=Tananarive--“A City Set on a Hill”=
Earth has not anything to show more fair;
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning.
WORDSWORTH.
We travelled from Kawimbe in Northern Rhodesia to Madagascar by way
of German East Africa and Zanzibar. Owing to unavoidable delays at
the ports the journey occupied ten weeks. For the first three we
travelled by chair and bicycle and on foot, northward to Tabora, along
a road almost parallel with the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. On
the first night we encamped at a village near the Kalambo river, the
boundary between Northern Rhodesia and German East Africa, close to
the wonderful Kalambo Falls. The river, which is deep and about thirty
yards wide, plunges over a perpendicular wall of rock 900 feet high
into an awful chasm in one sheer drop. The rocky walls on each side
of the gorge are vertical. Looking westward one has a lovely view
of Lake Tanganyika, vignetted between cloudless blue sky and the
purple-breasted mountains in which the gorge terminates, lying calm and
peaceful in the “splendour shadowless and broad.”
A week-end was spent at Kasanga, now known as Bismarckburg, the
administrative centre of the southern part of German East Africa, where
we met some educated and courteous German officials, who have always
done what they could to facilitate the missionary work of the Society
in the small section of their territory in which it is being carried
on, and gave us some interesting information with regard to native
customs and superstitions. We learnt that the natives offer sacrifices
of goats, sheep and fowls at the Kalambo Falls to propitiate the gods
who are supposed to dwell in the chasm, and to bring them luck. They
have a superstition that the land at the bottom of the Falls would
belong to the posterity of any person who threw himself over. A woman
recently sacrificed herself in this way, and the Chief gave the land
at the foot of the Falls to her family. When twins are born it is the
custom to do away with one of them. Children who cut the upper teeth
first are killed. Cannibalism amongst the natives is by no means
extinct, and as late as six years ago a European was killed and eaten.
There are well authenticated recent cases of the widow of a Chief being
buried alive in the grave of her dead husband. This part of German East
Africa is certainly a land that is dark.
But I must not linger over the journey. Towards the end of June we
reached Tabora, a large native town of some 30,000 inhabitants, whence
we took train to Dar-es-Salaam on the east coast of the Continent--the
capital of the German colony. This place is beautifully situated on
the shores of a land-locked harbour, and the streets are bordered
with stately cocoanut palms and shady acacias. It was formerly the
centre of the Arab slave trade, but, to-day, except for the tropical
vegetation, it reminds one of a modern European town. A few hours on
a steamer brought us to Zanzibar, one of the most fascinating places
we visited in our travels. After a stay of some days there we embarked
on the Messageries Maritimes boat for Tamatave, on the east coast of
Madagascar. On the boat we joined our colleague in the Deputation work
in Madagascar, Mr. Talbot Wilson, and with him were the three members
of the Deputation from the Friends’ Foreign Mission Association, and
one of the Deputation from the Paris Missionary Society. A voyage of
seven days, calling on the way at ports on the north-west and northern
coast of Madagascar, brought us to the Port of Tamatave, some 1,500
miles south of Zanzibar. From Tamatave we travelled by the splendidly
engineered new French railway to Tananarive, a distance of 239
miles, passing on the way great lagoons near the sea coast, crossing
picturesque rivers, traversing belts of beautiful forest, and rising
by circular curves on the railway up the mountain side to the Central
Plateau of Madagascar, some 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. As
the train neared the capital it was joined by various missionaries who
had come part way to meet us. At the terminus--a great modern station
lit with arc lamps--nearly all the missionaries at work in the city
and around it, and thousands of Malagasy Native Christians in their
straw hats and white lambas, met us, and gave us a great welcome.
[Illustration: MAP OF MADAGASCAR, SHOWING L. M. S. STATIONS.
Madagascar is nearly 1,000 miles in length. Its area exceeds that of
France, Belgium and Holland put together, but its population is less
than one-fourteenth of that of these countries. ]
Tananarive is built upon a very narrow lofty ridge in the middle of
far-spreading rice fields, bordered by ranges of hills and mountains.
The ridge, which rises rapidly from the north, runs due south, and is
crowned at its highest point by the Palace of the former kings and
queens of the Island, which can be seen from a great distance around.
The crest consists of a steeply-rising thoroughfare, from many points
of which both horizons, east and west, can be seen. In the northern
portion, known as Faravohitra, are several of the Society’s mission
houses, and at the top is the Faravohitra Memorial Church. Continuing
southward, and still rising for the greater part of the way, the
British Consulate is passed on the right, and a short way beyond
this on the left is the massive building, now known as the Palais de
Justice, which was formerly the L. M. S. Theological College. After
a slight depression the road winds steeply upwards, until, leaving
the Palace of the Prime Minister on the left, and catching sight
of the Memorial Church of Ampamarinana on the right, we arrive at
the Queen’s Palace. The ridge then falls and rises again until its
southern extremity is reached at Ambohipotsy, where stand another of
the Memorial Churches and the present United Theological College of the
L. M. S. and F. F. M. A., and some Mission houses. The view is one of
great grandeur, especially looking to the west and to the south-west
towards the rugged ridges of the Ankaratra mountains. Looking
northwards one sees the wooded slopes of Ambohimanga, the ancient
capital of Imerina, like a crouching lion dark against the distant
hills. On the west, at the foot of the northern part of the ridge, is
the great Analakely market, which on Fridays is visited by thousands
of people, and adjoining the market is our handsome Analakely Church,
while beyond are the Residency, the railway station and the shops and
offices of the modern French town. A little above this the spire of
the Ambatonakanga Memorial Church and the two large school buildings
adjoining can be seen standing at the junction of two main roads, where
the traffic is at its busiest. One of the features of the landscape in
Tananarive is the large number of Church spires and towers which can be
seen on the plains below. It is said that there are some 150 of them
in sight, by far the greater number of them being now, or formerly,
Churches connected with the London Missionary Society.
We had come to Madagascar from Central Africa, where missionary work
was in its earliest stages. In the “great African Island” the contrast
was very striking. There is only one brick Church in the Central Africa
Mission, the rest being wattle-and-daub. In Madagascar there are many
hundreds of spacious well-built brick Churches, and some handsome stone
ones. In Central Africa the Church is in its infancy, and comprises
less than 150 Church members. In Madagascar there are over 30,000
Church members, and nearly five times as many other native adherents.
The magnificent results which have followed the work of the Society’s
missionaries, under the blessing of God, are everywhere apparent.
Wherever we went great crowds of Christian people gathered together to
meet us as the representatives of the L. M. S. The Churches were nearly
always full and often crowded to overflowing.
The congregations find great enjoyment in the singing of hymns, and
very large numbers read their Bibles, while Sunday School work is
splendidly organized. A considerable proportion of the Church members
take part in Christian work. There are more than seven times as many
ordained native agents at work in connection with the Society in
Madagascar as in all the other Mission fields of the Society combined,
except Polynesia. In addition, there are over 2,500 preachers, a number
largely in excess of the number of preachers in all the other fields of
the Society put together. Moreover, the number of Church members and of
other native adherents in Madagascar connected with the Society is far
more than those in any other Mission field, and the same remark applies
to the number of Sunday Schools and Sunday School scholars.
One cannot fail to be much impressed by the great capacity of the
Native leaders of the Christian Church in Madagascar. It would be
difficult to find a more capable set of men in any Mission field. They
are doing splendid work, and if this “apostolic succession” can be
maintained, the Malagasy Church of the coming days will not lack for
competent native leadership.
Moreover, as the work of our Missionaries in Madagascar is examined,
it becomes clear that the Mission is admirably organized. The men and
women who have served the Society in Madagascar in the past have,
under the guidance of God, laid the foundations of the work wisely and
well. Their successors are worthy of their great heritage. It was a
cause for rejoicing to find that the Native Church built upon those
foundations is a strong and living Church--full of promise for the
future. If the present Missionary work can be continued, and possibly
slightly increased, for a few more years, there is every reason to
hope that the Native Church will, in the not distant future, become a
self-supporting, self-governing, as it is already, to a limited extent,
a self-propagating Church, and strong enough to carry on its own work
of evangelizing the whole island.
This growing Native Church is largely composed of Hovas, the
most advanced tribe among the Malagasy, and is to a great extent
concentrated in the Central Province of Imerina round Tananarive. This
is not an accident. It is believed that the best way to bring about the
coming of the Kingdom in the Island is to build up a strong Church in
the centre. As that Church increases in numbers and in spiritual power
it will be able to extend its own Missionary efforts, which are already
not inconsiderable, and to dispense, as time goes on, with the help of
the white Missionary to an ever-increasing degree, thus freeing him for
any work that remains to be done in the outlying parts, and ultimately
making it possible for him to withdraw altogether--having finished
his work. To weaken our efforts at the present time would be to delay
and imperil this consummation. To maintain them will be the surest
and most speedy way of hastening on the day when the Missionary force
can be withdrawn and the Native Church left to bring each successive
generation into the Kingdom.
There were many indications that the Native Church is itself steadily
keeping in view this ideal. I may quote a paragraph from the
translation of an Address presented to us by the Pastors of the Commune
of Tananarive the day after our arrival:
“We want you to know that we earnestly desire our Churches to become
independent, i.e. self-supporting. It is natural for young people to
want to set up housekeeping for themselves, and it is the same with
the Church. The near approach of the hundredth anniversary of the
arrival of Missionaries amongst us makes our hearts all aglow with the
desire for the independence of our Churches. There is no day which we
should more like to see than that on which we shall go with the last
Missionary to the railway station. On that day we shall overflow with
joy and sorrow, and our laughter will mingle with our tears.”
The inner circle of Churches in Imerina is associated with seven
Churches in the capital known as “the Mother Churches.” Four of
these are the Memorial Churches erected in the years following the
re-opening of the Mission in 1862, after the twenty-five years of
the great persecution. The oldest and most famous is the Church of
Ambatonakanga, which was opened in 1867. It is the Mother Church of all
Madagascar. On its site the Bible was first printed in Malagasy in the
thirties of the nineteenth century, here the first converts made their
public profession of Christianity, and here stood one of the two first
places of Christian worship in the Island. The simple chapel erected in
1831 was afterwards turned into a gaol during the persecution, and here
many Christians suffered imprisonment. Adjoining it is the grave-yard,
where rest the remains of several British missionaries who have given
their lives to the service of Christ in Madagascar. This Church, which
has long been self-supporting, has associated with it twenty-seven
country Churches, and for some years has been under the pastoral care
of the Rev. William Evans, one of the noble succession of Welshmen who
have done so much to advance the coming of the Kingdom in the Island.
Mr. Evans has also charge of the Martyr Memorial Church of
Ampamarinana--“the place of Hurling”--which is situated on the
south-west of the ridge on which the city is built. To the west of
the Church is the top of a rocky precipice, where in earlier years
sorcerers were executed by being hurled down the cliff to the plain,
400 feet below. During the persecution, as Christians were supposed to
possess some powerful charms enabling them to defy their persecutors,
fourteen of the noble army of martyrs were in 1849 thus put to death.
The present Native pastor of the Church is Andriamifidy, who was
at one time Foreign Secretary in the old Malagasy Government, and
from this Church several of the present leading Native Pastors have
come. Associated with it in the district to the west of the city are
twenty-seven country Churches.
The third Martyr Memorial Church is that of Ambohipotsy, situated in
a commanding position at the extreme south of the city ridge with
a magnificent view on all sides. This beautiful stone building was
erected to commemorate the first Christian martyrdom--that of the brave
Christian woman Rasalama, who was speared to death near the spot in
1837, in a place where other Christians subsequently met their doom
in like fashion. The work of this Church and district, comprising
some forty-six country outstations to the south of the city, is now
superintended by Mrs. Thorne, who is bravely and successfully carrying
on the work of her late husband.
The fourth Memorial Church is that of Faravohitra, erected on the
northern ridge of the capital by the contributions of the children of
Great Britain to commemorate the burning alive of four martyrs in 1849.
The work at Faravohitra and in its extensive district to the north,
comprising fifty country Churches, is under the charge of the Rev.
Robert Griffith, another of the Welsh missionaries who have devoted
themselves to the service of Christ in Madagascar.
Not far from Ambatonakanga, at the western foot of the ridge, is
the spacious Church of Amparibe, built of brick and stone. This is
the third Church on the same site. The work there and amongst the
twenty-four country Churches lying to the north-west of the capital,
has during the last two years been under the care of the Rev. F. W.
Dennis.
The sixth Mother Church is that of Analakely, a short distance to the
north of Ambatonakanga, and adjoining the great market place. This
Church also is the third building erected on the present site. It was
opened in 1895, a few months before the French occupation, the ex-Queen
Ranavalona III. and her Court being present on the occasion. For thirty
years the veteran Missionary, Dr. Sibree, has been the missionary
in charge, and has superintended the work there and at the fourteen
country churches connected with it.
The remaining Mother Church is that of Isotry, another large building
in the populous western district of the capital. It is only recently
that the Church at Isotry has been reckoned as one of the Mother
Churches of the capital. Mr. Stowell Ashwell has had charge of the work
there for some years.
The Institutional work of the Imerina Mission is centred in Tananarive.
Of these Institutions the most important is the United Theological
College, where pastors and evangelists for the work of the Mission
receive their training. For upwards of forty years the L. M. S.
Theological College in Tananarive has rendered great service by
preparing hundreds of young men for their work as evangelists and
pastors. After the French conquest the conspicuous College building
on the northern part of the ridge was appropriated by the French
Government and, as already mentioned, converted into Law Courts. The
work of the College was removed to a smaller building a little further
to the north, adjoining the Faravohitra Church. In 1910 a union in
Theological training was entered into with the F. F. M. A., and the
College was removed to a large house at Ambohipotsy and became a
residential Institution. A notable feature of the present work is the
training of the students’ wives.
A number of cottages, named after Missionary Tutors of past days, have
been erected on land adjoining the College, and this department has
been superintended with great energy and devotion by Mrs. Sharman, the
wife of the present Principal, the Rev. James Sharman. The College
course extends over four years. Upon the staff are missionaries of
both Societies and four competent Native teachers, Pastors Rabary,
Rabetageka, Rakotovao, and Ravelo. The College at present contains
thirty-two students, and is doing a great work in making more adequate
provision for a well-trained and consecrated native ministry. In a
very true sense the College is the key to the missionary situation in
Imerina. If the Native Church is to maintain and extend its position,
it is necessary that a constant succession of well-educated and devoted
Christian men should go forth from the College to act as pastors of the
Churches and to be the leaders of the people in all their Christian
activities.
Reference has already been made to the two conspicuous buildings in
the centre of the city, adjoining the Ambatonakanga Memorial Church,
in which are carried on the Boys’ High School and a Girls’ School.
After the French occupation, Mr. Sharman started the Boys’ School in
1897. It grew rapidly, and the present building was erected and opened
in 1901 by Governor-General Galieni, when there were 500 pupils on
the books. This number increased to 720, but was subsequently reduced
to 530 owing to Government regulations. It is at present conducted by
our Missionary, M. Henri Noyer, with the help of a staff of Malagasy
Assistant Masters. The average attendance at the School is 91 per cent.
of the number upon the books. In addition to the ordinary curriculum of
a school of this character, which directs great attention to the French
language, there are industrial departments for carpentry, woodwork, and
metal work in which a high standard of efficiency is reached.
Adjoining the Boys’ High School is the Girls’ School, founded by Dr.
T. T. Matthews, where for many years some of the brightest girls from
the Churches of Imerina have received a good education. The Missionary
in charge of it is Miss Ysabel Du Commun, who, however, at the time
of our visit, was absent on furlough, Miss Craven taking her place as
Superintendent. The Government regulations only allow 230 girls in
the School, although there is ample accommodation for a much larger
number, and there are many girls now waiting admission when there are
vacancies. There are seven classes, with three men and four women
teachers and two sewing mistresses. In addition to the ordinary
curriculum for such a School, training is given in hygiene, cookery,
dressmaking and fancy work.
In another part of the town, at Andohalo, stands the Girls’ Central
School, where for upwards of forty years a fine educational work has
been carried on. There are now 400 girls on the books, and many more
are waiting for admission. The average attendance is 380. Amongst the
special subjects taught in the School are straw-plaiting, hatmaking,
lacemaking, first-aid and ambulance work. The staff consists of Miss
Elsie Sibree, the devoted head-mistress, two masters and eight women
teachers. The French Government regulations do not at present admit
of the employment of women teachers, except those who were appointed
before the present rules came into force. The present buildings,
which were erected twenty years ago, comprise a large and lofty
central hall, with a spacious gallery and six class-rooms. The sight
of the crowded school at morning prayers is a most impressive one.
The girls, bare-footed, dressed in their white lambas, with “shining
morning face,” and with that happy, placid expression, which is so
characteristic of the Christian girls and women of Madagascar, file
into the central hall and take their places with order and reverence
and join with heartiness and devotion in the singing and in the
prayers. It is a very rare thing for more than one or two to be late.
The tone of the school is of the highest, and the head-mistress always
strives, by prayer-meetings for the staff and in many other ways, to
impress the teachers with the missionary character of their work.
[Illustration: MALAGASY GIRLS AT MISS CRAVEN’S GIRLS’ HOME.]
Another branch of the work amongst girls is the Girls’ Home,
successfully carried on by Miss Craven for twenty years. Here is a
home provided for the daughters of evangelists and pastors and other
Christian workers who come to Tananarive for their education. The
girls attend the Central School and live in Miss Craven’s house, where
they are taught domestic duties, lacemaking, embroidery, and other
needlework at very small expense to the Society. Thirty girls are in
residence, and there are always more waiting for admission. Miss Craven
describes the work being carried on as follows:
“Now for a picture of the Home itself. There are one sitting and two
bed rooms, all large and airy; the former has tables and benches, but,
except for meals and preparation, the matted floor is just as much
used. Books and small possessions are kept in covered baskets, one to
each girl, and their clothes are in a cupboard or tin boxes. The girls
sleep on mattresses laid on the floor, besides which there is no other
furniture in the dormitories. They bring their own clothes, plates,
spoons, mattresses and coverings, but as there is more ventilation
than in their rooms at home, I keep a supply of blankets to lend to
them when the nights are cold; an outside building provides kitchen,
rice-house, bath-house, etc.
“The days’ occupations vary little; the girls are up at daylight,
say 5.30 in the summer and 6.0 in winter, and, after a wash in the
bath-house, come back to their household duties, sweeping and dusting
their own rooms and some of ours, and preparing their breakfast of
rice and milk, which is ready before seven o’clock. After that all
the household assembles for morning prayers, and then there is the
bustle of final preparation for school before they form in line and
march off, two by two, looking a clean, tidy, and intelligent family,
of which we may well feel proud. They all go to the Girls’ Central
School, under the care of Miss Sibree, school hours being from 8 a.m.
to 12.45 p.m. One hour every afternoon is given to school preparation,
the remainder of the time being filled up with different kinds of
needlework, while the little ones divide their time between work and
play. One afternoon most of them are away at the C. E. weekly meeting
at Analakely. The evening meal is ready at 6.30, we have prayers at
7 o’clock, and then they say ‘good-night,’ and troop off to bed, a
few of the elder ones staying a little longer to do more lessons, or
finish some piece of needlework. Saturday brings a change of work,
for most of the girls go to do their weekly washing, not getting home
until about 3 p.m. After dinner they are busy until bedtime ironing
their clothes and getting ready for Sunday.
“At different times they have attended Faravohitra, Ampamarinana,
Ambohipotsy, and Analakely Churches, and the Sunday Schools connected
with them. Sunday evening is spent with me singing hymns, discussing
Sunday School lessons and sermons, and other matters of interest.
It is a happy time, and one to which we all look forward. The Sunday
School has a great attraction for them, especially the yearly
examination, for which they prepare several weeks beforehand, and from
which they carry off some of the best prizes.
“Quarrels and troubles have not been frequent, and during the last two
or three years have been increasingly rare. Severe discipline has been
needed in very few cases, one being that of a girl who was sent away
for continuing a clandestine correspondence; she has been carefully
watched at home, and is turning out well. About three years ago we
were very grieved when one, who had been with us for many years, took
the law into her own hands and ran away to be married. We do not,
however, give up hope that she will become a Christian woman and train
her children well. The health of the girls has always been a great
responsibility, and malarial fever has been very much more frequent
during the latter half of the decade. We have not lost any by death,
except one who died at home during holidays. We generally find that
the girls improve in health while under our care, and we do not often
need to call for the help of a doctor. Occasionally we have to regret
that girls are removed by their parents while still young, but as a
rule they remain with us until about to be married, or get married
soon after leaving.
“As to the spiritual results, we may speak with some confidence.
Three have joined the Church, and one has been baptised on profession
of faith while still in the Home, and others have become Church
members soon after marriage. The Spirit of Christ is clearly working
in the hearts and lives of many who are still with us. Of one dear
girl, who died very happily after the birth of her first child, her
husband said to me: ‘I rejoice over the months we have lived together;
she has done me good.’”
Another department of Institutional work is the L. M. S. Printing Press
in Tananarive, which stands for much more than its name implies. It
is true that a prosperous business in printing and book-binding is
carried on, seventy men being constantly employed. But the Printing
Press is a kind of “Universal Provider,” and anything, from a harmonium
to a needle, can be purchased there. Under the able superintendence
of Mr. Ashwell, a considerable annual profit is made. The magnitude
of its operations is surprising. In the ten years ending in 1910,
1,833,243 books and pamphlets were issued from the office, including
over 40,000 Bibles, 60,000 New Testaments (printed in England), nearly
350,000 lesson books, over 131,000 hymn books, and a large number of
commentaries and other religious works.
No sketch of the Institutional work in Tananarive would be complete
without a reference to the Medical Mission, which for many years has
been carried on jointly by the F. F. M. A. and the L. M. S., the doctor
being a missionary of the former Society. For the last sixteen years
Dr. Moss has been the medical missionary in charge, and in his own
person illustrates the close union between the two Societies in this
work. He has been a missionary of the F. F. M. A., and is the son of
an L. M. S. missionary, and his wife, a trained nurse, is the daughter
of an L. M. S. missionary, the saintly Joseph Pearse. No department of
missionary work in the capital suffered more from the advent of the
French than the Medical Mission. A fine commodious hospital, opened
in 1891 by the ex-Queen, was appropriated by the French Government
in 1896, and since then the hospital work has been on a much smaller
scale, and in fact there was no hospital at all between 1897 and 1903,
although a large out-patient work was carried on. In the latter year
a small Cottage Hospital was erected, round which the work has since
centred under the devoted superintendence of Dr. and Mrs. Moss.
In barest outline some account has been given of the Institutional work
of the Imerina Mission, which is centred in Tananarive. In this work
the European missionary and the Native agent, working together side
by side and in closest co-operation, are contributing to the building
up of a strong Native Church, which in the future is to be God’s
instrument in spreading the light into the dark places of the Island.
This Church is as “a city set on a hill that cannot be hid.”