tvbrarjp of t:he t:heolo0ical ^emmarjp 
 
 PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 The Estate of 
 Samuel Henry Gapp _ 
 
 BV 2560 .H35 1912 
 Hamilton, J Taylor, Bp. 
 Twenty years of pioneer 
 missions in Nyasaland 
 

DEC 14 1964 
 
 TWENTY YEARS 
 
 OF 
 
 PIONEER MISSIONS 
 
 IN 
 
 NYASALAND, 
 
 A HISTORY OF MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN 
 GERMAN EAST AFRICA, 
 
 BY 
 
 BISHOP J. TAYLOR HAMILTON, D. D. 
 
 MEMBER OF THE MISSION BOARD OF THE 
 MORAVIAN CHURCH. 
 
 Published by the Society for Propagating the Gospel, 
 Bethlehem. Pennsylvania, 191 2. 
 
 Bethlehem Printing Company, 
 
 BETHLtHEM, PA. 
 
 1912. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In the following pages an attempt has been made to tell 
 the story of a pioneer effort to evangelize a part of the Dark 
 Continent, an effort upon which God has laid a marked 
 blessing. May the story serve to arouse missionary interest 
 and promote the support of the trust with which the Mora- 
 vian Church has been providentially charged. The present 
 work concerns itself more particularly with the Nyasa 
 Province of the Moravian Mission in German East Africa. 
 It is hoped that the story of Unyamwesi may be told at some 
 later day. 
 
 No attempt has been made to consistently follow the 
 scientific spelling of African names, a matter with regard 
 to which the authorities are not yet in complete agreement. 
 Let it suffice to note, that the prefix placed before the root 
 of a proper name has its definite signification ; for example, 
 from the root Safwa we have Unsafwa — ^the individual man, 
 Basafzva or Wasafzva—the men (plural), Kisafzva — the lan- 
 guage, and Biisafzca — the land of that tribe. 
 
 Special thanks are herewith tendered to the Rev. Paul de 
 Schweinitz, D. D., Secretary of Missions, for aid in connec- 
 tion with seeing this little work through the press. 
 
 J. Taylor Hamilton. 
 Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Jan. ii, igi2. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Chapter I. Impulses Contributing to the Commencement of the 
 
 Mission 5 
 
 Chapter II. The Journey of the Pioneers 10 
 
 Chapter III. Getting a Foothold 18 
 
 Chapter IV. The Land and its Tribes ' 25 
 
 Chapter V. The People of Nyasaland and their Mode of Life. 30 
 
 Chapter VI. The Manners and Customs 'of the People 40 
 
 Chapter VII. The Religion and Morals of the People 51 
 
 Chapter VIII. The Firstfruits Gathered 64 
 
 Chapter IX. Widening the Base of Operations 74 
 
 Chapter X. Methods of Work 87 
 
 Chapter XI. Hindrances 100 
 
 Chapter XII. Disappointments 114 
 
 Chapter XIII. The Gospel Effective in Xyasaland 124 
 
 Chapter XIV. Among the Lepers 140 
 
 Chapter XV. A Sunday in Isoko 147 
 
 Chapter XVI. The Mission as a Civilizing Force 155 
 
 Chapter XVII. The Present Status of the Mission 166 
 
 Chapter XVIII. Unyamwesi 175 
 
 Appendix A. List of Missionaries Engaged in the Service of 
 
 the Nyasa Mission 183 
 
 Appendix B. List of Mission Stations in Xyasa 185 
 
 Appendix C. Missionary Organizations in German East Africa 187 
 
 Index 189 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The Missionaries in Nyasaland, 1910 Frontispiece 
 
 A Halt on the Journey , 10 
 
 Landscape near Rungwe 18 
 
 In Council Assembled 22 
 
 A Village in Nyasaland 30 
 
 House of a Konde man 40 
 
 Four Chieftains 48 
 
 An Operation in Dentistry 60 
 
 Christians in Rungwe T2 
 
 Church in Utengule, Exterior 84 
 
 Church in Utengule, Interior 88 
 
 School in Rungwe 96 
 
 Mission House, Mueia 106 
 
 Mission Station, Rungwe 116 
 
 Church in Rutenganio 124 
 
 In Front of the Church at Ipyana 138 
 
 A Service in the Open 152 
 
 A Lesson in Geography 158 
 
 Travel in Central Africa, The Maschila 164 
 
 Visit of a Chieftain 176 
 
 Christians in Utengule 182 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 IMPULSES CONTRIBUTING TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE 
 
 MISSION. 
 
 Missionary undertakings in East Equatorial Africa belong 
 exclusively to the era of the modern forward movement in 
 the world's evangelization. South Africa received its first 
 missionary, George Schmidt, as early as 1737. The anti- 
 slavery agitation of the close of the 18th and the beginning 
 of the 19th century directed the attention of British mis- 
 sionary societies to the West Coast, and the Church Mis- 
 sionary Society entered Sierra Leone in 1804. Though the 
 efforts of Hocker, Danke and Antes in the middle of the 
 18th century proved premature and abortive, even the Mo- 
 hammedan lands of North Africa received heralds of the 
 Gospel at an earlier date than did the East Coast, the Church 
 Missionary Society having founded a central school in 
 Malta as early as 1815, for the training of workers who 
 should seek to bring new life to the churches of the Orient. 
 Egypt was entered in 1826 and the missionary pioneers 
 pushed forwards as far as Abyssinia. But East Africa was 
 disregarded for decades. It lay aside the main lines of 
 commercial intercourse from Europe to India and China 
 and remained unnoticed, whilst Madagascar in the track of 
 the vessels that made for Bombay or Calcutta after round- 
 ing the Cape of Good Hope welcomed the missionaries of 
 the London Society as early as 1820. But after Krapf and 
 Rebmann had discovered the snowy peaks of Kilimanjaro 
 and Kenia, and especially after Livingstone and Stanley 
 had penetrated into the heart of the Dark Continent from 
 the East Coast and Livingstone had tirelessly repeated his 
 summons to repress the slave-trade, a wonderful change 
 commenced. The death of the great missionary explorer at 
 
 2 
 
O HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 Ilala proved a challenge to his countrymen and to Christen- 
 dom to bring the Gospel to the millions of East Africa, and 
 his lifting the veil from the mystery of Africa's interior led 
 geographers and explorers to busy themselves with Africa 
 to an unparalleled extent. Soon followed the rapid develop- 
 ment of the colonial policy of European powers, notably 
 England, Germany and France, that led to the partitioning 
 of Africa into spheres of influence and colonization. But 
 even in advance of the geographical explorers and political 
 representatives of the European nations missionaries pressed 
 in, not to urge demands upon the native populations but 
 to present to them the most valuable of gifts. Uganda was 
 occupied by the Church and the Universities' Missionary 
 Societies, and notwithstanding the martyrdom of Bishop 
 Hannington and the wave of bloody persecution that fol- 
 lowed, the English Church held that land, thanks to the wise 
 laying of foundations by Alexander Mackay and other ex- 
 cellent men. The London Missionary Society, the Scotch 
 Free Church, the State Church of Scotland and the Univer- 
 sities' Missionary Society undertook the evangelization of 
 the regions about Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa. Blan^ 
 tyre and Bandawe and Likoma arose. 
 
 Events took a new turn finally with the division of East 
 Africa between England, Germany and Portugal, as a result 
 of peaceful negotiations in 1885. So soon as the inevitable 
 disturbances among the native tribes had been allayed and 
 the administrative arrangements of the several colonies were 
 measurably perfected, the missionary organizations took ad- 
 vantage of the new opportunity. This held good especially 
 for German East Africa. Here before long in addition to 
 the Church Missionary Society, the London Missionary So- 
 ciety and the German East African Society, the Leipsic, the 
 Berlin and the Universities' Missionary Society as well as 
 the Moravian Church each found a distinct sphere of work. 
 
 It is of the activity of the last named Church in German 
 East Africa that the following pages treat. 
 
 Organized as an international body, possibly the Mora- 
 vian Church has been less influenced than any other organ- 
 
COMMENCEMENT OF THE MISSION. 7 
 
 ization in the development of its missionary policy by im- 
 pulses connected with colonial development and national 
 policy. And yet with the head(|uarters of its missionary 
 administration situated in (Germany and the majority of its 
 missionary workers of (ierman nationality it was inevitable 
 that the dawn of the colonial era for Germany should have 
 its effect upon the missionary undertakings of this the oldest 
 existing missionary organization in Germany. Earnest 
 Christian circles within the German Fatherland saw in the 
 agreement between the powers, which assigned to Germany 
 a large territory opi)osite to Zanzibar, not merely an oppor- 
 tunity to exploit commercial interests, but a summons to 
 undertake the civilization, moral elevation and Christianiza- 
 tion of the native races of this land. A natural and justifia- 
 ble demand arose, that German missionary organizations 
 should accept the responsibilty of facing this task. This 
 feeling was shared by evangelical missionary leaders else- 
 where. Towards. the end of the eighties ai)peals came to 
 the Moravian Mission Board from leading British mission- 
 aries in Uganda to take up this task. 
 
 At the same time, as though to render it impossible for 
 the authorities of the Moravian Church to doubt His will, 
 and to remove good grounds for hesitation, God at this very 
 time providentially so disposed of events that means were at 
 hand for the commencement of a new mission. In March, 
 1890, there came into the control of the Mission Board at 
 Herrnhut a legacy of about $200,000, willed by Daniel Cra- 
 kau, of Breslau, to the Moravian Church for the founding 
 and carrying on of a mission in German East Africa, and 
 other sums, considerably less in amount indeed, were also 
 forthcoming in England and in Germany for this express 
 purpose. In the face of such coincidences, the Executive 
 Board of the Moravian Church could not do otherwise than 
 obediently recognize the providential leading and resolve 
 upon this step. 
 
 Next arose the question, which region of the wide terri- 
 tory should be selected for the commencement of mission- 
 ary operations. As matters stood in 1890 thoughts were 
 
8 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 turned to the Usambara highlands, in the northeast and near 
 the coast, a region most easily reached. The strip imme- 
 diately adjacent to the coast was considered undesirable, 
 as standing too directly under the influence of the Arabs 
 and East Indians, and probably also likely to be too soon 
 overrun by colonists. A preference was felt for the sources 
 of the Pangani, south of Kilimanjaro, with a first base of 
 operations for better communication about half way down 
 the course of the Pangani in Usambara, the region in which 
 the East African Missonary Society (Berlin II) later plant- 
 ed Hohenfriedeberg and Bethel. 
 
 At this stage Bishop Charles Buchner was sent to Berlin 
 to confer with the imperial German colonial authorities, 
 with prominent colonial commercial organizations and espe- 
 cially with the Berlin Missionary Society (Berlin I), since 
 the last named missionary society also contemplated under- 
 taking a mssion in the new territory. Now attention was 
 directed to the practically unexplored mountainous region 
 north and northwest of Lake Nyasa, as well peopled and 
 likely to ofifer for some time an undisturbed field for mis- 
 sionary operations, since it did not present immediate at- 
 tractions for colonization. It appeared to be a region com- 
 paratively easy of access by way of the Zambezi, the Shire 
 and Lake Nyasa. As far as was known, its people were 
 peaceful in disposition. The missionary stations of the Free 
 Church of Scotland on the lake would offer a point of sup- 
 port in case of need. Further inquiry confirmed the wis- 
 dom of this advice. Moreover the African Lakes Company, 
 the Scotch trading company which was in close connection 
 with the missionary operations there, promised to look after 
 the transportation of missonaries and goods in an obliging 
 manner. All this led to the resolve in October, 1890, that 
 the contemplated mission should be undertaken in Konde- 
 land, north of Lake Nyasa. Meanwhile the Berlin Society 
 reached a similar conclusion. Fraternal negotiations be- 
 tween the two organizations followed for the determining 
 more narrowly the sphere of each organization. Early in 
 January, 1891, representatives of both met for conference 
 
COMMENCEMENT OF THE MISSION. \f 
 
 and entered into an agreement, to regard the 34th degree 
 of longitude as the boundary separating their prospective 
 mission helds, the Berhn Society choosing the land east of 
 the line and the Moravian Church undertaking the evan- 
 gelization of the people to the west. Mutual co-operation 
 and harmonious methods of labor were pledged. As far as 
 possible linguistic work and publications should be joint 
 productions, or at least be placed at the service of both ; 
 and in educational undertakings each should render the 
 other practical assistance — a pledge which has been mutually 
 kept in the most fraternal spirit. 
 
,10 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE JOURNEY OF THE PIONEERS. 
 
 The new enterprise having been resolved upon and the 
 scene of the undertaking settled, four young men were se- 
 lected to be the pioneers, Theodor Meyer, Theophil Richard, 
 Georg Martin and Johannes Haefner. Two of these were 
 sons of missionaries and one a son of a member of the 
 Unity's Elders' Conference, the chief directing board of the 
 Moravian Church. Two w^ere schoolmasters and of the 
 other two one was a student in the Mission Institute at 
 Niesky. After the winter of 1890 to 1891 had been spent 
 in preparation, on the 16th of April, of the latter year, the 
 four path-finders sailed from Naples for Quelimane on 
 board the "Kancler." 
 
 In the last decade of the nineteenth century the way to 
 the region north of Lake Nyasa led most naturally by water. 
 The caravan route from the coast of German East Africa 
 into the interior had not yet been opened, and the interme- 
 diate region was occupied by restless tribes that made travel 
 insecure. The broad delta of the Zambezi constituted the 
 natural gateway. At Chinde, a free port of entry, goods 
 could be landed and thence furthered into British territory. 
 The coast is flat, sandy or covered with swamps out of 
 which tangled low mangroves rise on thin, stilt-like roots. 
 The lower course of the great river, cut by many islands, 
 maintains the same character. Its waters swarm with 
 crocodiles and hippopotami. Here and there it passes 
 through groves of cocoa-nut palms and long grasses bend 
 before the wind. The kingfisher's blue and scarlet adds a 
 flash of variety to the white gleam of the ibis. Or a great 
 fish eagle circles off into the blue of the sky, startled by 
 the calls of the black paddlers. Otherwise the river is un- 
 utterably lonely and still, and its scenery monotonous. It 
 acquires more interest only where the great tributary, the 
 Shire, pours in from the north. Here a bungalow is in 
 sight and a steamer of the African Lakes' Company pro- 
 vides further transportation. The route is now up the Shire. 
 
^trmp: 
 
THE JOURNEY OK THE PIONEERS. 11 
 
 A lake-like expansion first of all. and then the narrower, 
 deeper channel of this stream aft'ords good navigation for 
 a time. Over the mighty giants of the tropical forest, linked 
 by graceful lianes and here and there brilliant in the flam- 
 ing colors of their blossoms lies the distant faint blue line 
 of the mountains. Now and again elephants or water buffa- 
 loes move through the grasses and bamboos of the banks 
 and bright plumaged birds flit and flash hither and thither. 
 
 But the Shire has one defect as the great highway into 
 the interior. About the 16th degree of southern latitude it 
 issues from the mountainous plateau. Here rapids are met 
 after five or six days' sailing from its outlet, which no boat 
 can pass — the Murchison Cataracts, extending for seventy 
 miles. Now the journey must be made on foot. About 
 half-way up this climb of seventy miles and a considerable 
 distance inland from the river, lies Blantyre, the Scotch mis- 
 sionary station and post of the African Lakes Company. A 
 further ascent must yet be made over the broad ridge of a 
 mountain, to Matope, on the upper Shire, which connects 
 direct with Lake Nyasa. 
 
 A mere narrow footpath, trodden hard beneath centuries 
 of native trafiic. so that it forms a rut lower than the gen- 
 eral level of the forest, a path that proceeds directly over 
 elevations and down depressions, this caravan route is most 
 toilsome for the unaccustomed European. True, as he 
 makes the steady ascent, his vision shut in here by a dense 
 bamboo thicket, and there permitted to revel in the gay 
 colors of luxuriant tropical flora, whilst he perspires in ev- 
 ery pore from exertion in the terrible heat, the novelty of 
 it all at first compensates for much of the hardship of the 
 way At night the encampment is made picturescjue by the 
 watch-fires that are here so essential, as a protection against 
 prowling lions or other beasts. 
 
 At Matope the comfort of again proceeding by water 
 may be enjoyed, doubly appreciated after the days of toil. 
 
 A couple of days' steaming and the southern end of Lake 
 Nyasa is reached. Rut the approach to the great lake does 
 not convey the imposing impression conjured uj) by antici- 
 
12 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 pation. Plainly for many a year its southern end has been 
 silting up. The valley itself through which the Shire flows, 
 is broad, bounded on either side by distant mountains, that 
 may in some early era have been lapped by the waters of 
 the lake. Now swamps intervene, and for miles are covered 
 with the bushy light-green papyrus. The lake itself opens 
 up only gradually out of its swampy surroundings ; its shores 
 appear flat and lose themselves in the distance. The waters 
 themselves gleam in the brilliant sunshine a silvery blue, or 
 under a storm-clouded sky take on a deep indigo blue. But 
 in a few hours the prospect changes again. Already at 
 Livingstonia, on Cape Maclear, mountains of granite, 
 clothed to the summit in living green, contrast with the silver 
 sand of the shore. And before the three hundred and fifty 
 miles have been traversed to the northern end. the lake is 
 found to occupy the trough of gigantic granite ranges. 
 Along the west they rise almost without a real break, vary- 
 ing from one to three or even four thousand feet, and often 
 presenting a sheer precipice to the voyager. The north and 
 northeast is closed by the vast Livingstonia Range, whose 
 summits pierce the clouds and fling up their heads thirteen 
 thousand feet above sea level. All along the lake anchorages 
 are neither too numerous nor too well-sheltered, and sudden 
 storms infrequently sweep down. 
 
 By this route the pioneers sought their field of labor. On 
 May 20. 1891, they landed in Quelimane, hearty and well. 
 Chinde had not yet become a port of entry. Hence the 
 most northern arm of the delta of the Zambezi, the Quaqua, 
 had to be traversed before the broad river could be entered. 
 But the "Stevenson," the river-steamer of the African 
 Lakes Company, with which they were to have sailed, was 
 already at Vincente. at the head of the delta, and there im- 
 patiently awaited them. Two small native boats had been 
 sent to convey them thither as speedily as possible. But 
 these boats, manned by native paddlers, could accommodate 
 very little of their baggage in addition to their persons. 
 Most of their equipment had therefore to be left in Queli- 
 mane. to be furthered by the next opportunity. Tn the 
 
THE jOURXEV OF THE PIONEERS. 13 
 
 •event, it proved that this could be done onl)- by install- 
 ments. Hut what of the baggage was the absolute neces- 
 sary? And where were just these articles stowed away? 
 They had not packed with a view to such an emergency. 
 In haste decisions had to be reached, and experience was 
 wanting. So it happened that in the event much that was 
 most necessary remained behind. Chests that would have 
 been invaluable on the caravan march among the hills north 
 of the lake and that should have been at hand for the first 
 period of the work of founding their station, arrived a year 
 ■or so later with their practically lost contents, lost because 
 spoilt. 
 
 For the rest the river journey passed uneventfully. Ka- 
 tunga on the Shire was reached on June 6. Here the over- 
 land portage begins. After the long confinement on the 
 deck of a ship, now become monotonous and wearisome, 
 it was a pleasurable sensation to be permitted to wander 
 freely, a sensation not unattended with romance in that the 
 wanderings led through the primeval forests of a compara- 
 tively unknown part of Africa, where the luxuriance of the 
 tropics spread its charm on every hand. But strenuous 
 efifort and wearying exertion are called forth by a march 
 of many days in intense heat, where the only relief for tired 
 feet can be found in the "Maschilo," a sort of hammock, 
 stretched along a pole, borne by native porters, who are 
 ever and again relieved by their fellows. Nor is it exactly 
 comfortable to lie in this great net and suffer oneself to 
 be carried like a load. And unfortunately here too. as in 
 the case of the river journey from Ouelimane. our travellers 
 ■suffered themselves to be needlessly hurried, because an- 
 other steamer, the "Domira," was waiting for them at Ma- 
 tope. Hence again there was a lack of the desirable plan- 
 ning and preparation for the march. 
 
 The first day indeed passed fortunately. Partly on foot 
 and now in the hammock, they reached Mandala in a con- 
 tented and comfortable condition. This stage amounts to 
 only a dozen miles, no great strain therefore. Here a Sun- 
 day's rest was to be enjoyed, and from this place it was eas- 
 
14 HSTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 ily possible to visit the Scotch mission station, Blantyre^ 
 with its well-known and really imposing church. Both 
 mind and body were the better from the refreshment thus 
 enjoyed. And the plan to press forward in the new week 
 could be entertained with satisfaction. But that same even- 
 ing three of the pioneers succumbed to fever, and a bad 
 night followed. The following morning found them jaded 
 and really unfit for travel. Nor was the fourth in much 
 better condition. Late in the evening he had gone to Blan- 
 tyre for medicine for his three companions and had spent 
 the night watching them. Nevertheless they resolved to 
 press forward under the unfortunate misapprehension that 
 the "Domini" must be reached the same evening at Matope. 
 The distance in and of itself is indeed not too great for 
 a single day under favorable circumstances. But for fev- 
 ered men ! And under the conditions imposed by the for- 
 mation of the country and the state of the path ! That was 
 quite another matter. The narrow, steep paths led up and 
 down rocky hillsides covered with thorny undergrowth.. 
 The rainy season had scarcely come to an end and the atmo- 
 sphere of the hot, moist valleys was almost insupportable. 
 Not only was there haste to reach the "Domira," but a tent 
 and other means for camping were lacking. Provisions- 
 failed. It was a necessity to reach Matope by nightfall. 
 But only three Maschilos and porters for the three hacl 
 been procurable. Therefore one of the four pioneers must 
 make the trip on foot, and as a matter of course it must 
 be the one who had remained free from fever, viz.. Theophil 
 Richard. At noon the only nourishment to be had con- 
 sisted of a few English biscuits and a pot of tea. The af- 
 ternoon hours were attended with actual torture for the 
 lonely wanderer. At some distance before or behind him 
 he heard the voices of the porters. To weariness a burning 
 thirst was added. Now the evening drew on. The narrow 
 sickle of the moon shed a pale light on the narrow path, 
 but gave no indication of a means for quenching thirst. 
 His hope lay in obtaining a few drops of water, when the 
 bearers brought his comrades up to where he stood. But 
 
THE JOURNEY OF THE I'lONEERS. 15 
 
 the water bottle of the first was already empty. After a 
 long interval the second Maschilo appeared. In it lay a 
 fever patient in such a condition that he had neither hearing 
 nor understanding for any question. Now Richard placed 
 his hope on the last. But he too lay unconscious. So his 
 bearers carry him on and now the weary, thirsty wanderer 
 is alone, the last in the line of march. Often he must stand 
 still from pain and exhaustion. The distance between him 
 and his companions widens. Darkness deepens. How far 
 is it to Matope? He does not know. In reality it requires 
 two more hours of torturing progress. Alone in the African 
 wilderness, with the sounds of tropical night and the call 
 of fierce beasts around him, it is only unshaken faith in 
 God that sustains him. At la^t, at 9 o'clock, he stands be- 
 fore the houses of Matope. His goal reached, he is again 
 ready to be of assistance to his fevered companions. 
 
 But still more severe trials awaited them. For the im- 
 mediately ensuing days, indeed, an easier period set in. The 
 passage of the lake proved pleasant. The patients could 
 rest and recover. On June 24 they lanrled at Karonga, a 
 post of the African Lakes' Company on the western shore 
 of the northern end of the lake. Here they could make 
 good some of the articles of their outfit, left behind at 
 Ouelimane. A large number of porters could be secured, 
 and a tent, camp-cots, underwear, clothing, cooking uten- 
 sils — in short the indispensable articles for a march— were 
 purchased. Of provisions however they should have laid 
 in a larger stock. True they had reckoned with a tour of 
 a comparatively few days. But various circumstances, and 
 in particular frequently recurring and severe attacks of 
 fever weakened the travelers and prolonged the march far 
 beyond expectations. Trying and anxious days followed. 
 Nature about them might unfold its beauty, but a wearied, 
 fevered man is not apt to be in a rece])tive mood. 
 
 Their next goal was Kararamuka, a former outpost of 
 the Scotch missionaries, but now abandoned l)ecause lying 
 in German territory. It was on the ninth day after leaving 
 Karonga tliat they arrived here, all four either suffering 
 
16 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 from fever, or wholly enervated by attacks of fever. The 
 ruined remnants of houses were to afford them some shel- 
 ter, that from this point of vantage their tours of exploration 
 might be made. Lying low, as it does, it was a foregone 
 conclusion, that Kararamuka itself could not be their per- 
 manent base of missionary operations. Rather a way must 
 be found to the elevated plateau, and some spot upon it 
 dedicated to missionary purposes. Therefore after they 
 had for some time rested and to some extent recovered 
 from the effects of the journey. Meyer and Richard, ac- 
 companied by native guides and porters, set out to spy the 
 land. 
 
 North of Lake Nyasa the country rises precipitously, 
 some of the mountain peaks reaching a height of 9000 feet, 
 whilst to the northeast the Livingstonia Range is still higher. 
 At times the precipitous mountain sides appear to be scarce- 
 ly accessible. Nor is the ascent anywhere easy, since it must 
 be made by means of the torrents that dash down savage 
 gorges, rent in the walls of rock. The narrow paths lead 
 up just where these torrents have broken a way. Many a 
 zig-zag must be made into side-valleys, before the plateau 
 itself is reached. But at last the ascent rewards toil. Beau- 
 tiful landscapes open out on every side. And here among 
 the Konde people, on the whole a peaceful, pastoral folk, 
 whose cattle constitute their chief wealth, the explorers 
 come to the fixed conviction : "Here is the place where our 
 Lord w^ould have us build and begin to proclaim His mes- 
 sage." 
 
 But meanwhile Martin lay desperately ill at Kararamuka, 
 and Haefner had to remain with him, instead of hastening 
 to their aid for the work preliminary to the founding of 
 the station. Nor had the two pioneers any conception of 
 his serious condition. 
 
 Then came a note one day, written in a trembling hand : 
 "Come, come! George is no longer alive!" Haefner had 
 not been even in a condition to nurse his dying friend. Both 
 had been at times unconscious, cared for in some sort of 
 fashion by the friendly blacks. Often each was too helpless 
 
THE JOUKXEV OF THE PIONEERS. 17 
 
 to be aware that the other existed. And so it came that on 
 the morning of September 10. George Martin was found 
 motionless on his cot. whilst Haefner, unclear as to the 
 time and hour of his departure, could scarcely master 
 enough consciousness to realize that the soul of his com- 
 panion had departed. His first effort had been to write this 
 note. Soon Meyer and Richard returned, and buried their 
 dead. So here as elsewhere the path of the missionaries' 
 advance in Africa was marked by a grave-stone at the very 
 first. The loss was severe, not only through its effect on the 
 spirits of the sur\avors. Martin was a practical carpenter 
 and as such his services had seemed essential for the found- 
 ing of the first station ; and his traits of character were such 
 that would have proved most valuable for smoothing the 
 difficulties that are likely to arise in connection with colle- 
 giate work. But God willed it otherwise. 
 
18 HIStORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 GETTING A FOOTHOLD. 
 
 It was on the 21st of August, -1891, for members of the 
 Moravian Church a day of days in all the year, as the anni- 
 versary of the commencement of Moravian Missions in 
 1732, that Meyer and Richard settled upon the spot where 
 their first station in Nyasaland should be founded. It lay 
 in the territory of Chief Muakapalile, and near his village, 
 on a grass-clad open hill, one of the foot-hills of the Rungwe 
 mountain, wdth a height of about 4500 feet, whilst the lofty 
 peak of the main range itself towers up an additional three 
 thousand feet. 
 
 Time has justified the judgment of the pioneers, for no 
 mission-station of the Moravian Church in German East 
 Africa possesses such natural attractions. Beautiful views 
 open out in every direction. To the north towers the moun- 
 tain, that has given its name to this settlement. Eastward 
 rises the peak of a fallen-in crater with its solidified streams 
 of lava and ashes reaching down to the plain. Farther to 
 the east wave the trees of an extensive forest, whence the 
 necessary timber for building purposes could be obtained. 
 The west overlooks fields that slope down to the stream that 
 has worn out the valley in the course of ages, and beyond 
 it the view is closed by a low range of hills. On one is 
 pointed out the sacred grove of the chief, where he ofifers 
 to the spirits of his ancestors. To the south the vision 
 sweeps down to an extensive, and for the most part arid 
 plain, with here and there villages of the Konde folk, nest- 
 ling amid groves of bananas. In its turn this plain is bound- 
 ed by a lofty, wall-like plateau, the Malila. 
 
 The actual residence of the chief is about a mile and a 
 half removed from the spot selected, with his consent, as 
 the site of the mission. But in the immediate vicinity of 
 the chosen location lies another village. The steep slopes 
 near the natural terrace on which the station is to be built 
 are for the most part bare, but in the ravines stately forest 
 trees flourish. Good soil abounds, later demonstrated to 
 
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GETTING A FOOTHOLD. 19 
 
 be capable of producing European vegetables. In the im- 
 mediate vicinity a layer of clay is discovered, adapted to 
 the production of bricks, the material of the later, perma- 
 nent houses of the mission. A number of clear sweet 
 springs take their rise from this hill and on the eastern 
 side of it a brook dashes down a stony raivne. The atmo- 
 sphere is good and the climate appears to be salubrious. 
 Experience has since taught that the spot is almost free 
 from fever. Though the temperature is in general high, 
 there are seasons, when the thermometer in the evening and 
 in the morning registers only 50 cleg, or even 43 (leg. Fahr- 
 enheit. 
 
 Here then with the aid of Haefner, who recovered soon 
 after Martin's death sufficiently to join his companions and 
 lend a hand, the pioneers erected their first provisional house 
 so as to have a shelter, when the rainy season set in, during 
 the second half of November. Here as in the case of the 
 subsequently founded stations the first buildings must be 
 provisional in character, honses of bamboo, thatched with 
 grass. Experience must teach what is demanded by local 
 and climatic conditions, and only experience can call forth 
 skill in the forming of bricks from just the required quality 
 of clay. It was therefore November, 1892, before the first 
 more permanent house was completed in Rungwe, and the 
 first church was not finished until two years later. Mean- 
 while coincident with the completion of the first permanent 
 house reenforcements were received in the persons of 
 Johann Kretschmer and Traugott P.achmann. 
 
 The work of erecting permanent dwellings possessed an- 
 other significance, however, in addition to its primary pur- 
 pose. Just this task brought the missionaries into close con- 
 tact with the people. They had brought with them a number 
 of workmen from Karonga, men who had already learnt 
 from the Scotch missionaries how to proceed with a certain 
 degree of skill. Under these as foremen a great company of 
 men, women and children were employed, who came for- 
 ward from Rungwe and the neighboring villages with the 
 consent of the chief, and proceeded to assemble at the place 
 
20 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 all the needful materials. Steadiness and persistency in labor 
 could indeed scarcely be reckoned with. If at any time 
 other work or some amusement appeared to a man to be of 
 more importance for him, he simply stayed away. But on 
 the whole the supply of laborers proved sufficient. Often 
 about one hundred appeared in the morning; at times the 
 number ran as high as three hundred. All of these people 
 worked only a day at a time, and provided their own food, 
 returning in the evening to their homes. The Karonga men 
 on the other hand built for themselves huts on the spot. That 
 at first it was not easy to maintain discipline among this 
 motley crowd of strangers, whose language was wholly un- 
 known, goes without saying. And yet order was maintain- 
 ed. At the commencement some thought to shirk their full 
 task and still possess the right to claim full pay. Sometimes 
 articles were missed. Men took home in evening what did 
 not belong to them. But the people proved amenable to dis- 
 cipline; theft met with punishment, and became less fre- 
 quent. Order improved from week to week. It soon be- 
 came evident that the handful of strangers exercised a pow- 
 erful moral influence over the multitude of natives. When 
 the singing of loose songs, to which some of the young fel- 
 lows showed an inclination, was forbidden, the prohibition 
 was regarded. Gradually the first house advanced and at 
 length stood complete, for Nyasaland an almost imposing ob- 
 ject if only a plain and simple dwelling. Thanks to its large 
 and projecting thatched roof it was found to be compara- 
 tively cool. By the end of December, 1894, the first place of 
 worship was also finished and ready for dedication. 
 
 Meantime it proved of the highest importance for the mis- 
 sionaries personally and for the accomplishment of the pur- 
 pose in view, that they did not stand wholly isolated in the 
 land. In accordance with the agreement reached by the two 
 directing boards the new attempt of the Moravian Church 
 was made in the vicinity of the pioneer settlement of the 
 Berlin missionaries. On October 2 the latter had reached 
 the spot east of the northern end of Lake Nyasa, where 
 they founded Wangemannshoh. A temporary boundary be- 
 
GETTING A FOOTHOLD. 21 
 
 tween the two missions had been determined upon, to be 
 more exactly regulated by later negotiations. Within easy 
 distance of each other, actuate:! by the same principles and 
 following essentially the same methods, the rc]:)resentatives 
 of the two societies now cordially su])i)orted each other in 
 the most disinterested manner. IMutually each learnt from 
 the experiences of the other, and the results of the study of 
 the language made by each were placed at the service of 
 both. Most fraternal relations prevailed. 
 
 Very early the value of the mission to the colonial govern- 
 ment in its attempt to reduce the land to order through 
 peaceful means came very clearly to light. Even though they 
 had not yet been long in the land the missionaries had won 
 the confidence of the people. The latter were not slow to 
 discriminate between their purpose and those of other strang- 
 ers. It was not surprising therefore that they were soon called 
 upon to mediate between the government and the native 
 chieftains and in their character as messengers of the Prince 
 of Peace prevented bloodshed. Towards the end of the year 
 1893 a feud broke out between certain native tribes in the 
 vicinity of Rungwe. Representatives of one of these tribes, 
 the Basafwa, had pushed themselves wedge-fashion from the 
 north into the territory of the Konde. Now Muasicge, a 
 Konde chief, made a raid and stole cattle from a village of 
 the intrusive Basafwa. In accordance with the ancient cus- 
 tom of the land chief Muangupiri retaliated, broke into 
 Muasicge's village and made ofif with ten women. There- 
 with he regarded the act of the other as counterbalanced, 
 both parties quits and a basis for peace provided. But the 
 local representative of the colonial government. Baron von 
 Eltz, viewed the matter otherwise. For in the period be- 
 tween the two hostile acts by virtue of his powers as the dis- 
 trict governor in Langenburg, he proclaimed the German 
 rule in the land, and with it a new order of things. Muangu- 
 piri's act was contrary to law, and must be punished, for the 
 colonial government neither could nor would recognize old 
 customs in connection with barbarous feuds. A detachment 
 
22 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 of armed men was sent to the Basafwa village to demand 
 the surrender of the captured women and the punishment of 
 the guilty raiders. Quite naturally this crossed the African 
 conception of justice, and the Basafwa stoutly refused to 
 accede to these demands. In their village stronghold they 
 laughed at the threats of the askaris and hurled spears 
 against them as their reply. "What the Africans had to 
 settle between themselves, was no afifair of the whites," they 
 said. "But if the white lord wanted war, they were ready." 
 With the spears whizzing about his head. Lieutenant Bauer 
 had to withdraw. A large military expedition seemed 
 requisite in order to restore the prestige of the government. 
 Then Theodore Meyer of Rungwe offered to attempt media- 
 tion, and Baron von Eltz readily fell in with the proposal. A 
 peaceful issue of the afifair would be very welcome to him. 
 But he demanded that in any case Muangupiri should pay a 
 heavy fine in cattle to the government after he had restored 
 the women to the Konde villagers. It required persuasion 
 and many negotiations on the part of the missionary. But 
 in the end the Basafwa chief was willing to surrender the 
 women and did this in April, 1894. On the other hand no 
 persuasion could bring the proud chief to the conviction that 
 a fine was due the German colonial government. "The 
 strange lord had given him nothing, and shown him no favor. 
 Why should he recognize this stranger as a judge and pay 
 a fine imposed by him ?" It took no little efifort to make it 
 clear to the chief, that in actual fact the acquirement of the 
 rule by the Germans was a benefaction foi the land and its 
 people, the value of which they would acknowledge later. 
 Long and tedious negotiations were requisite, before the fine 
 was at last paid, and then only in driblets. Yet paid it was. 
 The prestige of the government was preserved. And thus 
 a bloody war was prevented, with its sequel of bitter animos- 
 ity and turbulence. 
 
 Similar services were rendered by the mission in the 
 southern portion of the territory, near Lake Nyasa. Here 
 was the home of a number of chiefs, who for a considerable 
 time refused to recognize the sovereignty of Germany. The 
 
GETTING A FOOTHOLD. 23 
 
 most powerful among them was a certain Muakatundu. A 
 murder was committed within the territory of this man, and 
 Baron von Eltz demanded the surrender of the murderer 
 for trial and ])unishment. Muakatundu emphatically declin- 
 ed to accede to this demand. "In his territory he was lord 
 of life and death and suffered no one to dictate to him. The 
 white man in Langenl)urg was no concern of his. If it was 
 intended to try to com]:)el him hy force, he was ready." 
 Baron von Eltz sought to avoid recourse to this extreme 
 measure ; yet yield his point he coukl not and was determined 
 if it must be to back his demands by force. War seemed in- 
 evitable. This was in November, 1894. A mission station 
 had in the meantime been commenced in the vicinity of 
 Muakatundu's home, and here Richard was stationed, at 
 Ipyana. Baron von Eltz sent word to him. that he could 
 not guarantee his safety, since the issue would probably be 
 fought out near the new mission station. But again the gov- 
 ernor sought to gain his end preferably by peaceful meas- 
 ures, and to this end sumomned the chiefs to come to Lan- 
 genburg. They refused. Thereupon he requested Richard 
 to use his influence with them in the interests of peace. He 
 gladly accepted the commission andhis representations were 
 effective with a number of them. Yet Muakatundu remained 
 stubborn. At length after much persuasion this defiant chief 
 consented to a compromise. Two of his advisers should go 
 to Langenburg and negotiate in his name with the white 
 lord. But he demanded as a condition that the missionary 
 should accompany them. This seemed to him a guarantee 
 for the safe return of the men. Richard was disappointed. 
 He had hoped to effect more. Still even this was something 
 gained, and so he was content to abide by it. T.ut next morn- 
 ing to his great surprise Muakatundu himself appeared at 
 Ipyana and came to the missionary with the question: "Now, 
 when shall we start? I am ready." At the last moment he 
 had resolved to go to Langenburg in person. Richard gladly 
 hastened his preparations and joined the chieftains in their 
 journey to Langenburg. The interview with Baron von 
 Eltz passed off contrary to expectation very smoothly and 
 
24 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 easily. The missionary was able to contribute much towards 
 the removal of the threatening misunderstanding. It appear- 
 ed that thus far the Baron had sent all his messages to the 
 son of the chief. It had been told him, that the son really 
 possessed the power in the tribe. No message had been sent 
 to the father. And this had been regarded by him as an 
 insult; hence the hostile attitude. Now he was ready to 
 yield and atone. Peace was assured ; in fact the Baron and 
 the chief found cause for mutual respect. 
 
 Nor were these the only occasions, when bloodshed was 
 prevented by the intervention of the missionaries. Repeat- 
 edly they have been in a position to promote mutual under- 
 standings between the colonial officials and the tribal leaders. 
 Theirs has been the task repeatedly to mitigate bitter feelings 
 against the new rules, to curb and tame wild spirits, and to 
 bring the restive to a readiness to obey and abide by the de- 
 mands of law and order. 
 
 Thus even the first years of toilsome building operations, 
 and of tedious linguistic study, years of much patient pre- 
 liminary labor before a single convert could be won, proved 
 to be time in no way lost. The pioneers came into contact 
 with ever increasing numbers of natives, and won their con- 
 fidence and good will. Not only were they able to promote 
 the peace between the government and the tribes ; chieftains 
 themselves selected them as arbitrators in internal strife, 
 relying upon their disinterestedness and uprightness. 
 
THE LAND AND ITS TRIBES. 25 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE LAND AND ITS TRICES. 
 
 Professor Henry Drumniond in his Tropical Africa de- 
 scribes the interior as follows: "Nothing could more wildly 
 misrepresent the reality than the idea of one's school days 
 that the heart of Africa is a desert. Africa rises from its 
 three environing oceans in three great tiers — first, a coast- 
 line, low and deadly ; farther in, a plateau the height of the 
 Grampians ; farther in still, a higher plateau, covering the 
 country for thousands of miles with mountain and valley. 
 Now^ fill in this sketch, and you have Africa before you. 
 Cover the coast belt with rank and yellow grass, dot here 
 and there a palm ; scatter through it a few demoralized vil- 
 lages; and stock it with the leopard, the hyena, the croco- 
 dile and the hippopotamus. Clothe the mountainous plateaus 
 next^both of them — with endless forest, not grand um- 
 brageous forest like the forests of South America, nor 
 matted jungle Hke the forests of India, but with thin, rather 
 weak forest, — with forest of low trees, whose half-grown 
 trunks and scanty leaves ofifer no shade from the tropical 
 sun. Nor is there anything in these trees to the casual eye 
 to remind you that you are in the tropics. Here and there 
 one comes upon a borassus or fan-palm, a candelebra-like 
 euphorbia, a mimosa aflame with ctdor. or a sepulchral 
 baobab. A close inspection also will discover curious creep- 
 ers and climbers ; and among the branches orchids hide their 
 eccentric flowers. But the outward type of tree is the 
 same as we have at home — trees resembling the a§h, 
 the beech and the elm, only seldom so large, except 
 by the streams, and never so beautiful. Day after day you 
 may wander throrgli these forests with nothing except the 
 climate to remind you where you are. The beasts, to be 
 sure, are different, but unless you watch for them you will 
 seldom see any ; the birds are different, but you will rarely 
 hear them ; and as for the rocks, they are our own familiar 
 gneisses and granites, with honest basalt-dykes boring 
 through them, and leopard-skin lichens staining their weath- 
 
26 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 ered sides. Thousands and thousands of miles, then, of 
 vast thin forest, shadeless and trackless, voiceless — forest 
 in mountain and. plain — this is East Central Africa." 
 
 But this description dates from the time, when German 
 East Africa was an unknown land, except so far as a strip 
 along the main lines of communication was traversed by 
 explorers. Such generalization no longer satisfies. This 
 colony has its diversity of landscapes, a thing not to be won- 
 dered at, when it is considered that its area is practically 
 double that of the German Empire in Europe. In the vi- 
 cinity of the coast, for example in Usambara and Usagara, 
 and north of Lake Nyasa. there are regions that present a 
 most attractive appearance, with their wealth of streams 
 and of vegetation and the well cultivated plantations of the 
 native races. On the other hand there are also landscapes 
 far more dreary than the average depicted by Drummond. 
 The steppe to the south of Kilimanjaro or the vast wilder- 
 ness of Ugogo counterbalance the picturesque attractiveness 
 of the choice spots. Eor here during the rainy season noth- 
 irg meets the eye except coarse grass taller than a man, 
 sometimes brc^ken by muddy pools, and in the dry period a 
 dreary, numotonous, tawny plain, after the frequent fires 
 literally covered with ashes and stones. In spite of a gen- 
 eral uniformity, even different parts of the so-called Fori, 
 i. e., the forest, vary somewhat in character. Here there 
 is a good deal of underwood, so that one is every minute in 
 darger of ones' face brushing against a branch or one's foot 
 or knee coming into collision with the stump of a tree. 
 There, again, are the most beautiful tall trees, with huge 
 stems and broad crests. 
 
 In short the wide extent of German East Africa makes 
 uniformity of landscape and of quality of soil impossible. 
 According to a favorable estimate, roughly speaking, half 
 of the colony may be considered adapted to cultivation. It 
 should be remembered, however, that its exploration can 
 scarcely be considerei complete. At the time when the 
 missionaries of the Moravian Church entered the land, this 
 was still more true, and thev have contributed not a little 
 
THE LAND AND ITS TRIDES. 27 
 
 towards the extension of geograpliical knowledge of East 
 Equatorial Africa. 
 
 If attention be now confined to the region where they 
 planted their stations and outposts, it will be noted that 
 even with this restriction, Drummond's generalization no 
 lorger holds good. Three marked dei)ressions stretch in 
 various directions from the Rungwe mnuntain; southwards 
 the Konde basin, reaching to Lake Xyasa ; to the west the 
 Rukwa plateau and the valley of the Songwe. reaching to 
 the slowly receding waters of Lake Rukwa ; in and to the 
 east the wide, hot and dry Ussangue plateau. Between 
 these depressions rise extensive highlands with scanty rain- 
 fall, rougher climate and poor soil. The Rungwe mountain- 
 chain with the neighboring Poloto and the Mbeje mountain 
 constitute an extensive region of lofty highlands, clad in 
 tropical vegetation on their slopes and rent with frequent 
 chasms. From the standpoint of the geographer the region 
 possesses peculiar interest. It constitutes the watershed 
 between the Rufidji and the Zambesi. Here, too, are found 
 the sources of the rivers that supply Lake Rukwa, and only 
 a few days' journey to the west of Rungwe lie the primal 
 sources of the Congo. Hence the Rungwe range possesses 
 a special significance for the division of African river sys- 
 tems and also for the separation and meeting of the races 
 of Africa. 
 
 Very probably it is owing to this geographical conforma- 
 tion, that the racial varieties of the population are as diver- 
 sified as is the landscape. It would appear as though to 
 these highlands along the various watercourses clans repre- 
 senting very different African peoples fled for refuge in the 
 internecine wars of tropical Africa and in consequence of 
 the raids carried on by the Arabs and other hunters for 
 slaves. Certain it is that the varied nature of the land and 
 its climate has had its effect on the people and their mode of 
 life. Kondeland is tropical in its characteristics. Here the 
 battle for existence is rendered comparatively easy by the 
 extensive grassy spots suitable for grazing cattle, l)y the 
 fertile soil and the abundant banana groves, in the shade of 
 
28 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 which the villages of the people nestle. It is a thickly popu- 
 lated district. At a low estimate forty thousand people oc- 
 cupy the villages stretching in close succession along the 
 streams of the lowlands. They are a wide-awake and lively 
 folk, but inclined to take life easy. Their neighbors to the 
 west, the Bandali. occupy a mountain region. Fortunate 
 in having abundance of rain, for the moisture laden clouds 
 that sweep over Lake Nyasa are arrested by the high ranges, 
 they carry their fields almost to the top of the ridges, and 
 are characterized by diligence and by the love of freedom 
 so often associated with mountaineers. Unyika, vet more to 
 the northwest, is a naturally poor and thinly inhabited dis- 
 trict. The Banyika, occupying a far more extensive terri- 
 tory than the Bandali, may number 11,000 as compared with 
 the 13,CO0 of the latter. Here forests abound. The villages 
 are small, the fields infrequent. Villages and fields occupy 
 the slopes beside the water-courses. Here, too, the struggle 
 for existence is not easy, and the Banyika are a hard-work- 
 ing, serious people, lighting up their toil, however, with 
 song, for which they have a special fondness. Their neigh- 
 bors in Bulambia to the south and in Malila to the east pre- 
 sent similar traits. In the mountainous region north of 
 Rungwe live the Basafwa, rude people of the forests, scai^ce- 
 ly touched by any culture, slow in apprehension, shy, not 
 least of all owing to their long oppression by the Sango 
 chief, Merere. To the west of the above-mentioned dis- 
 tricts lie two rather extensive sultanates, Inamwanga and 
 Tvungu, the latter including the lowlands east and south of 
 the southern end of Lake Rukwa. Into this last mentioned 
 territory the Roman Catholic mission, with headquarters On 
 Lake Tanganyika, seeks to penetrate. Farther to the north 
 lies a region that may be characterized as almost uninhabit- 
 ed, a stony, desolate plateau presenting few attractions and 
 a region of intense heat. 
 
 At least four distinct dialects or languages are spoken by 
 these tribes, and are requisite for the conduct of missionary 
 operations — the Bakonde, Bandali, Banyika and Basafwa. 
 
THE LAND AND ITS TRIBES. 29 
 
 All belong to the Bantu race, that vast family of peoples 
 occupying Africa on both sides of a line drawn from Cam- 
 eroon to Daressalam. 
 
30 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE PEOPLE OF NYASALAND AND THEIR MODE OF LIFE. 
 
 Drummond understands well how to picture the simpli- 
 city and poverty of the tribes north of Lake Nyasa as con- 
 trasted with the complicated needs and artificial conditions 
 of modern civilized Europe. "Hidden away in these end- 
 less forests, like birds' nests in a wood, in terror of one an- 
 other and of their common foe, the slaver," — he writes of 
 the era before the German occupation — "are small native 
 villages ; and here in his virgin simplicity dwells the primeval 
 man, without clothes, without civilization, without learning, 
 without religion — the genuine child of nature, thoughtless,, 
 careless and contented. This man is apparently cjuite happy ; 
 he has practically no wants. One stick, pointed, makes him 
 a spear; two sticks rubbed together make him a fire; fifty 
 sticks tied together make him a house. The bark he peels 
 from them makes his clothes ; the fruits which hang on them 
 form his food. It is perfectly astonishing when one thinks 
 of it what nature can do for the animal-man, to see with 
 what small capital after all a human being can get through 
 the world. I once saw an African buried. According to 
 the custom of his tribe, his entire earthly possessions — and 
 he was an average commoner — were buried with him. Into 
 the grave, after the body, they lowered the dead man's pipe, 
 then a rough knife, then a mud bowl, and last his bow and 
 arrows — the bow-string cut through the middle, a touching 
 symbol that its work was done. This was all. Four items, 
 as an auctioneer would say, were the whole belongings for 
 half a century of this human being." But when a closer 
 acquaintance is gained, it appears that this picturesque sum- 
 mary requires to be considerably corrected and supple- 
 mented. 
 
 It would be rather more correct to affrm that the .Bantus 
 of today have reached a stage of civilization corresponding 
 to that of our own Germanic and Celtic forefathers just be- 
 fore they were touched by the higher civilization of Rome. 
 
A VILLAGE IN NYASALAND. 
 
PEOPLE OF NVASALAXD AND TIIEIK MODE OF LIFE. 31 
 
 allowirg indeed for readjustments rendered necessary by 
 a tropical as contrasted with a temperate environment. True, 
 the parallel may not be pushed to an extreme, and yet it 
 may serve a purpose. Laid< of ability to unite politically 
 and form i)ermanent states of considerable dimensions under 
 one strong administration accounts for the ease with which 
 Africans have fallen a prey to European conquest. Pa- 
 triarchal conditions prevail. Hundreds of petty chieftains 
 maintain their little courts throughout German East Africa, 
 each as a rule independent of the other, and all in time more 
 or less ready to acknowledge the supremacy of the white 
 man who arbitrates between hereditary dusky foes and pre- 
 vents tribal warfare. Occasionally indeed one "sultan" ex- 
 tended his power over his neighbors and founded and main- 
 tained during his lifetime something that approached kingly 
 state. That was the case with Mirambo, who in the seven- 
 ties of the nineteenth century ruled over a realm somewhat 
 smaller than Massachusetts and waged war successfully 
 against the Arab slavers. But such attempts to found a 
 federation of chieftains under the lead of one recognized 
 over-lord appear to have been exceptional, and the realm as 
 established invarialily crumbled away after the death of the 
 founder. 
 
 As a rule the "sultans" are res])ectable, peace-loving men, 
 possessed of good sense in matters pertaining to their rule 
 over their vassals. They are not so demoralized by inhuman 
 barbarities as were many of their confreres in other parts 
 of Africa and notably in the west. Succession in office is 
 often through the brother and not through the son or heir. 
 Is a raid successful or has a war ended victoriously the chief 
 receives his special share of the booty. Has he to entertain 
 strangers as guests, his people contribute provisions for them. 
 He has servants, who till his fields. He has counselors, who 
 must advise him, and who have also a right to be heard. 
 When he issues his summons, they are obligated to appear, 
 but he is also obliged to furnish them with food at such a 
 time. The power of these chieftains is restricted very ma- 
 terially I)\- the rights of the people. Untrammeled tyranny 
 
32 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 is not met with here. Removals from the office are not 
 unknown, when a chief becomes incapacitated through old 
 age, or when he has outraged the people's sense of decency 
 and right. Is he quarrelsome, or in the habit of striking the 
 people, or has he made himself obnoxious through his stin- 
 giness, his "great men" do not hesitate to come to him and 
 remonstrate. Thus a decidedly kindly and easy-going type 
 of patriarchal life has been developed. Mirth and joviality 
 abundantly characterize the public in the regions. 
 
 Bananas constitute the staple food of these people. Small 
 grains are also cultivated, for instance millet. Cattle abound 
 everywhere and constitute the chief wealth of the Konde 
 man. He also keeps goats and swine and fowls. Yet meat 
 seldom appears on his bill of fare. Is a water-buffalo, a 
 wild pig or an elephant slain, it follows as a matter of course 
 that the flesh is eaten ; but meat is not regarded as an es- 
 sential article of diet. Fish on the other hand are caught in 
 great numbers. But a vegetable diet is observed for the 
 most part — peas, beans, and above all bananas. Maize, 
 millet, rice, peas, pumpkins, ground-nuts, and sugar-cane 
 are cultivated, according as the climate and soil permit. 
 
 The villages make a pleasirg impression. If culture may 
 be defined as the conquest of nature and its subjugation to 
 the service of man. these tribes have attained a consi 'erable 
 degree of civilization, as compared with other Africans. 
 Often the villages are open, and one may walk through 
 banana plantations beside the houses for half an hour or 
 more. Where they are more liable to be exposed to attack 
 on the other hand a palisade of thorny underbrush almost 
 renders the village inaccessible. As a rule round, the houses 
 have high doors in front and in the rear, are woven of wat- 
 tled sticks and provided with roofs of thatch. Special at- 
 tention is paid to the sheds for the cattle. Those of the 
 chieftains may attain a length of between one hundred and 
 two hundred feet. They are oblong in shape, are built of 
 wattle and have straw roofs laid on a foundation of bamboo. 
 Down the middle or along one side of the stall are posts to 
 which the cattle are bound in the night. A herder is ex- 
 
PEOPLE OF NYASALAND AND THEIR MODE OF LIFE. 33 
 
 pected as a rule to sleep in each of the larger sheds. Daily 
 the cattle are driven to pasture and fodder, banana leaves, 
 is also brought for them to the space in front of the shed. 
 The people take great pride in their cattle, and are fond 
 of polishing their horns and also place bells beneath their 
 necks — for the man of Nyasa has discovered how to smelt 
 iron from the ore and work in metal. Frequently the cattle 
 sheds are well smoked out '^n order to rid them of mosquitoes 
 and other insect pests. 
 
 Beasts of burden were unknown before the coming of 
 Europeans, and dcgs were very few. Even at the present 
 time horses and mules or asses are rare. The ravages of the 
 tsetse fly render it ciuestionable if the horse will ever abound 
 here. Owing to this lack of beasts of burden and of wheeled 
 vehicles, the absence of roads was a striking feature when 
 the missionaries entered the land. On the other hand the 
 narrow foot-paths had formed a characteristic of African 
 intercommunication apparently for ages. These stretch from 
 the coast of the Indian Ocean to the p^reat lakes and north- 
 ward to the Mediterranean. Each village has its foot-path 
 to the next village, each clan a like means of communica- 
 tion with the next. The entire land is covered with this 
 network of paths, the meshes of which become closer the 
 more densely populated the neighborhood. These paths are 
 so narrow, that two persons can not walk abreast. They 
 have been trodden by the use of centuries till they resemble 
 narrow channels for water-courses. All sharp stones and 
 whatever might injure the naked foot have been carefully 
 removed. In this respect they may be said to be well-kept. 
 Rut otherwise nothing is done. It occurs to no one to re- 
 move the thorn-clad branch that hangs down overhead as 
 an obstruction. Such obstructions the lithe negro under- 
 stands how to avoid. If a tree falls across the way, a cir- 
 cuit is made around it. Like the roads of the ancient Ro- 
 mans, these paths usually proceed straight forward. Hills 
 are scaled. Pains are not taken to circumvent wild ravines 
 or muddy swamps. The path leads straight through. If it 
 makes a curve, it may be taken for granted that once on a 
 
34 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 time a hindrance lay in the direct way, which has since dis- 
 appeared. Possibly a huge tree had been uprooted by a 
 storm and blocked the path. No one thought to remove it. 
 Every one went round it. and will continue to make the 
 roundabout way, long after the tree has succumbed to the 
 ants, has crumbled and disappeared. If a stream or river 
 intervenes, the path ceases on this bank and commences 
 again directly opposite. Only the larger streams, that 
 abound in crocodiles, are bridged over in a primitive man- 
 ner. A liigh tree nearby is felled or a tree that fell of itself 
 and lay in the water is put in place. And so a connection 
 is established between the two banks. A few tough lianes 
 are then twined together to serve as a balustrade. And once 
 more the path leads straight on. 
 
 That the land as a whole is not more densely peopled, is 
 undoubtedly to be ascribed to the raids of the Arab slave- 
 traders. Alfred J. Swann, who was in the service of the 
 London Missionary Society and in this service transported 
 the first steel boat to Lake Tanganyika in 1882, in his "Fight- 
 ing the Slave-Hunters in Central Africa," describes how he 
 passed through the region between Ujiji and the northern 
 end of Lake Nyasa in 1887 and found Kondeland covered 
 with miles and miles of banana groves. The Bakonde ap- 
 peared to him to have reached a degree of civilization oth- 
 erwise unknown in Central Africa. Village followed close 
 on village, connected by well kept paths, and the houses 
 were chaarcterized by cleanliness and neatness. But not 
 long after this the Bakonde fell as victims of a terrible raid, 
 that resulted in the people of whole villages being swept 
 away into slavery. 
 
 Before the various European governments laid hands on 
 their spheres of influence in Africa, the Arabs were the 
 curse of the continent. Coming from the north or from 
 the east coast they roved in every direction, and wherever 
 they came brought death and destruction among the un- 
 suspecting Africans. In possession of powder and ball they 
 hunted for slaves and ivory with impunity among a people 
 that knew nothing more deadly than the assegai and the 
 
PEOPLE OF NVASALAND AND THEIR MODE OF LIFE. 35 
 
 poisoned arrow. A net-work of Arab stations covered the 
 land, and served as the emporiums for this horrid traffic. 
 Rich Mohammedans at the sea-coast received consignments 
 of the two-fold wares and saw to their further transporta- 
 tion. With well-equipped forces the collectors in the in- 
 terior might swoop down like hawks on the unsuspecting 
 villagers, and reappear only after the decimated region had 
 recovered somewhat, thanks to the prolific power of recu- 
 peration characteristic of African races. Or a couple of 
 apparently harmless Arab traders might settle in a pros- 
 perous village in the distant interior. They professed friend- 
 ship and annoyed none. A sufficient reason for their pres- 
 ence appeared to be furnished by their harmless and useful 
 barter. They cultivated the ground and grew their favorite 
 vegetables and fruits as though intending to remain here 
 forever. Gradually they got into their hands all the ivory 
 that was to be had in the vicinity. But now, when their sup- 
 ply of cotton goods and glass beads was exhausted, and a 
 sufficient treasure in ivory lay buried in the ground beneath 
 their huts, they threw ofif the mask. A quarrel was picked, 
 blows followed, and then the superior power of fire-arms 
 made itself felt. A massacre of natives followed. Only 
 those were spared who were capable of transporting the 
 tusks to the coast or who as girls or young w'omen would 
 fetch a good price in the slave-market. Now the huts were 
 set on fire, the village reduced to ashes and the dreadful 
 march to the coast began. For every one native who reach- 
 ed the market and was put up to sale, four or five perished 
 either in the raid or during that awful transportation down 
 to the sea. From the shores of Tanganyika, for example, it " 
 meant a march of some 800 miles under excruciating condi- 
 tions. Swann describes his first meeting with such a cara- 
 van in terms that make the blood boil. The Arabs were polite 
 and quite open in their speech, made no secret of their 
 methods as he strolled through their camp. Each one of 
 them was armed with a gun, a knife and a spear. Though 
 clad in clean white robes of cotton, their villany was stamp- 
 ed on their countenances. When Swann called the attention 
 
36 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 of one of the men to the fact that many of their slaves were 
 not in condition to carry any burden, he replied with a smile, 
 "They have no choice. They must either press on or die." 
 Then followed this conversation : "Are all these slaves in- 
 tended for Zanzibar?" "Most of them; the rest will remain 
 on the coast." "Have you lost many on the way?" "Oh, 
 yes ; quite a lot died from starvation." "Did any escape by 
 breaking away?" "No they are guarded too carefully; only 
 those possessed of the devil try to escape. But they do not 
 know whither to flee should they get away." "What do you 
 do with those that fall ill and can not proceed ?" "We pierce 
 them through," was the cruel reply; "for, if we did not do 
 that, others would sham sickness in order to escape carrying 
 their loads further. No ! we do not leave a sjngle one alive 
 that falls out of line. They all know our custom." "But I 
 see women there, who not only carry a little child on their 
 backs, but also a tusk or some other heavy load on their 
 head. What do you do when such begin to grow too weary 
 to carry both? Who carries their ivory then?" "They 
 must carry it for we can not leave the precious ivory behind. 
 We spear the child and in that way make the load lighter. 
 First comes the ivory and then the child." Satanic selfish- 
 ness ! Oh, the awful brutality of the slave-traders, who 
 chained their victims neck to neck with iron rings or fasten- 
 ed them to each other by means of forked sticks ! Hunger 
 and thirst hsd to be endured under the tropical sun. Often 
 the poor bodies were covered with weales and open sores 
 from the lashes of the whip of rhinocerous hide, and swarms 
 of flies, that trailed after the caravan, settled on the fester- 
 ing wounds to feast on the blood of the perishing. 
 
 The activity of the Christian powers on the coast and in 
 the interior of Africa has at least suppressed this abominable 
 hunting after human-beings, even if slavery has not yet been 
 completely stamped out on the African continent. 
 
 That it could not at once be done away with by mere pro- 
 clamation, may be well understood. If for no other reason, 
 we niight look for a struggle in lands where polygamy 
 affords a cover to slavery. Women and girls brought over 
 
PliOPLE OF NYASALAND AND TliKIK MODK OK LIFK. 37 
 
 from the Congo State have been compelled under all manner 
 of threats to pass themselves oft" as the wives and daughters 
 of the slave-trader, when uncomfortable questions are asked. 
 And under this pretext it has doubtless been possible for 
 small troops of slaves to be transported even through dis- 
 tricts occupied by settlers or missionaries. The annual report 
 of the Universities' Mission for 1898, for example, tells how 
 Mr. Carson of Masasi on the Rowuma was called by a 
 school-boy one morning, who ran to his house and reported 
 that a woman had just sent him to the missionary with the 
 declaration that she was benig carried away she knew not 
 whither. When he hurried after the caravan, its leader re- 
 ceived him quite politely and was willing to return to his 
 house in order to explain the affair. But finally he had to 
 turn over to the missionary the woman and her two children. 
 She was a widow and a free woman. But because she had 
 refused to marry a neighbor, who already had a wife, he 
 had revenged himself on her by selling her into slavery. And 
 all this happened ten minutes' distance from a mission sta- 
 tion. 
 
 Polygamy stood at least in former times in close connec- 
 tion with slavery. And in consequence of polygamy the 
 female sex has been sadly degraded in East Africa. It still 
 shows its influence in this respect in the lower intellectual 
 position of womanhood, even though among the Konde peo- 
 ple woman is held in higher esteem than in some parts of 
 Africa. The richer a maii, the larger the number of his 
 wives. In fact polygamy is strongly entrenched in the life 
 of the people, because the possession of a numl)er of wives 
 lends dignity to a man and calls forth influence, and since 
 the women represent a working force it serves at the same 
 time as a sign of economic prosperity. This usage presents 
 one of the most stubborn obstacles in the way of the advance 
 of Christianity. Churches of all confessions are at one in 
 regarding monogamy as the form of marriage contemplated 
 in the New Testament and as affording the only type of 
 marriage which provides ideal conditions of life-compan- 
 
 4 
 
^8 
 
 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 ionship, and in recognizing that woman in heathen lands 
 requires to be freed from the unworthy position which is 
 expected of her in every polygamous alliance. This conflict 
 with polygamy calls for patient persistence, for the uproot- 
 ing of fundamental conceptions inherited by a race for cen- 
 turies and the complete reconstruction of the family organi- 
 zation of a people require generations of unbroken education. 
 It is a long way from the theoretical acquiescence in the 
 Christian ideal of marriage to the practical recognition of 
 the same in daily life, and the discomfort connected with the 
 relinquishment of the apparent material advantages of poly- 
 gamy hides itself behind the insinuation that monogamy 
 suits only among the whites. Many difticulties arise in con- 
 nection with the demand that as a condition of baptism the 
 convert living in polygamy should put away all except his 
 first wife This measure, meant to raise womanhood, may 
 in a concrete case appear rather to work the ruin of the 
 individual woman. According to the laws and customs of 
 her people the second wife has also been legally married to 
 the man, is equally his wife with the first. Now, when she 
 is put away, she has no position in society upon which to fall 
 back. She stands isolated and in an abnormal relationship to 
 her own family, of which she ceased to be a part and from 
 which she was separated by her marriage. She and her 
 children are cut loose from their normal position in the clan. 
 It is true that marriage among heathen lacks the moral con- 
 cept of Christian marriage and is rather regarded as a busi- 
 ness alliance, which may be loosened, like any other business 
 alliance; nevertheless many painful and perplexing conse- 
 quences follow during the initial stages of the Christianiza- 
 tion of such a people, when monogamy is insisted upon on 
 the part of converts, who possessed a polygamous establish- 
 ment at the time of their embracing the Christian faith. 
 
 However, even the native elders of the Christian congre- 
 gations recognize that for the Christian Church a compro- 
 mise is here impossible. The Christian congregations that 
 are arising in the land, whose members, in so far as they 
 were formerly polygamists have cut loose from the usage of 
 
PEOl'LE OF XVAS.M.AM) AND TllKIU MODI-: OK I, IKK. 39 
 
 their fathers, are beginning tt) jjresent the new foundations 
 upon whieh the social life of the people may be built, and 
 the lot of women elevated. Certain it is that the church may 
 with right here look for the practical co-operation of the 
 colonial government in the ado])tion of constructive meas- 
 ures whereby the preference shall be given to the monogam- 
 ous relationship. Quite apart from regard iov the demands 
 of Christian faitli and practice, it is very api)arent that poly- 
 gamy is hostile to the advancement of a people in civilization 
 and culture. As an institution it retains woman j^ractically 
 in the position of a slave, since a man's wives, like the rest 
 of his property, fall to his heirs. Polygamy removes from 
 the polygamist the necessity of working for his own sup- 
 port, and in this manner (k'j)rives tlie colony of labor. More- 
 over, careful investigations have disclosed — contrary to what 
 might be generally exi)ected — that it is as an institution ac- 
 countable for the comparatively small increase in population. 
 (See Seitz, IFirfschaftlicJic iind socialc l'crhaclf}iissc dcr 
 Eingcborncn Kamcnins: Kolonialc Rnndschan I(^oq, 6, 
 
 529). 
 
 Although one main entrenchment of polygamy is to be 
 found in the fact that women represent labor, in Xyasaland 
 a certain line of demarkation does exi>t between the tasks 
 of the men and those of the women. It is the duty of the 
 men to care for and milk tlie cattle, whilst the women are 
 expected to lir.d straw and to clean out the stalls each morn- 
 ing. The men prc])are the skins, which in part serve the 
 women for clothing. l>ut the cloth made from the inner 
 bark of certain trees is manufactured by the women. Bas- 
 ket-weaving is work for men, the ]jotter's handicraft work 
 for women. So, too, when a jjrimitive hut is built, the 
 women prepare the floor of hard trodden clay, but the man 
 is exj:)ected to build the hut itself. 
 
 Much of the field-work is done by the sexes together. At 
 home the woman does the threshing and grinding of the 
 grain. 
 
40 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Uniformity of usages and manners is not to be expected 
 among tribes whose environment and conditions of existence 
 vary as widely as is the case in the region north of Lake 
 Nyasa. Not all the details given in the following pages can 
 apply to all the various sections of the population. But cer- 
 tain traits and characteristics will be found more or less 
 common to all. In all the family, and not the individual, con- 
 stitutes the unit upon which conceptions of right are based. 
 The individualism of Europe and America is unknown. And 
 in the patriarchal condition in which the East Africans were 
 found by the missionaries in common with other pioneers 
 from Europe the chief or sultan was regarded as the person- 
 ification of the unwritten law ordained by custom. He is 
 the protector of the traditional usages handed down from 
 the fathers. His duty it is to take care that the well-devel- 
 oped conception of rights shall be passed on to posterity 
 without infringement. 
 
 Children belong to the family of their father, though 
 nam^d after their mother. They are well cared for by their 
 parents and must in return show respect. So long as the 
 children are small they call their father by that title, later on 
 by other names. A little daughter greets her father on her 
 knees ; his return greeting involves his laying his hand upon 
 her head. The elder boys live together in long oblong 
 houses at the end of the village. When one of them marries, 
 he builds a house near the boys' quarter, and in this manner 
 the village extends in this direction. 
 
 Upon the head of the family rests the obligation to biiild 
 a house for his wife and to clear a field for her, which shall 
 provide her establishment with food — for each wife has a 
 home of her own. It is his duty to provide his sons with a 
 wife each and his daughters with a husband. Elder mem- 
 ters of the family have no rights over the younger members, 
 but are under obligation to aid the father in caring for them. 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE. 41 
 
 Family love clearly exists. The male members of a family 
 partake of their food apart from the female members. 
 
 The marriage contract is strictly regulated by custom. 
 Prohibited degrees of relationship place a bar to it. Cousins 
 who are the children of two brothers or of two sisters call 
 each other brother and sister, and neither they themselves 
 nor their descendants dare marry, so long as this relation- 
 ship may be clearly proven. Temporary unions, poly- 
 andry and the possession of wives in' common, as well as 
 tolerated free love, are alike unkncnvn. 
 
 Betrothal appears to have greater significance than mar- 
 riage ; at least no marriage ceremony as such exists, whilst 
 betrothal is attended with a ceremony. Has a bride been 
 selected — perhaps a young girl — a suitor is sent to her par- 
 ents with presents. l>ut the bridegroom /;/ spc dare not see 
 his bride, or at any rate not speak with her, till she has 
 grown up. Should this rule be transgressed, he must pay a 
 goat or a sheep or cow to his future father-in-law. The 
 groom never has the right to dissolve the engagement. The 
 bride may. provided she had not been asked to consent to 
 the prospective union because too young at the time of the 
 betrothal, or if her prospective husband is not acceptable to 
 her. In that case the betrothal gift is returned. This, how- 
 ever, trans])ires seldom. The ceremonv of betrothal is com- 
 pleted by the famil}- priest, who calls on the ancestors to 
 bless the union. 
 
 Previous to the marriage the bride hides herself for one 
 day and keeps away from her relatives for three days. On 
 the fourth day she is brought by her husband to her parents 
 with four different gifts, which must possess a certain value, 
 fixed by custom, and quite independent of the beauty or sta- 
 tion of the bride. Three other jfifts must be paid in the 
 course of time, valued at so and so much, and the young hus- 
 band must work for his mother-in-law in various ways be- 
 fore he is legally in possession of his wife. Thus a man may 
 be married, and yet not married, for a considerable period, 
 even for years. 
 
42 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 Among some of the clans marriage follows soon after the 
 purchase of the bride. After the young man has ascertained 
 through a friend that the woman of his choice is inclined to 
 him, he makes this known to* the chief of the clan and then 
 proceeds to her parents in company with his groomsman. 
 The parents call the daughter after they have heard his re- 
 quest. If she gives her consent, the groomsman takes a 
 spear and hurls it with main force into the earth. The girl 
 draws it out, gives it to her father and says : "Plant a post in 
 the ground, that you may bind to it my dowry" — viz., the 
 cattle, which the bridegroom must pay the parents as the 
 price for her. Their number is regulated by her standing. 
 For the daughter of a chief as many as ten cattle may be 
 paid. Two clays later the groomsman brings a present, a 
 hoe or a fowl. Now the bride is decorated in state, her chief 
 ornament consisting in the powdering of her hair with red 
 powder prepared from a certain root. Accompanied by her 
 friends she proceeds to her intended's home, to whom, 
 however, she does not speak and with whom she does not eat 
 until he has made her a present, generally some ornament. 
 He also expects from her some jiresent in return. 
 
 It is very little that such a bride Ijrings her husband. His 
 presents belong not to her but to her family on the father's 
 side. She brings with her two cooking pots, a cooking spoon, 
 and a drinking vessel in the form of a pointed little basket. 
 The location of the new home is settled by mutual agree- 
 ment. But the wife has no property rights. Possession of 
 goods by man and woman in common is unknown. Should 
 she leave her husband, any chiPlren that she may have be- 
 long to their father. Her field, her provision-house and her 
 instruments for work are all that a woman can call her own. 
 Work in abundance awaits her. She must pound or bruise 
 the JViilcci — a variety of grain — into flour, and then boil it 
 as a porridge for her husband and children. She must climb 
 the hills or creep deep down into the ravines to find fuel for 
 household use. She must handle the hoe on the field — and 
 sometimes the field-work falls to her lot alone. She must 
 sow and cultivate the ]]''nlczi and maize and beans. \nd 
 
MANNERS AND CfSTOMS OF THE I'ECJPl.E. 43 
 
 the man has it in his power to divorce her Hghtly, if not 
 satisfied with her capacity. If her cooking on the very first 
 occasion does not please him, he says in matter of fact tone, 
 "The food is green." On the second and third days he re- 
 peats this expression. If no change for the better follows, 
 on the fourth day he sends her witli the groomsman back to 
 her parents, with the words. "Go back to your mother and 
 first of all learn how to cook." If this transpires the father- 
 in-law must pay back a cow from the ])urchase price of the 
 girl. When she thinks that her skill in cookery has been 
 perfected, she returns to her husband. But if he is still dis- 
 contented, the marriage is dissolved and the father must 
 return her betrothal gifts. 
 
 P>ut it sometimes also happens, that a woman induces an- 
 other man to elope with her. In that case it is the duty of 
 her relatives to bring her back to her husband. Do they not 
 succeed in this, they must return his cattle to him. llerein 
 lies the root of many a feud. 
 
 A widow remains a member of the family of her deceased 
 husband, and generally does so willingly. But she has com- 
 plete liberty to marry another husband within the limits of 
 the family, even if he is but a distant relative. In that case 
 the children by her first husband belong to the whole family. 
 However, she cannot leave her former home till after the 
 feast for the dead, from two to four months after the death 
 of her former husband. When the husband of her choice 
 takes her to his home, her position is determined by the age 
 of her former marriage in comparison to that of his mar- 
 riage with his other wives. It may even happen that thus 
 she obtains the position of chief wife. 
 
 Has a man a number of wives, the establishment of each 
 is usually within convenient reach of his house. If one of 
 his wives evinces a quarrelsome disposition, he will build her 
 a hut at a distance. The first married is recognized as the 
 principal wife, and can lose her position only as just indicat- 
 ed. I ler house stands towards the east in its relation to the 
 houses of the other women, ller field must l)e first put in 
 order, and the other wives must each of them aid her in cul- 
 
44 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 tivating it, giving at least one day's labor. She is especially 
 honored in the family. Her eldest son inherits the position 
 of family priest on the death of the father. Neither she nor 
 any other of the wives receives the name of her husband, 
 but rather the name of one of her children. 
 
 Before cotton goods were introduced by traders the 
 clothing of the women consisted of an apron made out 
 of the inner bark of a tree, at the ends of which little 
 bobbins of iron were hung. Necklaces of beads were 
 much in vogue and also bead-work ornaments about the 
 loins. Girls often contented themselves with a strip of 
 bark-cloth worn like a sort of train. Women wear their 
 hair quite short. In the case of both sexes the breast 
 and face are often tattooed with- signs indicative of their 
 family or clan. The front teeth are filed to a point. Thick 
 rings of brass are worn as bracelets and anklets. And a 
 number of additional thin rings of copper may also adorn 
 the arms or ankles. Earrings are highly prized by the 
 women. In earliest childhood the ear is pierced and a small 
 object inserted. Gradually the opening is made larger and 
 larger. The objects worn as an ornament of the ear may 
 finally have a diameter of ten centimeters. Amulets fastened 
 to the neck or arm are worn by both sexes. Mothers invar- 
 iably carry the youngest child and often do not wean it till 
 its second year. When a girl has reached a certain age. a 
 band of beads is given her to wear around the body. Boys 
 go stark naked for years. At length a narrow apron of bark- 
 cloth or the skin of a monkey serves as a loin-cloth. In the 
 case of the son of a chief his attainment of his majority is 
 celebrate:! with a feast. Most of his boyhood's companions 
 then associate themselves with him. The houses in which 
 they lived as lads are torn down and the entire company 
 erects new habitations around the spot chosen by the young 
 chief as his home. At first these may be the flimsiest huts 
 of bamboo ^nd straw. But gradually more permanent dwell- 
 ings are erected. 
 
 Men of consequence make it a point to clothe themselves 
 in some state. They have their Balai'ala, a large white piece 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE. 45 
 
 of muslin, and understand how to fold it about them and 
 stalk, abroad with as much dignity as an old Roman in his 
 tcga. jackets have been introduced by the whites and are 
 worn in and about the mission stations. Head-covering was 
 unknown before the coming of the strangers. Through 
 them the red fez has now come to be known. Seldom do 
 the men shave the head entirely. A bunch of hair on the 
 crown of the head or some other place constitutes its chief 
 ornament. 
 
 A certain artistic sense is latent in the people. On their 
 walking-sticks and tobacco pipes they are fond of burning 
 in various devices. A very creditable skill in basket-making 
 and the weaving of mats had been developed prior to their 
 coming in contact with European civilization. Especially 
 among the liasafwa skilled weavers wrought at their trade 
 and understood how to weave cloth in two colors. The cot- 
 ton from which they made their yarn they grew them- 
 selves. Iron they had already learnt to smelt from the ore, 
 and from it manufactured hoes, axes, spears, bells and other 
 articles. 
 
 The morning greeting in Nyasaland is equivalent to a 
 question wliether one has slept well, and the evening greet- 
 ing has the significance of. "May you sleep well." The giv- 
 ing of the right hand appears to have been unknown prior to 
 the coming of the Europeans. ( )n the other hanrl the cere- 
 monial to be observed on meeting one who had not been seen 
 for some time appears to have Ijeen very complicated. The 
 one coming lies on his l)ack with liis head towards the other 
 and cla]xs his hands vigorously. Then he rises and, sinking 
 on his knees, lets his head hang a little to one side and once 
 more clajis his hands. The kiss is unknown and no word 
 for it exists in the native dialects. 
 
 When a child dies the women take turns to hold it in their 
 arms. They lament it. shave the body, wa^h and anoint it 
 and powder the head with red pepper. Then the body is 
 wound in stutT of bark or cotton and finally enveloped in 
 matting. The relatives hold it in their arms till all prepara-i 
 tions are made for the burial. Men and women smear white 
 
46 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 earth on their cheeks and foreheads in tokens of mourning. 
 Laments are sung. A suitable spot is selected near the house 
 and a deep grave dug. Twelve hours after death the body 
 is lowered into the grave in a sitting position. It is placed 
 on matting and is covered with matting. Upon the grave, 
 after it has been filled in, the men, attired as, for war, dance 
 a death-dance, by which means at the same time the earth 
 is trodden down and made safe against goulish beasts of 
 prey. Meanwhile the women wail forth laments. Then 
 cattle are slaughtered, and the mourners wash themselves 
 and partake of a burial feast. The relatives remain and 
 sleep at the home of the sorrowing parents for ten days. 
 
 If a woman dies the same ceremonies are observed, except 
 that only women have to do with the corpse and alone bury 
 it. Only after the grave has been filled in dare the men 
 appear. 
 
 The death of a man is followed by much the same proce- 
 dure as that after the death of a child. His cattle are, how- 
 ever, slaughtered, that their spirits may follow his spirit into 
 the under-world. Sometimes the women refuse to partake 
 of the funeral feast, and in that case an animal is slaughtered 
 for them in the night. All the immediate relatives sleep for 
 five months in the huts of mourning and carefully observe 
 signs of mourning, neither wash nor anoint themselves, let 
 their hair grew and sweep neither the house nor the court- 
 yard. Only after the five months is it permissable to say : 
 "Let us clear up, we have forgotten the dead." Then the 
 neighbors bring them grain for brewing beer, which is man- 
 ufactured at once, and animals are killed. A brief lament is 
 sung and then follows a feast of merriment. Little fires are 
 kindled at which bananas are roasted. When cooked they 
 are stuck in the ground and decorated with roasted pumpkin 
 seeds. 
 
 Now the matter of the inheritance is spoken of. The eld- 
 est brother inherits the whole estate, if a younger brother 
 has died. Has the eldest brother died, the next brother in 
 age is his heir. Among some tribes, however, this rule does 
 not obtain, but the property, in particular the cattle, descends 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF TlIK PEOPLE. 47 
 
 to the one of the family who commands most respect, it be- 
 ing a matter of indifference whether he is a brother or a son 
 of the dead. Yet this property is not his exckisive posses- 
 sion, lie must give a portion to each male member of the 
 family and also to all the near relatives of the dead. No 
 difference is made in this connection between the children of 
 the various wives. 
 
 The man recognized as the successor of the deceased head 
 of the family is seized by the men present and thrust into the 
 former home together with the wives of the dead man. When 
 they have fastened the door upon the whole company, the 
 men outside exhort him to take good care of the parents, the 
 wives and the children of the former head of the family. He 
 is now let out and from this time on is in the place of the 
 lost father. The orphaned children call him by this name. 
 
 Special ceremonies accomjiany tlic death of a "sultan," or 
 chief, which is, if possible, kept secret. The burial takes place 
 after sunset. The slaves of the chief dig the grave accord- 
 ing to directions given them by the eldest of his former coun- 
 selors, who outlines" its size with a staff. Though two yards 
 deep, it has to be dug out with no better implements than 
 hces. This same chief counselor conducts the burial cere- 
 monies. The women have meanwliile testified to their grief 
 by beating their backs mutually with their hands and with 
 sticks. At sunset the corpse of the chief is lowered into the 
 grave, fastened in a sitting position to the stool on which he 
 sat during his life-time while pronouncing judgment. 
 Throughout the entire ceremcmy the spirit-trumpet, Mbutu, 
 is blown in order to incline the spirits to be favorable. This 
 takes the place of the lament of the women, which is sung 
 in other cases : "Thou goest to the dead ; thou goest with 
 head bent with grief; thou hast a hoe; cultivate thy field in 
 the realm of shades." This song is not sung, because it is 
 supposed that a chief does not "die." Tt is considered an 
 insult when one speaks of a "dead" chief. Until the choice 
 of a new chief, it is customary to speak of the former only 
 as of one "whose coronet has been broken." He who should 
 dare to speak of the chief as "dead" would be turned out of 
 
48 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 the village. Indeed, even in the case of ordinary mortals, 
 the people do not like to use the term "dead." "He has gone 
 to the land of the shades," or "he is lost and we can not find 
 him," are preferable euphemisms. After the choice of the 
 new "sultan," it is customary to speak of his predecessor as 
 one "over whom the heavens have closed." He rules there 
 and thence he blesses the fields of his people — has become 
 practically a god. For this reason a stool is placed on his 
 grave, as a token that he continues to rule. At burial two 
 hoes are placed at the feet of the chief, to serve as shoes, for 
 a chief dare not enter the realm of the shades bare-footed. 
 The skin of a male black sheep is drawn over his head, as a 
 head-covering, and his body is wrapped in the skin of a black 
 steer, which is hung about the neck, so that it falls loosely 
 about the body. This service is rendered only by his "great 
 men." In his right hand as a stafi^ for his journey is placed 
 the staff with which his grave was marked out. In the black 
 skins he will be welcomed by the spirits in the realm of the 
 shades for only a chief is buried in skins. Ordinary men are 
 wrapped in matting. Moreover the blasts of the spirit-horn 
 have announced to the spirits his expected arrival. Prior to 
 the establishment of the German rule in the present colony 
 it was customary to strangle from five to ten male and 
 female slaves and lay them in the king's grave. It would 
 have been a disgrace for a chief to proceed to the realm of 
 shades unaccompanied by attendants. His face is placed 
 towards the east. Whilst the grave is being filled in, two 
 men hold the body, lest it be disturbed out of the proper pos- 
 ition. Since the whole ceremony may last a number of 
 hours, as the darkness increases, the scene is lit up by torches 
 of straw\ 
 
 It is the duty of the dead chief's successor to protect the 
 grave against damage by the heavy rains and by the tramp- 
 ling of cattle. Sometimes he causes a hut to be built over it, 
 which serves as an idol house. 
 
 But to return from usages connected with death to those 
 that have to do with the business life — assertions made in 
 connection with a hearing of a case by a chief may be 
 

 FOUR CHIEFTAINS. 
 
THE RELIGION AND MORALS OF THE PEOPLE. 49 
 
 strengthenetl by an oath. An accused may seek to clear him- 
 self for example by the declaration: "I am innocent; other- 
 wise may I at once wander into the realm of the dead." 
 After such an assertion, the investigation ceases. The chief 
 or his councillors, acting as judges, declare: "He has sworn 
 by the realm of the shades." It is with greatest hesitation, 
 however, that recourse is had to this form of oath, for which 
 the people feel an awe. On the other hand recourse is had 
 very speedily and readily to the decision by ordeal. "Muafi" 
 drinking constitutes a form of ordeal very widely spread 
 throughout tropical Africa. The Muafi tree furnishes a 
 poison so deadly that bees die when they sip the nectar of its 
 blossoms. Among the people living north of Lake Nyasa it 
 is the duty of the medicine-man, whose office confers on him 
 the right to prepare the drink for the ordeal, to see to it that 
 his dose shall not be fatal. To this end he repeatedly steeps 
 the bark, from which he extracts the active agent, in water, 
 that is frequent!}' changed, until the proper dilution has been 
 reached. 
 
 When two opponents have received permission to settle 
 their case by this form of ordeal, they must prepare them- 
 selves for it by fasting. On the decisive morning they par- 
 take only of a small ])()rtion of l)roth made from bananas, re- 
 move all their ornaments and clothing and cover their naked- 
 ness only with banana leaves. Then they drink the Muafi 
 draft prepared and handed to them bv the medicine man, to- 
 gether with as much water as they can swallow down. 
 Thereupon they are placed face to face with each other, and 
 dare not move a muscle. Not even is it allowed to brush 
 away the flies that settle on face and body. At length one 
 of them is compelled to vomit. The jubilant cries of his 
 friends announce that he is the victor in the strife. For thus 
 his innocence has been demonstrated. The opponent is 
 driven forth with abuse and in disgrace. After he has also 
 felt the effects of the poison, they are both taken in care of 
 their friends, and the defeated must pay the fine assessed in 
 so many cattle to fit the case, and with this payment the mat- 
 ter is adjusted. 
 
50 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 A chief is not permitted to drink Muafi, but procures a 
 substitute, when he should submit to this ordeal. 
 
 Implicit faith was reposed in this usage till the coming of 
 the whites. Yet what an opportunity for an unscrupulous 
 medicine man to adjust the mixture so as to suit his ends! 
 
THE RELIGION AND MORALS OF THE PEOPLE. 51 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE RELIGION AND MORALS OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 To obtain a thorough and accurate knowledge of the world 
 of thought in which a heathen race lives, is ever a difficult 
 task. This holds good in East Africa. As little as is a 
 stranger of Caucasian stock ready to reveal to the first comer 
 his inmost soul, so little is the Bantu. Rather is he pos- 
 sessed of an instinctive aversion to everything strange, in- 
 cluding the white man. to whom he looks up with a shyness 
 mixed with fear. For the intellectual superiority of the 
 white man forces this attitude upon the East African. Whilst 
 this may be a source of satisfaction to others, in the case 
 of the missionary it involves increased difficulties. Since 
 it is his task to guide the people to a new, higher world of 
 thought and morals, he must first penetrate their intel- 
 lectual conceptions, accustom himself to their mental atti- 
 tudes and intellectual habits, and learn with accuracy the 
 significance of the usages and customs of the tribes to whom 
 he ministers. But he does not as a matter of course meet 
 with intelligent and direct assistance in his study of their 
 mythology and ceremonial usages. After conversion the 
 native Christians are apt to shrink from rehearsing the re- 
 ligious ideas and describing the usages of their heathen days 
 both from a sense of shame and from an instinctive fear — 
 for it is by no means always a matter of indilTerence to them 
 to be too vividly reminded of the past, with which they have 
 broken, an element of temptation inhering not infrequently 
 in such a reminiscence. Before conversion, an innate sense 
 of the inevitable conflict between the religion of the white 
 benefactor and that of their race prevents open disclosures, 
 that in the light of this innate antagonism might well be re- 
 garded as unfaithfulness to their creed and above all as dis- 
 loyalty to their ancestors. Quite apart, however, from the 
 reluctance to surrender the secrets of an ancestral religion. 
 It may be questioned, whether the untaught son of the wil- 
 derness is really capable of coherently imparting a system- 
 atic knowledge of his religion to the teacher of the new re- 
 
52 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 ligion. His whole mode of thought lacks consistent coher- 
 ence, a well wrought formal creed and a philosophy of his 
 faith are to him absolutely unknown entities. Years must 
 therefore pass before a pioneer missionary is in a position 
 to report with completeness and positiveness with regard 
 to the inner life of a primitive race. He can at first only 
 pursue a course similar to the paleontologist, who from the 
 scanty and often paltry remnants, fossil bones or what not, 
 dug out of carboniferous strata, seeks to construct a draw- 
 ing or a model of some huge monster of a bygone age. Not 
 until he has fully made himself at home in the language of 
 the people and is able even to penetrate into the etymology 
 of words that are tending to become obsolete can the student 
 of the religion of a primitive people put together here some 
 fragments of conversation and there inferences from cere- 
 monial usage that serve as guides for correct inquiry. "Long 
 and patient investigation, in connection with which apparent 
 trifles acquire importance, is requisite. He must shun being 
 influenced by a priori subjective ideas of his own whilst sort- 
 ing the materials discovered. And even after he has for 
 years made a specialty of the mythology and cultus of the 
 people, and has articulated all the fragments of tradition 
 gleaned from all sorts and conditions of men, even the best 
 application of the principles of comparative study of non- 
 Christian faiths can not guarantee that the results of his re- 
 search will not remain defective. With still greater hesita- 
 tion must therefore one who is in his turn dependent on 
 disconnected sections of missionary reports view the con- 
 clusions reached by himself in the study thousands of miles 
 away. Nevertheless the following may be presented as at 
 least the fruit of a conscientious attempt to gather together 
 into a whole various items thus far communicated from 
 the field in regard to this important theme, important at 
 least from the missionary standpoint. 
 
 Names for God are met with everywhere and are in daily 
 use in German East Africa and in particular in Nyasaland. 
 For instance the Konde people call Him either Kiara, "the 
 Good" or "the Heaven," Mbamba. Among the Unyam- 
 
T?IE RELIGION AND MORALS OF THE PEOPLE. 53 
 
 wesi are met the names Liiiva, equivalent to "the Sun" or 
 Lh'dcio, "the Universe," or Likuvc, "the Existence," and 
 Katiinda, "the Creator." But these words have really lost 
 their essential significance. Should one ask, "Who is Kiara?" 
 the answer will be given, half questioningly. possibly half 
 indignantly, or with an excuse, "How are we to know that?" 
 Uncertainty and ignorance are indeed characteristic of 
 heathenism everywhere. 
 
 So far as Kiara is concerned there is little need to know 
 much about him. He is so good and only good, bestowing 
 all manner of blessings incessantly — cattle, fruits of the 
 field, etc. — that one need have no concern for him. He will 
 bless as a matter of course. 
 
 The state of affairs is otherwise with the evil spirit, Mhasi, 
 or as he is sometimes known through the conceptions that 
 have filtered through from the Arabs. Satan. He is the 
 chief of the evil spirits. His craft and malicious longing to 
 injure men must be turned aside by countless offerings and 
 gifts. In short he must be bribed. Certain men profess to 
 be his special emissaries, almost incorporations of his spirit. 
 Soon after the missionaries of the Berlin Society had set- 
 tled in Wanp^emannshoh they had to come to. conclusions 
 with this Mbasi cult. Near their station lived a herdsman, 
 Muamafurgubo by name, who gave himself out to be a 
 servant of Mbasi. His grewsome personal appearance — 
 lanky, lean body, pale face, hollow cheeks, rolling eyes, etc.. 
 — confirmed the people in their belief in his pretensions. All 
 sorts of uncanny things that transpired in the vicinity of 
 his hut strengthened the general fear of his pretended pow- 
 ers. Whatever he demantled, the duped tribesmen surren- 
 dered to him. He claimed to have induced Mbasi to send 
 the cattle plague, when it broke out after the refusal of the 
 missionaries to pay tribute to him. When the friendly chief 
 Muakaturgira fell ill. the sorcerer boasted that he had again 
 induced Mbasi to exert his power. Net until tlie mission- 
 aries took the chief to their station and nursed him back 
 
54 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 to health, was the ban broken under which the whole coun- 
 tryside had been living. 
 
 Practically the worship of the people, in so far as wor- 
 ship may be said to exist, is confined to reverence for an- 
 cestors. They are regarded as bestowers of fertility and of 
 fortune, or as the bringers of misfortune, when angered. 
 Hence offerings are made to them. 
 
 Their religious philosophy, if this term may be used 
 where nothing is thought out in syllogisms but rather ac- 
 cepted in the blind following of tradition, consists in that 
 animism, which is now recognized to lie at the foundation 
 of the religious usages of most of the uncultured races. The 
 anima in this connection is not the personal individual soul, 
 but the life-power inherent in and sustaining every tangible 
 object, the fundamental essence that imparts to all things 
 existence. It is the study and effort of a man to receive and 
 strengthen his life-power and to avoid everything that would 
 weaken it. Meanwhile he lives in constant fear that through 
 all sorts of dark influences, the life-power in him may lan- 
 guish ; for him the unknown and unexplained is ever the 
 dreadful and dangerous, for it may adversely influence his 
 life-power — and nature is full of occult forces that make 
 for or against this life-force. 
 
 The medicine-man or magician is supposed to understand 
 how to deal with these secret powers of nature. Of these 
 sorcerers there are two sorts, the good, essentially the doc- 
 tors, and the bad, the sorcerers ; the latter, for the most part 
 not recognized as such by their -fellow-men, have the power 
 to change themselves into beasts of prey, and act under the 
 influence of the evil spirits. Protection against them con- 
 sists in amulets, conjurations and medicines. It is the func- 
 tion of the sorcerer to dissect the dead, when these are sup- 
 posed to have met their fate through poison or magic, in 
 order by the dissection to discover the guilty. When found, 
 the latter is punished by death. 
 
 In every way characteristic of the medicinal usages of 
 the people and of their reticence over against Europeans is 
 the following episode, reported by Zeeb towards the end 
 
THE REI.IGION AND MORALS OK THE PEOPLE. 55 
 
 of the year 1910: "On the way to Rungvve I found a re- 
 markable sample of 'medicine' by means of which the 'doc- 
 tors' proceed to cure epilepsy. Soon after crossing the 
 mountain stream Luswiswi we reached a place where an- 
 other path intersected ours. Here at the center of the in- 
 tersection of the two paths I found an old pot with an 
 opening about a centimeter in diameter, buried in the way. 
 At first I supposed that this earthenware pot sheltered a 
 colony of industrious bees, for here in the mountains it often 
 happens that bees live in the ground and carry their honey 
 and wax to some such hole. But I heard and saw none of 
 these busy insects. On the other hand large black ants ran 
 in and out incessantly. Then I made inquiry of my porters, 
 what this pot mip^ht be and what might be the reason why 
 it had been buried here. Repeatedly I received the reply: 
 'Ndcsi,' 'I do not know^' Then I asked a man whom I knew 
 intimately and he gave me an e:>iplanation. [ le said that 
 a 'doctor' had cooked medicine for epilepsy here. At such 
 a time the invalid and his relatives are present. The medi- 
 cine, consisting for the most part of roots, is mixed with 
 corn-meal and cooked into a porric^'ge. Of this the invalid 
 eats a portion. The rest is placed in an old earthen pot, 
 which is 'buried with the sickness' at the crossing of two 
 paths in such a manner that only a third of the pot projects 
 from the ground. Then the 'doctor' calls on his departed 
 relatives to render help and to take away the sickness from 
 the person in question. The spirits are supposed to transfer 
 the malady to some strange person who passes this way." 
 
 In their daily religious life regard for ancestors plays a 
 prominent role. If one has ended his life, he goes to the 
 dead in the lower world. From this world the dead observe 
 the lives of their relatives and often decidedly influence or 
 even dispose of events. They j)unish with sickness and with 
 misfortune. The evil spirits, whom the people seek to bribe 
 by prayers and offerings, and in particular the chief of the 
 evil spirits, Mbasi, are possessed of a mighty and keen 
 desire after the material good things of this earth. Their 
 inclination to injure men must constantly be worked against; 
 
56 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 therefore food is offered to them. At night the cry of 
 Mbasi for beer, milk or meat may sometimes be heard in 
 the darkness ; it fills with grewsome fear. At times he de- 
 sires to be appeased with cattle or women. 
 
 After the body has been buried the soul in due time leaves 
 it and occupies a new body, fashioned by God out of the 
 heart-blood of the corpse. In this body it proceeds to the 
 realm of the dead. But existence in this underworld is far 
 from cheerful. Dreary and monotonous days are spent 
 there. The people in this underworld may suffer pangs of 
 hurger and thirst, for they are dependent upon their chil- 
 dren and grandchildren for their food and drink, and for- 
 getfulness is possible. Yet if these forget to place what they 
 require on their graves, the shades revenge themselves by 
 sending sickness and misfortune. But at times hints of a 
 separation between the P"ood and the evil in the world of 
 the dead are perceptible, though there is a lack of details in 
 the popular conception of the better state. The evil are 
 ruled over by an evil spirit and must do hard labor. Simi- 
 larly the East African heaven is very materialistic. The 
 good sit on stools and have all the food and beer they desire. 
 By day they sleep and by night they walk abroad with God. 
 
 I egends as to the creation of man have not yet been met 
 with. 
 
 Whether or no anything like formal religious ritual once 
 existed among the people north of Lake Nyasa, can not now 
 be known. If so, it seems to have outlived itself before the 
 coming of the missionaries. In one of the tribes, the titular 
 high-priest, who held the office by hereditary right, on be- 
 coming a Christian at Mbozi, declared that he himself had 
 never brought to the gods or to the ancestors the offerings 
 which it was the right of his family to present for the tribe. 
 His family had fled the land in the days when Merere tyran- 
 nized over his people, and when they returned "the chiefs 
 were too stingy to provide an offering." 
 
 Among the Konde people a reminiscence of sacrificial 
 worship may indeed be observed, but only a very faded 
 reminiscence. As in the case of all heathen offerings, there 
 
THE RELIGION AND MORALS OF THE PEOPLE. 57 
 
 is no attempt to typify the surrender of the human will to 
 the divine ; on the contrary the offering supposedly effects 
 a bribirg of the deity. There is no connection between a 
 recognized sense of sin and transgression with the presenta- 
 tion of a gift and intercession. Offerings and prayers are 
 called forth only in the hour of need — on occasions of sick- 
 ness in the family, during epidemics, on the failure of har- 
 vests and when famine threatens, in times of danger, and 
 the like. In the case of sickness in a family, when the primi- 
 tive medicines of the sorcerer have failed to bring relief, he 
 indicates whether it is the ancestors of the mother or those 
 of the father that require to be appeased. In the latter 
 case, the obligation to attend to the rites rests with the father 
 or his father or elder brother, grandfather and elder uncle 
 of the sick child being possessed of more might with the 
 spirits. Does the source of the trouble lie on the maternal 
 side, then the mother requests her father or brother or some 
 male blood relative to bring the offering in her stead. Bloody 
 sacrifices are not offered. A libation of beer and water is' 
 all that is needed. Generally a certain banana tree nearest 
 to the house marks the site of the contemplated offering, 
 and two small holes are dug for the reception of the libation. 
 Sometimes it is sprayed onto the grass roof of the house. 
 The ceremonial is as follows : The members of the family 
 having assembled, the officiator prays, "Thou, God, why 
 are Thou angry? Help us. And you, ye fathers, why are 
 ye enraged? Render aid to the chill; may it recover, may 
 it eat. may it no longer be sick." Thereupon he takes a 
 small hollowed out pumpkin, that serves as a ladle and is 
 filled with beer or water, and pours the contents on the 
 banana or into the two holes. If the grass roof is to receive 
 the contents, the beer or water is taken into the mouth and 
 squirted on the th?t(h. 
 
 In the case of epidemics the chief as a rule officiates. But 
 sometimes the whole circle of relatives, where the sickness 
 exists, unite to bri"g the offering for themselves. A sort of 
 consecration precedes ; that is to say. a general mutual recon- 
 ciliation takes place. Then the eldest or the most highly 
 
58 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 respected transacts the ceremony in the name of all. He 
 prays, "Pass by, God, and do not punish us, but render us 
 aid." Then he takes the water or beer in his mouth and 
 blows it in the direction of the original home of the family. 
 If the chief attends to the ceremonial, he acts as in the case 
 next to be described, only that no prayer is offered to the 
 ancestors. 
 
 It is the chief's prerogative to attend to the function when 
 crops threaten to fail, when famine is incipient or there is 
 danger in time of war, though the duty may also be dis- 
 charged by a sub-chief or spokesman, or one who is espe- 
 cially acquainted with what is requisite. The chief assem- 
 bles the whole clan, men, women and children, and advanc- 
 irg into the midst, says : "You people, I have called you 
 hither. We will pray to God because this" — he names it — 
 "has happened. May God be favorable to us and render us 
 aid." Then he takes water in his mouth and blows it in 
 all directions, whilst those present cry, "Render us aid." 
 Then another ceremony follows, in which only the chief and 
 his "great men" participate. In a sacred grove a cow is 
 slaughtered, and as much as possible of its flesh eaten ; the 
 rest is left hanging in the little house that stands in the 
 grove. Some remain and sleep in this house, while the rest 
 return to their homes. Next day the chief and his compan- 
 ions return and the feasting continues in this manner till 
 the flesh has all been eaten. 
 
 Another form of offering is known, when a petition is 
 made for a good harvest. The product is brought, which 
 it is desired to enjoy hereafter in abundance, beer, bananas, 
 honey, milk, etc. A speaker appointed by the chief is the 
 leader in this ceremony. Some of the article in question is 
 partaken of by him and the rest poured out, with the prayer: 
 "May there be much beer, many bananas, much honey, milk, 
 etc. Thou God, and ye fathers, give us what we ask. Favor 
 us, that no enemy may come." 
 
 Wonders in nature, like earthquakes, and comets, or 
 eclipses, may also call forth a form of prayer. In the last 
 named instances, horns are blown and the cry is uttered, 
 
THE KELIGIOK AND MORALS OF THE "PKOIM-i:. 59 
 
 "God, why art Thou angry with us? We perish." It i> 
 beheved that the sun or the moon are in danger of forever 
 losing their Hght. 
 
 No offerings of any real vakie are ever brought. No sense 
 of guilt over against the deity is felt. Astonishment and 
 dismay at most lie beneath the act of the offerers. As little 
 is there a sense of gratitude, when a misfortune that impend- 
 ed has passed and left the people unscatlied. whetlier prayer 
 was oft'ered or not. 
 
 It is a popular custom to observe the following ceremony 
 at the commencement of harvest. Some of the first-fruits 
 are brought to the chief, who lays the produce on the grave 
 of his ancestors and prays over it. Only then do the people 
 proceed to the actual gathering in of the harvest. 
 
 Although paucity characterizes the ceremonial practices 
 of the petiple. superstition affects all the relationships of life. 
 In every direction the influence of the unseen powers is sup- 
 posed to make itself felt. 
 
 To eat the flesh of goats is tabooed for certain men ; why, 
 can not be explained. It is supposed that the man who 
 would dare to defy this custom, would suffer madness. 
 
 Women dare not eat the flesh of fowls — it would produce 
 sterility. Certain families dare net eat jackals, nor the grain 
 from a field from which that animal has stolen a single cob 
 of maize. Another family is prohibited from eating the 
 flesh of a certain kind of deer, because it would produce 
 leprosy in that case. Individual persons must shun mutton 
 or beef or sundry varieties of game, lest this or that sick- 
 ness should be induced thereby. Furthermore such a man 
 must be careful not to partake of food of any sort which 
 has been cooked in a pot in which at any time the for him 
 tabooed flesh was cooked. 
 
 Certain persons on drinking a certain medicine are sup- 
 posed to have the power to change themselves into lions. 
 When one of these men dies, iron claws must be pushed 
 under the nails of his fingers and toes and when he has been 
 buried a post must be planted on his head and allowed to 
 protrude out of the ground. The white ants then build 
 
60 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 about this post. Later a little lion is believed to come out 
 of the ant-hill, and is cared for by the wife of the dead man 
 til it has reached a dang^erous size, when it is led out into the 
 wilderness with various ceremonies. It is these lions, in 
 the estimation of the people, which are the destroyers of 
 human life, for not all lions are hostile to man. And just 
 these man eaters are invulnerable. 
 
 Certain sorcerers are supposed to possess the gift of sec- 
 ond sight, so that they can spy out a thief. 
 
 It is supposed that man has only two bowels ; in the one 
 there is food, in the other water. If there is a third, empty 
 bowel, the magic medicine or poison is in it, though invisible 
 for ordinary men. 
 
 The Konde people believe that the soul of certain men 
 may leave the body during life-time. This capacity it is 
 which gives the power of second sight. These wandering 
 souls, however, are particularly inclined to do mischief to 
 those against whom they have a spite or with whom they 
 are at enmity. But other people possess the power to cap- 
 ture such wandering souls. When this happens, the man 
 to whom the wandering soul belonged, never wakes again. 
 He is dead. 
 
 They also believe that certain persons have snakes in their 
 bodies, which they can send forth to do all manner of ser- 
 vice, working evil against personal enemies. 
 
 There are probably few heathen in Nyasaland who do 
 not wear amulets of some kind as a protection against all 
 manner of evil, and few huts in which a kind of medicine 
 called "Uiikota" is not to be found. "Unkota" is supposed 
 to protect the inhabitants and their stock from any and every 
 malady, thanks to the life-power implanted in it by the sor- 
 cerer. "Unkota" is placed where bamboos and tobacco — 
 both of them highly prized plants — are grown. If once this 
 medicine is known to have been put down in such places, 
 no thief will dare to go near them, for they believe it has 
 the efifect of causing their legs to swell and thus preventing 
 them from escaping detection. This "Unkota" consists of 
 some species of onion, which is tied to a stick and stuck in 
 
Tin-: RELIGION AND MORALS OF THE I'EOl'LK. 61 
 
 the ground near the tobacco or bamboo plantation. If it is 
 desired that it should have a specially strong efifect, a spe- 
 cially large onion is chosen, about the size of an ostrich egg, 
 and it is decorated with ten large hen's feathers. The "Un- 
 kota" which is intended to protect the hut with its inhabit- 
 ants and stock consists of a round piece of wood, three-quar- 
 ters of an inch long and about half an inch in diameter. To 
 this is attached a small piece of string, or, in some cases, 
 fine copper or brass wire is wound around it and a string of 
 beads attached. This makes the charm specially effective. 
 
 Another "Uiikota" consists of twigs from trees and ears 
 of a certain grain. These placed on a path may prevent a 
 serious sickness from spreading from the house whence this 
 path leads, or may confine the effect of an accident or mis- 
 fortune to a certain house. Is it known that such "Unkota" 
 lies in a path, the people will go far out of their way to avoid 
 it, lest sickness or misfortune might overtake them. The 
 path is for the time effectually barred. 
 
 Ani thus they live in perpetual fear, these slaves of their 
 self-invented superstitions. 
 
 The absolute lack of any source of moral strength — for 
 such a religion affords no source of help or uplift — has in- 
 evitably left its mark on the character of the people. Con- 
 science indeed is not w^anting. There is some apprehension 
 of a difference between right and wrong, but there is no 
 ability to follow the better instincts. Young and old alike 
 are adepts at lying and deceit. Theft is very common. 
 Sexual passions are curbed only by the fear of superior 
 force and the desire to preserve a sound skin. Lying is re- 
 garded as wrorg only when another receives harm from it. 
 Theft of food by day calls forth only reproach and abuse. 
 But if it takes place at night, and the thief is caught, he 
 either receives a beating with a stick or has to pay one or 
 two cattle. Theft of cattle or other important property is 
 punished with a similar fine. Serious bodily injury is liable 
 to a severe punishment. He who loses an eye receives from 
 the perpetrator his sister as a wife, for no man who is thus 
 deformed will be accepted by a woman of her own free will. 
 
62 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 And in addition cattle must be paid to smooth over the in- 
 jury. The manslayer flees the land for a while. After the 
 excitement has died down, he returns to make atonement. 
 The family of the slain have the right to ten head of cattle 
 at his hand, and he must furnish a wife for the brother of 
 the slain. 
 
 — Though the people of Nyasaland make a pleasant im- 
 pression on the newcomer through their love of cheerfulness 
 and mirth, suicide is rather frequent among them. Men will 
 comit suicide, when they lose a wife whom they dearly 
 loved; or even when the loss of a pet cow depresses them. 
 Another cause of suicide is the being crippled in war, so 
 that in future it will not be possible to go out with the war- 
 riors, but he must remain at home like a mere woman. 
 Girls commit suicide because compelled to marry an unac- 
 ceptable man, or because unable to mate with the man of 
 their choice. With men the favorite mode of self-inflicted 
 death is by the spear or by poison. Girls fling themselves 
 into the water of a river or lake, where greedy crocodiles 
 are lurking in hordes. 
 
 Possessed of a lively imagination and open to receive im- 
 pressions from the beauty of nature around them, they are 
 fond of figurative speech and seek to express in metaphors 
 whatever appears wonderful to them. 
 
 An eclipse of the sun they suppose to be occasioned by 
 the wrath of God, called forth by men's warring with each 
 other. As soon as an eclipse of the sun or moon sets in, 
 horns are blown and the people assemble to pray. God 
 hears these prayers, for he says in pity : "My children trem- 
 ble and are full of fear." 
 
 The sun is supposed to travel by nip^ht back to the east 
 through a part of the sky which is not visible to them. 
 
 The charges of the moon are explained thus : "The moon 
 wanders so long that he becomes tired and weak and shriv- 
 els, till he dies. Then God creates a new moon." 
 
 Of the stars the children say : "They are fires which the 
 children of God dwelling in heaven have kindled." Their 
 elders say : "The stars are children of the sun and moon. 
 
THE RELIGION AND MORALS OF THE PEOPLE. 63 
 
 By night they wander up there. In the morning they fall 
 down and are the dew drops on the grass. Once more men 
 see them in the dews of evening, when they ascend again 
 to heaven." 
 
 Thunder storms are caused by the strife of the clouds. 
 The thunder is the angry shouting of the warriors. The 
 lightning flashes are the gleam of their weapons. When a 
 stroke misses its aim it falls to earth and does great damagfe 
 there. 
 
64 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE FIRSTFRUITS GATHERED. 
 
 As a rule a number of years must pass before the heathen 
 understand what the purpose of pioneer missionaries really 
 is. Their first thought leads them to suspect that the white 
 men have ulterior motives connected with the acquisition of 
 land or of property, herds, or the like. In German East 
 Africa, where the arrival of the messengers of the Gospel 
 coincided in a number of instances with the expansion of 
 colonial power, it was natural that they were regarded as 
 the pioneers of the political advance of Germany. Among 
 the first tasks of the missionaries belonged the endeavor to 
 remove all such misconceptions. But even quite apart from 
 these causes for misunderstanding, difficulties enough lay 
 in the way of imparting a correct idea of their designs. 
 
 The first attempt at holding formal religious worship 
 with the Konde people was made on Christmas Day, 1892. 
 An invitation had been extended to the workmen at the sta- 
 tion and to the people of the native village adjacent to 
 Rungwe. Thirty-five persons including children responded 
 and assembled in the dwelling of the missionaries. They 
 listened with dumb astonishment to the singing of a hymn. 
 Then Meyer commenced to explain to them in their own 
 speech the significance of the day, that this day a Saviour 
 was born to them. Naturally the address in the not yet fully 
 mastered tongue was by no means as perfect as the speaker 
 himself could have wished, and that the hearers fully un- 
 derstood its inner significance, could scarcely be affirmed. 
 But dismissed with trifling Christmas presents, the people 
 at least grasped the idea that these strangers were their 
 friends and had come to bring them something of value. 
 
 In August, 1893, a commencement was made with stated 
 preaching. Marked progress had by this time been made in 
 the use of the Konde language. These Sunday services 
 were so conducted, with very considerable freedom of 
 ritual, that question and answer were in order in con- 
 nection with the sermon. It was not to be wondered at 
 
THE FIKSTFRUITS GATHERED. 65 
 
 that the questions put by the people showed a lack of 
 a correct conception of the nature of sin. The need of re- 
 demption did not exist among them. "We are no sinners," 
 they would affirm. "We are good. We worship God and 
 thank Him for what He has given us, for our children, our 
 cattle, our food. All you tell us, we do already. We have 
 come to hear you only because you called us." But they de- 
 clared their willingness to come again. " We are willing 
 to hear and to learn ; but we can learn only very gradually." 
 
 At first the services took place in the open. The mission- 
 ary stood in the shade of his verandah as he spoke, and the 
 people sat on the ground around and in front of the house. 
 
 The preaching was supplemented by evangelistic visits to 
 the villages. At first the attention secured was but small. 
 But the efTorts attained new importance, when one of the 
 neighboring chiefs, Muasioge, requested the missionaries to 
 visit his villages and preach in them, an invitation that was 
 gladly accepted. Richard made the first attempt in response. 
 On the first occasion it took an hour to get the people, who 
 were scattered through the village in groups, to assemble 
 at one point. But then the missionary had an opportunity 
 to address several hundred. He spoke of the love of God 
 and His sending His Son for the redemption of men. The 
 people were very attentive. A man who tried to make a 
 disturbance was at once silenced by the chief. On one of 
 the following Sundays Richard made use of an incorrect 
 word ; loud laughter followed, but some of the old men cor- 
 rected the mistake, ordered quiet, and the address could be 
 resumed. After a while the attendance on these occasions 
 decreased, which was not unnatural. The novelty gradually 
 wore away and the knovvle 'ge of the language on the part 
 of the speaker was too inadequate to permit of commanding 
 attention through effectiveness of speech or through ability 
 to place himself in the mental attitude of the hearers. One 
 of the chiefs, who had manifested some receptiveness for 
 the message, noted the decline in the attendance with regret. 
 Having recourse to guile he said : "You people will receive 
 pay if you corne. Only come." Taken to account for this 
 
66 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 he made excuse saying, "The people will otherwise no longer 
 come; one must do so." 
 
 At the mission station itself better attention was secured 
 in connection with the Sunday services. But the morning 
 prayers, from the commencement daily maintained for all 
 the work-people, seemed to be the best means for promoting 
 an understanding of the meaning of the Gospel. Here the 
 same people participated in the services day after day, whilst 
 the congregations in the villages varied very much from 
 time to time. These morning prayers were enlivened by 
 song; for the people themselves gladly learnt hymns trans- 
 lated into their own tongue and taught in the school. The 
 life of our Saviour was systematically presented in short 
 addresses. And so Christmas, 1893, approached. About 
 two hundred people participated in its celebration. By the 
 light of two fine large eucalyptus trees arranged as Christmas 
 trees the story of the wonderful birth was read and a brief 
 discourse given. Song and prayer contributed to the cele- 
 bration. Lighted tapers and small presents were distributed. 
 By this time an advance in understanding with regard to the 
 meaning of it all was apparent. 
 
 During the following year it was plain that the people's 
 conception of the purpose of the missionaries was becoming 
 more and more clear. Soon after the commencement of the 
 new year earnest words spoken to the wailing crowds at the 
 funeral of a suicide aroused reflection among many. Here 
 and there questions that were addressed to the missionaries 
 disclosed the fact that the good seed was beginning to germi- 
 nate, that the word preached did not leave hearts and minds 
 unaffected. On one occasion, when Bachmann was return- 
 ing from a service in Muasioge's village, accompanied by 
 his gardener, not trusting his own knowledge of the lan- 
 guage, he asked the man, "Tell me, do you understand us, 
 when we preach ?" "O, yes," was the reply. "Come then, 
 repeat to me a little of what you have heard." After some 
 reflection the man said : "You always tell us that God is so 
 great and possesses so much power. But why does he not 
 then simply kill Satan, so that he can no longer tempt men ?" 
 
the: firstfruits gathered. 67 
 
 The reply of the missionary, that God would do this some 
 day, but that meanwhile men may turn from the power and 
 -service of the devil, God helping them, seemed to satisfy 
 the man. But then the man continued: "There are so few 
 peo])le here who tell us about God. At my home in Merere's 
 land there is not a single white man. The people therefore 
 know nothing about God. Why do not more white men 
 come to teach us?" The missionary comforted him with the 
 assurance that in time more missionaries would come. From 
 this day the gardener was an attentive hearer and the mis- 
 sionaries were encouraged to believe that the word was be- 
 ing accompanied by the manifestation of the spirit. 
 
 And yet patient perseverance was required, before the 
 firstfruits could be gathered in. The first church building 
 in Rungwe was finished in 1894, but the first convert could 
 not be baptized before 1897. 
 
 Rut already in 1896 the missionaries were gladdened by 
 the special receptivity of three of their hearers. The first 
 was a young man, Rambasika, about twenty years of age, 
 who had identified himself with Rungwe from the very first, 
 as a workman in connection with building operations and 
 then in the school. In 1896 he had absented himself to pay 
 a visit to his home on the western coast of Lake Nyasa in 
 British territory ; but he had returned, and resumed work 
 with his old fidelity. The second was Fiabarema, a woman 
 in the forties, who had appeared at Rungwe in September, 
 1894, in company with her son, Muasanyera, the third of 
 the trio. At Christmas, 1896, these three intimated that 
 they were determined to follow Jesus and belong wholly 
 to Tlim. 
 
 Fiabarema's appearance at the station had been a peculiar 
 one. When she arrived from a neighboring village, she was 
 in a most pitiful physical condition. It was indeed no doubt 
 Tier bodily ailments that had impelled her to seek healing at 
 Rungwe. Completely emaciated and almost powerless, she 
 could only drag herself along with much effort on hands 
 and feet. The half of one foot was a great festering sore. 
 But in time the wound healed, yet the leg remained lame. 
 
68 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 At Christmas, 1894, each of the sick living at the mission 
 received a gift of milk. She, too, came creeping forward 
 with her wooden vessel in her hand to receive her gift of 
 milk. Already from a distance she eagerly stretched out 
 her hand — a pitiful sight. Bachmann thought to himself, 
 "Oh, if you would only stretch out your hand with equal 
 lorgirg to receive the pure milk of the word!" This wish 
 was fulfilled. The germ of this longing was no doubt al- 
 ready there. She attended the services regularly. By March 
 of the following year her wound was sufficiently healed to 
 permit of her being employed at light work in the garden. 
 As soon as she had earned a piece of cotton goods, she 
 clothed herself and no longer went in her former nakedness, 
 whilst other women in spite of their earnings were satisfied 
 to wear their scanty covering of bark and grass, not follow- 
 ing her example till much later. In November, 1895, after 
 a service she came to the missionary and said, "I want to 
 follow Jesus." And she also showed that she carried prac- 
 tical questions of every day to her Lord in prayer. But her 
 course did not run altOP"ether smoothly. In March, 1896, 
 her conduct seemed to have completely changed. Now she 
 manifested a fawning obsequiousness and again she became 
 impudent and defiant. Previously neither trait had been 
 noted in her. It seemed as though something lay on her 
 conscience. And this was the case. When questioned, she 
 admitted having stolen some flour, whilst employed to pre- 
 pare it. The other women who worked with her did this 
 and she could not resist the temptation set by their example. 
 But after she had confessed her sin and asked to be for- 
 given, the ban was broken. She returned to her former self. 
 Soon after Easter she brought her earnings of a month with 
 the declaration that she wanted to give this to Jesus in grati- 
 tude to Him for what He had done for her. When in Octo- 
 ber she saw fine large Bible pictures and heard that in the 
 German home of the missionaries children had collected to 
 purchase and send these pictures, she reflected for a while 
 and then brought a piece of goods, saying that she wanted 
 to present it to the mission, and was not to be moved from 
 
THE FIRSTFRUITS GATHERED. 69 
 
 this purpose. "I have it good in externals," she said, "and 
 in addition hear God's word and knew that God loves mc. 
 I must give Him something for this." 
 
 In December she had a conversation with Bachmann, that 
 clearly indicated her faith. It was out on the open field. 
 Their talk with each other turned upon death. "When I 
 become really sick, no one shall take much trouble to try to 
 heal me," she said. "When my time comes, that I must die, 
 I shall be happy." When further questioned, she replied, 
 "Yes, I rejoice in the thought of death, for then I shall come 
 to Jesus." "But will He receive you. He, the pure and holy 
 one, will He receive you with your sins?" "Yes. He has 
 taken my sins on Himself and has done away with them, 
 since He died on a piece of wood with two branches for me 
 and shed His blood for me. Now the sorcerers can no 
 longer harm me, not even if they are stirred up by my family 
 to do this and kill me by their arts. For Jesus has con- 
 quered the devil. In any case I shall go to Jesus." After 
 such a confession of faith it v^as evident that she was ripe 
 for baptism. 
 
 That she possessed a tender conscience was indicated by 
 the following experience. Her daughter lost her little son, 
 probably poisoned by the stirg of an insect. This poor 
 mother in despair wailed and lamented with terrible outcries 
 and threw herself on her child. So Fiabarema was asked 
 to try to comfort her daughter. Thereupon she went with 
 her daughter into the village. On her return she related 
 what had transpired in the following manner: "I went with 
 her, because I feared that in her despair my daughter would 
 take her life. And I wept with her, but quietly. In that 
 I did nothing wrong. But when she cut open the bof'y of 
 her child, to discover the cause of his death, I ought not to 
 have permitted it. But I yielded to my relatives and allowed 
 this. That was wrong. But I went at once into the grass 
 and disclosed my shame to Jesus and prayed to Him to take 
 away my sin. He has forgiven me. but my heart has become 
 light and free only since I have told it to you." 
 
 6 
 
70 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 Shortly before her baptism she related, that her father 
 had once lent a cow to a friend. This man never returned 
 it, and meanwhile her father died. Of right the cow be- 
 longed to her. From this cow the man had gained ten calves 
 in the course of time. "Shall I not ask him for at least one 
 cow or for two?" she asked. "Or would that not be con- 
 sistent with the receipt of baptism on my part?" When the 
 missionaries talked over the afifair with her, it seemed very 
 unlikely that the man would surrender any cattle of his own 
 free will. To carry the matter before the colonial authori- 
 ties would be to no purpose, for the debt had long been out- 
 lawed by the statute of limitation. Fiabarema said : "Con- 
 tend about it, I will not. I will not bother about the cows. 
 For at any costs I want to be baptized, and I will surrender 
 anything that would interfere with that. I want to belong 
 wholly to God." 
 
 Thus the Spirit of God had been working in the heart of 
 Fiabarema and influencing her life. Under His guidance 
 she had been steadily advancing in knowledge and in char- 
 acter, and she had been exerting a specially good influence 
 over tTie two other candidates, her son, Muasanyera, and 
 Rambasika. The former was an earnest, thoughtful young 
 man, somewhat slow in apprehension, but holding clearly 
 and fixedly to that which he apprehended and resolute in 
 standing up for that which he believed to be the will of 
 Jesus. Like his mother he possessed the gift of direct, sim- 
 ple and natural speech. Rambasika had reached a decision 
 for Christ a little later than, the other two, although he had 
 carried himself well and had won a reputation for reliabil- 
 ity. Gifted with quick apprehension and of a quick, intel- 
 lectual temperament, he was, however, not wholly free from 
 an inclination to superficiality. 
 
 When the significance of baptism was made clear to them, 
 they all declared with decisiveness and gladness, that they 
 desired to belong to Jesus without reservation. 
 
 The day for their baptism had not yet been set, though 
 it was understood that should soon take place. Meyer was 
 to leave Rungwe in order to remove to Ipyana on the shore 
 
THE FIRSTFRUITS GATHERED. 71 
 
 of Lake Nyasa. Bachnianii should take his place and in his 
 absence administer the baptism. On the 7th of February, 
 1897, Meyer preached at Rungvve. His farewell discourse 
 was based on the parable of the tares among the wheat. 
 When he had ended, quite unexpectedly Fiabarema stepped 
 close up to the desk and said : "I have risen to say that I am 
 God's property. I want to follow Jesus and to belong to 
 Him alone. In the strength of God I dare avoid sin. God 
 is my Father." A deathlike stillness prevailed in the 
 crowded church, as the missionary replied, "God has heard 
 what you have said, Fiabarema. Do that, and God will re- 
 ceive you as His child." Strange to say this influence of 
 the Spirit was misunderstood in the same way as was His 
 influence at Pentecost. Voices were afterwards heard among 
 the people : "The woman was drunk." But the action of 
 I'^iabarema made a deep impression on the missionaries, and 
 they joyfully resolved that her baptism should take place 
 that same day. In all haste the church was decorated with 
 flowers and at seven in the evening all were invited to be 
 present, who had hitherto manifested interest in the word of 
 God. It was a solemn hour, this first baptism in the Nyasa 
 mission of the Moravian Church. A complete assurance ex- 
 isted that this soul had been really won and that God had 
 drawn her to Himself. Fiabarema presented an attractive ap- 
 pearance in her white baptismal dress with her white head- 
 covering. She received the name which she had chosen. 
 "Numuagirc," that is, "I have found Him, viz., Jesus." 
 
 One week later Meyer preached yet again. After the 
 sermon, also quite spontaneously, Muasanyera rose and 
 made his confession of faith in simple and direct but also 
 in distinct and clear expressions. Questions were addressed 
 to him without any previous notification and he replied to 
 them most naturally and satisfactorily. The same evening 
 he was also baptized and given the name, "Niganilc" — "I 
 will." Finally on March 7 Rambasika was also baptized and 
 rejoiced in the new name of "Mcayigc" — "I have been 
 blessed." 
 
72 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 In the villages around Rungwe all was now excitement. 
 The heathen regarded the act of baptism as a sort of sorcery, 
 which the whites had practiced on their countrymen. They 
 let the baptized alone, but did all in their power to dissuade 
 others who were receiving special instruction as candidates 
 for baptism. The women in particular had to endure much 
 at the hands of their relatives. One was forbidden by her 
 son to take any such step, and she beat a retreat. To an- 
 other her husband declared, "Bring me back the cows which 
 I paid to your father for you, and then make ofif with your- 
 self." This was equivalent to a declaration of divorce. But 
 she stood firm, and her husband was later reconciled to her 
 decision. A third was threatened : "The chief will slay you !" 
 This induced irresolution for a time. For a while she ab- 
 sented herself from the catechumen's class. She even said 
 in her perplexity : "I do not want to be a child of God. I 
 will remain with my relatives. What do I care for the wa- 
 ter?" But later she bitterly repented of this utterance, and 
 prayed to have it forgiven. 
 
 Since the threat had been uttered, that the baptized would 
 be punished by the chief, Bachmann sought him out per- 
 sonally and urged him with all earnestness not to keep his 
 people from receivirg baptism. He gave the assurance that 
 it was not his intention: "Since I did not prevent my people 
 from working for you, so, too, I will not prevent them from 
 being baptized." But his younger brother, whom he sent 
 next day to treat with the missionaries in his place, made 
 use of quite different language. He had been sent to dis- 
 cover who had declared, "If you let yourself be baptized, 
 the chief will slay you." But instead of really carrying out 
 this commission, he egged on the people against the mission- 
 aries and mocked their work. Then Bachmann said to him: 
 "You are not carrying out the business with which the chief 
 charged you, but are uttering what is in accordance with 
 your own mind. But we messengers of God do net speak 
 as we wish, but that which God has commissioned us to 
 speak. If you do not charge and receive the word which 
 God sends to you, a day awaits you when God will call you 
 
THE FIRSTFRUITS GATHERED. 73 
 
 to account." However, if here and there a few allowed 
 themselves to be frightened away by opposition, the ma- 
 jority of the converts stood firm. Gradually the wrath of 
 the opponents died down. The number of those who wished 
 to become children of God increased. The declaration of 
 the heathen ceased : "You may hear the message of the 
 white men, but you dare not be baptized." 
 
74 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WIDENING THE BASE OF OPERATIONS. 
 
 Already prior to the first baptism it had been found de- 
 sirable to extend the base of operations. Two missionary 
 couples had been sent out as reenforcements in 1894, Jean 
 Ledoux and Johannes Kootz with their young brides. In 
 order to secure a base of communications, where goods and 
 letters from Europe might be received, and to claim for 
 Protestantism a strategic point by the right of prior occu- 
 pation Ipyana was occupied on the left bank of the Kibila, 
 or Kibira, two hours distant from the shore of Lake Nyasa. 
 From here fine views are to be had of the Livingstone range 
 and also of the Rungwe mountains and the hills of Bundali, 
 when mists do not obscure the summits. But even in the 
 cooler months heat must be endured, for even then at mid- 
 day the mercury ranges from 87 to 95 degrees. And Ru- 
 tenganio was laid out near the southern edge of the plateau 
 which nestles between the Rungwe mountain and the high- 
 lands of Bundali, as a link in the chain of posts later to reach 
 out into the interior. In the native tongue the former name 
 signifies "Grace" and the latter "Peace." Haefner and Le- 
 doux were appointed to Ipyana and Richard and Kootz to 
 Rutenganio. 
 
 For the confidence of the people was being won even more 
 speedily than many had dared to hope would be the case. 
 Here as so often in the history of missions, the messengers 
 had come in the fulness of time. God in His providence had 
 been preparing the people to receive them as expected guests. 
 Prophetic utterances, that gleamed like stars in the dark 
 night of heathenism, had prepared the way for them in a 
 manner unknown to the church that sent the messengers and 
 unknown to the messengers themselves. 
 
 Once, whilst instruction was being imparted to the re- 
 cently baptized Christians in Rungwe, the text was met with, 
 "There shall be signs in the heavens." Thereupon Numu- 
 agire related that about thirty years previously strange signs 
 in the sky had attracted general attention in Kondeland. It 
 
WIDENING THE BASE OF OPERATIONS. 75 
 
 appeared as though many camp hres were Ht there, and then, 
 as they began to die down, as though people sat around them. 
 A man of her people, named Aluakikando, had then uttered 
 the following prophecy : "There is also another Lord, who 
 is very great and good. And there is another town, which 
 is very beautiful. Are our chiefs good? No, they deceive 
 us. Are our villages good? No, they are poor. The great 
 Lord in heaven has sent His fire to us; but that is not all. 
 He will also send people to us ; people, whom we have never 
 seen, will come and tell us of this Lord, and what He would 
 have us do. These people will bring witli them much stuff 
 for clothing. When I am dead you will see that I speak the 
 truth." She added to this, that when the missionaries Meyer 
 and Richard pitched their tent in Muakapalile, her husband 
 had at once said to her: "These are the ]ieo])le of whom 
 Muakikando had spoken." Because she had been prepared 
 in this manner, she had so quickly grasped God's Word. 
 Most of that which the missionaries had said appeared to 
 her new; but it seemed to her as if she had heard some of 
 the message previously. 
 
 In this corner of the earth as elsewhere the old order was 
 followed; "in the fulness of time" the Saviour appeared. 
 The surprisingly good reception which the missionaries ev- 
 erywhere received was accounted for. The people were 
 anxious to hear what the whites had to say to them. For 
 this reason crowds assembled not only at the station, but 
 also when missionary tours were made through the villages. 
 Indeed many of the people were desirous to build their huts 
 beside the houses of the Europeans. Doubtless at times 
 other than the most honorable and disinterested motives 
 came into play. Some wished for new clothes. Others 
 wanted to be able to l^oast that they were in alliance with 
 the whites. Whatever the motive, the missionaries were not 
 disturbed ; they realized that the lukewarm would thin out 
 of themselves in the course of time, after they had discov- 
 ered that external gains were not to be counted upon. 
 
 Nor was it long before a c'ecHne in the attendance set 
 in. When it was discovered that onlv the reliable work- 
 
76 HISTORY OF NY ASA MISSION. 
 
 people received good pay, and that the strangers did noth- 
 ing to lure the loafers ; when it became more and more ap- 
 parent from the contents of the addresses, that becoming a 
 Christian was no mere matter of form and ceremony, but 
 involved a step that had to do with the deepest experiences 
 of life in quite a revolutionary way, many withdrew their 
 interest. 
 
 One great disappointment was experienced even in the 
 years prior to the first baptism. In November, 1893, Baron 
 von Eltz succeeded in delivering a caravan of more than 
 two hundred slaves from an Arab trader, Mrosi. For 
 thirty of these, chiefly women and children who had been 
 dragged so far from their homes that a return was impos- 
 sible, he could find no other disposal than to place them in 
 the care of the missionaries at Rungwe. The Berlin mis- 
 sionaries had already consented to give refuge to sixty of 
 the party. They belonged to a variety of tribes, and at first 
 the barrier of language rendered it not at all easy to con- 
 verse with them. Wearied nearly to death and more than 
 half starved, they were the most forlorn of the forlorn. 
 Huts were built for them in the native fashion on the land 
 of the station. Some of the women found husbands in the 
 men already living at the station. One for example married 
 the cook of the missionaries, a certain Muarpia, who had 
 served them faithfully from the first. The one man of the 
 freed slaves assigned to Rungwe proved to be of a quiet and 
 steady disposition, and soon settled down to work in the 
 garden. But the children and half-grown girls, wild as 
 foxes, caused perplexity from the first, utterly unaccustomed 
 as they were to order and restraint. In spite of kind and 
 sympathetic treatment, one after another slipped away and 
 made for other parts, the women with their husbands or 
 their children, so that by the end of 1893 only seven re- 
 mained, all of them children, who also would no doubt have 
 run away if they had known where their former homes lay 
 and how to reach them. Even among these seven it was 
 only the minority that became willing to accept the truths 
 
WIDENING THE BASE OF OPERATIONS. 77 
 
 of that religion which they had to thank for their rescue 
 from a terrible fate. 
 
 And then in 1897 came a yet more severe time of test. 
 Frequently the missionaries had served as the negotiators 
 of peace between the authorities at Langenburg and ob- 
 streperous chiefs. l')Ut a time came when success no longer 
 attended such efforts. In December, 1897, a hostile rising 
 broke out near Ipyana beside the lake. The fire of discon- 
 tent had long been glowing beneath the ashes. The chiefs 
 had been looking on with bitterness, as the independence 
 received from their fathers disappeared bit by bit and their 
 own consequence sank more and more. Finally a slight pufT 
 of wind fanned the glow into a flame. Askaris, black sol- 
 diers in the service of the government, took provisions 
 without paying for them. Possibly religious interests also 
 contributed to the outburst. The witch-doctors and sooth- 
 sayers saw their opportunities for gain threatened by the 
 preaching of the missionaries, and are said to have egged 
 on the people. Old women of influence were also stirrers 
 up of strife. In a certain grove near the Berlin station, 
 Manow, a sacrificial feast was appointed and the saying 
 spread abroad among the people, that after these sacrifices all 
 the white people would disappear and their property should 
 be (divided, etc. But the excited tribes-folk had pictured the 
 shaking off of the German sovereignty as a far easier mat- 
 ter than in reality. Scarcely had the battle begun, when the 
 leader of the risinp^. Chief Kirota, was slain. Such confu- 
 sion came upon the ranks of his followers, that they gave 
 up all further resistance and fled to the hills. This rising 
 was of the greater moment for the missionaries since Ki- 
 rota had been friendly disposed and the battle took place in 
 the vicinity of Ipyana. The very neutrality of the mission- 
 aries served to cool the friendship of the Bakonde. They 
 withstood all representations and held to the idea that the 
 missionaries had made common cause with the officials of 
 the colony. The attendance at the services in all three sta- 
 tions fell away. When the missionaries undertook a tour 
 
78 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 through the villages, the people sought to shun them. The 
 old familiar intercourse was rudely disturbed. 
 
 Other trials followed almost simultaneously. Through 
 the carelessness of the employees at the station Rungwe, a 
 fire broke out that involved the loss of the domestic animals- 
 and of considerable stores of grain. Hail-storms and a plague 
 of locusts ravaged the land. Sickness and death entered 
 the ranks. The climate of the lowlands and in particular 
 of Ipyana disclosed itself as most unsuitable for Europeans. 
 In 1896 the missionary Ledoux, and in 1897 and 1899 the 
 wives of Haefner and Adolf Stolz, who had come out only 
 in 1898, fell victims to fevers. The first named had been 
 in the land scarcely three years and the wives of his col- 
 leagues not so long a time. These frequent deaths would 
 have led to the abandonment of the station, had it not been 
 for its value as an entrepot near the lake and had not. the 
 survivors been reluctant to abandon the dense population in 
 its vicinity. But steps were taken to insure frequent fur- 
 loughs to the more salubrious mountains. 
 
 Nevertheless, in spite of all losses and drawbacks, the 
 mission had steadily been gaining ground. The provisional 
 houses of the first days were replaced by buildings erected 
 out of more durable materials, the missionaries having 
 taught the natives how to form, dry and burn bricks. For 
 sanitary reasons the new houses were for the most part 
 built in two stories. For provisions the stations were no 
 longer dependent on the produce of the people. 
 
 A firm basis having been established in Kondeland, it 
 soon seemed advisable to press forward towards the north 
 and northwest, an understanding having been arrived at 
 with the Berlin missionaries and the government having 
 signified its consent. A special incentive came into play in 
 this connection. Already in the early days of the mission 
 among the Bakonde, reports came of a powerful "sultan" 
 who resided a number of days' journey to the north of 
 Rungwe. This mighty chief, Merere. also made his pro- 
 pinquity apparent in a most unwelcome manner. He under- 
 took a raid through the land, without, however, directly 
 
WIDENING THE BASE OF OPERATIONS. 79 
 
 touching the mission-stations. It was, therefore, deter- 
 mined to beard the Hon in his den. The first to come into 
 personal touch with this savage chieftain was Superintend- 
 ent Merensky. of the Jlerlin mission. He found Merere's 
 village, Uteiigule, that is, "Without Care" — "Sanssouci" — 
 lying on the ])lateau which extends from the highest part of 
 Kondeland towards the north and northwest. Here he came 
 to know one of the largest native villages in German East 
 Africa. From his intercourse with the Arabs, Merere had 
 appropriated to himself the proud title of "sultan" and was 
 an African despot who understood to rule his subjects 
 through the power of fear mingled with respect and to fill 
 his neighbors with the dread of his name. At his public 
 audiences a stiff ceremonial prevailed. On such occasions 
 he surrounded himself with his "great men" and no one 
 was permitted to address him directly. What a stranger 
 desired to say to the "sultan" had to be conveyed to one of 
 the "great men" who in his turn passed it on to his neigh- 
 bor, and so all along the line, till it reached the "chancellor," 
 who imparted the message to the chief himself. Merensky's 
 visit was only a ceremonial interview, intended to prevent 
 hostile relations to the two missions. 
 
 In the spring of 1895 the missionaries Richard and Kootz 
 proceeded to Merere's residence, Utengule. in order to ne- 
 gotiate for land on which a mission station might be founded. 
 The government officials had given the savage chief a hint 
 that the two strangers were to be received in a friendly 
 manner, and this no doubt contributed to lighten their task. 
 The stiff ceremonial of the dusky court was rigidly pre- 
 served. After the purpose of the missionaries had been set 
 forth a general discussion followed, in which each of the 
 "great men" participated and spoke out his mind. Finally 
 Merere, who had been given sufficient time to reach a con- 
 clusion, thanks to the ceremonial and the debate, expressed 
 himself as follows: "My councillors, this stranger, our 
 friend, has come hither in order to settle down near us, to 
 teach us and our children and to make us acquainted with 
 the Word of God. ITc asks for permission to build here. 
 
80 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 Can we say 'No' to him, since the great lord in Langenburg, 
 our friend, whose people we are, has sent him to us? I 
 think not. Rather we will be glad that it is so. What do 
 you say to this?" Once more each expressed himself, and 
 afHrmatively. Merere then turned to the missionaries and 
 said: "You have heard. I and my great men rejoice that 
 you have come. The land is yours. Look around and build 
 where you will ; it is all yours." And then turning to Rich- 
 ard, "I and you are masters. All the people are ours." 
 
 The site chosen, an elevation standing free by itself in 
 front of the village on the high plateau, appeared a con- 
 venient spot. In front of it the land gradually sank to the 
 north. The view swept over a wide and in great part bare, 
 rocky, sloping surface. The streams flowed northwards, the 
 sources of the Ruaha, which empties into the Rufidji. To 
 the northwest the streams find their way into Lake Rukwa. 
 The erection of the first provisional houses followed very 
 speedily. But although the missionaries did all that they 
 could with a good conscience to preserve the favor of Me- 
 rere, it before long appeared that his friendly and liberal 
 speech had been a mere form and that he had been moved 
 by other than disinterested motives. 
 
 Utengule was not the original seat of Merere and his 
 tribe. That lay to the northeast on the Ruaha, whence he 
 had been driven by the Wahehe and had pushed like a wedge 
 into the lands of the Basafwa. Now he planned a campaign 
 against his old fees, the Wahehe, and desired the assistance 
 of the missionaries in this campaign of revenge and plunder. 
 For this purpose he sent for Richard, who found him lying 
 on an ox-skin in the inner court-yard of his citadel, warming 
 himself in the sun, and surrounded by a number of his 
 "great men." Richard sought to make clear to the savage 
 chief, that a servant of God and a messenger of peace must 
 hate war, especially a war of aggression, which was meant 
 to promote plundering and murder. The chief himself, if 
 he wanted to be a servant of God, must love peace and spare 
 the lives of men. But this was far from being in accord 
 with Merere's way of thinking. On the contrary he spoke 
 
WIDENING THE BASE OF OPERATIONS. 81 
 
 of victory and revenge on his foes. "Victory?" asked Rich- 
 ard. "Hew do you know that you will be the victor? You 
 may be defeated and may fall in the fight. If that takes 
 place, can you come into the presence of God and be re- 
 garded as one who has done His will?" These words the 
 interpreter was unwilling to translate ; he feared the wrath 
 of Merere. But Richard insisted on it, and he did so. Me- 
 rere at least outwardly controlled his anger and replied that 
 he would not fall but would conquer. In fact he demanded 
 of the missionary that he should pray for his success and 
 safe return. 
 
 From this hour friendship was at an end so far as Merere 
 was concerned. The war began. But its outcome was a 
 complete defeat. Only a speedy flight enabled Merere to 
 throw himself into Utergule and there stand on the de- 
 fensive. Now the situation of the missionaries on their hill 
 was a most serious one. If the wild, thievish and blood- 
 thirsty Wahehe pursued Mehere and took Utengule by 
 storm, they would probably mete out to the missionaries a 
 terrible fate. But the Brethren remained steadfast at their 
 post and took refuge in prayer. And the unexpected hap- 
 pene:l. The Wahehe did not pursue Merere, but took their 
 way to the south, to fall upon the tribe of the Wakinga, 
 with whom they also had a long-standing feud. The mis- 
 sionaries were safe, God's hand being over them. But Me- 
 rere's hostility was deep set. 
 
 Their request for permission to hold services in his vil- 
 lage, he denied as often as it was made. At every new re- 
 quest he found a new pretext which made it impossible to 
 carry out the purpose of the missionaries. At length in a 
 public audience Richard sought to make him feel that he 
 was responsible for the loss that would accrue to nis people. 
 "God demands the souls of your subjects from you; woe 
 unto you if you refuse to give them to Him." The "great 
 men" were paralyzed with fear. But Merere rose and left 
 the place in silence. But it soon appeared that the mission 
 station was tabooed for the people. No one came near it. 
 No one brought the missionaries food for sale ; even their 
 
82 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 medicine, that had been very much in demand, was no 
 longer sought. All intercourse was cut off. The old mother 
 of the chief, a poor blind old woman, who suffered much 
 from her eyes and had gratefully received the visits of the 
 missionaries, no longer dared to send for their salve that 
 had eased her pains. 
 
 Yet another attempt of Richard to reach the hard heart 
 of Merere proved equally vain. He would indeed not admit 
 that he prevented the intercourse of his people with the 
 missionaries, but laid it all to the blame of the field-work 
 that occupied them. But he closed with these words : "The 
 great lord from Langenburg has been here and he did not 
 speak as you speak. Arabs and other whites have been 
 here ; no one speaks like you. You speak of God's judg- 
 ment and of death. Amongst us it is considered improper 
 to speak so. You have never seen God, how can you speak 
 about Him? Among us we call such persons sorcerers and 
 liars. And such an one are you. See to it that you begone, 
 and go back to the place whence you came." These words 
 were spoken in an outburst of rage. But all who were 
 present assented to them. The missionary was dismissed. 
 
 And the Arabs, Mohammedans, who hatl homes in the 
 village, saw to it that the anger of Merere did not die down. 
 For they soon recognized in the missionaries their natural 
 foes. Indeed for years after they manifested unyielding 
 opposition. Once when the missionaries expressed the wish 
 to purchase a piece of land in order to extend the small patch 
 which they had begun to cultivate, it was in vain. The 
 Arab, who owned this neighboring plot of land, would part 
 with it for no sum of money. In fact, it was reported to 
 the missionaries, that he had a loaded gun at hand in readi- 
 ness to shoot them if no other means succeeded in prevent- 
 ing the sale. 
 
 It was therefore not possible to reach Merere and his peo- 
 ple, the Sango tribe. Therefore the missionaries turned 
 their attention to the original people of the region, the Ba- 
 safwa, who lived scattered here and there, half in hiding. 
 Some of the Basafwa were willing to work for the whites. 
 
WIDENING THE BASE OK OPERATIONS. 83 
 
 They even brought lumljcr from distant ravines. They were 
 willing to learn the art of brick-making. With these new 
 work-people morning prayers were held daily. On Sunday 
 they were assembled for services. About a year after the 
 founding of Utengule Richard paid a visit to Germany and 
 Kootz was left in Utengule alone with his wife. Relations 
 with Merere were by this time slightly better, but he still 
 remained hostile to the Gospel. A small chapel was erected 
 beside the mission house. On Sunday a flag waved over 
 it as a sign that service would be held, and this signal was 
 not in vain. Every Sunday the missionary saw new faces. 
 Gradually Sango people also came. The "great men" of 
 the village were still absent, and for the most part the con- 
 gregation was composed of the shy Basafwas and of Ban- 
 yika, who had also been attracted by the possibility of earn- 
 ing wages. By Sunday Exaudi, 1896, the little chapel was 
 crowded. At last the ban had been broken after so trying 
 a period of waiting. Christian charity had won the day. 
 The barriers of suspicion and reserve and smothered hate 
 had been broken by carrying into practice the teaching of 
 the parable of the Good Samaritan over against a very piti- 
 fully afflicted Safwa man. One Sunday a boy had appeared 
 and begged that the missionaries would come to his father, 
 who lay in misery from a bad wound in the leg. Richard 
 had returned with him to his home in response. The village 
 to which he had been led was distant from the station two 
 and a half hours' steady walking. The wound was such 
 that it would need daily care. So the proposal had been 
 made, that the man permit himself to be carried to the sta- 
 tion. It took six strong men to accomplish this, and for 
 their services they had required pay. But the man had been 
 established in a hut on the land of the station, where his 
 wife helped to nurse him. This manifestation of Christian 
 charity, as the man gradually recovered, thanks to intelligent 
 care, had broken down the barriers. 
 
 Now progress began to be made, even if at first slowly. 
 A school was opened in which some lads of the vicinity and 
 the workmen from a distance were instructed. Out of the 
 
84 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 ranks of these came the first applicants for baptism. When 
 in March, 1897, the news came from Rungwe, that the first 
 baptisms had taken place there, it stirred the young people. 
 Two young men begged the missionary: "Instruct us; we 
 want to follow Jesus." They were known to be earnest, dili- 
 gent young men. They stuck to their desire. After thor- 
 ough instruction it could be fulfilled in June. It so hap- 
 pened that the first bell had been received at the station, and 
 therefore it was determined to combine the consecration of 
 the bell with the baptism of these two candidates. After 
 the bell in tones never heard here thus far had sounded out 
 an invitation over the village and over the whole land, 
 Ndumati and Kubeta received the sacrament, and with it 
 their new names, which they had chosen for themselves : 
 "Guamsakuire," that is "He has sought me," and "Guamy- 
 annehira," that is "He has received me." 
 
 The tension between the mission and the village, which 
 had begun to lessen in the course of years, was finally re- 
 lieved in a peculiar manner. Merere, who in time had be- 
 gun to become half-way friendly, removed his residence 
 from Utergule to Iringa, the chief town of the Wahehe, at 
 the request of Hauptmann Prince. After the proud Wahehe 
 had been compelled to submit to the power of the German 
 arm, their conqueror considered it advisable to humiliate 
 them and place over them a number of chiefs whom he him- 
 self selected. To this end he recalled Merere, who had for- 
 merly been driven out of this district. By tempting presents 
 he was induced to remove to Iringa, and there nominally 
 have sway over an extensive territory, but in reality to en- 
 joy a shadowy rule as a vassal of the colonial government. 
 On May 13, 1897, he made his exodus from Utengule and 
 took his subjects with him. His former capital soon fell 
 into a heap of plundered and deserted ruins. For the mis- 
 sion this was no great loss. As a whole the Sargo tribe 
 had been inaccessible to the Gospel. The hitherto oppressed 
 Basafwa new felt themselves free, and nothing hindered 
 them from giving an attentive ear to the missionaries. To 
 help them forward economically a carpentershop and a shoe- 
 
WIDENING THE ISASK OF OPERATIONS. 85 
 
 makershop were established on tlie land of the mission. The 
 founding of these branches of industry soon proved to 
 be a wise step. The shoemaking establishment in time 
 not only began to meet the needs of the missionaries but 
 also to furnish foot-wear for the "Askaris," the native sol- 
 diers at Langenburg. 
 
 Even before the situation in Utengulc had been relieved 
 in this manner, plans were laid for the occupation of Bun- 
 dali and Nyika, the two adjacent regions to the northwest. 
 As in Utengule, so also in the stations in Kondeland a num- 
 ber of tribes were represented among the work-people who 
 had been employed in the erection of the permanent houses. 
 In Rutenganio, for example, the majority were Banyika. 
 As they were one after another baptized the relations of the 
 mission to the neighboring districts increased and the mis- 
 sionaries entertained the hope of bringing the Gospel thither 
 also. With this end in view, after correspondence with the 
 Mission Board, Meyer undertook an extensive tour of ex- 
 ploration through the land adjacent to the German-British 
 boundary in the direction of Lake Tanganyika. A small 
 company of Christian natives accompanied him, with whom 
 he made the best of experiences. Their companionship was 
 especially valuable, because they had many relatives in the 
 districts which it was now desired to occupy. On the part 
 of the chiefs everywhere he received a warm welcome. It 
 would have been an easy task to select sites for eight sta- 
 tions. But for the present only two could be manned. The 
 one lay in the territory of Chief Mwakasinka, in Bundali. 
 most picturesquely situated at a height of more than 4200 
 feet above sea-level, and promising, therefore, to be all that 
 could be desired in respect of healthfulness. It was high 
 time that the mission secured a firm footing here ; for the 
 natural hne of communication between Lakes Nyasa and 
 Tanganyika, so far as German territory is concerned, lies 
 through this district, and its fertility appeared sure to at- 
 tract colonists, especially if facts should substantiate the 
 truth of the rumor that coal was to be found here. 
 7 
 
86 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 The second site lay in the less naturally attractive Nyika- 
 land, in the direction of Lake Rukwa. Though not so fer- 
 tile as the mountain slopes leading down to the Songwe, it 
 also held out attractive possibilities, especially in view of 
 the willingness of the fairly populous villages to welcome 
 missionaries. Mbosi on the Nkana was selected and the ne- 
 cessary arrangements were made with Chief jVIasenga, in 
 order to accjuire sufficient land. Here the speech of Konde- 
 land no longer sei-ved. It would be needful for future mis- 
 sionaries to raise the Kinyika to the dignity of a written lan- 
 guage. Intercourse with Banyika laborers at Utengule and 
 Rutenganio had. however, already given the missionaries 
 some acquaintance with the new speech. 
 
 With the commencement of these new posts in Bundali 
 and Nyika in the year 1899 thousands of additional natives 
 were brought within the sound of the Gospel. 
 
METHODS OF WORK. 87 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 METHODS OF WORK. 
 
 Successful missionary work requires a very many-sided 
 endowment of the worker. To achieve real success he must 
 himself have first of all experienced saving grace. He must 
 know the Redeemer in Whom he believes and on Whose 
 sacrifice he rests, experience having confirmed for him the 
 truth of Holy Scripture, that there is no other name under 
 heaven given among men whereby men may be saved ; but 
 that the Son of God does save both now and hereafter. 
 For without positive and living convictions, and unless he 
 can really use God's Word, the missionary will soon be- 
 come disheartened as a mere promoter of civilization and 
 culture. 
 
 But he also needs the gift of discernment in the knowledge 
 of men and the gift of leadership of men. The missionary 
 to-day is preeminently a leader of companions in labor for 
 Christ, won from among the native converts. He must 
 know how to call forth the latent talents of these evan- 
 gelists and other workers, how to inform and direct them 
 as the most eflfective agents among their fellow-countrymen. 
 Other things being equal, he is the most successful mission- 
 ary, who rather than attempt to do the work of a dozen 
 men himself, can set a dozen men to work and judiciously 
 supervise them. He will exercise a far more efficacious in- 
 fluence over the people than if he consumed himself in the 
 endeavor to be the sole and direct herald to all those who 
 live within the radius of a given distance from his station. 
 
 Furthermore, whilst the first aim sought by himself and 
 his native auxiliaries is to bring men to a personal knowledge 
 of our Saviour, in as much as the leaven of the Gospel 
 working from within inevitably afTects all the relationships 
 of life, the missionary needs to be a man of wide informa- 
 tion respecting all manner of matters. He must have a 
 sound apprehension of the ethical bearings of the Gospel. 
 He needs to discriminate between the merely national and 
 the essentially heathen in the customs of the land where he 
 
88 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 serves. If it is comparatively easy to prevent the people 
 from falsely identifying a mere imitation of European dress 
 and usages with the essential requirements of the faith, it 
 is more difficult to conserve what is innocent in tribal cus- 
 toms by infusing into them the spirit of what is essentially 
 Christian. Perhaps it may be required of him to inaugurate 
 or at least develop a school-system for the land of his adop- 
 tion. He will certainly exercise a formative influence on 
 its social, economic and business life, if under him the peo- 
 ple pass from barbarism to a degree of culture. He will 
 assist in solving sanitary problems. Works of mercy on a 
 large scale in times of famine or epidemic must be inau- 
 gurated and administered by him. In short, there is scarce- 
 ly an aspect of the ever advancing well-being of the people, 
 with which he will not be in some degree identified. 
 
 But in order that he and his successors may permanently 
 exercise this manifold influence for good, he must found 
 for himself a permanent home in the midst of the people. 
 Hence the need for the mission-station in the wilderness, 
 especially in such a land as German East Africa where con- 
 ditions of the pre-historic age still existed at the time of the 
 missionaries' arrival. 
 
 The site for the station having been selected and acquired 
 by purchase from the chief claiming ownership, and the 
 purchase confirmed by the colonial authorities, immediate 
 needs are met by the hasty erection of a bamboo hut with 
 palm-leaf or thatched roof in African style. Some protec- 
 tion must forthwith be obtained against the glare of the 
 sun and the drenching tropical rains, no less than against 
 prowling lions and inferior beasts of prey. Paths must be 
 cleared to the village of the chief or other neighbors and 
 to the stream whence water is to be obtained. Later wells 
 must be dug or, as at Rutenganio and Mbozi, primitive 
 water-works erected and piping laid to bring the water to 
 the mission-house. Sometimes the erection of more perma- 
 nent dwellings is attended with peculiar difficulties, as in 
 the case of Mbozi, where clay suitable for bricks was lack- 
 ing. Here the bricks cracked, whilst they were being dried 
 
METHODS OF WORK. 89 
 
 in the sun, and the grass of the vicinity was found to be a 
 very perishable material, quite unsuitable for thatching the 
 roof. Hence the houses had to be built of wood, in spite 
 of the knowledge that ants and borers would speedily do 
 destructive work. Indeed in every case only experience 
 could teach just what sort of indigenous timber best resist- 
 ed the attacks of insect pests. 
 
 When once established the Christian family life of the 
 missionary home in German East Africa, as everywhere in 
 heathendom, became a powerful auxiliary to the preaching 
 of the Word. The steady force of example set forth how 
 family-life should be sanctified through the influence of 
 vital faith and by loving obedience to God's commands. 
 
 Whatever theories the missionaries and the home board 
 might entertain as to the respective advantages- and disad- 
 vantages of a policy of concentration or that of decentral- 
 ization, however much it might be sought to avoid the sys- 
 tem illustrated by the so-called "grant stations" of the South 
 African missions of the Moravian Church, there rendered 
 necessary by the former governmental policy of grouping 
 as many of the natives as possible in "reserves," in Nyasa- 
 land it was soon found inevitable that native villages of 
 greater or smaller extent sprang up about or on the land 
 purchased by the mission. The mission-station became the 
 place where many found their sole opportunity of earning 
 what would supply the needs that were newly arising in 
 their lives. Here in return for labor muslins and other 
 prints might be had. Here improved hoes and cooking uten- 
 sils and other desirable supplies were to be acquired. So 
 huts sprang up like mushrooms in the vicinity of the mis- 
 sionaries. Each mission home became a focus whence the 
 knowledge of effective forms of labor began to radiate ; 
 indeed the beginnings of skilled labor in the land were 
 marked by the erection of these mission villages. Eor by 
 degrees the more steady and skillful men were intrusted 
 with the more important tasks, as overseers in connection 
 with the unskilled lalxir of the manv. as sawvers in the saw- 
 pits, as carpenters in the wood-working shop, as masons 
 
90 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 and brick-layers. Hundreds of natives began to accustom 
 themselves to steady industry. 
 
 On Sunday all this busy activity rests. Need for a prim- 
 itive house, at once church and school, has been early met. 
 From the African standpoint it appears a matter of course 
 that those who have engaged themselves to the missionaries 
 for steady wages should feel under obligation to respond 
 to the invitation to morning prayers during the week and 
 to the worship on the Lord's Day. Many are indeed but 
 superficial hearers, coming only from politeness and good 
 form's sake. Others individually soon acquire an inner de- 
 sire to learn more about the truth of God. These are 
 strengthened in their sense of identity with the missionaries 
 by the removal to the station on the part of those who have 
 accepted the message in heathen villages, and who come be- 
 cause they realize that they must live near the missionaries 
 for further instruction and because they have broken with 
 their past. The fellowship of like-minded is essential for 
 them, if they are to successfully resist the temptations in- 
 herent in the superstitious usages still observed by their 
 heathen relatives. 
 
 Furthermore the home of the missionaries attracts the 
 natives as an educational center. In order that he himself 
 may master their language as the medium through which 
 he shall bring them the Gospel, the missionary in his efifort 
 to commit it to writing must work hand in hand with the 
 more intelligent of the people and initiate them into the arts 
 of writing and reading. The two go hand in hand in the 
 process of conquering an unmastered speech. Adults rather 
 than children constitute the first scholars in the incipient 
 schools, and in connection wnth the hours for instruction 
 regard must be paid to the field-work to be done by the men 
 for their own support. With this the school for adults may 
 not interfere. 
 
 In the course of time, as experience is won, a minutely 
 worked out program for the year and month and week and 
 day guides the missionary. He has his hours for Bible 
 study, for preparation for public services, for the work of 
 
METHODS OF WORK. ^U 
 
 translation and other literary labor; for the instruction of 
 the various groups of people, native evangelists, baptized 
 Christians, candidates for baptism, and heathen. Schools 
 have been established for children and others of a higher 
 grade for the more advanced pupils. Primers have been 
 printed and the Gospels and other ])ortions of the Scriptures 
 translated and placed in the hands of the scholars. The 
 more gifted pupils are employed as assistant instructors. 
 It is remarkable what rapid progress is made. Six years 
 after the founding of Mbozi Bishop ITennig at the time of 
 his official visit in V)05 can write: "The school has one hun- 
 dred and seventy names enrt)lleil ; there were one hundred 
 and ten pupils in attendance when I inspected the work. 
 Instruction is given in Biblical history to the children and 
 candidates for baptism. This lasts half an hour and is fol- 
 lowed by lessons in reading and writing. The latter is at- 
 tended' by old and young, men, women and children, who 
 are grouped in seven divisions according to their proficiency. 
 The afternoon is devoted to outdoor work. Three classes 
 occupy rooms in one of the old mission-houses, the rest 
 gather under the trees. Books, slate and pencil are the 
 property of the scholar ; this speaks well for their interest 
 in their studies, for school materials are very expensive, 
 since most of them must be obtained from Europe. The 
 examinations were very satisfactory. About forty are able 
 to read the Gospel according to Matthew, the only part of 
 the Xew Testament which has so far been published in 
 Kinyika. The Banyika are undoubtedly a talented people. 
 In the upper class we found a boy of eleven years sitting 
 among men. He began to attend school early this year and 
 can now read quite well. Among the compositions was one 
 on l-'ield-work, which Brother Bachmann translated for me. 
 'Vhv preparation and cultivation of the ground were lucidly 
 explained, as also the system of dividing the work among 
 the men and women." 
 
 Cooperation with the missionaries in connection with the 
 work of translation affords excellent intellectual exercise 
 for the ("liristians. ITe who entered the church at Uten- 
 
92 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 gule on a certain day in the middle of the year 1910 might 
 have thought himself in a school ; for there before a large 
 black-board stood the missionary, Kootz, with his people 
 grouped in front of him. On that black-board he had writ- 
 ten his translation of a hymn into the Kisafwa, and the 
 people were now busy reading it aloud. But on the second 
 reading they came to a sudden pause. In reply to his ques- 
 tion : "Why don't you go on?" there came the reply: "Be- 
 cause our mouth refuses to say something that is written 
 there." Ah, here something is at fault in the translation. 
 The mistake must be removed. Now begins eager debate, 
 as to what may be the correct expression. At times the dis- 
 putants wax quite hot. But that only testifies to their zeal. 
 The work of amendment is persisted in until at last all say : 
 "Now we understand it." By such a process a small hymnal 
 of thirty-nine Kisafwa hymns has arisen. Copied out by 
 the Christians, this hymnal, which also contains the litany 
 for Sunday morning and litanies for baptism, is now in 
 regular use at this station and its filials. 
 
 Gradually the village that has arisen in the vicinity of the 
 missionaries' home assumes more and more distinctively 
 the characteristics of a Christian village. The monogamous 
 marriage renders Christian family life possible. By degrees 
 various customs of the past are sloughed ofif and disappear 
 as incompatible with the new faith, though the missionaries 
 steadily avoid the tendency merely to Europeanize their 
 converts. Yet with the entrance of culture into the life of 
 a primitive people it is inevitable that much must change, 
 even in connection with the furnishing and structure of their 
 homes. The pen and the book demand a table and chairs 
 or their substitute; nor dare the hut any longer remain with- 
 out light save that which streams in through the open door, 
 a window must be contrived. 
 
 Sunday observance is early introduced, and the passage 
 of the year is marked by the observance of the chief of tne 
 Christian festivals. Advent, Christmas, the Holy Week, 
 Easter, Pentecost. Perhaps on their own initiative, or in 
 consequence of a mere hint of the missionary, the Harvest 
 
METHODS OF WOflK. 93 
 
 Festival becomes an annual institution. Marriage is cele- 
 brated in Christian fashion. The obligation to support the 
 spread of the Gospel finds acceptance. Church contribu- 
 tions begin to be brought and fees are paid for the education 
 of the children. Attendance at the school becomes obliga- 
 tory for the children of Christians and for those whose 
 parents reside on the land of the station. In the colony at 
 Jarge compulsory education is not yet ordered by law. 
 
 Of peculiar importance for the furtherance of the con- 
 verts in personal experience and experimental Christian 
 "knowledge is the detailed private conversation which the 
 missionaries have with the communicants prior to each 
 ■celebration of the Holy Communion. Alany a time such 
 an occasion becomes one of special joy, as the deepening 
 understanding of the Christians comes to light. Much self- 
 mistrust and childlike simplicity of faith is met with, though 
 ■secret sins are also disclosed. Often this opportunity for 
 <:lose examination into the spiritual state of the incipient 
 ■congregation is a time of blessing for the missionary him- 
 self. His sense of personal responsibility is deepened, as 
 lie perceives the confidence reposed by the people in the in- 
 sight and Christian maturity of their teachers. 
 
 Prior to Easter, 1899, for example, Niganile of Rungwe 
 ■was one of three members who expressed no desire to come 
 to the Lord's table. When Meyer sent for him and asked 
 him why he had not announced himself, he replied, "Of late 
 I have been thinking, whether I had committed some un- 
 known sin. My leg will not heal properly and constantly 
 pains me. And as I got no rest about it in my mind. I 
 thought I ought not to go to the Holy Communion." "Do 
 you murmur against (iod, because your leg will not heal? 
 Are you angry with God?" "No. I do not do that, but I 
 "have my thoughts as to why it will not heal up." "Then 
 you are really looking for sin in your heart?" "Yes, that 
 is so." "And are you looking for it prayerfully, as in the 
 sight of God?" "Yes, I ask Him to enlighten me." "Are 
 you not conscious of any sin?" "No, but perhaps there is 
 some sin after all. I cannot tell." "Then the Lord has not 
 
94 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 made it known to you?" "No." ''Well, then, let me tell 
 you something. Our chieftain to-day sends forth the fol- 
 lowing message, 'My Supper is prepared; come, for all 
 things are ready.' What are the people to come and do?"^ 
 "They are to come and eat." "And when they have eaten^ 
 what then?" "They will be satisfied." "And what will they 
 obtain?" "Strength." "And?" "New Hfe." "Yes, and 
 all that is His. What more will He give us?" "Wisdom,, 
 righteousness, light and insight." "Yes," said Meyer, final- 
 ly, "He will give you light. Well then, Niganile, you are 
 unable of your own self to see whether or not you have 
 committed a certain sin; you need light and Jesus offers ta 
 give you light. Now, since Jesus invites you to come, and 
 says, 'Come and eat, enter into special communion with me,, 
 and receive strength and light,' dare you say, 'No, I can not,, 
 for I do not know whether or no I have committed a cer- 
 tain sin ; I have no insight in this matter, I must wait until 
 I get the necessary enlightenment?' Go home and con- 
 sider what answer you will give your Lord." The same 
 evening and the following Niganile returned to Meyer and 
 said he believed the things were as had been told him. viz.,. 
 his leg trouble, which had first brought him to Jesus, was. 
 intended to continue as a reminder that he was subject to> 
 death, and also as a constant reminder of Jesus. He wa.s. 
 now quite prepared to partake of the Lord's Supper. 
 
 Evangelical missions the world over seek to place the 
 Word of God in the hands of the people as soon as possible. 
 In Nyasaland it is hoped that the various dialects in local 
 use may be reduced in number to four for purposes of 
 church and school. The Kinyakusa speech of Konde has 
 been raised to a written language especially through the 
 work of the Berlin missionaries Schumann and Nauhaus, 
 who prepared a grammar of it and devoted much time to- 
 literary labors, so that already in 1899 the first three Gos- 
 pels. Stories from the Old Testament and some of the- 
 Psalms were ]niblished in the Kinyakusa tongue. The 
 Hymn-book for the Konde country that was printed in 1905 
 owed its origin to' missionaries of both the societies. Pro- 
 
METHODS OF WORK. 95 
 
 fessor Meinhof, then of the Oriental Seminary of IJcrHn and 
 now of the Colonial Institute in Hamburg, and Haefner, of 
 the Moravian Mission, produced one of the three primers 
 now in use. The former director of the training-school at 
 Rungwe. Klautzsch, who was compelled by ill health to 
 leave the field, in 1906, continued to serve the mission after 
 his return by co-work in the revision of the translation of 
 the Xew Testament originally made by Xauhaus. This re- 
 vised version was printed by the Bible Society of Prussia 
 in 1908. Traugott Bachmann prepared for the Xyika dis- 
 trict a Primer and a Translation of the Gospel according 
 to Matthew, which have been printed, and the translation 
 of the Gospels according to Mark and Luke, as well as other 
 portions of various books of the Xew Testament. The lat- 
 ter as well as a hymn-book containing 50 hymns and also 
 various liturgies for baptism and for Easter, as well as a 
 catechism, await publication. Similarly a mass of kindred 
 literary material already exists in the other dialects includ- 
 ing that of Kondeland. 
 
 Such literary products possessed a special value for the 
 training and preparation of the native evangelists, who al- 
 ready at an early stage of the mission began to lend import- 
 ant aid in spreading the message of the missionaries. If it 
 indicated a step in advance, when the people apprehended, 
 that it was not needful to live near the missionaries, in order 
 to become a Christian, still more so was this the case, when 
 the obligation came to be realized, that each and every 
 Christian must pass on to others his knowledge of the way 
 of life. Native Christians first of all accompanied the mis- 
 sionary on his preaching tours, to translate for him when 
 necessary, and to add a word of independent testimony for 
 Christ as personal knowledge and experience deepened. By 
 degrees the more competent could be assigned to serve a 
 circuit independently, the rule being invariably that they 
 should go two by two for mutual support. In a land where 
 each European missionary is responsible for bringing the 
 Gospel to many thousands, and in particular under climatic 
 conditions like those of ecjuatorial Africa, it soon l)ccanic 
 
96 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 evident, that if Nyasaland is to be won for Christ no small 
 part in the conquest must be taken by the Africans them- 
 selves. Gradually this form of agency assumed more and 
 more system. Tours were undertaken according to definite 
 plans. Hopeful points received stated visits. Native chiefs 
 were induced to erect bamboo huts at these centers for the 
 purpose of school and worship. A training-school was es- 
 tablished at Rungwe in 1903, where promising evangelists 
 were prepared for both educational and evangelistic work. 
 In time out-stations thus arose, where approved assistants 
 could be permanently stationed. Meanwhile the evangelistic 
 tours were prosecuted with more and more system under 
 the control of the missionaries. In proportion as this work 
 called the men employed away from their homes and ren- 
 dered it impossible for them to provide for their families 
 in the former manner, fixed allowances were paid them. 
 Regular seasons and courses of instruction were planned. 
 It was required that the evangelists enter their experiences 
 in their diaries and make periodic reports to the missionary 
 that he might the better direct and control their activity. 
 For the most part they are young men. In Nyasaland com- 
 paratively few converts have been won of an age beyond 
 thirty years. The old men find it difficult to break with the 
 cult of their ancestors, whom they expect to join in the 
 spirit-world. It is of interest to listen to certain of the evan- 
 gelists, as they render an account to Bachmann, after a tour 
 or two. 
 
 Ukasime conducts weekly services and holds school in 
 two villages, new centers, where work was commenced only 
 eight months ago. He can not report a longing for God's 
 word. The chief holds aloof ; but a number of people at- 
 tend. One old woman wept for joy at hearing the tidings 
 of salvation. He has fifty scholars, of whom thirty attend 
 regularly. Waluseshelo reports sixty scholars at his out- 
 post. Many attend his services, but only seven or eight 
 seem to be in earnest. At another of his posts thirty come 
 to school. At his own home, Umpela, there is zeal to learn 
 the Word. Six are being instructed for baptism. A num- 
 
METHODS OF WORK. 97 
 
 ber of his pupils can now write as well as he. Wavwila 
 tells of difficulties at his home, Isulalu. \'ery many come 
 on Sunday and are attentive, but do not carry out what they 
 hear. Most of his eighty scholars arc regular, and many 
 equal his own attainments in the art of writing. Some are 
 being instructed for baptism. He has no less than twenty- 
 five preaching places, where he itinerates with varying suc- 
 cess. Walusangu, whose home is Mbozi, visits Ijenga; he 
 is discouraged, so few come to hear what he has to say. 
 Yet, when he gave notice of his intention to go to some more 
 responsive spot, a number of young people besought him 
 not to do so. He has nineteen scholars. Walusangano has 
 thirty-one places to visit, and as a rule is much encouraged. 
 Such a desire to learn to read and write has been aroused, 
 that at one of his places a certain young man bought a prim- 
 er and slate and taught himeslf by interrogating every one 
 of his acquaintances who knew these arts, and made such 
 progress that when later he came to work at the station, 
 he could at once enter an advanced class. Moreover these 
 people inquire what our religion demands of them in its 
 bearings on daily life in connection with their labor in the 
 fields, their hunting, during illness, etc. Walwitho tells how 
 the people come gladly to his preaching-place, Mwembe. 
 If they are busy in their fields, they say, "Our work can 
 w^ait, come, let us hear God's Word." But the chief keeps 
 aloof, and says, "I dare not neglect the prayers and offer- 
 ings to the departed. God is for the younger people, not 
 for the older." About Iledje the people are clamoring for a 
 school. Of themselves they have instituted Sunday observ- 
 ance and have given up certain immoral dances. They allow 
 their young women more liberty in connection with their 
 marriage choice. But, when Bachmann was there with the 
 evangelist Nsajigwa, he felt constrained to tell them plainly 
 that the personal Saviour was more important than the 
 schools or a religion made up of mere observances, however 
 valuable the former and proper the latter. Mukoma is in 
 charge of the evangelist Ambilishije, who has been hindered 
 much by illness. However, the services at Mukoma's vil- 
 
98 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 lage have not ceased on that account. Tjisumbi, a son of 
 the chief, who can read and possesses parts of the Scrip- 
 tures, has statedly gathered the people for the hearing of 
 God's Word. The chief attends these readings of his own 
 son, but is battling with his convictions. His councillors and 
 his wives are trying to keep him in the old ways. Some 
 time ago a woman attracted much attention by her profes- 
 sing to be able to bring rain and to cause the fish to swarm 
 in the rivers. When she came to Mukoma, claiming a 
 desire to cause rain, he had her driven away, professing to 
 regard her as mad. But later he yielded to her offer to pro- 
 vide fish, and suffered her to set about her conjurations. 
 Among the rest she required that the people should sweep 
 their homes, as a sign that they looked for some great thing. 
 Moreover they should weave fish-baskets in expectation 
 of the great catch. The chief went to see how his children 
 would act, since they are inclining to Christianity. He 
 found his daughter sitting in her door-way, and asked why 
 she did not sweep her house: "Did she want no fish?" "Yes; 
 but I will sweep my house when I have a mind to, not when 
 that woman gives orders." His son, Tjisumbi, was trim- 
 ming the handle of an axe. In reply to the question, "All 
 the people are weaving fish-baskets ; why are not you ?" he 
 said, "Father, not to-day. I will do that when I wish, but 
 not when this woman commands." In reality the sequel 
 brought the boast of the poor woman to naught. 
 
 The diary of Walutungamo notes the following : "One day 
 we came to a village of Alwaluvanda, but found only Muno- 
 lima, one of the councillors of the chief at home. Here we 
 stayed over night. Munolima asked us, 'You men, you are 
 on the go without resting; what is your occupation^?' We 
 replied : 'Honorable father-in-law, hear us ; we will tell 
 you.' Then we related the story of the creation. To that 
 he remarked : 'That has been told us already by Nsombwile. 
 But the Europeans also die; after all God does not help.' 
 W' e naturally agreed with him that the Europeans also die. 
 'But,' we continued, 'there are two kinds of death. Those 
 who die without God go to destruction ; those who die with 
 
METHODS OF WORK. 99 
 
 God, go to everlasting life and arise again.' This we sought 
 to make plain to him by an illustration : 'Is not the maize and 
 every seed now as if dead, since the rain, the father of the 
 causing to spring into life, has not yet come? When the 
 rain comes, all that now seems dead will arise in life.' When 
 JVIunolima heard this, he was astonished and sighed, but 
 said nothing." 
 
 Through this evangelistic activity, and the erection of 
 schools and simple chapels the net of the Gospel is being 
 more and more widely cast. Individual candidates for bap- 
 tism, who prefer to remain in their old districts instead of 
 removing to the station or its vicinity, come to the outpost 
 for instruction. Gradually this place also takes on itself 
 more and more definite characteristics of a Christian vil- 
 lage. Occasionally on great festival occasions, the converts, 
 who have been baptized not at the central station but at the 
 out-post as a testimony to the surrounding heathen, pay a 
 visit of a shorter or longer duration to the center itself. 
 And thus whilst no principle of centralization is insisted on, 
 but rather one of diffusion, the mission-station becomes a 
 city of God set on a hill. Its light shines forth far and wide. 
 
100 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 HINDRANCES. 
 
 In the nature of the case the propagation of the Gospel 
 always has involved and always must involve conflict. Our 
 Saviour said that He came not to send peace on the earth 
 but a sword. The seventy, whom He first sent out, did not 
 everywhere meet with a welcome reception. There arose 
 occasions, when they had to shake ofif the dust from their 
 sandals as a testimony against those who deliberately hard- 
 ened their conscience against the offers of God's grace. 
 When the great apostle wrote of the great and effectual 
 door that w^as open to him in Ephesus, he had to add that 
 there were many adversaries. The history of the early 
 Church is the story of a two-fold conflict, against outspoken 
 foes, who had recourse to all manner of weapons, and 
 against internal agitations caused sometimes by a seeking to 
 amalgamate essentially unchristian systems of thought with 
 the fundamentals of the faith or by an insidious relaxation 
 of the demands of Christian ethics. 
 
 Missionary undertakings may be expected to reflect the 
 experiences of the early Church in various ways and for 
 more reasons than one ; for the inner experience of human 
 nature the world over will ever substantiate the conclusion 
 reached by the apostle Paul, whose self-scrutiny led to the 
 verdict : "I find then the law\, that, to me who would do good, 
 evil is present. For I delight in the law of God after the 
 inward man : but I see a dift'erent law in my members, war- 
 ring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into cap- 
 tivity under the law of sin which is in my members." 
 
 The conflict against the power of evil and the aggressive 
 attack on the strongholds of Satan in the heart of the indi- 
 vidual and in the tribe or race is rendered particularly diffi- 
 cult in a region of intense heat like equatorial Africa by 
 the fact that as little can the individual missionary ever and 
 always be at his best, as can he guarantee unbroken activity 
 for a long period of years after the language of the people 
 
HINDRANCES. LOl 
 
 has been mastered and their customs and mode of thought 
 have come to be thoroughly understood by him. Chmate 
 works as a hindrance of the first order. Dysentery, malaria, 
 black-water fever, with all manner of sequelae, not the least 
 common of which is enlargement of the heart, render the 
 most consecrated worker physically unfit for weeks at a 
 time. The oppressive heat produces headache, and affects 
 the nerves. The most placid disposition may become irri- 
 table. Memory is weakened. Energy is sapped. Often 
 death enters the ranks. Georg Martin died in 1892, Jean 
 Ledoux in 1896, Christine Haefner and Agnes Zickmantel 
 in 1897, Helena Stolz and Rudolf Wagner in 1899, Anna 
 Boehme in 1901 and Lydia Meyer in 1907. Furloughs ne- 
 cessitated by poor health interrupt plans for work. It might 
 be that physicians forbade a return from furlough : Richard 
 and wife must remain in Europe in 1903, Klautzsch simi- 
 larly in 1906, Giersch in 1908 and Haefner in 1909. Nor 
 can even the construction of mosquito-proof houses and the 
 establishment of a sanitarium in Kyimbila guarantee that 
 this experience will not be repeated. 
 
 But quite apart from the difficulties of climate with which 
 Europeans have to contend in Equatorial Africa, the years 
 soon began to show, that the propagation of the Gospel in- 
 volved and must involve conflict with powers of evil even 
 among the children of nature in Nyasaland. These black- 
 brown figures with harmless-looking happy faces are not 
 always the good-natured and innocent folk they at first ac- 
 quaintance may appear to be. Behind and beneath the ap- 
 parent good^nature of these people lie boundless selfishness 
 and measureless self-righteousness. 
 
 Selfishness often gives the key to the heathen character. 
 There seems to be a striking lack of disinterested affection. 
 The sense of personal obligation is very slight. It is pos- 
 sible for a "boy" to have been in the service of a missionary 
 for years and to have experienced much kindness at his 
 hands, and yet to enter the service of others without the 
 least token of regret, if only higher wages are obtainable, 
 8 
 
102 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 that he may the sooner purchase a cow for himself. When 
 Jansa in connection with his medical missionary work de- 
 sired his "boy" to assist him in his work of dressing wounds, 
 or in boiling and bleaching bandages, so that they might be 
 used again, he met with a point-blank refusal ; for it is en- 
 tirely against native custom for any one who is not nearly 
 related to the patient to have anything to do with his band- 
 ages and the like. There seems to be absolute inability to 
 appreciate the fact that the missionary busies himself with 
 these cases that are often disgusting in their nature out of 
 mere pity and Christian charity. 
 
 Apparent friendliness may serve to mask impudent false- 
 hood and the basest mistrust. If many readily manifest an 
 accommodating spirit, yield to the missionaries and listen 
 to them, it does not always warrant the inference that they 
 do this because they have confidence in the messengers and 
 are ready to accept their message because convinced of its 
 truth. The explanation may really be found in their super- 
 stitions. Perhaps at first they see in the missionaries not 
 ordinary human beings — in particular where they have not 
 yet come in contact with whites — but rather higher and su- 
 pernatural personages. The superiority of the representa- 
 tives of the white race has made an impression of this sort 
 upon them. Fear of the magic with which they imagine 
 the new-comers are equipped, has caused them to give way 
 to the strangers. And this conception is nurtured by their 
 own witch doctors. These old-time religious guides of 
 theirs prefer at least at first to work against the missionaries 
 in underhand ways, rather than come out openly and boldly 
 as their opponents. The opposition thus developed may, 
 however, be all the more effective because of its quiet and 
 secret nature. 
 
 As a matter of fact there rests upon the people a dull lack 
 of readiness to respond to appeals. Whereas among many 
 another race calamity, sickness or the approach of death 
 frequently softens the heart and renders the individual in 
 question receptive, amongst the people of Nyasaland exactly 
 the opposite may result, and heavy, numb indifference be 
 
HINDRANCES. 103 
 
 manifested. "If 1 die, 1 die." "God hates me, and tliere- 
 fore strikes me dead. What can I do?" The suggestion 
 that God has visited such an one with trouble in order that 
 he may prepare ft)r his end and turn to God in time, falls 
 on deaf ears. Indifference, ridicule and laughter may be the 
 res])onse to the message of the missionaries in days of health. 
 The invitation to come to the mission-station and learn of 
 (.jod will meet with the reply, "Yes, we will come. But we 
 are cautious. W'e will come. But just when — we do not 
 yet know." 
 
 Often, when it is plain that better knowledge begins to 
 dawn on the mind, and the conviction is half entertained 
 that some day a change must be made, the might of custom, 
 the power of habit and the sw^ay of usages inherited from 
 the fathers, or the influence of personages w'ho set the tone 
 smothers every stirring of conscience. Thus it comes that 
 tlie converts have been' won on the whole from among the 
 comparatively young and not from the older generation. 
 Least of all do the petty chieftains really surrender to the 
 truth. Even when half persuaded, they are apt to hold 
 back. In their priestly capacity at the head of their several 
 clans, they feel res])onsil)le for the maintenance of the re- 
 ligious usages that are sup])osed to condition the blessings 
 of fertility upon fields and groves and cattle by securing the 
 good- will of the spirits of their ancestors to whom they di- 
 rect their intercessions. Tliis new religion may do for their 
 children, they may even admit ; Ijut tlicy dare not break with 
 the bonds of ancestral cust(Mn. Indeed the more definitely 
 and clearly the demands of the ( losiicl are ])Ut. tlie more 
 fully is the conflict between the bad old past and the renewal 
 of life realized by the ])eo]:)le themselves. Said an old chief 
 to the missionary at lleya: "Do you know that we have not 
 the strength to change our ways?" Love of their native 
 beer, the inclination to sexual immorality, the tendency to 
 dissolve the marriage bond on slight pretexts, untruthful- 
 ness, selfish greed in connection with the ownership of cattle, 
 that treasure for the sake of which they will stoop to all 
 sorts of wrong-doings ; superstition, with the readiness to 
 
104 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 have recourse to the services of the witch-doctors, especially 
 in times of sickness — these are some of the things that bind 
 them down and fetter them to the old, evil mode of life. 
 
 Polygamy stands out as one of the chief hindrances in the 
 way of an adult man's accepting Christ. Quite apart from 
 the fact that woman puichasable for so and so many head 
 of cattle, can not attain the position in family life that should 
 be hers by right, polygamy renders Christian family life im- 
 possible. Yet here as in other lands where it exists in con- 
 nection with the social usages and economic arrangements 
 that have rooted themselves for centuries, the man is 
 often loath to dismiss all his wives except one as a condition 
 of baptism. They mean so many hands to hoe his corn- 
 fields. When placed before the alternative, too often bap- 
 tism is rejected. Polygamy, however, serves as an obstacle 
 to baptism for yet another reason: If the candidate first dis- 
 solved his polygamous unions except one, the last state of the 
 wives now divorced, who have possibly moreover in the 
 mean time really become attached to him, would be worse 
 than at the first. Having no protector, they would be cast 
 adrift, placed in an anomolous position as overagainst the 
 social and economic usages of the people. An immoral life 
 might be their only recourse. Hence in not a few instances 
 men under conviction of the truth have declined the decisive 
 step involved in baptism, because apparently really unable 
 to break with polygamy. 
 
 The demoralizing effect of polygamy upon womanhood 
 is in part to be accounted for by the fact that the parents 
 of a girl may bargain her away long before she has reached 
 an age when consent on her part may be predicated. And 
 at that she may be sold under conditions that involve essen- 
 tial immorality. For example a five year old girl may be 
 sold to a man. who already has adult children. The actual 
 marriage does not indeed take place. She remains with her 
 parents till she is twelve or thirteen years of age. Never- 
 theless she has been sold. She is the property of her aged 
 husband. Possibly before she has become a part of his 
 household, she fancies a younger man and elopes -with him. 
 
HINDRANCES. 
 
 105 
 
 Or she is carried off by a younger man. This gives rise to 
 endless feuds. Or there is a man, who has long been a 
 grandfather. He has five or six wives already ; but this does 
 not prevent him from adding to these an additional wife in 
 the person of a girl of twelve. His own daughter of a simi- 
 lar age he will give to a man yet older than himself, because 
 the latter can pay for her with several desirable cows. If 
 the girl objects, she will be brought to her husband by force. 
 
 Most difficult of all is it for the chiefs to break with the 
 past. Their people will not permit it since they represent ' 
 the incorporated traditions connected with the olden faith 
 and cultus. On the death of the blind old chief Zumba early 
 in the year 1910, his twelve year old son was chosen in his 
 place, an intelligent, bright lad. who had been attending the 
 mission school at Ileya. But the "elders" of the tribe gave 
 no peace, till he left the school, on the plea that a chieftain 
 dare pray only to the ancestors. This was especially owing 
 to the influence of the vice-chieftain, an old man named 
 Shimamule, who had ever manifested consistent opposition 
 to the Gospel. Among the rest he had for a time refused 
 to allow the native evangelist any land where he might cul- 
 tivate what was necessary for his own support. Indeed 
 poor Andipije would have been helpless in this respect, had 
 not Kruppa made energetic representations. 
 
 In making up a list of the hindrances with which all evan- 
 gelical missions must contend in German East Africa, a 
 place must be given to Mohammedanism. This place will as 
 a rule l>e more or less prominent in proportion to the near- 
 ness of the stations to the sea-coast, where the Arab slavers 
 and -traders have possessed influence for many decades, if 
 not for centuries, or to points in the interior like Tabora and 
 like Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika, long ago important in con- 
 nection with their caravan traffic and their transportation of 
 ivory and slaves from the Congo State to the Orient. At its 
 commencement the Nyasa mission felt the hostile influence 
 of Islam only in a secondary and more remote manner. Rut 
 a new factor with which the mission has had to reckon more 
 frequently in recent years is the bad prestige of individuals 
 
106 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 who. on their return from the coast or from working in con- 
 nection with the construction of the railway, seek to coun- 
 teract the advance of the Gospel by means of their pretend- 
 ed knowledge of the world. As in other parts of the colony 
 so here, these returned travelers, who have come in contact 
 with the Suaheli, drop foolish remarks like the following: 
 "The time of the Europeans in the land will soon be at an 
 end. The Emperors of Germany and England have re- 
 ceived their powers from the Sultan of the Mohammedans, 
 and the time he has allotted to them will soon be up." It 
 needs no great insight to discern that the source of the wish 
 that is parent to such thoughts is Mohammedan. There can 
 be no doubt that the next decade will witness an intenser 
 contest with Lslam all through Equatorial Africa. Its influ- 
 ence is steadily and stealthily advancing into the interior. 
 So far as Kondeland is concerned, the lowlands about Mueia 
 and Ipyana, and the valley of the Songwe present the chief 
 theatre of direct Mohammedan opposition. But its approach 
 is so insidious, that it may have really more than half as- 
 sumed control of the mental and spiritual attitude of whole 
 districts, before the missionaries are aware of this. Certain 
 it is that the entire coast of German East Africa stands un- 
 der the sway of Islam. In the harbor towns mosques are a 
 common sight. For two or three days' journey from the 
 coast the indigenous population has gone over to the false 
 faith in large numbers. In the interior isolated Arab and 
 semi-Arab colonies, in Tabora and Ujiji and along the line 
 of the railway that is rapidly being constructed from Dares- 
 salam to Tabora, constitute at present the fortresses of the 
 religion of the false prophet. 
 
 Without question Mohammedanism constitutes a danger- 
 ous foe of the Gospel, one whose advance must be opposed 
 by all means that are at disposal. Possessed of great ca- 
 pacity of adaptability, accommodating itself easily to the 
 original Animism of the African peoples, it is ceaselessly 
 active in its efforts to proselytize and does in fact offer the 
 African heathen something better than what he hitherto 
 possessed. Here its strength is twofold. On the one hand 
 
HINDRANCES. 
 
 107 
 
 it does actually satisfy higher religious needs, in that it pre- 
 sents to the Aniniist the conception of the one God. who 
 rules the world, and on the other hand it does raise the 
 African to a higher state externally, in that it affords him 
 in a limited degree an educational means of widening his 
 mental horizon. \\'hereas it appertains to the essential na- 
 ture of heathenism, that its adherents are kept in a state of 
 dread and fear, Islam can undertake to produce an innei 
 sense of repose, consciousness of security and assurance of 
 safety under the protection of (rod. It does reckon with 
 these inevitable longings of human nature and through its 
 teachings of a sensuous paradise laid up for the faithful 
 offers to the Bantu a concrete aim in life, which he is capa- 
 ble of understanding. Furthermore for him there is some- 
 thing specially attractive in its preaching the brotherhood of 
 believers. By his conversion to Islam and through his be- 
 coming a fully qualihed member of this great international 
 religious organization — an organization as characteristically 
 that of the man of dark skin as Christianity is the religion 
 of the whites- — he has socially everything to gain. Previous 
 to his conversion to Islam, the Arab, formerly hated and 
 feared by him as a slave-hunter and slave-trader, regarded 
 him as an unclean dog. Through his admission to the ranks 
 of the "Faithful" he obtains the proud consciousness of hav- 
 ing attained admission into a brotherhood that knows no 
 distinction of race, has risen above the humiliations to which 
 he was subjected as a heathen, and has the sense of security 
 which comes from the solidarity of feeling common to mil- 
 lions in Africa and Asia. 
 
 Moreover the acceptance of Islam by the African is ren- 
 dered the more easy by its demanding conditions which may 
 be readily fulfille 1 by him. Fthically and morally no great 
 change needs to be made in his former views and customs. 
 On the contrary, in the sphere of religion and religious 
 u.sages great concessions are made to the African i)roselyte. 
 Indeed his previous superstitions and usages are scarcely 
 interfered with at all. From the "Faithful" it is only de- 
 manded that they believe in the existence of a God. in the 
 
108 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 existence of spirits, of angels, in the Koran, in the prophets 
 of God, in the day of judgment and in predestination. 
 Among the rituahstic duties primary stress is laid on the 
 obhgation to repeat the brief characteristic Mohammedan 
 confession of faith in Allah and in Mohammed his prophet. 
 With this is associated the observance of the stated prayers 
 five times a day, fasting in the month Ramadan, giving of 
 alms, and when circumstances permit, the pilgrimage to 
 Mecca. In his accepting the religion of Islam the learning 
 of the confession of faith plays the main part, from its fund- 
 amental significance. This and the acquirement of the ritual 
 in connection with the formal prayers are something new 
 for the African, but also something easily grasped. For the 
 rest, he may remain practically unchanged. Circumcision is 
 readily conformed to. His position in relation to polygamy 
 and to slavery he need not surrender ; nay rather he finds 
 it confirmed by the seal of religion. Nor does the new faith 
 require of him in any wise to abandon his belief in spirits 
 and ghosts, in the power of magic and of magical formulas. 
 His reverence for the shades of his ancestors, his fear of 
 demons, his use of amulets, his heathen customs in connec- 
 tion with the healing of disease — ^all these he may carry over 
 with himself into the new camp. No change of heart, no 
 modification of his point of view, no readjustment of his 
 moral life, no purifying of character is required. And yet 
 with it all, he flatters himself with the idea that through his 
 abhorring swine's flesh and his repetition of the creed of 
 Mohammed, he has become a very superior individual in 
 comparison with his former self, and in comparison with 
 the "infidel" fellow tribesman, whom he now learns to com- 
 fortably despise and the "infidel" European, whom he learns 
 to cordially hate. No wonder that Mohammedanism there- 
 fore makes an easy conquest of the African. Indeed since 
 the occupation of East Equatorial Africa by Germany and 
 the consequent suppression of the slave trade and the main- 
 tenance of order in the land, Mohammedanism has conduct- 
 ed a more aggressive propaganda among the native tribes. 
 It was the representatives of Islam who were responsible 
 
HINDRANCES. 109 
 
 for the terrible slave-hunts and the awful processions to the 
 •coast, when in the olden time the living wares brought them- 
 selves and the ivory to market. In those days self-interest 
 taught the Arabs to withhold the privileges of their faith 
 from the African tribesman, otherwise the scope of their 
 slave-trade would have been curtailed — for the Mohammed- 
 an must seek his slaves beyond the pale of the "Faithful." 
 Now that the black dare no longer be regarded as lawful 
 "booty, it is in the interest of Mohammedan aggrandizement 
 to seek to win him as a subject of the Crescent. Moreover 
 the very security afforded by a stable colonial government 
 and the excellent means of communication which this gov- 
 •ernment is establishing have rendered the task of propagat- 
 ing Islam far easier. Finally the Alohammedan's method of 
 doing missionary work is far simpler than that of the Church 
 in the twentieth century. Every Mohammedan is a mis- 
 sionary; every Hadji counts it a point of honor to be a 
 "herald ; every petty trader, every teacher of the Koran, ev- 
 ■ery Mohammedan holding some minor office under the co- 
 lonial government does what he can to spread the faith. 
 The name Suaheli and advocate of Mohammed have become 
 practically identical in German East Africa. Hence it is 
 readily conceivable that the approach of the emissaries of 
 Islam and their invasion of a given district will not at once 
 be noticeable. Quiet leavening of the views of a tribe may 
 take place ere the Christian missionary perceives the pro- 
 cess. Mohammedanism has no need of founding mission 
 stations, nor of training and sending and maintaining mis- 
 sionaries set apart and recognizable as such by virtue of 
 their office. The emissaries of the Koran require no insti- 
 tutions corresponding to those of the propagators of the 
 Christian faith. Hence an intensive pro])aganda may be 
 .going on and the Christian missionaries may l)e scarcely 
 made aware of the presence of insidious and bitter antago- 
 nists, until a whole village has hardened itself against Christ 
 and proclaims itself for the false prophet. And experience 
 "has taught, that the conversion of a Mohammedan presents 
 :a far more difficult task than the winning (^f a pagan, how- 
 
110 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 ever low the type of Animism on which his rehgious cultus- 
 has been based. 
 
 Unfortunately evangelical missions in German East Af- 
 rica must reckon with yet another antagonist in the effort to- 
 win the native population for Scriptural faith, and that is 
 the counter-propaganda of Rome. Roman Catholic mis- 
 sionary history in the regions now embraced in the German 
 colony antedates the hoisting of the German flag. Roman 
 Catholic missionaries found firm footing in Zanzibar al- 
 ready in 1859, and in 1869 established a settlement on the 
 mainland at Bagamoyo. Their concrete task was a laudable- 
 care of emancipated slaves. Moreover the priests pressed 
 forward into the region of Lake Tanganyika as early as- 
 1879, to meet with most active opposition and encounter 
 many difficulties before their settlements gained a secure 
 basis. But the more significant aggressiveness of Roman 
 Catholicism in German East Africa dates from the founding 
 of a missionary house of the "White Fathers" in Trier in 
 1894 in order to equip workers of this order for special ser- 
 vice in this colony. 
 
 This laudable zeal would call forth very little adverse- 
 comment, were not Roman Catholic missionary methods 
 characterized by a failure to place the Bible in the hands of 
 the converts, with all the consequent traits of a Christianity 
 resting on salvation by works and external religious observ- 
 ances, and were not Rome as a matter of principle consist- 
 ently aggressive, where evangelical missions have already 
 done pioneer work, utterly failing to maintain such comity 
 as can exist between representatives of essentially the same- 
 faith. The land would seem large enough for the division 
 of the task of winning heathen tribes for Christ without 
 collision among the various representatives of Christianity.. 
 But Rome with her proclamation of only one Church in 
 which salvation is to be found can not be consistent and re- 
 frain from entering Protestant territory. Hence she has. 
 divided the whole colony for the purpose of missionary ad- 
 ministration into five apostolic vicarates, quite irrespective 
 (if the question whether any part of the land remains for the- 
 
HINDRANCES. Ill 
 
 present wholly untouched hy her emissaries or whether en- 
 tire districts have already heen well supplied with Protestant 
 heralds of Christ, and whether evangelical congregations 
 have heen huilt up. In the middle of 1908, as contrasted 
 with the Protestant mission and their 11.655 native Chris- 
 tians, served from 72 main stations hy 102 ordained and 50 
 unordained missionaries and 20 unmarried women mission- 
 aries, Rome had at her 67 stations 38,9/6 native Christians 
 in the care of 183 fathers, 86 lay hrethren and 126 nuns. 
 
 There can be no doubt whatever, that the Moravian 
 Church took up its missionary work in its chosen region be- 
 tween Lakes Nyasa and Rukwa before the Roman Catholics 
 entered this part of the country. But it became evident be- 
 fore many years passed, that they are specially bent on ob- 
 structing Protestant mission work here as elsewhere, and 
 for that reason planned to systematically enclose and con- 
 fine the Moravian area of operations by the erection of sta- 
 tions of their own on several sides if not within the bound- 
 aries of the evangelical work. It is true the government 
 exercises its influence as much as possible in the direction 
 of obviating conflicts' between the missions of antagonistic 
 confessions. So for example, when the Roman Catholics 
 sought to open four schools in Hochsafwa and thus hamper 
 the Protestant work in the northern part of that region for 
 whose evangelization the Moravian Church had become re- 
 sponsible the influence of the government was exercised in 
 favor of Herrnhut. 
 
 Here were places for the occupation of which Meyer had 
 already been negotiating with the government. Yet the 
 points of conflict in other directions remained. Hence the 
 district-officials were asked by the "White Fathers" in the 
 year 1903 to act as arbitrators in the matter of a clear de- 
 markation of the two spheres of labor in the country lying 
 to the northwest of Utengule. With a view to making ad- 
 vances on their part as well, Meyer and his co-workers con- 
 sented to this proposal, but made it a condition that its ac- 
 ceptance be made dependent upon the sanction of the two 
 Home P)Oards in Europe, the Roman Catholic and the Kvan- 
 
112 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 gelical, and accordingly refrained from work of every de- 
 scription in the territory of the chiefs lying in the sphere of 
 influence assigned to the Roman Catholic Church. Soon how- 
 ever the Roman Catholics occupied anew a station in the 
 immediate neighborhood of Moravian work, which had been 
 abandoned in consequence of government action. It there- 
 fore became apparent how little they could be bound by such 
 agreements. True neither Board at home had as yet ratified 
 the agreement. Hence the "White Fathers" might plead 
 they had broken no formal truce. The Mission Board of 
 the Moravian Church had expressed its willingness to assent 
 to a line of demarkation, provided the other party would 
 do the same. The assent of the second party had not been 
 made known. On the other hand the missionaries in the 
 field received repeated messages from chiefs living in the 
 Roman Catholic sphere, chiefs with whom they had been 
 on friendly terms and among whom they had labored years 
 previously, urgently requesting them to take up their activ- 
 ity anew, since the Roman Catholic workers were not to 
 their mind. At the same time these chiefs and their people 
 themselves began to oppose the Roman Catholic mission to 
 such an extent that their workers accused the Protestant 
 missionaries of having violated their promise and of inciting 
 the natives to opposition. A thorough investigation of the 
 afifair on the spot by a representative of the government in 
 the presence of the monks and the superintendent of the 
 Moravian Mission, showed not only that the Protestant 
 workers had respected the agreement, but also that the Ro- 
 man Catholics had lost the confidence of the people. Con- 
 sequently with the cognizance of the government official 
 public notice was served that the agreement if it ever had 
 held good on the part of Rome was now entirely abrogated. 
 This transpired in 1904. 
 
 For several years an unsatisfactory state of things result- 
 ed. But in 1909 and 1910 negotiations were resumed re- 
 garding the demarkation of boundaries that should separate 
 the Roman Catholic from the evangelical mission in this 
 part of German East Africa. It was proposed that a mutual 
 
HINDRANCES. 113 
 
 understanding should be reached, which should be valid for 
 the space of ten years. To the proposed boundary, arrived 
 at after much correspondence, the Mission Board of the 
 Moravian Church gave its consent in 1910, and at length 
 at the end of the first half of the year 1911, the final ac- 
 quiescence of the authorities of the Roman Catholic Mis- 
 sion was also received. 
 
114 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 DISAPPOINTMENTS. 
 
 In connection with every effort to elevate the degraded 
 and inform the ignorant, it is inevitable that from time to 
 time keen disappointments must be experienced. That is 
 disclosed by the inner history of all philanthropic effort. 
 Mission work in German East Africa has proved no excep- 
 tion to this rule. Not all converts have remained steadfast; 
 sometimes those on whom most attention and sympathy had 
 been expended and in connection with whom high hopes 
 were cherished, suddenly disappeared to seek their fortunes 
 at the coast without a word of thanks for kindness ex- 
 perienced. Not every man selected to be an evangelist has 
 been faithful to his trust; sometimes reproach has been 
 brought on the Christian name by the weak yielding of such 
 a man in the face of temptation. Demas has had his coun- 
 terpart in Kondeland. Base ingratitude, total misunder- 
 standing of the motives of the missionaries, or the utter 
 unreliability of those in whom confidence was reposed, have 
 sorely tried the Brethren ; for example, when the church at 
 Ipyana, dedicated on the Fourth Sunday in Advent, 1900, 
 was destroyed by fire on the following May 14, evidently 
 the work of an incendiary. So, too, when in 1903, the care- 
 lessness of the man temporarily placed in charge of the 
 same station permitted a grass-fire to spread to the stable, 
 and destroy with the building the valuable animals it housed, 
 this faithless keeper, having lost his head, made no effort to 
 arrest the fire nor save the stock, but simply ran away. But 
 possibly the experience with the former slave-children al- 
 ready alluded to cut deepest of all, because many hopes had 
 naturally been built upon their gratitude and docility. 
 
 The experience may be narrated somewhat in extenso as 
 typical of the fact that the native who is the subject of the 
 missionary's aims, regards the purposes of the latter from 
 a very different point of view and does not necessarily ap- 
 preciate even the manifestations of most unselfish kindness. 
 
DISAPPOINTMENTS. 115 
 
 On Nov. 24, 1898, the news reached Rungwe, that Major 
 von Eltz had succeeded in freeing a slave caravan of more 
 than two hundred captives from the Arab slaver Mrosi. 
 But the slaves thus set free could not be sent back to their 
 native districts, partly because it was probable that this 
 would merely mean a transfer of their ownership, with a 
 falling into slavery elsewhere, and partly because in the case 
 ■of women and children relatives were no longer to be count- 
 ed on as alive, even were it certain that they could find their 
 way back to their former homes. Hence they had to be 
 provided with new homes in the colony and under the pro- 
 tection of the government. For about half the number such 
 provision had been made. But for the rest, mainly women 
 •and children, von Eltz had found no suitable places. It was 
 therefore his wish that the missionaries of the Berlin So- 
 ciety and of the Moravian Church should accept them as 
 wards of these missions. This intelligence came from mis- 
 sionary Nauhaus of Wangemannshoh, and with it the ques- 
 tion whether the missionaries at Rungwe were willing to 
 -assume the care of a part of this human flotsam and jetsam. 
 
 An aftirmative decision was reached. How could it be 
 otherwise, when pity and duty combined to urge the neces- 
 sity of acting the part of the Good Samaritan, and at the 
 same time, there seemed to be prospect that especially these 
 •children, being saved from a fate worse than death, and 
 finding foster-parents in Rungwe, would prove especially 
 amenable to the teachings of the Gospel ? Meyer happened 
 to be absent at the time. Richard at once set out for Wange- 
 mannshoh to receive his charges. 
 
 Of the ninety, who were there, only three were men ; the 
 rest women and children, some of the latter of very tender 
 years. The husbands of the women had been murdered in 
 the raid of the slavers. Whether the parents of any of the 
 children were still alive, no one knew. Nearly starved and 
 weary to death, they had been brought to Wangemannshoh 
 by the native soldiers of the government. During the first 
 day they could only lie about and sleep for sheer weariness. 
 It was evident that they belonged to a variety of tribes, and 
 
116 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 conversation with them was by no means easy. Since the- 
 BerHn missionaries by this time had founded two stations- 
 and the Moravians only one, the former agreed to take two- 
 thirds of these poor unfortunates, the latter one-third. 
 
 With his thirty protegees, among them one man, Richard- 
 returned to Rungwe on December 6. 
 
 On January 19, 1894, Meyer arrived at Rungwe with his- 
 young wife; his colleagues were still single. And now al- 
 though the newly rescued slaves seemed to have begun to. 
 accustom themselves with a degree of contentment to the- 
 conditions obtaining at the station, it was necessary to care- 
 fully regulate their affairs. Privileges and duties must be 
 weighed overagainst each other. The government had laid 
 down no conditions, when placing them in the charge of the- 
 missionaries. They themselves had voluntarily declared, 
 that they wished to live at the station under the protection 
 of the white men. Of compulsion, there neither was nor 
 could be any thought. The missionaries, therefore, formu- 
 lated the following for their own guidance : for the present 
 we will provide for the external wants of these people ; but 
 in return we must demand from them a certain amount of 
 work and unconditional compliance with the regulations of 
 the station. Half a year's probation should first of all be 
 arranged, at the close of which an opportunity should be 
 given to all to choose definitely, whether they wished to cast 
 in their lot \vith the mission. In the mean time inquiries 
 should be made after their relatives, and if any were found 
 it should be left to them to go to these if they preferred. 
 Round huts in native style were built for them on land be- 
 longing to the mission. The women should be encouraged 
 to find husbands from among the unmarried men at the sta- 
 tion. One of the women married Muarupia, the cook of 
 the missionaries. When such a marriage took place, the 
 mission's obligation to provide food for the woman ceased. 
 The children must attend the school. Women were found 
 who were willing to adopt the quite little children. 
 
 As was to be expected, some difficulty was attendant on 
 the task of accustoming the strangers to the orderly ways 
 
DISAPPOIXTMEXTS. 117 
 
 that already obtained at Rungwc. Vor discipline and order 
 were hitherto unknown quantities in their Hves. Neverthe- 
 less all arranged itself better than was hoped at the outset. 
 The only man of the company, Muasandya, was of a gentle 
 and cjuiet disposition, and worked diligently in the garden. 
 From the women who were fed by the mission, only half 
 a day's work was expected. The afternoons belonged to 
 them. xA.nd with this regulation they seemed content. When 
 they were asked in May, after five months, whether they 
 wished to remain, without exception they declared that they 
 were pleased with their circumstances and desired to stay 
 here permanently ; no wonder, in view of the fact that they 
 knew wheie to find neither their former home nor their 
 kinsfolk. 
 
 Similarly the slave-children accustomed themselves to the 
 school regulations far better than had been anticipated. One 
 boy, it is true, Kiarne by name, was in a specially wretched 
 condition. Physically he was utterly miserable, weak and 
 emaciated ; so that he knew only one impulse, namely to 
 satisfy his hunger. He did this at all hours of the day, 
 when and where and however he could, with the property 
 of others, as well as with what had been given him as his 
 portion — at times, too, with really inedible things. Of obe- 
 dience he had not the faintest conception, and with his fel- 
 lows he lived in ceaseless strife. Yet gradually even this 
 Ishmael tamed down. Most of the boys proved to be sur- 
 prisingly intelligent and quickly grasped what was taught. 
 The elder lads displayed a surprising capacity for thought. 
 Of especial value was their capacity and love for singing. 
 For song unified and disciplined this otherwise so mixed 
 multitude and at the same time exercised a toning influence 
 on their dispositions. Through the medium of song it also 
 appeared to be not difficult to introduce religious concep- 
 tions. True not much could be done with the heathenish 
 songs and native melodies, they brought with them. The 
 melodies had indeed a peculiar attraction, but were unsuited 
 to religious songs. The contents of their songs, when not 
 
 9 
 
118 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 directly bad, were very empty. But when they were taught 
 songs, which j\Ieyer had translated, and set to German melo- 
 dies, they welcomed them with eagerness and soon acquired 
 this new treasure. Some of the boys showed special aptitude 
 for gardening, and Aleyer's wife had satisfaction with two 
 girls in particular, iMuabura and Mumbi, whom she taught 
 sewing and housework. These two also appeared to be spe- 
 cially susceptible to religious truth. 
 
 By the summer of 1894 the missionaries believed that they 
 could notice that a complete change had taken place in the 
 ways and life of their wards. They had ceased to quarrel 
 with one another. W^hen disagreements arose, they brought 
 them to the missionaries for settlement. Reserve had given 
 way to openness and trust in the goodness of their white 
 friends and protectors. When for example one of the boys, 
 Satara by name, by accident broke a water-bottle, and his 
 first impulse was to conceal the accident out of fear, an 
 older boy, Fiafuma, took him by the hand and said, "Come, 
 let us go to the teacher and tell him. He has always said 
 that we should freely tell him all that we have done." 
 Bachmann was naturally made glad by this little incident. 
 From their placing confidence in the missionaries it was 
 easy to turn thoughts to placing confidence in Jesus. Prayer 
 now began to be a common practice among the boys. The 
 character of most of the children had so changed for the 
 better that their old, wild, wayward selves could scarcely 
 be recognized. Not indeed that perfection had been attained. 
 Follies and even small thefts and falsehoods came to light. 
 But in each case punishment was accepted as something 
 well deserved and seemed to produce a good efifect. Even 
 Kiarne's formerly sullen face now gleamed with happiness 
 and contentment, so that his comrades noted with surprise 
 the change that had taken place in him. The gratification 
 of the missionaries may well be understood. They began 
 to build hopes on these children. In them they saw the 
 material for future workers among the native population. 
 Here should be the corps of evangelists in coming days. 
 The adult ex-slaves also became a source of satisfaction, 
 
DISAPPOINTMENTS. 119 
 
 even if it was often necessary to exercise patience in relation 
 to them. Certain of the women who had come from near 
 Lake Tanganyika, suffered very severely from home-sick- 
 ness. An effort was made to ascertain whether their rela- 
 tives were still ahve, and they received the promise, that 
 when proper protectors had been found for them, they 
 should be allowed to return to their former homes. That 
 appeared to satisfy them. All were again cheerful and seem- 
 ingly contented. 
 
 But just when the skies were so bright, clouds began to 
 form. The Tanganyika women had not patience to wait 
 till the messengers could return from that lake. They re- 
 fused to do their share of work and showed themselves 
 thankless and impudent. That was the commencement of 
 troubles. During the night of .September 14, 1894, the first 
 flight from Rungwe took place. Next morning two women 
 were missing together with their children. I'ut the one 
 man among the ex-slaves was also missing, quiet, industri- 
 ous Aluasandya, together with his wife. He had not shown 
 the least sign of dissatisfaction. More than that ; three or- 
 phans were also missing, taken along by the adults. In- 
 quiries were at once made with regard to the fugitives, but 
 to no purpose. They had all disappeared without leaving 
 any trace. The first intelligence with regard to them was 
 received in November. The British official at the bound- 
 ary, the river Songwc'had seized them. He had allowed 
 the adults to go, but had kept the children in his care for 
 the time being. Tt was his purpose to hunt out their rela- 
 tives ; but first of all he asked if the mis.sionaries were will- 
 ing to permit them to return to Rungwe. This was declined 
 for the sake of the children who remaincfl, and whom the 
 missionaries wished to preserve from the influence of those 
 that had fled. But how humiliating this experience, and 
 the consequent admission that the children could not with 
 safety be received back! This secret flight, so plain a proof 
 of ingratitude, how unexpected and disappointing! ATean- 
 time it was a slight comfort, that the Tanganyika women, 
 with whom earnest conversations had been held, and whose 
 
120 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 conditions had been made yet more easy, had not joined the 
 runaways. On the contrary they appeared to be quite con- 
 tented with their duties. There therefore was good reason 
 to hope, that now the right sohition of the situation had been 
 found, and that the twenty-three ex-slaves who remained 
 at the station might be really influenced for good and at that 
 permanently. 
 
 But the old relationship of confidence had been disturbed. 
 In spite of all the good in the character of the young pro- 
 tegees, indifference and indolence gradually increased and 
 gained the upper hand. One who gave special cause for 
 anxiety was Fikirimi, the eldest of the boys. Wonderfully 
 developed both physically and mentally, he far surpassed all 
 his school companions in capacity for apprehension and in 
 his clear understanding. His apprehension of the religious 
 meaning of Biblical stories was simply surprising. But he 
 was of a precariously passionate desposition and was swayed 
 by passing moods. Over his companions he exercised a 
 rather unfortunate influence. Nor was he to be trusted. 
 Many complaints were made about him towards the end 
 of the year 1894. He became boisterous, careless and indo- 
 lent in learning. When taken to task and an appeal being 
 made to his better nature, he admitted that he had done 
 wrong, and asked penitently to be pardoned. But the im- 
 provement did not last. In the summer of 1895 a most un- 
 satisfactory spirit began to manifest itself among the young 
 people. Unreliability and lying became the order of the day. 
 Even good girls like Muabura and Mumbi required to be 
 set right. But the worst of all was Fikirimi. When pun- 
 ished for misconduct in September, he became impudent. 
 Then it was suggested to him, that he had better consider 
 whether it would not be best for him to leave the station. 
 He was old enough and strong enough to take care of him- 
 self. But once more he begged to be forgiven and to be 
 kept. Moreover, he said, he still wished to learn of Jesus. 
 
 But this was only the quiet before a storm. In the same 
 month evidences of immorality among boys and girls came 
 to light, and in these cases Fikirimi was the one who had 
 
DISAPPOINTMENTS. 121 
 
 led others astray. Punishments made only a passing im- 
 pression. Then suddenly one morning four boys, one of 
 whom was Fikirimi, were missing, and with them one of 
 the Tanganyika women, the mother of one of these boys. 
 When the disappearance became known, the two other Tan- 
 ganyika women offered to search for their country-woman 
 and bring her back. The missionaries said to them: "So, 
 you also want to leave. Do not imagine that you deceive 
 us. Well then, go." With them there also left two boys 
 and one girl — true, in an orderly manner, after taking fare- 
 well. 
 
 But now an indescribable epidemic seemed to have seized 
 the rest. Even those wanted to leave who had no home 
 and no relatives. The ex-slave women who had married 
 men of Rungwe now left with their husbands. Among 
 these was the cook, Muarupia. who disappeared with his 
 wife. But the keenest disappointment was felt in the case 
 of the girl, Muabura. She had been like a child in the fam- 
 ily of Meyer. Moreover she had been pledged in betrothal 
 to a faithful and reliable workman at the station, Mera. A 
 house had been built for the young couple and her outfit was 
 ready. Mera happened to be absent in a visit, but was ex- 
 pected to return soon. But nothing could keep Muabura. 
 Representations of all kinds made no impression on her 
 fixed determination to leave. She conducted herself in so 
 rude a manner that one would have hardly thought it pos- 
 sible. Her very countenance took on itself an expression 
 of wildness and obstinacy. All that she had received whilst 
 in service, she took with her, except the bridal dress, sewn 
 by Meyer's wife. W^ithout a word of thanks for kindnesses 
 experienced she went oft' with a young fellow and flaunted 
 her independence. Later on the sad news reached the sta- 
 tion that she was consorting with white men on the r^ad to 
 Lake Tanganyika. 
 
 But not only the husbands of former slave-women left 
 the station at this time. Among those who now separated 
 from the missionaries were such who had come with them 
 to Rungwe and by settling there liad apparently fully iden- 
 
122 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 tified themselves with the mission. Mera, for example, 
 never returned from his visit. And others, who had hith- 
 erto been considered wholly reliable, laid down their work 
 and left. Of all the former slaves, only seven remained, 
 and these children. They, too, would have preferred to go, 
 but learning nothing about their former home and relatives, 
 made the best of it and remained. Some of them have since 
 opened their hearts to receive the truth, but this could not 
 be said of all, though their conduct in future gave no special 
 cause for complaint. 
 
 That this bitter disappointment in connection with the 
 ex-slaves, was felt most keenly by the missionaries, goes 
 with the saying. They would not have been human other- 
 wise. And yet in and of itself it should not be regarded as 
 wholly surprising. The most loving, sympathetic treatment 
 meted out to children of the wilderness, no more accus- 
 tomed to restraint than the wild animals of their forests, 
 could not compensate for liberty to do and act as they liked 
 on their own passionate impulse, so long as the self -accepted 
 control of conscience was unknown and the willing subju- 
 gation of whims and wishes to God's holy law^ and gracious 
 purposes had not really taken place. Other missionary or- 
 ganizations in German East Africa also made disappointing 
 experiences with freed slaves. Of those who were brought 
 to the Berlin station, Manow, even fewer remained there 
 permanently. The East African Missionary Society had to 
 tell a similar tale of its experiences at Kisserawe, near Da- 
 ressalam. Indeed such a crisis may sometimes be whole- 
 some — at least for the mission concerned. When it was 
 asked, what drove the ex-slaves to leave in so thankless a 
 manner, the reply must be: "They themselves saw clearly 
 that an alternative was placed before them. Either they 
 must completely break with sin and renounce its service, 
 and become genuine followers of Jesus — or leave Rungwe. 
 The former alternative they were by no means willing to 
 embrace. Therefore they left, since it was no longer pos- 
 sible to remain and be both for and against Christ." For 
 
1) I SA I' l'( ) I N T M 1'. X TS. 1 2^ 
 
 Rungwe itself the experience proved a blessing in disguise. 
 Since the Spring of 1896 this station has rejoiced in inner 
 prosperity. The W^ord of God could do purifying work. 
 The converts recognized the need of loyal whole-hearted- 
 ness, that their light might shine. 
 
124 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE GOSPEL EFFECTIVE IN NYASALAND. 
 
 If in these twenty years there have been hindrances many 
 and formidable to be overcome and disappointments keen 
 and sore to be endured, on the other hand triumphs have 
 made glad the heart of the missionary. How confirma- 
 tive of his own faith, to note that the soul of the one-time 
 savage, the child of the wilderness, cradled in dark super- 
 stitions, responds in practically the same way as his own 
 to the message of divine love ! How the inspiration of 
 Scripture is verified for him in witnessing its effecting es- 
 sentially the same gracious work here as it did for him and 
 his companions in the Christian land of their boyhood ! He 
 rejoices to note the emergence of a sensitive conscience and 
 of a gradually well-rounded character, where once heathen- 
 ism had deadened the one and distorted the other. Mean- 
 time a spirit of tenderness and helpfulness gradually be- 
 comes perceptible among a formerly selfish and callous 
 people, and the conception of benevolence follows as a mat- 
 ter of course. Time was, when a Christian won from Af- 
 rican heathenism, if urged at a time of leisure to go help 
 some one who was infirm, could reply with a look of aston- 
 ishment: "What! shall I help another for nothing^" But 
 now it would amaze, if a Christian could put such a ques- 
 tion. The old bad customs of heathenism are gradually 
 passing. No longer can shrewd witch-doctors with impunity 
 build their practice of fraudulent mummeries on a super- 
 stitious fear of the spirits of the departed. Mourning as 
 those who have no hope, is less prevalent. A reading and 
 writing public is emerging. Scholars are flocking by the 
 thousands into the mission schools. The government wel- 
 comes a native Christian as a teacher of natives at the seat 
 of authority for the district, New Langenburg. New wants 
 are being created, as life is being lifted to a higher plane. 
 The sense of decency and a regard for cleanliness are be- 
 ginning to show their effects in the dress and the homes of 
 
CHURCH IN RUTENGANIO. 
 
THE GOSPEL EFFECTIVE IN NYASALAND. 125 
 
 the people. Slave raiding is a thing of the past. With the 
 cultivation of the soil and the planting of useful trees, as 
 well as the development of unsuspected resources hitherto 
 lying dormant, a development rendered possible by the 
 gradual introduction of means of transportation, there en- 
 ters into the life of those who once were savages the thought 
 of acquiring for a future day overagainst possible scarcity, 
 .and the conception of economy with all that it involves. 
 
 Over and over again the genuineness of the conversion 
 of men has been attested by their willingness to endure 
 Tiardness even in order to enlist as soldiers of Christ. Espe- 
 cially among the Basafwa, men have had to put up with 
 much from their stubbornly heathen wives, when resolving 
 to be candidates for baptism. Over and over again such 
 women have forsaken their husbands, because they con- 
 templated taking this step, and girls have declared that they 
 would marry no man connected with the mission. Some- 
 times the relatives of the wife have conspired with her. In 
 the early part of 1909 a candidate for baptism came one day 
 in a state of excitement, and told the missionary at Uten- 
 ^ule, that during the preceding night his brother-in-law had 
 cut ofif a portion of his girdle and a friend had severed 
 some of his hair, in order to secure these articles that by 
 means of them some sort of sorcery might be practiced 
 •against him. Mutavulwa, the last descendant of the family 
 of the chief priests of the Banyika, well on in the fifties, 
 after a troubled life, much of which had been spent in 
 flight before the Bangoni and the Basango, had at last found 
 a refuge in Tvungu. But here his heart found no rest until 
 "he came to the vicinity of Mbozi and sought baptism. ITow 
 his countrymen hated him for this ! Undeterred, he faith- 
 fully made use of every opportunity for instruction and 
 was baptized. In his last sickness his former heathen 
 friends shunned him. Loneliness was his lot. Finally he 
 asked for a hut at the station and this was granted him. 
 It was apparent that his end was approaching, and at that 
 rapidly. At the last visit of the missionary, he once more 
 •confessed his sins, and though he wept at the thought of 
 
126 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 having to leave his children, added as his conviction: "I 
 have the fixed assurance, that Jesus will receive me." At 
 his death, his former heathen friends would have been glad 
 to honor him in connection with his funeral. They wished 
 to lay his body to rest in a manner deemed fitting by them, 
 adorned with the insignia of a chief and with the crest of 
 feathers and frontlet of beads on his forehead. But though 
 they sought for these, they could not be found. Evidently 
 Mutavulwa had destroyed these ornaments prior to his 
 baptism, as inconsistent with a profession of the faith. 
 
 There can be no doubt of the apprehension of the essen- 
 tials of the Gospel, when the people translate it as it were 
 into forms that correspond to their own figurative mode of 
 thought, and so apply it the more thoroughly to their own 
 lives. The old people and especially the old women are- 
 very reticent and can scarcely be brought to make replies, 
 when questions are put to them in connection with catechiza- 
 tion in the church. House to house visits, however, may 
 bring to light, that even these duller minds have apprehended 
 what is essential in the most important truths. When 
 Bachmann once asked old Mutavulwa, "If some one said to- 
 you, Mutavulwa, Do tell me, what is the Holy Communion ?' 
 what would you answer him?" he replied: 'T should say to 
 him. If you want to know this, you must go to somebody 
 who knows about it." Caution and shrewdness mingled 
 there. But when Bachmann said to Imwagile, an old wo- 
 man : 'T suppose you do not understand anything of what 
 I say at church, because you never give answers," she re- 
 plied. "Well, we do understand, but we can not express our- 
 selves, and that makes us ashamed." "But now, we are- 
 quite alone, and last Sunday's story was so short and easy. 
 how was it? Tell me." Looking at the missionary a little 
 while, she then said, "There was a man, who had leprosy. 
 He came to Jesus, and saluting Him, said: 'Cook me some- 
 thing.' Jesus said. T will do it.' " There the missionary was 
 unconsciously set right by the old woman. It is often the 
 fault of the speaker, rather than of the hearer, if something 
 is misunderstood. Bachmann mav have used the word 
 
THE GOSPEL EFl-ECTUE IN X VASAI.AND. 127 
 
 "cleanse," as in the original and most of the versions. And 
 the word "cleanse" may be used in the Kinyika if it is ap- 
 plied to transgressions, faults, etc. But if the healing of 
 an illness is meant, it can not be used. Since in Nyasa all 
 medicines must be boiled or "cooked," in as much as ready- 
 prepared extracts are not to be had, and since Imwagile 
 knew that the man wanted to be cured of his (Hsease, from 
 her point of view, he could not have asked "Cleanse me," 
 but must have said. "Cook me something." The essential 
 features of the miracle of healing had been apprehended by 
 her, and she expressed herself in a genuinely African man- 
 ner. Another woman- also named Imwagile has had a very 
 varied life and has passed through all manner of exper- 
 iences. For many years she was a slave of oMerere and 
 knows captivity from her own experience. She was freed 
 by her husband, Alwegikundeha, who eloped with her in 
 order to marry her. Since she has become a Christian she 
 knows how to apply the new truth to him as well as to her- 
 self. Once when employed by the mission as a wood-cutter, 
 he was in the habit of complaining how hard his work was, 
 and would moan out at night that he could not sleep for 
 fatigue. One day he related to the missionary the following 
 dialogue, whicli he liad the previous night with his wife. 
 He began: "Imwagile, my wife, said to me, 'Alwegikundeha, 
 how was the storv of the Children of Israel ; had they not 
 been carried away prisoners by King Xebuchadnezzar, and 
 were they not compelled to work in Babylon?' 'Yes,' I said 
 to Imwagile, my wife. I said that they had to work until 
 God delivered them. 'Oh. so I'jng they were compelled to 
 do the work, which they did not search for, but which they 
 were forced to do? Was it really so?' asked Imwagile, my 
 wife. 'Yes,' I said, 'so it was.' 'Oh, that's well,' said Im- 
 wagile, my wife, 'but T must ask you something else. >Mweg- 
 ikundeha. my husband. Please tell me, how does the new 
 hymn go, which we sing at church to the accompaniment of 
 the violin?' Then I said to Imwagile: 'Imwagile, my wife, 
 you know very well how it runs. It runs : When the Lord 
 will deliver the prisoners of Zion, then we shall be like the 
 
128 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 dreaming ones.' 'Yes, so it is,' said Imwagile, my wife, 'but 
 you, Mwegikundeha, my husband, tell me once again : Who 
 shall deliver the prisoners?' 'God will deliver them,' I said 
 to Imwagile, my wife. Then Imwagile said to me, she said: 
 'You, Mwegikundeha, my husband, tell me, who has com- 
 pelled you to go to Mbozi and to work there? Have you 
 not gone of your own free will ? Did you not ask for work 
 yourself ? Why will you throw ofif the work for which you 
 asked, as if it had been forced upon you? Did we learn in 
 the course of instruction and do we sing it in church : The 
 Children of Israel waited upon God? What do you want 
 to do?' Then I said', 'Yes, you are right, my wife, Imwagile. 
 I shall go to the master and tell him that we were not right 
 in complaining of the work, and had in our minds to leave 
 it.' " 
 
 As in Christendom, so here triumphant deaths can be re- 
 corded to the glory of God. For example, during the sec- 
 ond quarter of 1910 the first adult Christian in Isoko was 
 laid to rest in the churchyard there, to await a glorious res- 
 urrection. During his last illness the Christians had visited 
 Samueli daily, and his relatives were with him. Calmly and 
 with absolute assurance he said to them : "I am going to 
 Paradise." Then he exhorted those present : "Do not delay 
 to follow God's Word. The kingdom of God is there," 
 During the third quarter of the same year, whilst the evan- 
 gelists Inangisye and Undule were visiting certain villages 
 in the valley of the Songwe, they found in one of them a 
 woman, whose body was covered with ulcerations. The 
 people of the place gave as the ground of the illness, "The 
 spirits of the dead have looked upon her — that is, have pun- 
 ished her." The evangelists conversed with her, and learned 
 that these terrible sores had followed the birth of her first 
 child. She knew very well what her countrymen said of 
 her, but she declared, "No, Jesus has looked down upon 
 me." The evangelists comforted her, and urged her to pray 
 to the Good Physician ; even if He was not pleased to heal 
 her here, her illness could not be taken with her to heaven. 
 
THE GOSPEL EFFECTI\-E IN NVASALAND. 129 
 
 jMusonga and Nachila were man and wife in Mbozi — a 
 pitiable couple in many respects. For ten long years the 
 former was paralyzed in his arms and legs. In 1901, at 
 the desire of the wife they removed to the station. The 
 missionary, Bachmann, made a chair for him, on which he 
 was carried to the church. Happily poor Musonga was for 
 the most part free from pain ; but when the sufferings came, 
 they were so severe, that thoughts of suicide were not ab- 
 sent. Fortunate it was for him, that he made a confidant of 
 the missionary, so that the latter warned and comforted and 
 encouraged him to endure, until it should be God's will to 
 release him. And he did endure. His w-ife, remarkably 
 strong physically, appeared to be somewhat slow of com- 
 prehension and did not understand much that was said to 
 her — at least so it seemed — but cared for her husband with 
 touching fidelity and affection, so that the missionary was 
 often amazed. Nor was the reason of their removal to 
 Mbozi a common one. It revealed a hateful custom of the 
 land. The end of her husband had for years already been 
 reckoned with, and a new husband had been selected for 
 her, a relative, who should take her to his home, when 
 death really came. But the wife of this intended w^as on 
 no friendly footing with Nachila and treated her with the 
 animosity with which polygamous wives of one and the 
 same man often treat each other : they bite one another's 
 fingers till they become stiff and useless. In this present 
 case, however, the jealous wife had bitten not the finger but 
 the lobe of the ear, so that an ear-ring could no longer be 
 worn. Her plea to be permitted to remove to Mbozi, where 
 she felt that she would be safe, could not at first be granted, 
 for her husband withheld his consent. Finally, since the 
 strife of the women did not cease, he assented. Both hus- 
 band and wife presented themselves as candidates for bap- 
 tism, and received preparatory instruction ; but the mis- 
 sionary could not bring himself to administer the ordinance 
 at the close of the instruction, since the wife allowed her- 
 self to fall into wordy strife with a neighboring woman. 
 Now Nachila fell ill, and her ailment took a serious turn. 
 
130 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 Ill fact Bachmann felt it his duty to prepare her for the 
 probabihty of death. On being told that her end might be 
 near, she replied: "That may well be." "Then whither will 
 you go?" "To the Lord," came the response. "To which 
 Lord?" was the counter-question. "To God," declared the 
 dying woman. "Yes, but will God receive you? You know 
 that He is holy." Then came the clear and joyful reply, 
 "God will receive me, for Jesus has redeemed me." More- 
 over her replies were given in so assured a manner, that 
 Bachmann felt she knew Whom she believed, and that these 
 were no empty words but the confession of a faith that was 
 an actual possession. That baptism should no longer be re- 
 fused her. was not only his conviction, but that of his wife 
 and of the native evangelist, Mavwila. The last named 
 went to Musonga, to ask his view of the case. His reply, 
 in which his wife concurred, was to the effect : "We have 
 long since longed to be baptized, but the missionary thought 
 it best that we should wait, li he will now baptize us, we 
 shall rejoice with all our hearts." In the presence of a 
 number of Christians both man and wife were baptized, he 
 choosing for himself the name Amfwilje, that is "He died 
 for me." and she, Ampoha, that is, "He has delivered me." 
 Next morning Sister Bachmann found Ampora appar- 
 ently a little better. During the visit the old woman sud- 
 denlv reached out her hand and grasped the hand of the 
 missionary's wife, and said in such a tone of conviction, that 
 it startled her, "I am delivered." That was her last word. 
 In about an hour she had fallen asleep. For poor Musonga 
 and his three children it was a terrible blow. His sorrow 
 seemed to master him at first. Incited thereto by another 
 man, he gave vent to his feelings in terrible outcries during 
 the funeral service. But the next day quiet tears had taken 
 the place of paroxysms of grief. He told the missionary 
 that Ampoha had appeared to him and had admonished him 
 to be patient, since he would not have to wait long, before he 
 would also come to Paradise, where it was very lovely. 
 Indeed he declared that he had heard this message several 
 times. How much of it was a dream, and how much of it 
 
THE GOSPEL EFFECTIVE IX X VASALA ND. \3l 
 
 fancy, (-ir whether he was granted a special revelation — who 
 can tell? In actual fact his days were numbered. Very- 
 severe headaches set in. They had lasted some ten days, 
 when he sent for his missionary in order to communicate 
 to him his last wishes. After he had made disposition of 
 his cattle and had expressed his desire in reference to his 
 children. Bachmann said : "You have often longed for the 
 hour in which Jesus will call you to Himself. Now the hour 
 appears to be near. Are you quite sure that He will re- 
 ceive you?" He gave his adviser a look full of joy, and hope 
 and certitude of victory and said: "Do you think I have any 
 doubt ? I know Whom I believe, and that He died for me." 
 But he had to wait several days longer. Soon he lost his 
 power of speech, and took little interest in what went on 
 about him. When the missionary came, he looked at him, 
 as if to sa}^ "You have nothing more to say to me, nor I to 
 you ; we have already taken leave of each other." So he 
 lay there, like one who waits quietly and in resignation for 
 the coming of his Lord in the consciousness, "I do not wait 
 in vain, He will certainly come, and soon." Who that knew 
 them, could doubt that both Musonga and his wife fell asleep 
 in Jesus? 
 
 Moreover this apprehension of the essentials of the Gos- 
 pel message is sometimes connected with a deep concern for 
 the welfare of relatives. A young woman, Imugulilye, one 
 day replied to her missionary's question, "How are you?" 
 in one and the same breath, "I am well ; but I am mourning." 
 "You are well, but you are mourning? How is that possi- 
 ble?" "Shall I not mourn, if my mother who has promised 
 to follow Jesus, will not abandon the old evil way? And 
 now she wants my sister to follow her." Then- she con- 
 tinued, "I told her to no longer cleave to that which is not 
 fit to speak about, and especially urged her not to hold the 
 child to that which is evil. I asked my mother why she 
 had abandoned our services, but she did not answer me. 
 After that T went to my own home and cried the whole night 
 about mv mother." 
 
132 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 With all the imperfections that cling to many, children 
 rather than men in Christ though many yet remain, the 
 fruits of a godly life are shown in the confession and putting 
 away of sin and in the removal of animosity and enmity, 
 that once darkened their lives. One man, Bushi, that is 
 "honey," by name, a candidate for baptism, confessed with 
 bitter penitence to have killed a man some years before he 
 received the Gospel message, and it evidently cost him a 
 great struggle to unbosom his heart. Now he took a stand 
 for Jesus, who i emoved the burden from his conscience, and 
 look his stand for Him in a whole-hearted way, giving up 
 the girl for whom he had been working in order to purchase 
 her in accordance with the usage of his people, since she 
 would not follow him in his confession of Jesus and her 
 father bade him choose between her and his Lord. A cer- 
 tain Swito had a feud with his own brother prior to his be- 
 coming a Christian. By the woman's own wish, he had 
 married the wife of another brother, who had fallen at the 
 hands of hostile tribesmen. In accordance with the usage 
 of the clan another brother should have taken her to wife, 
 but she had preferred Swito. The offended brother made 
 off with a daughter by the first marriage, by stealth or force, 
 and kept her with the intention of making her his wife. 
 But one day Swito came to his missionary and said: "I am 
 going to my brother now in order to become reconciled to 
 him. If he kills me, well and good." But the might of 
 Christian consistency prevailed. Reconciliation put an end 
 to strife. 
 
 Conscientiousness and honesty have blossomed out and 
 faithfulness in little things has testified to the genuineness 
 of the work of grace. Early in the history of Mbozi the 
 goats belonging to the station were sold to natives, because 
 it did not prove profitable to the missionaries to keep them. 
 The people could not pay for them at once. Most of the 
 purchasers made good their debts in the course of time, 
 paying by installments. But certain small sums remained 
 outstanding, and were forgotten by the missionaries, since 
 the goats themselves were carried off by an epidemic two 
 
THE GOSPEL EFFECTUI': IN X VASAF.AND. \?>3> 
 
 years later. Still later, however, when he became a candi- 
 date for baptism, Daniel brought the missionary a rupee, 
 with the explanation that his goat had not been fully paid 
 for ; and shortly after another Christian came forward with 
 half a rupee, stating that Bachmann had lent it him four 
 years before. The missionary himself had forgotten the 
 small debt. 
 
 Superstitions and the foolish evil usages rooted in them 
 die very slowly. That is the universal experience of mis- 
 sionary workers in every land. Born of ignorance and a 
 servile fear of an unknown God, whose passions are im- 
 agined to be those of a superhuman man and whose acts are 
 supposed to be those of an arbitrary being hostile to human 
 happiness but approachable by bribery in the form of the 
 sacrifice of a part of a pleasure that he may permit the re- 
 mainder of that which is desired, superstition is nourished 
 by misdirected religiousness and by deep restlessness of the 
 soul that has not found inner peace. wSeizing on the out- 
 ward, that which appeals to the imagination and is wholly 
 dissociated from the actually moral, it fastens on rites and 
 ceremonies as though they were the real and essential in 
 man's relationship to God. Hence its complete removal 
 marks a late stage in the Christianization of a people. And 
 yet even the earlier stages of the evangelization of a heathen 
 land will show that its power is waning. Gradually the 
 credulous reliance in the occult power supposed to inhere in 
 trivial usages ceases to be general. Customs that have had 
 the sanction of hoary habit fall into abeyance, as Christian 
 intelligence gains in intensity and advances in breadth of 
 sway. This is being experienced in German East Africa. 
 A mighty blow was dealt the sway of ancient misbelief, when 
 Bachmann, needing iron in connection with the erection of 
 the station at Mbozi, persuaded an iron-master, who had 
 become a Christian, to build a smelting furnace and light its 
 fires without recourse to the formulas of the olden time, 
 which he himself when a heathen had supposed to be neces- 
 sary in order to appease the spirits presiding over the con- 
 10 
 
134 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 version of ore into metal. The whole country-side looked 
 on in wonder, prophesying failure and all manner of disas- 
 ter. But, lo! the fire kindled successfully and the molten 
 flow resulted in metal of the most desirable quality, and 
 nothing untoward transpired. Clearly the blessing of Al- 
 mighty God was the most essential thing — not the appeasing 
 of imaginary ghostly powers. 
 
 In October, 1907, a witch-doctor, who had been made 
 receptive of the Gospel by painful lessons in his own fam- 
 ily, came to Zeeb at Isoko, desiring instruction for baptism 
 and permission to live at the station that he might hear the 
 Gospel. In the course of conversation the missionary re- 
 ferred to his implements of sorcery. He replied : "Our 
 custom has ceased ; I make no more use of those things." 
 The sequel was a voluntary surrender of these implements 
 to the missionary. This man was the eldest son of a witch- 
 doctor, and his younger brother likewise broke with the 
 dark superstitions of the past, for one evening, whilst their 
 father was praying to the spirits of their ancestors, the latter 
 said : "Father, do you not note, that the dead do not hear 
 us ? Do you not know, that we should pray only to God ?" 
 "Yes," came the reply; "but this I learnt from my father, 
 and can not give it up. But if you do not want to hold to 
 our customs, I have nothing against it." Kootz in Utengule, 
 relates how in the latter part of the year 1910, Walwitho, 
 one of the eldest Christians in the village, was pointed out 
 to him as secretly clinging to his former arts as a medicine- 
 man. When he spoke very plainly in the church about cer- 
 tain sins, which some of the men had confessed, this Wal- 
 witho flared up at first in anger against those who had 
 plucked up courage to bring his dark practices to light. But 
 on the following day the missionary succeeded in convincing 
 him how sinful his position was, and how Christ's cause was 
 suffering from his ambiguous life. He and his wife willing- 
 ly placed themselves under the requirements of the Church 
 discipline. But the missionary went a step farther and 
 urged him not merely to throw his implements of sorcery 
 into the grass, but to destroy them in the presence of wit- 
 
THE GOSPEL EEFECTIVE IN NVASALAND. 135 
 
 nesses. Merely to throw the things away, would be to lay 
 temptation in the way of others. These words were effect- 
 ive. On the eighteenth of September the men brought three 
 baskets full of implements of sorcery to the missionary, 
 collected in the houses of the people, that they might be 
 publicly burnt. Then followed a unique service in the yard 
 of the mission house. The native Christians themselves 
 threw into the fire the objects that had enslaved their hearts. 
 As the fire died down the missionary addressed words of 
 admonition to them and concluded with a prayer. 
 
 In general Christian usages are taking the place of for- 
 mer heathen rites. Girls, daughters of church members, on 
 reaching womanhood, are given a voice in the selection of 
 their husband. Church weddings are the order of the day 
 at the stations. Harvest festivals, with the offering of pro- 
 duce for the furtherance of Christ's cause and for the relief 
 of the poor have become a regular institution. Stated and 
 systematic beneficence is inculcated. Burials are conducted 
 according to Christian rites. Homes are beginning to be 
 centers where Christian graces find opportunity to flourish. 
 Marital devotion becomes possible, where monogamy has 
 displaced the polygamous relation of former days. 
 
 The devotedness and the intelligent services of the corps 
 of native evangelists are among the choicest fruits of mis- 
 sionary labor in Nyasaland. That German East Africa 
 shall be won for Christ by Africans — of this their number 
 and their efficiency may well be regarded as a pledge. How 
 they are willing to spend and be spent for their Lord ! The 
 most trying experiences they must endure with steadfast- 
 ness, are not the long tramps through the tangled grasses of 
 the jungle and thorny bushes that tear their clothes when 
 they itinerate ; nor the drenching tropical rains, nor the heat, 
 cold and hunger, that weary them, but the unwillingness of 
 many to receive their message, and the mockery of some, 
 who would expose their message to ridicule. Often the 
 retort is made: "How can we listen, when the chieftain of 
 the village is absent?" that is, "How can we give ear to you, 
 when the whole village refuses to hear?" Women say: 
 
136 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 "How can we hear you, when our men will not?" Men offer 
 the pretext, "How can we receive your words, when our 
 wives will not?" Some seek to discourage the evangelists 
 with these words: "What sort of a man is Mwalwizi (Bach- 
 mann) that he sends you to our mountains in such wind 
 and rain?" But they reply: "That is our affair; we come 
 to you, because we wish to do so." When some of the 
 messengers began to lose heart, one of them said : "We 
 must not withdraw in a cowardly, way, if they are unwilling 
 to receive God's Word. How long it took among us, till 
 God's Word mastered us. At first it did not aft'ect us in 
 any way ; we did not know what to make of it. Therefore 
 let us continue to work among these people." 
 
 Aye, these men are willing to risk their lives for Christ. 
 On June 25, 1906, the old chief from whom the land at Ru- 
 tenganio had been bought died as a heathen. Great lament- 
 ation followed, as was customary. In the olden days the 
 people of the tributary villages would have assembled from 
 far and wide. Spear-throwing would have followed, till 
 not only a considerable number had been wounded, but at 
 least one killed, that his shade might attend the shade of 
 his chief in the world of the spirits. But the sons of the old 
 chief came to Kretschmer with the request that he would 
 hinder the practice. Unable to go himself, he sent Gwalu- 
 gano, one of the ofiicers of the congregation, that he might 
 prevent or put a stop to bloodshed. The faithful man ac- 
 cepted the commission obediently, a much more difficult 
 task for him than for a white man. He remained at his 
 post, exposed to dangers, for an entire week ; but did suc- 
 ceed in preventing loss of life. 
 
 The following extracts from a letter written on Jan. 29, 
 1911. by the native evangelist Ambilishije, in Mbozi, afford 
 insight into the African way of thought and disclose the 
 good understanding with which these evangelists meet the 
 needs of their own people. 
 
 "Here in the village of Chief Mukoma, where I live, are 
 a number who begin to accept the faith. Two have been 
 baptized: Aliane (He is mine) and Ndonolilwe. The for- 
 
THE GOSPEL EFFECTIVE IN XVASALAND. 137 
 
 iiier is a prince ; the latter was a woman of the people. She 
 died on the first of January, 1911. If the chief, Mukoma, 
 was only a- prince, he would have become a believer. But 
 the chieftain's duties and the usages that attach to his chief- 
 tainship hold him back. Once, when his son, Aliane, was 
 conducting the service, he became very anxious. He sent 
 for his son afterwards and said : 'God's Word has taken 
 possession of you. I do not know, what I shall decide for 
 myself. I shall send for my councillors and tell them that 
 we will omit the offerings and prayers to the dead for a 
 year. If in this time it does not rain, then we shall know, 
 that the teachers (missionaries) have taken advantage of 
 us. But if it rains, we shall know that God is mighty and 
 gives us all things.' 
 
 "Now and then we have spoken very earnestly with Mu- 
 koma, and he listens to us seriously and sadly, without de- 
 spising or laughing at us. lUit the word about the end of 
 the world appeared to him incredible and he said : 'The 
 world will not perish ; and how could it, it is so firm. It 
 wnll abide as it has been formed.' Thereupon I replied: 
 'Hear, O master. When a man has built an house or a shed, 
 if he wants to tear down these buildings, shall they with- 
 stand him and say: We can not be torn down?' " 
 
 Later passages in the letter of Ambilishije deal with the 
 need of intercession in behalf of Mukoma. He continues : 
 
 "I. Ambilishije, have a step-brother. This my brother 
 became a believer through Mwakalindile (Kretschmer ). He 
 told me about God, and that He had given us His Son, 
 Jesus ; that Jesus had died for our sins and had much pity 
 with us. Then I asked my brother why that man was full 
 of pity. He said that that was very good, for if He had not 
 died for us, we should have been lost. On this word, I too 
 believed. I have often been very sad, that Jesus had so to 
 die, without any one knowing why I was sad. And I loved 
 Him long before I was baptized. Now, when I think of 
 His love, I long to be with Him. Then, when my brother 
 began to tell me something about Jesus, T was not able to 
 think httle of anvthing. T said to mvself: 'Who is it that 
 
138 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 made the earth? He. And the heavens? He. No great 
 one of this earth did that; it was He, after Whom already 
 the old people inquired, as I have heard.' 
 
 "And now I must tell you something about Ndondolilwe. 
 When death drew near, her heart was already with God. 
 Though she suffered much, she opened her mouth to sing 
 praise to Jesus. Her husband and her brother said to me, 
 'She sings the whole night. Once she said: 'Deliver me 
 from the men who would turn me from Thee.' Once when 
 I visited her, and asked her if she would really leave us, she 
 said with a nod, 'Yes.' Then I said to her, 'When you are 
 with Jesus, think of me and pray for me so long as I remain 
 behind, here in the body.' Then she said, 'I shall also think 
 of my mother and brothers and pray for them.' Once she 
 sent for me, and I asked for the reason. She said : 'It is 
 of no consequence ; I only want to remind you of what I 
 said to you a year ago.' Then I knew what she meant. She 
 meant that which I should tell to no one except Mwalwizi : 
 'God has told me that I shall die after the birth of my first 
 child.' (To this Brother Traugott Bachmann remarks: "Am- 
 bilishije wrote these words to me a year ago.") When she 
 suffered very much she said, 'My God. take me to Thyself,' 
 and soon after she died. We buried Ndondolilwe in her bap- 
 tismal dress, for she said that it should not be left behind. 
 We had to go to the chief and ask whether he would allow 
 this, for in Mukoma's land it is not allowed to bury any one 
 clothed in foreign cloth. I went and asked him, though I 
 knew that he would not grant it. But the chief said: 'Why 
 shall I further hinder it, for the land belongs to the foreign- 
 ers?' At the funeral we sang many hymns and I spoke on 
 John 11:21-25. Her child, a boy, lives, and they give him 
 cow's milk and soup made out of flour. After the funeral 
 we laid branches of thorn-trees on the grave as a protecction 
 against the hyenas. Afterwards I said to her husband and 
 her brothers, that they should raise some memorial on the 
 grave, for many people falsely say of us, that we dig up 
 corpses and eat them. Then we shall be able to say to them. 
 *No, there lies Ndondolilwe.' 
 
THE G0S1'EI> EFFECTIVE IN X VASALA Nl). 13'^ 
 
 "But I must go back and relate how at the grave, before 
 we filled it, 1 told the assembled people about Ndondolilwe's 
 life of faith. At hrst she began to speak with my wife, 
 and the latter had clearl}- told her that we believers shall be 
 saved and unbelievers lost. Later she came to me and con- 
 fessed her sins ; but I doubted if she was in earnest ; yet she 
 was, and was baptized. Then I said to them all : 'Do not 
 think that Ndondolilwe has died from sorcery or that a spirit 
 has brought about her end. No, a year ago God told her 
 that she would die after the birth of her first child. Now 
 she has died and left us behind in our misery. Though she 
 has died so happy a death we remain in misery, and I can 
 not comfort you otherwise than through faith in the resur- 
 rection of those who believe in Jesus. Yes, they will live 
 and we shall see. Ndondolilwe again.' '' 
 
 The twenty years of pioneer work in Nyasaland have ex- 
 enii)lified the truth of the words of Germany's great mis- 
 sit)nary leader. Dr. Gustav Warneck : "Heathenism is a re- 
 ligion of fear, of fear of gods and spirits, of fear of sor- 
 cerers and of the accusation of practising witchcraft and the 
 like. Christianit}- is a religion of happiness. Like the 
 Christmas angel the missionary brings to the servants of 
 idols and of sorcery, characterized by their fearsomeness, 
 the message, 'Fear not, behold I bring you good tidings of 
 great joy.' Heathenism is a religion that wholly lacks love. 
 It has many gods, but no god that loves and is loved. And 
 the devotees of this religion lack the practice of love. 
 Christianity is the religion of love, the love of God, Who 
 gave His only begotten Son, and is the religion of the mutual 
 love of man, which renders us Good Samaritans overagainst 
 the needs of our neighbors. Heathenism is a religion of 
 misery, of spiritual, mental, st)cial and bodily misery, a suf- 
 fering world with no physician. Heathenism is a religion 
 without a Saviour, at the best a religion of self-help. lUit 
 Christianity is a religion of the help of God, since it has a 
 Saviour, Who is the Redeemer." 
 
140 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 AMONG THE LEPERS. 
 
 As early as 1822 the Moravian Church directed its at- 
 tention to the care of lepers at Hemel en Aarde in South 
 Africa, and since then it has sought to minister to crippled, 
 wasting sufferers in the Home for Lepers "Jesus Hilfe," 
 near Jerusalem, and at "Bethesda," in Surinam. In 1904 
 its missionaries were brought face to face with a similar 
 task of Christian charity in Nyasaland. For here, too, this 
 terrible disease is among the ills that plague humanity. In 
 fact, it has been estimated that possibly five in every thou- 
 sand natives of the region are leprous. Long before Equa- 
 torial Africa was opened to the whites, the loathsome canker, 
 that slowly but steadily marks the countenance or limbs 
 with the stamp of festering impurity and covers the body 
 with an ulcerating crust of repulsiveness, to later on drive 
 away repose with its awful itchings and agonizing pains, a 
 horrible death in life, was only too well known. Fortunate- 
 ly the Africans had already recognized the necessity of 
 segregating the sufferers — to a certain degree at least, and 
 this rendered the task of the colonial government a lighter 
 one than would have been the case had its measure met with 
 lack of understanding and opposition. 
 
 When the officials began to take a position in relation to 
 this horrible scourge, they wisely recognized that on the 
 one hand it would be best to build upon the existing usages 
 of the natives in connection with the adoption of social regu- 
 lations for the suppression of leprosy, and on the other 
 hand to secure if possible the cooperation of the missionary 
 workers, disinterested friends of the people, whose philan- 
 thropy could be reckoned with. The former consideration 
 lent weight to the plan of forming colonies of lepers at suit- 
 able places as contrasted with the erection of extensive asy- 
 lums. Indeed the erection of the latter in sufficient numbers 
 would have overtaxed the resources of the undeveloped 
 colony. Therefore the government reached an arrangement 
 
AMONG THE LEPERS. 141 
 
 witli the missionary societies respecting the setting apart of 
 suitable plots of land, frequently within the domain of the 
 missions, for the establisliment of such colonies, and after 
 their establishment commissioned the missionaries with the 
 general oversight over them. 
 
 Xot all the plans in relation to the control and care of 
 the poor sufferers have as yet been carried out. Time and 
 means nuist be at disposal before the ends sought can be 
 fully attained. Yet each year marks a step in advance to- 
 wards the goal in view, the compulsory isolation of all 
 tainted with the terrible disease, that in time its extinction 
 may be achieved. Fortunately the chieftains and their peo- 
 ple appear to have an appreciation of the purposes of the 
 government, and lay no great hindrances in the way. 
 
 In the case of each leper colony the government provides 
 the financial means for the erection of the houses, built in 
 native style upon the spot selected by the representatives of 
 the government and of the mission. Upon the government 
 falls as w^ell the obligation of laying out the necessary roads 
 and keeping them in repair, and of planting banana groves 
 for the supply of food. I Jut the labor in connection with 
 all this is done under the supervision of the missionaries. 
 They administer the funds appropriated for the purpose 
 and render an account to the civil authorities. 
 
 Mas a colony been established, it is for the government to 
 name some reliable native, who shall maintain order among 
 the lepers and bind their wounds. He also acts as a go- 
 between and makes known the requests which the people 
 in his care wish to present. The obligations of the mis- 
 sionaries have first and foremost to do with the spiritual 
 needs of the lepers. By means of frequent visits and in 
 particular by means of the services held either l)y themselves 
 or by their native evangelists on the Lord's Day, they seek 
 to keep in close touch with these wards of misery. More- 
 over they exercise supervision over the native overseers, 
 who have to minister in the first instance to the bodily needs 
 of the lepers. The government provides medicines, salves 
 and the like, as may be required. Food and clothing it is 
 
142, HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 the business of relatives of the sufferers to furnish. As yet 
 strict isolation does not appear to be insisted upon, in so far 
 that blood-relatives of the lepers are permitted to keep thera 
 company and live within the colonies. 
 
 At the end of 1910 at least five such leper-colonies were 
 under the management of the Moravian Mission in Nyasa- 
 land. In 1904 a tract was selected for the purpose and the 
 first of these colonies established on land belonging to 
 Rungwe, though about twenty-five minutes walk from the 
 mission houses. It is advantageously situated between two 
 streams. Here stood at the close of 1910 one hundred and 
 forty-three huts, inhabited by one hundred and fifty lepers, 
 together with their families, about two hundred and fifty- 
 souls. Rutenganio has also its leper-colony, Maketa, with 
 about eight hundred inhabitants. Xear Isoko there are two ;, 
 the one, Mugoni, about half an hour's walk from the mission 
 houses, with one hundred and forty huts, furnishes a home 
 for about one hundred and twenty lepers and has a total 
 population of three hundred to four hundred ; the other, 
 Mtofyia, several hours distant, with fifty lepers and about 
 one hundred persons in all. The fifth colony is near the 
 river Kibila, two and a half hours distant from Ipyana. and 
 is known as Songela. Here one hundred and ninety-five 
 lepers occupy one hundred and forty huts. 
 
 What a demand on the sympathies is made by contact with 
 lepers in every stage of their progressive misery ! Indescrib- 
 ably pitiful scenes and intense sufferings must be witnessed. 
 Heart-rending are the moans, as the more vital parts are- 
 reached by the poison of the disease. The efiluvium cast 
 off pollutes the air with its offensiveness. And yet all this 
 and more is cheerfully endured by men and women who 
 seek to be "all things to all men, that they may by all means- 
 save some." But it is particularly trying, when the hardness 
 of the stubborn heart manifests itself the more baldly and" 
 unreservedly because of the realized hopelessness of the 
 poor people's condition. This is only too often experienced. 
 Not even in Christian lands is suffering always a means of 
 grace. Sometimes it hardens with the hardness of despair. 
 
AMONG THE LEPERS. 143 
 
 Job's wife, with her "Curse God and die," has her counter- 
 part even in lands that know of the long-suffering and mer- 
 ciful kindness of a Father in Heaven. Even in Christendom 
 miseiy may call forth the worst characteristics that lie dor- 
 mant in human nature. Hopeless suffering furnishes occa- 
 sion for murmuring and complaint. How much more is it 
 to be expected that in the case of heathen declining health 
 and uncertainty as to the future neither make for the soften- 
 ing of the temper nor induce patient resignation. ]\lisery 
 is rather apt to crush out the native graces of the heathen's 
 normal disposition. Leprosy tears away the veil of deco- 
 rum that even in heathendom enwraps many a character out 
 of respect for public opinion. When physical powers have 
 not yet been really broken, but the hopelessness of the dis- 
 ease has been realized, desperate acts may be contemplated. 
 A reasoning is exhibited akin to that of the lepers within 
 beleaguered Samaria, who urged one another to venture out 
 into the silent camp of the besiegers : "The worst that can 
 happen to us is death ; and in any case we are hastening 
 forward to a miserable death. Therefore let us risk all for 
 present gains." Then a band of these desperate lepers will 
 issue out from their colony and ravage the vicinity, stealing 
 and slaughtering cattle, that they may once more gorge 
 themselves to repletion. They know- well enough, that 
 very little will be done to them. They can not be condemned 
 to severe corporal labor in chains, and as little can they be 
 punished with the lash. Nor will any official dare to infect 
 a prison cell by placing their tainted bodies in it. Such ex- 
 periences have been made. Hence the oversight of these 
 often discontented and sometimes unruly heathen sufferers 
 may involve no light task, quite apart from the pain felt 
 when thankless lack of appreciation repudiates that Gospel 
 which should have a special attractiveness for these most 
 miserable of the miserable. 
 
 All the greater the triumph of our Lord, when some such 
 hard heart is broken, when murmuring and despair yield, 
 and hope and peace enter, and the soul waits patiently on 
 
144 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 Him. And such triumphs have been celebrated. There 
 are now Christians among the lepers in Nyasaland. 
 
 But among the inhabitants of these leper-colonies is one 
 who deserves special mention. This is Twijulege, of Song- 
 ela. Twijulege is a Christian, and no leper, and yet he has 
 cast in his lot with these wretched sufferers. More than 
 this Twijulege is one of the "evangelists," who have been 
 devotedly seeking to win their countrymen for Christ. He 
 was an evangelist in the regular service of the mission long 
 before he removed to Songela, whither he went of his own 
 free will. 
 
 Let us make his acquaintance, as one of the scholars of 
 the school for evangelists at Rungwe in 1903. The then 
 director of that school, Brother Klautzsch, sketched his 
 character thus : "One who becomes weary at times, because 
 the subjects studied, especially arithmetic, go beyond his 
 horizon, is a Rutenganio man, Twijulege. He is a dear 
 man, with a frank open character, who loves Jesus and so 
 far as I can observe walks in the light. In the early days 
 of the school, when I read the regulations to the students, 
 which among the rest prohibited all strife amongst them, 
 he came in the evening and made confession that he had 
 quarreled with a fellow-student. We prayed together, and 
 Jesus forgave him, that is, took away from him his sense of 
 self-accusation. Next morning he came with a glad face 
 and told me how the Lord had smoothed the way for him. 
 I had naturally said to him, that he must make it good with 
 the other, even if the other possibly was more to blame than 
 he. He dreaded this ; but the Lord had prepared the way. 
 Now his wife has also become a candidate for baptism and 
 is receiving instruction ; I hope that they may some day 
 set forth amid heathen surroundings, what a family is where 
 Jesus dwells. Such object lessons here as well as at home 
 have more power to win men for the Crucified than have 
 anything else, for He wishes to dwell in them that are His. 
 Twijulege apprehends Biblical truths with an amazing 
 swiftness, as though it were almost a matter of course for 
 him to do so. He has no need like so many unconverted 
 
AMONG THE LEPERS. 145 
 
 persons to reflect on the possibility of the personal presence 
 of Jesus, still less to put it in question. No, because he has 
 this Jesus and has been saved by Him, he recognizes Him 
 to be the One, Who he is." 
 
 The wish of Klautzsch has been fulfilled, but in a man- 
 ner not in harmony with his expectations. After complet- 
 ing the course in the school for evangelists at Rungwe, 
 Twijulege served for some years acceptably as an evan- 
 gelist under the missionary at Rutenganio. But later on 
 his wife showed signs of leprosy. According to native 
 usage, he would have been justified in divorcing her. In- 
 deed her father sent back the presents received at the time 
 of her marriage, in token that Twilujege was now a free 
 man. But now Twijulege proved himself a Christian in 
 reahty. His wife elected to go to the leper colony near 
 Ipyana — her husband had of late been doing the work of 
 an evangelist in the lowlands nearby. As in the case of 
 Ruth, his devotion voiced itself in action following on the 
 determination, "Whither thou goest. I will go; thy people 
 shall be my people." Had not his God already become her 
 God? Indeed what else could he do than cleave to her, if 
 he would be true to his own name, selected by himself at 
 baptism — Twijulege, that is "Let us strive after perfect- 
 ness." 
 
 So Twijulege voluntarily devoted himself to the work 
 of making known his Saviour to the lepers of Songela. And 
 God owned and blessed his decision. On the 29th of De- 
 cember. 1910, Kretschmer baptized the firstfruits of Twiju- 
 lege's labors there, six men, four women and two children. 
 And this baptism was followed by the application of a num- 
 ber of others for special instruction that they, too, might 
 also publicly own Christ. 
 
 Surely this shall be but an earnest of wider and more 
 successful work among these poor sufferers; for if all who 
 are afflicted and heavy-laden need a Saviour, most emphatic- 
 ally do these. To them of all men those words in the Epistle 
 to the Philippians must come with a force that brings spe- 
 cial comfort: "For our citizenship is in heaven; from 
 
146 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 Who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that 
 it may be conformed to the body of His glory." And apart 
 from the comfort and help which is thus brought to indi- 
 vidual sufferers, disinterested devotion to them must rec- 
 ommend our holy faith where others are seeking to present 
 Islam as a substitute, a substitute whose utter inferiority 
 is shown amongst the rest by its callousness as well as its 
 helplessness overagainst this intense form of human misery. 
 
A SUNDAY IN ISOKO. 147 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A SUNDAY IN ISOKO. 
 
 A characteristic glimpse into the actual work of the mis- 
 sionaries may be afforded by the following sketch of a 
 Sunday at Isoko, translated from a letter of the missionary 
 Emil Bachmann, who writes ten years after the founding 
 of the station. At the time of the purchase of the land 
 here, it was necessary to buy the site of an entire village 
 of about ninety huts on the slopes of the Kalubi. The two 
 hundred and fifty people were allowed to remain, but it 
 was expected that they would send their children to the 
 school and themselves show a regard for the services con- 
 ducted by the missionaries. Hence Isoko differs from some 
 of the other stations in that a village with a mixed popu- 
 lation, heathen and Christian, exists on mission land. Oth- 
 erwise the features of the work are the same. Brother 
 Emil Bachmann writes as follows : 
 
 It is still dark ; but chanticleer's voice echoes and an- 
 nounces that daybreak is at hand. We awake with glad 
 and thankful hearts : it is Sunday. Gradually signs of life 
 increase all around us and a many-colored troop of feath- 
 ered songsters sustain their parts in a morning concert. 
 Really enchanting tones sound forth from the bushes near- 
 by, where the singers hide from our gaze. All nature is 
 joyful and praises the Lord, and at the same time exhorts 
 us : "Oh, son of man. do thou also render praise." Yes, 
 the guardian of Israel has once more watched over us 
 through a night, and our hearts are full of thanksgiving. 
 The sky is clear. It will be another hot day. Our darling 
 child has also been aroused, and we pay a brief visit to our 
 garden after coffee and morning prayers. The sun has now 
 risen; but he must travel quite a distance, before he can 
 look over the mountains that surround us. In their shade, 
 we can enjoy the cool of the morning. But see! there he 
 peers over the mountain-top, and we seek to withdraw from 
 his keen gaze. 
 
148 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 But listen ! what sounds are those ? They are the tones 
 of the old war-horn, which calls together the Sunday School 
 children. What a difiference between then and now ! Then, 
 yes as late as 1902, these blasts summoned all the men ca- 
 pable of bearing arms to Chief Nyembele, nearby, in order 
 to fall upon the villages of lesser chieftains in the darkness 
 of the night and rob and plunder. To-day? Not a soul 
 is filled with fear because this horn is sounded, but the chil- 
 dren know, that to-day a story about Jesus will again be 
 told them. Verily our Saviour has brought peace to the 
 earth ; He has brought peace even to the valleys of Bundali. 
 The Gospel of peace and the strong arm of just rulers have 
 together insured peace and security in the land. 
 
 The Sunday scholars stream hither from all sides. Most 
 of the boys have their nakedness covered only with a loin- 
 cloth of cotton. The girls come in their clothing made 
 from the inner bark of a certain tree, which they have beau- 
 tified for to-day with a red paste (Mbala). Only some of 
 the young lads, who have been able to earn something by 
 their work or who are in the service of the missionaries, 
 and most of the children of the Christians wear regular 
 clothes. One of these lads lets me know, that the teacher 
 of the Sunday School has come, and I also go to take part 
 in the instruction. 
 
 The children have learned a number of hymns in the 
 day-school, and we begin the service with one of these. 
 True th>e singing leaves something to be desired. Un- 
 doubtedly the ears of many of our home friends would be 
 pained. For the youngsters are not very particular in re- 
 gard to time or purity of tone. Yet even though they some- 
 times sing flat or the notes will not reach for the words or 
 the words for the notes, they are never at a loss. By means 
 of any sort of prolongation or abbreviation, as may be 
 needed, they always manage to effect a happy conclusion. 
 On the other hand they sing some hymns in reality very 
 finely. But if we did not practice so often, and if the school 
 hours did not afford such frequent opportunities for cor- 
 recting and leading the singing, all the tunes would before 
 
A SUNDAY IN ISOKU. 149 
 
 very long be assimilated to the native taste. And yet these 
 hymns are to the glory of God. How stimulating it is to 
 hear them sung in the daily life of the people in their vil- 
 lages as they go about their ordinary occupations ! 
 
 The opening hymn is followed by prayer, the reading 
 of the Gospel for the day and the relating of the story it 
 contains with application. But we have to do with children 
 of nature, for whom attention and sitting still are unknown 
 qualities. And the girls often have charge of their small 
 brothers and sisters, whom they have brought on their 
 backs. Every now and again we must admonish all to keep 
 quiet and listen ; and then it goes passably for a short time. 
 But sometimes our questioning betrays that their thoughts 
 have gone wool-gathering. It is difficult to get anything 
 out of the girls ; the boys answer better. After another 
 prayer and song, those who are present are counted, and 
 we find that thirty-eight boys and seventy-two girls have 
 come. Finally they are charged to invite their parents and 
 relatives to the preaching service, and then they breathe a 
 sigh of relief, for only of a very few can it as yet be said, 
 that attendance at Sunday School springs from a heart's 
 desire. 
 
 Out they stream. The boys stand in groups for a short 
 time, and then scatter to their villages. The girls hurry 
 into the yard to the stones with which they play. They call 
 the game "Akwankila" ("Jacks" in American children's 
 parlance). The player kneels by a little pile of stones, 
 throws one stone into the air and seizing one of the other 
 stones catches also the first as it descends. The game is 
 ended when the whole pile has been won in this manner. 
 
 Slowly the girls also disappear. After a short time the 
 church bell summons to the preaching service. A number 
 of chorales played on the cornet also admonish the people 
 to direct their hearts towards heavenly things. The neigh- 
 borhood is well peopled, yet the attendance is but scanty. 
 In the first days of this station many came. But when it 
 began to be plain to them that they must break with their 
 
 11 
 
150 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 old ways and mode of life, this seemed to them too hard a 
 demand, and as in the days of Jesus, so too here, the people 
 would not come to Him that they might have life. And 
 yet why should we be surprised? They have what they 
 need for their daily sustenance, and where their treasure 
 is, there is also their heart — namely with their cattle. After 
 <ieath, they say, they expect to go where their relatives are. 
 Nevertheless quite a considerable number of heathen do 
 respond to our summons. Indeed on festival days our church 
 is crowded, and many must stand outside. But not only 
 heathen come to the service. A Christian congregation tes- 
 tifies that God's Word has not returned to Him void. We 
 recognize the Christians by their white clothing and the 
 Christian women by their special head-dress. Men and 
 women apart, they greet each other as they assemble in 
 front of the church, and exchange their experiences. In 
 this land verbal communications must take the place of 
 newspapers, and it is almost incredible with what speed oc- 
 currences become known. But now at a gesture of the 
 usher all enter God's house and take their places on the low 
 benches. 
 
 The church is a structure of stout tree-trunks, woven to- 
 gether with bamboo. The interstices have been filled out 
 with clay, and the whole has been whitewashed with a sort 
 of lime, which however does not wear well. The roof is 
 of thatch, and the windows are without glass or Venetian 
 blinds, since it would not pay to provide so provisional a 
 building with expensive windows. 
 
 The order of service is as at home, only without the 
 litany. We also miss the accompaniment to the singing. 
 Our harmonium stands in the dwelling of the missionary 
 Zeeb for safety's sake. For in our provisional church the 
 white ants would probably in a short time so seriously 
 damage it that it would be beyond repair. During the ser- 
 vice the attention is good. If the little children raise some- 
 thing of a disturbance their mothers carry them outside. 
 
 When the weather permits, we visit outposts after dinner 
 on Sunday. To-day Brother Zeeb visits Mbomba and I go 
 
A SUNDAY IN ISOKO. 151 
 
 with two Christians to the lepers' settlement. True it is 
 always very hot in the afternoon ; but since there is service 
 again in the evening, the arrangement is unavoidable. At 
 first it was not thought that leprosy was so wide-spread 
 here. l>ut finally the actual conditions of the country be- 
 came better known, and when the government sent Askaris 
 (native soldiers) to search out the lepers, a startlingly large 
 number were found. 
 
 We walk about half an hour, till we reach, the first huts; 
 but they live in various valleys as much as two hours' dis- 
 tance apart. This is accounted for by the fact that each 
 family is if possible to live on its own land and has suffi- 
 cient land to afiford self-support. Moreover the lepers are 
 arranged in accordance wath the various small clans to 
 which they belong. There are from one hundred to one 
 hundred and twenty lepers here ; but their wives and chil- 
 dren raise the number to betwen three and four hundred. 
 
 We had sent word of our coming in advance, in order 
 that the lepers might be gathered for worship when we 
 came. But we found only two or three. Nor did our shout- 
 ing and calHng have any efifect. Then we heard that the 
 wife of one of the lepers had brewed beer, and that all the 
 lepers living in the vicinity had gone thither. We wended 
 our way to the house in question. Here we found one 
 among the rest, who had never been able to come to hear 
 the Word of God ostensibly on account of the bad sores 
 on his feet. Yes, in this land l)eer has greater attractions 
 than the Word of God. Now they come out of the hut, 
 where the drinking is going on. and say that no one else 
 is there. But a closer investigation yields a (luite dififerent 
 result. Here are others — for the most part quite healthy 
 people from our neighboring village, Kapauga. They all 
 find it very unpleasant to be thus disturbed in their drinking 
 bout. Nevertheless they all yield to our invitation, and we 
 assemble at the usual place in the shade of a great tree. 
 As yet the lepers have no chapel ; but they are to have one 
 like the other villages which we statedly visit ; and they are 
 willing to do their part towards its erection, so far as lies 
 
152 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 in their power. Thirty men, twenty women and fourteen 
 children have assembled. We commence with a hymn and 
 prayer. Unfortunately the singing is very weak; for only 
 the visitors and a number of children who have learned 
 the hymn from their teachers in the village, are able to join 
 in. To-day we tell them of the healing of the ten lepers. 
 They listen closely. This is a Gospel suited just to them. 
 They hear that they are not the only ones that have fallen 
 a prey to this dreadful ailment. And they are filled with 
 wonder, that the great teacher and prophet with such ease 
 made so many whole. They are told that Jesus can still do 
 wonders ; but that it is His first and foremost concern to 
 purify them and us all from the leprosy of sin, in order 
 some day to receive us in the land of lasting joy, where sor- 
 row and sickness will be unknown. Have they understood 
 all that which we tell them? Has it called forth an echo in 
 their hearts, an echo which will spur them on to seek for 
 heavenly things ? We do not know. But we pray the Lord 
 to reveal Himself to these most miserable of the miserable 
 to the salvation of their souls. 
 
 At the close of the service they bring forward various 
 matters — that they have so little to eat, that other persons 
 hoe their land, that they would like to have a teacher for 
 their children, and, what recurs on each visit, that they 
 have no salt to eat with their vegetables. To the first point 
 we say, that they should be contented, for they have always 
 had sufBcient to keep them alive ; which they admit. We 
 promise our help for the remedy of the second evil. In 
 regard to the desired teacher, we will do what we can. 
 With regard to the last point, either very few or very many 
 words are necessary, according as we are willing to really 
 enter on the subject. They know well enough in advance, 
 that their request will be denied, yet they present it again 
 and again. Were their request to be fulfilled, one would 
 continually need a large supply of salt, and even then their 
 beggirg would not be reduced to silence. 
 
 Yet they are content with our denial, and we bid them 
 farewell. "Mugonege" — "May you sleep," is our farewell; 
 
A SUNDAY IN ISOKO. 
 
 153 
 
 and they say in return, "Mukagonege"— "May you sleep yon- 
 der." "Mwandege." they call after us once more — "May 
 you walk carefully." And we assent with, "Lua" — "Yes." 
 Their last wish is quite appropriate in view of the condition 
 of the roads in these parts. But it does not suffice accord- 
 ing to the etiquette of Africa to repeat a greeting only once. 
 It must be said over and over again, till one is almost out of 
 hearing. We are made to feel that our visit was really wel- 
 come to the lepers, and we on our part rejoice in having 
 been permitted to bear witness to them about Jesus. 
 
 On the way back to the station my native companions 
 and I pass the time talking about Germany or about cus- 
 toms and usages here in Africa. It is of lively interest to 
 them to know about the Fatherland ; but I on my part am 
 equally interested to hear what they can tell me about their 
 own country and its people. On the way we come upon a 
 place where there has been a fire and beside it two pots. A 
 leper has died, and on the way by which he went from his 
 home to the leper colony a medicine-man has cooked medi- 
 cine and left all lying. If this were not done, they believe 
 that the disease would return to the village and easily settle 
 upon one of the relatives. We pass on. Now we have 
 climbed the mountain, and a splendid view opens out before 
 us. There lies the northern end of Lake Nyasa, and on 
 the farther shore the mountains of P.ukirga rise in proud 
 majesty. Yes, even the water-fall above the Berlin mission 
 station gleams forth a greeting to us. 
 
 And now we approach our home, whence my wife comes 
 to meet me. with our child. The Christians pass on into 
 the village and now I have a brief period of rest. But I 
 have brought from the walk a mighty thirst and soon we 
 sit down to cofifee. We would gladly do this on our ve- 
 randa; but on the one side of the house the wind is blowing 
 too fiercely and on the other the sun is strcami'^g down. 
 So w^e remain within doors. To-day we may allow our- 
 selves more time than usual, for it is Sunday. But after 
 cofifee we must go and pay the Zeeb family a brief visit. 
 They have just returned from a short walk in the neigh- 
 
154 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 boring wood. They are well and have good news from 
 their two children, who have left them in order to go to 
 school in Europe. We sing a number of chorales together 
 and are happy that our Brethren's Hymnbook contains 
 such treasures. 
 
 But once more the bell rings ; for before dark the con- 
 gregation will assemble again to hear God's Word. 
 And once more the cornet sounds its invitation. The ser- 
 vice partakes more of the nature of questions and answers 
 with reference to the sermon of the morning. The ques- 
 tions are addressed only to the Christians and we rejoice 
 that they reply so well. We close with the wish that we 
 may take to heart in the routine of the week all that we 
 have heard to-day and may walk before the Lord to His 
 good pleasure. 
 
 The cow bells sound out as the herds approach to be 
 sheltered in their stalls for the night. Gradually darkness 
 settles down. From the village the melodies of Christian 
 song may be heard, and then all is still. Only the occa- 
 sional trolling of a song by a benighted wanderer is heard, 
 who thus screws up his courage or seeks to scare off any 
 wild beast that may be prowling near. 
 
 We edify ourselves in German once more with a sermon 
 from the sainted Bishop Wunderling's "Uraltcs und Ezvig 
 Nciies," and remember the congregations that once had in 
 their midst this herald of the truth. But how goes it in 
 the home-land now? A number of religious papers and a 
 brief diary convey the desired information. 
 
 Sleep once more settles down upon the earth and enters 
 our home also. Once more we may gather refreshment for 
 body and spirit through undisturbed rest ; for even here 
 in distant Africa the faithful One that watches over Israel 
 protects our bed, He Who neither slumbers nor sleeps. 
 
THE MISSION AS A CIVILIZING FORCE. 155 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE MISSION AS A CIVILIZING FORCE. 
 
 Evangelization and the introduction of civilization and 
 culture are not identical. Still less are they mutually an- 
 tagonistic. Rather must the true Christianization of a peo- 
 ple hitherto undeveloped in respect to culture inevitably ex- 
 ercise a moulding and uplifting influence and directly make 
 for their civilization. This holds as good in the twentieth 
 century among the dusky tribes of the Dark Continent as 
 it did during the seventh and eight centuries among Teu- 
 tonic peoples. True religion penetrates the whole of life 
 and transforms all its relationships. When a primitive 
 heathen, hitherto sunken in superstition, learns to adore 
 Him Whom to know is life eternal, a process commences 
 which afifects and in the course of time alters his entire 
 nature. With conversion a Christian character begins to 
 germinate. The ideal of a true family life is conceived. A 
 desire for order and propriety follows. Moral perceptions 
 deepen. Reliability appears a thing to be coveted. He who 
 was hitherto the sport of his own caprices, begins to have 
 a respect for the sense of duty and conscientiousness awak- 
 ens. He learns to do not merely what naturally appeals to 
 him and what he fancies, but rather what he ought to do. 
 Much that formerly appeared to be innocent or at least in- 
 different and permissible, he gradually puts away as hate- 
 ful and debasing. He discerns the real consequences of 
 polygamy, an institution degrading to womanhood and in- 
 tensifying the selfishness of the man. Revenge, under the 
 old order of things regarded as a matter of natural right, 
 is renounced. Aspirations after knowledge awaken. The 
 condition of woman is gradually elevated. The value of 
 time dawns on the whole people and new nec:ls arise in 
 their economic life. Morals improve. Superstitions die 
 out. The sense of right and justice is educated. In short 
 the work of civilizing the race has received a basis on which 
 it can build. 
 
156 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 On the other hand until this basis has been won, the work 
 of civilizing can be Httle better than the imposing on the 
 savage the thin varnish of a more or less clumsy imitation 
 of half understood usages. True culture is impossible be- 
 fore the might of superstition has been broken. And in 
 German East Africa superstition sways the heathen fam- 
 ily in a way that makes true identity of interests impossi- 
 ble. For the man reveres the ancestors of his -family, the 
 woman those of her people. They can not in perfect com- 
 munity of interests call to aid what they hold to be the 
 higher powers. Has sickness for example seized a daugh- 
 ter, not the father but the mother is concerned, and since 
 she can not herself bring offerings to the ancestors she must 
 seek some influential relative on her side of the house, 
 that he may assemble the family in front of the hut, and 
 pouring out the libation of beer or water at the foot of the 
 banana tree next to the door, sacred to the spirits of the 
 forefathers, may call upon them to avert their anger and 
 be propitious. But if this appeal is ineffectual, the poison- 
 ous plant of mistrust blossoms only too easily in the heart 
 of the father and quickly bears fruit. There follow whis- 
 perings of "Bulosi,' i. e., "Sorcerer," or "Ndosi." i. e., 
 "Witchcraft." A divorce may readily follow, for the fear 
 of witchcraft maddens the minds of even the otherwise 
 judicial. 
 
 In every mission various means are at disposal to coun- 
 teract and. ultimately remove superstition — first and fore- 
 most the school, the press and medical activity. Recourse 
 has been had to all three in Nyasaland, though all three and 
 especially the latter two are capable of a more intense and 
 wider application. The periodical press is represented by 
 the Christian newspaper in the Suaheli language "Pwani 
 no bara" — "Coast and Inland," edited and published as a 
 joint undertakirg of the Protestant Missions in German 
 East Africa by Superintendent Klamroth of the Berlin Mis- 
 sion at Daressalam. Gemuseus. the Director of the Normal 
 School at Rungwe, represents the Moravian Mission on the 
 staff of his collaborators. However, where reading was an 
 
THE MISSION AS A CIVILIZING FORCE. 157 
 
 unknown art twenty years ago, too much can not be ex- 
 pected from the use of this means among the present gen- 
 eration of Konde peoples. Similarly the medical mission- 
 ary weapon can be employed for the destruction of super- 
 stition to best advantage only after fully qualified medical 
 men are sent to the field, however valuable the partial medi- 
 cal education gained by this or that missionary in Living- 
 stone College, London, or in the Dcutsches Institut fiir 
 drztUchc Mission in Tubingen. Nevertheless even the al- 
 leviation of tropical diseases by Europeans who are laymen 
 in the world of medicine may do and has done much to 
 shake the blind belief of ignorant natives in the puerile su- 
 perstitions received by tradition. Apart from the binding 
 of • wounds, and the performing of minor surgical opera- 
 tions, the average missionary must do what he can to re- 
 lieve bronchitis, dysentery and fevers, and to ease irritated 
 eyes, as well as mitigate certain affections of the skin, and 
 swellings of the lower limbs that are peculiar to equatorial 
 Africa. And every case of sane treatment in accordance 
 with some knowledge of anatomy and the actual laws of 
 health exerts a civilizing effect in that it loosens the power 
 of superstitions that benumi) the intellect. 
 
 On the other hand the educational activity of the mission 
 has been developed with energetic rapidity, and has evoked 
 a gratifying response from a people thirsting for enlight- 
 enment. All ages are represented among the learners. At 
 the close of the year 1910. 10 schools at the stations and 72> 
 at outposts were attended by 4258 pupils, 2247 males and 
 2011 females. Of the scholars only 248 had been baptized. 
 If the curriculum remains as yet primitive it includes the 
 three essentials, reading, writing and arithmetic; and sing- 
 ing and religious instruction impress upon it tlie distinct- 
 ively missionary character. Thanks to the Training School 
 for Native Evangelists, opened at Rungwe in 1903 under 
 Klautzsch, a \aluable corps of native evangelists is render- 
 ing efficient aid in carrying the torch of intelligence and 
 information through the land in connection with the ex- 
 tensive itinerations of these men. And if on his return to 
 
158 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. ■ 
 
 Europe in 1906, necessitated by broken health, this school 
 was at least temporarily closed, the Normal School founded, 
 by Gemuseus at Rungvve in January, 1910, is doing excel- 
 lent work and will ensure the development and improve- 
 ment of the entire school-system in coming years. 
 
 The influence exerted by the mission as a civilizing force 
 by no means ceases, however, with the energetic prosecu- 
 tion of the work of education. Enjoying as it does the pro- 
 tection afforded by the firm hand of the colonial govern- 
 ment, thanks to whose power intertribal feuds have ceased 
 to render life insecure, the missionaries count it a privilege 
 to cooperate with the authorities in the promotion of com- 
 munal undertakings, and to explain to the people the ne- 
 cessity and value of various institutions and administrative 
 arrangements that appertain to civilization. If in the early 
 days of the mission opportunity was afforded and gladly 
 used, to mediate between native chiefs and colonial officers 
 to the mutual satisfaction of all concerned, the influence 
 of the missionaries has since then repeatedly made for con- 
 tentment and peace, through their serving as intermediaries 
 for individuals who w'ish to seek the protection of the gov- 
 ernment overagainst the oppression of tyrannous chieftains, 
 or by their promoting the peace and good order of whole 
 communities by explaining the significance and purpose of 
 taxation. Unquestionably there have been cases when oth- 
 erwise inevitable and possibly serious friction in connection 
 with the collection of the "hut tax" of about one dollar a 
 year has been avoided solely because the missionaries pre- 
 pared the way for its collection. They have rendered more 
 easy and more acceptable that orderly submission to regu- 
 lations, which is required by a civilized administration of 
 public affairs, and in various ways have contributed to the 
 securing of sound conditions for colonial development. 
 Valuable aid has been rendered by them to the government 
 in connection with the construction of public works — no- 
 tably the carrying of the wide and well graded highways 
 across the country, known in the parlance of Nyasa as 
 "Barabaras," and the building of bridges, as when Kretsch- 
 
THE MISSION AS A CIVILIZING FORCE. 159 
 
 mer with governmental aid spanned the Kibila in 1907. Of 
 considerable significance in the advance of civilization must 
 be reckoned also the laying of pipes for a permanent water 
 supply at certain stations, as in the case of Meyer's pro- 
 vision of water for Rutenganio, and similar work at Mbozi, 
 where the piping is eight kilometers long. 
 
 Definitely and positively the influence of the mission has 
 made for civilization and culture, however, in another re- 
 spect. A mighty change in the point of view of a people that 
 lacks any true conception of life inevitably follows, when 
 instructed by the words and the example of representatives 
 of a cultured race as to the high value and the real dignity 
 of physical labor. Hitherto the sons of the wilderness re- 
 garded labor as something degrading. At best they con- 
 signed it to their women as much as possible. Unless ab- 
 solutely compelled by the struggle for existence to act oth- 
 erwise, they held labor to be beneath their dignity, except 
 that connected with the chase, since the privations and 
 dangers of hunting reminded them of those connected with 
 war and served as a training for war — the trade of a man. 
 For the monotonous toil of every day they had little un- 
 derstanding. Industry of a steady sort was unknown ex- 
 cept among the mountaineers, whose climate compelled it. 
 Their needs were few and simple, and in a fertile tropical 
 land these needs were easily met. Indeed why should 
 economy be practiced, when the necessities of life could not 
 be stored against the future? 
 
 But now the example of the missionaries stimulates to 
 make provision for the future, and teaches how this may 
 be done. Money, as a means of exchange and possessing 
 inherent power to provide for future desires, begins to enter 
 the land. New wants have arisen, and must be met. The 
 sense of decency, for example, has aroused a sane discon- 
 tent with savage nakedness. Clothing is regarded as de- 
 sirable. It is learned that health may be promoted by the 
 erection of better houses. The government's demand for 
 taxes must be met, and money, needful for clothes and for 
 the payment of taxes, can be obtained only through labor. 
 
160 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 The Christians find it desirable to five on mission land, near 
 the church and school, that the advantage of uninterrupted 
 instruction may be enjoyed. For the land thus occupied 
 a small rent must be paid. With the gradual introduction 
 of superior implements, such as hoes and knives and axes, 
 products of Europe, instinctively the capacity for trade is 
 stimulated, and this carries with it the willingness to learn 
 and practice industries, or at least to obtain labor that is 
 recompensed. The careless living from hand to mouth, 
 characteristic of the former days makes way for an ability 
 to contribute in some manner to the needs and the wealth 
 of the world. 
 
 In view of all this, from an early day it has been the 
 effort of Moravian missionaries in all parts of the world 
 to instruct their converts how^ to utilize and develop the 
 natural resources of their land, and to introduce to them 
 trades and occupations as well as to provide a market for 
 their products, if this is not otherwise at hand. And the 
 Mission in Nyasaland has been no exception in this respect. 
 Here as elsewhere the Church has recognized that it has 
 social duties to perform. That the native tribes of any 
 colony belong to its most valuable assets, missionary lead- 
 ers have long believed and urged on others ; for the latent 
 resources of a colony can be advantageously developed only 
 by the use of the labor which is ready to hand. And a 
 further axiom for missionary leaders is this : native races 
 have the best opportunity to develop, and conflict with col- 
 onists is best avoided, when the former are in a position 
 to render services to the latter in spheres where they come 
 least of all into personal competition with the whites who 
 have entered the land. 
 
 With these and like thoughts in mind the missionaries in 
 Nyasaland have been putting forth efforts to win their con- 
 verts and the tribes to which they belong for useful indus- 
 try. At various stations brickmaking has been taught in 
 connection with the erection of the houses and churches. 
 Carpentry, tailoring and shoemakirg are other industries to 
 which the people have taken to some extent, Utengule be- 
 
THE MISSION AS A CIVILIZING FORCE. 161 
 
 ing the center for the last named and Rungwe affording 
 special facilities for wood-work. A new and enlarged car- 
 penter-shop and wood-working establishment was built at 
 Rungwe in 1909, and is under the management of Paul 
 Hollan, a skilled mechanic in mission service, whilst Emil 
 Bohme holds the position of master-builder for the entire 
 mission. The plant at Rungwe consists of two massive 
 buildings and four sheds, the former roofed with tiles, 
 and the latter temporarily thatched, but also to later reqeive 
 tile roofs. One of the sheds is arranged for the sawing out 
 of boards. In another beams are shaped, roof-joists pre- 
 pared and saws sharpened. Now and then painting is also 
 done in the building. As many as sixteen saws have been 
 kept busy at the same time, preparing beams from raw 
 lumber, whilst nine men were also engaged in subsidiary 
 work in connection with the same. From January to June, 
 1910, forty men were steadily employed in the establish- 
 ment, and during the second half of the year the number 
 rose to fifty-three. As many as two hundred and thirty 
 porters were needed at one time to transport the finished 
 product, when goods had to be delivered to the colonial 
 government for the 5th company of the "Schutztruppe" at 
 Massoko — beams, joists, boards, doors and furniture. In 
 addition to the work done for the mission stations them- 
 selves and for the native soldiery the workshop was also 
 busy on orders of cupboards and chairs for the district 
 governor at Neu Langenburg, and in makiiig furniture for 
 mission-stations of the Berlin Society. When it is borne 
 in mind, that in addition to the corps of steady employees 
 in the establishment itself, and for the transportation of the 
 finished goods, between 550 and 600 persons were employed 
 in transporting raw lumber from the forest to the woik- 
 shop, the significance of the estabhshment in connection 
 with the social uplift and economic development of the 
 Konde people will appear. That the people are willing, in- 
 deed often anxious for employment, has been experienced 
 repeatedly. When for example on one occasion fifty men 
 
162 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 were wanted in Rungwe to make bricks, five hundred per- 
 sons made application for work. 
 
 Of probably yet greater value for the land itself in time 
 to come are the efl^orts put forth by the mission to intro- 
 duce to the people new products of the soil. Potatoes have 
 already been widely distributed and are readily grown 
 throughouc the mountain districts, thanks to the foresight 
 of the missionaries. Wheat, introduced by the Berlin mis- 
 sion, thrives at a given altitude. Rice has begun to enter 
 into the calculations of the people of the swampy lowlands, 
 near Lake Nyasa, and will soon be one of their staple foods. 
 At various stations experiments have been made with the 
 planting of coffee, with varying success — in some cases the 
 white ants have gnawed the bark of the roots so that the 
 bushes withered, elsewhere good crops are gathered. Tea 
 has been grown. The seeds of cotton, furnished by the 
 government, have been experimented with at various places, 
 but it is too early to determine the ultimate prospects of 
 this important product. All manner of fruits foreign to 
 Central Africa have been planted, and in some cases with 
 most welcome results, the native population having also 
 learned their value, and gladly accepting presents of young 
 fruit-trees to plant them near their own homes — plums, 
 peaches, apricots, oranges, lemons, grapes, mangoes, guavas, 
 figs, pomegranates, sapodillas, dates, and even apples and 
 walnuts. It is scarcely likely that the last two will thrive. 
 (In addition, many varieties of useful timber have been set 
 out, including the eucalyptus). Experiments are also being 
 made with quinces and chestnuts. Of small fruits the 
 European strawberry, and the African blackberry and 
 gooseberry flourish. 
 
 Of greatest importance in this connection is the planta- 
 tion of the mission at Kyimbila, in charge of Adolf Stolz, 
 whose entire time and attention are devoted to this under- 
 taking and who has won for himself a name in East Africa 
 as a specialist in forestry and horticultural experimentation. 
 All visitors unite in expecting much from this plantation in 
 years to come. So, for example the well-known German 
 
THE MISSION AS A CIVILIZING FORCE. 163 
 
 newspaper correspondent and traveler, Emil Zimmerman, 
 wrote in the Hamburger Nachrichtcn of Octobei^ 18, 1910, 
 in connection with his description of his visit to Neu Lang- 
 enburg : 
 
 "Yesterday afternoon I visited the Herrnhut trade and 
 plantation and mission station, Kyimbila, four kilometers 
 away. Here the missionary Stolz has established a large 
 rubber plantation. The lianes develop splendidly. True, 
 they can not be tapped for ten or twelve years. If the 
 result is in proportion to the present promise, this plan- 
 tation will be of the greatest importance for the moun- 
 tain districts of the colony. Mr. Stolz, who has surrounded 
 the plantation with a hedge of roses, has also planted a 
 number of tea plants, which have likewise developed finely. 
 His cofifee, as is the case everywhere here, stands in ex- 
 cellent condition." And Professor Dr. Haussleiter, of 
 Halle, on the occasion of his visit in December of the same 
 year, wrote : "The advantageous situation of Kyimbila 
 causes it to be a place of recreation for missionaries from 
 the other stations. The peculiarity of the place, and what 
 will perhaps in future give it fame is the culture of the 
 rubber plant Laiidolphia Stohii Busse. Brother Stolz dis- 
 covered this variety of liane, which he named after himself, 
 and removed specimens from the neighboring primeval for- 
 est to his garden, and since 1903 has been experimenting 
 with them. Rapidly growing varieties of trees have been 
 planted at intervals of about 38 feet, and they serve as the 
 supports of the lianes, which are planted between and 
 branch out widely. So the valuable vines form garlands 
 about the trees that serve them in place of trellises. The 
 results of the experiment were so favorable, that in 1908-09 
 a surface of about 75 hectares on both slopes of a valley 
 abounding in water were laid out as a plantation. The 
 next years will tell, whether this significant experiment de- 
 serves further extension." Here again it is evident, that 
 already in connection with the weeding and cultivation of 
 this plantation the natives enjoy an opportunity of steady 
 employment. Its significance wil! increase, when the time 
 
164 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 for systematic tapping of the plants has arrived, and when 
 the success of the experiment undertaken by the mission, 
 will cause the people themselves to undertake the cultivation 
 of rubber on their own plots of ground. For by that time, 
 it is likely that the Central Railway of East Africa, now 
 being energetically constructed to Tabora, will have pushed 
 forth a branch line by way of Iringa to Neu Langenburg, 
 from this point to advance to the southern end of Lake 
 Tanganyika, since by this route the mineral treasures of 
 the Congo State may be most conveniently transported to 
 the Indian Ocean. Indeed when this undertaking has been 
 completed, the industrious people of thickly populated and 
 fruitful Kondeland will at last have an incentive to draw- 
 wealth from the abundant latent resources of their soil, and 
 will the more readily respond to the instructions and ex- 
 ample of the missionaries in connection with the honoring 
 of honest toil. 
 
 Mention may yet be made of a somewhat less important 
 experiment of the mission to introduce beasts of burden, 
 by the importation of Muscat donkeys and the rearing of 
 the same, this animal being reputed to resist the tsetse fly, 
 so fatal to the horse. Some thirty head were in the stables 
 at Kyimbila in 1910. The experiment with sheep and with 
 a breed of cattle superior to the native stock is too new to 
 permit of a conclusion as to its profitableness. The trade 
 carried on at Kyimbila, and to a slight extent also at other 
 stations, is of minor importance, its primary purpose being 
 to supply the missionaries and the stations with necessaries 
 of life and manufactured goods that must be imported from 
 Europe, as well as to save converts from imposition at the 
 hands of East Indian and Arab traders. 
 
 That in all these ways and through these various agencies 
 the mission is exerting a most valuable influence as a power 
 that makes for civilization and culture, is most apparent. 
 
 Although there has been considerable progress of a gen- 
 eral nature in the colony since the Mission was commenced 
 in it, thus far the number of European settlers has re- 
 
THE MISSION AS A CIVILIZING FORCE. 165 
 
 mained under the original expectations. This holds good 
 especially of the interior. By the transference of the seat 
 of local government from the shore of Lake Nyasa to Neu 
 Langenburg in the heart of the Konde country, the energiz- 
 ing influence of well-ordered colonial management has been 
 felt in the entire district. 
 
 12 
 
166 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE MISSION. 
 
 Of incalculable importance in connection with the de- 
 velopment and organization of the rapidly growing enter- 
 prise in Nyasa was the official visit paid to each station and 
 the entire field by Bishop Paul Hennig on commission of 
 the Mission Board during the years 1905 and 1906. His 
 own many years of missionary experience in South Africa, 
 and his work of further administration as a member of the 
 Central Mission Board of the Moravian Church after hav- 
 ing filled the office of Superintendent in Cape Colony for 
 more than a decade, eminently qualified him to inspect the 
 work and advise with the workers. Having traveled by 
 way of Mombasa, the railway to Port Florence, Lake Vic- 
 toria Nyanza and the overland caravan route via Mwansa 
 and Tabora, and having inspected the mission stations es- 
 tablished in Unyamwesi, he reached Rungwe on September 
 1, 1905, and left Kondeland on February 13, 1906, to make 
 his way back to Europe via the Livingstonia Mission and 
 the Shire. During his stay in Rungwe a most important 
 General Missionary Conference was convened under his 
 chairmanship, at which the past of the mission was minute- 
 ly reviewed, its present scrutinized and the policy to be 
 adopted for the future carefully mapped out. 
 
 It is especially the fruit of this official visit, that the very 
 organization of the mission makes provision for the sys- 
 tematic development of the Native Church as such in this 
 mission-field. A carefully worked out plan provides for 
 the use of the contributions of the native members, which 
 are to be systematically collected from the commencement 
 of their identification with the Church, in order to meet the 
 requirements of the Native Church as such, and not for 
 the support of the European missionaries. Account is ren- 
 dered for the use of these monies to the native members in 
 each congregation, and they have a voice in connection with 
 the appropriation of the same. Through the "Helpers" or 
 
THE PRESENT STATITS OF THE MISSION. 167 
 
 "Elders" of the congregations the native membership ex- 
 ercises an influence in connection with the administration 
 of church disciphne. The views of these more advanced 
 Christians are secured before the missionaries decide on 
 the baptism of any candidate. In short every proper method 
 is employed in order to let the membership feel that respon- 
 sibility for the moral condition of the congregation rests 
 with them and not merely with the missionaries. The goal 
 that is being kept in view is that of the self-maintained, self- 
 administered and self-extending Native Church. And the 
 people are responding to this sense of responsibility, that 
 is to make them men and not leave them mere children in 
 Christ. By the very organization of the mission moreover, 
 especially since the official visit of Bishop Hennig, emphasis 
 is being laid on the necessity of raising up a staff of well- 
 equipped native evangelists that this part of Africa may 
 be evangelized by the Africans. Repeatedly in his reports 
 of his visitation and consistently since then, he has used 
 words that have now practically found embodiment in the 
 written constitution and rules and regulations of the mis- 
 sion: "We should have more missionaries in the field, all 
 endowed with the perfection of health and strength, so that 
 they may be able to escape the tropical fever; with skillful 
 and practical knowledge of various handicrafts ; with a 
 natural gift for acquiring mastery of the many native dia- 
 lects ; they must really be Africans in the midst of the na- 
 tive Africans. In Africa we have to deal with millions. It 
 is difficult to foresee how they may all be reached with the 
 Gospel. Yet the Lord has opened for us the doors of this 
 long closed land. In consequence of the great needs, the 
 fewness of the European missionaries, and the requests 
 from all sides for missionaries, a large number of native 
 evangelists have been assigned to various details of the 
 work. // seems plainly to be God's method that Africa 
 shall be zvon for the Gospel by means of Africans. Only 
 by presentirg the highest ideals, and through the most faith- 
 ful oversight and the wisest organization, can a class of 
 young native Christians be so trained that they may be able 
 
168 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 to worthily assist the regularly appointed messengers of 
 the Gospel." 
 
 Accordingly in the regulations of the mission provision 
 has not merely been made that the riper men of each con- 
 gregation shall let their character and experience and 
 knowledge of the life of their fellow-countrymen make it- 
 self felt in connection with the organic life of the congre- 
 gation ; the Native Church has been provided with the op- 
 portunity of occasionally convening in the persons of its 
 representatives, to consult about the welfare of the Native 
 Church as a whole. The result of this radically progressive 
 measure, adopted so early in the life of this mission, can 
 not but make for manly self-reliance as a Christian body, 
 safe-guarded as it is moreover in various ways. For it 
 goes with the saying that the powers of the council of the 
 Native Church are and must be limited and somewhat 
 hedged in by the supervision of the executive conference 
 of the mission so long as complete self-maintenance, ethical 
 as well as financial, has not yet been attained. 
 
 The current administration of the mission itself lies in 
 the hands of a so-called "Provincial Conference," whose 
 chairman is the Superintendent, under the ultimate control 
 of the Mission Board in Europe. And from time to time 
 the whole body of missionary workers convenes as the 
 "General Missionary Conference." 
 
 At the close of the year 1910 the membership of the con- 
 gregations had passed the first thousand, numbering 1087. 
 The males outnumbered the females. Furthermore the 
 names of 535 candidates for baptism stood on the lists, and 
 to these must be added 1006 who desired instruction. On 
 the whole the membership had been recruited from among 
 those who had not yet reached mid-life. Beyond this circle 
 the missionaries had to do with a yet larger number, who 
 with more or less regularity attended the public services. 
 No less than 4258 adults and children were in attendance 
 in the schools. Seventy-eight evangelists were at work, and 
 in addition twenty-four male and fourteen female elders 
 
THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE MISSIOM. 169 
 
 aided the missionaries in the maintenance of discipline in 
 the congregations. 
 
 In various cases the evangelists were at the same time 
 serving as teachers ; but apart from them 24 teachers and 
 41 assistants (monitors) were serving in the schools. Prac- 
 tically 5100 persons in all had identified themselves in one 
 way or another with the mission in so far as willingness 
 to receive the message was concerned, and to these might 
 also be added the lepers at the various leper colonies under 
 the supervision of the missionaries, about 1500 in number. 
 Verily a marked advance in comparison with the state of 
 things tw-enty years previous. 
 
 That a new period in the development of the mission has 
 been reached, is apparent to all acquainted with its inner 
 history. The era of busy external work of building activ- 
 ity and other operations connected with the founding of 
 the stations hastens to an end. Minor building operations 
 remain to be carried out at Mueia. Rungwe will soon re- 
 quire a building really adapted to the needs of the Normal 
 School, and Isoko should have a church. P>ut for the great- 
 er part of the year such of the people who have been at- 
 tracted to the stations and their vicinity by the opportunity 
 of obtaining employment will find it only in Kyimbila, with 
 its plantation and Rungwe with its car])enter shop. On the 
 other hand need of money has now begun to make itself 
 felt, and with it therefore the need of an opportunity to 
 earn. The colonial government has instituted a system of 
 taxation — for this rupees must be had. Wants have arisen, 
 modest enough indeed — more adequate clothing to meet 
 with the requirements of decency, doors and windows for 
 the homes — and money is needed to procure these. But 
 European settlers, from whom wages might be received in 
 return for services, are very few in the vicinity. Hence it 
 is to be expected that the men may follow the impulse to 
 go to the coast or to the Rhodesian gold fields in search of 
 work. Possibly therefore a period of dispersion is likely 
 to set in. It will be a time of special test. Will the con- 
 
170 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 verts stand firm, when they come into a new and possibly 
 heathen environment and serve there as good leaven? 
 
 Doubtless the outposts will gain in significance as the 
 years pass, whilst the stations a such will not grow in size 
 as Christian villages, but rather retain importance as the 
 foci whence Christian influences radiate, garrisons where 
 the special strength of the Army of the Cross is concen- 
 trated. Already this tendency is decidedly to be noted. Of 
 the 1087 members at the end of the year 1910, 714 live at 
 the stations and 373 at outposts or in heathen villages. Of 
 the "Candidates for baptism" 310 and of the "New Peo- 
 ple" 581 live at the stations, whilst the outposts and villages 
 claim 225 "Candidates for baptism" and 425 "New People." 
 On the other hand may we not reasonably hope that just by 
 reason of this dispersion, the Gospel may advance all the 
 more rapidly, if the converts are true exponents of its self- 
 propagating character? 
 
 The steady increase in the number of converts year by 
 year is indeed an irrefutable proof that the change in the 
 lives of the Christians testifies to others of the saving grace 
 of their Lord. Yet the number of those under discipline, 
 seventy-nine, some of whom have for years stubbornly 
 withstood the pleadings of conscience and their own better 
 knowledge, is a humiliating and disturbing factor in the 
 situation. Nevertheless, when the temptations and the in- 
 herited tendency to sins of a certain type are taken into 
 account, there is greatest reason to thank God that the evi- 
 dences of a clean Christian life are so many and so striking. 
 
 As yet the efforts of Islam to make a breach in the young 
 congregations have proved of no effect. For many years 
 not a single case of perversion from among the ranks of the 
 Christians required to be recorded, thank God. The mis- 
 sionaries are meanwhile alert in regard to the danger that 
 threatens from this quarter. 
 
 The activity of the elders of the congregation is of ever 
 increasing value. They are more and more coming to re- 
 alize the significance and importance of their office and 
 render very valuable assistance to the missionaries. 
 
THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE MISSION. 171 
 
 Gradually the congregations are coming to understand 
 and to endeavor to do their part in connection with the 
 financial side of the mission. lUit the money-power of the 
 Christians is as yet exceedingly small. Possibility of earn- 
 ing anything is scarcely at hand in Mbozi, Utengule and 
 Ileya. Nevertheless in the year 1910 the seven hundred 
 adult members contributed at the rate of nearly three rupees 
 per capita. It remains the task of the missionaries to teach 
 them ways of cultivating the grace of Christian liberality 
 and to instruct them in prc)portionate giving. Whilst 
 money is scarce the Konde man is often the proud owner 
 of valuable herds. These he needs to learn to offer to the 
 Lord. 
 
 Meantime the number of young Christians is steadily 
 grow'ing, and with it the proportion of those who have en- 
 joyed some schooling. The children of Christians are be- 
 ginning to come forward, so that soon there will be a val- 
 uable proportion of Christians in the second generation, 
 with all that this implies — such who from personal experi- 
 ence know slightly less of the corrupting and deadening in- 
 fluences of the old superstitions and heathen usages. But 
 therewith new problems also confront the mission. The 
 Church must take a position with reference to the marriages 
 of such — must ascertain for example whether the native 
 custom of dowries can be adapted to Christian marriage 
 principles and in that case how the new usage is to be 
 formed. Indeed all manner of old customs must be scrutin- 
 ized, and a decision reached, as to whether they are in 
 themselves of neutral character in the light of Christian 
 morals, national practices ethically of negative significance 
 only, and so not incompatible with a wise proj)agation of 
 the Gospel that seeks to Christianize but not to denation- 
 alize — or whether they must be abolished root and branch. 
 Child-marriage and all the direct and indirect a])i)endages 
 of polygamy must be warded off from the children of Chris- 
 tian parents, and not be permitted to insidit)usly creep into 
 the life of the rising Christian comiuunity. 
 
172 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 The educational work, reaching as it does 4258, who are 
 daily counted and therefore in actual stated attendance, 
 constitutes a most important factor in the influencing of 
 the life of the people, including the heathen. Here most 
 valuable opportunities are presented, even though from the 
 standpoint of a school-man the methods employed still leave 
 very much to be desired. It is still the day of small things. 
 The proportion of adults to children among those in at- 
 tendance varies very much at the different stations — some- 
 times a sixth, an eighth, even as many as the half of the 
 scholars may be above sixteen years of age. In the vicin- 
 ity of certain stations only a fraction of those of school age 
 has as yet been brought into the school. Compulsory edu- 
 cation has not been ordered by the government. Much de- 
 pends therefore on the attitude taken by the respective 
 chiefs overagainst education. To judge the degree of actual 
 thirst for knowledge among the adults is more easy than 
 in the case of the children — for the former come only when 
 there is a real desire. Other motives may play a part in 
 the case of the children — the wish of parents, orders of a 
 chief to the people of his village; at the station, the regu- 
 lations of the place, the request of a missionary, urgency 
 of the teacher or of an evangelist. All these exert more 
 or less pressure on the children, even though compulsory 
 education as such is unknown. 
 
 School fees are required to be paid — at the stations, from 
 two to six hellers a month, according to the grade of in- 
 struction imparted. The village schools not unnaturally re- 
 main in the back-ground in this respect. The fees are often 
 earned by the children themselves, for example by doing 
 weeding for the mission station. 
 
 The defects of the school-system from the standpoint of 
 a professional educator are and must for a time remain not 
 a few. First and foremost stands the poor quality of the 
 teachers themselves, untrained, though not unblessed with 
 native gifts. Rut in the day of beginnings the mission must 
 help itself witli the means at hand; and all that can be done 
 is being done to insure that those teachers who have both 
 
THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE MISSION. 173 
 
 capacity and desire, may improve their knowledge as the 
 years pass. Then in the second place school books are few. 
 Primers exist, but the lack of a good "Reader" is felt. The 
 Gospels have been serving this purpose thus far ; but the 
 edition has now been exhausted ; another must be printed. 
 The preparation of a "Reader" adapted to the requirements 
 of Kondehuid has been long under consideration ; but as yet 
 no missionary has been able to tind the time to carry out 
 the plan amid the press of his more immediate daily work. 
 With a view to supply the need of trained teachers the 
 Normal School was founded at Rungwe, in charge of an 
 experienced educator, Oskar Gemuseus. Part of the for- 
 mer church has been rearranged and equipped as a home 
 for this institution. At the close of 1910 it was attended 
 by eleven men and lads, ranging in age from twenty-four 
 to about sixteen, with one Ijoy of twelve. Two of the three 
 men twenty-four years of age, are already married. The 
 course of instruction embraced the following subjects dur- 
 ing 1910: Language with the writing of Compositions; in 
 addition to a study of the Konde, the mother-tongue of the 
 men, one hour of Suaheli each day, the grammar of the 
 mother tongue being studied also by comparison with the 
 Suaheli. Religious instruction ; in the Old Testament, the 
 History of Israel to the Exodus ; in the New Testament, 
 the Gospel according to Mark, Mark also serving as a 
 "Reader." ' Writing, in Latin characters. .Arithmetic, the 
 four rudimentary operations both with and without the use 
 of the slate. Geography, a knowledge of their own imme- 
 diate region and of German East Africa. Natural Llistory, 
 Mammals, and some of the chief races of men. Singing. 
 On two afternoons of the week the men set type and worked 
 at the printing-press. On other afternoons they tilled their 
 own gardens and fields, working for their own support. The 
 report states that the results disclosed very decidedly the 
 difficulties that arise from the various degrees of previous 
 education which the pupils had hitherto enjoyed. Never- 
 theless there can be no doubt that in this higher school lies 
 a strategic point for the development of educational work 
 
174 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 among the Konde peoples. With every advance in its effi- 
 ciency a steady improvement in the entire school system is 
 to be expected. 
 
 Year by year the work of the native evangelists has grown 
 in importance. At the close of 1910 forty-eight .outposts 
 were occupied by and cared for by them, and in addition 
 894 preaching places were served at shorter or longer in- 
 tervals as they made their circuits. That the land is very 
 thinly occupied by its inhabitants in some districts, a village 
 consisting of half a dozen huts, as contrasted with the popu- 
 lous centers met with in other districts, complicates the ar- 
 ranging of the circuits and renders the labors of the evan- 
 gelists often very arduous and wearisome. Were the popu- 
 lation more evenly distributed, it would be more easy to 
 assign the circuits. But the evangelists do their work will- 
 ingly and with great fidelity. Words of praise can scarcely 
 be too high for them, however clearly their limitations are 
 recognized. Without their assistance it is certain that 
 Europeans could not have accomplished anything like what 
 has been accomplished in recent years. If now and again 
 a Judas has appeared in their ranks, it temporarily has in- 
 volved a blow to the cause, humiliated the missionaries, and 
 rendered them more cautious in the making of their ap- 
 pointments ; but never can it hinder them from venturing 
 on the attempt to employ the xA-frican Christian for the con- 
 version of his countryman. Like the teachers, they too need 
 to be further trained and are being trained as opportunity 
 and time allow. 
 
UNYAMWESl. 175 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 UNYAMWESr. 
 
 On January 2, 1898, a procession, that was for Africa 
 aecidedly imposing, entered the village of Uranibo in the 
 heart of (lerman East Africa, and to the northwest of the 
 important former Arab trading post and native city of Ta- 
 bora. At its head rode tw^o Europeans on Muscat donkeys 
 and two white ladies were borne after them in i)alanquin- 
 like hammocks on the shoulders of black porters. A long 
 column of additional ])orters balanced on their heads boxes 
 and bales containing their effects. Not a few of these men 
 were accom])anied by their wives and children. In all one 
 might have counted three hundred and twenty-five natives, 
 as the caravan filed into the village. Stains of travel, and 
 rents, where clothing had come into contact with the thorns 
 of the "pari," proclaimed that the journey had been a long 
 one. Since the 31st of October the travelers had been on 
 the road from Bagamcn'o. on the coast opposite to Zanzi- 
 bar. And had it not been for the hospitality received along 
 the route at various missionary stations and military posts, 
 their condition would doubtless have spoken yet more elo- 
 quently of the hardships of the way. 
 
 IJut now at length rest was within reach, and the wan- 
 derers were greeted with the reception usually accorded 
 to conquerors in the heart of Africa, so glad were the peo- 
 ple of Urambo to welcome them. The peo])le came in 
 crowds under the lead of their chief, bearing banners of 
 bright stuff or waving long reeds. With swinging clubs 
 native warriors executed a war-dance in honor of the 
 strangers. Inquisitive and friendly women and girls sur- 
 rounded the hammocks of the white ladies. Each wanted 
 to press their hands, so that the unrestrained gladness of 
 the welcome threatened to bring them to grief. Shouts of 
 joy rent the air. A torrent of questions poured forth from 
 dusky throats in a language utterly foreign. The whole 
 
176 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 experience was so surprising as almost to overwhelm the 
 newcomers. 
 
 At last they could halt under tall trees that crowned a 
 hill, whence an entrancing view might be had of the rolling 
 landscape of Unyamwesi. Just below them lay the solidly 
 built houses of the mission-station of Urambo. This was 
 the goal of their long wanderings by sea and land. For the 
 caravan was that of the missionaries Edmund Dahl and 
 Konrad Meier, who had come in accordance with an agree- 
 ment between the London Missionary Society and the Mis- 
 sion Board of the Moravian Church in order to take over 
 for the latter this station now two decades old. 
 
 In the latter part of the nineteenth century Urambo had 
 enjoyed a certain amount of fame in equatorial African 
 circles, as the headquarters of a certain "Sultan" Mirambo, 
 one of the richest and most influential chieftains of the 
 land. He had even dared to oppose the Arab traders, and 
 had done so successfully, cutting ofT their direct intercourse 
 between their important trading-center, Tabora, a town of 
 more than 35.000 people, and their great entrepot Ujiji, on 
 Lake Tanganyika. Stanley had even called him a "black 
 Napoleon." 
 
 The very first contact between Christianity and Mirambo's 
 realm went back to the great Dr. David Livingstone. In 
 1877 Ujiji was occupied by the London Missionary Society 
 and the road thither passed through the stations of the 
 Church Missionary Society, Mamboia, Mpapua and Ujui. 
 But since a couple of hundred miles lay between Ujui and 
 Ujiji, it seemed advisable to secure a half-way house on 
 the route. This led to the occupation of Urambo by the 
 medical missionary, Dr. Southon, in 1879. A promising 
 commencement was made. In a comparatively short time 
 the physician won the confidence of Mirambo and of his 
 people by means of his medical skill. But his career was 
 destined to be brief and his end tragic. Whilst on an ex- 
 cursion his black servant accidentally shot him in the arm. 
 There was no one at hand to amputate the shattered limb. 
 A messenger was sent to Ujui. and after a few days the 
 
UNYAMWESI. 177 
 
 help that had been summoned appeared. The arm was now 
 removed by the missionary colleague in accordance with 
 directions given by the sufferer. But it was too late. Mor- 
 tification had already set in. On his deathbed Dr. Southon 
 bade Mirambo receive his successor in a friendly manner, 
 and the mourning chief replied : "O, brother, do not speak 
 so. I would give a great deal, rather than have you die. 
 Whether I shall like the next as I have liked you, I do not 
 know. But what I can do for him, I will do." This tran- 
 spired in 1882. 
 
 A successor came — the missionary Thomas F. Shaw, 
 who labored thirteen years in Urambo, and to whose dili- 
 gence and energ}- the erection of the solidly built houses 
 is to be ascribed. From time to time assistants were sent 
 out to him. last of all an artizan-missionary, Draper. But 
 he was called away before he could rejoice in seeing tangi- 
 ble fruits of his labor in the baptism of converts. The 
 grounds for the withdrawal were apparently the following: 
 The mission at Ujiji. which had occasioned the establish- 
 ment of Urambo. did not flourish. The conflict there proved 
 too uneven, for the might of the Arab traders, fanatic Mo- 
 hammedans, had not yet been broken. It had cost many 
 precious lives and much money. On the other hand better 
 hopes could be entertained of Niamkolo, at the southern 
 end of Lake Tanganyika. Moreover in accordance with 
 the international agreements of 1885, Ujiji lay within the 
 sphere of German influence, and with it also Urambo. Ni- 
 amkolo was in territory assigned to Britain. Hence it was 
 not unnatural that the London Missionary Society sought 
 for German workers, who would be willing to take over 
 Urambo. that it might devote its energies to the tribes 
 within the British sphere. 
 
 After the application of the London Society had been 
 made without result to other German missionary organiza- 
 tions, in April, 1894, the request reached the Executive 
 Board of the Moravian Church at Berthelsdorf near Herrn- 
 hut. Various considerations caused the negotiations, thus 
 begun, to result favorably two year^ later, the Moravian 
 
178 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 Church agreeing to take over the work by purchasing the 
 buildings at Urambo. A special incentive was the consider- 
 ation that thereby the mission, commenced in Nyasa, would 
 enjoy the moral right to branch out to the north, and thus 
 a sphere of operations be won, worthy of the best efforts 
 of the Moravian Church and its friends. 
 
 The arrival of Dahl and Meier crowned the completion 
 of these negotiations, and during the course of the same 
 year they were- privileged to welcome as their future leader 
 Rudolf Stern, transferred from the mission in Surinam in 
 order to become the superintendent of the new field. Re- 
 ceiving the property from the artizan-missionary Draper, 
 who had been left in charge by the London Missionary So- 
 ciety after the recall of Shaw, the newcomers found their 
 commencement made lighter for them than they had ex- 
 pected — and indeed in various ways. Not only had friendly 
 relations between the Africans and Europeans already been 
 established ; not only did they find a dwelling, adapted to 
 the requirements of the climate, ready for them. The 
 habit of attendance at school during the week and at divine 
 services on Sundays had already been formed by the natives 
 — on the very first Sunday from five to six hundred people 
 assembled. And beyond all this, the linguistic studies of 
 the English missionaries paved the way at least for their 
 mastery of the language of the Wanyamwesi. No wonder 
 their first report abounded in expressions of thanks and 
 praise. 
 
 But soon followed a disappointment, that was all the more 
 bitter in contrast with the early hopes. It appeared that the 
 marvellous afifability of the young chief and his people had 
 blossomed forth from the expectation of gains supposed to 
 be derivable from the presence of the strangers, whose car- 
 avan brought such numerous boxes and bales of goods. If 
 they still continued to respond to the call to services, it was 
 only in the hope of at last receiving presents. This came 
 clearly to light on Good Friday. The usual crowd assem- 
 bled, indeed ; but when the hour of worship passed, and no 
 strips of printed calico were distributed, nothing at all given, 
 
L^NYAMWKSI. 179 
 
 murmurings were loud. Similarly the scholars made very 
 plain their disappointment, when at the close of each month 
 no small gift rewarded diligent attendance. Quite natural- 
 ly, too, the numbers of those who wielded slate and pencil 
 fell off. It w^as soon apparent, moreover, that the sorcerers 
 understood how to make capital of the disappointment of 
 the people. Gradually, too, the missionaries discovered dark- 
 shadows in the life of the Wanyamwesi and found that 
 they must reckon with a variety of elements that worked 
 counter to their evangelization. First and foremost, their 
 readiness to accept employment as "porters," which took 
 large numbers of men away from their homes and brought 
 them into contact with hostile Mohammedan influences at 
 the sea-coast, as well as in Tabora ; then, their immorality, 
 and their insatiable love of native beer, drunkenness being a 
 common vice of this people. However highly the mission- 
 aries "prized the preparatory work of their predecessors, 
 they could not approve of nor continue certain of their 
 methods, and their literary work required to be decidedly 
 amended. Shaw's Kinyamwesi (iospel according to Mark 
 required a revision so complete as to amount to a new 
 translation, the work of Stern, who also prepared a Gram- 
 mar of the language. Yet they plodded on patiently and 
 faithfully, hoping much from their medical missionary work 
 in particular, and from the attention they paid to the edu- 
 cation of orphan children. 
 
 It soon became apparent, however, that like the mission- 
 aries of the London Society, their successors in Urambo 
 must also reckon with scanty results there, at least for years 
 to come. In addition to the foregoing drawbacks, an ele- 
 ment of restlessness prevailed among the people owing to 
 their own political experiences. During the first year of 
 Dahl and Meier, the successor of Mirambo had been dis- 
 placed by the colonial government and a representative of 
 the former line of chiefs had been given the sway. Time 
 was required before life could wholly resume its normal 
 course among the Wanyamwesi. 
 
180 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 The less brilliant the prospects in Urambo, the more ne- 
 cessary it therefore appeared to commence missionary op- 
 erations at some other center, especially if this isolated post 
 was to be linked to the group of stations in Nyasaland. 
 Hence in 1901 the station Kitunda was founded in the dis- 
 trict of Kiwere, lying at a considerable distance to the south. 
 Scarcely had the missionaries made a commencement here, 
 than representatives of the Roman Catholic mission also 
 appeared on the scene and proposed to begin a rival under- 
 taking. But this the government inhibited. But now, in 
 order to secure for the evangelical faith at least an unbroken 
 line of work from Urambo to Nyasa and to present a bar- 
 rier against the aggressiveness of Islam, it was necessary 
 speedily to establish several centers of work. This was ef- 
 fected by the founding of Sikonge in Ngulu in 1902, Ipole 
 in Ugunda— a neighboring but totally distinct district — in 
 1903 ; Kipenbabwe in 1904, and Usoke in 1905. From Ur- 
 ambo to Kipembabwe is a distance of about seventeen days' 
 march. The entire region constitutes a lofty plateau, at its 
 more elevated southern- end rising about 4250 feet above sea 
 level. Its people are a stalwart race, prized as plantation 
 laborers and porters throughout the north of the colony. 
 Here and there the scattered remnants of tribes are also to 
 be met with, that do not belong to the Bantu race. Though 
 the land is for the most part well occupied, in some in- 
 stances more than ten thousand persons being within reach 
 from a single station, the steppe between Ipole and Kitunda 
 is almost uninhabited. 
 
 A special advantage lies in the fact that about eighty 
 thousand can already be reached through the medium of the 
 Kinyamwesi, for dialectical differences have been polished 
 away to a great extent as a result of past tribal wars, which 
 have resulted in a considerable amalgamation of formerly 
 very distinct clans. Stern, Dahl and Lobner have distin- 
 guished themselves by their linguistic work. The first 
 Primer, the work of Dahl, appeared in 1903. Stern's trans- 
 lation of Matthew was printed by the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society in 1907. Stern and Buttner reduced to writ- 
 
 I 
 
UNYAMWESI. 181 
 
 ing the Kichimbu, the dialect of Kipembabwe. In 1909 a 
 Code of Instructions for the Native EvangeHsts, drawn up 
 by Lobner, appeared in print, and in the same year Stern's 
 translations of stories from the Old Testament could be 
 sent to Unyamwesi. In May, 1910, thanks to the generosity 
 of the British and Foreign Bible Society, Stern's translation 
 of the entire New Testament could be placed in the hands 
 of the native Christians of Unyamwesi. Lobner has also 
 issued a Catechism and Stern a new Primer. 
 
 But this field has proven a peculiarly trying one for the 
 health of the missionaries. The water supply is very poor. 
 Drought has been frequent, especially in Urambo. Ma- 
 laria and black- water fever are endemic. In particular the 
 constitution of the wives of missionaries has been sorely 
 tried. ' In consequence of all this, not only has labor in the 
 field been often interrupted, but a number of workers, who 
 could ill have been spared, have had to be withdrawn from 
 the field after a comparatively brief period of service. Meier 
 had to return to Europe in 1903, Dahl in 1904. Rapparlie, 
 who had been sent to Africa in 1900, had to come back in 
 1907; Pagels and Neumann, both appointed in 1904, re- 
 quired to be recalled in 1909 ; and for the same reason, in 
 1908, the mission wias deprived of the services in the field 
 of its superintendent, Rudolph Stern. Mads Hansen Lob- 
 ner, called in 1906, was appointed as his successor in the 
 leadership of the workers. 
 
 That for all these reasons it should still be the day of 
 small beginnings in Unyamwesi, is therefore not surprising. 
 The first baptism took place in Kitunda in 1903, and a num- 
 ber of preaching posts could soon be occupied in its vicinity. 
 One of these, Ikombe, has grown to be a well-developed 
 out-station, in charge of a native evangelist, Jakobo by 
 name, through whose instrumentality ten catechumens have 
 been won and instructed for baptism. Very evident bless- 
 ings attend his labors among his countrymen. At the close 
 of 1910, ninety additional persons were receiving stated in- 
 struction from him, as seekers after truth. 
 
182 HISTORY OF NYASA MISSION. 
 
 In Urambo the patient labor of more than twenty-five 
 3^ears was at last rewarded by the gathering in of firstfruits 
 in 1907. five men being then baptized. But this station re- 
 mains a very hard and trying sphere of work, notwithstand- 
 ing the new incentive that was received here as at all the 
 mission-stations from the visit of Bishop Hennig in 1905. 
 Strained relations to the present "Sultan." Kaswika. have 
 not a little contributed to multiply the difficulties of the 
 workers here. Sikonge. selected as the seat of the execu- 
 tive of this mission-province, the residence of the superin- 
 tendent, Lobner, and the warden, Gerhard Stolz, Ipole and 
 Kipembabwe each rejoiced in the baptism of their first con- 
 verts in 1908, and Usoke in the following year. An ag- 
 gressive move was the appointment, at the end of 1909. of 
 Nils Gaarde to do distinctive missionary work amongst the 
 men employed for the construction of the Central Railway 
 of German East Africa. Originally at Manyoni. his head- 
 quarters are now in Tabora. The contracting firm has 
 shown much sympathy and has lent aid for this undertaking. 
 In 1912 it is hoped to open a well-equipped medical mis- 
 sion at Usoke, where a hospital will be established, a call 
 to this work having been accepted by an American physi- 
 cian. Dr. Charles Liiders. 
 
 At the close of the year 1910 the baptized Christians in 
 Unyamwesi numbered one hundred, or with candidates un- 
 der instruction, three hundred and thirty-five. Fifteen na- 
 tive evangelists stood at the side of twenty-six missionaries 
 at seven stations and five out-stations. In addition to these 
 centers one hundred and one preaching-places were being 
 served. Twenty-three schools were being attended by four 
 hundred and sixty-one scholars, in charge of twenty-three 
 teachers. 
 
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APPENDIX C. 
 
 NAME OF SOCIETY. 
 
 Romao Calliolic Organ iiations. 
 
 . The Falbers of the Holy Gho« (Bagamoyo) 1S69 (In Za.u.bar 18S9) 
 
 . Ihe Benedictines, fokinded 1848 (Dares&alam) 
 
 . The White Fathers, founded 1868 (TanKan- 1879 
 
INDEX 
 
 African Lakes Co., 8, 10, 15 
 
 African Missions, 5-9 
 
 Aliane, 136, 137 
 
 Ambilishije, 97, 136-139 
 
 Amfwilje, 130 
 
 Ampoha, 130 
 
 Ancestors, Reverence for, 54, 
 
 55, 56 
 Andipije, 105 
 Animism, 54 
 
 Arabs, The, 34-36, 76, 82 
 
 Bachmann, Emil, 147 
 
 Bachmann, Traugott, 19, 66, 
 69, 72, 91, 95, 96, 126, 129-131, 
 136 
 
 Bagamoyo, 175 
 
 Bakonde, 21, 28 
 
 Bandali, 28, 85 
 
 Banyika, 28, 83, 85, 86, 91, 125 
 
 Baptism, The first, 71 
 
 Basafwa, 21, 22, 28, 70, 83, 125 
 
 Berlin I, 8, 9, 20, 53, 78, 161 
 
 Betrothal, 41 
 
 Bible Society of Prussia, The, 
 95 
 
 Blantyre, 14 
 
 Boehme, Anna, 101 
 
 Boehme, Emil, 161 
 
 Britisli and Foreign Bible So- 
 ciety, The, 180, 181 
 
 Buchner, Bishop Charles, 8 
 
 Battner, 180 
 
 Bundali, 85, 86 
 
 Burial rites, 30, 45-48 
 Bushi, 130 
 
 Carpenter-shop at Rungwc, 
 
 The, 161 
 Central Railway of German 
 
 East Africa, The, 164 
 
 Ceremonial usages of heathen, 
 
 41, 45-48, 56-59 
 Chiefs' attitude overagainst 
 
 Christianity, 103, 105 
 Chinde, 10 
 Christian usages introduced, 
 
 87-93, 135, 156, 159 
 Church Missionary Society, 
 
 The, 176 
 Civilizing' Force, The Mission 
 
 as a, 155-165, 170 
 Climate, The effects of the, 
 
 101, 181 
 Clothing of natives, 44 
 Coffee grown, 162 
 Constitution of the Mission, 
 
 The, 168 
 Cotton grown, 162 
 Crakau, Daniel, 7 
 Customs of natives, 30-50. 
 
 Dahl, 176, 178. 179, 180, 181 
 Deaths of missionaries, 16 
 Difficulties, 100-113, 101 
 Divorce, 43 
 Domestic animals, 33 
 Draper, 177 
 
 Education, see Schools 
 
 Eltz, Baron von, 21-24, 76, 115 
 
 Evangelists, The Native, 95, 
 
 135-139, 144, 145, 167, 174, 
 
 181 
 Experiments of the Mission, 
 
 Cultural, 162-164 
 
 Family life of natives, 37-47 
 Fiabarema, 67-71 
 Fikirmi, 121 
 Fruits grown, 162 
 
190 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Forestry of the Mission, 162, 
 
 163 
 Funeral rites, 45-48 
 
 Gaarde, 182 
 
 Gemuseus, 156, 158, 173 
 
 General Missionary Confer- 
 ence, The, 166, 168 
 
 Giersch, 101 
 
 God, Natives' conception of, 
 52, 53 
 
 Government, Relation of the 
 Mission to the, 21-24, 11, 158 
 
 Greetings, Native, 45 
 
 Guamsakuire, 84 
 
 Guamyannehira, 84 
 
 Haefner, Christine, 101 
 Haefner, Johannes, 10, 16, 19, 
 
 74, 78, 95, 101 
 Haussleiter, Prof. Dr., 163 
 Heathenism's Influence on 
 
 Character, 101-104, 124 
 Hennig, Bishop P., 91, 166, 
 
 167, 182 
 Hollan, Paul, 161 
 Homes of the natives. The, 
 
 32 
 Hymnal, 92, 94 
 
 Ileya, 171 
 
 Imugulilye, 131 
 
 Imwagile, 126, 127, 128 
 
 Inamwanga, 28 
 
 Inangisye, 128 
 
 Industries, Mission, 85, 89, 
 
 159-164 
 Industries, Native, 32, Z2>, 45 
 Ipole, 180 
 Ipyana, 23, 74, 11, 78, 106, 114, 
 
 142 
 Iringa, 84 
 
 Isoko, 85, 128, 142, 147-154 
 Ivungu, 28, 125 
 
 Jakobo, 181 
 
 Kapauga, 151 
 
 Kararamuka, 15, 16 
 
 Karonga, 15, 19, 20 
 
 Kaswrika, 182 
 
 Kiarne, 117, 118 
 
 Kinyakusa, 94 
 
 Kinyamu^esi, 179, 180 
 
 Kinyika, 86, 91, 95 
 
 Kipembabwe, 180, 182 
 
 Kirota, 11 
 
 Kisafwa, 92 
 
 Kisserawe, 122 
 
 Kitunda, 180, 181 
 
 Kiwere, 180 
 
 Klamroth, 156 
 
 Klautzsch, 95, 101, 144, 157 
 
 Konde, 16, 18, 27, 64, 78, 94 
 
 Kootz, 74, 79, 83, 92, 134 
 
 Kretschmer, 19, 136, 137. 14S 
 
 Kruppa, 105 
 
 Kubeta, 84 
 
 Kyimbila, 101, 162-164 
 
 Langenburg, 21, 23, 11 
 
 Ledoux, 74, 78, 101 
 
 Lepers, The, 140-146, 151-153^ 
 
 Life of the natives, Mode of,. 
 30-50 
 
 Literary work of the mission- 
 aries, 91, 94, 95, 156, 179.. 
 180, 181 
 
 Livingstone, 176 
 
 Livingstonia Range, The, 16 
 
 London Missionary Society,, 
 The, 176, 177 
 
 L6bner, 180, 181, 182 
 
 Liiders, Dr., 182 
 
 Maketa, 142 
 Malila, 18, 28 
 Manow, 11, 122 
 Marriage of natives, 41-44 (see 
 Polygamy) 
 
INDEX. 
 
 191 
 
 Martin, Georg, 10, 16, 17, 101 
 
 Massoko, 161 
 
 Mavwila, 130 
 
 Mbasi, 53 
 
 Mbozi, 86, 88, 91, 97, 125, 128, 
 
 129, 132, 133, 171 
 Medical Missions, 157 
 ^leier, 176, 178, 179, 181 
 Meinhof, Prof., 94 
 Membership, Statistics of, 168, 
 
 169, 182 
 Mera, 121, 122 
 Merensky, Dr., 78 
 Merere, 28, 67, 78-84 
 Meyer, Lydia, 101 
 
 Meyer, Theodor, 10, 16, 17, 18, 
 64, 70, 71, 85, 93, 111, 115, 
 116 
 
 Mirambo, 31. 176, 177, 179 
 Missionary, Qualifications of 
 
 a, 87 
 Mohammedanism, 82, 105-110, 
 
 170, 179 
 :\ltofyia, 142 
 :Muabura, 118, 120, 121 
 Muafi-drinking, 49. 50 
 Muakapalile, 18 
 Muakatundu, 23 
 Muangupiri, 21, 22 
 Muarupia, 76, 116, 121 
 Muasandya, 117, 119 
 Muasanyera, 67, 70, 71 
 Muasiage, 21, 65, 66 
 Mueia, 106, 169 
 Mugoni, 142 
 Mukoma, 97, 98, 137 
 Mumbi, 118, 120 
 Munolima, 98, 99 
 Musonga, 129-131 
 Mutavulwa, 125, 126 
 Mwakasinka, 85 
 :M\vegikundeha, 127, 128 
 
 Xachila, 129-131 
 
 Xauhaus, 94, 95, 115 
 
 Ncayige, 71 
 
 Neumann, 181 
 
 Ndumati, 84 
 
 Neu Langenburg, 161, 164, 165 
 
 Xdonolilwe, 136, 138, 139 
 
 Niganile, 71, 93, 94 
 
 Normal School, The, 156, 158, 
 
 169, 173 
 Nsajigwa, 97 
 Numuagire, 71, 74 
 Nyembele, 148 
 Nyikaland, 85, 86 
 
 Oaths, 49 
 Offerings, 56-59 
 Ordeals, 49 
 
 Pagels, 181 
 
 Polygamy, 2>1 , 39, 40, 43, 104 
 Periodical Press, The, 156 
 Preparedness for the Gospel, 
 
 74, 75 
 Prince, Hauptmann, 84 
 Provincial Conference, The, 
 
 168 
 Pwani no bara, 156 
 
 Quelimane, 10 
 
 Rambasika, 67, 70, 71 
 Rapparlie, 181 
 Rebellion, Native, 11 
 Religion of natives, 51-63, 65 
 Richard, Theophil, 10, 14, 16, 
 
 17, 12>, 65. 74, 79-83, 101, 115 
 Roman Catholicism in German 
 
 East -Africa. 28. 110. 111. 180 
 
 Rubber Plantation. The, 162- 
 164 
 
 Rukwa. Lake, 27, 86 
 
192 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Rungwe, 18, 19, 27, 64, 67, 70, 
 71, n, 76, 78, 96, 115-122, 
 142, 145, 157, 158, 161, 166, 
 169 
 
 Rutenganio, 74, 85, 88, 136, 142, 
 145 
 
 Samueli, 128 
 
 Sango, The, 28, 82, 83, 84 
 
 Schools, The, 91, 93, 157, 172, 
 
 182 
 Schumann, 94 
 Services rendered the colonial 
 
 government, 21-24, 11, 158, 
 Shaw, 177, 178, 179 
 Shoemaker-shop at Utengule, 
 
 160 
 Sikonge, 180, 182 
 Slavery, 34-37 
 
 Slaves, The freed, 76, 115-122 
 Smelting iron, 2>Z 
 Songela, 142, 144, 145 . 
 Songwe, The, 106 
 Sorcerers, 54, 60 
 Southon, Dr., 176, 177 
 Station, A Missionary, 88-90, 
 
 94 
 Statistics, 157, 168, 169, 170, 
 
 174, 182 
 Status of the Mission, Present, 
 
 166 
 Stern, 178, 179, 180, 181 
 Stolz, Adolf, 78, 162, 163 
 Stolz, Gerhard, 182 
 Stolz, Helena, 101 
 Sunday at Isoko, A, 147-154 
 Superstitions, 53-63, 133, 134, 
 
 156 
 Swann, 34, 35 
 Swito, 132 
 
 Tabora, 105, 106, 164, 176, 179 
 Tanganyika, 119, 164 
 Tea grown, 162 
 Tjisumbi, 98 
 Trades, 85, 89, 160-164 
 Training School for Evange- 
 lists, 96, 157 
 Twijulege, 144, 145 
 
 Ujiji, 105, 176 
 Ujui, 176, 177 
 Ukasime, 96 
 Undule, 128 
 
 Unyamwesi, 166, 175-182 
 Urambo, 175, 182 
 Usoke, 180, 182 
 Utengule, 79-85, 91, 134, 160. 
 171 
 
 Von Eltz, Baron, 21, 22, 23, 24, 
 76, 115 
 
 Wagner, Rudolf, 101 
 Wahehe, The, 80, 81, 84 
 Walusangu, 97 
 Walusangano, 97 
 Waluseshelo, 96 
 Walutungamo, 98 
 Walwitho, 97, 134 
 Wangemannshoh, 20, 53, 115 
 Wanyamwesi, The, 178, 179 
 Warneck, Dr. Gustav, 139 
 Wavwila, 97 
 
 "White Fathers, The," 111, 112 
 Wood-working establishment 
 at Rungwe, The, 161 
 
 Zeeb, 54, 150 
 Zickmantel, Agnes, 101 
 Zimmerman, Emil, 163 
 

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