GC4E9WZ Saartjie Baartman (Traditional Cache) in Eastern Cape, South Africa created by FireflyAfrica

This cache has been archived.

FireflyAfrica: Major construction going on in the area with the new cultural centre and museum being built across the road and who knows what on the side of the grave, Passed this morning and wanted to check up on it. The road to the top has been dug up and lots of construction around. Was thinking of disabling the cache, but I have a feeling the construction is going to continue for a while so I decided to rather archive. Once the site is open again I will investigate the changes to see if it is possible to place another cache here.

GC4E9WZ ▼

A cache by FireflyAfrica Message this owner

Hidden : 6/15/2013

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

The cache can be found at a beautiful lookout spot over the town of Hankey in the scenic Gamtoos River Valley with the cache location being close to the final resting place of Saartjie (Sarah) Baartman.

Saartjie "Sarah" Baartman (born somewhere before 1790 and died 29 December 1815) was the most famous of at least two Khoikhoi women who were exhibited as freak show attractions in 19th-century Europe under the name Hottentot Venus—"Hottentot" as the Khoi people were called at the time. Sarah Baartman was born to a Khoisan family in the vicinity of the Gamtoos River. She became a slave of a Dutch farmer named Peter Cezar near Cape Town.

Alexander Dunlop, a military surgeon with a sideline in supplying showmen in Britain with animal specimens, suggested she travel to England for exhibition. Lord Caledon, governor of the Cape, gave permission for the trip. She left for London in 1810. Baartman was first exhibited in London, entertaining people because of her "exotic" origin[and by showing what were thought of as highly unusual bodily features. She had large breasts, buttocks and also the elongated labia of some Khoisan women and this fascinated the Europeans.

She was sold to a Frenchman who took her to France. She was in France from around September 1814. An animal trainer, S. Réaux, exhibited her under more pressured conditions for fifteen months. French naturalists visited her and she became the subject of several scientific paintings at the Jardin du Roi, where she was examined in March 1815. Once her novelty had worn thin with Parisians, she began to drink heavily and supported herself with prostitution.

She died on 29 December 1815 of an undetermined inflammatory ailment, possibly smallpox, while other sources suggest she contracted syphilis or pneumonia. An autopsy was conducted, and published in 1816. Her skeleton, preserved genitals and brain were placed on display in Paris' Musée de l'Homme until 1974, when they were removed from public view and stored out of sight although a cast was still shown for the following two years. There were sporadic calls for the return of her remains, beginning in the 1940s.

In 1994 President Nelson Mandela formally requested that France return her remains. After much legal wrangling and debates in the French National Assembly, France acceded to the request on 6 March 2002. Her remains were repatriated to her homeland, the Gamtoos Valley, on 6 May 2002 and they were buried on 9 August 2002 on Vergaderingskop overlooking Hankey, over 200 years after her birth. Baartman became an icon in South Africa as representative of many aspects of the nation's history. The Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children, a refuge for survivors of domestic violence, opened in Cape Town in 1999. South Africa's first offshore environmental protection vessel, the Sarah Baartman, is also named after her.

Read the whole story of Saartjie Baartman on Wikipedia - (visit link)

Please ensure that the cache is well hidden again after signing the log.

FTF goes to Mixs

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Rawbl gur ivrj

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)