The Griqua people of South Africa are recognised by the UNO as having ‘first-nation’ status.This article argues that, in the context of Griqua identity, the notion of'first nation’ serves not to determine a prior and singular identity, but rather to problematise the question of origins. Drawing on the concept of an uncanny splitting and doubling of identity, it suggests that if the Griqua people constitute a ‘first nation’, then to be first is already to be marked by difference. From the point of view of the uncanny, identity commences not with a singular origin but with division and displacement.Through its readings of works of South African travel writing and narrative fiction, the article endeavours to show that Griqua identity, as a form of the uncanny, is exemplary in exposing the constitutive ambiguities of identity formation as such in the South African context.