Making Memory Space: Recollection and Reconciliation in Post ...

of ‘The Word’ to earth was a central ideological element in earlier Afrikaner nationalism.’ 130 The
verticality evidenced in the sheer size of the Voortrekker Monument situates it in context with many
other memorials of its era – ‘rigid upright forms which collect and focus power vertically’. This
culminates in what Bunn calls the ‘benedictory principle’ – ‘lig van bo (light from above): benediction
descending in a stream of light which is the Word made visible, forging a reciprocal relationship
between the racialised national subjects and the Divinity’. 131 Thus the monument keys into a language
of memorialisation already familiar to its intended audience. The invocation of divine right is declared
through spatial tropes that build upon a cultural tradition of association. In this way, the Voortrekker
Monument propagates narratives of ownership through the suggestion of spatial sanctification.
Spatiality and power
Where ‘traumascapes’ or sites of
historical events stand as witness to acts
of the past, the Voortrekker Monument
implies a significant relationship between
event and site which does not exist.
Instead, the memorial plays on assumed
associations between historic event and
site to fabricate a relationship. In this
manner historical fact lends import to a
site selected for its visual impact and
ability to convey a hierarchical message of
governance and ownership. In this
instance, since site did not have any historical significance, meaning was attributed to it through the
creation of the memorial and the production of the narrative that accompanied it. The site was
selected atop the highest hill in the city of Pretoria - a traditional seat of conservatism. The memorial
was situated on the site to perpetuate a series of long-held notions about the spatial interaction
between individual and memorial. In addition, its placement, orientation and aesthetic were all
carefully considered to ensure maximum effect as a recognisable form in the landscape. Thomas
Markus examines the social, cultural and economic forces that are made evident through physical and
spatial power. These are expressed spatially in such a universal, ubiquitous manner that they are
seamlessly integrated into daily life. 132 The Voortrekker Monument displays some of the tropes of civic
arrangement, as articulated by Markus, in the following ways. First: it is situated at the peak of a hill
distinct from areas of urban construction. As a result it is physically differentiated, its significance
130 Ibid.
131 Ibid, p.104.
132 Thomas Markus, Buildings and Power: Freedom and control in the origin of modern building types (London and New York:
Routledge, 1993).
Figure 8 - Verticality of the Monument
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