Mampoer’s Possible Origin

Although mampoer has come to be associated with the Groot Marico, its origin lies further north, in the northern and eastern parts of the former Transvaal. Here Sekwati founded the Bapedi tribe in the early 19th century. In 1861 his son, Sekhukuni, took over the leadership. An elder brother, Mampuru, had been groomed for chieftainship and regarded Sekhukuni as a swindler. Sekhukuni, however, proved to be a capable leader, refusing to yield authority to the unceasing attempts of white settlers to subjugate him and his followers. Eventually the British got the upper hand in 1879 and Sekhukuni was imprisoned in Pretoria. He was released after the Boer-British conflict in 1881, but soon afterwards, in August 1882, murdered by Mampuru.

Sought by the authorities, Mampuru placed himself under the protection of Niabela, a chief of the Ndzundza tribe of Transvaal Ndebele. Niabela couldn’t refuse Mampuru’s solicitations without losing authority, so he found himself in conflict with the white authorities and after a costly war was imprisoned along with Mampuru. The latter was hanged in public on 23 November 1883 outside Pretoria Central Prison.

The burgers who had taken part in the war had been promised land: 15,000 morgen of Ndzundza land was subdivided into plots of 8 morgen each. The burgers had no previous experience of farming. They were mostly ‘bywoners’ or white squatters. Even experienced farmers would have found it difficult to make headway on these small tracts of land. Though there were more than 40 perennial streams in the area, people quarrelled over water rights. Though attempts at farming turned out less successfully, the Mapochslanders soon became known for their pot stills and the peach brandy they distilled. They called it mampoer, thus immortalising the unfortunate Bapedi chief.

J. Sanderson, visiting the Marico in 1851, mentions orchards of citrus trees, pomegranates, figs and grapes. Brandy, ‘a very coarse fiery spirit’, was distilled from grapes, figs and yellow peaches, and named Cape Smoke.

In the north, taxation was already in existence in 1878. A tradition of clandestine production developed parallel to the legislative route, as could be expected from frontiersmen with a fiercely independent mindset. In any case, a pot still used to be a component of most well-run farmyards. As one old Marico farmer remarked: ‘Three things are a pest on any farmyard: a blue gum tree, a bitch on heat and a mampoer still.’

A result of all the regulatory legislation, and inseparable from the mampoer culture, are the numerous tales surrounding encounters with the law and enriching an already ample storytelling tradition with mostly highly amusing and entertaining anecdotes.