karretjie people, plural noun
- Forms:
- Also karretjiemense, and with initial capital(s).
- Origin:
- AfrikaansShow more From Afrikaans karretjie little cart; so named because of their mode of transport.
Traditionally nomadic people living in the Great Karoo, travelling by donkey cart and taking seasonal employment on farms, often as sheep-shearers.
2004 D. Biggs Karoo Ramblings 153[S]ometimes little families of nomadic “karretjiemense” are caught in the blizzard and children have been known to freeze to death. These wandering families are a feature of the Karoo. With their meagre belongings piled on a dilapidated cart drawn by a scrawny donkey or two, they leave their wobbly tracks along the country roads from farm to farm...
2014 star.ac.za (DSAE Corpus)The Karretjie people of South Africa’s Great Karoo region are so named because they are nomadic and carry all their worldly possessions with them in karretjies or donkey carts.
Traditionally nomadic people living in the Great Karoo, travelling by donkey cart and taking seasonal employment on farms, often as sheep-shearers.

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