The Nama of the Northern Cape used to be a nomadic people, but a range of factors from the
mid-19th century onwards led to radical socio-economic changes, the slow erasure of their
traditional lifestyle and the loss of their language. In increasing numbers, mining prospectors,
white farmers and missionaries encroached on their land and parcelled it off while mission
education discouraged the use of Nama. Settled, many Nama became farmworkers and
labourers. When the Catholic mission was established in the late 19th century, the resident
priest made regular visits to the farmers who lived on the outlying livestock posts and
held services in the Mik, a cave church. Attendance at the Mik was largely by the Nama
community, who continued to worship there and welcomed other denominational services.
The community saw the influence of the various church denominations as a means to share,
commune and engage with outsiders.