Charl (Sarel) Arnoldus Cilliers (7 September 1801 – 4 October 1871) was a Voortrekker leader and a preacher. With Andries Pretorius, he led the Boers to a huge victory over the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River in 1838. In particular, Cilliers led the Voortrekkers in a vow which promised that if God would protect them and deliver the enemy into their hands, they would build a church and commemorate the day of their victory as if it were an annual Sabbath day, which their descendants would also be instructed to honour.
He was a prominent member of the Gereformeerde Kerk (Reformed Church), an offshoot of the Dutch Reformed Church. He is described as being a short, stout man, and was believed to have been very religious. He joined the Great Trek at the age of thirty-five.
The town of Kroonstad was, according to folklore, named after a horse belonging to Cilliers, which drowned in a stream (Kroonspruit) where the town is situated.
There is a Sarel Cilliers Museum as well as a statue of him (on the site of the Dutch Reformed Church) in Kroonstad. Numerous streets and roads in Kroonstad and throughout South Africa are named after him.
Early life
Sarel Cilliers was born the fourth of seven children in Schoongezicht, Cape Colony to Carel Cilliers and his wife, Elizabeth Catherine Louw. In 1806 his parents sold Schoongezicht, when Cilliers was five years of age.
From an early age he was well-acquainted with working life on the family farm, as he would often help with pastoral and elementary responsibilities. In his early life, he also developed a strong sense of community and religious duty. On Sundays, the neighbours gathered together to hold services and Holy Communion. It was in his childhood that Cilliers's religious values and aptitude for spiritual leadership were first developed, as he was said to have had a personal encounter with God at age 10. He would often share his faith with other children and encourage them to worship, and strengthen their bond with God.
On 6 October 1823, Cilliers married Anna Francina Viljoen, the daughter of Christopher and Aletta Viljoen Booysen. Cilliers fathered eleven children from his marriage to Anna. During his younger years, Cilliers was of a slim build, and it was only later in his life around the time of the Great Trek that he became stouter in appearance.
The Great Trek
In 1829, the Cilliers family moved to New Hantam (today Colesberg). In 1835, a drought hit the local area, and this led to Cilliers joining the Great Trek with his wife and six children in 1836, as he was convinced that it was God's will that he should go.
Cilliers was made the unofficial pastor of the Great Trek, and he would hold services on a daily basis and give Sunday Communion. During the Great Trek he became distinguished as a spiritual leader, earning him such names as The Prophet of the Great Trek and The Father of Dingaansdag (Dingane's Day). In 1837, he was appointed to one of the two deacons of the first church council elected in the commissioned commandos.
Renowned for his ability of boosting the morale of members of the Great Trek during times of hardship, he would often inspire troops through his recital of the Lord's Prayer during conflict. His skills of fortifying the troops were best displayed at the Battle of Blood River, where he spoke the famous vow to God on the battlefield, and held a thanksgiving service after the decisive victory over the Zulus. Cilliers' vow is celebrated as a national holiday in South Africa (Day of the Vow) on 16 December.
Vow
No verbatim record of the vow exists. The version often considered to be the original vow is in fact W.E.G. Louw's ca. 1962 translation into Afrikaans of G.B.A. Gerdener's reconstruction of the vow in his 1919 biography of Sarel Cilliers.
The official journal of the emigrant Boers' punitive expedition against Dingane and his Zulus was published in De Zuid-Afrikaan of Friday 14 June 1839.