VERSES FOUND IN THE STELLENBOSCH OPGAAF OF 1816.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	VERSES FOUND IN THE STELLENBOSCH OPGAAF OF 1816.
Authors:	Jennings, Karen
Source:	Bulletin of the National Library of South Africa. Jun2025, Vol. 79 Issue 1, p13-30. 18p.
Subject Terms:	Translating & interpreting, Scholars, Poetry (Literary form), Wines, Marginalia, Taxation
Abstract:	In the last few decades, the study of marginalia has become increasingly popular amongst scholars. While the majority of research into marginalia has tended to be centred on books, administrative records can also be a rich source, where the blank spaces of a page become sites of creative opportunity, usually in response to what is being recorded. Recently, a transcriber came across humorous verses in the Stellenbosch opgaaf of 1816. Part of the parodic intensity of the verses derives from the stark contrast between a creative reaction occurring in an otherwise sombre and prescribed format--that format having been enforced by the administrative archives of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The poem is most likely written by veldkornet Christiaan Ludolph Neethling and details the unwillingness of the inhabitants of Stellenbosch district to give accurate information to the veldkornet as he records the opgaaf. They are also reluctant to pay their taxes, despite good wine harvests. Here, for the first time, is the poem in its original Dutch, together with a literal translation into English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	In the last few decades, the study of marginalia has become increasingly popular amongst scholars. While the majority of research into marginalia has tended to be centred on books, administrative records can also be a rich source, where the blank spaces of a page become sites of creative opportunity, usually in response to what is being recorded. Recently, a transcriber came across humorous verses in the Stellenbosch opgaaf of 1816. Part of the parodic intensity of the verses derives from the stark contrast between a creative reaction occurring in an otherwise sombre and prescribed format--that format having been enforced by the administrative archives of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The poem is most likely written by veldkornet Christiaan Ludolph Neethling and details the unwillingness of the inhabitants of Stellenbosch district to give accurate information to the veldkornet as he records the opgaaf. They are also reluctant to pay their taxes, despite good wine harvests. Here, for the first time, is the poem in its original Dutch, together with a literal translation into English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	23132590