Title: God’s Feet or the Mission’s Pack Donkey
Subtitle: Evangelists of Namibia
Series: Lives Legacies Legends
Author: Hans-Martin Milk
Publisher: Basler Afrika Bibliographien
Basel, Switzerland 2022
ISBN 9783906927350 / ISBN 978-3-906927-35-0
Softcover, 17 x 24 cm, 414 pages, several colour and b/w images and tables
This carefully researched study makes an important contribution to Namibian historiography by giving names and, where possible, faces to those Africans whose work changed the fabric of indigenous Namibian communities. African evangelists played a crucial but mostly overlooked role in shaping the spiritual and social networks that transformed indigenous communities in Namibia from the early nineteenth century. Drawing on a wide range of German, Namibian and South African archival sources and supplemented with a large number of interviews and photos, God’s Feet or the Mission’s Pack Donkey interweaves mission and church history between 1820 and 1990 with a biographical approach. As such, the histories of many Namibian families, notably those connected to the Rhenish Mission Society/ELK/ELCRN, are brought to life. The title of this book, God’s Feet or the Mission’s Pack Donkey, originates from the self-description of Namibian Evangelists in their own words.
Hans-Martin Milk, born in South Africa, grew up in Namibia and lived there until he left into Exile in the 1970’s. He returned to Namibia after Independence to teach in Kavango. During this time he started his historical research on the Rhenish Mission Society and the Kavango.
Prelude
Preface
1 Introduction
The Church
The Actors
The Missionaries
The Evangelists
The Pastors
The Interpreters
The Teachers
The Congregation Elders
The Sources
Archive Material
Bibliographies
2 Evangelists of the Early Years
Little and Great Namaqualand 1820-1850
Jacob Links (c. 1799-1825)
Johannes and Jacob Links (20th Century)
David alias Hendrik Afrikaner (c. 1820)
Piet Vlermuis (1764-1864)
Daniel Cloete (1826-1894)
Samuel Gertse (1805-1889)
The Early Discussions about Ordination
Jan Bam (1811-1856)
Johann Friedrich Hein (1826-1901)
Nikodemus Kido (1861-1936)
3 Evangelists as Sons of the Mighty
Hereroland 1850-1870
Wilhelm Kauaita Maharero (c. 1850-1880)
Elia Kanomeva Kandirikirira (1850-1898)
Manasse Kujatura Harenge (1847-1910)
Paul Mbenovandu and Gottlieb Katimba-Kaerike (c. 1890)
Josaphat Kamatoto (1861-1904)
Christoph Muhongo, Josef Ingula, Lappland Heinrich Tjindimbuer Hendrik Djuella
(End of the 19th Century)
Changes from 1870 Until the Turn of the Century: Figures, Reports, Successes
Bartholomaus Kafuritjire (c. 1900)
Job Katire (c. 1890)
Traugott Kauapirura (c. 1904)
4 Evangelists and the Apocalypse
The War 1904
Josaphat Kamatoto, Job Katire, Christian Mupurua, Elifas Karamo, Elifas Kukuri, Johannes Mupurua
Julius Kauraisa
Concentration Camps 1905-1907
Samuel Kariko (c. 1862-1925)
Hendrik Witbooi (1850-1933)
Colonial Retaliation
Paulus Plaatjie (c. 1860-1905)
5 Evangelists as Harbingers of Hope
Appropriation of Christianity 1910-1920
Gottfried Tjiharine (c. 1875-1944)
Gottlieb Murangi (1860-1948)
Andreas Kukuri (1887-1966)
Separation and New Beginnings 1945-1960
Zachaus Thomas (1888-1956) and Petrus Jod (1888-1964)
Hendrik Samuel Isaak (1909-1961)
Hanna Isaak, nee Fredrik (1913-2005)
Gideon Thomas (1894-1994)
6 Evangelists as Wanderers Between Worlds
Labour Migration 1920-1960
Justus Vatilifa (1916-2013)
Bernhard Kustaa (1924-2005)
Noa (1839-1936), Sem (1897-1969) and Simon Kaukungwa (1919-2014)
Confessional Boundaries
Gottlieb of Omandumba (c. 1910)
Reinhold Haraseb (c.1930)
Jakobus G Beukes (c. 1940)
7 Evangelists and their Private Lives
The Woman at His Side
Friedrich /Awaseb (1889-1971)
Children - The Gift Loaded with Expectations
Isak Shitilifa (1914-1990)
Evangelist Families in Three Generations
Gert (1810-1889), Daniel Snr (1850-1930) and Daniel Dausab Jnr (1880-1960)
8 Evangelists Facing New Challenges
Church Formation 1950-1960
Eliakim //Hoebeb (1906-1985)
Confronting Apartheid 1960-1980
Paulus Gowaseb (1922-1991)
Political Church 1980-1990
Hendrik Frederik (1935-2021)
Isak Frederik (1899-1972)
Lukas de Vries (1939-2001)
9 Evangelists and the End of their Era
Various Attempts to Redefine Their Role
Franz Arie (1889-1935)
Simon Hamutenja (born 1920)
Susanna Christians (1943-2019)
Mine and Farm Workers: Evangelists as Contacts with the Outside World
Erastus Hadula (1896-1935)
Nameless Helpers (1820-1988): Faithful, Simple and Yet Aware of the Dignity of Their Position
10 Closing Remarks
11 Glossary
12 Nama/Oorlam-Groups in the 19th Century
13 Abbreviations
14 Photograph Acknowledgments
15 Archive Sources
16 Unpublished Sources
17 Periodic Publications
18 Laws and Proclamations
19 Map Sources
20 Interviews
21 Literature
22 Tabularised List of All Evangelists Between 1820 and 1990
23 Tabularised List of Missionaries and Pastors Referred to in the Evangelists List
Index
