30 The Relevance of Tiger Kloof to Bangwato 1904 - 1916 P. T. Mgadla Introduction th Throughout the 19 and a good part of the 20th century Bechuanaland did not have institutions of higher education. The few Bangwato who sought to pursue further education, did so in South African mission schools. Concerned about this state of affairs, both the Bangwato and resident missionaries, the London Missionary Society, resolved to curb the steady flow of Bangwato students into South Africa by establishing an institution of higher learning within the country. In that way the Bangwato would have access to education at a relatively inexpensive price, thus making education affordable not only by the Bangwato, but by more of the Batswana. The establishment of Tiger-K1oof by the London Missionary Society (L.M.S.) in the th beginning of the 20 century therefore provided Batswana with opportunities for higher and industrial education. The institution opened in 1904 in Vryburg, Cape Province, South Africa, after the L.M.S. and the Bangwato, had failed to agree on the issue of private ownelship of land. However, the L.M.S. professed that despite its physical PiPUl.A:ii.A::-: A7f<.:;ric:::a::"n";:'Stu::':'d:::'ic-S---------- R:Bols;;;:w;::an::a"i:Jo:::u=rna::;l~o7r -:-: ;-':O):-.S;;MNo:1.1 v 31 location, Tiger Kloof still catered to Batswana as well as other Africans in the region. Several factors led to the establishment of Tiger Kloof. First, the L.M.S. had been criticized by other mission bodies in the neighbouring countries for having failed to provide the Bangwato and Batswana with higher education. Secondly, the Bangwato and other ethnic groups in the country criticized the L.M.S. for not providing anything beyond religious education. This criticism became much more pronounced when some groups, notably the Bangwato, began to send their children in the 1890's to institutions of higher learning in South Africa. Thirdly, the L.M.S. tried to boost its image and reputation in the eyes of other bodies by elevating its educational standards. In its initial stages, the Bangwato did not support the establishment of Tiger Kloof because the L.M.S. preferred to have the school on free-hold land outside Bechuanaland rather than accept free communal land in the Bangwato domain. Most of the Bangwato children by-passed Tiger Kloof; those who attended showed a negative attitude towards its administration. When relations between the Bangwato and the L.M.S. calmed, Tiger Kloof became the centre of Botswana's higher education. Most of Botswana's nationalist leaders were educated there. Perhaps the impact of Tiger K100f on the Bangwato and Batswana is illustrated by the fact that many present day leaders in Botswana were educated in Tiger Kloof. President Masire, Speaker of the Assembly M.P. Ngwako, Foreign Minister G. Chiepe, Minister Mogwe, Minister Morake to mention but a few. This paper examines the underlying reasons for the establishment of Tiger-K1oof, the nature of Tiger-Kloof, the initial response to its establishment and its relevance to the Bangwato. PULA: Bolswana Journal of Africa. Studies Vol. 8 No.t 32 Foundation of Tiger Kloof Among issues discussed in 1895 during Kgosi Khama's visit to England to campaign against Cecil Rhodes' nefarious intentions of taking over Bechuanaland was the furtherance of higher education among the Bangwato. Preparations to establish an institution of higher learning among the Bangwato in northern Bechuanaland date from that visit. However, how the institution was to function in relation to local authorities and land tenure issues remained unclear. Despite the fact that the Bangwato were to benefit from the contemplated institution, they could not accept its establishment since the proposed arrangement was incompatible with the Bangwato customary land law. The L.M.S. wanted the institution situated in the Bangwato country, but on free-hold land. The Bangwato also wanted the school on their land, but on mutual or communally held land. In short, the L.M.S. wanted the operation of the institution to be independent of "native" authority and influence. The Bangwato, on the other hand, regarded their land unsaleable, asserting that any such institution belonged to the Bangwato and warranted authority of bOQosi (Kingship). One of the many sites contemplated for the new central school was Matloutse, near the border of Bechuanaland and the then Southern Rhodesia. Asked to comment on the Matloutse site, the senior missionary of the L.M.S. in Bechuanaland, Rodger Price noted that the Matloutse site was suitable, but its proximity to the warlike country of Amandebele would make parents hesitate send their children to such a place. Southern Bechuanaland groups did .not trust the Ndebele (one of the major groups residing in Southern Rhodesia) since they had been raided by them on many occasions; a location near their border would be considered insecure. The Matloutse site was therefore discredited. Besides the reasons mentioned by Price, PULA: Botswana Journal of African Studies Vol. 8 No.1 33 the L.M.S. was pessimistic about the site because it was on the Bangwato land, which would make it vulnerable to 'native' influence, contrary to the missionary philosophy of education. On that score Price elaborately added: If that attempt is to be made, in the midst of a territory which is under native rule, where inmates of such an institution would be constantly surrounded by native thought and influence, the institution should be near an English town.2 The Matloutse site was dismised. The resident missionary in Palapye, Bechuanaland, Charles Willoughby and Kgosi Khama looked for a substitute place. Kgama willingly assisted in finding a new place. In 1896 the Reverend Wookey noted that he, Willoughby and Kgama went searching for a site and found a suitable place called Phata ya Manong.3 However, upon requesting Kgosi Kgama to grant the place to the missionaries, the former proved reluctant. A number of plans were considered. In 1897, Se/eka a site near the Transvaal boarder was proposed. The Maoketsa regiment was sent to examine the site; although the site was beautiful, and in many ways suitable, it was considered too far from the railway line. Kgosi Kgama then proposed that the Bangwato were on the verge of moving from Palapye to Serowe in the central district of Bechuanaland. The L.M.S. could then establish the new school on the ruins of the old mission home. It was still clear however, that Kgama was offering use of land, not its sale, to the L.M.S. Confrontration with the Bangwato was likely to cause loss of credibility and subsequently loss of a sphere of influence by the L.M.S. The L.M.S. carefully avoided such a showdown by purchasing a private farm in PUlA: BolswalUl Journal of African Studies Vol. 8 No.1 34 Vryburg, South Africa. The initial response, at least for the first few years, of the Bangwato was to boycott the school. At exactly this time, many Batswana groups were beginning to show an increased interest in higher education. A committee of missionaries throughout the districts of Bechuanaland Protectorate and calling themselves the Bechuanaland District Committee (B.D.C.) acknowledged that fact in 1899 when it recorded that : ...there are indications today of a growing desire among Bechuana (Batswana) for an education superior to what they obtained at Our mission schools as evidenced by the fact that our having between 20-30 who have been sent from our mission station to Lovedale and Basutoland.4 The continued flow of the Bangwato students to South African based institutions worried the missionaries because it reflected the weakness in the L.M.S.'s educational system. However, once again, fearing a conflict of authority, the L.M.S. politely refused Kgama's offer and settled upon a farmstead in Vryburg. The farmstead, Waterloo, had the advantage of a stream which provided a permanent water supply. Tiger Kloof came from the name of a hill on the property. The farm was adjacent to the railway line linking the Cape to Southern Rhodesia. The nearest towns were Vryburg and Mafeking both of them situated in South Africa. However, the fact that Tiger Kloof was set on South African territory did not mean that the L.M.S. had clOsed educational doors to Bechuanaland. The institution later attained an international reputation as students from then Northern and Southern RhOdesia Ba th I T' , so 0 and, South Africa and Swaziland converged on Iger K100f in a quest for reading and acquiring knowledge. At the onset, the Bangwato boycotted Tiger K100f ff d d ' 0 en ed that the L.M.S. had refused their offer of Ian. PULA: Bola...... JOlInIII of African Studies Vol. 8 No.1 35 Wealthy Bangwato therefore continued to send their children to Lovedale, (South Africa) an institution with a reputation for academic excellence, as well as for "snobbery in offering a social hieracy of dining tables and degrees of luxury according to the wealth and race of its students. ,,5 It was also a center of African political and intellectual ferment. Although Tiger Kloof did not open formally until 1904, a Mr. Richardson, the would be principal, as early as 1901 admitted seven students from Molepolole in Bechuanaland and Kudumane in South Africa.a Richardson considered the paucity of the Bangwato students presumably due to the sour relations that had evolved over the site of Tiger K/oot. In contrast, as the Reverend Woo key noted, "a number of lads of this district (Kudumane) have applied to me for admission as apprentices at Tiger Kloof and I shall select them and take them with me".7 The reasons behind L.M.S.'s move to establish Tiger Kloof was best summarised by a Government school inspector who stressed "the shamefully backward state of the L.M.S. schools in Bechuanaland. The L.M.S. were a hindrance to the spread of education in the country".8 Its educational record in Northern Rhodesia, for example, was better than in Bechuanaland. This was because there was less opposition to missionary policy by the local leadership. R. Rotberg notes: At and the vicinity of its station near Lake Tanganyika, the word of the missionaries became law for Africans who were in any way subject to their influence. And like the man of Blantyre, the London missionaries enforced their own laws vigorously according to a Western conception of right and wrong. They regulated lite within the mission precincts with a sure and as hard a hand 9 as a medieval lord his demesne. I" Bechuanaland it was exactly the opposite. Kgosi Kgama wanted to be involved in ~ ----------'V;;;oI.r88'NoN;.i.l PULA; Botswana Journal of African Studies 36 any decision making conceming his people. The L.M.S. abhored this kind of 'native' influence, which was one reason why educational development in Bechuanaland was stifled. Tiger Kloof opened in 1904, but early in 1905 the new principal of Tiger Kloof, Willoughby, made an overture to the dikqosi by inviting them to attend the ceremonial laying of its foundation stone. Tiger Kloof aimed to raise the standard of education among the Batswana and the L.M.S. hoped dikqosi would influence their people to send their children to Tiger Kloof. A letter written to the dikqosi urged them to witness the inauguration of Tiger Kloof as well as encouraging dikqosi to encourage their people to send their children to the be institution which offered a new philosophy in educational development: academic, industrial and teacher training. TO At the same time, Willoughby wrote to the foreign secretary of the L.M.S. based in London announcing his plans to advertise Tiger Kloof, by inviting the various dikaosi in the subregion as well as the Governor of the Cape, and the Resident commissioner of the Bechuanaland Protectorate.ll Willoughby's ploy worked. Besides convincing them to attend the ceremony, Willoughby achieved a diplomatic victory by mending the deteriorating relations with the dikaosi of the Protectorate, particularly with Kgama. The invitation won dikqosi over to the L.M.S.'s side. At the ceremony, speeches espoused the philosophy of Tiger Kloof, placing emphasis on industrial rather than academic training. Kqosi Sechele publicly proclaimed his support for Tiger Kloofs philOSOphy of education by asserting that the words articulated at the inauguration of Tiger Kloof were sound because they stressed academic and industrial education rather than scripture. 12 The tenor of these words indicated that Willoughby had won over dikgosi throuqh skilful propaganda. Kqosi Kgama, however, despite the excitement and fanfare of the pPiUI..A:iU;T: BBo;;jts;;wa;;';IIlI;"iJi;;OIIIIIlI;;;;;r. o;;jf:"jAfricai.{ri;' ;;'ll~StuctiesS;:ii:' ;:;-- ...".....,. Vol. 8 No.1 37 inauguration of Tiger Kloof, remained skeptical. He did not attent the ceremony since the L.M.S. refused his offered site. Instead, he sent a delegation of twenty-two under his brother, Kebailele. Albert Jennings, another L.M.S. missionary stationed among the Bangwato told the foreign secretary of the L.M.S. in 1905 that Kgama sent about twenty-two students to observe the situation in Tiger K100f.13 The Bangwato later held back sending their children to Tiger Kloof, partly as a protest against the site choice and partly as a tacit rejection of L.M.S. control of education. Education in Tiger Kloof Tiger Kloof was a boarding school modelled after the British system, offering industrial and academic education. Long before the institution actually opened, another L.M.S. missionary, John Tom Brown, secretary of the B.D.C., proposed that all lessons of the institution be given in English and that local languages be discouraged 1•. The missionaries were intent upon having social and academic intercourse in the English language. In a meeting held in Vryburg in 1897 the B.D.C. reiterated that all institutions be in English so that teachers, and students from other ethnic groups, may become familiar to understanding one another through one common language. In that way it would be easier to help the students academically.'5 Principal Willoughby agreed, commenting, "nearly all the teaching should be in English and students should be required to pass a certain standard in their schools. 16 The missionaries' commitment to English had the advantage of uniting the student body in common communication skills and enabling them to participate in international discourse. It also had the serious drawback of enhancing skills in an alien language at the expense of an indegenous language. Willoughby, formerly Kgama's missionary, was a strict administrator who, in addition to academic subjects, advocated vocational and industrial training. He stressed the need for the school to have tools so that the students could learn to use the implements which may be -PULA--:-Bo-15-wana-Jo-u-m-al-o-r-A-rnc-' -an-S-t-ud-ie-s--------------....,v;";'o::;"I.""';S;;N;:;.o:t".l 38 purchased by the students for use at their respective homes. In addition, other forms of vocational training included woodwork, smithing and wagon wor k17 . Tiger K100fs industrial department included tailoring, masonry and carpentry. Fees were £10 per annum. The payment of this amount included clothes, bedding and books. Uniforms and books cost £4 per year.18 At the time, Tiger Kloof was the only institution that provided school uniform. Although the fees seemed reasonable, it still meant that only children from well-off families could afford to attend Tiger K1oof. Much as it provided relevant education, it served as a school for the wealthy as not all families had access to cash beyond mere subsistence. At the onset, Tiger Kloof had enrolment problems. The aim had been to provide an institution of higher learning, sUPposedly enrolling students who had already completed elementary school. But if the L.M.S. wished to enroll many Batswana students, it had to double efforts at the elementary level. The station, or "Feeder," schools prepared only a handful of Batswana pupils. Tiger Kloof was ultimately compelled to include elementary education within its curriculum. The graduates of this elementary school were then trained in one of the various departments. Even though the initial idea of Tiger Kloof was to provide for the education needs of Batswana, Tiger K100f admitted students from feeder schools throughout Southern Africa. It became renowned because of the quality of its education; and because it offered the kind of curriculum parents sought for their children; Tiger K100f was soon regarded as equal to Lovedale and Healdtown both situated in South Africa. 19 Tiger K100f was a milestone in the educational history of Bechuanaland. It provided much that had been lacking in educational Opportunity for Batswana in its combined academic, technical and teacher training focus. The teacher training program was two pronged. Students, who finished elementary PPUl.AUi:i;;:'iBonai;;;;DI;-Jko;uma;I7;jOf[jA~~ri;rica;n;;Stu;;dii.ies;;--- ~:-;:"":";"""7 Vol. 8 No.1 39 school and undertook a three year training program obtained a Primary Teachers Certificate (P.T.C.). other students, after three years of elementary education, took an additional two year teachers' training program which, upon completion earned them a Primary Higher Certificate (PH). The P.T.C. graduates taught the lower grades in the elementary schools, those who held the P.H. taught the upper grades.20 Tiger Kloof also provided religious training. The rhetoric on industrial and academic training did not prevent the L.M.S. from tending to its principal objectives. Evangelists were also trained at Tiger Kloof and their training involved three years post elementary school education. At the outset, Tiger Kloof only accepted boys. Among others, were three boys from 21 Serowe admitted for industrial education as a way of "getting the feel" of the school. At the time Willoughby reported an increase in the number of students during the early years of the school, noting that among the thirty four boys enrolled in the school, two came from Serowe, an indication that the Bangwato were beginning to change their attitude towards the school22. For eleven years the institution remained a citadel of male education, not opening its doors to women as teachers and tailors until 1915. The late inclusion of women reflected the attitude of both the Batswana and the missionaries concerning the position of women in society. Both male Batswana and missionaries regarded women inferior. Their place was in the home. Higher education was male-oriented because the prevalent attitude held that career and positions in education were incompatible with the proper role of women. Such attitudes did not keep some women from acquiring skills at Tiger Kloof which then allowed them to pursue life-long careers in Botswana. Mma Ebineng trained as a teacher at Tiger Kloof. She recalled her rigorous training, learning to prepare lessons according to exacting specifications and competing in examinations.23 Mma Sebec also built a successful career from the training she -PULA--:-Bo-lsw--ana-Jo-urn-al-o-f-A-fn-'ca-n-S""tu-d~ie-s--------------""iVv.:o;rI.B8iiN~o;:t.l 40 received at Tiger Kloof, but unlike Mma Ebineng, she trained in the industrial department. She began her course in dressmaking at Tiger Kloof and graduated as a dressmaker. She then taught dressmaking at Tiger Kloof for a few years before going into the tailoring business. She bought her own sewing machine and cloth and began designing and selling clothes, a livelihood she continues to date.24 The regulations of Tiger Kloof stipulated, among other things, that students should pass the Cape Code, a rigorous educational standard required of Cape Province, South Africa, "native" students. Then they could be trained as teachers. Furthermore, students were expected to receive regular instruction in manual work.25 The yardstick for the standard of education for Tiger Kloof, and the rest of Bechuanaland, was the Cape Province's educational code. The regulations stressed moral and good behaviour ofthe students before they were admitted; the possession of a Bible, written either in a vernacular language or in English, was a prerequisite. Other requirements compelled students to speak the English language at all times except for two hours in the evening. The performance of manual labor for two hours every afternoon was necessary. Other regulations included seeking permission to leave precincts of the institution and the prohibition of the blowing of noses in public!26 The regulations were meant to maintain strict and harsh descipline. Bangwato students however, resented these regulations and used them to forment Bangwato opposition to Tiger Kloof. Willoughby was a strict disciplinarian who believed that discipline went hand in hand with academic excellence. Informants Tibape and T. Baruti who attended Tiger Kloof during the first two decades of this century confirmed that as students they resented wh . at they felt to be unreasonably strict regulatIOns. Moreover, they were most int t . eres ed In pursuing language and academic skills and regarded the incorporatio f . n 0 manual labour In their schedule as both humiliating and a distraction from their pr'nc' I C7 I lpa task. Such resentment in 1906 caused an uprising from the boys. The strike OCCured because of the sewage law. Willoughby had PPULAUi:i~:E8olsi;;;w;;;';;DI;:J;;;o;III'DI;j1 ;jor[jArric:aUri;.;;;D;:sSillJdi;di;iu;------ .,.-~~":" Vol. 8 No.1 41 forbidden the boys from using the bush, preferring the bucket system. The boys felt this prohibition to be completely unacceptable. Despite the initial Bangwato hostility toward Tiger Kloof, the institution flourished. Students from other parts of Southern Africa flocked to Tiger Kloof; Tiger Kloof produced teachers, tailors, bricklayers, carpenters and tanners. Until the late 1920's many graduates, with the exception of teachers, did not find employment within their respective communities, with the missionaries or with the government. As a result they sold their skills in the neighbouring countries. A few that came to Bechuanaland worked for the Public Works Department, (PW.D.) maintaining and building roads. Others found work within the colonial government's structure as interpreters, clerks, police and secretaries. Perhaps the most important effect of Tiger Kloof is that most of Botswana leaders were educated in Tiger Kloof. After independence, its graduates provided cabinet ministers. Bangwato Royal Response To Tiger Kloof The initial hostile, or lukewarm attitude of the Bangwato to Tiger Kloof was contrary to the earlier positive response the missionaries had enjoyed. By 1909 one missionary wrote: lithe attitude of chiefs is so different to-day to what it was in the years gone by that one begins to wonder how far a society is justified in yielding to their likes and dislikes".28 In the same year Kgama summoned a meeting of deacons to explain his attitude towards Tiger Kloof and its principal. Kgama was upset because Willoughby allegedly had suggested an educational levy on top of the original hut tax of twenty shillings, an idea unacceptable to the Kgosi. He also argued that the missionaries discussed politics. Said Kgama : "I thought that the missionaries would have discussed the best means of helping the churches to go forward. I did not think that 29 you would have talked about land and taxes." o-C-A-Cnc-' -an-Stu-d..".ie-s---------------VVoI::..-;8i':Niii.o;;J.l ~PVLA=--:-Bo-15-w-an-a-J-ou-rna-J 42 Most of the missionaries working among the Bangwato at the time fell out of favour with Kgosi Kgama for various reasons. One missionary, Edward L1yod, had been dismissed by Kgosi Bathoen I of Kanye, (another L.M.S. station in Bechuanaland) and went to work in Shoshong where he faced another humiliating dismissal, according to Kgama, for incompetence.Continuing the attack on Willoughby, Kgama asserted that Willoughby was out to rob Batswana. Kgama futher accused Willoughby of land grabbing, so that white people could alienate African land. He then likened Willoughby to the Reverend John Mackenzie who had been Kgama's missionary and later joined JO hands with the colonial government. Old wounds appeared to open up again as Bangwato grievances were aired in relation to the Tiger Kloof question. Kgama attacked Willoughby saying that even during the visit to England, Willoughby had not been of much help as he prevented him from speaking to people.31 Wiiloughby, according to Kgama and the Bangwato had humiliated the Bangwato by turning down an offer to open up a school among them preferring to buy land in a foreign country. For that reason Bangwato had preferred not to send their children to 32 T.K. One of the Bangwato deacons, Ntwetwe, summed up the Bangwato attitude towards Willoughby: .Olloby! batho ba mo tshaba botlhel The people are all afraid of himlo3J Relations with the Bang t ... ad the .. wa 0 remained strained as long as Willoughby remaan pnnclpal of Tiger Klo f I 1 f th o. n 913 Kgama wrote to the acting foreign secretary 0 e L.M.S., F.H. Hawkins compa'n' bo he ling a ut the quality of its missionary agents. stated that nearly all the e rI '. 'r a y missionaries of the L.M.S. understood the tenor of that mission. The then pres t .. en missionaries failed to perform their duties and were therefore unfit for missionary work.34 The Directors of the L.M Slat .. '. er concurred. Albert Jennings was rendered unfit for miSSionary service because h .... e Involved himself in the administrative and political PUl..A: BoeaWQ; Journal of Arriet. Studies VoL 8 N;;:i 43 affairs of the people. Willoughby's notoriety came from his desire to appropriate some of the Bangwato land for purposes of building a school, and his pro-South African attitude. The Tiger Kloof question simply exarcebated the already deteriorating relations between the Bangwato and Willoughby. The Bangwato also disapproved of L.M.S. educational policy. In a report prepared by Jennings, Kgama is alleged to have informed a deputation from England that he felt the misisonaries were out to get rid of dikaosi. He cited examples of two of his sons whose admission had been turned down at Tiger Kloof. According to him, this was sufficient evidence. Kgama further warned that if such attitudes persisted, he would be compelled to be anti-L.M.S.35 Willoughby and Tiger Kloof remained a thorn in the flesh of Kgama. He felt that Tiger Kloof taught people to despise their dikaosi. To that extent he proclaimed: If the missionaries are tired of chiefs and people let them say so, let them say we now leave you to YOurselves. That attitude they could understand, but they could not understand the missionaries teaching the Bechuanaland to insult their chiefs.36 So serious was this allegation that a kQotla (traditional assembly) meeting was held between church members and non adherents in Serowe in an attempt to resolve the problem. Instead of solving the problem of the church and Tiger Kloof, the non-adherent section accused members of the church of cutting off dikQosi from the church. Furthermore the non believers stated that the Christians wanted to join the Union of South Africa, a move which was opposed by the dikaosi. 'S7 Generally, missionaries were often wary of dikaos;'s involvement in spheres they deemed reserved to the mission. Church administration and education were two such -PULA--;-BoIs--wua--louma--\ o-r-Africa-'-.-Stu-d'""'ies--------------- VuOl::i .•S;;N;;;,o:7.\ 44 areas. In 1912 a situation arose in which some of the missionaries expressed their views concerning dikqosi's involvement in church matters. In that year the L.M.S. had met with the other regional mission groups to discuss a proposal for inviting other churches to air their views concerning native authority. At this meeting, the question of whether or not dikgosi interferred in the educational and church matters was also raised. When the minutes of this meeting were read to the deacons and the dikQosi they elicited a sharp response. Despite the fact that Christians had been accused of supporting the missionaries in the dikqosi's involvement in church, the deacons also opposed the implications of the minutes of the 1912 meeting. The deacons raised three objectives. First, the result of the meeting seemed to suggest ousting Kaosi Kgama from the church because he interferred with it. Second, the minutes seemed to imply that some kind of political unity existed with the Union of South Africa. "We have refused to join the Union, and so the missionaries are trying to achieve that result by uniting churches first, which will be a preliminary step to the union of the countries."38 Third, minutes, introduced common rules and regulations, binding all churches to observe them. Perhaps the whole issue concerning the implication of the minutes was best described by Headman Gagoitsetse . ...the reason we took up this matter is on ~ccount of the circular referring to chiefs Interference in church matters and we never had any kn?Wledge of chief interferring in ~hurch affairs; we discuss matters; the term ~nterference of chiefs and headman is a new Idea and we fear that this causes friction among us.311 It was not until Jennings had full . . . Y explained and convinced the deacons and the dlkaosl that the L.M.S. in Serowe would not be part of the union of churches that the matter was settled. Such chr' . OOiC tensions between the Bangwato and L.M.S. and its PiPl1LAiii:jr::iiBo~ls~W;;I~RI;jJr;;ou;;;ma~1 o;;((~AtiJ.nca;' ;;n;"iStuih;dd;ies~----- _ Vol. 8 No.1 45 principal at Tiger Kloof discouraged Bangwato children from attending the institution. Successive Bangwato dikQosi often complained about the L.M.S.'s educational policy; that L.M.S. interferred in the administration of local schools, yet dikQosi had no influence over the running of Tiger Kloof. Bangwato dikgosi disliked the L.M.S.'s 40 paternalistic attitude and preferred to be left alone. At Tiger Kloof Bangwato boys reflected the hostile attitude of their nation. Several boys wrote their parents complaining about strict discipline and questioning the integrity and goals of the principal. Probably they were encouraged by their parents. Some of these students were sponsored by Kgama. Jennings wrote to the secretary of the L.M.S. acknowledging that "... he (Kgama) has paid for six boys to go down (to Tiger Kloof). The idea is to convince him that the school is the right line .... 41 Of these students one proved a problem to the principal Willoughby who wrote early in 1904 complaining that: Jennings sent down one lad who is a relative of Kgama ... he has been one of Kgama's most serious problems in domestic government. He is one of these fellows whose idleness is only equalled by his conceit... and after Kgama's permission the magistrate tried and fined him i.30 or three months hard labour for assaulting some poor lads who would not allow him to ride rough-shod over them.42 Apparently the boy in question paid the expected fine and later .went back (to Serowe) by evening train on the same day, remarking that he thought .our school would scarcely suit him and that he might return when we were better prepared .... 43 The incident did not boost the school's image among the Bangwato. Anti Tiger Kloof feeling is reflected in the letters written by Bangwato students to their -Puu.--:-Bo-tsw-a-n-.-Jo-u-m-a-' o-f-A-fn-.c-.n-St-ud-ie-s--------------~VV.O:;I.'8iiN:i.o.:t1 46 parents. In 1908 Gaofetoge Motiki wrote from Tiger Kloof complaining about the uselessness of the institution, its strict teachers and principal and that if things were to be done in his own way, he would not come back to such a school44. In the same letter Motiki noted, "there is nothing to tell you that you don't know. The laws that are in school now, you know about them but they annoy us very much".45 Another student Tshiamo Ntwetwe wrote in 1909 that principal Willoughby was trying to be both a kgosi and headmaster at the same time".46 Their complaints received a sympathetic ear at home. It is unfortunate that the Principal did not have a chance to defend himself against these allegations. It is quite clear, however, that the persistent defiance of the administration of Tiger Kloof by the Bangwato boys was indicative of the Bangwato's royal attitudes. Obviously these boys were "spoilt" in their own community; however, at Tiger Kloof they found their treatment was no different from other ordinary students. They therefore complained against the school. The crux of the matter was that they expected special treatment such as was accorded to them in their community. In 1908 Jennings found that "There are only two (Bangwato) boys at Tiger Kloof and six at Lovedale."47 These figures, however, appear somewhat contradictory for, in the follOwing year, "out of sixty-one pupils seventeen were from Kgama's tribe. ,,48 Kgama may not have been an ardent suPPOrter of Tiger Kloof but he did not go out of his way to bar Bangwato boys wishing to enter the institution as the above numbers show. In addition he donated £120 to Tiger Kloo1. It built a clock tower on which the inscription of the Setswana proverb "boianQ iwa pitse ke io bo mo malenQ, jo bo kontle e Swa e bo lebile (a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush or half a loaf of bread is better than none). Probably this move shOWedthat although Kgama disagreed with the L.M.S., he was not hostile towards them It . was a gesture characteristic of a pragmatic christian PiPULA.liD~:'iiBo~IS;w~.;;n.;jli;;ou;;;:m;;;.~) O~f~Aii;fr;k:;;an~sii;lu;.jdi;;ie;-s - -:- Vol. 8 No.1 47 gentleman. Gaofhetoge's father, an evangelist. concurred with the students at Tiger K1oo1. He noted "... the children are wasting time, at Tiger Kloot). They are not being taught, there are beatings there but tor what purpose since they learn nothing."48 In a meeting held between Bangwato deacons and Jennings the deacons supported the boys grievances, another indication that the boys were "spoilt" at home. The deacons insisted that unless Willoughby were sent way from the school the situation would deteriorate turther.50 Despite earnest efforts to make Tiger Kloot a success, Willoughby seems to have created enemies, not only among the Bangwato community, but among missionaries themselves. Albert Jennings did quite agree with the boys that the law and regulations ot Tiger Kloot were strict. Kgama sent two sons; and they left within six months because ot disagreements concerning regulations. 51 Several boys still continued to go to Lovedale institution. The students at Lovedale and Healdtown reterred to Tiger Kloot as a school in the bush.52 "It is, however," continued Jennings, "quite true that there are tew boys still at Lovedale trom Serowe ... probably six in all. But Mr. Willoughby knows perfectly well why they have gone past Tiger Kloot and he has nobody to blame least ot all Kgama."53 Nevertheless, trom 1904 to 1916, many Bangwato youths received their education at Tiger Kloot under Willoughby's strict administration. Indeed, Willoughby's manner agreed with the norms ot strictness in child rearing held by the Batswana. When Willoughby ultimately left the principalship, it was due to stress and ill-health. He was replaced by the able, younger, A.J. Haile, who headed the institution until its regrettable closure in 1955. Despite its geographical location Tiger Kloot had been established mainly tor the Batswana. Subsequently many other Africans in the region studied there. It had ~p'~n• ---------~Vol;;j.:i8iiN~o;:r.l : Botswana Journal of African Studies 48 largely won over its critics by providing the much proclaimed academic and industrial training. Although many Batswana opposed it during its early stages, in the long run those Bangwato who could afford the fees benefitted from gaining academic and industrial training graduating as semi-skilled workers, teachers and professionals. With the normalizations of relations between the Bangwato and the L.M.S., especially during the reign of Tshekedi Kgama, many Bangwato and other Batswana attended TIQer Kloof. Bangwato students shared an experience of higher education at Tiger Klo01 which helped to build certain national unity; they even studied with their teachers. For example, B.C. Thema, former Minister of Education, taught Setswana at Tiger Kloof from 1939 to 1946; some of the nationalist leaders holding important POSitions in government to date are his pupils. Until the coming of St. Joseph's College in 1944 and Moeng in 1948, Tiger Kloof stood as the institution of higher learning for Batswana since Lovedale and other South African institutions were too expensive for all but the very wealthy. PPUI..AULi~:EBotsk;"';;;I;;llI~Jj;;OlIrIllI;;;;;j1 ~orfj~\frj;nc.;n;;-SSitud;;;jj;ies;;------- _ Vol. 8 No.1 49 FOOTNOTES 1. Rodger Price to Thompson (Foreign Secretary of the L.M.S. based in London) Kudumane, Box 53, 10 Jan. 1896, World Councils of Missions, (Hereafter W.C.M.) London. 2. Ibid. 3. A. Wookey to Thompson, Palapye, Box 53, 18 September 1896, W.C.M. London. 4. Minutes of the Bechualand District Committee (Hereafter B.D.C.), Vryburg, 2 March 1899, World Council Missions, London. 5. N. Parsons, "Khama III, the Bangwato and the British 1885-1923' (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Edinburgh, 1973), p.242. 6. J. Richardsoin, to Thompson, Vryburg, Box 59, 30 Oct. 1901, W.C.M. London. 7. Wookey to Thompson, Kudumane, Box 61,6 Jan. 1903, W.C.M. London. 8. Enclosed in a letter from Richard to Thompson, Cape Town, Box 59,15 March 1901, W.C.M. London. 9. R.1. Rotberg, Missionaries and the Creation of Northern Rhodesia: 1880-19~4 (Princeton, N.J.: Prince?on University Press, 1965) pps5-56; see also hIS Missionaires as Chiefs and Entrepreneurs: I Northern Phodesia 181-124' in Boston University Papers in African History ed. Butler (Boston : Boston University Press 1964), vol. I, pp.201-02; for local opposition to:-var~s missionaries, see for example, N.R. Bennett, "Church Missionariy Society In Mombasa, 1873-1894, "in Papers in African History ed. J. Butler, vol. I, pp. 193-94. 10. W.C. Willoughby to the "Chiefs" of the Batswana, Vryburgh, Box 66,16 Aug. 1905, W.C.M. London. 11. Willoughby to Thompson, Vryburg, Box 66,22 July 1905, W.C.M. London. 12. Willoughby to Thompson, Vryburg, Box 66, Sept. 1905, W.C.M. London. PiPU1.Aiii":~D_~~_...,.- ------;V~oL:Li8NNio:o.'i1 : .......wau Journal of Africa. Studies 50 13. A. Jennings to Thompson, Serowe, Box 66, Sept. 1905, W.C.M. London. 14. J.T. Brown, Botobotobo Forest, Box 53,24 January 1896, W.C.M. London. 15. Minutes of the B.D.C., Vryburg, Box 54,4 May 1987, W.C.M. London. 16. Willoughby to Thompson, Palapye, Box 53,29 June 1896, W.C.M. London. 17. Ibid. Many Bangwato parents complained that learning the books did not help solve everyday problems, so an institution that provided skills answered the call. 18. Minutes of the B.D.C., Kudumane, Box 55, May 1898, W.C.M. London. 19. Willoughby to Thompson, Tiger Kloof, Box 66,22 July 1905, W.C.M. London. 20. Interview with G. Gare, Mochudi, 6 November 1983. Gare is a retired teacher at Tiger Kloof; he first went ot the school during its trying days. 21. Jennings to Thompson, Serowe, Box 66,28 September 1905, W.C.M. London. 22. Willoughby to Thompson, Tiger Kloof, Vryburg, Box 66,22 July 1905, W.C.M. London. 23. Interview with Mma Ebineng, Serowe, 22 Jan 1983. 24. Interview with Mma Sebec, Serowe, 8 February 1983. 25. Minutes of the B.D C., Vryburg, Box 54,4 May 1897, W.C.M. London. 26. Aules for pupils in the Tiger Kloof Native Institution Tiger Kloof Papers W.C.M. ~~~ " 27. Interviews with G. Gare, MOChudi, 15 November 1982' K. Baruti, Serowe, 19 January 1983; J. Tibape, Srowe, 26 January 1983. ' 28. Howard Williams to Thompson, Kanye, Box 71, 1909, W.C.M. London. 29. Notes on the remarks of Ch'ef 1 K Uoyd, Serowe, Box 71 190 3 wc9 amaand the Serowe Deacons written by E. , , .. M. London. 30. Ibid. 31. Ibid. jtPuu.UU~:iBolawWi;;;;~JOIInIa;;;;;;jI~o;rf AAi~rririca;1l ;St1Id~ies;;----- ..,..,....- Vol. 8 No.t 51 32. Ibid. 33. Ibid. 34. Kgosi Kgama to Hawkins, (Foreign Secretary of the L.M.S. based in London) Serowe, Box 75, 23 December 1913, W.C.M. London. 35. Copy of minutes of the Magistrate Court by Jennings, Serowe, Box 74, 9 January, 1912, W.C.M. London. 36. Ibid. 37. Ibid. 38. Ibid 39. Ibid 40. Botswana National Archives, Gaborone (Hereafter B.N.A.), 301, Sekgoma Kgama to the L.M.S., 4 June 1923. 41. Jennings to Thompson, Serowe, Box 66, 8 September 1905,W.C.M. London. 42. Willoughby to Thompson, Tiger Kloof, Box 65, 22 April 1904, W.C.M. London. 43. Ibid. 44. Copy of Gaofhetoge Motiki's letter to parents. Tiger Kloof, Box 69, 27 August 1908, W.C.M. London. 45. Ibid. 46. Tshiamo Ntwetwe to Deacon Ntwetwe, Tiger K1oof,Box 71, 24 July 1909, W.C.M. London. 47. Jennings to Cousins, (Foreign Secretary of the L.M.S. based in London) Serowe, Box 69, 17 January 1908, W.C.M. London. 48. Minutes of the B.D.C., Kudumane, Box 71, March 1909, W.C.M. London. 49. Copy of Evangelist Motiki, father of Gaofhetoge, Letlhakane, Box 69, 1908, W.C.M. London. Vol. SNo.1 iiUi.:A: BotsWlDa loumal of African Studies 52 50. Copyof letter from Jenning's diary Serowe, Box 69,25 January 1908, W.C.M. London. 51. Jenningsto Cousins, Serowe, Box 69,17 January 1908, W.C.M. London. 52. Interviewwith N. Sebele, Serowe, 25 January 1983. 53. Jennings to Cousins, Serowe, Box 69, 17 January 1908, W.C.M. London. ~PUl..Aun~:8Bo1a;M;;WIIIa;1JCMInIa;;;;;;'iI";;orGAfricaaijri;. ;:Studst;jikia;------- ~_: Vol. 8N~