Through ‘contact us’ I received two anecdotes from the early days of the Morkel family. Thanks so much to those who passed them on. They do much to bring the history of the family alive. They have been posted under “Vanities, Fables and Foibles Pt1” in “Family Stories”.
One is a ‘Moppie’ praising ‘Rich’ Mister Morkel – it was apparently by freed slaves in thanks for their liberation. Moppies are ditties sung primarily at the New Year festival in Cape Town by troupes of mixed race revellers.
The other is about the wife of 2nd generation Willem Morkel (Helena Catharina Malan), who rescued and reared a Khoi baby. It was one of twins and their custom was that only one may survive. The baby was suspended on a branch over a river in the expectation that it would fall and drown.
