The soundscape of Griqua hymnody has, by all accounts, stayed the same
producing a unique and recognisable “Griqua sound”. This, together with the unique
performance practice, is the reason why it is strongly promoted and supported by
leaders and elders in the community. I would go so far as to say that there is an
unspoken fear that if the lof is lost, the Griqua will be lost. All research points to lof as
a marker of Griqua identity in a more complex manner that surpasses the spiritual
and emotional lives of individuals, but enters the political life of the Griqua as a
community. Lof was part of the Le Fleur reformation process and remained a vital
part of Griqua life throughout the twentieth century during both the apartheid and
post-apartheid marginalisation. Lof is thus one of the cornerstones of the Le Fleur
Griqua and this makes it integral in the future of the Griqua in South Africa.
One of the reasons for this study, as stated in the introduction, was to provide a true
representation of Griqua music to the general South African public. The “Griqua
psalm” phenomenon of the last fifteen years provided a misrepresentation of Griqua
musical practice to South African music consumers. These original compositions
primarily consisted of the poems of Hans du Plessis set to non-Griqua music. Du
Plessis conducted extensive research on the language of the Griqua people living in
the Northern Cape region of South Africa and used composed poems using that
regional dialect based on well-known psalms from the Bible. The endearing nature
of the Afrikaans dialect made the collection a commercial success and this led to a
multitude of musical compositions. Although composers did not sell or claim their
compositions as Griqua music, it was perceived as at least based on Griqua music
by the listeners and even performers. Members of the Griqua Independent Church
based in Kranshoek feels that the language and the music used in the poems and
compositions are indeed a misrepresentation of their culture and members do not
want to be associated with the so-called “Griqua psalms” (Sammy Jansen, personal
communication: January 2013). The research presented in this study now places
Griqua hymnody in a historical context and provide ethnographic accounts.
The language, melody and musical style uncovered during the
research contradicts the compositions and commercial music that were
misunderstood as Griqua music.
Griqua history, language, and culture provide a vibrant subject for research on the
performance of contemporary identity formation of communities in post-Apartheid
South Africa. Historians and anthropologists have contributed extensive research
into many facets of Griqua life and identity (Schoeman, 2007, Waldman, 2009), yet
there remained a significant gap in such studies—the everyday musical performance
of Griqua identity. This study now contributes to the documentation of the musical
performance of a specific group of Griqua, positioning it as a unique South African
expressive culture.
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