Die pietistiese dagboek van Susanna Catharina Smit (1799-1863): 'n deskriptiewe ondersoek en diplomatiese teks uitgawe.

Abstract

The aim of this study is (1) to give a detailed description of the spiritual diary of Susanna Smit (1799-1863), and (2) to provide a transcription of the whole diary of this remarkable woman writer, pietist, voortrekker and wife of the missionary Erasmus Smit. In this way a unique and so far inaccessible 19th century document has been prepared for possible publication. The manuscript is housed in the Natal Archives at Pietermaritzburg. The 22 individual booklets that have remained intact comprise a corpus of more than 1000 pages. Part I deals with the description of the diary and its place in diary literature. The text falls clearly into the category of a diary as a record of inner life despite the fact that it contains some autobiographical features and reminiscences, and that there are periods of prolonged interruptions. In the course of the investigation, and largely as a result of linguistic and stylistic analysis it becomes evident that this diary constitutes a typical specimen of pietistic literature, the only one of its kind in South Africa and written in Dutch by a born and bred, uneducated South African woman of the Eastern Cape. Although the diarist clearly was an Afrikaans mother tongue speaker, she was surprisingly well versed in Dutch, and what is even more surprising, she was steeped in the pietistic style of diary writings popular in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries in the circles and conventicles of pietists. As part of this religious tradition Susanna Smit describes her daily spiritual experiences, even dreams and 'visions' which are reminiscent of those of medieval mystics. Despite its deeply spiritual nature, the diary also contains a considerable amount of general information, e.g. references to people, books and daily-life events of the small voortrekker community at Pietermaritzburg. Part II contains the full text of the diary. This is the first time that the manuscript has been transcribed in full, annotated and made available for further study and investigation. Since it is such a valuable socio-historical document, throwing light on cultural and spiritual trends at the Cape in the 19th century, a diplomatic text edition was made with careful attention to spelling, line and page length, later insertions in the margins and other idiosyncrasies.