"Rebelle sonder gewere": Vroue se gebruik van kultuur as versetmiddel teen die agtergrond van die Ossewat-Brandwag se dualistiese karakter

Abstract

With the establishment of the Ossewa-Brandwag (OB) in 1939 a unique Afrikaner organization came into being which showed strong elements of resistance politics. The roots of the OB are embedded in the Afrikaners' struggle against the colonial rule of Britain. Twelve years after the Treaty of Vereeniging (1902) South Africa took part in the First World War (1914-1918), on the side of Britain; this led to bitterness and division under the Afrikaners. The result was the 1914 Rebellion which was both violent in manner and suppressed by violence. Twenty five years later the OB was established shortly before the outbreak of another British war. Initially destined to be a cultural movement the OB was however influenced by the outbreak of the war the organization became the strongest manifestation of the dissatisfaction with Smuts's war effort. Because of the OB's dualistic nature an emphasis was placed on Afrikaner culture, but this was intertwined with several types of resistance - among others "rebellion without guns". This article describes how women participated in the so-called "Second Rebellion" through their use of culture as weapon of resistance - including material culture. The Katdoring Toneelgeselskap - which was an official theatre company of the OB - is certainly one of the best examples of non-violent resistance against the background of the organization's nature as both a cultural and resistance movement. Moreover women openly flaunted their resistance if one takes the metaphorical meanings and polemics surrounding the official uniforms of OB women into account. These were two of the ways in which the OB enabled women to protest against Britain in their own distinctive way.