African Perceptions of the Missionaries and Their Message: Wesleyans at Mount Coke and Buti'erworth, 1825-35

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African Perceptions of the Missionaries and Their Message: Wesleyans at Mount Coke and Buti'erworth, 1825-35 AFRICAN PERCEPTIONS OF THE MISSIONARIES AND THEIR MESSAGE: WESLEYANS AT MOUNT COKE AND BUTI'ERWORTH, 1825-35 Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History, University of Cape Town a by . HILDEGARDE HELENE FAST February 1991 AFRICAN PERCEPTIONS OF THE MISSIONARIES AND THEIR MESSAGE: WESLEYANS AT MOUNT COKE AND BUTTERWORTH, 1825-35 Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History, University of Cape Town by HILDEGARDE HELENE FAST February 1991 ABSTRACT Missionary endeavours in the Eastern Cape, were characterized by African resistance to the Christian Gospel during the first half of the nineteenth century. Current explanations for this rejection point to the opposition of the chiefs, the association that the listeners made between the missionaries and their white oppressors, and the threat to communal solidarity. This thesis aims to see if these explanations fully reveal the reasons for Xhosa resistance to Christianity by examining African perceptions of the missionaries and their message at the Wesleyan mission stations of Mount Coke and Butterworth for the period 1825-35. The research is based upon the Wesleyan Missionary Society correspondence and missionary journals and is corroborated and supplemented by travellers' records and later studies in African religion and social anthropology. The· economic, social, and religious background of the Wesleyans is described to show how the Christian message was limited to their culture and system of thought. Concepts of divinity, morality, and the afterlife are compared to demonstrate the vast differences between Wesleyan and African worldviews and the inability of the missionaries to overcome these obstacles and to show the relevance of Christianity to African material and spiritual needs. Various types of perceptions are surveyed to show that, though the missionaries were respected for their spiritual role, their character and lifestyle presented an unappealing model of the Christian life. The threat that the missionary message posed to the structure and functioning of African communities is examined as well as African perceptions of these implications. A theory of conversion is advanced which reveals a consistent pattern of ·association with the missionaries for reasons of self-interest, exposure to the Gospel over a lengthy period of time, and finally conversion. The missionary-African contact of this period is thus characterized as the encounter between two systems of thought which did not engage. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is .rare that a Masters student chances upon a subject which is of interest to scholars in many fields. I was particularly fortunate in this respect, having been able to discuss my thesis with students from fields as diverse as Applied Maths, Biology, Archaeology, and Law. The topic of 'African Perceptions' elicited strong reactions from all of them and they provided me with willing ears and many valuable insights; I am especially indebted to Archie Maurellis and Lungile Shoba in this respect. Others have contributed valuable assistance to the writing of this thesis without bearing any responsibility for what it contains. I am grateful to Christopher Saunders and Julian Cobbing for helpful comments on earlier drafts· and to Jeff Peires and Greg Cuthbertson for referring me to important sources. My discussions with Gabriel Setiloane served to challenge my preconceptions and to develop my ideas on African divinity. Special thanks are due to my supervisor, Basil le Cordeur, for his meticulous proof-reading and crucial guidance in defining my field of study. I. would also like to acknowledge the financial assistance of the Harry Oppenheimer Institute for African Studies. Finally, I thank my family for their long-distance support via the fax 'hot-line'. This thesis is dedicated to the memory of Tante Mia, who encouraged me to express myself through writing. Hildegarde H. Fast Cape Town, February 1991 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Abbreviations and Illustrations ............................................................................... .i ·1. IN'IRODUCIION............................................................................................................. 1 Methodology...................................................................................................................... 3 Transmission of the Missionary Message .....................................................................7 2. THE MISSIONARIES: ORIGINS, STRATEGY, AND PROGRESS Missionary origins: social, economic, religious ....................................................... .17 Strategy and Progress at Mount Coke and Butterworth ............................................. .37 3. AFRICAN PERCEPTIONS OF MISSIONARY CONCEPTS ............................ 56 I>ivinity ............................................................................................................................... 61 Morality ........................... ,............................................................. :................................... 72 Afterlife ............................................................................................................................. 84 4. AFRICAN PERCEPTIONS OF THE MISSIONARIES Perceptions of the Missionary Character................................................................... 94 Perceptions of the Missionary Purpose ...................................................................... 96 ~erceptions of the Missionary Lifestyle ................................................................... 109 The Chiefs' Perception of the Missionaries · and their Message ................................ ~ ........................................................................ 118 5. AFRICAN PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMPACT OF THE MESSAGE ON THE COMMUNITY ........................................................................................... 127 · 6. CONCLUSIONS Response to Christianity: A Theory of Conversion ............................................. 149 General Conclusions .................................................................................................... 159 APPENDIX................................................................ : ................ :.............................................. 169 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................... 175 1 Abbreviations W.M.S. Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society Correspondence Wesleyan Reports The Report(s) of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society Missionary Notices Missionary Notices Relating Principally to the Foreign Missions Conference Minutes Minutes of the Methodist Conferences List of Figures and Illustrations Message Transmission.................................................................................................. 9 John Ayliff and Stephen· Kay .................................................................................... 33 William J. Shrewsbury ................................................................................................ 34 'Sketch of the Mission Stations in Caffraria' ......................................................... 39 'The Reverend Mr. Shrewsbury's Interview with Hintsa and His Subordinate Chiefs' ................................................................................. 47 1. INTRODUCTION The encounter between Christianity and African culture in South Africa dates back to the arrival of the Europeans at the Cape. The Europeans brought with them a way of life and thinking which was rooted in their religion and which consequently influenced their behaviour toward the peoples with whom they interacted: Although some individual settlers and ministers attempted of their own initiative to provide religious instruction to Africans,1 it was not until a Moravian missionary arrived in 1737 that systematic evangelization of Africans commenced. Only at the end of that century did missionary endeavour penetrate the Eastern Cape and begin its proselytization of the chiefdoms collectively known as the amaXhosa.2 Since their arrival, the missionaries have often been the foci of controversy, provoking opposition from government, colonists and Africans alike. The issues surrounding their aims and methods have extended to the present and are constantly debated by historians. Indeed, it is difficult to conceive of a history of the nineteenth- century Eastern Cape without taking the missionaries into account, both for the roles they played and for the source materials they have left behind. ·The discussion has for the most part centred upon the missionaries themselves. The missionary /Christian accounts give detailed information of missionary achievements in overcoming hardships to establish churches and schools.3 These are by and large factual accounts that treat the increase of mission institutions as evidence of growth and 1G.B.A. Gerdener, Two Centuries of Grace (Stellenbosch, 1937), p. 12; J. du Plessis, A Histocy of Christian Missions in South Africa (Cape Town, 1911; repr. 1965), p. 36. 2For the sake of convenience, the term 'Xhosa' will be used to refer to the language and people instead of the linguistically more correct terms isiXhosa and amaXhosa. 3For example, du Plessis, Histocy of Christian Missions; Ernst van Calker, Hundert Jahre Kaffemmission der Briidergemeinde. 1828-1928 (Herrnhut, 1928); R.H.W. Shepherd,
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