Ox-wagon

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The Ox-wagon (Afrikaans: Ossewa) was a traditional form of transport, especially in Southern Africa. The first recorded use of an ox-wagon was around 1670, but they continued to be used up to modern times, concurrently with cars.

Ox-wagons were typically drawn by chains of oxen, harnessed in pairs. This gave them a very wide turning circle, the legacy of which are the broad, pleasant boulevards in some southern African cities; for example Grahamstown, (South Africa) has streets "wide enough to turn an ox-wagon", as the saying goes.

The wagon itself was made of different kinds of wood, with the rims of the wheels being covered with iron. The back wheels were substantially larger than the front ones. Most of the load-carrying area was covered in canvas supported by wooden arches; the driver sat in the open on a wooden chest (Afrikaans: wakis).

The Voortrekkers have become the most well-known users of ox-wagons in South African history. Indeed, the ox-wagon became symbolic of the Voortrekkers and was used as a virtual leitmotif in the 1938 Symbolic Ox-wagon Trek that foreshadowed the resurgence of Afrikaner nationalism.

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