LAND FOR MISSION AND MISSION FOR LAND: A MISSIOLOGICAL REFLECTION OF THE KRANSPOORT MISSION STATION IN SOUTPANSBERG WITHIN THE VHEMBE DISTRICT OF THE LIMPOPO PROVINCE BY MASHONELO ANDERSON MAGWIRA STUDENT NUMBER: 12378072 SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTERS IN THEOLOGY IN THE FACULTY OF THEOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE OF RELIGION AND MISSIOLOGY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA SUPERVISOR PROF. S.T. KGATLA PRETORIA APRIL 2016 1 © University of Pretoria DECLARATION I declare that Land for mission and mission for land: A missiological reflection of the Kranspoort Mission Station in Soutpansberg within the Vhembe district of the Limpopo Province is my own work. All of the sources used and quoted have been indicated and acknowledged. Mashonelo Anderson Magwira April 2016 2 © University of Pretoria DEDICATION It is by the grace of God that I dedicate this dissertation to my late father Rev. Eyeson (Eveson) Thomas Magwira who worked very hard under difficult circumstances in and among the then Messina farming and copper mining community and among Nancefield township residents. He served this community as the leader of the then Messina Dutch Reformed Church in Africa which has been called the Musina Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa since 1972. I also dedicate this dissertation to Gressier Magwira, my mother, whose unwavering support remained constant throughout. She was very inspirational in many instances throughout this process. 3 © University of Pretoria ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful and indebted to my supervisor Professor Selaelo Thias Kgatla for the time he spent in guiding me throughout the whole process of writing this dissertation. My heartfelt thanks go to him for his critical and constructive ideas including the guidance I received during my study period. I also thank Dr W.A. Malunga for his efforts in guiding me in researching the topic as outlined in this dissertation. I specially thank him for his time which was used in a very economic manner to achieve the objective of this study. In addition, Mr Serumola was helpful in shedding light on the situation at Kranspoort Mission Station. The staff at the Dutch Reformed Church Archives in Stellenbosch greatly assisted me in all logistics to access useful information for my research. My heartfelt thanks go to Mrs Karen Minnaar and Mrs Marlene Schoeman for their kindness and efforts in helping me all the time. I am deeply indebted to my wife, Musandiwa Violet Magwira, and my children, Chikondi, Maranatha and Theophany Magwira, for allowing me to use their resources and granting me time away from them for research. They played a supportive role in making my work affordable. It is also important to extend a word of gratitude to the Church Council of Tshilidzini Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa, congregants and the school community of Masedi Combined School for the support I received in allowing me time to complete my studies. My greatest thanks go to God for the strength, protection, guidance and inspiration throughout my studies. To God be the glory forever and ever. 4 © University of Pretoria SUMMARY The relationship between the Messina Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) in Africa and the group that left Kranspoort Mission Station, who settled in Nancefield in Musina, had an effect on the researcher. The despondent feelings, sentiments of bitterness and grief of the group were felt during church services, Holy Communion services and even during choir practices. The attitude of the Kranspoort arrivals affected many leaders including the researcher’s father who was one of the leaders in the congregation in Musina. The continued resistance and ill feelings of the Kranspoort forced removals were always echoed in their conversations. Events were repeatedly told, which demonstrated the deepest dissatisfaction of how the land was lost unexpectedly. The myth of how the land was rightfully acquired by the missionaries and how it was bought remained unanswered. The big question that was always asked was how the aim of mission work related to the occupation and sudden takeover of the land. The land for Africans was never for sale, but for sharing, for the sense of belonging and even for building good relations. The approach of the whites was to obtain land first and do mission work second. This approach was a recipe for conflict. The researcher’s deep question then is this: why did these conflicts arise if the core reason for the mission station was the Gospel? Why was there so much pain if the aim of the mission station was the Gospel? Chapter One of this dissertation is an introduction to the study. Chapter Two of the study starts with the events in the Cape that led to the DRC getting involved in mission work outside of the Cape. Influences from other churches that made the DRC get involved in missionary work are also mentioned. This is followed by a discussion of the arrival of DRC and Lutheran missionaries in the north. The role of black evangelists and their coincidental convergence with missionaries around the area of Soutpansberg is also mentioned. Although black missionaries played a vital role in pioneering mission work among their people, they are missing from the records of missionaries despite the fact that white missionaries would not do anything without them. 5 © University of Pretoria These black evangelists served as preachers in the remote areas where missionaries could not go and served white missionaries’ personal needs such as getting wood and maintaining their gardens and surroundings. The black evangelists were also bodyguards and served as advisers to the white missionaries in cases where these missionaries were ignorant. These unsung heroes knew the language of their people, they knew the cultural impediments that held people back from accepting Christian teaching and they were also more mature and human to interact with their people. Chapter Three traces the factors that were responsible for the development of mission policy. Land issues, the plight of the poor white and the emergence of the black elite that fought against inequalities made the white government introduce stringent rules that would ensure forced compliance. The 1935 DRC Mission Policy was a direct product of the forces of the 1913 and 1936 Land Tenure Acts that pushed black people into barren land, rendering them ‘hewers of wood and drawers of water’ (Malala 2015:23). Chapters four, five and six analyse the actual events that took place at the Kranspoort Mission Station. The roles played by resident missionary Rev. Lukas Van der Merwe and mission secretary B.F. Stofberg are discussed. Moreover, individual black leaders such as Walther Segooa, Ramphele and others are scrutinised. Conflicts between Stephanus Hofmeyr’s descendants and the DRC about the ownership of the land are also assessed. In addition, ensuing court cases including the Land Claim Court of 1998 with former Kranspoort residents who were forcefully removed in 1957 receive attention. The last chapter contains a summary and conclusions. Lastly, the question posed for the researchers who will explore the question further is: How can the former and the present community that originated from Kranspoort benefit from this history and avoid making the same mistakes? Does the aim to do mission in South Africa still exist? How does one read the signs of time? 6 © University of Pretoria TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .......................................................................................................................................... 2 DEDICATION .............................................................................................................................................. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................................... 4 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................................. 7 CHAPTER ONE: DECK-SETTING .......................................................................................................... 12 1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 12 1.2 Problem Statement .............................................................................................................. 13 1.3 Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 14 1.4 Epistemology ...................................................................................................................... 15 1.5 A Missiological Study......................................................................................................... 15 1.6 Literature Review................................................................................................................ 16 1.6.1 D.J. Bosch (1991): Transforming mission ................................................................................... 17 1.6.2 W.A. Saayman (2007 and 1984): Being missionary and being human: An overview of Dutch Reformed mission and unity ............................................................................................................... 19 1.6.3 J.J. Kritzinger (1988): The South African context