Die opvoedkundige betekenis van die oorsprongs– en herkomsgeskiedenis van die Bantoetaalsprekende mense

Abstract

The history of the black peoples of South Africa became known to the Western world from about 1450, when some of the European nations, for example the Portuguese, began undertaking their voyages of discovery and documented their experiences and discoveries. The history of the black peoples stretch back much further, up to about 10 000 B. C., meaning that a large part of their history has gone undocumented. This historical gap is bridged, to a certain extent, by means of tradition, in the form of oral tales and legends, folklore and myths, from one generation to another. The origin of the black peoples is also elucidated further by linguists, anthropologists, ethnologists and archaeologists who strive to arrive at a coherent image of that which had taken place during the period to the origin of the speakers of the Bantu languages as a distinguishable group of peoples. As a result of the gap in the knowledge that had existed concerning the source and origin of the blacks, the unscientific presumption was occasionally made that the blacks' education only started with the establishment of the N.E.I.C. refreshment post at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652. To avoid this, scientific theories, influences of old civilizations, traditions and other information, have been used in this study to reconstruct the educational past of the Bantu speakers. By means of extrapolation the pedagogical meaning of the historical data was determined. By these means, insight has been gained into the educational background of the Bantu speakers. As a result of this study it has been determined that the education (and teaching) of the Bantu speakers during the period 10 000 B.C. up to, and including the birth of Christ, was traditionally directed towards the control of the environment and to educate their children concerning certain religious beliefs, cultural usages, norms and morals, so that these might be retained for future generations. Investigation into the historical source and origin of the Bantu speakers and the connecting education (and teaching) aspects show that the educational tradition of the blacks of South Africa date back to a time much further than 1652, long before the first white arrivals from Europe in the Cape of Good Hope came into contact with the indigenous peoples of South Africa. Although the study concentrated on a period that dates before the historical basic line, and information was difficult to come by, it was possible to a great extent to bridge this problem and to reach certain acceptable deductions and findings. The study showed that the historical source and origin of the Bantu speakers and its educational meaning has right of existence in the history of education.