Uniformity and Parallel Struggles

Klaverjas, like other card games has its own embedded logic. For the experienced player, conversant with the technicalities and language of the game, extracting meaning and combining a handful of cards to achieve a particular outcome, poses no difficulty. From the onset, uniform rules were an issue for the klawerjas “community of practice.” Desiring to transform their activity into a respected and scientific undertaking, they consistently struggled to establish a uniform set of rules. This chapter records the convergence of the South African Dutch and Australian struggle for uniform rules. It further maps the domestic game’s intersection with broader societal events, including the Sharpeville shootings, international sanctions, and the sport and cultural boycott against South Africa.