3. Introduction
3.2 The establishment of mission stations
communications with German nationals in the area who were willing to help. This he found in the missionaries, the Berliners in particular. He sought political reports from missionaries behind Mkwawa's back and preferred to collaborate with them, urging pastors like Carl Nauhaus to make informal contacts with Mkwawa who was then still at large. In return for their services, he promised a free hand for their mission field in Uhehe.148
base.152 On 2 October 1899 Wilhelm Neuberg visited Itonya in the Muhanga village, accompanied by indigenous Christians of Ubena, where they had already established mission stations. He opened a mission station in October 1899 at Itonya-Muhanga along the Udzungwa mountain ranges. Among others, the two Africans who had accompanied Neuberg were Essau Nyanganani and Ruben.153 The chief of the Muhanga, Mtemi Pangamasasi Msuva, welcomed the German missionary and gave him the necessary assistance in the process of establishing the first Lutheran mission station in the Iringa diocese.154 In order to maintain good relations and for security reasons, Mtemi Msuva informed other neighbouring local chiefs of Idete, Idunda and Ipalamwa villages about the establishment of the mission station.155 The rulers helped the missionary to mobilise people to participate in the construction of the mission station. During that time, there was a close relationship between the German colonial government and the German missionaries. It was not easy for indigenous people to differentiate between the two.
Neuberg chose Itonya as a site for the mission station due to its fertile soil, the proximity of water and the availability of building materials, especially timber, grass and stones. While the station was being established and buildings were being bUilt, Neuberg and the Bena teachers began to preach to the people of Udzungwa. Oral sources report that Neuberg made tea with sugar and offered it to the people.
Relating tea with the Gospel, Neuberg told them that the word of God was sweeter than the tea that they had been offered.156 After having
152Many German military bases were built in Uhehe area during the time when the Germans searched for Chief Mkwawa, who was not ready to be ruled by the Germans.
153The author could not get the second name from the informants.
154Diary of Msabaha Msuva at Muhanga Parish, 1904 -1994 at Muhanga church archive, Iringa.
155Interview with Gaspar Magava, 6 February 1999, Idete.
156Interview with Gaspar Magava, 6 February 1999, Idete.
the support of local chiefs, and serving the indigenous people with sweet tea, the missionaries began the work of evangelisation by inviting people to church. Furthermore, the employment that the missionaries offered to the local community when building the mission stations was an incentive to the people to become Christians, although most of the money earned was used to pay taxes. Sources report that the missionaries at their mission stations were trusted more than the government officials because they could help them when they got harrased for failing to pay taxes. Mkwawa's brother, who was his chief advisor, made a positive comment about the missionaries and discredited the Arab soldiers and German soldiers. He said to Bunk:
Ninyi wamisionari mnaruhusiwa kwenda mahali pote, hamtasumbuliwa. Wafanya biashara wenu walikuja kutafuta pembe za tembo. Maaskari yenu walikuja kuchukua nchi yetu.
Lakini ninyi hamtafuti chochote kwetu, mnatafuta sisi wenye we ...
You missionaries are allowed to go everywhere: you will not be disturbed. Your traders (Arabs and later Europeans) came to look for ivory. Your soldiers came to take our country. But you do here not desire anything from us but you are looking for us.IS? (translation mine)
The above observation reveals that Mkwawa's brother was not happy with the traders, politicians and the colonizers. In contrast, he had high expectations of and respect for missionaries as messengers of God, interested in the spiritual welfare of the people. Most of the people who were attracted in the initial stages of Christianity in Udzungwa were thrilled to see a white person living in the remote areas of the country. In the case of Iringa, most Hehe people expected missionaries to live in areas that were close to the chief or the colonial officers. Contrary to their expectations, the Lutherans started their stations among the Hehe in rural areas. Muhanga was one of the first
mission stations where the local chiefs and their people responded positively as a report from Muhanga reads:
Wapagani wengi wanahudhuria ibada, watu 400 hadi 1000. Ifi wajue kwamba ni siku ya ibada tunapandisha bendera nyeusi- nyeupe-nyekundu (ya kijerumani wakati huu) yenye msalaba katikati. Saa tatu tunapiga tarumbeta ibadiliyo kengele. Watu wanakaribia toka pande zote machifu wakitangulia. Wanasikiliza kwa makini tunapowasimu;ia historia takatifu za Biblia.158
Many pagans attend the church service, between 400 to 1000 people. In order to enable them to know that it is a day for worship a black-yellow-red German flag with a cross in the middle is raised. At nine in the morning a trumpet is blown instead of ringing a bell. Local chiefs being in the front, people from all corners of the village gather. They listen attentively as we narrate to them the holy history of the Bible. (translation mine)
In light of the above, one can argue that Christianity rode in on the back of imperial conquest. The black-yellow-red German flag was an indication that the people were under the German colony and they had to listen to its voice. The missionaries used this opportunity provided by colonial administration to do more than just mission work in the area. Indeed, sometimes they aided and abetted the conquest and exploited the desire of African people for trade in European goods to their own advantage. They provided legitimation for colonial rule.
However, it is also possible to argue that the Hehe people connected the trumpet and the flag with Sunday as a worship day and a day of rest. Furthermore, the fact that people attended in big numbers and their whole attention was fixed on the missionaries, the focus must have been on the Bible. Gerald West in his paper, Early Encounter with the Bible among the Ba T1haping: Historical and Hermeneutical Signs argues that the people as they sat silently watching and listening
157 Dayosisi ya Kusini, Jubilii ya Miaka 100 ya Injili: Kumbukumbu, (Southern diocese, One Hundred years of the Gospel: Jubilee (Njombe: ELCT, Southern diocese, 2000), p. 4.
would have seen remarkable things about the Bible: "They would have seen the Bible used as a closed object of power and as an opened object with particular things to say....,,159 Following the above view, the people in this case the Hehe would make their own connections and construct their own meanings. As West suggests in his paper, unexpected collocations may have emerged160 especially on the power and authority of the Bible.
After having stayed for three years, Neuberg's wife got sick due to the cold. In 1902, Neuberg (Kyangalakiki) and his wife, Zingudya, left and went back to Upangwa.161 The arrival of another missionary was delayed by the MajiMaji rebellion in the southern part of the country.
In order to keep alive the mission work activities started by Neuberg in the area, the Ikombe congregation from Konde Synod sent the Nyakyusa evangelists to Muhanga.162 Pastor Julius Oelke did not arrive at Muhanga until 1907. Although on his arrival he wanted to stay at Itonya, due to too much cold and rain, he decided to transfer the station to a place called I1utila.
Having arrived alone, Oelke lived in a tent while seeking the assistance of the local population to clear the land and build a house, thus providing some local employment to the community. With the assistance of the local chiefs, the station was built by 1908. The formal establishment of the mission station was done in 1910.163 The area had the advantage of having two church bUildings, one at Itonya and a smaller one at I1utila. For the third time the Germans decided to
158Ibid. p. 5
159 Gerald West, Early Encounters with the Bible among the Ba Tlhaping: Historical and Hermeneutical Signs, Unpublished paper, (University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002), p. 20.
160 Kobler, Miaka 100 ya Injili Dayosisi ya Kusini Kumbukumbu (100 Years of the Gospel in the Southeern diocese (Njombe: ELCT, Southern diocese), p. 18.
161 Ibid.
162Marcia Wright, German Missions in Tanganyika, p. 100.
transfer the mission headquarters from I1utila to Ng'uruhe (later on it came to be called Pommern-named after one of their home regions in Germany) in 1912. The German missionaries decided to transfer their mission station in order to block the Roman Catholic missionaries from advancing eastwards, for they already had strong roots at Tosamaganga and Nyabula, north-east of Pommern. But one can also argue that the missionaries wanted to put their station within reasonable distances of the district administrative station. Pommern is 50 kilometers from Iringa town, compared to the two former stations, which are in remote areas. The adverse weather conditions, which prevailed in Itonya, forced the missionaries to transfer the station to a place which was conducive for them to live. Although the missionary headquarters was moved to another place, missionary work in the former stations progressed well because of the indigenous teachers.
Later on, a bush school and later a primary school was built at I1utila.
It was built by using some of the building materials that were already on site. Today, Itonya, besides being the oldest mission station in the diocese is a prominent preaching point of Idete congregation in the Idete district.
The buildings had a dual purpose, as a place of worship and as a school. The mwalimu (teacher), who accompanied the missionary, was responsible for leading morning and evening devotions, as well as doing house-to-house evangelism. He also taught the catechumens to read, write and do arithmetic. In addition to the reading, writing and arithmetic, they were taught the basic teachings of Christianity. A special booklet known as Bena Fibel (the first book of Christian instructions in Kibena) was used, and it had a summary of all the Ten Commandments written in the vernacular language, Kibena.164 As a
163 Ibid.
164 Ibid.
result of this school, a number of catechumens from Idete area were baptised at Pommern in 1914. These were: Aaron Kikoti, Andrea Mwaduma, Joseph Kiwope (later became a pastor), Lupituko Mkemwa, Yehoswa Kikoti, Yotamu Mkemwa, Isaya Kivelege, Alatanga Mgidange and Elisa Kikoti. These later became the first indigenous walimu (teachers) in the various mission stations in the Udzungwa area after being recruited by Herman Neuberg.165 The Bena and Nyakyusa teachers patiently taught the first group of catechu mens in Uhehe in the Udzungwa area. They preached to and evangelized the Hehe people. They spent most of their time teaching and preparing new converts for baptism. They also visited people in their homes.
The Bena people were trained at Kidugala by Otto Maas to become teachers and preachers. The Berlin missionaries opened a Bible School in 1904 where indigenous teachers were trained but it was closed due to the MajiMaji uprising. It was reopened in 1909. They had also a printing press and for the first time they published a hymnal in Kibena in 1914. Therefore, the Bena people were given educational opportunities from the very beginning of the missionary work and their compliance opened the way for ripe paternalism. In addition, the I1embula Station that was built and presided over by Martin Priebusch, exemplified not only the operation of the semi-autonomous missionary unit in the Bena pattern, but also the tendency of the Berliners to champion the Bena people.166
As the work of evangelism expanded, it became necessary to open more new stations. The implication of this was that more walimu had to be trained in order to take care of the new stations. With the help of
165Jenro Kivamba, Historia ya Usharika wa Idete limbo la Idete 1899-1998, Andiko la Stashahada, Chuo Kikuu cha Tumaini, Iringa, 1998. (The History of the Idete Congregation: Idete district 1899-1998, Unpublished Diploma Thesis, Tumaini University Iringa).
the walimu from Ubena, a number of Hehe Christians were recruited to take leadership roles in the new stations, as shown in parenthesis:
Aaron Kikoti (Muhanga station), Yotamu Mkemwa (Fikano-Ipalamwa), Joseph Kiwope (Idunda), Luka Mwaduma (Kipanga), Andrea Mwaduma (Masisiwe), Isaya Kivelege (Mhanga), and Yehoswa Kikoti (Kimala).
The walimu were the backbone of evangelism in their respective areas and all reported to the pastor who was stationed at Pommern. The language that was used in preaching and in catechetical instruction was the vernacular language of Kibena. All the manuals and hymnal books were in Kibena. The Hehe had to learn how to read, write and learn Luther's Small Catechism in Kibena. All the songs and the New Testament were in Kibena.167 The Hehe and Bena are tribes that are closely related. They share names, clans, language and kinship with each other and sometimes the missionaries named these tribes interchangeably when they referred to the Bena or Hehe. However, the Bena were favoured by getting more education compared to the Hehe people because of the fact that all major mission stations and schools were opened and built in the Ubena area.
After Julius Oelke transferred the station to Pommern village in 1908, the I1utila village was left under indigenous leadership. Mathew Ngahatilwa was assigned to take care of the mission.168 With the advantage of being a native, used to the harsh condition, which could not be tolerated by the missionaries, the indigenous missionaries were ready to take up the leadership role of spreading the gospel to their people. The local people easily reached even the most remote areas to convey the message of Jesus Christ.
166Marcia Wright, German Missions in Tanganyika, p. 101.
167 Interview with Mathayo Ngahatilwa, 26 June 2000, Itonya -Idete.
168 Interview with Mathayo Ngahatilwa, 26 June 2000, Itonya-Idete.
During the construction of the Pommern station, Oelke worked hand in hand with the local people. A builder called Kunche and Sister Sachs assisted him in the construction. The local people provided all the labour by collecting building materials, such as stones and timber, and making bricks and tiles. People gave their agricultural plots to be used for making bricks and tiles for roofing the mission house. Both men and women did the work unreservedly. Women were, also, responsible for grinding maize and finger millet for flour, fetching firewood and water, and for cooking food for the working crew. People contributed their foodstuffs like chickens and goats, to be shared by all who came to work on the mission.169 The first bUilding that was built at Pommern was not only used as a residential house for the missionary, but the stairs were also used as a classroom for the baptismal classes. The major means of evangelisation was through Christian songs, which had been translated into the vernacular language Kibena. Missionaries Nauhaus and Schumann, with the assistance of Bena elders, did not only translate the German songs, but added new songs, using local Hehe and Bena melodies. The songs attracted the local people to attend baptismal classes and worship services.170 On 11 December 1912 Julius Oelke opened Pommern mission station, although it was only in 1957 that it was given the status of a congregation.
When active war took place in the southern part of Tanzania between 1916 and 1918, bringing conditions of turmoil and trial for the churches, which were deprived of missionaries, African leadership became more conspicuous. The following section deals with the arrival of the Scottish Mission who came to take over the Berlin Mission stations.
169Interview with Emmanuel Mwachang'a, 16 August 1999, Iringa.
170Kobler, Miaka 100 ya Injili Dayosisi ya Kusini: Kumbukumbu, (100 Years of the Gospel in the Southern diocese) (Njombe: ELCT, Southern diocese, 2000).