The first decent concertina dates back to 1880, the time when cable and tool drilling rigs started operating in the Cape. This makes boreholes and boeremusiek about the same age and so it’s not so strange that in the arid Karoo, where running water always sounds like music to smallstock farmers, a farming couple would run both a drilling business and a boereorkes. Theo and Riekie Slabbert of Bloemhof in Klipplaat in the Eastern Cape, operate three Dreyer stamper (percussion) drills in the area, and their band ‘Theo en die Noorsvelders’ is one of the most popular barnyard bands. They’ve recorded several CDs and are popular well beyond the Cape. With 24 musical instruments including four concertinas at home, Theo and Riekie really know their boeremusiek.
They explain that every band has a unique mucial style, depending on the type of concertina and combinations of instruments used – mostly piano accordions, harmonicas and guitars. “If you don’t like the sound, it’s probably because you’ve never listened closely enough,” says Riekie. ”When you do, it soon grows on you.” Indeed, even President Franklin D Roosevelt is reported to have enjoyed boeremusiek so much that he ordered a few records via General Jan Smuts.
A colourful history A ccording to Theo, boeremusiek developed from a combination of slave music and British military music and there have also been some American influences that have come through in songs such as Suikerbossie. “Long before the concertina, local slaves of Eastern origin entertained themselves with mandolins, violins, harps and drums,” explains Theo. “Much later, during the Boer War, the British army introduced Europe’s waltzes and marches and since then, this music has taken on its own local flavour.”
The popular vastrap, Theo says, is a truly South African rhythm and dance, stemming from the pioneering days when farmhouses had mud floors and parties were the only entertainment. “Before a family moved into a newly built home, they would invite the neighbours for a vastrap to stomp down the fresh soil.
The polka was too quick as it would kick up too much dust. So they did the slower vastrap because the characteristic ‘hopping’ helped to compact the floors.” I n its own right, the percussion drill also played an important role in history by opening up and developing the hinterland. Since the first 50mm artesian wells were sunk in the late 1800s, perhaps five million boreholes (half of them dry) have been drilled in South Africa – a good percentage with wooden-framed stampers.
The steel versions were introduced in the 1940s, followed 20 years later by the modern, super-quick pneumatic rigs, which punch much deeper in search of water. But no-one knows what effect this will eventually have on the supply and pollution of groundwater. Affordable and simple drilling While stampers aren’t used much for drilling new holes anymore, they represent a relatively non-invasive and sensitive drilling method that still has a place in the industry, either for cleaning out existing wells or for solving specific problems affordably.
Basically, a stamper consists of a rig that supports a range of tools that are lifted and released to break up hard materials as the borehole progresses. The debris is then removed with a bailer after adding enough water to form slurry. Water extracted by bailing gives a good indication of the quality and quantity of water, without having to install a pump.
The method is so simple that it’s used in the Katzabouri system, which employs gangs of manual labour instead of an engine to work the cable that raises and drops the chisel. Theo says he sometimes practises his concertina to the beat of a 1950 rig’s 16-horsepower Deutz engine. “When the hole is still shallow, the rhythm is fast and in tune with a seties or polka. As it goes deeper, I slow down to a romantic waltz.” But you have to wonder if he’s being serious, because the old stampers seem to keep their own time.
They can drill up to 6m/day, but when they hit Table Mountain sandstone, they almost grind to a halt. The Slabberts’ made-in-Bloemfontein Dreyer rigs (based on the US concept) use only about 15â„“ of diesel a day. They charge R180/m for sinking a new hole, R200/m for deepening an existing well, R2 800 for cleaning and the client must supply the diesel. But when they make music, the only requirement is enough space for a proper opskop! Contact the Slabberts on 084 250 9750 or 084 477 8667 |fw
