One needs to point out and appreciate the pioneering nature of the early missionary endeavours in Southern Africa. Such work represented a breakthrough and success in many respects. Not only was the need to have infrastructure and churches stressed but very soon there was also a strong desire to train the indigenous people as pastors. In this way, missionary work began to be appreciated by the locals. Another positive effect of training was that the local ministers were better than other whites acquainted with the customs and traditions of their fellow believers. They not only spoke the same language, but also understood the world view of the Africans. Training and equipping the local people were, therefore, the most important milestone in the history of mission work. In similar vein, but in a different context, the leading church historian in South Africa, Oosthuizen said:
The church should stop planning within the context of the church; her mission and her obedience should be in the context of society and the world. Finally, the priesthood of all believers should receive a fresh emphasis, and the church must realise anew what it means to be one family in Christ. 14
The missionaries refused to recognise that African culture had a contribution to make towards the enrichment of Christianity. African Christians have argued that: "it is not true that the missionaries brought the pure gospel to us the Namas. We worshipped our deity Heise-Eiseb. Therefore we reject their claim that we were heathens when they arrived on our SOil.,,15 Those who propagate Christianity should inculturate and evangelise themselves before seeking to inculturate and evangelise others. In this regard the Rhenish Mission Society failed. When reading between the lines, we find that it was illogical for the Rhenish Mission Society not to ordain the indigenous pastors. Although there was hostility from both sides and emotions ran high, there is no recorded incident of violence recorded during the schism and after the 1946 schism. It shows a high level of maturity and responsibility on both sides, the Nama leaders and the authorities of the RMS.
21-22.
14 G.c. Oosthuizen. Post Christianity in Africa. London: C. Hurst & Co. 1968, pp.
15 Interview with Mrs. K. Kaoses, Gibeon, Namibia, 4 July 2000.
The RMS had established institutions for the education of indigenous people and particularly to train evangelists, but never had the willingness to ordain them to become leaders and administrators of the church. Under extreme pressure, and through various meetings, the effects of the first and second world wars, they partially agreed to promote the indigenous people to the rank of Chief Evangelists. The Chief Evangelists could only perform duties assigned to them by the German missionaries. Only some of them could administer the holy communion under the supervision of the German missionaries.
There was an urgent need for the indigenous helpers after 1914 because of problems that the RMS was facing at this time. During 1914-1918 the RMS missionaries were cut off from their home base and encountered heavy financial difficulties. 16 It was extremely difficult to get new missionaries and finance out of Germany. During and immediately after the wars no missionaries could be sent to the field. Since 1914 there had been an acute shortage of staff.
Many missionaries who were trained for the work died in the wars and it was only gradually that training could again be undertaken. The Union of South Africa had strict policies that also restricted the actions and activities of RMS. Many missionaries were interned during the First and the Second World Wars. Some missionaries were not interned but restricted in their movements and were not allowed to come into contact with the indigenous people. In the 1920's the RMS resumed its activities gradually and gained recognition and subvention from the Union of South Africa. At the tum of the century one tenth of the indigenous people were listed as members of Christian Churches and the optimistic opinion was that the whole country would soon be evangelized.
Spellmeyer was a well-known missionary from the RMS based at Gibeon. He was very much aware of the great demand for a stronger participation in decision-making from the side of the indigenous people. However, Spellmeyer's aim was to divide the Herero and the Nama people. This is reflected in his memorandum in which he explained and said that: "it has been the aim of the RMS since the mid 1930's to subdivide the Herero and Nama Conferences in Synods and thus contribute to a gathering and cooperation between parishioners and
16 G. Gurirab. The Failure of the RMS to Ordain Indigenous Clergy in Nambia (1988-1949). A Historical Critical Analysis. B.Th. (Hons) dissertation. University of Natal:
Pietermaritzburg. 2000. p. 25.
clergy.,,17 The RMS missionaries were influenced by Paul Rohrbach on the issue of inferior races of Africa. For him the indigenous people were of unbridled sensuality, wallowing in idleness and lacking insight about the future. Therefore, according to him, the white race would always be superior and that earned them the right to govern and dominate the black people. According to Rohrbach, the black people were worthless to humanity and had no right to existence. At most, they could earn the right to be servants of the dominant race. He stated that indigenous people were savages and meant to be animals. The view of Rohrbach was achieved under the cloak of human defence treaties, peace policies and development aid.
The colonial regime viewed the indigenous people in terms of potential labour in the industrial development of the country. Their land had to be occupied, the tribal structure was crushed and their powers of defence removed for all time. 18
Rohrbach's sentiments exposed the dominant ideology prevalent within the Rhenish Mission Society's structures. This ideology writes history from a missionary perspective and sees blacks as not being capable of any ministerial leadership on their own, except under the white missionary leadership. The blacks are seen as the objects, rather than the subjects, of evangelization. Nothing is said about their strength and contribution to the mission of the church. Therefore, this ideology is of mutual interest to both the missionaries and the African clergy especially of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Namibia. On the one hand, it safeguards the pursuits and interests of the white missionaries who brought the gospel to
"dark Africa" and at the same time provided spiritual and leadership guidance to the black people. On the other hand, this missionary ideology was adopted by the uncritical and biased Rhenish Mission Society's historians who continuously reproduce it in the German literature.
An important factor in the situation was the attempt of Germans to control a large colony with too few officials. For even when the German colonial administration had gained a measure of authority it lacked sufficient manpower to effectively implement its policy of suppression and colonization. There was, therefore, the question of manpower and resources.
17 H. Vedder. Archival material. Berigte oor Suid-wes Afrika. Archives Windhoek,
Namibia. 1938. '
18 P. Rohrbach. Deutsche Kolonial Wirtschaft. Kulturpolitische Grundsatze fur die Rassen und Missionsfrage. Berlin, 1909, p. 20.
The German colonial administration had realised the importance of involving missionaries in colonial politics and saw such working together helpful and suitable.