History of Gibeon
Gibeon, situated 72 km south of Mariental and 176 km north of Keetmanshoop just off the B1, was originally known by the name Khaxa-tsus. It received its name from Kido Witbooi, first Kaptein of the ?Khowesin, a sub tribe of the Oorlam. He arrived with his followers in about 1850, shortly after a Rhenish mission station was established. Gibeon has been the home town of this group, subsequently known as the Witbooi Nama, ever since.
The Gibeon meteorite struck in Gibeon long ago. Before it hit the surface of the earth, it burst into many smaller and larger fragments, which fell in a wide stray field near Gibeon and formed the largest known meteorite stray field on earth. The first fragments were found in 1838 and estimated to be 4.6 billion years old. A total of 26 tons of meteorite material was found. Some pieces are on public display in the pedestrian zone of the state capital Windhoek (Post Mall).
In 1863, the Oorlam group of the Witbooi (?Khowesin), who immigrated from the Cape, settled under their captain Kido Witbooi (?A-?eib). The group made Gibeon the starting point for a large number of historically significant events in Namibia.
The upper captain of the Nama, Oasib (?Na-khomab), who lived in Hoachanas, had assigned the field of Gibeon under his territorial sovereignty to the Witbooi and hoped in return that his captaincy would be recognized and his fighting strength strengthened. The latter seemed particularly important to him because 30 years earlier Herero herdsmen had already gained a foothold here with their large herds of cattle, after their home pastures, much further north, were no longer usable due to the great drought of 1829/30. The Nama, however, were too weak to defend themselves against these intruders. So they had to call the Oorlam captain Jonker Afrikaner (?Hoa-?aramab) and his tribe for help in order to get rid of the Herero people. A further reinforcement by the Witbooi could only be due to Oasib, because with their help he wanted to get closer to his goal of becoming the dominant power in all of Southwest Africa.
When the Witbooi settled here in 1863, the place was still called Kowesin. However, the missionary Jacob Knauer (Rheinische Missionsgesellschaft), who followed the Witbooi, gave the new tribal seat of the Witbooi the name Gibeon, after a place near Jerusalem that had an Old Testament significance.
However, the place had a difficult start: in the founding year, a young girl who had immigrated from South Africa caught smallpox. The disease quickly spread across the country, killing 122 Witbooi in Gibeon alone. Because the Witbooi persistently refused to recognize the supremacy of Oasib, he attacked a year later with his allies - the Groot Doden (?O-gain) under Hans Jager (?Aimab) and the Veldschoendrager (?Hawoben) under Karl Hendrik Ses (?Nanib ?karib ?Arisemab) - the place, looted it and largely destroyed it. Kido Witbooi, however, wanted to be better armed against such disciplinary measures in the future and joined forces with the neighboring Orlam tribes of the Berseba-Nama (?Hai-?khauan) under Paul Goliath (?Hobexab) and Bethanien-Nama (?Aman) under David Christian Frederiks (?Naixab). This in turn angered Oasib even more, so that in July 1865 he led a second punitive expedition against Gibeon with his allies. After initial success, however, the tide turned in favor of the Witbooi and Bersebaner; they drove Oasib to flight and were able to take the stolen cattle herds from him. Oasib recovered from this defeat and intended to avenge the disgrace inflicted on him by an all-important third attack on Gobabis on September 25, 1866. The Witbooi and their allies, however, were well prepared and had evacuated Gibeon so as not to turn the newly rebuilt place into a theater of war again. Oasib was so angry that he had the place completely destroyed and the women and children who remained there brought into captivity. This in turn triggered a wave of irrepressible anger among the Witbooi and a devastating attack on Oasib. He fled to Rehoboth, where he was finally beaten by the energetic Witbooi and Berseba. Oasib was able to save himself to Hoachanas, where he died shortly afterward. In the Peace of Gibeon in December 1867, the Nama recognized the Witbooi as the new masters of the south.
On December 31, 1875, Kido Witbooi died in Gibeon at the age of 91. His son Moses Witbooi (?Gabeb ?A-?imab), also 68 years old, became his successor and tried to expand the power of his tribe. In doing so, however, he had a far less fortunate hand than his father and underestimated, in particular, the competition of other captain aspirants - namely Paul Visser, who tried to increase his prosperity through unauthorized raids and to weaken the authority of the captain, and Moses' son Hendrik Witbooi (?Nanseb ?Gabemab), who, after experiencing God in 1880, increasingly fell into religious madness, but nevertheless also strived for the dignity of the captain in the long term. Moses Witbooi tried to consolidate his position by two attacks on the Herero in 1880 and 1881.
Buildings and structures
Gibeon Railway Station is located in the village. The station is a stop on the TransNamib Railway. It is also home to a public sports stadium. The stadium was built in 1986 and fell into disrepair by 1993. In 2003, the Ministry of Sport of Namibia budgeted N$ 450,000 for repairs and awarded part of the public tender to Namibia Renovations, but the company disappeared days after winning the tender and their whereabouts could not be confirmed. As of December 2007, none of the repairs been completed. When the stadium was operational, it was known for its "excellent" gravel playing surface, which attracted teams from larger towns in southern Namibia.
Notable people from Gibeon:
Gerhard Totemeyer, professor emeritus, and retired politician
Hendrik Witbooi, politician
Lucia Witbooi, politician and schoolteacher
Solomon Witbooi, ambassador to Zambia
Gibeon, situated 72 km south of Mariental and 176 km north of Keetmanshoop just off the B1, was originally known by the name Khaxa-tsus. It received its name from Kido Witbooi, first Kaptein of the ?Khowesin, a sub tribe of the Oorlam. He arrived with his followers in about 1850, shortly after a Rhenish mission station was established. Gibeon has been the home town of this group, subsequently known as the Witbooi Nama, ever since.
The Gibeon meteorite struck in Gibeon long ago. Before it hit the surface of the earth, it burst into many smaller and larger fragments, which fell in a wide stray field near Gibeon and formed the largest known meteorite stray field on earth. The first fragments were found in 1838 and estimated to be 4.6 billion years old. A total of 26 tons of meteorite material was found. Some pieces are on public display in the pedestrian zone of the state capital Windhoek (Post Mall).
In 1863, the Oorlam group of the Witbooi (?Khowesin), who immigrated from the Cape, settled under their captain Kido Witbooi (?A-?eib). The group made Gibeon the starting point for a large number of historically significant events in Namibia.
The upper captain of the Nama, Oasib (?Na-khomab), who lived in Hoachanas, had assigned the field of Gibeon under his territorial sovereignty to the Witbooi and hoped in return that his captaincy would be recognized and his fighting strength strengthened. The latter seemed particularly important to him because 30 years earlier Herero herdsmen had already gained a foothold here with their large herds of cattle, after their home pastures, much further north, were no longer usable due to the great drought of 1829/30. The Nama, however, were too weak to defend themselves against these intruders. So they had to call the Oorlam captain Jonker Afrikaner (?Hoa-?aramab) and his tribe for help in order to get rid of the Herero people. A further reinforcement by the Witbooi could only be due to Oasib, because with their help he wanted to get closer to his goal of becoming the dominant power in all of Southwest Africa.
When the Witbooi settled here in 1863, the place was still called Kowesin. However, the missionary Jacob Knauer (Rheinische Missionsgesellschaft), who followed the Witbooi, gave the new tribal seat of the Witbooi the name Gibeon, after a place near Jerusalem that had an Old Testament significance.
However, the place had a difficult start: in the founding year, a young girl who had immigrated from South Africa caught smallpox. The disease quickly spread across the country, killing 122 Witbooi in Gibeon alone. Because the Witbooi persistently refused to recognize the supremacy of Oasib, he attacked a year later with his allies - the Groot Doden (?O-gain) under Hans Jager (?Aimab) and the Veldschoendrager (?Hawoben) under Karl Hendrik Ses (?Nanib ?karib ?Arisemab) - the place, looted it and largely destroyed it. Kido Witbooi, however, wanted to be better armed against such disciplinary measures in the future and joined forces with the neighboring Orlam tribes of the Berseba-Nama (?Hai-?khauan) under Paul Goliath (?Hobexab) and Bethanien-Nama (?Aman) under David Christian Frederiks (?Naixab). This in turn angered Oasib even more, so that in July 1865 he led a second punitive expedition against Gibeon with his allies. After initial success, however, the tide turned in favor of the Witbooi and Bersebaner; they drove Oasib to flight and were able to take the stolen cattle herds from him. Oasib recovered from this defeat and intended to avenge the disgrace inflicted on him by an all-important third attack on Gobabis on September 25, 1866. The Witbooi and their allies, however, were well prepared and had evacuated Gibeon so as not to turn the newly rebuilt place into a theater of war again. Oasib was so angry that he had the place completely destroyed and the women and children who remained there brought into captivity. This in turn triggered a wave of irrepressible anger among the Witbooi and a devastating attack on Oasib. He fled to Rehoboth, where he was finally beaten by the energetic Witbooi and Berseba. Oasib was able to save himself to Hoachanas, where he died shortly afterward. In the Peace of Gibeon in December 1867, the Nama recognized the Witbooi as the new masters of the south.
On December 31, 1875, Kido Witbooi died in Gibeon at the age of 91. His son Moses Witbooi (?Gabeb ?A-?imab), also 68 years old, became his successor and tried to expand the power of his tribe. In doing so, however, he had a far less fortunate hand than his father and underestimated, in particular, the competition of other captain aspirants - namely Paul Visser, who tried to increase his prosperity through unauthorized raids and to weaken the authority of the captain, and Moses' son Hendrik Witbooi (?Nanseb ?Gabemab), who, after experiencing God in 1880, increasingly fell into religious madness, but nevertheless also strived for the dignity of the captain in the long term. Moses Witbooi tried to consolidate his position by two attacks on the Herero in 1880 and 1881.
Buildings and structures
Gibeon Railway Station is located in the village. The station is a stop on the TransNamib Railway. It is also home to a public sports stadium. The stadium was built in 1986 and fell into disrepair by 1993. In 2003, the Ministry of Sport of Namibia budgeted N$ 450,000 for repairs and awarded part of the public tender to Namibia Renovations, but the company disappeared days after winning the tender and their whereabouts could not be confirmed. As of December 2007, none of the repairs been completed. When the stadium was operational, it was known for its "excellent" gravel playing surface, which attracted teams from larger towns in southern Namibia.
Notable people from Gibeon:
Gerhard Totemeyer, professor emeritus, and retired politician
Hendrik Witbooi, politician
Lucia Witbooi, politician and schoolteacher
Solomon Witbooi, ambassador to Zambia
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1, 2, 3: Railway Station in Gibeon
4: Church, Gibeon
5: Gibeon area
6: Gibeon Meteorites in Windhoek
7: Shops in Gibeon
8. Fish River at Gibeon
9, 11: Gibeon Fort
10: George J. Kesselmann's shop in Gibeon
12: Shops in Gibeon
13: Gibeon & Karibib Passes
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