The Day of Reconciliation
On this day every South African celebrates and renews their commitment to the ideals of human dignity and equality
The Day of Reconciliation, 16 December, has been marked in South African History as a day of great significance.
The first of two significant historic events on the day was in 1838, when the Battle of Blood River took place between the Voortrekkers and the Zulus during the Groot Trek. The second one took place on 16 December 1961, when Umkhonto we Sizwe “Spear of the Nation” (MK) was formed.
Having moved into the interior of South Africa during the Great Trek, the Voortekkers wanted to settle, but the region that they intended to settle in was already inhabited by the Zulu people. Thus the Voortrekker leader, Piet Retief was eager to negotiate with the Zulu chief Dingane, but after having misunderstood Retief’s intentions, Dingane planned an ambush and murdered Retief and his party of 100 people. This act culminated in the Battle of Blood River in which 470 Voortrekkers entered a brutal war, but defeated the 10 000 strong Zulu army. This Voortrekker victory has been commemorated since then as the Day of the Vow.
MK was the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC), which was launched to wage an armed struggle against the apartheid government. Prior to its formation, the ANC had largely approached the fight against apartheid through passive resistance, but after the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, where peaceful protesters were shot by police, passive resistance was no longer seen as an effective approach to bringing apartheid to an end.
This day was first known as the Day of the Vow, the Day of the Covenant, or Dingane’s Day. South Africa’s first democratic government focused on reconciliation and national unity, and aimed to do this symbolically by acknowledging the significance of 16 December in both the Afrikaner and liberation struggle traditions and to rename this day as the Day of Reconciliation. On 16 December 1995, the Day of Reconciliation was celebrated as a public holiday in South Africa for the first time.
On this day every South African celebrates and renews their commitment to the ideals of human dignity and equality.
