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| Genadendal - Die Moraviese Sending in SA [boodskap #112234] |
Sa, 20 Januarie 2007 00:59  |
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Genadendal
Valley of Grace
Visit the oldest Mission Station in South Africa, with its beautiful
setting at the foot of the Riviersonderend Mountains about 30 km from
Caledon
The early beginnings
The Moravian Church (originated in 1457 in Moravia, today part
of Slovakia) had a particular zeal for mission work and in 1737 the
young bachelor missionary Georg Schmidt was sent to the Cape. Many
thought that mission work among the Khoi (Hottentots) was attempting
the impossible, but in spite of this Schmidt settled on 23 April 1738
in Baviaans Kloof (Ravine of the Baboons) in the Riviersonderend
Valley.
Schmidt became acquainted with an impoverished and dispersed Khoi
people who were practically on the threshold of complete extinction.
Apart from the few kraals which still remained, there were already
thirteen farms in the vicinity of Baviaans Kloof. Within a short while
Schmidt formed a small Christian congregation. He taught the Khoi to
read and write, but when he began to baptise his converts there was
great dissatisfaction among the Cape Dutch Reformed clergy. According
to them, Schmidt was not an ordained minister and so was not permitted
to administer the sacraments. Consequently he had to abandon his work,
and in 1744, after seven years at Baviaans Kloof, he left the country.
The mission work resumed
Only in 1792 did the Moravians obtain permission to resume
Schmidt's work at Baviaans Kloof. For this task three missionaries,
H. Marsveld, C. Kühnel and D. Schwinn, were chosen. When they arrived
they found the ruins of Schmidt's dwelling, with a great pear tree
in the garden. There was also an old woman, Magdalena, whom Schmidt
had baptised, whose acquaintance they made. She was able to show them a
Bible (on display in museum), kept in a leather bag, which had been
given to her years ago by Schmidt. The missionaries listened with
amazement when she asked her daughter to read a portion of the New
Testament to them. When the work in Baviaans Kloof was resumed, the
missionaries and the members of their congregation had to cope with a
number of problems. The Stellenbosch D.R.C. questioned the authority
and the desirability of mission work in Baviaans Kloof, which lay
within the boundaries of their ministerial district.
Although Governor Sluysken found their objections invalid, Ds.
Borcherds succeeded in persuading the Cape authorities to forbid the
ringing of a church bell in Baviaans Kloof.
Bell and Church at Genadendal, 1816 (Latrobe)
At one stage a commando of Strandveld farmers threatened to put
an end to the mission work by force. Many of the farmers on the remote
farms, where they lived in isolation, were illiterate and could not
accept that the Khoi and other people enjoyed the privilege of
receiving a Christian education. The bush telegraph spread the tale
among the Baviaans Kloof people that if they became literate the Cape
authorities would send them to Batavia. The farmers were moreover of
the opinion that the mission station was merely a hiding place for
murderers and thieves. What actually happened was that the mission
station became a place of refuge for many labourers because they often
were treated badly on the farms.
The "Golden Age"
The number of inhabitants increased so much that at one stage
Genadendal was the largest settlement in the Colony after Cape Town.
Noteworthy developments took place in the early nineteenth century, so
that Governor Janssens, after his visit in 1806, decided to change the
name of the mission station to Genadendal (Valley of Grace). To give
the people an enriching and uninterrupted Christian education, it was
important to maintain them permanently on the mission station. Job
creation at a local level was necessary' and in this way the mission
station developed into a self- sufficient community. Up to the end of
the nineteenth century it enjoyed a "Golden Era". Home industries,
including amongst others the forging of knives (the well known
herneuters), flourished, and Genadendal became an important educational
centre. The first Teachers' Training College in South Africa, now the
Museum building, was erected in 1838.
The success of this flourishing community was blighted when it
fell victim to the iniquities of unjust legislation, e.g. the Communal
Reserve Act of 1909 for Mission Stations, which prevented the
inhabitants from obtaining property rights. With its strong religious
roots, its industry and training, Genadendal had the potential to
develop into a centre of learning and perhaps even another
Stellenbosch. But this was prevented by its "coloured" status. In 1926,
the Teachers' Training College was closed down by the Department of
Public Education who argued that the "coloured" people had no need of
tertiary education, and were better employed on the farms in the area.
These policies caused impoverishment, degradation and stagnation of the
town, and a loss of community pride.
However, the new democratic elected town council is supporting
all efforts to introduce new community projects in order to create jobs
on a local level.
On 1st February 1995 President Nelson Mandela announced that his
official residence in Cape Town, formerly known as Westbrooke, has been
renamed Genadendal. The name bears symbolism that God's grace is also
resting on the State President, as it is in the case of the oldest
mission station in Southern Africa. On 10th October 1995 he paid an
official visit
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| Re: Genadendal - Die Moraviese Sending in SA [boodskap #112235 is 'n antwoord op boodskap #112234] |
Sa, 20 Januarie 2007 01:03  |
bouer
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Geregistreer: Desember 2003
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Hessie rapporteer oor
> Genadendal
Ek lees vandag op oor die geskiedenis van die
Morawiese Kerk, en kom af op die feit dat hulle
deur 'n periode gegaan het wat hulle baie
verkleinwoorde gebruik het in hulle baie sensuele
godsdienstige praktyke. Toe wonder ek of dit die
rede is hoekom Totius so baie keer van verklein-
woorde gebruik maak in sy gedigte.
Gloudina
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