page_title: Kariega River
section_title: Origin of the name
hierarchical_section_title: Kariega River / Origin of the name
caption_attribution_description: Raphicerus campestris detail photo of the head
context_page_description: Kariega River is a river located in the Eastern Cape province South Africa. It is an intermittent water course that reaches the ocean through an estuary.
  This river rises 24 km west of Grahamstown and gives its name to Kariega Park.
context_section_description: On the strength of other three Kariega rivers being possibly 'Steenbok' rivers it is generally assumed that the same applies here. However, this is not necessarily the case, for there is no record of Steenbok being found anywhere along the length of the river. It is true that cave-paintings said to depict these animals are to be found in the vicinity, but there are numerous instances of animals being depicted in caves situated in habitat entirely unsuited to them. (And in the Swartberg there is a painting of a full-rigged sailing ship, despite the cave being situated more than 100 km from the sea.)
  The original inhabitants of much of the Cape were the Khoikhoi. Their descendants are still in the area, but other than in parts of the Northern Cape their languages are no longer spoken. Nonetheless there are still plenty of Khoikhoi words in everyday use in this country. 
  In the Cape Khoikhoi words are most often encountered in the form of place names, examples being Knysna – meaning 'ferns' -  a town on the Garden Route, and the Cango Caves – Cango being the Khoikhoi for 'wet mountain'. And, of course, there is Kariega Park, situated beside the Kariega River.
  It is uncertain why this particular Kariega River acquired its name, or what it means, but although one will not see a Steenbok occurring naturally in the area of the Kariega Park, the name is typical of the Cape, has connections with the earliest people to inhabit the area, and is the name of one of its most charming and graceful small buck.
caption: The Steenbok or Kariega antelope
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