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Missionaries, Anthropologists, and the Policies of the Dutch Reformed Church

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2008

Brian M. Du Toit
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Extract

This article discusses the relationship of missionaries and anthropologists in South Africa. Due to such important factors as ethnicity, linguistic group membership, denominationalism, and party political affiliation, it is essential to present historical perspectives on these and related matters. The vocation of missionary is almost exclusively a white enterprise as is that of professional anthropologist. Blacks have however had significant influences in both realms and are today entering these vocations.

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Articles
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , December 1984 , pp. 617 - 632
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

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References

page 618 note 1 Albertyn, J. R., du Toit, P., and Theron, H. S., Kerk en Stad. Verslag van Kommissie van Ondersoek oor Stadstoestande (Stellenbosch, 1947), p. 62.Google Scholar

page 618 note 2 Brookes, Edgar H., ‘Preface’, in Bengt, G. M. Sundkler, Bantu Prophets in South Africa (London and Oxford, 1961, 2nd edn.), p. 3.Google Scholar

page 618 note 3 Sales, Janet M., The Planting of the Churches in South Africa (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1971), p. 15.Google Scholar

page 619 note 1 Cronje, J. M., Born to Witness (Pretoria, 1982), p. 18.Google Scholar

page 619 note 2 Patterson, Sheila, Colour and Culture in South Africa (London, 1953), p. 25.Google Scholar

page 620 note 1 Ibid. p. 173.

page 620 note 2 Pretorius, J. L., ‘An Introduction to the History of the Dutch Reformed Church Mission in Malawi, 1889–1914’, in Bridglal, Pachai (ed.), The Early History of Malawi (London and Evanston, 1972), p. 374,Google Scholar points out that DrMurray, W. H., one of the early missionaries in Malawi, founded a magazine in 1909 called Mthenga,Google Scholar which dealt with matters of health, culture, tradition, etcetera: ‘it played a most important part in encouraging the lonely out-school teachers, enriching their lives and binding the migrant workers to their home church’. This publication is still in existence, albeit now called Kuunika and edited by a Malawian, G. A. Kachaje; Cronje, op. cit. p. 101.

page 620 note 3 Basutoland was always left to the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society. Indeed, the N.G.K.A. did not start working in what is now Lesotho until 1955.

page 621 note 1 Smith, Nico J., Elkeen in Sy eie Taal… (Pretoria, 1980, 2nd edn.), p. 89.Google Scholar

page 621 note 2 Note the use of Bantu instead of Mission Church. These designations kept pace with official government terminology, which changed from ‘Native’ to ‘Bantu’ and then from African to Black.

page 621 note 3 Smith, op. cit. p. 196.

page 622 note 1 For a contrasting modern interpretation of indigenisation, see Rossman, Vern, ‘The Breaking in of the Future’, in International Review of Mission (Geneva), 52, 1963.Google Scholar It is also interesting that some recent Catholic documents have a bearing both on the individual versus the community approach and pertain to pastoral anthropology. The most important is the Second Vatican Council on the Church's missionary activity decree, Ad Gentes. According to Shorter, Aylward, African Culture and the Christian Church (London, 1973), p. 217:Google Scholar

‘This decree represents a new emphasis in mission theology: away from the numerical Catholicism of a Church organized primarily for individual baptisms and towards an “incarnational” Christian community. There is therefore a new stress on society and social institutions which are responsible for the modes of thinking and acting of individuals. To be a trained specialist in catechetics, liturgy and the apostolate is excellent, but specialists are unable to stir a finger until they know something of the social background of those among whom they work.

Ad Gentes therefore states that human beings “are formed into large and distinct groups by permanent cultural ties, by ancient religious traditions, and by firm bonds of social necessity. The Church must be present in these groups of men through those of her children who dwell among them, or who are sent to them” [para. 11]. ‘That they may be able to give this witness of Christ fruitfully, let them be joined to those men by esteem and love, and acknowledge themselves to be members of the group of men among whom they live. Let them share in cultural and social life by the various enterprises of human living.’

page 622 note 2 du Plessis, J., A History of Christian Missions in South Africa (Cape Town, 1910).Google Scholar

page 622 note 3 Cronje, J. M., Die Selfstandigwording van die Bantoe-kerk (Bloemfontein, 1962);Google ScholarBosch, David J., ‘Church Unity Amidst Cultural Diversity’, in Missionalia (Pretoria), 10, 1, 1982; and Smith, op. cit.Google Scholar

page 623 note 1 Bosch, loc. cit. p. 23.

page 623 note 2 Ibid. pp. 23–4.

page 624 note 1 Brain, M. du Toit, ‘The Anthropologist in South Africa: sitting on a fence or walking a tightrope’, in The Florida Journal of Anthropology (Gainesville), 6, 1, 1981, pp. 2–3.Google Scholar

page 625 note 1 Horrell, Muriel, ‘Education in an Apartheid Society’, in Nic, Rhoodie (ed.), South African Dialogue (Johannesburg, 1972), p. 485.Google Scholar

page 625 note 2 The Nederduitse Hervormde Kerk was established in 1853, when Reverend van der Hoff from Holland settled in the Transvaal as its first minister, and was recognised in the constitution of the South African Republic in 1858 as the official church.

According to Serfontein, J. H. P., Apartheid, Change and the N. G. Kerk (Emmarentia, 1982), p. 127,Google Scholar ‘The N.H.K. is nothing if not honest about its attitude towards blacks. The notorious Clause 3 of its constitution, written in the 1850s when the church was established as the official state church of the Transvaal Republic, and which specifically excludes blacks from membership, is still in force. It makes it clear that only whites may belong to the N.H.K. While this church has done missionary work among blacks, its converts have been formed into an entirely separate church which has no formal links whatsoever with the N.H.K.’

page 626 note 1 Coertze, P. J., Language, F. J., and van Eeden, B. I. C., Die oplossing van die Naturellevraagstuk in Suid-Afrika (Johannesburg, 1943).Google Scholar

page 626 note 2 Cronje, G., n Tuiste vir die Nageslag. Die Blywende oplossing van Suid-Afrika se Rassevragstukke (Johannesburg, 1945), Afrika Sonder die Asiaat (Johannesburg, 1946), Regverdige Rasse-Apartheid (Stellenbosch, 1947) and Voogdyskap en Apartheid (Pretoria, 1948).Google Scholar

According to Rhoodie, N. J. and Venter, H. J., Apartheid. A Socio-Historical Exposition of the Origin and Development of the Apartheid Idea (Cape Town, 1959), p. 172, ‘Professor G. Cronje of the University of Pretoria probably did more than anyone else outside the political arena to popularise the word apartheid. He started using the concept rasse-apartheid (racial apartheid) instead of segregation in his writings and speeches in the early 1940s. He also went further than his contemporaries in that he tried to outline the basic principles of apartheid.’Google Scholar

page 626 note 3 Cronje, Voogdyskap en Apartheid, pp. 14–16.

page 626 note 4 Hanekom, T. N., ‘Apartheid as Kerklike Beleid’, in Die Kerkbode (Pretoria), 1948.Google Scholar

page 626 note 5 Hanekom, T. N., Die liberale rigting in Suid-Afrika (Stellenbosch, 1951).Google Scholar

page 626 note 6 Groenewald, E. P., ‘Apartheid en Voogdyskap in die Lig van die Heilige Skrif’, in Cronje, (ed.), Regveridge Rasse-Apartheid.Google Scholar

page 627 note 1 Ibid. p. 67.

page 628 note 1 Smuts, J. C., Greater South Africa: plans for a better world (Johannesburg, 1940), p. 133.Google Scholar

page 628 note 2 For an interesting anthropological study of blacks who belong to the mission branch of the Gereformeerde Kerk, see Schutte, A. G., Swart Doppers (Pretoria, 1974). The appellation for this denomination most likely derives from the word ‘Domper’, i.e. a silencer which could be placed on members who did not strictly adhere to the Calvinistic principles.Google Scholar

page 629 note 1 Schapera, Isaac, ‘The Present State and Future Development of Ethnographical Research in South Africa’, in Bantu Studies (Johannesburg), 8, 1934, p. 274.Google Scholar

page 629 note 2 According to Bosch, David J., ‘Missiological Developments in South Africa’, in Missionalia, 3, 1, 1975, p. 26: ‘It is significant that contributions on this issue [race and race relations] from Afrikaner theologians, with few exceptions, tend to be little more than a barely concealed justification of the status quo.’Google Scholar

page 630 note 1 Bosch, ‘Missiological Developments in South Africa’, p. 18.

page 630 note 2 Black missiologists would include G. Setiloane, Lukas de Vries, and a few others. Black anthropologists are few and far between, while those writing in Afrikaans do not exist.

page 631 note 1 Bosch, ‘Missiological Developments in South Africa’, p. 21.

page 631 note 2 E.g. van Schalkwyk, University of the Orange Free State; B. A. Pauw, University of South Africa; and M. L. Daneel, Missiological Institute, Unisa.

page 631 note 3 E.g. Durand, J. J. F., Swartman, Stad en Toekoms (Cape Town, 1970);Google ScholarMöller, H. J., Stedelike Bantoe en die Kerke, Vols. I–III (Pretoria, 1972);Google ScholarReyneke, J. L., ‘Towery by die Tswana’, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Pretoria, 1971;Google Scholar and Oosthuizen, G. C., Post-Christianity in Africa: a theological and anthropological study (Stellenbosch, 1968).Google Scholar

page 631 note 4 See Smalley, William A., ‘Anthropological Study and Missionary Scholarship’, in Practical Anthropology (Washington, D.C.), 7, 3, 1960,Google Scholar and ‘Making and Keeping Anthropological Field Notes, in ibid. 7, 6, 1960; Donald N. Larson, ‘Making Use of Anthropological Field Notes’, in ibid. 11, 3, 1964; and Van der Walt, I. J., Defining Ethnology and Religious Science (Potchefstroom, 1982).Google Scholar

page 631 note 5 Evans-Pritchard, E. E., ‘Religion and the Anthropologist’, in Practical Anthropology, 19, 5, 1972, p. 206.Google Scholar

page 632 note 1 Smalley, ‘Anthropological Study and Missionary Scholarship’, p. 120.

page 632 note 2 Wolcott, Harry F., ‘Too True to be Good: the subculture of American missionaries in urban Africa’, in Practical Anthropology, 19, 6, 1972, p. 242.Google Scholar