Jurie One of the farmers on a hunting trip with his friends in “Night on the Veld” (OTS: 68); bad-temperedly stops Gysbert van Tonder from snoring by roughly kicking him over. “Jurie Bekker got up, then. And because he had not taken off his veldskoens before going to bed, he was able quite easily to help Gysbert van Tonder to turn round. In fact, Gysbert van Tonder turned round almost twice, the way Jurie Bekker helped him.” Jurie Bekker also appears in numerous other stories: in “Treasure Trove”, “The Lover Who Came Back”, and “Die Ferreira Miljoene”/“Verborge Skatte”, he features as the district postmaster (in “The Ferreira Millions”, the later English version of the last, he actually becomes ‘Jurie Steyn’). Fascinatingly, the local post office on the old Government Road in HCB’s day was run by one Jurie Bekker; David Goldblatt published a photograph of the abandoned shell of this building in The S. A. Tatler in 1965 (reproduced in The Illustrated Bosman, 1985). In “Graven Image” Jurie Bekker is a farmer whose house doubles up as a place of worship (S&H: 119). In “The Missionary” he is a farmer who impounds OSL’s cattle when they stray onto his farm (UD: 105), and in “The Lover Who Came Back” he is a farmer who makes a fool of himself by misinterpreting a line from an Italian opera (UD: 82). In “Funeral Earth” he expresses a belief in modern technology that sets him apart from the other farmers: “‘We have had no rain for the last three years,’ Jurie Bekker will explain, ‘and that is exactly what the rain-gauge records, also. Look, you can see for yourself – nil’” (UD: 113). Jurie Bekker also features as a local farmer or commando member in “Ou Liedjies en Ou Stories”/“The Selon’s Rose”, “Die Rooibaadjie”/ “The Red Coat”, “Funeral Earth”, “The Missionary” (in which he impounds Oom Schalk’s cattle), “Peaches Ripening in the Sun” (where he is one of the commando to invade Natal, and also a ‘bittereinder’ at the end of the story with Oom Schalk) and “The Traitor’s Wife”, where he is one of the commando that captures Leendert Roux, and comments that Leendert Roux’s wife reminds him of the Transvaal itself. Interestingly, whenever he is mentioned in the war stories he never appears to take part in any military action. His name finally becomes bifurcated into Jurie Steyn and Oupa Bekker in the Voorkamer stories.
Bekker, Oupa (Sarel) Lit. ‘Grandfather Bekker’; ‘oupa’ is used as a term of respect. Sage of the voorkamer, dispenser of wisdom and insight, not always appreciated by the younger members of the conversation forum. Strongly reminiscent of Oom Schalk Lourens, the Voorkamer pieces in which he has a dominant narrative role are closest in form to the Schalk Lourens tales (see, e.g., “News Story”, “Birth Certificate, and “Terror of the Molopo”). He claims to have once been Minister of Finance in the Republic of Ohrigstad (see “The Budget”), which was established in 1845. This means that he must have been around 130 years old at the time of his holding forth in the voorkamer. See Voorkamer sequence.
Bekker, Petrus Farmer whose eponymously named daughter falls in love with Hendrik de Waal (UD: 62 “Susannah and the Play-actor”).
Bekker, Theunis Farmer in the post office, complaining about the delay in the delivery of mail (S&H: 68 “Concertinas and Confetti”).
Bekker, Thys Marico farmer dismissive of police prowess (S&H: 114 “Cometh Comet”).
Bekkers Family who take pity on Marie van Zyl (OTS: 107 “The Ox-riem”).
Bekkersdal Lit. ‘the Vale of Bekker’. Area in the Western Transvaal (now the North West Province) near Carletonville; geographically this is too far from the Marico to have featured realistically in the stories, so the area, reputedly named after Oupa Bekker’s grandfather, is most probably fictional (see “Bekkersdal Centenary”, Maps).
“Bekkersdal Centenary” (H: 237) As preparations for Bekkersdal’s centenary go ahead, the farmers gripe alternately that things have developed either too quickly or too slowly over the years. A lively and amusing debate on what constitutes progress and who is the arbiter of it; all story strands neatly tie up. “Except for the schoolmaster, who said that it sounded a bit sticky – the jam factory part of it, he meant – we agreed that Bekkersdal was indeed making an impressive-sounding advance.”
“Bekkersdal Marathon, A” (IT: 22) When the minister goes into a trance the congregation ends up singing the entire 176 verses of Psalm 119. Hilarious, almost cinematic description of a surreal event; differs from the usual Voorkamer stories in so far as it is a story rather than a loosely connected set of anecdotes and comments. “At verse 98 the organist again started making signals about his medicine. Once more Elder Landsman went round to the konsistorie. This time he was accompanied by another elder and a deacon, and they stayed away somewhat longer than the time when Elder Landsman had gone on his own. On their return the deacon bumped into a small hymn-book table at the back of the church. Perhaps it was because the deacon was a fat, redfaced man, and not used to tiptoeing.”
Bekkersdal Marathon, A (1971) A collection of 22 Voorkamer stories, edited by Lionel Abrahams. The second part of his original Voorkamer selection – the first appeared as Jurie Steyn’s Post Office (1971). The two volumes constitute the first attempt at bringing the Voorkamer stories back into the public domain following their original appearance in The Forum in 1950–51. See Voorkamer sequence; Idle Talk; Homecoming; Complete Voorkamer Stories, The.
“Bell for Adano, A” Lukewarm review by HCB of the stage adaptation of John Hersey’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (1944) set in WWII Italy (L&O: 124 “Five Reviews”).
Benoni Large mining town east of Johannesburg. Genesis 35:18: “As she [Rachel] breathed her last – for she was dying – she named her son Ben-Oni (son of my sorrows). But his father [Jacob] named him Benjamin (son of right hand)” (H: 175 “Sixes and Sevens”). See “Pride of the Reef”.
Berg-dagga (Afr.) Lit. ‘mountain dagga’; this is a regional term for dagga, as there is no such separate species; dagga is usually cultivated in mountainous regions where it is easier to conceal from law enforcers (IT: 122 “Do Professors Smoke Dagga?”). See also dagga.
Berg luiperd (Afr.) Lit. ‘mountain leopard’; although there is no such species, some leopards happen to live in mountainous regions. If there were such a species, its name would be rendered as one word in Afrikaans (H: 44 “Anxious to Hear”).
Berkshire Breed of pig (H: 250 “In the Old Days”).
Bernard Cool yet dangerous fugitive bank robber who hides out by hiring the prostitute Polly for the entire night (YB: 145 “Street-woman: A Play in One Act”).
Bernstein, Edgar (1912–74) Born in Germiston and educated at Wits, he was a journalist on The South African Jewish Times, where he later served as editor. He contributed to Forward, The South African Opinion, Trek and The Star, where his obituary on HCB appeared. He was the author of The Legacy of General Smuts (1950), My Judaism, My Jews (1962), and Unrest: Poems (1972). He came to know HCB in the early 1930s and wrote several articles about the writer and reviewed his work (see RB: 6).
Berry, Abe (1911–92) Distinguished cartoonist and friend of HCB. A staunch opponent of the National Party regime, he did many satirical cartoons of prominent members of the party. Some of his cartoons were collected in Abe Berry’s South Africa and How It Works (1980) and Act by Act: 40 Years of Nationalist Rule in South Africa: A Cartoon History (1989). A skilled watercolourist, his drawings and paintings of ‘old Johannesburg’ appeared in Abe Berry’s Johannesburg (1982). His illustrations of HCB’s stories appeared in On Parade (1948–51) and Trek (1949).
Berry’s illustration for “Unto Dust”
Best of Bosman (2001) Edited by Stephen Gray and Craig MacKenzie, this twin-volume set in a black slipcase contains Starlight
