!Goroǀgôas (Krotoa) or Eva van Meerhof
17th Century
A 17th century sketch of Khoekhoe women in traditional dress with body decorations and jewellery. A female colonist can be seen on the left. Krotoa wore Western clothing when living with the Van Riebeecks or her husband but would put on her Khoekhoe garments when visiting her family. Image: World Digital Library
“…A masterpiece of nature. She had embraced Christianity, spoke fluent English, Dutch, French and Portuguese and was conversant with the Holy Scriptures… in short, she was most commendable, being trained in all womanly crafts and married to one of the surgeons serving the company,” Willem ten Rijne’s description of “Eva”, 1673.
“Krotoa” (the Dutch spelling of !Goroǀgôas) was likely not this young woman’s name but rather tells us that she was under the guardianship of her uncle Autshumao (or Kx'aothumathub) or of Jan van Riebeeck and his wife Maria de la Quellerie. We do not know what her birth name was.
During the earliest days of the Dutch settlement, !Goroǀgôas was taken in by Jan van Riebeeck at the age of 12. She had to work for his wife Maria as her personal servant. She quickly grasped the Dutch language and could communicate well enough to become an interpreter. Her uncle, Autshumao, was a Khoekhoe leader of the !Uriǁ’aeǀona (Strandloper) people. He saw !Goroǀgôas as a useful insider with knowledge of the Dutch ways.
For years, !Goroǀgôas acted as go-between and negotiator between the Dutch authorities and the Khoekhoe people. She was a key figure in setting out the terms to end the Khoe-Dutch War which lasted from 1659-1660.
In 1662, !Goroǀgôas was baptised as a Christian and named Eva. She was the first Khoekhoen to be baptised according to Christian custom at the Cape. Two years later, she married a Danish surgeon, Pieter van Meerhof, becoming yet again the first Khoekhoen to have a Christian marriage at the Cape. Some of the colonists and authorities did not accept this cross-cultural marriage.
!Goroǀgôas had a very difficult life. Her own people viewed her with suspicion and after her uncle Autshumao’s death, she could no longer return to her family. Her husband was murdered during an expedition to Madagascar and !Goroǀgôas was left alone with three children. The new governor, Zacharias Wagenaer, had very negative views of the Cape and no longer needed !Goroǀgôas’s interpreting services. She became destitute and resentful towards the Dutch authorities and turned to alcoholism and eventually prostitution to make a meagre living.
In March 1669, she was arrested for running away and abandoning her children. Her arrest resulted in permanent banishment to Robben Island for the crimes of “immoral behavior, drunkenness and prostitution”. She died on the island five years later and was buried at the Castle. Her children, Jacobus, Pieternella and Salomon, were taken to Mauritius. Pieternella van Meerhof, her daughter, later returned to the Cape. !Goroǀgôas also had two sons, Jeronimus and Anthonij, born out of wedlock. They were possibly brought up by Anna and Evert of Guinea who were freed enslaved people.
Today many South Africans have traced their lineage to find that they are descendants of this Khoekhoe woman whose voice can still be heard in the early diaries and official documents of the Cape.
