Myth Turned Political Religion

Molly traces how Blood River's covenant became central to nationalist theology and apartheid-era identity.

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Episode notes

Parts 7 & 8 of the South Africa arc.

Blood River

Original Air Date: 4.17.25

In 2002, a terrorist group failed to assassinate Nelson Mandela. In 2012, a plot to assassinate Jacob Zuma was foiled. Both plots were attempts to fulfill a prophecy and renew a bloody covenant with God.

Sources:

Thompson, Leonard L. The Political Mythology of Apartheid. Yale University Press, 1986.
FA Mouton (1995) F A van Jaarsveld (1922–1995) — a flawed genius?, , 27:1,
5-11, DOI: 10.1080/00232089585310011
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00232089585310011

Stephney, Inez Mary. “Race, History and the Internet: The use of the Internet in White Supremacist Propaganda in the late 1990’s, with particular reference to South Africa”
https://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/b04bdabb-ecd9-4f99-a3ae-fff55b88f483/content

Schönteich, Martin, and Henri Boshoff. “Volk”, Faith and Fatherland: The Security Threat Posed by the White Right. Institute for Security Studies, 2003.

Ndlovu, Sifiso Mxolisi. “Johannes Nkosi and the Communist Party of South Africa: Images of ‘Blood River’ and King Dingane in the Late 1920s-1930.” History and Theory, vol. 39, no. 4, 2000, pp. 111–32. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2678052.

http://www.anc.org.za/content/formation-umkhonto-we-sizwe

https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/johannes-nkosi

https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/december-16-reflection-changing-south-african-heritage

https://scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0259-94222024000200001

https://www.iol.co.za/news/rightwing-coup-plot-case-postponed-1491552

https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/battle-blood-river-1838

https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/origins-battle-blood-river-1838

https://web.archive.org/web/20071220164018/http://www2.univ-reunion.fr/~ageof/text/74c21e88-617.html#_ftn13

https://web.archive.org/web/20081217042554/http://history.humsci.ukzn.ac.za/files/sempapers/Adutoit2005.pdf

https://www.litnet.co.za/adriaan-snyman-1938/

https://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/items/a64ddcfc-49eb-4680-b59d-b342d8bc358c

https://www.news24.com/news24/five-boeremag-members-found-guilty-of-conspiring-to-murder-madiba-20150430

https://mg.co.za/article/2004-08-03-boeremag-relied-on-rottweiler-and-kgb/

Snyman, Adriaan. Voice of a Prophet. Vaandel Publishers, 1999.

Mission South Africa

Original Air Date: 5.1.25

At the end of this miniseries about white supremacist terrorism in the final years of apartheid in South Africa, this episode returns to the present day as white South Africans are lining up outside the embassy in Pretoria to claim refugee status under Trump's executive order.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-focuses-persecution-claims-white-south-africans-seek-resettlement-2025-04-24/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/06/white-afrikaner-donald-trump-america-us-administration

https://www.dw.com/en/us-diplomat-ejected-from-new-zealand-after-mysterious-incident/a-38016563

https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/Research/FlagPost/2022/May/diplomatic-expulsions

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/24/australia-expels-israeli-diplomat

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59023465

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/world/americas/06ecuador.html

https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/05/29/so-how-do-you-expel-an-ambassador-anyway/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/addressing-egregious-actions-of-the-republic-of-south-africa/

https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/topic/social/

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/pool-reports-february-2-2025