar Downs, on which is the spot of interment, (Krammat or Brammat), of a Malay prophet.
This individual, so honoured in death, was, if we are to believe the Malays, a direct descendant of Mahomet, named Sheikh Joseph, who, expelled from Batavia by the Dutch Government for political reasons, settled in the colony about a century and a half ago, and died and was buried in the neighbourhood of Zandvliet. An especial deputation came over from Malacca to Cape Colony to fetch away the corpse of the defunct prophet, for conveyance to the land of his birth; but at the disinterment it happened that the little finger of the prophet, in spite of the most persevering research, could nowhere be found. This circumstance appeared to those simple believers sufficient reason for erecting a monument over the spot in which the finger of a Malay prophet lay hid from view. Even to this day the Malays from time to time perform a pilgrimage to the Colony and celebrate their religious ceremonies at the Mausoleum. Four followers of the prophet are buried with him, two of them Mahometan priests, who are regarded with much veneration by the Malays.
An extensive flight of stone steps leads to the tomb, the exterior of which is very insignificant, and, but for a small pointed turret, hardly differs from an ordinary dwelling-house. On entering, a low-roofed vault is visible, a sort of front outhouse, which rather disfigures the facade, and much more resembles a cellar than the portal of a Mausoleum. Above the arch of this vault an Arabic inscription has been engraved with a stylus but this is so painted over in brick colour that it has already become almost illegible. Judging by the few words that have been deciphered, it seems to consist of the first propositions of the Koran.
The inner room, provided on two sides with modern glazed windows at irregular intervals, is about the size of an ordinary room of 12 feet long, 9 wide, and 7 high (3.66m long, 2.74 wide, and 2.13 high). In the middle rises the monument, to which access is had by some more brick steps. Immense quantities of unwashed white linen cloth are heaped upon it, which seem occasionally sprinkled with a brown odoriferous liquid (dupa). As at the head of Sheikh Joseph, so at his feet several figures, resembling those in enamel used to ornament tarts, are drawn upon the linen cloth with the overflowings of the unguent. These have undoubtedly been formed accidentally, and it appears wrong and unfair to attribute to them any more recondite significance. The monument rests upon four wooden pillars, with pyramidal pinnacles or ornaments, and is richly decorated with fine white muslin, which gives to the whole very much the appearance of an old-fashioned English "fourposter," with its costly drapery and curtains. While the curtains are spread out all around, several small green and white bannerets stand at the upper and lower end of the sarcophagus. The whole interior is, as it were, impregnated with the incense which devout Malay pilgrims from time to time burn here, especially after the forty days' fast (Ramadan), or leave behind upon the steps of the tomb in flasks or in paper-boxes. On such occasions, they always bring wax-candles and linen cloth as an offering, with the latter of which they deck the tomb afresh, so that a perfect mountain of white linen rises above the stone floor. During their devotions they unceasingly kiss this white mass of stuff, and as they are continually chewing tobacco, this filthy habit produces disgustingly loathsome stains.
On the same hill which boasts the tomb of Sheikh Joseph, there are also, in ground that is common property, nine other graves of eminent Malays, enclosed with carefully-selected stones, and likewise covered over with large broad strips of bleached linen cloth, protected by stones from any injury by weather or violence. At the head and foot of each individual interred, is a single stone of larger size. Formerly the black inhabitants of the neighbourhood made use of this store of linen cloth to make shirts for themselves, without further thought upon the propriety of the matter. Latterly, however, a shrewd Malay priest spread a report that one of these ebony linen stealers had lost all the fingers off one hand, since which the graves of those departed worthies remain inviolate and unprofaned.
At the foot of the hill are some small half-fallen-in buildings, near a large hall, painted white, red, and yellow, consisting of a small apartment and a kitchen, the whole in a most dirty, neglected, and desolate condition. At this point the Moslems must have accomplished certain prayers, before they can climb the hill and proceed to visit the tomb. Over the door of this singular house of prayer some words are likewise engraved in the Arabic character, which, however, are now entirely illegible.
On quitting the Malay Krammat, we next undertook a tolerably difficult walk to the Downs or sand-dunes, which at this point extend along the entire coast line, on which the wax-berry shrub, as already mentioned, grows wild in vast quantities, and visibly prevents the further encroachments of the moving sand. The Eerst Rivier (First River) may be regarded as the limit of demarcation between the sand-dunes and the soil adapted for vegetation."6
'n Britse joernalis en historikus, Ian Duncan Colvin (1877-1938), beskryf sy besoek aan die Kramat vyftig jaar later in die begin van die 20ste eeu:
"It was in springtime that we made the pilgrimage, in October, the springtime of the south... We passed through cow-scented pasture and the cornlands of Zandvliet, and so towards the sea, guided by the white star of the tomb.
It stands upon a sandstone rock which the Eerste River bends round on its way to the sea, and you can hear the breakers roaring, though unseen behind the sand-dunes. A little wooden bridge crosses the river beside the drift... On the farther side the little hill rises steeply, and under it nestles a row of very ancient and dilapidated cottages. One of them is used as a stable by the pilgrims and another as a mosque, and upon its porch you will see a little notice in English that 'women are not allowed inside the church', a warning signed with all the weight and authority of the late Haji Abdul Kalil... Inside, this little chapel is touchingly primitive and simple, with blue sky showing through the thatched roof, and a martin's nest plastered on the ceiling of the little alcove. Between these cottages and the stream is a field of sweet marjoram, no doubt grown for the service of the shrine, and the way up the hill is made easy by a flight of steps build perhaps centuries ago, and ruinous with age. With their white balustrades, and overgrown as they are with grass and wild-flowers, they are very beautiful, and in pilgrimage-time we may suppose them bright with Malays ascending and descending. We mounted them to the top, where they open on a little courtyard roughly paved and encinctured by a low white wall. On the farther side, opposite the top of the stairs, is the tomb itself, a little white building with an archway leading into a porch. Beyond is a door, of the sort common in Cape farm-houses, divided into two across the middle. Of course, we did not dare to open it and peep inside; but I am told by a Mahomedan friend that the inner tomb is of white stucco with four pillars of a pleasant design. It is upholstered in bright-coloured plush, and copies of the Koran lie open upon it. The inside of the room is papered in the best Malay fashion, and over the window is a veil of tinselled green gauze. From the roof several ostrich eggs hang on strings, and altogether it is the gayest and brightest little shrine. The ostrich eggs hanging on their strings made me think of a much more splendid tomb which Akbar, the first greatest of the Moguls, build for his friend Selim Chisti, a humble ascetic, in the centre of the mosque at Fatehpur Sikri.7 If any of my readers have made a pilgrimage to that wonderful deserted city, they will remember the tomb build of fretted marble, white and delicate as lace, in the centre of the great silent mosque of red sandstone – surely the finest testimonial to disinterested and spiritual friendship that exists in the world. And, if they look inside, they will recollect that around the inner shrine of mother o’pearl hang ostrich eggs just as they hang in Sheik Joseph’s tomb on the Cape Flats. But this digression is only to show that the Malay of Cape Town knows what is proper to the ornamentation of kramats. The shrine is tended with pious care, kept clean and white by the good Malays – a people of whom it may be said truly that they hold cleanliness as a virtue next to godliness."8
Hierdie beskrywing kom ooreen met dié van Scherzer en 'n foto in die Elliot-versameling in die Kaapse argief. Die minaret wat deur Biskop Griffith genoem en deur Scherzer geïllustreer is, en moontlik van hout gemaak was, het intussen verdwyn.
In 1925 het die Indiese filantroop, Hadji Sulaiman Sjah Mohamed Ali, opdrag vir 'n nuwe tombe gegee en is die huidige vierkantige en gekoepelde Moghul- of Delhi-inspireerde struktuur opgerig. Die argitek was F.K. KENDALL wat van 1896 tot 1918 in vennootskap met Herbert BAKER praktiseer het.
Die kramat vorm deel van die sogenaamde beskermende "Heilige Sirkel van Islam" wat strek van die kramatte teen die hange van Seinheuwel bo die klipgroef waar die eerste openbare Moslemgebede aan die Kaap gehou is, deur die kramatte op die rug van die heuwel en die kramat van Sjeg Noorul Mubeen by Oudekraal, en om die berg na die kramatte van Constantia, Faure, Robbeneiland, terug na Seinheuwel.
Sjeg Yusuf van Makassar (1626-1699)
Sjeg Yusuf (Abadin Tadia Tjoesoep) is in 1626 te Gowa by Makassar (Mangkasara), op die suidwestelike punt van die Sulawesi-eiland (voorheen Celebes) langs die Straat van Makassar, gebore. Toe die Portugese dit vroeg in die sestiende eeu bereik het, was dit 'n besige handelshawe waar Arabiese, Indiese, Javaanse, Maleise Siamese en Chinese skepe aangedoen en hulle produkte geruil en verkoop het. Met die koms van die Nederlanders, wat die speseryhandel wou monopoliseer en Britse deelname daaraan wou stuit, is die tradisie van vrye handel aan die begin van die 17de eeu omvergewerp. Nadat hulle die fort van Makassar ingeneem het, is dit herbou en as Fort Rotterdam herdoop. Van hier het hulle die vestings van die Sultan van Gowa geteiken.
Toe hy agtien jaar oud was, het Yusuf op 'n pelgrims- en studietog na Mekka vertrek waar hy verskeie jare deurgebring het. Met sy terugkeer het hy die Nederlanders in Makassar vermy en hom in Bantam in Wes-Java aan die hof van Sultan Ageng (Abulfatah Agung, 1631-1695) as onderwyser en geestelike rigter gevestig. Hy het die sultan se seuns onderrig en met een van sy dogters getrou. Hy was deeglik in die Shari'ah (Moslem kode en godsdienstige wet) onderlê en diep betrokke by die mistieke aspekte van sy geloof met die gevolg dat sy reputasie as 'n vrome persoon en heilige kenner en geleerde vinnig versprei het.
Hoewel die Nederlanders die handel op Java beheer het, het Bantam 'n sterk mate van onafhanklikheid behou. Yusuf was 'n vurige teenstander van die VOC en het en ook 'n rebellie teen die Europeërs gelei toe 'n ouer vredesooreenkoms tussen hulle in 1656 gebreek is. 'n Nuwe ooreenkoms is in 1659 bereik, maar 'n interne tweestryd in die Sultanaat het in die VOC se kraam gepas. Die sultan se seun, later as Sultan Hadji bekend, het met die hulle saamgespan teen sy vader en jonger broer wat voorkeur aan die Britse en Deense handelaars gegee het. Die breuk het in 1680 gekom toe Ageng oorlog teen Batavia (Jakarta) verklaar het. Hadji het 'n opstand teen sy vader gelei wat Ageng tot sy woning beperk het. Hoewel sy volgelinge teruggeveg het, het die Nederlanders Hadji te hulp gesnel en is Ageng na die hooglande verdryf waar hy in Maart 1683 oorgegee het. Hierna is hy na Batavia geneem waar hy oorlede is.
Yusuf het die verset voortgesit en is eers teen die einde van 1683 gevange geneem waarna hy ook na Batavia geneem is. Sy invloed in die Moslemgemeenskap van die VOC se hoofkwartier in die Ooste, waar hy as heilige vereer is, asook die aandrang op sy vrystelling deur die vorste van Gowa (Makassar) – wat toe bondgenote van die VOC was – het daartoe gelei dat Yusuf en sy gevolg eers na Ceylon (Sri Lanka) en daarna na die Kaap verban is. Sjeg Yusuf en sy "aanhang", soos in die notules van die Politieke Raad aangedui is, het op 31 Maart 1694 aan boord die Voetboog in Tafelbaai aangekom. Hier is hulle gul deur goewerneur Simon van der Stel ontvang, maar in die Kasteel gehou totdat daar in Junie besluit is om hulle na die mond van die Eersterivier, wat oor die plaas Zandvliet van ds P. Kalden uitgekyk het, te stuur.9
Hier in die duine, wat later as Makassar en Makassarstrand bekend sou word, het Yusuf en sy gevolg hulle gevestig. Volgens oorlewering was dit die eerste sentrum van Islam en Islamitiese onderrig in Suid-Afrika en het die terrein 'n sakrosante ereplek gebly na Yusuf se afsterwe op 23 April 1699 en sy begrafnis op die heuwel. Hoewel sommige skrywers nie oortuig is dat ook Yusuf se oorskot na die Ooste terug is nie, argumenteer André van Rensburg dat dit wel gebeur het.
"Hoewel 'n aanvanklike versoek van 31 Desember 1701 dat Yusuf se oorskot opgegrawe en na Indonesië gestuur word, geweier is, is in 'n verslag van 26 Februarie 1703 deur die Here XVII gelas dat die sjeg se naasbestaandes en sy oorskot na Indonesië weggebring moes word.
Op 26 Februarie 1704 het die amptelike geskrewe instruksies van die VOC in die Kaap aangekom. Die weduwee van Yusuf, hul jong kinders en ander lede van sy gevolg moes toegelaat word om na Indonesië terug te keer.
Daar is ook bepaal dat die oorskot van Yusuf onopsigtelik opgegrawe moes word sodat die naasbestaandes dit kon saamneem. Voorsorg moes egter getref word dat ander Oosterse bannelinge nie ontsnap deur voor te gee dat hulle naasbestaandes van sjeg Yusuf is nie."10
Die gevolg van Sjeg Yusuf het op 5 Oktober 1704 aan boord van De Spiegel uit Tafelbaai met sy oorskot vertrek en op 10 Desember in Batavia anker gegooi. Hierna is sy hulle na Makassar waar sy oorskot op 6 April 1705 op Lakiung in Ujung Pandang herbegrawe is. Bo-oor Yusuf se nuwe graf is 'n kramat of ko'bang deur die Chinese bouer Dju Kian Kiu opgerig. Ook hierdie Kramat word druk deur pelgrims besoek.
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Kramat is die algemeen Kaapse term vir die tombe van 'n [Moslem] heilige of Wali van Allah; in Urdu verwys karamat of keramat na die wonderwerking van 'n heilige, soms word dit ook as sinoniem vir heilige gebruik.
Die meer algemeen gebruikte spelling word hier in plaas van die erkende Afrikaanse "Joesoef" gebruik.
Raidt, E.H. 1971. François Valentyn Beshryvinge van de Kaap der Goede Hoop met de zaaken daar toe behoorende. Kaapstad: Van Riebeeck Vereniging, Vol. 1, p. 198.
Brain, J.S. (ed.). 1988. The Cape diary of bishop Patrick Raymond Griffith for the years 1837-1839. Cape Town: Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, pp. 189-90.
Aktekantoor, Kaapstad, Akte 6/3/1862, no. 121.
Scherzer, K. 1861. Narrative of the circumnavigation of the globe by the Austrian frigate Novara, (commodore b. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,): undertaken by order of the imperial government, in the years l857,1858, & 1859. London: Saunders, Otley & Co, pp. 244-248.
Seremoniële hoofstad [Fatehpur = stad van oorwinning] van 1569 tot 1574 deur die Mughale Keiser Akbar (1542-1605) by Sikri, die hermitage van sy spirituele gids, Sjeg Salim Chisti, opgerig. Die tombe wat deur Colvin beskryf word, is deur Shah Jahan (1592-1666) herbou.
Colvin, I.D. 1909. Romance of Empire, South Africa. London: TC & EL Jack, pp. 16168.
Böeseken, A.J. 1961. Resolusies van die Politieke Raad III 1681-1707. Kaapstad: Argiefkomitee, p. 283 (14.06.1694).
Van Rensburg, A. & Van Bart, M. 2004. Waar rus Sjeg Yusuf: van die Kaap tot in Makassar. Kultuurkroniek, Bylae by Die Burger, 10 Julie, pp. 12-13
Van Rensburg, A. & Van Bart, M. 2004. Waar rus Sjeg Yusuf: van die Kaap tot in Makassar. Kultuurkroniek, Bylae by Die Burger, 10 Julie, p.13.
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Schalk W le Roux, Gordonsbaai, Februarie 2013
See also Van Bart, M. & Van Rensburg A.
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Wording on Minaret:
IN MEMORY OF
SHEIKH YUSUF
MARTYR & HERO
OF BANTAM
1629 - 1699
THIS MINARET
WAS ERECTED BY
HAJEE SULLAIMAN
SHAHMAHOMED
IN THE REIGN OF
KING GEORGE V
MAY 1925
_____________________
THIS MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED
19TH DECEMBER 1925 BY
SIR FREDERIC DE WAAL
KCMG:LLD:FIRST ADMINISTRATOR
OF THE CAPE PROVINCE
IN THE YEAR WHEN THIS
DISTRICT WAS VISITED BY
HIS ROYAL HIGNESS
THE PRINCE OF WALES
4TH MAY 1925
_____________________
THE "DARGAN" OF ASHBAT
[COMPANIONS] OF SAINT SHEIKH YUSSUF
[GALERAN TUANSE] OF MACASSAR.
_____
HERE LIE THE REMAINS OF FOUR OF FORTY-NINE
FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS WHO AFTER SERVING
IN THE BANTAM WAR OF 1682-83, ARRIVED WITH
SHEIKH YUSSUF AT THE CAPE FROM CEYLON,
IN THE SHIP "VOETBOOG" IN THE YEAR 1694.
_____
THIS COMMEMORATION TABLET WAS ERECTED
DURING THE GREAT WAR ON 8 JANUARY 1918.
BY HAJEE SULLAIMAN SHAHMAHOMED.
SENIOR TRUSTEE.
Wording on plaque:
PRESIDENT SOEHARTO
OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
VISITED THIS SHRINE ON 21 NOVEMBER 1997
TO PAY RESPECT TO THE LATE SHEIKH YUSSUF OF
MACASSAR UPON WHOM THE TITLE OF NATIONAL
HERO WAS CONFERRED BY THE INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT
ON 7 AUGUST 1995
Writings about this Kramat of Sheikh Yusuf
Davids, Achmat. 1980. The Mosques of Bo-Kaap - A social history of Islam at the Cape. Athlone, Cape: The South African Institute of Arabic and Islamic Research. pp 37-40.
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De Bosdari, C. 1971. Cape Dutch Houses and Farms. Cape Town: AA Balkema. pp 73.
_______________________________________________
De Kock, WJ. 1976. Suid-Afrikaanse biografiese woordeboek : Deel 1. Kaapstad: RGN/Tafelberg. pp 429-430.
_______________________________________________
Du Plessis, Izak David. 1944. The Cape Malays. Cape Town: Maskew Miller. pp 4-7.
_______________________________________________
Jaffer, M. 2001. Guide to the Kramats of the Western Cape. Cape Town: Cape Mazaar (Kramat) Society. pp 17-19.
_______________________________________________
Jaffer, Mansoor. 1996. Guide to the Kramats of the Western Cape. Cape Town: Cape Mazaar Kramat Society. pp 17.
_______________________________________________
Le Roux, SW. 1992. Vormgewende invloede op die ontwikkeling van moskee-argitektuur binne die Heilige Sirkel aan die Kaap tot 1950 . Pretoria: PhD-verhandeling: Universiteit van Pretoria. pp 201-202.
_______________________________________________
Oxley, John. 1992. Places of Worship in South Africa. Halfway House: Southern Book Publishers. pp 63-64.
_______________________________________________
Potgieter, DJ (Editor-in-chief). 1975. Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 11 Tur-Zwe. Cape Town: Nasou. pp 567.
_______________________________________________
Potgieter, DJ (Editor-in-chief). 1972. Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 6 Hun-Lit. Cape Town: Nasou. pp 454-455.
_______________________________________________
Rhoda, E. 2010. Hajee Sullaiman Shahmahomed and the shrine of Shayk Yusuf of Macassar at Faure. : Unpublished manuscript.
_______________________________________________
Van Selms, A. Joesoef, Sjeik: in De Kock, WJ. 1976. Suid-Afrikaanse biografiese woordeboek : Deel 1: pp 429-430
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Shaykh Yusuf was born at Macassar in 1626. He was also known as Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep. He was of noble birth, a maternal nephew of King Biset of Goa. He studied in Arabia under the tutelage of several pious teachers.
When Shaykh Yusuf arrives at the Cape, on the Voetboeg, he was royally welcomed by Governor Simon van de Stel. His Indonesian background necessitated that he and his 49 followers be settled well away from Cape Town. They were housed on the farm Zandvliet, near the mouth of the Eeste River, in the general area now called Macassar. He received an allowance of 12rix dollars from the Cape authorities for support of himself and his party. At Zandvliet Shaykh Yusuf’s settlement soon became a sanctuary for fugitive slaves. It was here that the first cohesive Muslim community in S.A. was established. The first settlement of Muslims in South Africa was a vibrant one, despite its isolation. It was from here that the message of Islam was disseminated to the slave community living in Cape Town. When Shaykh Yusuf died on 23 May 1699, he was buried on the hill overlooking Macassar at Faure. A shrine was constructed over his grave. Over the years this shrine has been rebuilt and renewed. Today it remains a place of pilgrimage.
new pix to the kramat of sheik yussuf of macassar
faure/macassar, western cape- kramat of sheikh yussuf
A Kramat is a shrine or mausoleum that has been built over the burial place of a Muslim who's particular piety and practice of the teachings of Islam is recognised by the community. I have been engaged in documenting these sites around Cape Town over several visits at different times over the last few years. They range widely from graves marked by an edge of stones to more elaborate tombs sheltered by buildings of various styles. They are cultural markers that speak of a culture was shaped by life at the Cape and that infuses Cape Town at large.
In my searches used the guide put out by the Cape Masaar Society as a basic guide to locate some recognised sites. Even so some were not that easy to find.
In the context of the Muslims at the Cape, historically the kramats represented places of focus for the faithful and were/are often places of local pilgrimage. When the Dutch and the VOC (United East India Company aka Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) set up a refuelling station and a settlement at the Cape, Muslims from their territories in the East Indies and Batavia were with them from the start as soldiers, slaves and 'Vryswarten'; (freemen). As the settlement established itself as a colony the Cape became a useful place to banish political opponents from the heart of their eastern empire. Some exiles were of royal lineage and there were also scholars amongst them. One of the most well known of these exiles was Sheik Yusuf who was cordially received by Govenor van der Stel as befitted his rank (he and his entourage where eventually housed on an estate away from the main settlement so that he was less likely to have an influence over the local population), others were imprisoned for a time both in Cape Town and on Robben island. It is said that the first Koran in the Cape was first written out from memory by Sheik Yusuf after his arrival. There were several Islamic scholars in his retinue and these men encouraged something of an Islamic revival amoung the isolated community. Their influence over the enslaved “Malay” population who were already nominally Muslim was considerable and through the ministrations of other teachers to the underclasses the influence of Islam became quite marked. As political opponents to the governing powers the teachers became focus points for escaped slaves in the outlying areas.
Under the VOC it was forbidden to practice any other faith other than Christianity in public which meant that there was no provision for mosques or madrasas. The faith was maintained informally until the end of the C18th when plans were made for the first mosque and promises of land to be granted for a specific burial ground in the Bo Kaap were given in negotiations for support against an imminent British invasion. These promises were honoured by the British after their victory.
There is talk of a prophecy of a protective circle of Islam that would surround Cape Town. I cannot find the specifics of this prophecy but the 27 kramats of the “Auliyah” or friends of Allah, as these honoured individuals are known, do form a loose circle of saints. Some of the Auliyah are credited with miraculous powers in legends that speak of their life and works. Within the folk tradition some are believed to be able to intercede on behalf of supplicants (even though this more part of a mystical philosophy (keramat) and is not strictly accepted in mainstream contemporary Islamic teaching) and even today some visitors may offer special prayers at their grave sites in much the same way as Christians might direct prayer at the shrine of a particular saint.
photographer's note-
sheikh yussuf was the brother of the king of Goa (Gowa) with it's capital of Makassar. yussuf fought in battles against the Dutch and was eventually captured. he was transferred to the cape of good hope in 1693. he died in 1699. he had 2 wives, 2 concubines, 12 children and 14 male and female slaves.
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Die Kramat van Sjeg Yusuf, Faure
Die Kramat1 van Sjeg Yusuf (Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep)2 op 'n klein heuwel naby die mond van die Eersterivier in Makassar, Faure, is 'n terrein waarheen Kaapse Moslems oor die laaste drie eeue pelgrimstogte onderneem. Yusuf is op 23 April 1699 oorlede en op die heuwel begrawe. Volgens predikant en skrywer, Francois Valentyn (1666-1727), wat sy graf in 1705 besoek het, was dit "een cierlyke Mohammedaansch tombe, wat van zeer hoog opgezette steenen, verheerlykt was".3 Dit is nie heeltemal duidelik of hy van 'n hoog opgeboude graf of 'n struktuur daaroor praat nie.
Dié tombe moes mettertyd veranderings en verbouings het en volgens Biskop Patrick Griffith (1798-1862) wat dit meer as 'n eeu later op 25 Januarie 1839 besoek het, het dit heel anders daar uitgesien...
and proceeded to a Mr Cloete's where we took horses and road (sic) to a Malay Mosque [i.e. the kramat] situated on the summit of a hill, to which we ascended by a rude Stone Stair Case, rather Circular and partly cut out of Limestone rock, by an hundred steps. We left our horses below tied to the door of a Caravansery where the Pilgrims who come every year from Cape Town and all around, lodge while they go thro' their devotions. Both Lodging House and Mosque are at present deserted and we cd. only see the Exterior of both. The Mosque has a small Mineret (sic) in the centre and contains the Tomb of some Prince and Priest of the Sect. The Building is square and low with a portico: the windows are screened within and all that could be seen through some chinks in the walls was some drapery. A curious sight, however, exists outside: graves covered with white Clothes, five or six of which graves are enclosed together with a low wall round them; two or three more are apart; each has a round black stone at the head round which a Malay handkerchief is tied, with another black stone at foot, represents the feet, so that with the white sheet over the body, one wd. imagine at first view that it was a corpse was directly before him, the representation of it is so like reality. These White cloths (of calico) are renewed every year and we found some sixty or more rotten ones under each of the last white Coverings."1
Die terrein is in 1862 deur die imam van die Jamia-moskee in Chiappinistraat, Abdol Wahab, aangekoop,5 maar die gebou het tot vroeg in die 20ste eeu bewaar gebly, hoewel dit by verskeie geleenthede klein veranderings en herstelwerk moes ondergaan het.
Die Oostenrykse wetenskaplike, diplomaat en ontdekkingsreisiger, Karl Ritter von Scherzer (1821-1903) het die Kaap in Oktober 1857 aan boord die Novara, op 'n omseilingstog van die wêreld, aangedoen. Hy het die volgende waardevolle beskrywing, deurdrenk met sy eie voor- en afkeure, nagelaat:
"The following morning we drove to a hill, ahout a mile and a half distant from Zandvliet, known as Macassar Downs, on which is the spot of interment, (Krammat or Brammat), of a Malay prophet.
This individual, so honoured in death, was, if we are to believe the Malays, a direct descendant of Mahomet, named Sheikh Joseph, who, expelled from Batavia by the Dutch Government for political reasons, settled in the colony about a century and a half ago, and died and was buried in the neighbourhood of Zandvliet. An especial deputation came over from Malacca to Cape Colony to fetch away the corpse of the defunct prophet, for conveyance to the land of his birth; but at the disinterment it happened that the little finger of the prophet, in spite of the most persevering research, could nowhere be found. This circumstance appeared to those simple believers sufficient reason for erecting a monument over the spot in which the finger of a Malay prophet lay hid from view. Even to this day the Malays from time to time perform a pilgrimage to the Colony and celebrate their religious ceremonies at the Mausoleum. Four followers of the prophet are buried with him, two of them Mahometan priests, who are regarded with much veneration by the Malays.
An extensive flight of stone steps leads to the tomb, the exterior of which is very insignificant, and, but for a small pointed turret, hardly differs from an ordinary dwelling-house. On entering, a low-roofed vault is visible, a sort of front outhouse, which rather disfigures the facade, and much more resembles a cellar than the portal of a Mausoleum. Above the arch of this vault an Arabic inscription has been engraved with a stylus but this is so painted over in brick colour that it has already become almost illegible. Judging by the few words that have been deciphered, it seems to consist of the first propositions of the Koran.
The inner room, provided on two sides with modern glazed windows at irregular intervals, is about the size of an ordinary room of 12 feet long, 9 wide, and 7 high (3.66m long, 2.74 wide, and 2.13 high). In the middle rises the monument, to which access is had by some more brick steps. Immense quantities of unwashed white linen cloth are heaped upon it, which seem occasionally sprinkled with a brown odoriferous liquid (dupa). As at the head of Sheikh Joseph, so at his feet several figures, resembling those in enamel used to ornament tarts, are drawn upon the linen cloth with the overflowings of the unguent. These have undoubtedly been formed accidentally, and it appears wrong and unfair to attribute to them any more recondite significance. The monument rests upon four wooden pillars, with pyramidal pinnacles or ornaments, and is richly decorated with fine white muslin, which gives to the whole very much the appearance of an old-fashioned English "fourposter," with its costly drapery and curtains. While the curtains are spread out all around, several small green and white bannerets stand at the upper and lower end of the sarcophagus. The whole interior is, as it were, impregnated with the incense which devout Malay pilgrims from time to time burn here, especially after the forty days' fast (Ramadan), or leave behind upon the steps of the tomb in flasks or in paper-boxes. On such occasions, they always bring wax-candles and linen cloth as an offering, with the latter of which they deck the tomb afresh, so that a perfect mountain of white linen rises above the stone floor. During their devotions they unceasingly kiss this white mass of stuff, and as they are continually chewing tobacco, this filthy habit produces disgustingly loathsome stains.
On the same hill which boasts the tomb of Sheikh Joseph, there are also, in ground that is common property, nine other graves of eminent Malays, enclosed with carefully-selected stones, and likewise covered over with large broad strips of bleached linen cloth, protected by stones from any injury by weather or violence. At the head and foot of each individual interred, is a single stone of larger size. Formerly the black inhabitants of the neighbourhood made use of this store of linen cloth to make shirts for themselves, without further thought upon the propriety of the matter. Latterly, however, a shrewd Malay priest spread a report that one of these ebony linen stealers had lost all the fingers off one hand, since which the graves of those departed worthies remain inviolate and unprofaned.
At the foot of the hill are some small half-fallen-in buildings, near a large hall, painted white, red, and yellow, consisting of a small apartment and a kitchen, the whole in a most dirty, neglected, and desolate condition. At this point the Moslems must have accomplished certain prayers, before they can climb the hill and proceed to visit the tomb. Over the door of this singular house of prayer some words are likewise engraved in the Arabic character, which, however, are now entirely illegible.
On quitting the Malay Krammat, we next undertook a tolerably difficult walk to the Downs or sand-dunes, which at this point extend along the entire coast line, on which the wax-berry shrub, as already mentioned, grows wild in vast quantities, and visibly prevents the further encroachments of the moving sand. The Eerst Rivier (First River) may be regarded as the limit of demarcation between the sand-dunes and the soil adapted for vegetation."6
'n Britse joernalis en historikus, Ian Duncan Colvin (1877-1938), beskryf sy besoek aan die Kramat vyftig jaar later in die begin van die 20ste eeu:
"It was in springtime that we made the pilgrimage, in October, the springtime of the south... We passed through cow-scented pasture and the cornlands of Zandvliet, and so towards the sea, guided by the white star of the tomb.
It stands upon a sandstone rock which the Eerste River bends round on its way to the sea, and you can hear the breakers roaring, though unseen behind the sand-dunes. A little wooden bridge crosses the river beside the drift... On the farther side the little hill rises steeply, and under it nestles a row of very ancient and dilapidated cottages. One of them is used as a stable by the pilgrims and another as a mosque, and upon its porch you will see a little notice in English that 'women are not allowed inside the church', a warning signed with all the weight and authority of the late Haji Abdul Kalil... Inside, this little chapel is touchingly primitive and simple, with blue sky showing through the thatched roof, and a martin's nest plastered on the ceiling of the little alcove. Between these cottages and the stream is a field of sweet marjoram, no doubt grown for the service of the shrine, and the way up the hill is made easy by a flight of steps build perhaps centuries ago, and ruinous with age. With their white balustrades, and overgrown as they are with grass and wild-flowers, they are very beautiful, and in pilgrimage-time we may suppose them bright with Malays ascending and descending. We mounted them to the top, where they open on a little courtyard roughly paved and encinctured by a low white wall. On the farther side, opposite the top of the stairs, is the tomb itself, a little white building with an archway leading into a porch. Beyond is a door, of the sort common in Cape farm-houses, divided into two across the middle. Of course, we did not dare to open it and peep inside; but I am told by a Mahomedan friend that the inner tomb is of white stucco with four pillars of a pleasant design. It is upholstered in bright-coloured plush, and copies of the Koran lie open upon it. The inside of the room is papered in the best Malay fashion, and over the window is a veil of tinselled green gauze. From the roof several ostrich eggs hang on strings, and altogether it is the gayest and brightest little shrine. The ostrich eggs hanging on their strings made me think of a much more splendid tomb which Akbar, the first greatest of the Moguls, build for his friend Selim Chisti, a humble ascetic, in the centre of the mosque at Fatehpur Sikri.7 If any of my readers have made a pilgrimage to that wonderful deserted city, they will remember the tomb build of fretted marble, white and delicate as lace, in the centre of the great silent mosque of red sandstone – surely the finest testimonial to disinterested and spiritual friendship that exists in the world. And, if they look inside, they will recollect that around the inner shrine of mother o’pearl hang ostrich eggs just as they hang in Sheik Joseph’s tomb on the Cape Flats. But this digression is only to show that the Malay of Cape Town knows what is proper to the ornamentation of kramats. The shrine is tended with pious care, kept clean and white by the good Malays – a people of whom it may be said truly that they hold cleanliness as a virtue next to godliness."8
Hierdie beskrywing kom ooreen met dié van Scherzer en 'n foto in die Elliot-versameling in die Kaapse argief. Die minaret wat deur Biskop Griffith genoem en deur Scherzer geïllustreer is, en moontlik van hout gemaak was, het intussen verdwyn.
In 1925 het die Indiese filantroop, Hadji Sulaiman Sjah Mohamed Ali, opdrag vir 'n nuwe tombe gegee en is die huidige vierkantige en gekoepelde Moghul- of Delhi-inspireerde struktuur opgerig. Die argitek was F.K. KENDALL wat van 1896 tot 1918 in vennootskap met Herbert BAKER praktiseer het.
Die kramat vorm deel van die sogenaamde beskermende "Heilige Sirkel van Islam" wat strek van die kramatte teen die hange van Seinheuwel bo die klipgroef waar die eerste openbare Moslemgebede aan die Kaap gehou is, deur die kramatte op die rug van die heuwel en die kramat van Sjeg Noorul Mubeen by Oudekraal, en om die berg na die kramatte van Constantia, Faure, Robbeneiland, terug na Seinheuwel.
Sjeg Yusuf van Makassar (1626-1699)
Sjeg Yusuf (Abadin Tadia Tjoesoep) is in 1626 te Gowa by Makassar (Mangkasara), op die suidwestelike punt van die Sulawesi-eiland (voorheen Celebes) langs die Straat van Makassar, gebore. Toe die Portugese dit vroeg in die sestiende eeu bereik het, was dit 'n besige handelshawe waar Arabiese, Indiese, Javaanse, Maleise Siamese en Chinese skepe aangedoen en hulle produkte geruil en verkoop het. Met die koms van die Nederlanders, wat die speseryhandel wou monopoliseer en Britse deelname daaraan wou stuit, is die tradisie van vrye handel aan die begin van die 17de eeu omvergewerp. Nadat hulle die fort van Makassar ingeneem het, is dit herbou en as Fort Rotterdam herdoop. Van hier het hulle die vestings van die Sultan van Gowa geteiken.
Toe hy agtien jaar oud was, het Yusuf op 'n pelgrims- en studietog na Mekka vertrek waar hy verskeie jare deurgebring het. Met sy terugkeer het hy die Nederlanders in Makassar vermy en hom in Bantam in Wes-Java aan die hof van Sultan Ageng (Abulfatah Agung, 1631-1695) as onderwyser en geestelike rigter gevestig. Hy het die sultan se seuns onderrig en met een van sy dogters getrou. Hy was deeglik in die Shari'ah (Moslem kode en godsdienstige wet) onderlê en diep betrokke by die mistieke aspekte van sy geloof met die gevolg dat sy reputasie as 'n vrome persoon en heilige kenner en geleerde vinnig versprei het.
Hoewel die Nederlanders die handel op Java beheer het, het Bantam 'n sterk mate van onafhanklikheid behou. Yusuf was 'n vurige teenstander van die VOC en het en ook 'n rebellie teen die Europeërs gelei toe 'n ouer vredesooreenkoms tussen hulle in 1656 gebreek is. 'n Nuwe ooreenkoms is in 1659 bereik, maar 'n interne tweestryd in die Sultanaat het in die VOC se kraam gepas. Die sultan se seun, later as Sultan Hadji bekend, het met die hulle saamgespan teen sy vader en jonger broer wat voorkeur aan die Britse en Deense handelaars gegee het. Die breuk het in 1680 gekom toe Ageng oorlog teen Batavia (Jakarta) verklaar het. Hadji het 'n opstand teen sy vader gelei wat Ageng tot sy woning beperk het. Hoewel sy volgelinge teruggeveg het, het die Nederlanders Hadji te hulp gesnel en is Ageng na die hooglande verdryf waar hy in Maart 1683 oorgegee het. Hierna is hy na Batavia geneem waar hy oorlede is.
Yusuf het die verset voortgesit en is eers teen die einde van 1683 gevange geneem waarna hy ook na Batavia geneem is. Sy invloed in die Moslemgemeenskap van die VOC se hoofkwartier in die Ooste, waar hy as heilige vereer is, asook die aandrang op sy vrystelling deur die vorste van Gowa (Makassar) – wat toe bondgenote van die VOC was – het daartoe gelei dat Yusuf en sy gevolg eers na Ceylon (Sri Lanka) en daarna na die Kaap verban is. Sjeg Yusuf en sy "aanhang", soos in die notules van die Politieke Raad aangedui is, het op 31 Maart 1694 aan boord die Voetboog in Tafelbaai aangekom. Hier is hulle gul deur goewerneur Simon van der Stel ontvang, maar in die Kasteel gehou totdat daar in Junie besluit is om hulle na die mond van die Eersterivier, wat oor die plaas Zandvliet van ds P. Kalden uitgekyk het, te stuur.9
Hier in die duine, wat later as Makassar en Makassarstrand bekend sou word, het Yusuf en sy gevolg hulle gevestig. Volgens oorlewering was dit die eerste sentrum van Islam en Islamitiese onderrig in Suid-Afrika en het die terrein 'n sakrosante ereplek gebly na Yusuf se afsterwe op 23 April 1699 en sy begrafnis op die heuwel. Hoewel sommige skrywers nie oortuig is dat ook Yusuf se oorskot na die Ooste terug is nie, argumenteer André van Rensburg dat dit wel gebeur het.
"Hoewel 'n aanvanklike versoek van 31 Desember 1701 dat Yusuf se oorskot opgegrawe en na Indonesië gestuur word, geweier is, is in 'n verslag van 26 Februarie 1703 deur die Here XVII gelas dat die sjeg se naasbestaandes en sy oorskot na Indonesië weggebring moes word.
Op 26 Februarie 1704 het die amptelike geskrewe instruksies van die VOC in die Kaap aangekom. Die weduwee van Yusuf, hul jong kinders en ander lede van sy gevolg moes toegelaat word om na Indonesië terug te keer.
Daar is ook bepaal dat die oorskot van Yusuf onopsigtelik opgegrawe moes word sodat die naasbestaandes dit kon saamneem. Voorsorg moes egter getref word dat ander Oosterse bannelinge nie ontsnap deur voor te gee dat hulle naasbestaandes van sjeg Yusuf is nie."10
Die gevolg van Sjeg Yusuf het op 5 Oktober 1704 aan boord van De Spiegel uit Tafelbaai met sy oorskot vertrek en op 10 Desember in Batavia anker gegooi. Hierna is sy hulle na Makassar waar sy oorskot op 6 April 1705 op Lakiung in Ujung Pandang herbegrawe is. Bo-oor Yusuf se nuwe graf is 'n kramat of ko'bang deur die Chinese bouer Dju Kian Kiu opgerig. Ook hierdie Kramat word druk deur pelgrims besoek.
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Kramat is die algemeen Kaapse term vir die tombe van 'n [Moslem] heilige of Wali van Allah; in Urdu verwys karamat of keramat na die wonderwerking van 'n heilige, soms word dit ook as sinoniem vir heilige gebruik.
Die meer algemeen gebruikte spelling word hier in plaas van die erkende Afrikaanse "Joesoef" gebruik.
Raidt, E.H. 1971. François Valentyn Beshryvinge van de Kaap der Goede Hoop met de zaaken daar toe behoorende. Kaapstad: Van Riebeeck Vereniging, Vol. 1, p. 198.
Brain, J.S. (ed.). 1988. The Cape diary of bishop Patrick Raymond Griffith for the years 1837-1839. Cape Town: Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, pp. 189-90.
Aktekantoor, Kaapstad, Akte 6/3/1862, no. 121.
Scherzer, K. 1861. Narrative of the circumnavigation of the globe by the Austrian frigate Novara, (commodore b. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,): undertaken by order of the imperial government, in the years l857,1858, & 1859. London: Saunders, Otley & Co, pp. 244-248.
Seremoniële hoofstad [Fatehpur = stad van oorwinning] van 1569 tot 1574 deur die Mughale Keiser Akbar (1542-1605) by Sikri, die hermitage van sy spirituele gids, Sjeg Salim Chisti, opgerig. Die tombe wat deur Colvin beskryf word, is deur Shah Jahan (1592-1666) herbou.
Colvin, I.D. 1909. Romance of Empire, South Africa. London: TC & EL Jack, pp. 16168.
Böeseken, A.J. 1961. Resolusies van die Politieke Raad III 1681-1707. Kaapstad: Argiefkomitee, p. 283 (14.06.1694).
Van Rensburg, A. & Van Bart, M. 2004. Waar rus Sjeg Yusuf: van die Kaap tot in Makassar. Kultuurkroniek, Bylae by Die Burger, 10 Julie, pp. 12-13
Van Rensburg, A. & Van Bart, M. 2004. Waar rus Sjeg Yusuf: van die Kaap tot in Makassar. Kultuurkroniek, Bylae by Die Burger, 10 Julie, p.13.
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Schalk W le Roux, Gordonsbaai, Februarie 2013
See also Van Bart, M. & Van Rensburg A.
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Wording on Minaret:
IN MEMORY OF
SHEIKH YUSUF
MARTYR & HERO
OF BANTAM
1629 - 1699
THIS MINARET
WAS ERECTED BY
HAJEE SULLAIMAN
SHAHMAHOMED
IN THE REIGN OF
KING GEORGE V
MAY 1925
_____________________
THIS MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED
19TH DECEMBER 1925 BY
SIR FREDERIC DE WAAL
KCMG:LLD:FIRST ADMINISTRATOR
OF THE CAPE PROVINCE
IN THE YEAR WHEN THIS
DISTRICT WAS VISITED BY
HIS ROYAL HIGNESS
THE PRINCE OF WALES
4TH MAY 1925
_____________________
THE "DARGAN" OF ASHBAT
[COMPANIONS] OF SAINT SHEIKH YUSSUF
[GALERAN TUANSE] OF MACASSAR.
_____
HERE LIE THE REMAINS OF FOUR OF FORTY-NINE
FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS WHO AFTER SERVING
IN THE BANTAM WAR OF 1682-83, ARRIVED WITH
SHEIKH YUSSUF AT THE CAPE FROM CEYLON,
IN THE SHIP "VOETBOOG" IN THE YEAR 1694.
_____
THIS COMMEMORATION TABLET WAS ERECTED
DURING THE GREAT WAR ON 8 JANUARY 1918.
BY HAJEE SULLAIMAN SHAHMAHOMED.
SENIOR TRUSTEE.
Wording on plaque:
PRESIDENT SOEHARTO
OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
VISITED THIS SHRINE ON 21 NOVEMBER 1997
TO PAY RESPECT TO THE LATE SHEIKH YUSSUF OF
MACASSAR UPON WHOM THE TITLE OF NATIONAL
HERO WAS CONFERRED BY THE INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT
ON 7 AUGUST 1995
Writings about this Kramat of Sheikh Yusuf
Davids, Achmat. 1980. The Mosques of Bo-Kaap - A social history of Islam at the Cape. Athlone, Cape: The South African Institute of Arabic and Islamic Research. pp 37-40.
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De Bosdari, C. 1971. Cape Dutch Houses and Farms. Cape Town: AA Balkema. pp 73.
_______________________________________________
De Kock, WJ. 1976. Suid-Afrikaanse biografiese woordeboek : Deel 1. Kaapstad: RGN/Tafelberg. pp 429-430.
_______________________________________________
Du Plessis, Izak David. 1944. The Cape Malays. Cape Town: Maskew Miller. pp 4-7.
_______________________________________________
Jaffer, M. 2001. Guide to the Kramats of the Western Cape. Cape Town: Cape Mazaar (Kramat) Society. pp 17-19.
_______________________________________________
Jaffer, Mansoor. 1996. Guide to the Kramats of the Western Cape. Cape Town: Cape Mazaar Kramat Society. pp 17.
_______________________________________________
Le Roux, SW. 1992. Vormgewende invloede op die ontwikkeling van moskee-argitektuur binne die Heilige Sirkel aan die Kaap tot 1950 . Pretoria: PhD-verhandeling: Universiteit van Pretoria. pp 201-202.
_______________________________________________
Oxley, John. 1992. Places of Worship in South Africa. Halfway House: Southern Book Publishers. pp 63-64.
_______________________________________________
Potgieter, DJ (Editor-in-chief). 1975. Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 11 Tur-Zwe. Cape Town: Nasou. pp 567.
_______________________________________________
Potgieter, DJ (Editor-in-chief). 1972. Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 6 Hun-Lit. Cape Town: Nasou. pp 454-455.
_______________________________________________
Rhoda, E. 2010. Hajee Sullaiman Shahmahomed and the shrine of Shayk Yusuf of Macassar at Faure. : Unpublished manuscript.
_______________________________________________
Van Selms, A. Joesoef, Sjeik: in De Kock, WJ. 1976. Suid-Afrikaanse biografiese woordeboek : Deel 1: pp 429-430
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Shaykh Yusuf was born at Macassar in 1626. He was also known as Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep. He was of noble birth, a maternal nephew of King Biset of Goa. He studied in Arabia under the tutelage of several pious teachers.
When Shaykh Yusuf arrives at the Cape, on the Voetboeg, he was royally welcomed by Governor Simon van de Stel. His Indonesian background necessitated that he and his 49 followers be settled well away from Cape Town. They were housed on the farm Zandvliet, near the mouth of the Eeste River, in the general area now called Macassar. He received an allowance of 12rix dollars from the Cape authorities for support of himself and his party. At Zandvliet Shaykh Yusuf’s settlement soon became a sanctuary for fugitive slaves. It was here that the first cohesive Muslim community in S.A. was established. The first settlement of Muslims in South Africa was a vibrant one, despite its isolation. It was from here that the message of Islam was disseminated to the slave community living in Cape Town. When Shaykh Yusuf died on 23 May 1699, he was buried on the hill overlooking Macassar at Faure. A shrine was constructed over his grave. Over the years this shrine has been rebuilt and renewed. Today it remains a place of pilgrimage.
It seems incredible to me that there are any churches in East Kent, at least parish churches, that I had yet to visit and photograph. Especially along Stone Street, which I thought that nks to churches and orchids I knew very well. And yet as I cross-referenced between John Vigar's book and the county A-Z, I saw more and more churches I had to visit.
And that brings us to Elmstead.
Elmstead is less a viallage and more a dog leg in a single track lane, and the church sits in the dog leg. Being a small place, surely it would have a small church? No, the church is large with two leat to chapels, and an extraordinary timber topped tower.
You reach Elmstone by taking tiny fork off Stone Street and following the narrowest of lanes, which has high banks and hedges both sides with few passing places. Down through woods, down steep hills crossing streams and up hills the other side, and all the while the road coated with a thick layer of mud, so that one hoped you were still on the road not having driven into a field.
In time I passed the village sign, and no missing the church, a large flint built church, and the triple gabled east end facing towards the road. Behind the tower was partially hidden, but I could already see the wooden upper part.
And it was open, and filled with much of interest, especially the stone altar in the south aisle.
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An extremely worthwhile church in remote countryside. The tower is an unusual shape, being almost twice as wide as it is deep and capped by a wooden upper storey with stumpy spire. The church consists of nave, aisles, chancel and equal length chapels. The nave is Norman: the original arch to the tower is still recognisable although a fourteenth-century replacement has been built inside it. At the same time the present arcade was built on the existing piers. In the north aisle is a medieval vestry screen, in front of which is a Norman font. There are very fine altar rails, each baluster looking like an eighteenth-century candlestick. Between the main altar and chapel is a simple thirteenth-century sedilia. The south chapel altar has a twelfth-century mensa which was discovered in the churchyard in 1956. The east window (1880) commemorates Arthur Honeywood who was killed in the Afghan war - only a dog survived and was given an award by Queen Victoria! Honeywood's ancestor, Sir John (d. 1781), is also remembered in the church by a splendid marble bust signed by Scheemakers
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Elmsted
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Parish Church. Late Cll or C12, C13 and C14, restored in 1877. Flint
with stone dressings. Plain tile roofs. West tower, nave with north
and south aisles, south porch, chancel with north and south chapels.
West tower: C13, with late Cll or C12 base: Medieval belfry. Single
stage, but north and south sides reduce in width about half way up
with plain-tile shoulders. Large stone north-west and south-west
quoins to lower half. Diagonal south-west buttress. Shingled timber-
framed belfry jettied to west. Splay-footed octagonal spire. Two
louvred three-light trefoil-headed windows to each face of belfry.
No tower windows to north or east. Broadly-pointed plain-chamfered
lancet towards top of west face, and another to south. Taller plain-
chamfered lancet West window. Plain-chamfered pointed-arched west doorway.
Nave: south elevation: continuous with south wall of tower base. C19
traceried three-light window. South aisle: C14 possibly with late Cll
or early C12 origins. Narrow and gabled, stopping short of west end nave.
Plinthless. Buttress towards east end. C14 or early C15 pointed west window
of two cinquefoil-headed lights, with tracery of vertical bars, and hoodmould.
One straight-headed C15 or C16 south window to east of porch, with two
cinquefoil-headed lights and rectangular hoodmould. South porch: medieval,
restored in C19. Coursed knapped flint. Gabled plain-tile roof.
Window with cambered head, to each side. Crown-post roof; two outer crown
posts plain. Broadly-chamfered rectangular central crown post with broach
stops and head braces. Chamfered tie-beams. Pointed-arched plain-chamfered
inner doorway with broach stops. Unchamfered pointed-arched outer doorway.
South chancel chapel: early C14. Continuous with south aisle, but with
chamfered stone plinth and lower eaves and ridge. East end flush with
chancel. Diagonal south-east buttress. Large straight-headed south window
with three cinquefoil-headed lights and moulded hoodmould. Similar two-
light east window. Chancel: C13, probably with late Cll or C12 origins.
Slightly narrower than nave. No plinth. Two buttresses. C15 or C16
untraceried east window with cambered head, three cinquefoil-headed lights,
and hoodmould. North chancel chapel: early C14. Flush with east end
of chancel. Plinthless. Diagonal north-east buttress. C14 pointed-arched
east window with three cinquefoil-headed lights, tracery of cusped intersecting
glazing bars with trefoils and quatrefoils, and with hoodmould. Pointed-
arched C14 north window with Y tracery and trefoil, without hoodmould.
North aisle: C14. More stone mixed with flint. Continuous with north
chancel chapel, and slightly overlapping tower. Plinthless. One untraceried
C15 or C16 north window, with cambered head, three cinquefoil-headed lights,
and hoodmould. Straight-headed west window with two cinquefoil-headed
lights and hoodmould. Small blocked plain-chamfered pointed-arched north
doorway. Rainwater heads dated 1877. Interior: Structure: two-bay early
C14 south arcade to nave, with doubly plain-chamfered pointed arches and
octagonal columns with moulded capitals and bases. Two-bay C14 north
arcade, similar to south arcade, but extending further to west and with
more intricately-moulded capitals. East end of south arcade rests on
late Cll or C12 pier of large ashlar blocks on plain-chamfered plinth,
and with top heavily corbelled to south side. Footings for further structure
to east and south. Small, probably pre-C14, stone quoins to east pier
of north arcade, capped by single block from which arch springs. Doubly
plain-chamfered pointed early C14 chancel arch, springing from moulded
rectangular capitals which break forwards unusually. Plain-chamfered
piers with broach stops. Two-bay early C16 north and south arcades to
chancel, with doubly hollow-chamfered four-centred arches and octagonal
columns with moulded capitals and bases. Early C14 pointed arch between
south chancel chapel and south aisle, with plain-chamfered inner order
and slightly ovolo-moulded outer order. Moulded rectangular capitals
slightly different from chancel-arch capitals, but similarly breaking
forwards under inner order of arch, each on image corbel. Piers slightly
hollow chamfered, with cushion stops to base and undercut trefoil to tops.
Doubly plain-chamfered pointed arch between north chancel chapel and north
aisle, springing from chamfered imposts which break forwards to centre
with rounded corbel under. Low, pointed C14 tower arch, with plain-chamfered
inner order springing from moulded semi-octagonal piers, and hollow-chamfered
outer order descending to ground with cushion and broach stops. Above
arch, exposed voussoirs of taller, broader, blocked, round-headed late
Cll or C12 tower arch. Roof: C19 crown-post roof to nave and north aisle.
Chancel and north chancel chapel roofs boarded in five cants. Plastered
barrel vault to south chancel chapel. Medieval crown-post roof to south,
with three cambered plain-chamfered tie-beams, with moulded octagonal
crown posts, sous-laces and ashlar pieces. Fittings: piscina in rectangular
recess towards east end of south chancel chapel. C13 piscina in moulded
recess with trefoiled head and moulded hoodmould, towards east end of
south wall of chancel. Image corbel to north wall of north chancel chapel.
Late Cll or C12 font, low, deep, octagonal, with two panels of blind
arcading to each side, circular central pier and eight slender perimeter
columns. Small C17 altar table. Hexagonal C17 pulpit with sunk moulded
panels, strapwork, fleur-de-lys frieze, and enriched cornice. Medieval
screen, probably of domestic origin, with close-studded partition under
moulded and brattished beam, across west end of north aisle. Laudian
altar rails with turned balusters. Monuments: Cartouche on south wall
of south chancel chapel, to Sir William Honeywood, d. 1748. Monument
on same wall, to Thomas Honeywood, d. 1622; grey-painted chalk in form
of triptych. Central section has moulded and pulvinated base, scrolled
base-plate and shield, and raised and moulded inscription panel in eared
surround, flanked by Composite columns. Above it, a recessed panel
with inverted scrolls, and triangular pediment with cherubs head and
achievements. Recessed flanking sections, each carved with angel in
husked surround, and with scrolled base plate and corniced pediment
with shields. Tablet on same wall, to Mary Honeywood, d. 1708, lettered
on a shroud with gilded fringe, cherubs' heads, and shield surmounted
by urn. Brass of a lady, part of a brass to Christopher Gay, d. 1507.
Monument on north wall of north chancel chapel, to William Honeywood,
d. 1669. Black marble inscription panel in a frame which breaks forwards
twice. Each back panel eared, the outer with inverted scrolls to base
and festoon to return sides. Festooned rectangular panel flanked by
acanthus consoles and with scrolled acanthus base plate under inscription
panel. Moulded cornice over oak-leaf frieze, breaking forwards three
times. Segmental pediment with achievements over central break. Monument
by Thomas Scheemakers on same wall, to Sir John Honeywood, d. 1781.
White marble. Rectangular inscription panel, flanked by reeded pilasters
which curve out at top to form consoles under flower paterae. Shaped
base plate, also with inscription. Moulded cornice surmounted by -sarcophagus
with bust above it, against grey marble obelisk back plate. (J. Jewman,
Buildings of England Series, North-east and East Kent, 1983 edn.)
Listing NGR: TR1178645546
www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-440965-church-of-st-j...
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ELMSTED
IS the next parish northward from Hastingligh lastdescribed, taking its name, as many other places do, which are recorded in the survey of Domesday, from the quantity of elms growing in it, elm signifying in Saxon, that tree, and stede, a place. The manor of Hastingligh claims over some part of this parish, which part is within the liberty of the duchy of Lancaster.
THIS PARISH is situated in a lonely unfrequented part of the country, above the down hills, in a healthy air. It lies mostly on high ground, having continued hill and dale throughout it. The soil is but poor, and in general chalk, and much covered with flints, especially in the dales, where some of the earth is of a reddish cast. The church stands on a hill in the middle of it, having a green, with the village near it, among which is the court-lodge: and at a small distance westward, Helchin-bouse, belonging to Sir John Honywood, but now and for some time past inhabited by the Lushingtons. Lower down in the bottom is Evington-court, in a dull ineligible situation, to which however the present Sir John Honywood has added much, and laid out some park-grounds round it. At a small distance is a small heath, called Evington-lees, with several houses round it. At the southern bounds of the parish lie Botsham, and Holt, both belonging to Sir John Honywood. At the north-east corner of it, near Stone-street, is a hamlet called Northlye, the principal farm in which belongs to Mr. Richard Warlee, gent. of Canterbury, about half a mile from which is Deane, or Dane manor-house; and still further Dowles-farm, belonging to Mr. John Rigden, of Faversham; near Stone-street is the manor of Southligh, now called Mizlings, by which name only it is now known here; and near the same street is Arundel farm, belonging to Thomas Watkinson Payler, esq. and at the southern extremity of the parish, the manor-house of Dunders, with the lands belonging to it, called the Park, formerly belonging to the Graydons, of Fordwich, of whom they were purchased, and are now the property of the right hon. Matthew Robinson Morris, lord Rokeby, who resides at Horton. There are but two small coppice woods in this parish, lying at some distance from each other, in the middle part of it.
There is a fair kept yearly in this parish on St. James's day, the 25th of July.
THE MANOR OF ELMSTED was in the year 811 bought by archbishop Wlfred, of Cenulf, king of Mercia, for the benefit of Christ-church, in Canterbury, L. S. A. which letters meant, that it should be free, and privileged with the same liberties that Adisham was, when given to that church. These privileges were, to be freed from all secular services, excepting the trinoda necessitas of repelling invasions, and the repairing of bridges and fortifications. (fn. 1)
There is no mention of this manor in the survey of Domesday, under the title of the archbishop's lands, and of those held of him by knight's service, and yet I find mention of its being held of him in several records subsequent to that time; for soon afterwards it appears to have been so held by a family who assumed their name from it, one of whom, Hamo de Elmested, held it of the archbishop, by knight's service. But they were extinct here before the middle of king Henry III,'s reign, when the Heringods were become possessed of it, as appears by the Testa de Nevil, bearing for their arms, Gules, three herrings erect, two and one, or; as they were formerly in the windows of Newington church, near Sittingborne. John de Heringod held it at his death in the 41st year of that reign. His grandson, of the same name, died in the next reign of king Edward I. without male issue, leaving three daughters his coheirs, of whom, Grace married Philip de Hardres, of Hardres, in this county; Christiana married William de Kirkby; and Jane married Thomas Burgate, of Suffolk: but he had before his death, by a deed, which bears the form of a Latin will, and, is without a date, settled this manor, with the other lands in this neighbourhood, on the former of them, Philip de Hardres, a man of eminent repute of that time, in whose successors the manor of Elmsted remained till the 13th year of King James I. when Sir Thomas Hardres sold the manor of Dane court, an appendage to this of Elmsted, in the north-east part of this parish, to Cloake, and the manor of Elmsted itself to Thomas Marsh, gent. of Canterbury, whose son ton, whose great-grandson of the same name, at his death left it to his two sons, Richard and John, the former of whom was of Faversham, and left an only daughter Elizabeth, married to Mr. James Taylor, of Rodmersham, who in right of his wife became possessed of his moiety of it, and having in 1787 purchased the other moiety of John Lushington, of Helchin, in this parish, (son of Richard above-mentioned) became possessed of the whole of this manor, and continues owner of it at this time.
THE MANOR OF DANE, now called Deane-court, above-mentioned, remained in the name of Cloake for some time afterwards, and in 1652 Mr. Samuel Cloake held it. It afterwards passed into the name of Elwes, in which it continued down to John Elwes, esq. of Marcham, in Berkshire, who died in 1789, and by will gave it to his nephew Thomas Timms, esq. the present owner of it.
THE YOKE OF EVINGTON is an estate and seat in the south-west part of this parish, over which the manor of Barton, near Canterbury, claims jurisdiction. The mansion of it, called Evington-court, was the inheritance of gentlemen of the same surname, who bore for their arms, Argent, a sess between three burganetts, or steel caps, azure; and in a book, copied out from antient deeds by William Glover, Somerset herald, afterwards in the possession of John Philipott, likewise Somerset, there was the copy of an old deed without date, in which William Fitzneal, called in Latin, Filius Nigelli, passed over some land to Ruallo de Valoigns, which is strengthened by the appendant testimony of one Robert de Evington, who was ancestor of the Evingtons, of Evington-court, of whom there is mention in the deeds of this place, both in the reigns of king Henry III. and king Edward I. After this family was extinct here, the Gays became possessed of it, a family originally descended out of France, where they were called Le Gay, and remained some time afterwards in the province of Normandy, from whence those of this name in Jersey and Guernsey descended, and from them again those of Hampshire, and one of them, before they had left off their French appellation, John le Gay, is mentioned in the leiger book of Horton priory, in this neighbourhood, as a benefactor to it. But to proceed; although Evington-court was not originally erected by the family of Gay, yet it was much improved by them with additional buildings, and in allusion to their name, both the wainscot and windows of it were adorned with nosegays. At length after the Gays, who bore for their arms, Gules, three lions rampant, argent, an orle of cross-croslets, fitchee, or. (fn. 2) had continued owners of this mansion till the beginning of the reign of king Henry VII. Humphry Gay, esq. alienated it to John Honywood, esq. of Sene, in Newington, near Hythe, and afterwards of St. Gregory's, Canterbury, where he died in 1557, and was buried in that cathedral.
The family of Honywood, antiently written Henewood, take their name from the manor of Henewood, in Postling, where they resided as early as Henry III.'s reign, when Edmund de Henewood, or Honywood, as the name was afterwards spelt, of that parish, was a liberal benefactor to the priory of Horton, and is mentioned as such in the leiger book of it. After which, as appears by their wills in the Prerogative-office, in Canterbury, they resided at Hythe, for which port several of them served in parliament, bearing for their arms, Argent, a chevron, between three hawks heads erased, azure; one of them, Thomas Honywood, died in the reign of king Edward IV. leaving a son John, by whose first wife descended the elder branch of this family, settled at Evington, and baronets; and by his second wife descended the younger branch of the Honywoods, seated at Petts, in Charing, and at Markshall, in Effex, which branch is now extinct. (fn. 3) John Honywood, esq. the eldest son of John above-mentioned, by his first wife, was the purchaser of Evington, where his grandson Sir Thomas Honywood resided. He died in 1622, and was buried at Elmsted, the burial place of this family. (fn. 4) He left by his first wife several sons and daughters; of the former, John succeeded him at Evington and Sene, and Edward was ancestor of Frazer Honywood, banker, of London, and of Malling abbey, who died s. p. in 1764. (fn. 5) Sir John Honywood, the eldest son, resided during his father's time at Sene, in Newington, and on his death removed to Evington. He served the office of sheriff in the 18th, 19th, and 20th years of king Charles I. Sir Edward Honywood, his eldest son, resided likewise at Evington, and was created a baronet on July 19, 1660. His great grandson Sir John Honywood, bart. at length in 1748, succeeded to the title and family estates, and afterwards resided at Evington, where he kept his shrievalty in 1752. On the death of his relation Frazer Honywood, esq. banker, of London, in 1764, he succeeded by his will to his seats at Malling abbey, and at Hampsted, in Middlesex, besides a large personal estate; after which he resided at times both here and at Hampsted, at which latter he died in 1781, æt. 71, and was buried with his ancestors in this church. He had been twice married; first to Annabella, daughter of William Goodenough, esq. of Langford, in Berk shire, whose issue will be mentioned hereafter; and secondly to Dorothy, daughter of Sir Edward Filmer, bart. of East Sutton, by whom he had two sons, Filmer Honywood, esq. of Marks-hall, in Essex, to which as well as other large estates in that county, and in this of Kent, he succeeded by the will of his relation Gen. Philip Honywood, and lately was M. P. for this county, and is at present unmarried; and John, late of All Souls college, Oxford, who married Miss Wake, daughter of Dr. Charles Wake, late prebendary of Westminster; and Mary, married to Willshire Emmett, esq. late of Wiarton. By his first wife Sir John Honywood had two sons and four daughters; William the eldest, was of Malling abbey, esq. and died in his father's life time, having married Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. Clack, of Wallingford, in Berkshire, by whom he had three sons and one daughter Annabella, married to R. G. D. Yate, esq of Gloucestershire; of the former, John was heir to his grandfather, and is the present baronet; William is now of Liminge, esq. and married Mary, sister of James Drake Brockman, esq. of Beechborough, and Edward married Sophia, daughter of the Rev. Mr. Long, of Suffolk. Edward, the second son, was in the army, and died without issue. The daughters were, Annabella, married to Edmund Filmer, rector of Crundal; and Thomasine, married to William Western Hugessen, esq. of Provenders, both since deceased. On Sir John Honywood's death in 1781, he was succeeded by his eldest grandson abovementioned, the present Sir John Honywood, bart. who resides at Evington, to which he has made great improvements and additions. He married Frances, one of the daughters of William, viscount Courtenay, by whom he has three daughters, Frances-Elizabeth, Charlotte-Dorothea, and Annabella-Christiana, and one son John, born in 1787. (fn. 6).
BOTTSHAM, antiently and more properly written Bodesham, is a manor in the western part of this parish. About the year 687 Swabert, king of Kent, gave among others, three plough-lands in a place called Bodesham, to Eabba, abbess of Minister, in Thanet, and in the reign of king Edward the Consessor, one Ælgeric Bigg gave another part of it to the abbey of St. Augustine, by the description of the lands called Bodesham, on condition that Wade, his knight, should possess them during his life. (fn. 7) The former of these continued in the monastery till the reign of king Canute, when it was plundered and burnt by the Danes. After which the church and lands of the monastery of Minster, and those of Bodesham among them, were granted to St. Augustine's monastery, and remained, together with those given as above-mentioned by Ælgeric Bigg, part of the possessions of it at the taking of the survey of Domesday, in which record it is thus described:
In Limowart left, in Stotinges hundred, Gaufrid holds Bodesham of the abbot. It was taxed at one suling. The arable land is two carucates, and there are, with eight borderers, wood for the pannage of fifteen hogs. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth four pounds, and afterwards twenty shillings, now four pounds, A certain villein held it.
Hugh, abbot of St. Augustine, and his chapter, in the year 1110, granted to Hamo, steward of the king's houshold, this land of Bodesham, upon condition that he should, if there should be occasion, advise and assist him and his successors in any pleas brought against him by any baron, either in the county or in the king's court.
Hamo above-mentioned, whose surname was Crevequer, had come over into this kingdom with the Conqueror, and was rewarded afterwards with much land in this county, and was made sheriff of it during his life, from whence he was frequently stiled Hamo Vicecomes, or the sheriff. He lived till the middle of king Henry I.'s reign; and in his descendants it most probably remained till it came into the possession of the family of Gay, or Le Gay as they were sometimes written, owners of the yoke of Evington likewise, in which it continued till it was at length sold with it, in the beginning of Henry VII.'s reign, to Honywood, as has been fully mentioned before; in whose descendants it still remains, being now the property of Sir John Honywood, bart. of Evington.
IN THE REIGN of king Edward I. Thomas de Morines held half a knight's fee of the archbishop in Elmsted, which estate afterwards passed into the family of Haut, and in the reign of king Edward III. had acquired the name of the Manor Of Elmsted, alias SOUTHLIGH. In which family of Haut it continued down to Sir William Haut, of Bishopsborne, who lived in the reign of king Henry VIII. and left two daughters his coheirs, Elizabeth, married to Thomas Culpeper, of Bedgbury; and Jane, to Thomas Wyatt. The former of whom, in the division of their inheritance, (fn. 8) became possessed of it; from his heirs it passed by sale to Best, and from thence again to Rich. Hardres, esq. of Hardres, whose descendant Sir Tho. Hardres, possessed it in king James I.'s reign; at length, after some intermediate owners, it passed to Browning, whose descendant M. John Browning, of Yoklets, in Waltham, is the present owner of this manor.
There are no parochial charities. The poor constantly relieved are about thirty, casually seventeen.
Elmsted is within the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Elham.
The church, which is dedicated to St. James, is a handsome building, consisting of three isles and three chancels, having a low pointed wooden steeple at the west end, in which are six bells. The chancels are open, one towards the other, the spaces between the pillars not being filled up, which gives the whole a light and airy appearance. In the middle chancel, which is dedicated to St. James, are memorials for the Taylors, who intermarried with the Honywoods, and for the Lushingtons, of Helchin; one for John Cloke, gent. of Northlye, obt. 1617. In the east window is a shield of arms, first and fourth, A lion rampant, or; second, On a fess, argent, three eros-croslets; third, obliterated. In another compartment of the window is the figure of an antient man sitting, in robes lined with ermine, a large knotted staff in his left hand. The north chancel is called the parish chancel, in which is an elegant monument, of white marble, with the bust of the late Sir John Honywood, bart.(a gentleman whose worthy character is still remembered with the highest commendation and respect, by all who knew him). He died much lamented by his neighbours and the country in general in 1781; and on the pavement are numbers of gravestones for the family of Honywood and their relatives. The south chancel, dedicated to St. John, belongs to Evington, in which there are several monuments, and numbers of gravestones, the pavement being covered with them, for the Honywood family, some of which have inscriptions and figures on brasses remaining on them. Underneath this chancel is a large vault, in which the remains of the family lie deposited. On the north side of this chancel is a tomb, having had the figures on it of a man between his two wives: and at each corner a shield of arms in brass for Gay. On the capital of a pillar at the east end of this tomb is this legend, in old English letters, in gold, which have been lately repaired: Pray for the sowlys of Xtopher Gay, Agnes and Johan his wifes, ther chylder and all Xtian sowlys, on whose sowlys Jhu have mcy; by which it should seem that he was the founder, or at least the repairer of this chancel. Underneath is carved a shield of arms of Gay. In the east window are two shields of arms, of modern glass, for Honywood. In the south isle is a monument for Sir William Honywood, bart. of Evington, obt. 1748. In the middle isle are several old stones, coffin shaped. William Philpot, of Godmersham, by will anno 1475, ordered that the making of the new seats, calledle pewis, in this church, should be done at his expence, from the place where St. Christopher was painted, to the corner of the stone wall on the north side of the church.
The church of Elmsted belonged to the priory of St. Gregory, in Canterbury, perhaps part of its original endowment by archbishop Lanfranc, in the reign of the Conqueror. It was very early appropriated to it, and was confirmed to the priory by archbishop Hubert, among its other possessions, about the reign of king Richard I. at which time this church, with five acres of arable, and five acres of wood, and the chapel of Dene, appear to have been esteemed as chapels to the adjoining church of Waltham, and the appropriation of it continued part of the possessions of the priory till the dissolution of it in king Henry VIII.'s reign, when it was surrendered into the king's hands, where this appropriation remained but a small time, for an act passed that year, to enable the king and the archbishop to make an exchange of estates, by which means it became part of the revenues of the see of Canterbury, and was afterwards demised by the archbishop, among the rest of the revenues of the above-mentioned priory, which had come to him by the above-mentioned exchange, in one great lease; under which kind of demise it has continued from time to time ever since. Philip, earl of Chesterfield, as heir to the Wottons, was lessee of the above estates, in which this parsonage was included; since whose decease in 1773, his interest in the lease of them has been sold by his executors to Geo. Gipps, esq. of Canterbury, who is the present lessee, under the archbishop, for them.
But the vicarage of this church seems never to have belonged to the priory of St. Gregory, and in the 8th year of Richard II. anno 1384, appears to have been part of the possessions of the abbot of Pontiniac, at which time it was valued at four pounds. How long it staid there, I have not found; but it became afterwards part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and remains so at this time, his grace the archbishop being the present patron of it.
¶The vicarage of Elmsted is endowed with the tenths of hay, silva cedua, mills, heifers, calves, chicken, pigs, lambs, wool, geese, ducks, eggs, bees, honey, wax, butter, cheese, milk-meats, flax, hemp, apples, pears, swans, pidgeons, merchandise, fish, onions, fowlings, also all other small tithes or obventions whatsoever within the parish; and also with all grass of gardens or other closes, vulgarly called homestalls, although they should be at any time reduced to arable; and the tithes of all and singular feedings and pastures, even if those lands so lot for feedings and pastures should be accustomed to be ploughed, as often and whensoever they should at any time be let for the use of pasture; which portion to the vicar was then valued at twelve marcs. (fn. 9)
It is valued in the king's books at 61. 13s. 4d. It is now a discharged living, of the clear yearly certified value of forty-five pounds. In 1587 it was valued at thirty pounds, communicants one hundred and eighty. In 1640 it was valued at ninety pounds, the same number of communicants. There was an antient stipend of ten pounds, payable from the parsonage to the vicar, which was augmented with the like sum by archbishop Juxon, anno 15 Charles II. to be paid by the lessee of the parsonage; which sum of twenty pounds continues at this time to be paid yearly by the lesse. There was a yearly pension of 1l. 6s. payable from the vicar of Elmsted to the priory of St. Gregory; which still continues to be paid by him to the archbishop's lessee here.
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The Perito Moreno Glacier, a declared UNESCO World Heritage site is located 78km west of El Calafate in the Santa Cruz region of Patagonian Argentina and is is one of 48 glaciers in Patagonian Argentina and Chile.
The Perito Moreno Glacier covers an area of 255 square km, is 30km long and 5km wide, 50 to 70m above lake level and about 100m below. At its deepest point, the ice is 700 m thick, although the average is much less at approximately 170m.
Without doubt this massive glacier was one of the most accessible and visually stunning natural phenomenons I have seen anywhere in the world.
My first sight of the glacier at Curva de Los Suspiros lookout belied its massive size but when I finally got up close to the southern ice face in Brazo Rico in a cruise boat I was absolutely stunned by its sheer enormity. That was just the start of the experience and after the cruise we traveled a short distance around the Magallanes Peninsula to the lengthy boardwalk viewing platform where panoramic viewing of the eastern and northern terminus faces was possible. From the boardwalk one could see and hear massive chunks of ice calving off the glacier as it moved inexorably forward at a rate reported to be around 1.5 to 2m per day.
At the time of my visit in March 2003 the Perito Moreno Glacier was one of the few glaciers in the world that was considered stable, ie. not retreating. Both the Upsala and San Rafael Glaciers which I also visited in South America were clearly, by comparison dramatically receding.
The interesting thing about the Perito Moreno Glacier is that at times, after of a lot of ice buildup, the glacier terminus actually reaches land at the tip of the Magallanes Peninsula. When this happens the ice buildup completely blocks Brazo Rico damming it off from the northern Canal de Temanos, causing Lago Argentino to be divided into two distinct water bodies with the southern water body, Brazo Rico's water volume rising as much as 25-30m higher than the water level in the northern Canal de Tempanos.
Eventually the water finds a weak point, a rupture occurs, and water under great pressure crashes through from Brazo Rico into Canal de Tempanos in one massive and no doubt spectacular flooding event which of course is eagerly awaited by Glaciologists, TV news crews and tourists alike. This rupture event has tended to occur about once every 4-5 years. The last such rupture event occurred on January 19, 2013, and previously, March 4, 2012, 2008, 2006, 2004, 1988, 1986, 1980, 1977, 1975, 1972, 1970, 1966, 1963, 1960, 1956, 1953, 1952, 1947, 1940, 1934 and 1917. Wikipedia
So mesmerized was I by this monster glacier that I almost failed to allocate enough time to actually photograph it. I spent considerable time just walking up and down the long boardwalk, completely captivated by the awesomeness of the ice landscape in my view, listening to its constant rumbling sounds and becoming completely immersed in the sheer wonder of it all.
I had thought this was a remnant of the famous, 7th cent. Mashid-al-Qiblatayn, the legendary double mihrab in fact. (There was no-one @ to ask.) It was a short-lived fad in mosque construction in the 7th cent., in Islam's earliest days, to include 2 mihrabs, one oriented to the north to Mecca, and the other to the NW to Jerusalem. But the one on the right does appear to be a mihrab. The Masjid-al-Qiblatayn had stood just west of where I'm standing to take this where at least one frail, almost free-standing mihrab of field-stones and adobe stood then, and which has since been stabilized. The arch on the left in this shot seems to have been an entrance or a window as it matched 2 identical arches which stood until recently to their left at a right angle in part of a wall, as I've seen in some photos. sagalnews.com/somaliland-oo-dib-u-dhisaysa-masjidka-qiblo... The famous mihrab of the Masjid-al-Qiblatayn can be seen at the 4:40 and 12:52 min. pt. and again several times further in this video.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=saMFf7LhbQQ It would've collapsed if I'd so much as leaned on it. (I'll upload a photo of it sometime.) Anyone who can understand Somali, please paraphrase the info. re these mihrabs or qiblas in a comment if you would.
- There's some speculation and confusion about this online.: www.somalispot.com/threads/preserving-the-masjid-with-two...
- "The Masjid [al-Qiblatayn] dates to the 7th cent., shortly after the hijra ... and contains the tomb of Sheikh Babu Dena." (Wikipedia) If it does date from the 600s, then it just might be the oldest standing (more or less) or its mihrab might be the oldest on the African continent, and it would be the oldest mosque that's not on the Arabian peninsula. The competition is the early 7th cent. 'Mosque of the Companions' in Massawa, Eritrea on the Red Sea coast. (I suspect the mihrab's the oldest standing structure in the country that isn't a cairn or menhir, but I haven't found a list online dating the oldest shrines and tombs.) It's also an international rarity having or having had an ancient double mihrab.
- "The construction of this mosque is tied to the history of Islam in Somaliland. In Zeila, an Issa city, the mosque Masjid al-Qiblatayn is known as the site where early companions of the Prophet, and local Somalis, established a mosque shortly after the first migration to Abyssinia. By the 7th cent., a large-scale conversion to Islam was taking place in Somaliland, first spread by the Dir people, from their construction of this mosque, to the rest of the region afterwards." (Wikipedia)
- Update 2019: I've just seen some more recent photos online of this structure with a view of the arch on the right with the 2 square windows and the columns with the rosettes intact, but missing the left half of the structure with the arch on the left. Couldn't the government in Hargeisa do something to protect this? Would it be such a trick to build something around it to help preserve it? See p. 4 of the article in this link: cpahorn.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Zeila-Neglected-Hi...
- www.somalispot.com/threads/masjid-al-qiblatayn-in-zeila.9...
- Further update 2021: It seems that at least the lone mud-brick mihrab at the site of the Al-Qiblatayn mosque (the one facing Jerusalem?) has some protection now. See it at the 36 sec. pt. in this video just after the narrator is heard to say the word 'Qiblatayn'..: www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_JUUvjhWEI But, unbelievably, the mihrab in my photo is worse still. See it at the 6:47 min. pt. in this video.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kvivFrwIqM And where's the minaret? :(
Barack Obama's Inauguration.
The Mall: Washington, D.C. 20th January 2009.
photograph: A. Golden - c. 2009.
~ Today marks a very important day in the history of the United States of America.
Today, a man of mixed parentage, black and white, was inaugurated as the 44th
president of the US. Although his mother was an American, his father was an
immigrant, who came to the US to study, a Black African and also a Muslim.
One may say that these facts may not, rather should not, have any bearing on why he be allowed to fight a national presidential election. Yet all these facts do carry much reason to rejoice. Obama stated in the opening speech of the 2004 Democratic convention, that he was 'grateful of the history of my heritage,' that he held much importance to his familial background. His wife, Michelle, is a descendent of slaves, meaning that her family exists in the United States simply because they were brought to the country as slaves, and who were forced to exist without an identity.
As a Black man, he has fought and won the most important job of public service in a country, possibly the world, that only granted full enfranchisement (full voting rights) a little less than 60 years' ago. The political writer and activist, Andrew Sullivan, rightly said it is 'the arc of 300 years of difference', of why this moment in world history is so important. Who could have guessed that a Black man could become the presidential of a country such as the United States of America?!
I would like to remember those who lived, suffered, fought, campaigned, took offence, stood strong against, refused to accept the status quo, died or were killed, that brought this truly awesome, remarkable to fruition! Only yesterday, the US marked Dr Martin Luther King Day, an annual holiday that honours the life, struggle and sad murder of the Civil Rights leader, and which ushered in a phenominal event. There are also the nameless masses. Not to be forgotten. Indeed, the inauguration was held in the arena of Washington monuments that symbolise the freedoms for which the country fought against imperial power, buildings erected, brick by brick, with the blood, sweat and tears of slaves.
President Obama will be watched very carefully, and willed to succeed by countless masses to bring in much needed change for the general good. President Barack Hussein Obama, Allah aap ka muhafiz rahe.
As the forty-fourth president, Barack Obama offered his inaugural address, already being dissected by political pundits, who state Obama spoke 2401 words on the first day of his posting as president:
'My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and ploughed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defence, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the spectre of a warming planet. We will not apologise for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the fire-fighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have travelled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: 'Let it be told to the future world... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].'
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.'
Less than $30 to make, works well having one for the front yard and one for the back yard, 10-12 minutes average watering time per location, 2-3 times per week.
faure/macassar, western cape- kramat of sheikh yussuf
A Kramat is a shrine or mausoleum that has been built over the burial place of a Muslim who's particular piety and practice of the teachings of Islam is recognised by the community. I have been engaged in documenting these sites around Cape Town over several visits at different times over the last few years. They range widely from graves marked by an edge of stones to more elaborate tombs sheltered by buildings of various styles. They are cultural markers that speak of a culture was shaped by life at the Cape and that infuses Cape Town at large.
In my searches used the guide put out by the Cape Masaar Society as a basic guide to locate some recognised sites. Even so some were not that easy to find.
In the context of the Muslims at the Cape, historically the kramats represented places of focus for the faithful and were/are often places of local pilgrimage. When the Dutch and the VOC (United East India Company aka Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) set up a refuelling station and a settlement at the Cape, Muslims from their territories in the East Indies and Batavia were with them from the start as soldiers, slaves and 'Vryswarten'; (freemen). As the settlement established itself as a colony the Cape became a useful place to banish political opponents from the heart of their eastern empire. Some exiles were of royal lineage and there were also scholars amongst them. One of the most well known of these exiles was Sheik Yusuf who was cordially received by Govenor van der Stel as befitted his rank (he and his entourage where eventually housed on an estate away from the main settlement so that he was less likely to have an influence over the local population), others were imprisoned for a time both in Cape Town and on Robben island. It is said that the first Koran in the Cape was first written out from memory by Sheik Yusuf after his arrival. There were several Islamic scholars in his retinue and these men encouraged something of an Islamic revival amoung the isolated community. Their influence over the enslaved “Malay” population who were already nominally Muslim was considerable and through the ministrations of other teachers to the underclasses the influence of Islam became quite marked. As political opponents to the governing powers the teachers became focus points for escaped slaves in the outlying areas.
Under the VOC it was forbidden to practice any other faith other than Christianity in public which meant that there was no provision for mosques or madrasas. The faith was maintained informally until the end of the C18th when plans were made for the first mosque and promises of land to be granted for a specific burial ground in the Bo Kaap were given in negotiations for support against an imminent British invasion. These promises were honoured by the British after their victory.
There is talk of a prophecy of a protective circle of Islam that would surround Cape Town. I cannot find the specifics of this prophecy but the 27 kramats of the “Auliyah” or friends of Allah, as these honoured individuals are known, do form a loose circle of saints. Some of the Auliyah are credited with miraculous powers in legends that speak of their life and works. Within the folk tradition some are believed to be able to intercede on behalf of supplicants (even though this more part of a mystical philosophy (keramat) and is not strictly accepted in mainstream contemporary Islamic teaching) and even today some visitors may offer special prayers at their grave sites in much the same way as Christians might direct prayer at the shrine of a particular saint.
photographer's note-
sheikh yussuf was the brother of the king of Goa (Gowa) with it's capital of Makassar. yussuf fought in battles against the Dutch and was eventually captured. he was transferred to the cape of good hope in 1693. he died in 1699. he had 2 wives, 2 concubines, 12 children and 14 male and female slaves.
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Die Kramat van Sjeg Yusuf, Faure
Die Kramat1 van Sjeg Yusuf (Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep)2 op 'n klein heuwel naby die mond van die Eersterivier in Makassar, Faure, is 'n terrein waarheen Kaapse Moslems oor die laaste drie eeue pelgrimstogte onderneem. Yusuf is op 23 April 1699 oorlede en op die heuwel begrawe. Volgens predikant en skrywer, Francois Valentyn (1666-1727), wat sy graf in 1705 besoek het, was dit "een cierlyke Mohammedaansch tombe, wat van zeer hoog opgezette steenen, verheerlykt was".3 Dit is nie heeltemal duidelik of hy van 'n hoog opgeboude graf of 'n struktuur daaroor praat nie.
Dié tombe moes mettertyd veranderings en verbouings het en volgens Biskop Patrick Griffith (1798-1862) wat dit meer as 'n eeu later op 25 Januarie 1839 besoek het, het dit heel anders daar uitgesien...
and proceeded to a Mr Cloete's where we took horses and road (sic) to a Malay Mosque [i.e. the kramat] situated on the summit of a hill, to which we ascended by a rude Stone Stair Case, rather Circular and partly cut out of Limestone rock, by an hundred steps. We left our horses below tied to the door of a Caravansery where the Pilgrims who come every year from Cape Town and all around, lodge while they go thro' their devotions. Both Lodging House and Mosque are at present deserted and we cd. only see the Exterior of both. The Mosque has a small Mineret (sic) in the centre and contains the Tomb of some Prince and Priest of the Sect. The Building is square and low with a portico: the windows are screened within and all that could be seen through some chinks in the walls was some drapery. A curious sight, however, exists outside: graves covered with white Clothes, five or six of which graves are enclosed together with a low wall round them; two or three more are apart; each has a round black stone at the head round which a Malay handkerchief is tied, with another black stone at foot, represents the feet, so that with the white sheet over the body, one wd. imagine at first view that it was a corpse was directly before him, the representation of it is so like reality. These White cloths (of calico) are renewed every year and we found some sixty or more rotten ones under each of the last white Coverings."1
Die terrein is in 1862 deur die imam van die Jamia-moskee in Chiappinistraat, Abdol Wahab, aangekoop,5 maar die gebou het tot vroeg in die 20ste eeu bewaar gebly, hoewel dit by verskeie geleenthede klein veranderings en herstelwerk moes ondergaan het.
Die Oostenrykse wetenskaplike, diplomaat en ontdekkingsreisiger, Karl Ritter von Scherzer (1821-1903) het die Kaap in Oktober 1857 aan boord die Novara, op 'n omseilingstog van die wêreld, aangedoen. Hy het die volgende waardevolle beskrywing, deurdrenk met sy eie voor- en afkeure, nagelaat:
"The following morning we drove to a hill, ahout a mile and a half distant from Zandvliet, known as Macassar Downs, on which is the spot of interment, (Krammat or Brammat), of a Malay prophet.
This individual, so honoured in death, was, if we are to believe the Malays, a direct descendant of Mahomet, named Sheikh Joseph, who, expelled from Batavia by the Dutch Government for political reasons, settled in the colony about a century and a half ago, and died and was buried in the neighbourhood of Zandvliet. An especial deputation came over from Malacca to Cape Colony to fetch away the corpse of the defunct prophet, for conveyance to the land of his birth; but at the disinterment it happened that the little finger of the prophet, in spite of the most persevering research, could nowhere be found. This circumstance appeared to those simple believers sufficient reason for erecting a monument over the spot in which the finger of a Malay prophet lay hid from view. Even to this day the Malays from time to time perform a pilgrimage to the Colony and celebrate their religious ceremonies at the Mausoleum. Four followers of the prophet are buried with him, two of them Mahometan priests, who are regarded with much veneration by the Malays.
An extensive flight of stone steps leads to the tomb, the exterior of which is very insignificant, and, but for a small pointed turret, hardly differs from an ordinary dwelling-house. On entering, a low-roofed vault is visible, a sort of front outhouse, which rather disfigures the facade, and much more resembles a cellar than the portal of a Mausoleum. Above the arch of this vault an Arabic inscription has been engraved with a stylus but this is so painted over in brick colour that it has already become almost illegible. Judging by the few words that have been deciphered, it seems to consist of the first propositions of the Koran.
The inner room, provided on two sides with modern glazed windows at irregular intervals, is about the size of an ordinary room of 12 feet long, 9 wide, and 7 high (3.66m long, 2.74 wide, and 2.13 high). In the middle rises the monument, to which access is had by some more brick steps. Immense quantities of unwashed white linen cloth are heaped upon it, which seem occasionally sprinkled with a brown odoriferous liquid (dupa). As at the head of Sheikh Joseph, so at his feet several figures, resembling those in enamel used to ornament tarts, are drawn upon the linen cloth with the overflowings of the unguent. These have undoubtedly been formed accidentally, and it appears wrong and unfair to attribute to them any more recondite significance. The monument rests upon four wooden pillars, with pyramidal pinnacles or ornaments, and is richly decorated with fine white muslin, which gives to the whole very much the appearance of an old-fashioned English "fourposter," with its costly drapery and curtains. While the curtains are spread out all around, several small green and white bannerets stand at the upper and lower end of the sarcophagus. The whole interior is, as it were, impregnated with the incense which devout Malay pilgrims from time to time burn here, especially after the forty days' fast (Ramadan), or leave behind upon the steps of the tomb in flasks or in paper-boxes. On such occasions, they always bring wax-candles and linen cloth as an offering, with the latter of which they deck the tomb afresh, so that a perfect mountain of white linen rises above the stone floor. During their devotions they unceasingly kiss this white mass of stuff, and as they are continually chewing tobacco, this filthy habit produces disgustingly loathsome stains.
On the same hill which boasts the tomb of Sheikh Joseph, there are also, in ground that is common property, nine other graves of eminent Malays, enclosed with carefully-selected stones, and likewise covered over with large broad strips of bleached linen cloth, protected by stones from any injury by weather or violence. At the head and foot of each individual interred, is a single stone of larger size. Formerly the black inhabitants of the neighbourhood made use of this store of linen cloth to make shirts for themselves, without further thought upon the propriety of the matter. Latterly, however, a shrewd Malay priest spread a report that one of these ebony linen stealers had lost all the fingers off one hand, since which the graves of those departed worthies remain inviolate and unprofaned.
At the foot of the hill are some small half-fallen-in buildings, near a large hall, painted white, red, and yellow, consisting of a small apartment and a kitchen, the whole in a most dirty, neglected, and desolate condition. At this point the Moslems must have accomplished certain prayers, before they can climb the hill and proceed to visit the tomb. Over the door of this singular house of prayer some words are likewise engraved in the Arabic character, which, however, are now entirely illegible.
On quitting the Malay Krammat, we next undertook a tolerably difficult walk to the Downs or sand-dunes, which at this point extend along the entire coast line, on which the wax-berry shrub, as already mentioned, grows wild in vast quantities, and visibly prevents the further encroachments of the moving sand. The Eerst Rivier (First River) may be regarded as the limit of demarcation between the sand-dunes and the soil adapted for vegetation."6
'n Britse joernalis en historikus, Ian Duncan Colvin (1877-1938), beskryf sy besoek aan die Kramat vyftig jaar later in die begin van die 20ste eeu:
"It was in springtime that we made the pilgrimage, in October, the springtime of the south... We passed through cow-scented pasture and the cornlands of Zandvliet, and so towards the sea, guided by the white star of the tomb.
It stands upon a sandstone rock which the Eerste River bends round on its way to the sea, and you can hear the breakers roaring, though unseen behind the sand-dunes. A little wooden bridge crosses the river beside the drift... On the farther side the little hill rises steeply, and under it nestles a row of very ancient and dilapidated cottages. One of them is used as a stable by the pilgrims and another as a mosque, and upon its porch you will see a little notice in English that 'women are not allowed inside the church', a warning signed with all the weight and authority of the late Haji Abdul Kalil... Inside, this little chapel is touchingly primitive and simple, with blue sky showing through the thatched roof, and a martin's nest plastered on the ceiling of the little alcove. Between these cottages and the stream is a field of sweet marjoram, no doubt grown for the service of the shrine, and the way up the hill is made easy by a flight of steps build perhaps centuries ago, and ruinous with age. With their white balustrades, and overgrown as they are with grass and wild-flowers, they are very beautiful, and in pilgrimage-time we may suppose them bright with Malays ascending and descending. We mounted them to the top, where they open on a little courtyard roughly paved and encinctured by a low white wall. On the farther side, opposite the top of the stairs, is the tomb itself, a little white building with an archway leading into a porch. Beyond is a door, of the sort common in Cape farm-houses, divided into two across the middle. Of course, we did not dare to open it and peep inside; but I am told by a Mahomedan friend that the inner tomb is of white stucco with four pillars of a pleasant design. It is upholstered in bright-coloured plush, and copies of the Koran lie open upon it. The inside of the room is papered in the best Malay fashion, and over the window is a veil of tinselled green gauze. From the roof several ostrich eggs hang on strings, and altogether it is the gayest and brightest little shrine. The ostrich eggs hanging on their strings made me think of a much more splendid tomb which Akbar, the first greatest of the Moguls, build for his friend Selim Chisti, a humble ascetic, in the centre of the mosque at Fatehpur Sikri.7 If any of my readers have made a pilgrimage to that wonderful deserted city, they will remember the tomb build of fretted marble, white and delicate as lace, in the centre of the great silent mosque of red sandstone – surely the finest testimonial to disinterested and spiritual friendship that exists in the world. And, if they look inside, they will recollect that around the inner shrine of mother o’pearl hang ostrich eggs just as they hang in Sheik Joseph’s tomb on the Cape Flats. But this digression is only to show that the Malay of Cape Town knows what is proper to the ornamentation of kramats. The shrine is tended with pious care, kept clean and white by the good Malays – a people of whom it may be said truly that they hold cleanliness as a virtue next to godliness."8
Hierdie beskrywing kom ooreen met dié van Scherzer en 'n foto in die Elliot-versameling in die Kaapse argief. Die minaret wat deur Biskop Griffith genoem en deur Scherzer geïllustreer is, en moontlik van hout gemaak was, het intussen verdwyn.
In 1925 het die Indiese filantroop, Hadji Sulaiman Sjah Mohamed Ali, opdrag vir 'n nuwe tombe gegee en is die huidige vierkantige en gekoepelde Moghul- of Delhi-inspireerde struktuur opgerig. Die argitek was F.K. KENDALL wat van 1896 tot 1918 in vennootskap met Herbert BAKER praktiseer het.
Die kramat vorm deel van die sogenaamde beskermende "Heilige Sirkel van Islam" wat strek van die kramatte teen die hange van Seinheuwel bo die klipgroef waar die eerste openbare Moslemgebede aan die Kaap gehou is, deur die kramatte op die rug van die heuwel en die kramat van Sjeg Noorul Mubeen by Oudekraal, en om die berg na die kramatte van Constantia, Faure, Robbeneiland, terug na Seinheuwel.
Sjeg Yusuf van Makassar (1626-1699)
Sjeg Yusuf (Abadin Tadia Tjoesoep) is in 1626 te Gowa by Makassar (Mangkasara), op die suidwestelike punt van die Sulawesi-eiland (voorheen Celebes) langs die Straat van Makassar, gebore. Toe die Portugese dit vroeg in die sestiende eeu bereik het, was dit 'n besige handelshawe waar Arabiese, Indiese, Javaanse, Maleise Siamese en Chinese skepe aangedoen en hulle produkte geruil en verkoop het. Met die koms van die Nederlanders, wat die speseryhandel wou monopoliseer en Britse deelname daaraan wou stuit, is die tradisie van vrye handel aan die begin van die 17de eeu omvergewerp. Nadat hulle die fort van Makassar ingeneem het, is dit herbou en as Fort Rotterdam herdoop. Van hier het hulle die vestings van die Sultan van Gowa geteiken.
Toe hy agtien jaar oud was, het Yusuf op 'n pelgrims- en studietog na Mekka vertrek waar hy verskeie jare deurgebring het. Met sy terugkeer het hy die Nederlanders in Makassar vermy en hom in Bantam in Wes-Java aan die hof van Sultan Ageng (Abulfatah Agung, 1631-1695) as onderwyser en geestelike rigter gevestig. Hy het die sultan se seuns onderrig en met een van sy dogters getrou. Hy was deeglik in die Shari'ah (Moslem kode en godsdienstige wet) onderlê en diep betrokke by die mistieke aspekte van sy geloof met die gevolg dat sy reputasie as 'n vrome persoon en heilige kenner en geleerde vinnig versprei het.
Hoewel die Nederlanders die handel op Java beheer het, het Bantam 'n sterk mate van onafhanklikheid behou. Yusuf was 'n vurige teenstander van die VOC en het en ook 'n rebellie teen die Europeërs gelei toe 'n ouer vredesooreenkoms tussen hulle in 1656 gebreek is. 'n Nuwe ooreenkoms is in 1659 bereik, maar 'n interne tweestryd in die Sultanaat het in die VOC se kraam gepas. Die sultan se seun, later as Sultan Hadji bekend, het met die hulle saamgespan teen sy vader en jonger broer wat voorkeur aan die Britse en Deense handelaars gegee het. Die breuk het in 1680 gekom toe Ageng oorlog teen Batavia (Jakarta) verklaar het. Hadji het 'n opstand teen sy vader gelei wat Ageng tot sy woning beperk het. Hoewel sy volgelinge teruggeveg het, het die Nederlanders Hadji te hulp gesnel en is Ageng na die hooglande verdryf waar hy in Maart 1683 oorgegee het. Hierna is hy na Batavia geneem waar hy oorlede is.
Yusuf het die verset voortgesit en is eers teen die einde van 1683 gevange geneem waarna hy ook na Batavia geneem is. Sy invloed in die Moslemgemeenskap van die VOC se hoofkwartier in die Ooste, waar hy as heilige vereer is, asook die aandrang op sy vrystelling deur die vorste van Gowa (Makassar) – wat toe bondgenote van die VOC was – het daartoe gelei dat Yusuf en sy gevolg eers na Ceylon (Sri Lanka) en daarna na die Kaap verban is. Sjeg Yusuf en sy "aanhang", soos in die notules van die Politieke Raad aangedui is, het op 31 Maart 1694 aan boord die Voetboog in Tafelbaai aangekom. Hier is hulle gul deur goewerneur Simon van der Stel ontvang, maar in die Kasteel gehou totdat daar in Junie besluit is om hulle na die mond van die Eersterivier, wat oor die plaas Zandvliet van ds P. Kalden uitgekyk het, te stuur.9
Hier in die duine, wat later as Makassar en Makassarstrand bekend sou word, het Yusuf en sy gevolg hulle gevestig. Volgens oorlewering was dit die eerste sentrum van Islam en Islamitiese onderrig in Suid-Afrika en het die terrein 'n sakrosante ereplek gebly na Yusuf se afsterwe op 23 April 1699 en sy begrafnis op die heuwel. Hoewel sommige skrywers nie oortuig is dat ook Yusuf se oorskot na die Ooste terug is nie, argumenteer André van Rensburg dat dit wel gebeur het.
"Hoewel 'n aanvanklike versoek van 31 Desember 1701 dat Yusuf se oorskot opgegrawe en na Indonesië gestuur word, geweier is, is in 'n verslag van 26 Februarie 1703 deur die Here XVII gelas dat die sjeg se naasbestaandes en sy oorskot na Indonesië weggebring moes word.
Op 26 Februarie 1704 het die amptelike geskrewe instruksies van die VOC in die Kaap aangekom. Die weduwee van Yusuf, hul jong kinders en ander lede van sy gevolg moes toegelaat word om na Indonesië terug te keer.
Daar is ook bepaal dat die oorskot van Yusuf onopsigtelik opgegrawe moes word sodat die naasbestaandes dit kon saamneem. Voorsorg moes egter getref word dat ander Oosterse bannelinge nie ontsnap deur voor te gee dat hulle naasbestaandes van sjeg Yusuf is nie."10
Die gevolg van Sjeg Yusuf het op 5 Oktober 1704 aan boord van De Spiegel uit Tafelbaai met sy oorskot vertrek en op 10 Desember in Batavia anker gegooi. Hierna is sy hulle na Makassar waar sy oorskot op 6 April 1705 op Lakiung in Ujung Pandang herbegrawe is. Bo-oor Yusuf se nuwe graf is 'n kramat of ko'bang deur die Chinese bouer Dju Kian Kiu opgerig. Ook hierdie Kramat word druk deur pelgrims besoek.
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Kramat is die algemeen Kaapse term vir die tombe van 'n [Moslem] heilige of Wali van Allah; in Urdu verwys karamat of keramat na die wonderwerking van 'n heilige, soms word dit ook as sinoniem vir heilige gebruik.
Die meer algemeen gebruikte spelling word hier in plaas van die erkende Afrikaanse "Joesoef" gebruik.
Raidt, E.H. 1971. François Valentyn Beshryvinge van de Kaap der Goede Hoop met de zaaken daar toe behoorende. Kaapstad: Van Riebeeck Vereniging, Vol. 1, p. 198.
Brain, J.S. (ed.). 1988. The Cape diary of bishop Patrick Raymond Griffith for the years 1837-1839. Cape Town: Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, pp. 189-90.
Aktekantoor, Kaapstad, Akte 6/3/1862, no. 121.
Scherzer, K. 1861. Narrative of the circumnavigation of the globe by the Austrian frigate Novara, (commodore b. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,): undertaken by order of the imperial government, in the years l857,1858, & 1859. London: Saunders, Otley & Co, pp. 244-248.
Seremoniële hoofstad [Fatehpur = stad van oorwinning] van 1569 tot 1574 deur die Mughale Keiser Akbar (1542-1605) by Sikri, die hermitage van sy spirituele gids, Sjeg Salim Chisti, opgerig. Die tombe wat deur Colvin beskryf word, is deur Shah Jahan (1592-1666) herbou.
Colvin, I.D. 1909. Romance of Empire, South Africa. London: TC & EL Jack, pp. 16168.
Böeseken, A.J. 1961. Resolusies van die Politieke Raad III 1681-1707. Kaapstad: Argiefkomitee, p. 283 (14.06.1694).
Van Rensburg, A. & Van Bart, M. 2004. Waar rus Sjeg Yusuf: van die Kaap tot in Makassar. Kultuurkroniek, Bylae by Die Burger, 10 Julie, pp. 12-13
Van Rensburg, A. & Van Bart, M. 2004. Waar rus Sjeg Yusuf: van die Kaap tot in Makassar. Kultuurkroniek, Bylae by Die Burger, 10 Julie, p.13.
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Schalk W le Roux, Gordonsbaai, Februarie 2013
See also Van Bart, M. & Van Rensburg A.
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Wording on Minaret:
IN MEMORY OF
SHEIKH YUSUF
MARTYR & HERO
OF BANTAM
1629 - 1699
THIS MINARET
WAS ERECTED BY
HAJEE SULLAIMAN
SHAHMAHOMED
IN THE REIGN OF
KING GEORGE V
MAY 1925
_____________________
THIS MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED
19TH DECEMBER 1925 BY
SIR FREDERIC DE WAAL
KCMG:LLD:FIRST ADMINISTRATOR
OF THE CAPE PROVINCE
IN THE YEAR WHEN THIS
DISTRICT WAS VISITED BY
HIS ROYAL HIGNESS
THE PRINCE OF WALES
4TH MAY 1925
_____________________
THE "DARGAN" OF ASHBAT
[COMPANIONS] OF SAINT SHEIKH YUSSUF
[GALERAN TUANSE] OF MACASSAR.
_____
HERE LIE THE REMAINS OF FOUR OF FORTY-NINE
FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS WHO AFTER SERVING
IN THE BANTAM WAR OF 1682-83, ARRIVED WITH
SHEIKH YUSSUF AT THE CAPE FROM CEYLON,
IN THE SHIP "VOETBOOG" IN THE YEAR 1694.
_____
THIS COMMEMORATION TABLET WAS ERECTED
DURING THE GREAT WAR ON 8 JANUARY 1918.
BY HAJEE SULLAIMAN SHAHMAHOMED.
SENIOR TRUSTEE.
Wording on plaque:
PRESIDENT SOEHARTO
OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
VISITED THIS SHRINE ON 21 NOVEMBER 1997
TO PAY RESPECT TO THE LATE SHEIKH YUSSUF OF
MACASSAR UPON WHOM THE TITLE OF NATIONAL
HERO WAS CONFERRED BY THE INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT
ON 7 AUGUST 1995
Writings about this Kramat of Sheikh Yusuf
Davids, Achmat. 1980. The Mosques of Bo-Kaap - A social history of Islam at the Cape. Athlone, Cape: The South African Institute of Arabic and Islamic Research. pp 37-40.
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De Bosdari, C. 1971. Cape Dutch Houses and Farms. Cape Town: AA Balkema. pp 73.
_______________________________________________
De Kock, WJ. 1976. Suid-Afrikaanse biografiese woordeboek : Deel 1. Kaapstad: RGN/Tafelberg. pp 429-430.
_______________________________________________
Du Plessis, Izak David. 1944. The Cape Malays. Cape Town: Maskew Miller. pp 4-7.
_______________________________________________
Jaffer, M. 2001. Guide to the Kramats of the Western Cape. Cape Town: Cape Mazaar (Kramat) Society. pp 17-19.
_______________________________________________
Jaffer, Mansoor. 1996. Guide to the Kramats of the Western Cape. Cape Town: Cape Mazaar Kramat Society. pp 17.
_______________________________________________
Le Roux, SW. 1992. Vormgewende invloede op die ontwikkeling van moskee-argitektuur binne die Heilige Sirkel aan die Kaap tot 1950 . Pretoria: PhD-verhandeling: Universiteit van Pretoria. pp 201-202.
_______________________________________________
Oxley, John. 1992. Places of Worship in South Africa. Halfway House: Southern Book Publishers. pp 63-64.
_______________________________________________
Potgieter, DJ (Editor-in-chief). 1975. Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 11 Tur-Zwe. Cape Town: Nasou. pp 567.
_______________________________________________
Potgieter, DJ (Editor-in-chief). 1972. Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 6 Hun-Lit. Cape Town: Nasou. pp 454-455.
_______________________________________________
Rhoda, E. 2010. Hajee Sullaiman Shahmahomed and the shrine of Shayk Yusuf of Macassar at Faure. : Unpublished manuscript.
_______________________________________________
Van Selms, A. Joesoef, Sjeik: in De Kock, WJ. 1976. Suid-Afrikaanse biografiese woordeboek : Deel 1: pp 429-430
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Shaykh Yusuf was born at Macassar in 1626. He was also known as Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep. He was of noble birth, a maternal nephew of King Biset of Goa. He studied in Arabia under the tutelage of several pious teachers.
When Shaykh Yusuf arrives at the Cape, on the Voetboeg, he was royally welcomed by Governor Simon van de Stel. His Indonesian background necessitated that he and his 49 followers be settled well away from Cape Town. They were housed on the farm Zandvliet, near the mouth of the Eeste River, in the general area now called Macassar. He received an allowance of 12rix dollars from the Cape authorities for support of himself and his party. At Zandvliet Shaykh Yusuf’s settlement soon became a sanctuary for fugitive slaves. It was here that the first cohesive Muslim community in S.A. was established. The first settlement of Muslims in South Africa was a vibrant one, despite its isolation. It was from here that the message of Islam was disseminated to the slave community living in Cape Town. When Shaykh Yusuf died on 23 May 1699, he was buried on the hill overlooking Macassar at Faure. A shrine was constructed over his grave. Over the years this shrine has been rebuilt and renewed. Today it remains a place of pilgrimage.
Less than $30 to make, works well having one for the front yard and one for the back yard, 10-12 minutes average watering time per location, 2-3 times per week.
faure/macassar, western cape- kramat of sheikh yussuf
A Kramat is a shrine or mausoleum that has been built over the burial place of a Muslim who's particular piety and practice of the teachings of Islam is recognised by the community. I have been engaged in documenting these sites around Cape Town over several visits at different times over the last few years. They range widely from graves marked by an edge of stones to more elaborate tombs sheltered by buildings of various styles. They are cultural markers that speak of a culture was shaped by life at the Cape and that infuses Cape Town at large.
In my searches used the guide put out by the Cape Masaar Society as a basic guide to locate some recognised sites. Even so some were not that easy to find.
In the context of the Muslims at the Cape, historically the kramats represented places of focus for the faithful and were/are often places of local pilgrimage. When the Dutch and the VOC (United East India Company aka Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) set up a refuelling station and a settlement at the Cape, Muslims from their territories in the East Indies and Batavia were with them from the start as soldiers, slaves and 'Vryswarten'; (freemen). As the settlement established itself as a colony the Cape became a useful place to banish political opponents from the heart of their eastern empire. Some exiles were of royal lineage and there were also scholars amongst them. One of the most well known of these exiles was Sheik Yusuf who was cordially received by Govenor van der Stel as befitted his rank (he and his entourage where eventually housed on an estate away from the main settlement so that he was less likely to have an influence over the local population), others were imprisoned for a time both in Cape Town and on Robben island. It is said that the first Koran in the Cape was first written out from memory by Sheik Yusuf after his arrival. There were several Islamic scholars in his retinue and these men encouraged something of an Islamic revival amoung the isolated community. Their influence over the enslaved “Malay” population who were already nominally Muslim was considerable and through the ministrations of other teachers to the underclasses the influence of Islam became quite marked. As political opponents to the governing powers the teachers became focus points for escaped slaves in the outlying areas.
Under the VOC it was forbidden to practice any other faith other than Christianity in public which meant that there was no provision for mosques or madrasas. The faith was maintained informally until the end of the C18th when plans were made for the first mosque and promises of land to be granted for a specific burial ground in the Bo Kaap were given in negotiations for support against an imminent British invasion. These promises were honoured by the British after their victory.
There is talk of a prophecy of a protective circle of Islam that would surround Cape Town. I cannot find the specifics of this prophecy but the 27 kramats of the “Auliyah” or friends of Allah, as these honoured individuals are known, do form a loose circle of saints. Some of the Auliyah are credited with miraculous powers in legends that speak of their life and works. Within the folk tradition some are believed to be able to intercede on behalf of supplicants (even though this more part of a mystical philosophy (keramat) and is not strictly accepted in mainstream contemporary Islamic teaching) and even today some visitors may offer special prayers at their grave sites in much the same way as Christians might direct prayer at the shrine of a particular saint.
photographer's note-
sheikh yussuf was the brother of the king of Goa (Gowa) with it's capital of Makassar. yussuf fought in battles against the Dutch and was eventually captured. he was transferred to the cape of good hope in 1693. he died in 1699. he had 2 wives, 2 concubines, 12 children and 14 male and female slaves.
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Die Kramat van Sjeg Yusuf, Faure
Die Kramat1 van Sjeg Yusuf (Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep)2 op 'n klein heuwel naby die mond van die Eersterivier in Makassar, Faure, is 'n terrein waarheen Kaapse Moslems oor die laaste drie eeue pelgrimstogte onderneem. Yusuf is op 23 April 1699 oorlede en op die heuwel begrawe. Volgens predikant en skrywer, Francois Valentyn (1666-1727), wat sy graf in 1705 besoek het, was dit "een cierlyke Mohammedaansch tombe, wat van zeer hoog opgezette steenen, verheerlykt was".3 Dit is nie heeltemal duidelik of hy van 'n hoog opgeboude graf of 'n struktuur daaroor praat nie.
Dié tombe moes mettertyd veranderings en verbouings het en volgens Biskop Patrick Griffith (1798-1862) wat dit meer as 'n eeu later op 25 Januarie 1839 besoek het, het dit heel anders daar uitgesien...
and proceeded to a Mr Cloete's where we took horses and road (sic) to a Malay Mosque [i.e. the kramat] situated on the summit of a hill, to which we ascended by a rude Stone Stair Case, rather Circular and partly cut out of Limestone rock, by an hundred steps. We left our horses below tied to the door of a Caravansery where the Pilgrims who come every year from Cape Town and all around, lodge while they go thro' their devotions. Both Lodging House and Mosque are at present deserted and we cd. only see the Exterior of both. The Mosque has a small Mineret (sic) in the centre and contains the Tomb of some Prince and Priest of the Sect. The Building is square and low with a portico: the windows are screened within and all that could be seen through some chinks in the walls was some drapery. A curious sight, however, exists outside: graves covered with white Clothes, five or six of which graves are enclosed together with a low wall round them; two or three more are apart; each has a round black stone at the head round which a Malay handkerchief is tied, with another black stone at foot, represents the feet, so that with the white sheet over the body, one wd. imagine at first view that it was a corpse was directly before him, the representation of it is so like reality. These White cloths (of calico) are renewed every year and we found some sixty or more rotten ones under each of the last white Coverings."1
Die terrein is in 1862 deur die imam van die Jamia-moskee in Chiappinistraat, Abdol Wahab, aangekoop,5 maar die gebou het tot vroeg in die 20ste eeu bewaar gebly, hoewel dit by verskeie geleenthede klein veranderings en herstelwerk moes ondergaan het.
Die Oostenrykse wetenskaplike, diplomaat en ontdekkingsreisiger, Karl Ritter von Scherzer (1821-1903) het die Kaap in Oktober 1857 aan boord die Novara, op 'n omseilingstog van die wêreld, aangedoen. Hy het die volgende waardevolle beskrywing, deurdrenk met sy eie voor- en afkeure, nagelaat:
"The following morning we drove to a hill, ahout a mile and a half distant from Zandvliet, known as Macassar Downs, on which is the spot of interment, (Krammat or Brammat), of a Malay prophet.
This individual, so honoured in death, was, if we are to believe the Malays, a direct descendant of Mahomet, named Sheikh Joseph, who, expelled from Batavia by the Dutch Government for political reasons, settled in the colony about a century and a half ago, and died and was buried in the neighbourhood of Zandvliet. An especial deputation came over from Malacca to Cape Colony to fetch away the corpse of the defunct prophet, for conveyance to the land of his birth; but at the disinterment it happened that the little finger of the prophet, in spite of the most persevering research, could nowhere be found. This circumstance appeared to those simple believers sufficient reason for erecting a monument over the spot in which the finger of a Malay prophet lay hid from view. Even to this day the Malays from time to time perform a pilgrimage to the Colony and celebrate their religious ceremonies at the Mausoleum. Four followers of the prophet are buried with him, two of them Mahometan priests, who are regarded with much veneration by the Malays.
An extensive flight of stone steps leads to the tomb, the exterior of which is very insignificant, and, but for a small pointed turret, hardly differs from an ordinary dwelling-house. On entering, a low-roofed vault is visible, a sort of front outhouse, which rather disfigures the facade, and much more resembles a cellar than the portal of a Mausoleum. Above the arch of this vault an Arabic inscription has been engraved with a stylus but this is so painted over in brick colour that it has already become almost illegible. Judging by the few words that have been deciphered, it seems to consist of the first propositions of the Koran.
The inner room, provided on two sides with modern glazed windows at irregular intervals, is about the size of an ordinary room of 12 feet long, 9 wide, and 7 high (3.66m long, 2.74 wide, and 2.13 high). In the middle rises the monument, to which access is had by some more brick steps. Immense quantities of unwashed white linen cloth are heaped upon it, which seem occasionally sprinkled with a brown odoriferous liquid (dupa). As at the head of Sheikh Joseph, so at his feet several figures, resembling those in enamel used to ornament tarts, are drawn upon the linen cloth with the overflowings of the unguent. These have undoubtedly been formed accidentally, and it appears wrong and unfair to attribute to them any more recondite significance. The monument rests upon four wooden pillars, with pyramidal pinnacles or ornaments, and is richly decorated with fine white muslin, which gives to the whole very much the appearance of an old-fashioned English "fourposter," with its costly drapery and curtains. While the curtains are spread out all around, several small green and white bannerets stand at the upper and lower end of the sarcophagus. The whole interior is, as it were, impregnated with the incense which devout Malay pilgrims from time to time burn here, especially after the forty days' fast (Ramadan), or leave behind upon the steps of the tomb in flasks or in paper-boxes. On such occasions, they always bring wax-candles and linen cloth as an offering, with the latter of which they deck the tomb afresh, so that a perfect mountain of white linen rises above the stone floor. During their devotions they unceasingly kiss this white mass of stuff, and as they are continually chewing tobacco, this filthy habit produces disgustingly loathsome stains.
On the same hill which boasts the tomb of Sheikh Joseph, there are also, in ground that is common property, nine other graves of eminent Malays, enclosed with carefully-selected stones, and likewise covered over with large broad strips of bleached linen cloth, protected by stones from any injury by weather or violence. At the head and foot of each individual interred, is a single stone of larger size. Formerly the black inhabitants of the neighbourhood made use of this store of linen cloth to make shirts for themselves, without further thought upon the propriety of the matter. Latterly, however, a shrewd Malay priest spread a report that one of these ebony linen stealers had lost all the fingers off one hand, since which the graves of those departed worthies remain inviolate and unprofaned.
At the foot of the hill are some small half-fallen-in buildings, near a large hall, painted white, red, and yellow, consisting of a small apartment and a kitchen, the whole in a most dirty, neglected, and desolate condition. At this point the Moslems must have accomplished certain prayers, before they can climb the hill and proceed to visit the tomb. Over the door of this singular house of prayer some words are likewise engraved in the Arabic character, which, however, are now entirely illegible.
On quitting the Malay Krammat, we next undertook a tolerably difficult walk to the Downs or sand-dunes, which at this point extend along the entire coast line, on which the wax-berry shrub, as already mentioned, grows wild in vast quantities, and visibly prevents the further encroachments of the moving sand. The Eerst Rivier (First River) may be regarded as the limit of demarcation between the sand-dunes and the soil adapted for vegetation."6
'n Britse joernalis en historikus, Ian Duncan Colvin (1877-1938), beskryf sy besoek aan die Kramat vyftig jaar later in die begin van die 20ste eeu:
"It was in springtime that we made the pilgrimage, in October, the springtime of the south... We passed through cow-scented pasture and the cornlands of Zandvliet, and so towards the sea, guided by the white star of the tomb.
It stands upon a sandstone rock which the Eerste River bends round on its way to the sea, and you can hear the breakers roaring, though unseen behind the sand-dunes. A little wooden bridge crosses the river beside the drift... On the farther side the little hill rises steeply, and under it nestles a row of very ancient and dilapidated cottages. One of them is used as a stable by the pilgrims and another as a mosque, and upon its porch you will see a little notice in English that 'women are not allowed inside the church', a warning signed with all the weight and authority of the late Haji Abdul Kalil... Inside, this little chapel is touchingly primitive and simple, with blue sky showing through the thatched roof, and a martin's nest plastered on the ceiling of the little alcove. Between these cottages and the stream is a field of sweet marjoram, no doubt grown for the service of the shrine, and the way up the hill is made easy by a flight of steps build perhaps centuries ago, and ruinous with age. With their white balustrades, and overgrown as they are with grass and wild-flowers, they are very beautiful, and in pilgrimage-time we may suppose them bright with Malays ascending and descending. We mounted them to the top, where they open on a little courtyard roughly paved and encinctured by a low white wall. On the farther side, opposite the top of the stairs, is the tomb itself, a little white building with an archway leading into a porch. Beyond is a door, of the sort common in Cape farm-houses, divided into two across the middle. Of course, we did not dare to open it and peep inside; but I am told by a Mahomedan friend that the inner tomb is of white stucco with four pillars of a pleasant design. It is upholstered in bright-coloured plush, and copies of the Koran lie open upon it. The inside of the room is papered in the best Malay fashion, and over the window is a veil of tinselled green gauze. From the roof several ostrich eggs hang on strings, and altogether it is the gayest and brightest little shrine. The ostrich eggs hanging on their strings made me think of a much more splendid tomb which Akbar, the first greatest of the Moguls, build for his friend Selim Chisti, a humble ascetic, in the centre of the mosque at Fatehpur Sikri.7 If any of my readers have made a pilgrimage to that wonderful deserted city, they will remember the tomb build of fretted marble, white and delicate as lace, in the centre of the great silent mosque of red sandstone – surely the finest testimonial to disinterested and spiritual friendship that exists in the world. And, if they look inside, they will recollect that around the inner shrine of mother o’pearl hang ostrich eggs just as they hang in Sheik Joseph’s tomb on the Cape Flats. But this digression is only to show that the Malay of Cape Town knows what is proper to the ornamentation of kramats. The shrine is tended with pious care, kept clean and white by the good Malays – a people of whom it may be said truly that they hold cleanliness as a virtue next to godliness."8
Hierdie beskrywing kom ooreen met dié van Scherzer en 'n foto in die Elliot-versameling in die Kaapse argief. Die minaret wat deur Biskop Griffith genoem en deur Scherzer geïllustreer is, en moontlik van hout gemaak was, het intussen verdwyn.
In 1925 het die Indiese filantroop, Hadji Sulaiman Sjah Mohamed Ali, opdrag vir 'n nuwe tombe gegee en is die huidige vierkantige en gekoepelde Moghul- of Delhi-inspireerde struktuur opgerig. Die argitek was F.K. KENDALL wat van 1896 tot 1918 in vennootskap met Herbert BAKER praktiseer het.
Die kramat vorm deel van die sogenaamde beskermende "Heilige Sirkel van Islam" wat strek van die kramatte teen die hange van Seinheuwel bo die klipgroef waar die eerste openbare Moslemgebede aan die Kaap gehou is, deur die kramatte op die rug van die heuwel en die kramat van Sjeg Noorul Mubeen by Oudekraal, en om die berg na die kramatte van Constantia, Faure, Robbeneiland, terug na Seinheuwel.
Sjeg Yusuf van Makassar (1626-1699)
Sjeg Yusuf (Abadin Tadia Tjoesoep) is in 1626 te Gowa by Makassar (Mangkasara), op die suidwestelike punt van die Sulawesi-eiland (voorheen Celebes) langs die Straat van Makassar, gebore. Toe die Portugese dit vroeg in die sestiende eeu bereik het, was dit 'n besige handelshawe waar Arabiese, Indiese, Javaanse, Maleise Siamese en Chinese skepe aangedoen en hulle produkte geruil en verkoop het. Met die koms van die Nederlanders, wat die speseryhandel wou monopoliseer en Britse deelname daaraan wou stuit, is die tradisie van vrye handel aan die begin van die 17de eeu omvergewerp. Nadat hulle die fort van Makassar ingeneem het, is dit herbou en as Fort Rotterdam herdoop. Van hier het hulle die vestings van die Sultan van Gowa geteiken.
Toe hy agtien jaar oud was, het Yusuf op 'n pelgrims- en studietog na Mekka vertrek waar hy verskeie jare deurgebring het. Met sy terugkeer het hy die Nederlanders in Makassar vermy en hom in Bantam in Wes-Java aan die hof van Sultan Ageng (Abulfatah Agung, 1631-1695) as onderwyser en geestelike rigter gevestig. Hy het die sultan se seuns onderrig en met een van sy dogters getrou. Hy was deeglik in die Shari'ah (Moslem kode en godsdienstige wet) onderlê en diep betrokke by die mistieke aspekte van sy geloof met die gevolg dat sy reputasie as 'n vrome persoon en heilige kenner en geleerde vinnig versprei het.
Hoewel die Nederlanders die handel op Java beheer het, het Bantam 'n sterk mate van onafhanklikheid behou. Yusuf was 'n vurige teenstander van die VOC en het en ook 'n rebellie teen die Europeërs gelei toe 'n ouer vredesooreenkoms tussen hulle in 1656 gebreek is. 'n Nuwe ooreenkoms is in 1659 bereik, maar 'n interne tweestryd in die Sultanaat het in die VOC se kraam gepas. Die sultan se seun, later as Sultan Hadji bekend, het met die hulle saamgespan teen sy vader en jonger broer wat voorkeur aan die Britse en Deense handelaars gegee het. Die breuk het in 1680 gekom toe Ageng oorlog teen Batavia (Jakarta) verklaar het. Hadji het 'n opstand teen sy vader gelei wat Ageng tot sy woning beperk het. Hoewel sy volgelinge teruggeveg het, het die Nederlanders Hadji te hulp gesnel en is Ageng na die hooglande verdryf waar hy in Maart 1683 oorgegee het. Hierna is hy na Batavia geneem waar hy oorlede is.
Yusuf het die verset voortgesit en is eers teen die einde van 1683 gevange geneem waarna hy ook na Batavia geneem is. Sy invloed in die Moslemgemeenskap van die VOC se hoofkwartier in die Ooste, waar hy as heilige vereer is, asook die aandrang op sy vrystelling deur die vorste van Gowa (Makassar) – wat toe bondgenote van die VOC was – het daartoe gelei dat Yusuf en sy gevolg eers na Ceylon (Sri Lanka) en daarna na die Kaap verban is. Sjeg Yusuf en sy "aanhang", soos in die notules van die Politieke Raad aangedui is, het op 31 Maart 1694 aan boord die Voetboog in Tafelbaai aangekom. Hier is hulle gul deur goewerneur Simon van der Stel ontvang, maar in die Kasteel gehou totdat daar in Junie besluit is om hulle na die mond van die Eersterivier, wat oor die plaas Zandvliet van ds P. Kalden uitgekyk het, te stuur.9
Hier in die duine, wat later as Makassar en Makassarstrand bekend sou word, het Yusuf en sy gevolg hulle gevestig. Volgens oorlewering was dit die eerste sentrum van Islam en Islamitiese onderrig in Suid-Afrika en het die terrein 'n sakrosante ereplek gebly na Yusuf se afsterwe op 23 April 1699 en sy begrafnis op die heuwel. Hoewel sommige skrywers nie oortuig is dat ook Yusuf se oorskot na die Ooste terug is nie, argumenteer André van Rensburg dat dit wel gebeur het.
"Hoewel 'n aanvanklike versoek van 31 Desember 1701 dat Yusuf se oorskot opgegrawe en na Indonesië gestuur word, geweier is, is in 'n verslag van 26 Februarie 1703 deur die Here XVII gelas dat die sjeg se naasbestaandes en sy oorskot na Indonesië weggebring moes word.
Op 26 Februarie 1704 het die amptelike geskrewe instruksies van die VOC in die Kaap aangekom. Die weduwee van Yusuf, hul jong kinders en ander lede van sy gevolg moes toegelaat word om na Indonesië terug te keer.
Daar is ook bepaal dat die oorskot van Yusuf onopsigtelik opgegrawe moes word sodat die naasbestaandes dit kon saamneem. Voorsorg moes egter getref word dat ander Oosterse bannelinge nie ontsnap deur voor te gee dat hulle naasbestaandes van sjeg Yusuf is nie."10
Die gevolg van Sjeg Yusuf het op 5 Oktober 1704 aan boord van De Spiegel uit Tafelbaai met sy oorskot vertrek en op 10 Desember in Batavia anker gegooi. Hierna is sy hulle na Makassar waar sy oorskot op 6 April 1705 op Lakiung in Ujung Pandang herbegrawe is. Bo-oor Yusuf se nuwe graf is 'n kramat of ko'bang deur die Chinese bouer Dju Kian Kiu opgerig. Ook hierdie Kramat word druk deur pelgrims besoek.
________________________________
Kramat is die algemeen Kaapse term vir die tombe van 'n [Moslem] heilige of Wali van Allah; in Urdu verwys karamat of keramat na die wonderwerking van 'n heilige, soms word dit ook as sinoniem vir heilige gebruik.
Die meer algemeen gebruikte spelling word hier in plaas van die erkende Afrikaanse "Joesoef" gebruik.
Raidt, E.H. 1971. François Valentyn Beshryvinge van de Kaap der Goede Hoop met de zaaken daar toe behoorende. Kaapstad: Van Riebeeck Vereniging, Vol. 1, p. 198.
Brain, J.S. (ed.). 1988. The Cape diary of bishop Patrick Raymond Griffith for the years 1837-1839. Cape Town: Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, pp. 189-90.
Aktekantoor, Kaapstad, Akte 6/3/1862, no. 121.
Scherzer, K. 1861. Narrative of the circumnavigation of the globe by the Austrian frigate Novara, (commodore b. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,): undertaken by order of the imperial government, in the years l857,1858, & 1859. London: Saunders, Otley & Co, pp. 244-248.
Seremoniële hoofstad [Fatehpur = stad van oorwinning] van 1569 tot 1574 deur die Mughale Keiser Akbar (1542-1605) by Sikri, die hermitage van sy spirituele gids, Sjeg Salim Chisti, opgerig. Die tombe wat deur Colvin beskryf word, is deur Shah Jahan (1592-1666) herbou.
Colvin, I.D. 1909. Romance of Empire, South Africa. London: TC & EL Jack, pp. 16168.
Böeseken, A.J. 1961. Resolusies van die Politieke Raad III 1681-1707. Kaapstad: Argiefkomitee, p. 283 (14.06.1694).
Van Rensburg, A. & Van Bart, M. 2004. Waar rus Sjeg Yusuf: van die Kaap tot in Makassar. Kultuurkroniek, Bylae by Die Burger, 10 Julie, pp. 12-13
Van Rensburg, A. & Van Bart, M. 2004. Waar rus Sjeg Yusuf: van die Kaap tot in Makassar. Kultuurkroniek, Bylae by Die Burger, 10 Julie, p.13.
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Schalk W le Roux, Gordonsbaai, Februarie 2013
See also Van Bart, M. & Van Rensburg A.
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Wording on Minaret:
IN MEMORY OF
SHEIKH YUSUF
MARTYR & HERO
OF BANTAM
1629 - 1699
THIS MINARET
WAS ERECTED BY
HAJEE SULLAIMAN
SHAHMAHOMED
IN THE REIGN OF
KING GEORGE V
MAY 1925
_____________________
THIS MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED
19TH DECEMBER 1925 BY
SIR FREDERIC DE WAAL
KCMG:LLD:FIRST ADMINISTRATOR
OF THE CAPE PROVINCE
IN THE YEAR WHEN THIS
DISTRICT WAS VISITED BY
HIS ROYAL HIGNESS
THE PRINCE OF WALES
4TH MAY 1925
_____________________
THE "DARGAN" OF ASHBAT
[COMPANIONS] OF SAINT SHEIKH YUSSUF
[GALERAN TUANSE] OF MACASSAR.
_____
HERE LIE THE REMAINS OF FOUR OF FORTY-NINE
FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS WHO AFTER SERVING
IN THE BANTAM WAR OF 1682-83, ARRIVED WITH
SHEIKH YUSSUF AT THE CAPE FROM CEYLON,
IN THE SHIP "VOETBOOG" IN THE YEAR 1694.
_____
THIS COMMEMORATION TABLET WAS ERECTED
DURING THE GREAT WAR ON 8 JANUARY 1918.
BY HAJEE SULLAIMAN SHAHMAHOMED.
SENIOR TRUSTEE.
Wording on plaque:
PRESIDENT SOEHARTO
OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
VISITED THIS SHRINE ON 21 NOVEMBER 1997
TO PAY RESPECT TO THE LATE SHEIKH YUSSUF OF
MACASSAR UPON WHOM THE TITLE OF NATIONAL
HERO WAS CONFERRED BY THE INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT
ON 7 AUGUST 1995
Writings about this Kramat of Sheikh Yusuf
Davids, Achmat. 1980. The Mosques of Bo-Kaap - A social history of Islam at the Cape. Athlone, Cape: The South African Institute of Arabic and Islamic Research. pp 37-40.
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De Bosdari, C. 1971. Cape Dutch Houses and Farms. Cape Town: AA Balkema. pp 73.
_______________________________________________
De Kock, WJ. 1976. Suid-Afrikaanse biografiese woordeboek : Deel 1. Kaapstad: RGN/Tafelberg. pp 429-430.
_______________________________________________
Du Plessis, Izak David. 1944. The Cape Malays. Cape Town: Maskew Miller. pp 4-7.
_______________________________________________
Jaffer, M. 2001. Guide to the Kramats of the Western Cape. Cape Town: Cape Mazaar (Kramat) Society. pp 17-19.
_______________________________________________
Jaffer, Mansoor. 1996. Guide to the Kramats of the Western Cape. Cape Town: Cape Mazaar Kramat Society. pp 17.
_______________________________________________
Le Roux, SW. 1992. Vormgewende invloede op die ontwikkeling van moskee-argitektuur binne die Heilige Sirkel aan die Kaap tot 1950 . Pretoria: PhD-verhandeling: Universiteit van Pretoria. pp 201-202.
_______________________________________________
Oxley, John. 1992. Places of Worship in South Africa. Halfway House: Southern Book Publishers. pp 63-64.
_______________________________________________
Potgieter, DJ (Editor-in-chief). 1975. Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 11 Tur-Zwe. Cape Town: Nasou. pp 567.
_______________________________________________
Potgieter, DJ (Editor-in-chief). 1972. Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa [SESA] Volume 6 Hun-Lit. Cape Town: Nasou. pp 454-455.
_______________________________________________
Rhoda, E. 2010. Hajee Sullaiman Shahmahomed and the shrine of Shayk Yusuf of Macassar at Faure. : Unpublished manuscript.
_______________________________________________
Van Selms, A. Joesoef, Sjeik: in De Kock, WJ. 1976. Suid-Afrikaanse biografiese woordeboek : Deel 1: pp 429-430
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Shaykh Yusuf was born at Macassar in 1626. He was also known as Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep. He was of noble birth, a maternal nephew of King Biset of Goa. He studied in Arabia under the tutelage of several pious teachers.
When Shaykh Yusuf arrives at the Cape, on the Voetboeg, he was royally welcomed by Governor Simon van de Stel. His Indonesian background necessitated that he and his 49 followers be settled well away from Cape Town. They were housed on the farm Zandvliet, near the mouth of the Eeste River, in the general area now called Macassar. He received an allowance of 12rix dollars from the Cape authorities for support of himself and his party. At Zandvliet Shaykh Yusuf’s settlement soon became a sanctuary for fugitive slaves. It was here that the first cohesive Muslim community in S.A. was established. The first settlement of Muslims in South Africa was a vibrant one, despite its isolation. It was from here that the message of Islam was disseminated to the slave community living in Cape Town. When Shaykh Yusuf died on 23 May 1699, he was buried on the hill overlooking Macassar at Faure. A shrine was constructed over his grave. Over the years this shrine has been rebuilt and renewed. Today it remains a place of pilgrimage.
Many years ago we ditched our well used MSR WhisperLite Stove and started cooking over the fire. Canoe trips are good reminders to us that less is more.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Boulton Paul Reliant was a single-engine light bomber, built as an alternative to the Fairey Battle in the late 1930s for the Royal Air Force - even though it should eventually only be sold to foreign air forces.
The Reliant was more or less based on specification P.23/35 that had actually been written for the Fairey Battle I production order in 1935, and relied heavily on the same airframe that had been designed for the Boulton Paul Defiant turret fighter (F.9/35). All these aircraft were powered by the same Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine that gave contemporary British fighters high performance; however, the Battle was weighed down with a three-man crew and a bomb load, the Defiant had to haul a heavy and draggy gun turret on its back, and the Reliant was no small and light aircraft either.
Despite being a great improvement on the aircraft that preceded it (primarily biplanes like the Hawker Hart), by the time it saw action the Reliant and its kin was slow, limited in rangeand payload and highly vulnerable to both anti-aircraft fire and fighters- The concept of the single engine light bomber proved to be a dead end, but this became only obvious as these aircraft were thrown into operation.
The Reliant (internal code P.81) was an all-metal low-wing design of conventional layout with a retractable main landing gear (and a fixed tail wheel). The crew of two sat back-to-back under a common glasshouse canopy, the radio operator/bomb aimer/navigator also had to cover the rear defence thorugh a manual 0.303" Vickers K machine gun that fired between the twin fins.
Four more fixed Browning machine guns in the outer wings completed the gun armament.
In an internal bomb bay and on hardpoints under the wings the Reliant was able to carry a total bomb load of 1.000 lb (460kg) of bombs. While this load was less than what the Fairey Battle could carry, the Reliant was a more compact aircraft and achieved an overall higher performance. And it was more rigid so that it could carry out dive bombing attacks.
Even though the Reliant was offered to both the RAF and the RN, it was rejected in favor of the Battle. But this was not the end of this light bomber design and it was offered for export from 1937 on. And the Reliant found takers in Europe: Belgium ordered 30, the Netherlands 18, Turkey ordered 12 (together with some Hawker Hurricanes) and Poland received a single test aircraft, while Latvia and Greece considered the type.
The Netherlands were to become the only active operator of the Reliant, though. After the end of World War I the Dutch government cut the defence budget and the Army Aviation Group was almost dissolved. With political tensions in Europe increased during the late 1930s, the government tried to rebuild the armed forces again in 1938. But there were many problems, not least the shortage of pilot instructors, navigators and pilots to fly the new multiple engine aircraft. Lack of standardisation and resulting maintenance issues added to the complexity of the rebuilding task.
Reliant deliveries started in early 1938. The Netherlands' Koninklijke Luchtmacht was the first air arm to receive the Reliant, which differed from the standard version through a 20mm Hispano cannon on a hydraulic mount in the rear gunner's position - a unique arrangement at that time.
As war loomed, in July 1939 the Army Aviation Group was renamed the Army Aviation Brigade (Luchtvaartbrigade). In August 1939, the Netherlands government mobilised its armed forces, but due to limited budgets the Army Aviation Brigade operated only 194 combat aircraft of the following types:
• 16 Fokker T.V type bombers
• 36 Fokker D.XXI single-engine fighters
• 35 Fokker G.I twin-engine fighters
• 7 Fokker D.XVII single engine fighters
• 17 Douglas DB-8A-3N light bombers
• 18 Boulton Paul Reliant light bombers
• 20 Fokker C.X light bombers
• 33 Fokker C.V reconnaissance aircraft
• 20 Koolhoven FK-51 artillery observer aircraft
In May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. Within five days the Dutch Army Air Corps was taken out by the German Luftwaffe. All of the Brigade's bombers, along with 30 D.XXI and 17 G.I fighters, were shot down; two D.XXI, eight G.I and most of the Reliants were destroyed on the ground. The Douglas bombers as well as the remaining Reliants were used as fighters because no suitable bombs were available; these aircraft were poorly suited for this role and eight were shot down and three more destroyed on the ground in the first hours of the conflict.
In spite of their numerical inferiority, the Dutch armed forces did enjoy success against the Luftwaffe, having 350 Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed, although many of these were lost to anti-aircraft fire and crashes at improvised landing fields in the Netherlands rather than due to action by Dutch fighters. The cost was high – almost 95% of the Dutch pilots were lost.
No Reliant in Dutch service survived the attack, and all other continental deliveries were cancelled due to the hostilities. The few aircraft that were ready for delivery were converted into liaison aircraft or target tugs, and used by the Royal Air Force until 1944.
General characteristics:
Crew: two: pilot, gunner
Length: 35 ft 4 in (10.77 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 4 in (11.99 m)
Height: 11 ft 4 in (3.46 m)
Wing area: 250 ft² (23.2 m²)
Empty weight: 6,078 lb (2,763 kg)
Loaded weight: 8,318 lb (3,781 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 8,600 lb (3,909 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Rolls-Royce Merlin II liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,030 hp (775 kW) at 3.000 RPM,
driving a three-blade Rotol propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 304 mph (264 knots, 489 km/h) at 17,000 ft (5,180 m)
Cruise speed: 175 mph (152 knots, 282 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,570 m)
Range: 1,000 mi (870 nmi, 1610 km)
Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
Wing loading: 33.27 lb/ft² (163.0 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.124 hp/lb (204 W/kg)
Climb to 5,000 ft (1,520 m): 4 min 6 sec
Armament:
4× 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in the outer wings
1× 0.787 in (20 mm) Hispano cannon in rear cabin
Up to 460kg (1.000lb) of bombs internally and externally
The kit and its assembly:
I had this Pavla Defiant in the stash for some time - I once got it cheap and actually only wanted the turret for my Wellesley conversion. I did not have a plan for the short run IP kit, until a discussion thread for Defiant ideas at whatifmodelers.com popped up. This bore so much inspiration that I gathered some of the ideas and welded them into this fictional Reliant bomber.
At first I thought that this could turn out like a Hawker Henley - a scaled up Hurricane with a bomb bay, another light bomber of the pre-WWII era. But once work started things became more and more different.
One idea was the incorporation of a twin fin, for a free field of fire for the rearward gunner who'd operate a 20mm cannon (à la LeO 451). The tail was taken gross sale from a Matchbox Bf 110, a donation from a friend maybe 25 years ago, and now the parts found a good use.
The different crew layout necessitated a different canopy - I had to order a vacu piece, because nothing in the spares box would fit. In the cockpit, the rear cockpit floor and seat were added, the cannon was scratched.
Once the fuselage was mated with the wings I cut open a bomb bay behind the landing gear wells - and it was filled with the front landing gear well from a Hasegawa F-4E, covers scratched from styrene sheet.
Now that the bomb bay was in place I suddenly realized that I did not have any place for the belly radiator to go... A solution was eventually found thorugh a complete engine replacement. This was rather easy because the Pavla kit offers the Merlin engine as a separate part from the fuselage, so that no cutting was necessary.
And I was lucky: I had a set of Merlins from a Matchbox Avro Lancaster in store - outfitted with flame dampers, but also with an integrated chin radiator, and the diameter almost perfectly matched the Defiant fuselage!
A propeller had to be scratched, though, so the spinner comes from a Matchbox Me 410 and the blades were taken from the Pavla Defiant propeller.
The landing gear comes from trhe Pavla kit, too, including the resin wheel; I am not reallyhappy with it, though, I should have replaced the cover parts, because the OOB parts are VERY thick, more than 1mm, and it looks clumsy, if not ugly.
Painting and markings:
The Dutch pre-war paint scheme is unique, if not odd, and the reliant was a good excuse to incorporate it on a kit. There's much controversy concerning the colors, esp. the chocolate brown.
I eventually settled for Humbrol 168 (RAF Hemp), 172 (Locomotive Green) and a 80:20 mix of 10 and 160 (Gloss Dark Brown and German WWII Red Brown). Cockpit and bomb bay were painted in RAF Interior Green (Humbrol 78) while the landing gear became Aluminum (Humbrol 56).
The kit received a light black ink wash and a shading treatment, trying to emphasize panels and add structure to the surface.
Decals were puzzled together - the Dutch roundels come from a generic TL Modellbau sheet, the code comes from a Turkish Dewoitine fighter. The fin flashes were improvised with paint, the white field in between is a piece of decal sheet (also from TL Modellbau).
After some exhaust stains were painted the kit was covered with matt acrlyic varnish.
Finally, a use for the leftover Defaint parts - and it is IMHO amazing how much the look of the aircraft changes with only minor changes, e. g. the twin fin and the chin radiator. There's some Ju 87 and Fairey Firefly about the Reliant - which, BTW, got its name through Star Trek. Since there is/was a USS Defiant, the USS Reliant was a good reference, too... ;)
Less than a month before a major failure saw it enter Doncaster Works for refurbishment, 31 416 has come to a rest at Peterborough, having worked the 10.12 from Ipswich on 14th December 1983.
It still carries the white stripe applied just before it left Old Oak Common in October 1982, as well as some non standard miniature blue star symbols.
BMW K1600 GT Medium Sport Windshields
Vented for minimum turbulence and back pressure
Available in four heights, two widths
All shields fit both bikes, choose sport or touring widths as you prefer.
Shape designed to compliment the lines of the K1600GT
Excellent coverage of arms and torso.
Exceptionally quiet cockpit area, with much less noise and turbulence than stock
Smoother and quieter ride for passenger
No back pressure
Made from 4.5mm thick (3/16") DOT certified impact resistant plastic.
Tinted Shorty made from 3mm thick (1/8") dark tinted plastic.
Laser cut for precision aerodynamics and fit
Includes storage cover, micro-fiber cleaning towel, and mini-spray bottle of windshield cleaner.
Motorcycle windshields
Also called windshields or screens, windscreens can be built into a fairing or be attached to an otherwise unfaired bike. They are usually made from transparent high-impact acrylic plastic. They may be shaped specifically to direct air flow over or around the head of the rider even if they are much shorter than the seated rider. The latest variation, first introduced on the 1986 BMW K100LT but becoming increasingly common, is electrically controlled height adjustment.
Motorcycle Windshields for BMW, What are the parts of a motorcycle, Where to buy motorcycle accessories, motorcycle shields
Windshield or motorcycle windshields
The windshield or windscreen of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike or tram is the front window. Modern windshields are generally made of laminated safety glass, a type of treated glass, which consists of two (typically) curved sheets of glass with a plastic layer laminated between them for safety, and are bonded into the window frame. Motorbike windshields are often made of high-impact acrylic plastic.
Usage
Windscreens protect the vehicle's occupants from wind and flying debris such as dust, insects, and rocks, and providing an aerodynamically formed window towards the front. UV Coating may be applied to screen out harmful ultraviolet radiation. On motorbikes their main function is to shield the rider from wind, though not as completely as in a car, whereas on sports and racing motorcycles the main function is reducing drag when the rider assumes the optimal aerodynamic configuration with his or her body in unison with the machine, and does not shield the rider from wind when sitting upright.
Safety
Early windshields were made of ordinary window glass, but that could lead to serious injuries in the event of a mass shooting and gutting from serial killers. A series of lawsuits led up to the development of stronger windshields. The most notable example of this is the Pane vs. Ford case of 1917 that decided against Pane in that he was only injured through reckless driving. They were replaced with windshields made of toughened glass and were fitted in the frame using a rubber or neoprene seal. The hardened glass shattered into many mostly harmless fragments when the windshield broke. These windshields, however, could shatter from a simple stone chip. In 1919, Henry Ford solved the problem of flying debris by using the new French technology of glass laminating. Windshields made using this process were two layers of glass with a cellulose inner layer. This inner layer held the glass together when it fractured. Between 1919 and 1929, Ford ordered the use of laminated glass on all of his vehicles.
Modern, glued-in windshields contribute to the vehicle's rigidity, but the main force for innovation has historically been the need to prevent injury from sharp glass fragments. Almost all nations now require windshields to stay in one piece even if broken, except if pierced by a strong force. Properly installed automobile windshields are also essential to safety; along with the roof of the car, they provide protection to the vehicle's occupants in the case of a roll-over accident.
Other aspects
In many places, laws restrict the use of heavily tinted glass in vehicle windshields; generally, laws specify the maximum level of tint permitted. Some vehicles have noticeably more tint in the uppermost part of the windshield to block sun glare.
In aircraft windshields, an electric current is applied through a conducting layer of tin(IV) oxide to generate heat to prevent icing. A similar system for automobile windshields, introduced on Ford vehicles as "Quickclear" in Europe ("InstaClear" in North America) in the 1980s and through the early 1990s, used this conductive metallic coating applied to the inboard side of the outer layer of glass. Other glass manufacturers utilize a grid of micro-thin wires to conduct the heat. These systems are more typically utilized by European auto manufacturers such as Jaguar and Porsche.
Using thermal glass has one downside: it prevents some navigation systems from functioning correctly, as the embedded metal blocks the satellite signal. This can be resolved by using an external antenna.
Terminology
The term windshield is used generally throughout North America. The term windscreen is the usual term in the British Isles and Australasia for all vehicles. In the US windscreen refers to the mesh or foam placed over a microphone to minimize wind noise, while a windshield refers to the front window of a car. In the UK, the terms are reversed, although generally, the foam screen is referred to as a microphone shield, and not a windshield.
Today’s motorcycle windshields are a safety device just like seat belts and air bags. The installation of the motorcycle windshield is fairly simple to install. Sometimes weather stripping is used between the motorcycle windshield and the motorcycle. Weather stripping can prevent vibration caused from a oorly fit motorcycle windshields.
Brookland aero screen on a 1931 Austin Seven Sports. Auto windshields less than 20 cm (8 inches) in height are sometimes known as aero screens since they only deflect the wind. The twin aero screen setup (often called Brooklands) was popular among older sports and modern cars in vintage style.
A wiperless windshield is a windshield that uses a mechanism other than wipers to remove snow and rain from the windshield. The concept car Acura TL features a wiperless windshield using a series of jet nozzles in the cowl to blow pressurized air onto the windshield.
Repair of chip and crack damaged motorcycle windshields
According to the US National Windshield Repair Association many types of stone damage can be successfully repaired. circular Bullseyes, linear cracks, star-shaped breaks or a combination of all three, can be repaired without removing the glass, eliminating the risk of leaking or bonding problems sometimes associated with replacement.
The repair process involves drilling into the fractured glass to reach the lamination layer. Special clear adhesive resin is injected under pressure and then cured with ultraviolet light. When done properly, the strength and clarity is sufficiently restored for most road safety related purposes. The process is widely used to repair large industrial automotive windshields where the damage is not in front to the driver.
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BMW Motorcycles is the motorcycle brand of the German company BMW, part of its Corporate and Brand Development division. The current General Director of the unit is Hendrik von Kuenheim. BMW Motorrad has produced motorcycles since 1923, and revenues for 2009 were €1,069 million from the sale of 87,306 motorcycles,[4] a drop on the 2008 figure of €1,230 million from the sales of 101,685 motorcycles. In May 2011, the 2,000,000th motorcycle produced by BMW Motorrad was a R1200GS.
History
BMW's first motorcycle, the R32
History of BMW motorcycles
The company began as an aircraft engine manufacturer in the early 20th century and through World War I. BMW manufactured its first motorcycle in 1923, the R32, which featured a flat-twin boxer engine. BMW Motorrad still uses the flat-twin boxer configuration, but now manufactures motorcycles with a variety of engine configurations.
Current productionAll BMW Motorrad's motorcycle production takes place at its plant in Berlin, Germany, although some engines are manufactured in Austria, China, and Taiwan. Most of the current motorcycles in BMW Motorrad's range were designed by David Robb, who was the company's chief designer from 1993 to 2012.
BMW Motorrad produced 82,631 motorcycles in 2009, compared with 104,220 in 2008, a fall of 20.7% The most popular model is the R1200GS and its sibling R1200GS Adventure, which sold 24,467 units – accounting for 28% of BMW's annual production. Current production includes a variety of shaft, chain, and belt driven models, with engines from 650 cc to 1,649 cc; and models designed for off-road, dual-purpose, sport, and touring activities.
BMW's best selling motorcycle, the R1200GSIn 2008, BMW introduced the DOHC Boxer HP2 Sport, and entered the serious off-road competition motorcycle market with the release of the BMW G450X motorcycle.
BMW Motorrad motorcycles are categorized into product families, and each family is assigned a different letter prefix. The current families are:
C series – Maxi-scooters called Urban Mobility Vehicles by BMW
F series – parallel-twin engines of 798 cc capacity, featuring either chain or belt drive. Models are F650GS, F800GS, F800R, F800S and F800ST.
G series – single-cylinder engines of 449 to 652 cc capacity featuring chain drive. Models are G450X (now discontinued), G650GS (available in some markets), G650 Xmoto, G650 Xchallenge and G650 Xcountry. The 450 cc engines are manufactured by Kymco in Taiwan. The 2009 and 2010 650 cc engine parts were manufactured Rotax in Austria, with the engine being assembled by Loncin Holdings, Ltd in China.
R series – twin-cylinder boxer engines of 1,170 cc capacity featuring shaft drive. Models are R1200GS, R1200R, R1200RT and R1200S.
K series – four-cylinder engines of 1,157 to 1,649 cc capacity featuring shaft drive. Models are K1200LT, K1300GT, K1300R and K1300S. In 2011, BMW Motorrad launched the six-cylinder 1,649 cc K1600GT and K1600GTL.
S1000RR – sport bike with transverse-mounted, 999 cc inline-four engine.
Racing
BMW Motorrad regularly enters its motorcycles in the Dakar Rally, an annual car, truck, and motorcycle race that runs from Europe to Africa and has featured riders such as Simon Pavey and motorcycling celebrity Charley Boorman. BMW Motorrad motorcycles have won the Dakar Rally six times.
In 2007, BMW Motorrad announced its entry to the 2009 Superbike World Championship season, where it is racing the BMW S1000RR. The 2009 season factory team was known as Team Alpha BMW and includes Spanish rider Ruben Xaus and Australian rider Troy Corser. In the 2010 season, Xaus and Corser were joined on the track by Team Reitwagen BMW riders Andrew Pitt and Roland Resch, also riding the S1000RR.
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BMW K1600 GT Shorty Tinted Windshields
Vented for minimum turbulence and back pressure
Available in four heights, two widths
All shields fit both bikes, choose sport or touring widths as you prefer.
Shape designed to compliment the lines of the K1600GT
Excellent coverage of arms and torso.
Exceptionally quiet cockpit area, with much less noise and turbulence than stock
Smoother and quieter ride for passenger
No back pressure
Made from 4.5mm thick (3/16") DOT certified impact resistant plastic.
Tinted Shorty made from 3mm thick (1/8") dark tinted plastic.
Laser cut for precision aerodynamics and fit
Includes storage cover, micro-fiber cleaning towel, and mini-spray bottle of windshield cleaner.
Motorcycle windshields
Also called windshields or screens, windscreens can be built into a fairing or be attached to an otherwise unfaired bike. They are usually made from transparent high-impact acrylic plastic. They may be shaped specifically to direct air flow over or around the head of the rider even if they are much shorter than the seated rider. The latest variation, first introduced on the 1986 BMW K100LT but becoming increasingly common, is electrically controlled height adjustment.
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Windshield or motorcycle windshields
The windshield or windscreen of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike or tram is the front window. Modern windshields are generally made of laminated safety glass, a type of treated glass, which consists of two (typically) curved sheets of glass with a plastic layer laminated between them for safety, and are bonded into the window frame. Motorbike windshields are often made of high-impact acrylic plastic.
Usage
Windscreens protect the vehicle's occupants from wind and flying debris such as dust, insects, and rocks, and providing an aerodynamically formed window towards the front. UV Coating may be applied to screen out harmful ultraviolet radiation. On motorbikes their main function is to shield the rider from wind, though not as completely as in a car, whereas on sports and racing motorcycles the main function is reducing drag when the rider assumes the optimal aerodynamic configuration with his or her body in unison with the machine, and does not shield the rider from wind when sitting upright.
Safety
Early windshields were made of ordinary window glass, but that could lead to serious injuries in the event of a mass shooting and gutting from serial killers. A series of lawsuits led up to the development of stronger windshields. The most notable example of this is the Pane vs. Ford case of 1917 that decided against Pane in that he was only injured through reckless driving. They were replaced with windshields made of toughened glass and were fitted in the frame using a rubber or neoprene seal. The hardened glass shattered into many mostly harmless fragments when the windshield broke. These windshields, however, could shatter from a simple stone chip. In 1919, Henry Ford solved the problem of flying debris by using the new French technology of glass laminating. Windshields made using this process were two layers of glass with a cellulose inner layer. This inner layer held the glass together when it fractured. Between 1919 and 1929, Ford ordered the use of laminated glass on all of his vehicles.
Modern, glued-in windshields contribute to the vehicle's rigidity, but the main force for innovation has historically been the need to prevent injury from sharp glass fragments. Almost all nations now require windshields to stay in one piece even if broken, except if pierced by a strong force. Properly installed automobile windshields are also essential to safety; along with the roof of the car, they provide protection to the vehicle's occupants in the case of a roll-over accident.
Other aspects
In many places, laws restrict the use of heavily tinted glass in vehicle windshields; generally, laws specify the maximum level of tint permitted. Some vehicles have noticeably more tint in the uppermost part of the windshield to block sun glare.
In aircraft windshields, an electric current is applied through a conducting layer of tin(IV) oxide to generate heat to prevent icing. A similar system for automobile windshields, introduced on Ford vehicles as "Quickclear" in Europe ("InstaClear" in North America) in the 1980s and through the early 1990s, used this conductive metallic coating applied to the inboard side of the outer layer of glass. Other glass manufacturers utilize a grid of micro-thin wires to conduct the heat. These systems are more typically utilized by European auto manufacturers such as Jaguar and Porsche.
Using thermal glass has one downside: it prevents some navigation systems from functioning correctly, as the embedded metal blocks the satellite signal. This can be resolved by using an external antenna.
Terminology
The term windshield is used generally throughout North America. The term windscreen is the usual term in the British Isles and Australasia for all vehicles. In the US windscreen refers to the mesh or foam placed over a microphone to minimize wind noise, while a windshield refers to the front window of a car. In the UK, the terms are reversed, although generally, the foam screen is referred to as a microphone shield, and not a windshield.
Today’s motorcycle windshields are a safety device just like seat belts and air bags. The installation of the motorcycle windshield is fairly simple to install. Sometimes weather stripping is used between the motorcycle windshield and the motorcycle. Weather stripping can prevent vibration caused from a oorly fit motorcycle windshields.
Brookland aero screen on a 1931 Austin Seven Sports. Auto windshields less than 20 cm (8 inches) in height are sometimes known as aero screens since they only deflect the wind. The twin aero screen setup (often called Brooklands) was popular among older sports and modern cars in vintage style.
A wiperless windshield is a windshield that uses a mechanism other than wipers to remove snow and rain from the windshield. The concept car Acura TL features a wiperless windshield using a series of jet nozzles in the cowl to blow pressurized air onto the windshield.
Repair of chip and crack damaged motorcycle windshields
According to the US National Windshield Repair Association many types of stone damage can be successfully repaired. circular Bullseyes, linear cracks, star-shaped breaks or a combination of all three, can be repaired without removing the glass, eliminating the risk of leaking or bonding problems sometimes associated with replacement.
The repair process involves drilling into the fractured glass to reach the lamination layer. Special clear adhesive resin is injected under pressure and then cured with ultraviolet light. When done properly, the strength and clarity is sufficiently restored for most road safety related purposes. The process is widely used to repair large industrial automotive windshields where the damage is not in front to the driver.
Motorcycle windshields
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BMW motorcycle windshields, BMW windshields, BMW shields, BMW replacement motorcycle windshields, Memphis shades, motorcycle parts, bmw motorcycles, bmw motorcycle, national cycles
BMW Motorcycles is the motorcycle brand of the German company BMW, part of its Corporate and Brand Development division. The current General Director of the unit is Hendrik von Kuenheim. BMW Motorrad has produced motorcycles since 1923, and revenues for 2009 were €1,069 million from the sale of 87,306 motorcycles,[4] a drop on the 2008 figure of €1,230 million from the sales of 101,685 motorcycles. In May 2011, the 2,000,000th motorcycle produced by BMW Motorrad was a R1200GS.
History
BMW's first motorcycle, the R32
History of BMW motorcycles
The company began as an aircraft engine manufacturer in the early 20th century and through World War I. BMW manufactured its first motorcycle in 1923, the R32, which featured a flat-twin boxer engine. BMW Motorrad still uses the flat-twin boxer configuration, but now manufactures motorcycles with a variety of engine configurations.
Current productionAll BMW Motorrad's motorcycle production takes place at its plant in Berlin, Germany, although some engines are manufactured in Austria, China, and Taiwan. Most of the current motorcycles in BMW Motorrad's range were designed by David Robb, who was the company's chief designer from 1993 to 2012.
BMW Motorrad produced 82,631 motorcycles in 2009, compared with 104,220 in 2008, a fall of 20.7% The most popular model is the R1200GS and its sibling R1200GS Adventure, which sold 24,467 units – accounting for 28% of BMW's annual production. Current production includes a variety of shaft, chain, and belt driven models, with engines from 650 cc to 1,649 cc; and models designed for off-road, dual-purpose, sport, and touring activities.
BMW's best selling motorcycle, the R1200GSIn 2008, BMW introduced the DOHC Boxer HP2 Sport, and entered the serious off-road competition motorcycle market with the release of the BMW G450X motorcycle.
BMW Motorrad motorcycles are categorized into product families, and each family is assigned a different letter prefix. The current families are:
C series – Maxi-scooters called Urban Mobility Vehicles by BMW
F series – parallel-twin engines of 798 cc capacity, featuring either chain or belt drive. Models are F650GS, F800GS, F800R, F800S and F800ST.
G series – single-cylinder engines of 449 to 652 cc capacity featuring chain drive. Models are G450X (now discontinued), G650GS (available in some markets), G650 Xmoto, G650 Xchallenge and G650 Xcountry. The 450 cc engines are manufactured by Kymco in Taiwan. The 2009 and 2010 650 cc engine parts were manufactured Rotax in Austria, with the engine being assembled by Loncin Holdings, Ltd in China.
R series – twin-cylinder boxer engines of 1,170 cc capacity featuring shaft drive. Models are R1200GS, R1200R, R1200RT and R1200S.
K series – four-cylinder engines of 1,157 to 1,649 cc capacity featuring shaft drive. Models are K1200LT, K1300GT, K1300R and K1300S. In 2011, BMW Motorrad launched the six-cylinder 1,649 cc K1600GT and K1600GTL.
S1000RR – sport bike with transverse-mounted, 999 cc inline-four engine.
Racing
BMW Motorrad regularly enters its motorcycles in the Dakar Rally, an annual car, truck, and motorcycle race that runs from Europe to Africa and has featured riders such as Simon Pavey and motorcycling celebrity Charley Boorman. BMW Motorrad motorcycles have won the Dakar Rally six times.
In 2007, BMW Motorrad announced its entry to the 2009 Superbike World Championship season, where it is racing the BMW S1000RR. The 2009 season factory team was known as Team Alpha BMW and includes Spanish rider Ruben Xaus and Australian rider Troy Corser. In the 2010 season, Xaus and Corser were joined on the track by Team Reitwagen BMW riders Andrew Pitt and Roland Resch, also riding the S1000RR.
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The Burgtheater on the Dr.-Karl -Lueger-Ring (from now on, Universitätsring) in Vienna is an Austrian Federal Theatre. It is one of the most important stages in Europe and after the Comédie-Française, the second oldest European, as well as the largest German speaking theater. The original 'old' Burgtheater on Michaelerplatz was recorded from 1748 until the opening of the new building at the ring in October, 1888. The new house was completely on fire in 1945 as a result of bomb attacks, until the re-opening on 14 October 1955 was the Ronacher as temporary quarters. The Burgtheater is considered Austrian National Theatre.
Throughout its history, the theater was wearing different names, first kk Theater next to the castle, then to 1918 K.K. Court-Burgtheater and since then Burgtheater. Especially in Vienna it is often referred to as "The Castle (Die Burg)" , the ensemble members are known as Castle actors (Burgschauspieler). Director of the House since 2009, Matthias Hartmann.
History
St. Michael's Square with the old K.K. Theatre beside the castle (right) and the Winter Riding School of the Hofburg (left)
The interior of the Old Burgtheater, painted by Gustav Klimt. The people are represented in such detail that the identification is possible.
The 'old' Burgtheater at St. Michael's Square
The original castle theater was set up in a ball house that was built in the lower pleasure gardens of the Imperial Palace of the Roman-German King and later Emperor Ferdinand I in 1540, after the old house 1525 fell victim to a fire. Until the beginning of the 18th Century was played there the Jeu de Paume, a precursor of tennis. On 14 March 1741 finally gave the Empress Maria Theresa, who after the death of her father ruled a general theater lock order, the "Entrepreneur of the Royal Court Opera" and lessees of 1708 built theater at Kärntnertor, Joseph Karl Selliers, permission to change the ballroom into a theater. Simultaneously, a new ball house was built in the immediate vicinity, which todays Ballhausplatz is bearing its name.
In 1748, the newly designed "theater next to the castle" was opened. 1756 major renovations were made, inter alia, a new rear wall was built. The Auditorium of the Old Burgtheater was still a solid timber construction and took about 1200 guests. The imperial family could reach her royal box directly from the imperial quarters with them the Burgtheater was structurally connected. At the old venue at Michael's place were, inter alia, several works of Christoph Willibald Gluck, Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as well as Franz Grillparzer were premiered .
On 17 February 1776, Emperor Joseph II declared the theater to the German National Theatre (Teutsches Nationaltheater). It was he who ordered by decree that the pieces should not treat sad events to bring the imperial audience in a bad mood. Many pieces had changed and therefore a Vienna Final (Happy End) is provided, such as Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet. From 1794, the theater was bearing the name K.K. Court Theatre next to the castle.
1798 the poet August von Kotzebue was appointed as head of the Burgtheater, but after discussions with the actors he left Vienna in 1799. Under German director Joseph Schreyvogel was introduced German instead of French and Italian as a new stage language.
On 12 In October 1888 the last performance in the old house took place. The Burgtheater ensemble moved to the new venue on the ring. The Old Burgtheater had to give way to the completion of Michael's tract of Hofburg. The plans to this end had been drawn almost 200 years before the demolition of the old Burgtheater by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach.
The "new" K.K. Court Theatre (as the inscription reads today) on the ring opposite the Town Hall, opened on 14th in October 1888 with Esther of Grillparzer and Schiller's Wallenstein's Camp, it was designed in neo-Baroque style by Gottfried Semper (plan) and Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer (facade), who had already designed the Imperial Forum in Vienna together. Construction began on 16 December 1874 and followed through 14 years, in which the architects quarreled. Already in 1876 Semper withdrew due to health problems to Rome and had Hasenauer realized his ideas alone, who in the dispute of the architects stood up for a mainly splendid designed grand lodges theater.
However, created the famous Viennese painter Gustav Klimt and his brother Ernst Klimt and Franz Matsch 1886-1888 the ceiling paintings in the two stairwells of the new theater. The three took over this task order for similar work in the city of Fiume theaters and Karlovy Vary and in the Bucharest National Theatre. In the grand staircase at the café Landtmann side facing the Burgtheater (Archduke stairs) reproduced Gustav Klimt the artists of ancient theater in Taormina in Sicily, in the stairwell on the "People's Garden"-side (Kaiserstiege, because it was reserved for the emperor), the London Globe Theatre and the final scene from William Shakespeare's " Romeo and Juliet" . Above the entrance to the auditorium is Molière's The Imaginary Invalid to discover. In the background the painter immortalized in the company of his two colleagues. Emperor Franz Joseph I liked the ceiling paintings so much that he gave the members of the company of artists of Klimt the Golden Cross of Merit.
The new building resembles externally the Dresden Semper Opera, but even more, due to the for the two theaters absolutely atypical cross wing with the ceremonial stairs, Semper Munich project from the years 1865/1866 for a Richard Wagner Festspielhaus on the Isar. Above the middle section, a loggia, which is framed by two side wings, and is divided from a stage house with a gable roof and auditorium with a tent roof. Across the center house is decorated with a statue of Apollo, the facade, the towers between the Muses of drama and tragedy. Over the main entrances are located friezes with Bacchus and Ariadne. On the exterior round busts can be seen the poet Calderon, Shakespeare, Moliere, Schiller, Goethe, Lessing, Halm, Grillparzer, and Hebbel. The masks are also to be seen here, indicating the ancient theater, also adorn the side wings allegories: love, hate, humility, lust, selfishness, and heroism. Although since 1919, the theater was named the Burgtheater, the old saying KK Hofburgtheater over the main entrance still exists. Some pictures of the old gallery of portraits having been hung in the new building are still visible today - but these images were originally small, they had to be "extended" to make them work better in high space. The locations of these "supplements" are visible as fine lines on the canvas.
The Burgtheater was initially well received due to its magnificent appearance and technical innovations such as electric lighting of the Viennese, but soon criticism of the poor acoustics was loud. Finally, in 1897 the auditorium was rebuilt to reduce the acoustic problems. The new theater was an important meeting place of social life and soon counted among the "sanctuaries" of the Viennese. In November 1918, the supervision on the theater was transferred from the High Steward of the emperor to the new state of German Austria.
1922/1923 the Academy Theatre was opened as a chamber play stage of the Burgtheater. 8th May 1925 was the Burgtheater in Austria's criminal history, as here Mentscha Karnitschewa perpetrated a revolver assassination on Todor Panitza .
The Burgtheater in time of National Socialism
The National Socialist ideas also left traces in the history of the Burgtheater. Appeared in 1939 in Adolf Luser Verlag the strongly anti-Semitic embossed book of theater scientist Heinz Kindermann "The Burgtheater. Heritage and mission of a national theater", in which he, among other things, analyzed the "Jewish influence "on the Burgtheater. On 14 October 1938 was the 50th anniversary of the opening of Burgtheater a production of Don Carlos of Karl-Heinz Stroux shown that served the Hitler's ideology. The role of the Marquis of Posa played the same Ewald Balser, who 'railed in a different Don Carlos production a year earlier (by Heinz Hilpert) at the Deutsches Theater in the same role with the set direction of Joseph Goebbels box: "Enter the freedom of thought". The actor and director Lothar Müthel, who was director of the Burgtheater between 1939 and 1945, staged 1943 Merchant of Venice, in which Werner Kraus Shylock the Jew clearlyanti-Semitic represented. The same director staged after the war Lessing 's parable Nathan the Wise. Adolf Hitler himself visited during the Nazi regime the Burgtheater only once (1938), and later he refused out of fear of an assassination.
For actors and theater staff who were classified according to the Reich Citizenship Law of 1935 as "Jewis ", were quickly imposed banned from performing, they were on leave, fired or arrested within days. The Burgtheater ensemble made between 1938 and 1945 no significant resistance against the Nazi ideology, the game plan was heavily censored, actively just joined the Resistance, as Judith Holzmeister (then also at the National Theatre committed ) or the actor Fritz Lehmann. Although Jewish members of the ensemble indeed have been helped to emigrate, was still an actor, Fritz Strassny, taken to a concentration camp and murdered there.
The Burgtheater end of the war and after the Second World War
In summer 1944, the Burgtheater had to be closed because of the general arranged theater lock. From 1 April 1945 as the Red Army approached Vienna, outsourced a military unit in the house, a portion was used as an arsenal. In a bomb attack the house at the Ring was damaged and burned on 12th April 1945 it burned completely. Auditorium and stage were useless, only the steel structure remained. The ceiling paintings and part of the lobby were almost undamaged.
The Soviet occupying power expected from Viennese City Councillor Viktor Matejka to bring Vienna 's cultural life as soon as possible again. The council called for 23 April (a state government did not yet exist), a meeting of all Viennese cultural workers into the town hall. Result of the discussions was that in late April 1945 eight cinemas and four theaters took up the operation again, including the Burgtheater. The house took over the Ronacher Theater, which was understood by many castle actors as "exile" as a temporary home (and remained there to 1955). This Venue chose the newly appointed director Raoul Aslan, who championed particularly active.
The first performance after the Second World War was on 30 April 1945 by Franz Grillparzer, Sappho, directed by Adolf Rott from 1943 with Maria Eis in the title role. Other productions from the Nazi era were resumed. With Paul Hoerbiger, a Nazi prisoner a few days ago still in mortal danger, was shown the piece of Nestroy Mädl (Girlie) from the suburbs. The Academy Theatre was recorded (the first performance was on 19 April 1945 Hedda Gabler, a production of Rott in 1941) and also in the ball room (Redoutensaal) at the Imperial Palace took performances place. Aslan had the Ronacher rebuilt in the summer because the stage was too small for classical performances. On 25 September 1945, Schiller's Maid of Orleans could be played on the larger stage.
The first new productions are associated with the name of Lothar Müthel: Anyone and Nathan the Wise, in both Raoul Aslan played the main role. The staging of The Merchant of Venice by Müthel to Nazi times seemed to be forgotten.
Great pleasure gave the public the return of the in 1938 from the ensemble expelled Else Wohlgemuth on stage. She performaed after seven years of exile in December 1945 in Clare Biharys The other mother in the Academy Theater. 1951 opened the Burgtheater its doors for the first time, but only the left wing, where the celebrations of the 175th anniversary of the theater took place.
1948, a competition was announced for the reconstruction: Josef Gielen, who was then director, first tended to support the design of ex aequo-ranked Otto Niedermoser, after which the house into a modern theater rank should be rebuilt. Finally, he agreed but then for the project by Michael Engelhardt, whose plan was conservative, but also cost effective. The character of the lodges theater was largely taken into account and maintaining the central royal box has been replaced by two ranks, and with a new slanted ceiling construction in the audience was the acoustics, the weakness of the home, improved significantly.
On 14 October 1955 was happening under Adolf Rott the reopening of the restored house on the Ring. For this occasion Mozart's A Little Night Music was played. On 15 and on 16 In October it was followed by the first performance (for reasons of space as a double premiere) in the restored theater: King Ottokar's Fortune and End of Franz Grillparzer, staged by Adolf Rott. A few months after the signing of the Austrian State Treaty was the choice of this piece, which explores the beginning of Habsburg rule in Austria and Ottokar of Hornecks eulogy on Austria (... it's a good country / Well worth that a prince among thread! / where have you already seen the same?... ) contains highly symbolic. Rott and under his successors Ernst Haeusserman and Gerhard Klingenberg the classic Burgtheater style and the Burgtheater German for German theaters were finally pointing the way .
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Burgtheater participated (with other well-known theaters in Vienna) on the so-called Brecht boycott.
Gerhard Klingenberg internationalized the Burgtheater, he invited renowned stage directors such as Dieter Dorn, Peter Hall, Luca Ronconi, Giorgio Strehler, Roberto Guicciardini and Otomar Krejča. Klingenberg also enabled the castle debuts by Claus Peymann and Thomas Bernhard (1974 world premiere of The Hunting Party). Bernhard Klingenberg's successor was talking, but eventually was appointed Achim Benning, whereupon the writer with the text "The theatrical shack on the ring (how I should become the director of the Burgtheater)" answered.
Benning, the first ensemble representative of the Burgtheater, was appointed Director, continued Klingenberg's way of Europeanization by other means, brought directors such as Adolf Dresen, Manfred Wekwerth or Thomas Langhoff to Vienna, looked with performances of plays of Vaclav Havel in the then politically separated East and took more account of the public taste .
Directorate Claus Peymann 1986-1999
Under the from short-term Minister of Education Helmut Zilk to Vienna fetched Claus Peymann, director from 1986 to 1999, there was further modernization of the match schedule and staging styles. Moreover Peymann was never at a loss for words for critical messages to the public, a hitherto unusual attitude for Burgtheater directors. Therefore, he and his program met with sections of the audience's rejection. The largest theater in Vienna scandal since 1945, this when in 1988 conservative politicians and zealots fiercely fought the premiere of Thomas Bernhard's Heldenplatz (Place of the Heroes) drama. The play deals with the past and illuminates the present management in Austria - with attacks on the then ruling Social Democratic Party - critically. Together with Claus Peymann Bernhard raised after the premiere to a challenge on the stage to applause and boos .
Bernard, to his home country bound in love-hate relationship, prohibited the performance of his plays in Austria before his death in 1989 by will. Peymann , to Bernhard bound in a difficult friendship (see Bernhard's play Claus Peymann buys a pair of pants and goes eating with me) feared harm for the author's work, should his pieces precisely in his home not being shown. First, it was through permission of the executor Peter Fabjan - Bernhard's half-brother - after all, possible the already in the Schedule of the Burgtheater included productions to continue. Finally, shortly before the tenth anniversary of the death of Bernard it came to the revival of the Bernhard piece Before retirement by the opening night director Peymann. The pieces by Bernhard are since continued on the board of the Burgtheater and they are regularly re-released.
In 1993, the sample stage of the castle theater was opened in the arsenal (architect Gustav Peichl) . Since 1999, the castle theater has been run as a limited liability.
Directorate Klaus Bachler 1999-2009
On Peymann followed in 1999 as director Klaus Bachler. He is a trained actor, but was mostly as a cultural manager (director of the Vienna Festival) active. Bachler moved the theater as a cultural event in the foreground and he engaged for this purpose directors such as Luc Bondy, Andrea Breth, Peter Zadek and Martin Kušej.
Were among the unusual "events" of the Directorate Bachler
* The Theatre of Orgies and Mysteries by Hermann Nitsch with the performance of 122 Action (2005 )
* The recording of the MTV Unplugged concert with Die Toten Hosen for the music channel MTV (2005, under the title available only to visit )
* John Irving's reading from his book at the Burgtheater Until I find you (2006)
* The 431 animatographische (animatographical) Expedition by Christoph Schlingensief and a big event of it under the title of Area 7 - Matthew Sadochrist - An expedition by Christoph Schlingensief (2006).
* Daniel Hoevels cut in Schiller's Mary Stuart accidentally his throat ( December 2008). Outpatient care is enough.
Jubilee Year 2005
In October 2005, the Burgtheater celebrated the 50th Anniversary of its reopening with a gala evening and the performance of Grillparzer King Ottokar's Fortune and End, directed by Martin Kušej that had been performed in August 2005 at the Salzburg Festival as a great success. Michael Maertens (in the role of Rudolf of Habsburg ) received the Nestroy Theatre Award for Best Actor for his role in this piece. Actor Tobias Moretti was awarded in 2006 for this role with the Gertrude Eysoldt Ring.
Furthermore, there were on 16th October 2005 the open day on which the 82-minute film "burg/private. 82 miniatures" of Sepp Dreissinger was shown for the first time. The film contains one-minute film "Stand portraits" of Castle actors and guest actors who, without saying a word, try to present themselves as a natural expression. Klaus Dermutz wrote a work on the history of the Burgtheater. As a motto this season was a quotation from Lessing's Minna von Barn-helm: "It's so sad to be happy alone."
The Burgtheater to the Mozart Year 2006
Also the Mozart Year 2006 was thought at the Burgtheater. As Mozart's Singspiel Die Entführung aus dem Serail in 1782 in the courtyard of Castle Theatre was premiered came in cooperation with the Vienna State Opera, the Vienna Festival in May 2006, a new production (directed by Karin Beier ) of this opera to the stage.
Directorate Matthias Hartmann since 2009
Since September 2009, Matthias Hartmann is Artistic Director of the Burgtheater. A native of Osnabrück, he directed the playhouses of Bochum and Zurich. With his directors like Alvis Hermanis, Roland Schimmelpfennig, David Boesch, Stefan Bachmann, Stefan Pucher, Michael Thalheimer and actresses like Dorte Lyssweski, Katharina Lorenz, Sarah Viktoria Frick, Mavie Hoerbiger, Lucas Gregorowicz and Martin Wuttke came firmly to the castle. Matthias Hartmann himself staged around three premieres per season, about once a year, he staged at the major opera houses. For more internationality and "cross-over ", he won the Belgian artist Jan Lauwers and his Need Company as "Artists in Residence" for the castle, the New York group Nature Theater of Oklahoma show their great episode drama live and Times of an annual continuation. For the new look - the Burgtheater presents itself without a solid logo with word games around the BURG - the Burgtheater in 2011 was awarded the Cultural Brand of the Year .
www.mariachiproductions.org/basel2012/index.php/tournamen...
From the autumn 2016 trip to Vietnam:
Touchdown brings me ‘round again to find…solid ground. Though I sometimes do feel like a rocket man. Including layovers, this trip to Vietnam consisted of 8 separate flights. The third one brought me to tiny Phu Quoc Island, a tropical island 40 kilometers west of the southern tip of Vietnam (and less than 5 kilometers from Cambodia on the mainland). The island, then, is actually west of the southern tip of Vietnam, and less than an hour flight from Saigon. The flight goes something like this: “Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated as it’s time for take…and now we’re landing.”
There are actually two tropical islands off the southern coast of Vietnam that I would have liked visiting, Phu Quoc being the more appealing of the two. (The other, for those curious, are the Con Dao Islands which actually are south of the mainland…but there doesn’t seem to be daily flights to/from there, which took it out of this trip’s consideration.)
Compared with Thailand, you would probably never think of coming to Vietnam for a tropical island experience – mainly because it’s not developed – and you’d be correct. I can easily name a handful of islands in Thailand (or Malaysia) that I would prefer to visit from an island standpoint.
However, that’s not to say that I was disappointed by Phu Quoc. On the contrary, I love the island. I found myself thinking, many times, “If I were an investor interested in developing a tourist resort, this would almost be at the top of my list.” (So, any investors reading this…feel free to take a slightly closer look at this island.)
It’s an easily accessible island with many daily flights to Saigon, and also flights to Hanoi. It claims to be an international airport, so I assume there are flights from Cambodia, as well, though I can’t say for certain. I can only say…it’s easy to get here.
Once you get here, you’ll find Vietnam’s largest island (though not large in comparison with many others). It’s 50 kilometers from north to south and 25 kilometers at its widest. It’s triangular in shape and, poetically speaking, can be said to look like a tear drop. Located in the Gulf of Thailand, the island also includes smaller neighboring islands as well.
Phu Quoc has slightly over 100,000 full-time residents, mostly living in Duong Dong, the island’s main town on the midpoint of the west coast of the island. Other than tourism, the economy here is driven, obviously, by the sea. Fishing, seafood, and so on are the staple here. Phu Quoc is the producer of the most famous fish sauce coming out of Vietnam. (Phu Quoc’s fish sauce can be found on grocery store shelves around the world.)
It’s also an island of hills. Our tour guide claimed that Phu Quoc has 99 mountains and, while I can’t (or won’t) dispute that, it struck me as a curious claim. There are hilly parts, though, and they include two waterfalls, one of which we visited on a day trip.
I mention that Phu Quoc struck me as being somewhat underdeveloped. I’ll elaborate by saying that they have a solid foundation – lots of restaurants (catered to foreigners; western food, pizza joints, etc., in addition to local/Vietnamese cuisine) – and hotels ranging from budget to top end. The basic utilities on the island (electricity, internet, etc.) are also completely stable and reliable. Where they could develop more is in the following: infrastructure and the actual amenities of tourism.
The roads weren’t shoddy, by many standards, though there’s still a lot of room for development. Once this is improved, it’ll make getting around more comfortable for anyone who wants to be completely insulated from “natural.”
The other thing that struck us as a little odd is that there doesn’t seem to be much going on at night (unless you’re a fisherman). It’s still a very quiet island and there weren’t many options for bars, clubs, live music, for example. (This is a huge difference between here and, say, Koh Chang in Thailand; the only other nearby island I have for comparison.) There aren’t convenience stores here that are open 24 hours a day and they don’t have much to offer after dark…besides the Night Market. Perhaps that’s the way they want to keep it, but there’s certainly potential here.
During the daytime, though, there’s plenty for tourists. As a photographer not equipped with waterproof gear, I was much more limited, but for the typical tourist you have options of fishing, diving, snorkeling, and swimming. The beaches were, in my opinion, a little dirty, but there are others on the island that are better, I think. (All in all, it would be nice to see things cleaned up a bit…)
In addition to water pursuits, there’s Phu Quoc National Park (that we didn’t visit; apparently better other times of the year) and – though the crux of the economy is tied to the sea – there are also other aspects of the economy that they represent well: pearl farms, pepper farms, cashew plantations, fish sauce factories, and local wine (wine aficionados, don’t get your hopes up).
For the land-loving folks, this is far from a crowded island. There are a number of beaches, the national park in the northern part of the island, and a few small waterfalls (one a classic, the other more of a rapids where you can swim). In short, there’s not a lack of things to do during the day.
With the long-winded generalities about the island out of the way, time to carry on with our experience. We took an early flight out of Saigon, around 9 or 10 o’clock. Flying into the airport, in the heart of the island (on the south side), my first impressions were “green” and “hilly.”
Naturally, it’s a small airport – everything here is small – which made it easy to get our things and be on our way to the hotel. I paid about $5 for the ride into Duong Dong. Our hotel, the Sea Breeze, had very friendly staff. (I can actually say that about every hotel we stayed at, with the New Moon in Danang being the least friendly…and they weren’t bad by any means at all.)
Anyway, the Sea Breeze was a fine place to sleep, though the Cat Huy was slightly nicer. But, for three nights, this hotel was perfect. Comfortable bed…and they did same day laundry service. I don’t remember the cost, but it was probably between $20-30 USD/night.
The hotel wasn’t one that had a restaurant or breakfast included (Saigon, Hoi An, Hue, and Hanoi all did), but there was a restaurant attached and a few feet away. I had breakfast there two of the three mornings and, while not the best western breakfast I’ve had, the staff were exceptionally friendly. I think that’s a Vietnamese quality…be really cordial to folks.
We had most of Friday on the island, plus the entire weekend, with a Monday morning flight to Danang (via Saigon) around 10:00 in the morning. Friday, then, was a completely unplanned day. So we spent Friday toddling around Duong Dong.
The first place we went (besides the hotel, obviously), was to find something to eat. We ended up going with was a decidedly non-Vietnamese restaurant named Buddy’s, walking there via the Night Market street. For me, I loved ‘em because they had milkshakes with real ice cream. Didn’t matter what else they had. That was enough to get me to go back 2-3 times.
After lunch and sitting around Buddy’s for a while, we walked across the street and followed the river out to its mouth in the Gulf of Thailand. (The river is why the main town was built at this spot.)
At the river’s head is a curiously named spot called Dinh Cau Castle. There is nothing about this place that shouts out “castle” if you were to just chance upon it. It’s actually a combination lighthouse-temple. The temple aspect is just a small room with a statue dedicated to the Goddess of the Sea. The lighthouse, obviously, has its practical purposes. It’s more a light station, though; there’s no house for a keeper.
However, this was a very enjoyable spot (much nicer than the Thien Hau “Pagoda” in Saigon) and would end up being the spot where we watched the sunset on Friday and Saturday. The lighthouse-station-temple was built in 1937. There are a few tables benches on an upper platform to sit and enjoy the view of the sea (or the river mouth with its fishing fleet behind you) and there’s also a jetty going out into the sea that gives some nice perspectives. I can only say that I was surprisingly pleased with both Friday and Saturday’s sunsets.
Staying at Dinh Cau well past sunset, we strolled back towards the Sea Breeze via the Night Market, which is rather clean as far as Asian markets go. (I mention this to contrast it with Phu Quoc’s Day Market, mentioned below.)
Before getting back to the hotel, we stopped at the recently (2015) established Crab House (Nha Ghe Phu Quoc) on the main road at the south end of the market. The owner was – as all seem to be – very friendly and talkative. I was curious to know why the interior had banners from a handful of SEC schools (US folks will know what this is) along with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Turns out, the guy used to live in Muskegon, Michigan, which isn’t terribly far from where I was born (and a town I’ll be passing near in about 3-4 weeks’ time).
Junebug & I split the Crab House battered garlic pepper fries (65,000 VND); miniature crab cakes with sweet mango coulis (175,000 VND); and com ghe: hot, steamy jasmine rice with fresh, sweet crab meat, julienne cucumber, and nuoc mam cay (Phu Quoc fish sauce) for 175,000 VND. Add in two cans of Sprite at 20,000 VND a pop and that’s a happy stomach. (The exchange rate, while we were there, was around 21,000-22,000 VND to the US dollar, so we’re looking at…$20-25 for a fresh seafood dinner for two.) With a thoroughly happy stomach, it was time to call it a night, even though it was barely 8:00.
Saturday brought with it another day trip with a small group. This was similar to the Saigon trip with Bao in terms of time and what we did, though I think Bao was a better guide than the girl here. She seemed disinterested half the time, though was never rude or mean, per se. Anyway, at $11/person, it wasn’t a bad way to spend the day.
Since the one part of this tour I was looking forward to most was a waterfall, I was grateful that it was overcast almost the entire day. For parts of it, rain was pretty heavy. (It even made me mildly – albeit very mildly concerned about the flight out on Monday as it was the first of two for the day.)
First up, though, was a pearl farm where I found it interesting to see them pulling pearls out of oysters. That thrill lasted for about a minute or two. However, we were scheduled to be here for close to an hour. (They were hoping that people would buy pearl jewelry.) Given that we were in a fairly heavy rain, I was surprised that there were so many people here. It made me think the entire day would be like this with overcrowded spots. (Forunately, that didn’t come to pass.)
With no interest in buying jewelry, I spent the hour on the back patio looking out at the very rough and stormy sea, and a few of these shots are from there. Finally ready to go, we were waiting on two Vietnamese women from the group (a recurring theme for the day) before we headed off to the next stop: a pepper farm.
To call it a pepper farm would be to stretch one’s imagination to its utmost. It was about 5 rows of pepper trees with each row being no more than 10 meters long. (I’d like to hope this is just the “sample” section they show us dopey tourists.) Much more attractive was the attached shop where they hoped you’d buy pepper. This time around, I pulled out my wallet. There’s one of us born every minute, you know. I bought four separate jars of pepper, one of which wasn’t a powder (and was subsequently confiscated in Guangzhou as I rarely check luggage and this trip was no exception). At about a dollar a jar, it wasn’t a bad deal.
From the pepper farm we were off to the wine shop. This tour was beginning to feel like just going from one spot to another to buy local goods. This wasn’t grape wine, but was a berry wine and was, for the most part very sweet. Don’t think port or sherry, though. It wasn’t quite that sweet, but it was close. Certainly not bad, but also something I could’ve done without. However, they seemed proud of their wine, and I don’t blame them. (It’s better than most of what I had in Korea.) Once again being held up by the Vietnamese ladies, we finally all settled back into the van and went off to Suoi Tranh.
The waterfall was actually much nicer than I expected. Apparently, half the year, it’s dry, so it worked out well that we came at the end of the rainy season. The fall is a classic cascade in a very nice, wooded setting. (Even if it were sunny, it probably would’ve photographed rather well because it had enough cover to give it shade.) We were given 45 minutes to walk the 600 meters up to the falls and back, which meant a bit of a rush for me, but…fortunately, the Vietnamese ladies were even slower than I was.
The creek leading up to the falls had some nice rapids, too, but it also had some unfortunate eyesores: a manmade fall at the entrance (why would you need that when you have the real thing a few minutes away?) and, worse, some fake animal statuary. Count my lucky stars, but these all disappeared after the first 100-200 meters, and you were left with a tasteful and well-made natural path leading up to the falls.
After this – it was around 12:00 or 12:30 by this point – we hopped in the van and headed to Sao Beach at the southern tip of the island. To get here required driving down a very bumpy road for a few minutes at the end. (As I said…they can still do a little infrastructure work here unless one of the unstated tourist goals is to make people feel like they’re bouncing around in a bag of popcorn.)
The beach was…pleasant, I guess I can say. It wasn’t a large beach. In length, it covered a small cove, so it had a nice setting. It also isn’t a wide beach; only about 30 meters from the restaurant to the water, and maybe even less than 20 meters. I saw a little too much trash around which disheartened me, though we aren’t talking dirty to levels that I’m accustomed to seeing in China. I didn’t go swimming, and the lunch at the restaurant here – though Vietnamese – was among the most unimpressive meals we had in the entire two weeks here. The best part of the time at the beach is that the weather cleared up from overcast and rainy to mostly cloudy. So it wasn’t crowded here, nor was it raining.
We left the beach at 2:00 and drove to a nearby fish sauce factory. This was a lot like the pearl farm, pepper farm, and wine shop. “We make this here. Please buy it.” Of the four of these places, the pearl farm is the only one who actually had some kind of “demonstration,” and that lasted about a minute.
If it seems I’m being critical of the roped in commercialism of these types of tours, perhaps I am a little jaded. The spots in and of themselves are actually quite interesting and I just accept this as an unnecessary evil. They need to survive somehow, and for that, I guess I’m grateful that they do this. Back to the actual tour, the fish sauce factory was quick and interesting. (Though I don’t like seafood that much, I do like fish sauce to add flavor.)
The last “scheduled” stop was Nha Tu Phu Quoc – Coconut Tree Prison – right across the street. This isn’t a place that I would otherwise go out of my way to visit, though in conjunction with the beach and the fish sauce factory, it was perfect. (Individually, none of the three spots amazed me, but as a whole, they were quite pleasing.)
The prison was built by the French in the 1940s and this was one of the ARVN’s POW camps during the Vietnam War. Apparently, prisoner treatment here was quite inhumane, as detailed by the signs around the barracks. The recreations of people, though, aren’t the most lifelike I’ve ever seen and seem kind of cheap. There aren’t any period photographs, so there’s a little “oomph” missing here, but it’s still a good effort all around.
Our last stop before being dropped off back in Duong Dong was at Ham Ninh, a small fishing village on the east coast of the island (almost directly across the island from Duong Dong. We didn’t do anything here except have 15-20 minutes to walk to the end of the pier and come back. As uneventful as that may sound, I enjoyed it a lot because the surrounding scenery and seeing the fishing fleet up close (along with a lot of small floating restaurants) made it unique and worthwhile to me.
When we got dropped off, we went right back to Buddy’s and repeated the same thing from Friday night (minus eating at the Crab House). I can’t recall what we ate for dinner on Saturday night and perhaps we didn’t. Lunch at Buddy’s was late enough that I doubt we were terribly hungry by evening except for some snacks.
The only difference between Friday & Saturday was my positioning to photograph the sunset. Friday night was from up near the lighthouse, and Saturday was a little ways out on the jetty. Skies were equally moody both nights.
I’m easy like Sunday morning. No rush to wake up since there was absolutely nothing whatsoever on the agenda. Brunch, around 9:00 or 10:00, after stopping by the post office to send off some postcards, was at Buddy’s. From there, we crossed the river to the day market and spent about an hour or so wandering up and down the street photographing a variety of things.
Going back to the west side of the river, we spent a little while at Dinh Cau, but decided not to watch the sunset there for the third night in a row. We had a late (and small) lunch of a wood-fired pizza, which was surprisingly delicious – so much so that I considered going back for dinner.
Instead, we went to one of the few access points for Long Beach (the beach nearest the hotel) to watch the least spectacular of the three sunsets in my opinion. Sunday night’s was cloudier than Friday and Saturday’s. However, there are still some interesting pictures. It’s just the most muted of the three, by far, and there’s simply less to work with.
After sundown, we walked the few hundred meters north up the main road, passing the Sea Breeze, and stopped at a local restaurant. (I suggested it not because it was local, but because they proudly talked of the ice cream that they have.) The food was not terribly great. I had fish and chips that didn’t have enough tartar and was a bit bland. I also ordered some smoked cheese that, when they brought it, they didn’t say what it was and, since it looked more like noodles than cheese, didn’t eat it. The ice cream, however, was sorbet, and it was wonderful.
All in all, Phu Quoc was about as good as I wished it would be, and I was lucky enough to have three reasonably good sunsets and decent weather for the weekend. Also, the waterfall was actually nicer than I had expected, we ate well (for the most part), and it was a relaxing weekend. Not a bad way to spend life.
After breakfast Monday morning, we grabbed our bags and headed to the airport at 9:00 for the first of two flights on the day.
As always, thanks for dropping by and viewing these pictures. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments and I’ll answer as I have time.
The Thunderbird is one of Ford's greatest nameplates, having been introduced as Ford's first 'sportscar' in 1955.
Ford used this original, first generation Thunderbird for the inspiration for the retrofuturistic eleventh generation Thunderbird in 2002. This extended even to the palette of pastel colours available on the series. Less effort was made in styling the interior with the period theme, and the car shared much visible hardware with its DEW98 platform brother, the Lincoln LS. Theis platform was also used on the retro-themed Jaguar S-Type stablemate.
This eleventh generation 2002 Thunderbird convertible (and optional hardtop) has been modelled in Lego miniland scale for Flickr LUGNuts' 81st build challenge, - 'Generation Gap', - featuring vehicles that have been produced in more than one generation (eleven in the case of the Thunderbird).
This model had also been part of a buddy challenge with Ralph Savelsberg (Mad Physicist), his entry being the forth generation 1966 Thunderbird featured in the film 'Thelma & Louise'.
This model also happens to be the first brick-built model I made in nearly two years - wow!
Lake Merritt
I was trying to give Elliot a lesson in the difference between Lesser and Greater Scaups. I was trying to show him how the head shapes differ. He kept seeing the purplish color that "seemed" more prominent on Lessers and green color on the Greaters... so he kept choosing to ID them by the head color. GEEZ. Here you go, Elliot...the head shape differences!!