Siener van Rensburg was a Boer prophet famed for his visions during the Boer Wars, predicting significant South African events.
Nicolaas Pieter Johannes Janse van Rensburg, affectionately known as ‘Siener’ (Afrikaans for ‘seer’), was born in the South African Republic. His education was brief, but he was well-versed in the Bible, which shaped his worldview and prophetic interpretations.
⚠️ As an accompaniment, I recommend listening to my conversation with Mark Weber about the Anglo-Boer War.
The Boers were a hardy people, toughened by hardship and struggle, and they would defend their freedom to the last man.
Jan Smuts
Background
He was born on 30 August 1864.
Raised in a modest, rural farming family, his upbringing was deeply religious, belonging to the Gereformeerde Kerk (Afrikaans for ‘Reformed Church’). His faith shaped his worldview and visions.
Siener had about 20 days of formal education, and his mother taught him to read using the Bible, his only reading material.
Let that sink in.
In 1884, he married Anna Sophia Kruger, and they had several children. Their family life was typical of Boer farmers: hardworking, self-sufficient, and closely knit.
Anglo-Boer War visions
The Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902) was a hugely important period in Siener’s life.
Although he did not fight as a soldier, he accompanied the Boer forces, providing spiritual support and sharing his visions, which were often symbolic.
And very accurate.
The Boers are a brave, tenacious people, clinging to their land and their way of life with a fierce determination.
Emily Hobhouse
The black bull and the red bull
One of his most famous visions involved two bulls fighting: a black bull and a red bull. The black bull, representing the Boers, and the red bull, symbolising the British, clashed fiercely. In his vision, the red bull was eventually defeated, which was interpreted as an omen of Boer victory over the British forces.
Sadly, the Boers were (eventually) defeated by the British.
De La Rey’s success
Koos de la Rey was a Boer general in the Second Anglo-Boer War, famed as the ‘Lion of the West’ for his bravery and guerrilla tactics against the British. He later became a political leader, advocating for Afrikaner rights and seeking peace after the war.
Siener foresaw de la Rey’s success in battle, which bolstered the general’s confidence and the morale of his troops. His visions predicted, for example, how the enemy would approach along the Harts River and when they would be most vulnerable, contributing to the Boer victory at the Battle of Tweebosch.
It was an important win.
Siener van Rensburg was a man of God, and his visions guided us through the most difficult times of the war.
Koos de la Rey
Before the battle of Magersfontein, Siener predicted British soldiers falling into a river, which was later linked to the Boer victory where many British soldiers were indeed killed while crossing the Modder River.
He had many visions.
Of course, not all were on the money, but many were, hence Siener’s importance in South African history.
After the war
After the war, Siener returned to his farm and continued his pastoral life.
However, the war had taken a toll on the family, as it had on many Boer families, with the British scorched earth policy leading to widespread loss of property and livelihood.
He died on 11 March 1926, at the age of 61.
His legacy was carried on by his family, who preserved his work. His daughter, Anna Badenhorst, was instrumental in archiving his visions.
Boers versus Afrikaners
Is there a difference between Boers and Afrikaners?
The answer is a bit fuzzy, but generally speaking, yes.
The terms have been used interchangeably for many years, but they do have historical and cultural connotations, as photographer, historian, and author of Stories From South Africa, Riaan Roux, explained in our conversation.
Boers
The Boers were the descendants of the Dutch, German, and French settlers of the Cape Colony in the 17th and 18th centuries. The word ‘boer’ (lowercase B) is Dutch for ‘farmer’, which aptly described their primary occupation as agrarian settlers. The word ‘Boer’ (uppercase B) means the same thing, but with more cultural context.
The Boers were a nation, developing their own culture and language (Afrikaans), which had its roots in Dutch but was also influenced by other languages.
Afrikaners
Afrikaners, on the other hand, is a broader term that encompasses all White, Afrikaans-speaking people in South Africa, which includes the Boers but is not limited to them.
While all Boers are Afrikaners, not all Afrikaners are Boers.
The term ‘Afrikaner’ itself became common in the 20th century and was used to forge a national identity among White Afrikaans speakers.
Historically, the Boers are particularly associated with the Great Trek of the 1830s and 1840s, during which they left the British-controlled Cape Colony to establish their own republics in the interior of South Africa. This was motivated by a desire for self-governance and to live according to their own cultural and religious beliefs, which were threatened under British rule.
Culturally, Boers are often associated with a more rural, ‘conservative’ lifestyle and have a strong attachment to the land and their farming heritage.
The Afrikaner identity, while it includes these rural aspects, is more all-encompassing (and sometimes more liberal) and includes urbanised Afrikaans speakers, professionals, and those less connected to the land, so to speak. It also has been shaped significantly by the political history of South Africa, especially during the apartheid era when Afrikaners held significant political power.
In other words, Siener’s visions were not for the Afrikaners, but for the Boers.
Conversation
Riaan Roux is a South African photographer and researcher specifically interested in Siener van Rensburg and the Anglo-Boer War.
His YouTube channel is called Stories from South Africa.
Van Rensburg’s words were more than just prophecy; they were the heartbeat of the Boer nation, inspiring them with courage and faith in the face of overwhelming odds.
Piet Pretorius
