In at One Ear and out at the Other
African Response to the Wesleyan Message in Xhosaland 1825-1835
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7860896 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hildegarde H Fast (1(University of Cape Town, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1993 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 1-4 |
| Pages | 147-174 |
| Publication date | 1993-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Religion in Africa (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-4200 • E-ISSN: 1570-0666 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1163/157006693x00094 |
| OpenAlex | W2080212584, W4245676477 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 1 |
That Christian missionaries have had a profound impact on African societies and the course of African history is undeniable. It is not possible, however, to extrapolate this into the past and assume that the missionaries were at the outset successful in converting Africans. After more than three decades of evangelisation in the Eastern Cape, Henry Calderwood of the London Missionary Society commented that if he viewed 'the Caffres as a nation, they may be said to have refused the Gospel'.' This pattern of failure during the initial period of proclamation was repeated elsewhere in Southern Africa, where the message and its bearers were treated with indifference and even hostility and where converts were few and far between.2 It is crucial to unravel the reasons for African resistance to the missionary message during the pioneer period, for these encounters can shed some light on later developments in African Christianity. Xhosa response to the missionaries was shaped by the political and economic context within which the Gospel was preached. The frontier Xhosa had been under constant pressure since the eighteenth century due to the competition between Boer and Xhosa pastoralists for land and cattle on the Suurveld. The Dutch and later the British authorities attempted to establish firm boundaries between the two groups, resulting in the expulsion of the Gqunukhwebe and Ndlambe Xhosa over the Fish River in 1812, a boundary which was extended to the Keiskamma River in 1819. As the frontier closed, land became more scarce and colonial interference in Xhosaland increased. When missionaries began arriving in significant numbers in the 1820's, the Xhosa associated the white evangelists with white encroachment
Ancient history · Anthropology of religion · Archaeology · Audiology · Battle · Colonialism · Context (archaeology) · Ethnology · Frontier · Gospel · History of religions · Political science · Politics · Proclamation · Sociology · Theology · Xhosa · Zulu · Gender Studies · History · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa · Medicine · Pentecostalism and Christianity Studies · Philosophy · Race, History, and American Society · South African History and Culture
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| Citations per year | 0.27 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1996 - 2023 (28) |
| Highly cited | No |