Figure 3.28: Closing the opening between the Hall of Heroes and Hall of the Altar

Altar to transform it into the Hall of the Altars. The multiplicity allows for introducing more Cenotaphs and includes closing the opening between the Hall of Heroes and the Hall of the Altars and transforming the lower hall into a ‘tomb’ (Figure 3.28).

Figure 3.28: Closing the opening between the Hall of Heroes and Hall of the Altar

Source: Author (2021).

The transformation of the Hall of the Altar to become a tomb by closing the opening implies hindering the rays of sunshine from illuminating the Cenotaphs and rendering the lower hall a mass tomb and hindering the rays of sunshine from shining on any of the Cenotaphs. Instead, the rays are reflected back into the Hall of Heroes. The

redirection of the sunrays symbolically suggests movement away from the bad memories, wounds, and ills of the past. The symbolism may include a proclamation of reconciliation and future nation-building without referencing past atrocities. Furthermore, the blessings of the Creator are needed for the living more than they are for the deceased (who are believed in some religious and faith-based teachings to be at their resting places).

Figure 3.28 shows three tombs as a representation of the Voortrekkers (fighters), the natives (defendants), and the neutrals (coloured slaves of the Voortrekkers). This proposal acknowledges all the lives sacrificed and lost during the battles. If another group of people sacrificed for the birth of the republic, another Cenotaph could be added in the Hall of Tombs.

Consideration D

After adding more Cenotaphs and closing the opening between the Hall of the Altar and the Hall of Heroes, a further consideration (Figure 3.29) is to close the opening on the upper dome that enables the rays of sunshine to fall into the Hall of Heroes on 16 December at midday.

This date, 16 December, has been publicly commemorated since 1864. At first, the date was commemorated as a church service in the vicinity of the battlefield and later in the northern provinces, becoming a public holiday in the twentieth-century national calendar (Britz, 2018). The date’s significance to the monument is that the battle of Blood River occurred in 1838, the cornerstone of the monument was laid in 1938 (100 years later), and the inauguration ceremony in 1949 (11 years later).

This date was the day many Zulu warriors died (approximately 3 000) as they tried to ford the river, and the Voortrekkers subsequently renamed the Ncome River to Blood River. According to the Voortrekker Monument Visitors Guide and Souvenir, Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius learnt on 15 December 1838 from his scouts about an imminent attack from the Zulus. In preparation, the Voortrekkers formed an encampment of wagons (laager) with gates of branches placed strategically facing the direction the attacks were anticipated to come from at the confluence of the Ncome River and the gulley. However, the Zulus did not attack at night as they usually did because of a reported dense mist that blanketed the laager.