‘That horse will never rise again’: an exploration of narratives around the iterations of the Reiterdenkmal statue in Namibia

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article outlines the context in which the Reiterdenkmal statue was installed in 1912 in Windhoek, Namibia (then German South West Africa). As a former German colony, Namibia has many visual and systemic remnants from this period, specifically of interest for this article is the Reiterdenkmal statue. In relation to debates worldwide about the visual memory landscape and statues in contexts of post-colonial societies, this statue is used to explore the narratives of history and heritage in colonial and contemporary times. Reactions to the removal of the statue from its prominent position on a hilltop in the centre of the country’s capital, and the subsequent installation of a replica statue in a private restaurant offer insight into the complex discourses involved in the compilation of memory and history in Namibia. These reactions are considered through a variety of lenses which integrate, or indeed have at their core, the concept of narrative and narrative theory. Furthermore, this article explores the ways in which an authorised heritage discourse (AHD) that privileges German settler colonial history is constructed. The problematics of this AHD is shown in its self-referential nature and the resulting consequences including barriers to multiplicity in memorialisation and heritage.