Namaqualand diva honoured with tombstone
Cape Town – Thanks to vandalism and the family not being able to afford a tombstone the grave of legendary Namaqualand diva Magrieta “Grietjie” Adams was unrecognisable.
However, this changed when three Garies businesses joined forces to put up a tombstone on Adams’s grave as a last honour to the memory of the icon.
The tombstone was put up on Women’s Day.
Born in Garies, in the Northern Cape, Adams was a domestic worker all her life but she had a passion for singing and riel dancing. Through her singing and Nama dance steps she became a cultural icon who unified and inspired people of all races. Her most famous tune was the folk song “Lekker ou Jan”.
Katy Toontjies, who grew up with Adams, said she was a spontaneous and bold woman with character.
“We worked together for a year. I could learn from her and she was a cheerful and sincere person with a lot of talent. Grandmother Grietjie Adams was a very good example for everyone in Garies and for me as a young girl I could enjoy life with her,” she said.
Adams’s nephew Martin Klaase described his aunt as a cultural person who never forgot where she came from.
“She was a person who believed that you can make a success of your life and that age doesn't matter. I will always remember the love she had for her family and the way she would say something,” he said.
In 2004, at the age of 76, Adams released a CD. The same year, she was presented with the Northern Cape Icon Award by then-premier Dipuo Peters. Adams was an instant national hit and regularly performed on TV shows and at the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival in Oudtshoorn.
She died in 2014 at the age of 88 and was buried in the Uniting Reformed Church graveyard in Garies. Her funeral was attended by several dignitaries from the government and tourism sector and promises were made to keep her legacy alive.
Wouter Jordaan, who was among those who put up the tombstone, said it was a disgrace that Adams’s grave had been neglected for so many years that all that was left was a heap of stones.
“We were so happy and proud that the tombstone was finally up and ready to be unveiled on Women’s Day. It was a fitting tribute to this remarkable woman of note,” he said.