Cape Town - Stellenbosch University (SU) has honoured the diversity of women in the country’s history by renaming their RW Wilcocks building after prominent Khoe leader and interpreter to the Dutch, Krotoa.
The building was previously named after Raymond William Wilcocks, who was Rector of the University from 1935 to 1954 and currently home to the departments of History and Psychology, the Division of Research Development, SU International, the SU Archives, and the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology.
Krotoa, called “Eva” by the Dutch, was a woman of the Khoe people that lived in the Cape during the time of Jan van Riebeeck and was an interpreter and interlocutor between her people and the people of the Dutch East India Company.
“The name Krotoa is particularly significant now that we are celebrating Women’s Month. Apart from a few residences, no SU buildings have previously been named after women,” said Registrar and Naming Committee Chair Dr Ronel Retief.
Retief said that although the name was linked to a historical figure, it also symbolised the under-represented group of people indigenous to the Western Cape, acknowledging the heritage of the First Nation people as well as their shared and complex history.
“Krotoa’s role as interpreter between different cultural and language groups is a demonstration of bridge building, which is particularly relevant to conversations on multilingualism, inclusivity and creating a mutual understanding between different groups of people,” said Retief.
“The significance of linking the name Krotoa to a prominent building on campus should also be understood against the backdrop of ongoing conversations about supporting and formalising Khoekhoegowab language-related courses at SU,” said Social Impact and Transformation Senior Director and member of both SU’s Visual Redress and Naming committees, Dr Leslie van Rooi.
Installations contextualising both the Wilcocks and the Krotoa stories were being planned for inside and outside the building, and a date for the unveiling of the new name was yet to be determined.
Cape Argus