Negotiating Norwegian Mission Education in Zululand and Natal during World War II
Abstract Missionaries from the Lutheran Norwegian Mission Society (NMS) came to South Africa from the 1840s. By 1940, more than 6000 pupils were attending NMS-owned schools in Zululand and Natal. World War II brought about different forms of negotiations between the missionaries and other actors. The War resulted in the missionaries losing contact with their central board in Norway and the provincial authorities of the Union were among those bodies who came to rescue them financially. Local congregations took over more of the mission responsibilities and the nature and forms of cooperation with other Lutheran missions changed. Added to these changes was the growing aspiration among Zulu pastors for more independence that also manifested itself in the management of schools. This paper presents an analysis of the ways in which the Norwegian missionaries negotiated their educational work in Zululand and Natal during the World War II period.