Zambezia (1986), XIII (i),ASPECTS OF 1NTEEACIIGN BETWEENCHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN CULTURE INCOLONIAL ZIMBABWE, 1893-19341C.J. ZVOBGODepartment of History, University of ZimbabweTHE ACCEPTANCE OF Christianity by a significant proportion of Africans incolonial Zimbabwe was not achieved without a struggle. This struggle wasessentially a clash of culture^.: Althou^n M_\crai UIUOTN contnbuud to Africanopposition to Christianitv in colonial Zimbjbwe. this, article focuses on twofactors which, from the missionaries'" point ol view, militated most stronglyagainst acceptance of Christianity by Africans* tne institution of polygamy andthe belief in ancestral spirits. The article analyses how nucsionaries handled thisopposition to Christianity through the ministry of preaching, the translation of theScriptures into the vernacular, the establishment of Christiao villages, the ministryof healing and Western education.3OPPOSITION TO CHRISTIANITY IN MATABELELANDThe missionaries found the Ndebele very difficult to evangelize. In the first place,there was a general suspicion among the Ndebele of the motives of themissionaries in coming to evangelize them. This was best illustrated by the Jesuitmissionaries working in Matabeleland:To persuade this people that we have come among them for their good, have left kithand kin for their sakes, is simply impossible....The fact is, most of these people arc firmlyconvinced that we have come among them for worldly pelf, in fact, are rolling in wealth,and no matter how much they may receive, they consider that we are niggardly, since wegive so little in comparison with what they suppose us to receive. The great majority persistin retaining their preconceived ideas and nothing will shake them.41 I dealt with this theme in an article I wrote in 1976; that article, however, was based primarilyon the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society archives in London. I also confined the article to theperiod 1897 to 1914. See C.J. Zvobgo, 'Shona and Ndebele responses to Christianity in SouthernRhodesia, 1897-1914*, Journal of Religion in Africa (1976), VIII, 41-51. This is a much broader. article.2 For a detailed discussion of various aspects of Shona culture which clashed with missionaryteachings, see G.Z. Kapenzi, The Clash of Cultures: Christian Missionaries and the Shona ofRhodesia (Washington DC, Univ. Press of America, 1979).3 For a detailed discussion of the interaction between missions and traditional societies and therole of Western education in winning converts in western Zimbabwe for the period 1897 to 1923, seeN. Bhebe, Christianity and Traditional Religion in Western Zimbabwe, 1859-1923 (London,Longman, 1979), chs. 5, 6.4 'Glimpses of missionary life in Matabeleland*, ZambesiMiss{ion\ Rec\ord\ (190h 9). HI, {45),581-2.4344 INTERACTION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN CULTUREAs a result, the people listened to the missionary with incredulity and contempt;in fact, from the very first, they distrusted the missionary, whom they regarded asan emissary sent by their White rulers to divorce them from their customs andtraditions. To the grown-ups, he spoke in vain and he knew it.'5In the second place, the Ndebele disbelieved the teachings of the missionaries.A Jesuit missionary at Empandeni said that the Ndebele were so preoccupiedwith the materialistic aspects of life that it was useless to talk to them about thesoul and its destiny. 'Most of them', he wrote, 'do not believe in the existence of animmortal soul. Death is for them the end of all things'. He said that it was futile totalk to them about Heaven and Hell, as their reaction invariably was, 'Who hasseen Heaven? Who has seen Hell?' He added that the Ndebele had 'no intention ofgiving up their pagan habits and submitting to the law of God and His Church forthe sake of future happiness, or to escape future punishment which theydisbelieve*.6In the third place, the Ndebele opposed Christianity because it was thereligion of the White man who had conquered their kingdom in the Anglo-Ndebele war of 1893. 'The Matabele', the Jesuit missionary, H. Walmesley,wrote, 'are naturally a proud and independent tribe, as the British in their waragainst them found out. They disdain to bow their necks to any yoke, that ofreligion included.*7But the greatest hindrance to Christianity in Matabeleland, according to themissionaries, was the institution of polygamy. The missionaries working inMatabeleland were unanimous on this point. The Jesuit priest, Fr. J. O'Neil, forexample, wrote in 1905: 'With regard to the older pagans, there does not seem tobe much hope of converting them to Christianity. Polygamy prevails among themall, and about the last thing a man could be persuaded to do would be to give upany of his wives.'8 The Jesuit missionary, the Revd Richard Sykes, reached thesame conclusion. 'The man who has a plurality of wives', he wrote, 'is practicallyhopeless as a prospective Christian convert. The hope lies with the children.'9The institution of polygamy requires some explanation. Polygamy waswidely practised among the Shona and Ndebele. It was, in the main, a solution tosocial problems. For example, it was customary for a man to look after the widowand children of the deceased brother. It was also a solution to sex imbalance when5 'Reminiscences', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1914-18), V, (73), 375.6 'Glimpses of missionary life in Matabeleland', 582.7 H. Walmesley, 'The Zambesi Mission of to-day', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1906-9), III, (38), 292.8 J. O'Neil, 'A visit to Empandeni', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1902-5), II, (30), 625.9 R. Sykes, 'On creating a religious atmosphere", Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1914-18), V, (70), 273.C.J. ZVOBGO45women outnumbered men,10 The payment of lobola or room,11 or bride-price, bythe bridegroom's family to the bride's family was a widely-practised custom-among the Shona and Ndebele. It symbolized the giving up of a daughter in1marriage and was a compensation to the bride's family for the loss of the daughterto the bridegroom's family. Missionaries misunderstood completely the reasonsbehind the custom and denounced it because, from their point of view, it not only.reduced women to the level of a commodity to be bought and sold but alsodegraded the position of women in the family. Ignorance of the social reasons forpolygamy led Sykes to write in 1902:The wives, by native custom, are bought for so many head of cattle, the source ofwealth and importance amongst the wild native tribes of South Africa, as indeed amongstall primitive races. The man, therefore, amongst them, who can purchase a number ofwives, proves his wealth, his social position and his power to indulge in luxuries, and sosecures for himself importance in the eyes of his less fortunate neighbours.12The Jesuit priest, Fr. Peter Prestage, and the Wesieyan Methodist missionary, theRevd J.W. Stanlake,13 were of the same opinion. Prestage regarded polygamy as'the purchase of a wife by a man for the purpose of begetting children, amongwhom the girls, when marriageable, are disposed of to obtain lobola, which isused again to purchase other wives, the final object being to acquire position andsubstance through possession of women and children*.14If polygamy was a vicious custom, what was the remedy? According to theJesuits, the remedy was to 'reform the native family';It must be based on the Christian principle. Polygamy for the future should beforbidden by law. There should be no more plurality of wives allowed by the State. Thenthe iniquitous custom of lobola might be done away with, for it is nothing short of buyingwomen by cattle, money or goods...Polygamy being forbidden, the native family will bemore susceptible to taking up and following Christian influences. Modem civilisation willgradually take the place of pagan customs. Men will see the necessity of labour. Womenwill be raised from their present degraded position.15The British South Africa Company regime, however, refused to co-operate with10 R.P. Hatendi, 'Shona marriages and the Christian churches', in J.A. Dactis (ed.), ChristianitySouth of the Zambezi, I (Gwelo, Mambo Press, 1973), 138.11 For details, see J.F, Holleman, Shona Customary Law (London, Oxford Univ. Press, 1952),ch. 4.- n R. Sykes, 'Hindrances to native conversions in South Africa', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1902-5), II,(16), 54,13 J.W. Stanlake, 'The mission stations of Matabeieland', Work and Workers in the MissionField, Jan. 1898, 26-7.14 p_ prestage, 'The kraal family system among the Amandebele*, Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1898-1901), I, (13), 443.15 'Notes from the different stations', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1902-5), II, (17), 93.48 INTERACTION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN CULTUREthe missionaries in suppressing polygamy by force. The policy of the Adminis-tration was to conciliate Africans in order to avoid a recurrence of the 1896-7risings. In time, the missionaries themselves realized that polygamy was a deeply-entrenched custom which could not be suppressed by force. Sykes, for example,said that the defeat and displacement of polygamy would necessarily be slow.'You cannot", he wioie, 'uproot in d day from the life of a nation what is part ofthat national life.1 The solution w as to 'get the children, to instil into them a higherand better morality; to keep them, as far as possible, from contact with heatheninfluences: to form reserves or separate kraals and villages of married Christiancouples as these grow UP to the responsible age.'16Because of their uncompromising stand on polygamy, the Jesuits expelledpolygamists from Empandeni in 1902. The report from Empandeni for that yearstated, 'We shall lose in numbers, but we shall gain by the deepening of theconviction in the minds of the natives that we mean business, and that there can beno compromise betweee Christianity and paganism on the all-important questionof marriage."17 The Jesuits took this uncompromising position because, accordingto Sykes, polygamy was 'a kind of touchstone which tests the sincerity of theSouth African natives, like the Matabele and the Mashonas, in their desire forChristianity, and distinguishes the true metal from the base*.18Among the Kalanga, missionaries encountered the most stubborn oppositionto Christianity from the adherents of the Shumba cult. The Kalanga believed inthe existence of a special class of ancestral spirits called izishumba whichwandered about in the air seeking to enter into some female member of the clan orfamily to which they belonged while on earth. When a Shumba spirit wished toenter into a girl, it did so by making the girl seriously ill. When this happened, adiviner was summoned to find out the cause of the illness. If the girl was afflictedby a Shumba spirit, she would not recover until she was formally possessed by thespirit. In that case, one of the principal Shumba women was sent for to 'raise thespirit' in the girl. According to J. O'Neil, a Shumba girl was always under theinfluence of the woman who 'raised the spirit' in her. She could marry only intothe family of this woman, Hence, the more followers a Shumba woman had, themore important she became in the estimation of the people, and hence the anxietyof the Shumba women to obtain as many proselytes as possible. 'It is not, then,surprising*, he wrote,that the missionaries have no more bitter opponents than these Shumba women. The latterdo everything they possibly can to hinder girls from embracing Christianity, for they knowwell that no good Christian girl will ever consent to be included in their ranks, just as, on16 Sykes, 'Hindrances to native conversions in South Africa*, 54.17 'Notes from the different stations', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1902-5), II. f 15), 54.18 Sykes, 'Hindrances to native conversions in South Africa', 54.C.J. ZVOBGO47the other hand, it is practically impossible to effect the conversion of a Shumba womaneven on her deathbed.19The Jesuit missionary at Empandeni, Fr. E. Biehler, reached the same conclusion:'Once a girl has been initiated,' he wrote, 'there is no hope of her ever becoming aChristian. Many women, no doubt, make a pretence of possession to makethemselves important; others, on the contrary, are the very picture of Satan'.20O'Neil concurred: 'The old Shumba women', he wrote, 'detest the mission-aries and their work and are our greatest opponents. Their hatred of God and HisChurch is so great that at times one could almost believe that they are, ie reality,possessed by the Evil One.'21 He added that the Shumba women refused to listento anything about God or their souls. He cited an incident of a Shumba womanwho died a horrible death after refusing throughout her illness to listen to anythingabout the future life. He visited her frequently at her village. He said that shewould readily enough speak about any subject, but the moment he began to talkabout God, 'she turned her face to the waif.22So far, I have discussed, in general, African opposition to Christianity inMatabelelaed. But how did individuals respond to the Christian message? Africanopposition to Christianity in Matabeleland at the level of the individual can bebest illustrated by the cases of Chief Tshitshi and Chief Gambo.Chief Tshitshi lived in a Reserve near the Jesuit mission at Embakwe, abouteight miles from Empandeni. He was one of those Kalariga chiefs who vacillatedbetween embracing and resisting Christianity. When Embakwe mission wasestablished in January 1902, he was not favourably disposed towards themissionaries and their work. As a result, the attendance of children at thenewly-opened school left much to be desired. Shortly afterwards, however, hechanged Ms attitude towards the missionaries. He went out of his way to makesure that every child in his village attended school daily and he also urged theheadmen of other villages to send their children to school. According to O'Neil,Tshitshi's favourable attitude produced 'a change of feeling' in the hearts of manywho used to be hostile to the missionaries. The attendance of children at theschool in the Reserve more than doubled and several children asked to beinstructed and baptized. Among those who were baptized was Tshitshi's nephew.23But Tshitshi soon changed his attitude again. When a large number of hispagan followers who had always been hostile to Christianity saw what was19 J. O'Neil, 'Habits and customs of the natives of the Mangwe District. South Matabeleland',Zambesi Miss, Rec. (1910-13), IV, (60), 540-1.20 E. Biehler, 'Empandeni outstations', Zambesi Miss. Rec, (1910-13), IV, (52), 229.2S J. O'Neil, 'Superstitions of the Amakalanga of the Mangwe District', Zambesi Miss. Rec.(1906-9), III, (34), 149.22 J. O'Neil 'Reminiscences', Zambesi Miss, Rec. (1898-1901), I, (13), 528.23 J. O'Neil, 'The native mission at Embakwe', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1906-9), III, (39), 344-5.48 INTERACTION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN CULTUREhappening and what was likely to happen in the near future, they were furious andstarted a campaign against the missionaries. They reproached Tshitshi for hisfavourable change of mind towards Christianity and charged him with desertingthe people and their traditions and 'going over to the enemy'.Pressed on all sides by public opinion, Tshitshi tried to play 'a double game,professing friendliness as of yore, but not fulfilling any one of his promises'. Heretracted the permission he had given to two of his grown-up daughters to beinstructed and baptized and his visits to the mission became less and less frequent.This 'caused jubilation in the ranks of the opposition. Several people who hadconsented to the baptism of their children forbade them to go for instruction anymore, and a number of young men who had been on the point of coming forwardto enrol themselves in the ranks of the catechumens held back.'24Tshitshi dreaded the influence of Christianity among his people, shrewdlysuspecting that once they were converted to Christianity he would lose his controlover them. He also feared that if his young daughters were instructed andbaptized, their elder sisters who were already or would soon be of marriageableage would not give him peace until he allowed them to embrace Christianity. Hedid not object to his sons being instructed and baptized; in fact, one of his sons wasbaptized early in 1908. But to permit his daughters to marry Christian husbands,that was another matter. O'Neil added:If he can, he will hinder their doing this, and so once more he has forbidden boys andgirls to attend school. Interviews have been held between us, and the old fox has told liesand made all kinds of promises and protestations; but he won't act. He still makes apretence of friendship, but it is certain that he is incensed against us, since he knows thatevery boy and girl on the Native Reserve is longing for baptism. It will be a stern fight, but Ifeel confident that the children will win in the long run if they remain steadfast to theirdetermination. The movement in favour of Christianity is now too strong and toowidespread to be set back.25Gambo Sithole was, by all accounts, one of the most powerful Ndebele chiefsbefore the fall of the Ndebele state in the Anglo-Ndebele war in 1893; hecommanded one of the Ndebele impis in the struggle against the British in 1893.His experiences during the war thoroughly convinced him that it was hopeless tocontinue the struggle against the British because they were too strong. Hetherefore remained loyal to the new regime in the Ndebele rising of 1896. TheAdministration valued his loyalty and rewarded him with large herds of cattle.Gambo personally went to the Revd J. W. Stanlake and requested a teacher athis village. 'He was quite convinced', Stanlake wrote, 'that his nation was in thedark and was desirous that his children should come to the school. From Gambo24 'Notes from the different stations', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1906 -9), HI, (40), 369.25 J. O'Neil, *A year's progress at Embakwe', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1906-9), III, (42), 456-7C.J. ZVOBGO49we are expecting great things,'26 Clearly, Gambo had reconciled himself to Whiterule. According to the Wesleyan Methodist missionary;, the Revd C.H. Temple,Ł Gambo had accepted tie advent of the English 'philosophically' and clearly sawthe futility of 'attempting to arrest the march of civilisation. This philosophical. spirit he has endeavoured to spread among the other chiefs of the country.'27But while Gambo was prepared to live at peace with the White manand shrewdly recognized the importance of missionary education for hischildren Š two of his sons were at Tegwani and he wanted Ms heir to be highly .educated Š he did not embrace Christianity, He said that he was too old tochange his ways, 'Can you', he asked the Wesleyan Methodist missionary, theRevd H. Oswald Brigg, in his own metaphorical way, 'change the growth of thehorns of an ox when he is already old Š can the horns which have grownbackwards for many years be suddenly changed to grow forwards?"28 Thus, while* Gambo believed that Christianity was good for young people, he did not embraceit himself.OPPOSITION TO CHRISTIANITY IN MASHONALANDAs in Matabeieland, traditional customs militated against the acceptance ofChristianity in Mashonaland. Again, as in Matabeieland, the missionariesregarded polygamy as one of the greatest hindrances to the acceptance ofChristianity in Mashonaland.The Jesuit missionary at Chishawasha, Fr, Richartz, for example, wrote in1901: 'With regard to the older Mashonas there is, generally speaking, but littlechance of converting them. Confirmed polygamists as they are and wedded to thesuperstitions of their ancestors, it is scarcely to be expected that, except in veryrare cases, they will consent to live according to the Christian Law.*29 By 1905 thesituation around Chishawasha had not improved. The polygamists listenedwillingly enough to the Christian Gospel but to put away all but one of their wivesand be baptized in the heyday of life and vigour was a step they could not bringthemselves to take.30In Southern Mashonalaod, the Jesuits encountered the .most stubbornresistance to Christianity among the older Karaoga around St Joseph's missionnear Chief Kama's village in Chilimanzi District. According to O'Neil, these older26 J.W. Stanlake, 'Mission work in Matabeieland*, Work and Workers in the Mission Field, Nov.1899,479-80.27 C.H. Temple, *A ride through Matabeieland', Work and Workers in the Mission Field, Sep.1897, 385.28 H. Oswald Brigg, 'Light and shade in Rhodesia', Bulletin of the Wesleyan MethodistMissionary Society, 63, Dec. 1909.29 F. Richartz, 'Chishawasha today', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1898-1901), I, (14), 475.30 'Notes from the different stations', Zambesi Miss, Rec, (1902-5), II, (29), 571.50 INTERACTION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN CULTUREKaranga had no high thoughts, no wish to be lifted up out of their 'degraded state',and 'absolutely no desire that their children should be educated, still less that theyshould embrace Christianity. The missionary therefore has no hope of doinganything with the children.' He added that the adults at Gokomere mission nearFort Victoria were even worse than those living at Kama's: 'They are hopelesspagans, and nearly all the fathers have sold their daughters Š even small childrenŠ in marriage to some heathen'.31Clearly, Africans were deeply attached to their traditions. The missionariessaw the destruction of these traditions as a prerequisite to the Africans' acceptanceof Christianity. The missionaries realized that this was not going to be an easytask. 'It is exceedingly difficult', O'Neil wrote, 'to induce a native to give up hissuperstitious practices. He cannot be reasoned out of them. You may demonstratetheir absurdity and futility as clearly as possible; but precisely because they rest onno rational foundation, you cannot get him to acknowledge their foolishness.'32This was echoed by the Revd J.W. Stanlake who argued that the conversion ofthe heathen was a slow process. 'A sense of sin and the need of a Saviour', hewrote, 'can only be to the native mind a gradual awakening...Our work is similarto the submarine engineer; it is out of sight. We are undermining. Sometimes theunexpected happens. Our work is put back, and we must start drilling again; butwe do not despair.'33The missionaries hoped to destroy African traditions through the ministry ofpreaching, the translation of the Scriptures into the vernacular, the ministry ofhealing, the establishment of Christian villages and Western education.THE MINISTRY OF PREACHINGThe missionaries hoped to convert Africans to Christianity through the ministryof preaching. In this respect, they discovered through experience the importanceof Africans witnessing to fellow Africans if their work was to succeed. Theimportance of Africans witnessing to fellow Africans was emphasized by DennisKemp, a Wesleyan Methodist missionary in the Gold Coast in 1898:The life of the consistent native Christian is a greater testimony to the Gospel than thelife of the European ever can be...He is skin of their skin; his life is known from his youthupwards; he is trained under conditions known to them, and similar to theirs. In his casehis associates can but attribute to the Gospel the changed life he lives. He is a standingadvertisement to the Gospel he preaches, and his message gains cogency from the fact ofhis life. When a man can get up and say, 'You know me and my former life; you witness31 J. O'Neil, 'Our missions at Hama's and Gokomere', ZambesiMiss. Rec. (1914-18), V, (77), 499.32 O'Neil, 'Habits and customs of the natives of Mangwe District, South Matabeleland', ZambesiMiss, Rec. (1910-13), IV, (58), 468.33 J.W. Stanlake, 'Progress and promise of pioneer work in Matabeleland', Work and Workersin the Mission Field, Mar. 1902, 102.C.J. ZVOBGO51the life I now live. This life I live, not of myself, but through the power of the Christ whom Iproclaim' Š the effect is conviction.34ŁThe Importance of Africans witnessing to fellow Africans was echoed bymissionaries in colonial Zimbabwe when they discovered through experience thatthe African evangelist, under the careful and constant supervision of theEuropean minister, could become the most effective missionary to his people.These considerations prompted all Christiao Churches in colonial Zimbabwe totrain African evangelists. Three outstanding examples of early African evangelistsin colonial Zimbabwe were Njamhiope, Peter Mantiziba and Andria KhumaloMtsfaede.Njamhiope, a former n'anga (traditional doctor), was converted to Christian-ity and baptized by Fr. Andrew Hartman in January 1899. At the age oftwenty-seven, he enrolled as a student at Empandeni where he excelled both in hisschool work and in the study of the Christian doctrine, So much so that whenEmbakwe mission was started in 1902 he was sent there to* take charge of theschool. He catechized the children every day and, on Sundays, he instructedwomen and children in the open air,In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he visited nearby villages everySunday and preached to the people in their homes. His eloquence and earnestnesswon over the inhabitants.35 The Jesuit priest at Empandeni, Fr. A. Leboeuf, said Łthat Njamhiope was one of the most sincere and exemplary men he had ever met,'so good and edifying, so anxious for the conversion of others that we had not theslightest hesitation in entrusting the important work of teaching others to Mm.'36The most eloquent testimony to Njamhlope's work was made by O'Neil in1906:This man's influence and example have done more than words can say...a dozennative catechists of Njamhlope's type would be a blessing untold to any missionary, andwould enable him to convert a multitude of heathen in a comparatively short space oftime... Simple, earnest, modest, prayerful and, which is rarest of all, perfectly unassuming,he is the model of what a Christian native should be, and, though entirely unconscious of ithimself, he has won a debt of gratitude from us which it would be difficult to repay.37Peter Mantiziba, a Kalanga evangelist, was converted to Christianity andbaptized in 1906. In 1907, he was sent to Nenguwo Training Institution (renamedWaddilove in 1915) for training as an evangelist after which he worked in theSelukwe Circuit of the Wesleyan Methodist Church until 1913 when he wastransferred to Northern Rhodesia, where he did outstanding work as an evangelist34 D. Kemp, Nine Years at the Gold Coast (London, Macmillan, 1898), 145-6.35 O'Neil, 'The native mission'at Embakwe', 346.36 A. Leboeuf, 'Mission work at Embakwe', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1902-5), II, (24), 380.37 J. O'Neil, 'The out-stations of Empandeni', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1906-9), III, (31), 26^9.52 INTERACTION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN CULTUREand eventually became Assistant Minister in the Broken Hill Circuit.38 When hedied in February 1934, the then Chairman of the Wesleyan Methodist Synod inSouthern Rhodesia, the Revd Frank Noble, in a eulogy to Peter Mantiziba, said,among other things: 'He had a most winning and persuasive way of presenting theGospel to his own people: I have been present on occasions when he hasdramatised a New Testament story with most striking effect. He was not only ableto do this; one could see that he loved doing it.'39Andria Khumalo Mtshede was born about 1875 and was a paternal nephewof Lobengula, the Ndebele king. He was converted to Christianity in 1897. Afterhe had been a member on trial of the Wesleyan Methodist Church for some years,he was baptized and received into full membership. He served as a local preacherfor nine years (1903-12) before he was transferred to Northern Rhodesia to serveas an evangelist. He served in this capacity for eight years until he wasrecommended for the ministry in 1920. As Assistant Minister, he served in theLuano Valley of Northern Rhodesia.40 When he died in January 1929, theWesleyan Methodist missionary, the Revd Oliver Roebuck, made a fitting tributeto Andria's work when he said: 'He shared the lives of his people...He seemed toknow everybody. Certainly everybody knew him. The old folks honoured him,the children hung about him Š he loved them and they knew it. He was lovedand deserved to be loved. He reigned in the hearts of his people.*41TRANSLATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. INTO THE VERNACULARMissionaries realized from the beginning that, in order to strengthen the faith ofthe converts, it was necessary to translate the Scriptures into the vernacular toenable the converts to read the Scriptures for themselves. For this reason,translation of the Scriptures into the vernacular was begun.Among the missionaries of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the translationof the Scriptures into the vernacular was undertaken by the Revd John Whitewho completed the translation of St Mark's Gospel into Shona in 1897,42 StMatthew's Gospel in 1900, St John's Gospel in 1902 and published the complete38 Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, B/C/A.10, S. Douglas Gray, 'Peter Mantiziba',1917; H.J. Baker, Tne'Story of Mantiziba', The Foreign Field of the Wesleyan Methodist Church(1906-7), 362; T.D, Samkange, *A short story of the life of the late Rev. Peter Mantiziba', TheRhodesian Methodist (1933-4), IX, xii, 15-17.39 F. Noble, 'District notes', The Rhodesian Methodist (1933-4), IX, xii, 3.40 P.B. Mantiziba, 'Death of the Rev. Andria Kutshwa Mtshede', The Rhodesian Methodist(1928-9), IV, xii, 15-16; for a eulogy, see G.E. Hay Pluke, 'In Memoriam: The Rev. Andria K.Mtshede', ibid., 15.41 O, Roebuck, 'From Matabeleland warrior to Methodist minister', The Foreign Field of theWesleyan Methodist Church (1928-9), 194.42 J. White, 'Translation work in Mashonaland*, Work and Workers in the Mission Field, Oct.1901,421-2.C.J. ZVOBGO53New Testament ie Shona in 1907. Translation of the Scriptures into thevernacular enabled literate Shona converts to understand the teachings of theScriptures better than before.CHRISTIAN VILLAGESIn order to shield their converts from the 'unwholesome influences' of their'pagan' neighbours, the Jesuits and the Wesleyah Methodists establishedChristian villages at Chishawasha and Epworth, respectively. The Jesuits arguedthat there was little hope that the neophytes would live as Christians should if theywere permitted to return to their homes after baptism. They therefore establishedChristian villages at Chishawasha ie order to give their converts 'an esprit de corpsand a moral force* and make them proud of their faith instead of being ashamed ofit like some of the converts who lived in 'pagan' surroundings.43The necessity for establishing Christian villages at mission centres wasforcefully stated by the Jesuit missionary, J, Loubiere, in 1921:The pagan atmosphere is so thoroughly corrupt that laymen themselves come to theconclusion that we must take our Christians out of it...The devil is so well at home in thenative milieu, he has such a hold on the native mind, that nothing short of heroism willenable a young convert to persevere if he is in daily contact with his paganacquaintances...It is only by creating new surroundings for the converts, by introducingthem into a healthy and Christian atmosphere, that we may hope to preserve them. It isonly by this new departure that we may hope to establish a true Christian community builtup on the corner-stone of Christian life, i.e., the Christian family. If our Christian couplesremain, as at present, lost among the heathens, I defy any missionary to start a trulyChristian family.44For these reasons, the Jesuits established three Christian villages at Chishawasha,called Loyola, Montserrato and Rosario, where married Christian couplesresided. In 1904, nearly sixty Christian couples resided in these Christianvillages.45In order to transform the lives of the converts completely, the WesleyanMethodists established a Christian village at Epworth. When the Revd AlfredSharp visited Epworth in January 1900, he was impressed with the progresswhich had been made at the mission during the preceding nine months:In the place of a few dilapidated Mashona huts, we have now a well laid out village,with wide streets, sanitary lanes, and neat gar dens... Our rule is that every inhabitant must'338.43 Viator, 'Chishawasha after thirteen years', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1906-9), III, (32), 68.« J. Loubiere, 'Christian villages', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1918-21), VI, (91), 370.45 F. Richartz, 'Twelve years' progress at Chishawasha', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1902-5), II, (23),54 INTERACTION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN CULTUREbuild a square house, or at least a house as neat square as possible to a native, and alreadythe village presents a very pleasing view; a model of a missionary settlement.46When the Revd J. W, Stanlake visited Epworth. in April 1900, he was also pleasedwith the progress which had been made at the mission since the Revd Sharp's visitthere in January, 'During the year', he wrote, 'the whole place has undergone achange. In every respect, it is a "model" mission station, A large brick church hasbeen erected, the entire cost having been raised by the natives.'47MEDICAL MISSIONSIn addition to the ministry of preaching, the translation of the Scriptures into thevernacular, and the establishment of Christian villages, missionaries alsoestablished medical missions. They did so for two reasons. Firstly, the ministry ofhealing was an important part of the ministry of Jesus Himself as well as that ofHis disciples. Missionaries therefore regarded the ministry of healing as an integralpart of the Christian witness. Secondly, missionaries viewed medical missions asan important evangelistic agency. 'If by skilful treatment a sick native is relievedof pain or cured of his disease*, the Wesleyan Methodist Church medicalmissionary, Dr L.G. Parsons, wrote, *he must wonder why it has been done, and isfar more prepared to receive and respond to the gospel message than if this ispresented to him with his pain unrelieved,'48 For these reasons, at some centralmission stations where a trained medical doctor was not available, somemissionaries practised as amateur doctors.49The first permanent medical mission staffed by a trained doctor began in 1893when Dr W.L. Thompson, a missionary of the American CongregationalChurch, opened a dispensary at his home at Mount Selinda mission. A fellowAmerican medical missionary, Dr W.T. Lawrence, established a small hospital atChikore mission in 1900. Dr Samuel Gurney, a missionary of the AmericanMethodist Episcopal Church, started a medical mission at Old Umtali in 1903.Missionaries of the Dutch Reformed Church started a hospital at Morgenstermission when the first medical missionary, Dr John T. Helm, arrived in 1894.50These medical missions proved to be an invaluable evangelistic agency.46 A. Sharp, 'A chairman's tour. Rhodesia District', Work and Workers in the Mission Field, Jan.1900, 19^20,47 J.W. Stanlake. 'The Annual Synod of the Rhodesia District', Work and Workers in theMission Field, Apr. 1900, 157,48 L.G. Parsons, 'Medical missions', Bulletin of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, 65Feb. 1910.49 The Wesleyan Methodist missionary, the Revd H. Oswald Brigg, for example, opened adispensary at Tegwaoi. For details, see H. Oswald Brigg, 'The missionary as an amateur doctor', TheForeign Field of the Wesleyan Methodist Church (1917-18), 147-9.50 D.P. Mandebvu, 'Church history of the African Reformed Church in Rhodesia*, in D.P.Mandebvu, Introduction to Mission History (Morgenster, Morgenster Mission Press, 1976), 6.C.J. ZVOBGO55MISSIONARY/WESTERN EDUCATIONIn addition to the the ministry of preaching, the translation of the Scriptures intothe vernacular, the establishment of Christian villages and the ministry of healing,missionaries also introduced Western education among Africans in colonialZimbabwe. Missionaries regarded schools 'not only as a good thing in themselvesbut, above all, as a means of evangelism and the extension of the Church. TheChurch and the school should go hand in hand.'51 The Catholic missionaries, forexample, believed that 'without schools there would be no missions, no Africanattendance, no adherents, no success...Pupils meant catechumens and converts.'52The Anglicans and the Wesleyans viewed literary education as 'a powerful forceby which to weaken the influences of indigenous religion, superstition andwitchcraft on African society and expedite the acceptance of Christianity'.53Because the missionaries regarded the adults as hopeless pagans, the emphasisin every case was on the children and young people. 'It is on them', the Jesuitmissionary at Chishawasha, Fr. Francis Richartz, wrote in 1901, 'that our main,indeed our sole hopes of building up a Christian community rest; and from thebeginning, it has been our aim and endeavour to get them under our supervisionwhile young and to keep them and train them until they are old enough tomarry.'54 Sykes concurred: 'It is in their plastic days', he wrote, 'that the lessons ofour holy religion can best sink into their minds and their actions before ingrainedprejudices and vicious habits have acquired a permanent hold.'55 Thesesentiments were shared by O'Neil: 'It is practically impossible', he wrote, 'to makeany real impression on the adults. With rare exceptions they are unchangeable,and will not give up their pagan and barbarous customs. The young are muchmore pliant.'56 For these reasons, the missionaries hoped to effect a transformationof African society through education by building schools at their major missionstations.Initially, parents were reluctant to send their children to school. The TegwaniCircuit Superintendent, the Revd H. Oswald Brigg, for example, reported in 1909that parents gave all kinds of excuses for not sending their children to school, some51 P.S. Hassing, 'The Christian Missions and the British Expansion in Southern Rhodesia,1888-1923' (Washington DC, American Univ., unpubl. Ph.D. thesis, 1960), 279.52 A.J. DachsandW.F.Rea, The Catholic Church and Zimbabwe, l<§79-I979(Gwelo,MamboPress, 1979), 107.53 R.J. Zvobgo, 'Government and Missionary Policies on African Secondary Education inSouthern Rhodesia with Special Reference to the Anglican and Wesleyan Methodist Churches,1934-1971' (Edinburgh, Univ. of Edinburgh, unpubl. Ph.D. thesis, 1980), 42-3.54 Richartz, 'Chishawasha today', 475.55 R. Sykes, "A visit to our mission station at Empandeni', Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1902-5), II, (15),24-5.56 J. O'Neil, 'Habits and customs of the natives of Mangwe District, South Matabeleland',Zambesi Miss. Rec. (1910-13), IV, (48), 79.58 INTERACTION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN CULTUREeven goieg to the extent of saying that they had no children.57 At St Joseph'sJesuit mission in the Chilimanzi District, O'Neil said that children came to schoolfor a few days but had no desire to learn and objected even to the mildest schooldiscipline. 'Fortunately", he v. i _,t< /<n some kioals a k w miles away, there were anumber of grown boys and girls n h<. until \ wanted to learn and these now beganto attend school regular!-, ft \va,% ol ih^se v< fith^ and young women that the firstconverts were made.'58When mission station %ui»e ii^r opened, the preaching place was usuallyaccompanied by a school. In the village schools, the classroom was the church'and the church was the classroom for many years. 'To the early communities,church and school were identical and one nusU not be conceived without theother.'59In the rural communities, the villa to schools functioned as 'points of contactwith Christianity and Western education".11" It was ni these village schools that thefirst converts were made among the pupils- The Revd John M. Springer of theAmerican Methodist Episcopal t'hunch at Old Umtali mission said that thesepupils were an important factoi in the task of converting others. 'When the boys-went home at vacation times", he wrote, *the\ fold their friends the Good Newsthey had received. The small boys often started a little school of the youngerbrothers and sisters, teaching them hv mns and sometimes the ABCs."61 He added:The results of this broadcast seed-sowing was that soon the chiefs began to send inrequests for native teachers. This was a distinct gain. 4t first the chiefs had absolutelyrefused to even consider having schools at their villages. But the visits of our pupils in thekraals during vacations and while on evangelistic tours carrying some book or otheralways in their pockets, a primer, a hvmn-book, o? one of the Gospels, out of which theywould read, to the great admiration of the small children, had resulted in a widespreaddesire for an education on the part of berth ho>s and girls, and discontent at the kraal life.They were constantly running awav to the mission to go to school. So it was no longer aquestion of school or no school, but of schools in the kraals or at the Mission.62Because the conversion of Africans to Christianity in colonial Zimbabwe wasthe basic objective of missionary education during the early period, religiousinstruction occupied a prominent place in mission schools. Two examples will57 Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society. S. M 7S- A, 1906 1911, Rhodesian District SynodMinutes, 1910, H. Oswald Brigg, Tegwani t ireuit Report, 190958 O'Neil, 'Our missions at Hama'^ and Gokomtre*, 498.59 W.R. Peaden, Missionary Attitudes to Shona Culture, 18V0- 1923 (Salisbury, The CentralAfrican Historical Association, Local Series 7, 1970). 860 J.G. Kamusikiri, 'African Education undei the American Methodist Episcopal Church inRhodesia: Objectives, Strategy and Impact, 18% l%6* ("Los Angeles. Univ. of California, unpubl.Ph.D. thesis, 1978), 64,61 J.M. Springer, The Heart oj Central Aftu-a (f incinnati. Jennings and Graham, 1909), 39.62 Ibid, 40.C.J. ZVOBGO57suffice. At Old Umtali mission, the curriculum during the first decade was'dominated by religious instruction, accompanied by industrial training'.63 AtChishawasha, all students were required to attend religious instruction for an hourand half every day, half an hour immediately after Mass, another half an hourlater in the morning, and a third in the evening.64 In addition, missionariesestablished boarding facilities at their major mission centres because they haddiscovered through experience that it was very difficult to instil into students the'Christian virtues* as well as 'moral, industrious and orderly habits' unless theywere removed from their 'pagan* environment.65 In time, the major missioncentres produced the first indigenous African evangelists and teachers.66CONCLUSIONIn this article, I have discussed the interaction between Christianity and Africanculture in colonial Zimbabwe between 1893 and 1934.1 focused on two factorswhich, from the missionaries' point of view, militated against the acceptance ofChristianity by Africans in colonial Zimbabwe, namely the institution ofpolygamy and the belief in ancestral spirits. I discussed the reasons for Africanresistance to Christianity in Matabelelaed and Mashonaland. Missionariesmisunderstood completely the reasons for polygamy in African society anddenounced polygamy because, from their point of view, it not only reducedwomen to the level of a commodity to be bought and sold but also degraded theposition of women in the family. The Jesuits not only expelled poygamists fromtheir mission farms but also urged the government to suppress polygamy by force.The Jesuits were unable to do anything about the Shumba cult among theKalanga. Missionaries met African opposition to Christianity in colonialZimbabwe through the ministry of preaching, translation of the Scriptures intothe vernacular, the establishment of Christian villages and the ministry of healing.Because missionaries regarded the adults as hopeless pagans, they turned theirattention to children and young people and hoped, through them, to effect atransformation of African society through Western education. In the villageschools, the first converts were made among the pupils. The major mission centresproduced the first indigenous African evangelists and teachers who, in time,evangelized their own people even more successfully than the Europeanmissionaries themselves.63 Kamusikiri, 'African Education under the American Methodist Episcopal Church inRhodesia', 43.64 Richartz, 'Twelve years' progress at Chishawasha', 340.65 'Notes from the different stations', Zambezi Miss. Rec. (1902-5), II, (19), 172.66 For a detailed discussion of the role which Nenguwo Training Institution played in this respect,see W.R. Peaden, 'Nenguwo Training Institution and the first Shona teachers', in Dachs (ed.),Christianity South of the Zambezi I, 71-82.