The Importance of Trade for Reverend E. M. Lijadu and the Evangelist Band Mission

This article discusses the activities of the Evangelist Band Mission (EBM), led by Reverend E. M. Lijadu from 1901 to his death in 1926, in the coastal Ikale and Ilaje areas south of Ondo. The EBM whih operated in close association with the Church Missionary Society, but was financially independent and self-supporting. Trade was an important factor in ensuring its economic viability. The article also suggests that the availability of goods associated with Christianity, such as books, Western dress, and certain tools, was a factor that contributed to the adoption of Christianity because it allowed individuals to ‘try out’ forms of consumption associated with Christianity in a positive and yet containable way.

Johannes Rebmann: A Servant of God in Africa Before the Rise of Western Colonialism (second edn)

SummaryJohannes Rebmann, the first European to set eyes on Mount Kilimanjaro, served as a pioneer missionary in East Africa in the mid-nineteenth century, commissioned by the Anglican Church Missionary Society. Lexicography was his main occupation, but he faced several serious challenges: theological and methodological differences with his closest colleague, colonialism and slavery, and personal health problems. The author of this book has himself served in Malawi and participated in the recent English-Chichewa dictionary. Paas uses an impressive number of primary sources, letters and archival materials to paint the picture of Rebmann, his life and work.RÉSUMÉJohannes Rebmann, le premier européen à avoir contemplé le Kilimandjaro, a été un missionnaire pionnier en Afrique de l’Est au milieu du dix-neuvième siècle, envoyé par la société missionnaire de l’Église anglicane. Il s’est principalement consacré à un travail lexicographique, mais il a dû faire face à diverses difficultés sérieuses : des différences d’ordre théologique et méthodologique avec ses plus proches collègues, le colonialisme et l’esclavage, ainsi que des problèmes de santé. L’auteur de cet ouvrage a lui-même servi au Malawi et a participé à l’élaboration du récent dictionnaire Anglais-Chichewa. Paas a consulté un nombre impressionnant de sources de première main, de lettres et d’archives pour dresser le portrait de Rebmann et présenter sa vie et son oeuvre.ZusammenfassungJohannes Rebmann, der erste Europäer der jemals den Kilimandscharo erblickt hatte, diente in der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts als Pioniermissionar in Ostafrika; er war ausgesandt von der Missionsgesellschaft der anglikanischen Kirche. Seine Hauptbeschäftigung war die Lexikographie, aber darüber hinaus wurde er mit diversen ernstlichen Herausforderungen konfrontiert: Es gab Unstimmigkeiten zwischen ihm und seinem engsten Mitarbeiter über theologische Ansätze und die Methodik ihrer Arbeit, er befand sich in einem Umfeld von Kolonialismus und Sklaverei, und er geriet persönlich in gesundheitliche Schwierigkeiten. Der Autor dieses Buches hat selbst in Malawi Dienst getan und an dem unlängst erschienenen Wörterbuch auf Englisch-Chichewa mitgearbeitet. Paas verwendet eine bemerkenswerte Zahl an Primärquellen, Briefen und Archivmaterial, um ein Bild von Rebmann, seinem Leben und Werk zu zeichnen.

Skepi Dutch Creole

In this article we present newly found lexical and grammatical data pertaining to Skepi, the Dutch-lexified creole which is now extinct but was once widespread in the Essequibo area of what is today the Republic of Guyana. The source of this new material are the linguistic notes contained in the diary of Reverend Thomas B. Youd, a missionary in service of the Church Missionary Society, who was active in the area from 1833 to 1842.

“Grandfather in the Bones”

Evangelical Anglicans of the Church Missionary Society constructed a triumphal narrative on the growth of the Ugandan Church circa 1900–1920. This narrative developed from racial theory, the Hamitic hypothesis, and colonial conquest in its admiration of Ugandans. When faced with closing the mission due to its success, the missionaries shifted to scientific racist language to describe Ugandans and protect the mission. Most scholarship on missionaries argues that they eschewed scientific racism due to their commitment to spiritual equality. This episode reveals the complex ways the missionaries wove together racial and theological ideas to justify missions and the particularity of Uganda.