Dawids (Davids, David), Gabriël (Gabriel) Vaketu * 20.02.1927, Kaperongo (Angola), † Gabriël Dawids and his wife Frieda Eises. Gobabis, 04.04.2007. According to the official co-worker card he was working as an "ouderling" before joining the service of the church. Completed Std. II. Attended the Evangelist course in 1963-1966. Pastor course: 1970. Ordained on the 27.09.1970 in Okahandja.1 Summarizing his life, Dawids said in the interview: "God led me all the time - and he gave me the right wife." His father belonged to the Ovakuanambura (rain and cattle) clan. His mother belonged to the Ovakuati (honey) clan. Dawids belongs to the clan of his father. He still knows old people, who belong to the same clan. His parents were from Nkumbi in Angola. The region from where he is, is called "Ovahimbo" and the village is called Kaperongo. His wife called him an "Okumbi". When Dawids was about seven years old he came with his uncle ("himietu" = uncle), whose Damara name was "Kanandi", to Namibia. His full name was Fritz Kanandi, his mother: Josefine Nandjara, father's name is unknown he must have been around 30 years old when Kanandi left his home. Kanandi and his wife Josefine moved from the Kaokoland with the Dorslandtrekkers to Angola. In Humpata they worked with van Scholtz.2 Kanandi was originally "RK", but left it and joined RMS. He also came back to Namibia with the Dorslandtrekkers. [If I understood Dawids correct, the wife of Kanandi stayed behind in Angola] In Namibia Kanandi settled on Rietfontein, or the farm Swartwater (a small reserve ca. 30 km east of Grootfontein). Kanandi worked in the dairy and in the garden in Rietfontein and Kombat. He looked after the cattle of the mine on a cattle post. Fritz Kanandi died in Otjiwarongo. He worked in Karibib by driving the ambulance. Dawids attended the RMS Herero School in Grootfontein. During this time he stayed in the house of the elder Absalom Kandume. Dawids moved with Kandume to the RMS School in Kombat, where Kandume was teaching. The Evangelist in Kombat was Hiuveni/Hiuwini [Zachäus Hanavi ], according to Dawids. In 1940 Dawids started to work at the SAR and was posted in Othongwati. From 1940 to 46 he worked for Mr. Abramson [sic] (a Jew from Otjiwarongo). Abramson was driving over the farms to buy cattle, Dawids drove with him to open him the countless farm gates. Dawids stayed with Kanteua Matheau in the location, Kanteua worked in a shop in town. Kanteua and Kanandi where close to each other. When he came back to Grootfontein, he attended baptism classes, held by Hiuveni/Hiuwini [Zachäus Hanavi], and was baptised by Pardey in 1947. After further classes he was confirmed in 1954, also by Pardey. After this, Dawids worked on the "boormasjin" of Pieter Kotze. He then worked for the Red Cross in Karibib. Kotze had a Café in Windhoek and Dawids used to come to that Café when they travelled and worked with the Red Cross. The white driver of the Red Cross car would go and buy food in the Café of Kotze, while Dawids was sitting in the car and waited for him to return. On one of these occasitions Dawids met Kotze, and since Dawids was always on the lookout for a new job, he came in contact with Kotze and asked for a job. They used to drive to the old hospital at the Okahandja road in Windhoek, that was seemingly where Kotze had the Café. He came in contact with RMS missionary Kroll3, who encouraged him to become an Evangelist. It was during his work with Kotze, that Dawids started reading from the Bible (in Afrikaans and Herero) with the other workers and people from the surrounding as well as singing hymns (in Herero) with them. Kotze paid him 52 Shillings per feet. The bore holes which they drilled were on contract by the Administration. The use to drill between Keetmanshoop and the East (up to Aranos). Away from the Nossob they use to search for water. This was up to Aranos East and South, up to the reserve. The people from the surrounding later used to travel behind the borehole team. The team existed of eight bore machines who were drilling at different sites, but the group had one central camp together, where the workers would gather on Fridays, after the workers had cleaned the machines. The team drilled about three boreholes per month. Each was about 1000 feet deep. Sometimes, however, the ground was very hard and they would bore up to two month at one bore hole. Dawids was alone with two to three workers, since Kotze only came now and then to the bore machine. The work with the drilling machine was daring and dangerous. His life was spared several times. For example: the drill had to be sharpened now and then with the bellows. To do this, the drill rods had to be moved out of the bore hole with a tractor. In one of these cases the tree which was used as a support, broke down and fell on Dawids. According to Dawids, he was protected by God, and he was not hurt, since only the branches hit him. During another occasion, Dawids was nearly killed in an accident with a lorry and its trailer, heavily loaded with conductor pipes for a bore hole. It was on a two track road along the Nossob. The dunes are so steep, that the trailer had to be pulled over every dune with a pulley tackle. While the tractor was pulling the trailer, the steering broke and the trailer swayed uncontrolled to and fro - pushing the tractor, with Dawids on it - to the abysm deadly close a fatal accident. Once again Dawids saw the fact that his life was spared again, as a protection by God, an experience which influenced his later choice of occupation. When Kotze sold the drilling machine to Wekermans in 1957, Dawids was send to Botswana in January to March 1958 to instruct the new workers on the machine. Kotze and his son told him that they had paid pension contributions, but he never received any money. When he left, the father of Kotze promised him the lorry as a compensation, but the son of Kotze used the lorry and Dawids never received it. During the years when he worked with the drilling machine, he met his later wife in Windhoek in the old location, while he visited a family member of him. Lived together with: Emma Nunuhes (died in 1961) Her Father: Petrus Tataob (Damara), Mother cannot be remembered by Dawids. Children: Elisabeth Nunuhes (died in an accident) Raimond Dawids (worked on a farm in 2007) Josefine Dawids (worked in the hostel of the school in Gobabis in 2007) Married (for the second time) on 19.03.1958 in Gobabis by missionary Loeber to: Frieda Eises born 01.12.1931, baptized on 13.12.1931 by Tschäschke. Her Father: Wilhelm Murangi and mother: Theresia Eises. Children: Lydia (married surname Koos) born 1961 in Gobabis (she became a school teacher and is working in Gobabis. She is an elder in the ELCRN congregation Gobabis) Efraim born 1962 in Gobabis (went to Martin Luther High School and is working as a teacher) Rebekka (married surname Jarson) born 1964 in Gobabis Hildegard (married surname Gorlses) born 1966 in Gobabis, died 2001 in Gobabis Regina born 1971 in Gobabis In 1961 the Kwanyama Evangelist Nikolaas Hankongo died in the congregation Gobabis. The RMS missionary Krichhoff asked Dawids to help out in the Herero and Ovambo congregation. When Kirchhoff left in 1963, Kroll took over from him. By that time the following men worked in the congregation Gobabis: Benjamin Eiseb (Eiseb was working in town and only help in the congregation on a voluntary base. Eiseb joined the Paulinum in the same year as Dawids). David Skrywer (was employed in the congregation Gobabis in June 1951). Henrik Jod (was a police man in Gobabis and worked on a voluntary base in the congregation. He joined the Evangelist course in 1965 in Otjimbingwe. In the documents of the Paulinum, Hendrik Jod is recorded as coming from Walfish Bay.) By this time Dawids was working at Universal Motors, a car repair workshop. He earned about £ 5,- per month. When he came to Namibia, he stayed with his brother Franziskus. Went to the evangelist course which was the first one attending the course in the Paulinum in Otjimbingwe. After attending the course he was send to Gobabis and worked all the years in the Otjinene, Epukiru, Rietfontein and Aminius reserve, on may farms in the district Gobabis and in Botswana (with Kroll). During the years as an evangelist he travelled with a donkey cart.4 Attended the evangelist course in Paulinum in 1965.5 AELCRNVIII2.16.2PaulinumCorrespondence1963-1972, After being employed as an itinerate Evangelist in Gobabis, Dawids worked on the farms in the Gobabis district. A trip around the farms would take him one to one-and-a-half months. A "booitjie" would accompany him, and he moved with a donkey cart, which was pulled by two donkeys. In the evening he would tight some ropes over the donkey cart and put a canvass over it. On the ground he would spread another canvass and sleep there, using one blanket to cover him. If he was lucky, the farm workers would allow him to sleep in one of the rooms of the worker quarter. He would carry a 20 kg bag of "millie meel" with him, so that he would have something to cook during his trip. Sometimes the workers would share with him a little bit of milk and on special occasions a small piece of meat. As he knew that he would not be supplied with food on his trips, he had to live with that what he brought, and took it as a special present if the farm people would share some of their meagre portions with him. He would celebrate services with the people. On his trips he would collect the church membership fees, fees for baptism and the offerings. If there were weddings to be done on the farms, or Holy Communion or if it was time for important meetings, the RMS missionary would go with him over the farms with the missionary's car. The farms were mostly owned by Boers. He suffered a lot, because they were frequently chased away. He used to cut some grass along the road and take it with them onto the farms, as the farmers did not allow them to graze on the farmland. The farm workers which he visited were Hereros, Tswanas, Buschmen and Ovambos. Gabriel mostly worked in Herero congregations together with the Herero pastor Musutua. Gabriel Dawids speaks Herero, Nkumbi, Afrikaans, Ndonga and Oshikwanyama and a little bit Damara, which he however understands. With his wife he speaks Afrikaans and Herero and with his children he speaks Afrikaans and Herero. He worked together with David Skrywer in Aranos and Leonardville. Was ordained as pastor in 1970. In his annual report of his first year (1965/1966) as a qualified evangelist in the congregation Gobabis, Gabriël Dawids gives an account of the work of an evangelist in those years. When he was not away on a journey, he shared the duties in the local congregation with evangelist Ruben Kajau, which included: - four times a week confirmation classes (for the confirmation aspirants on Tuesday and Thursday and for the "boet onderrig" or "tug oderwys" on Mondays and Saturdays). All these classes were held in the RMG church in "town". The "boet onderrig"/"tug onderwys" was compulsory for church members who were placed under church discipline. While under church discipline, church members were prevented from participating in the holy communion, they were only allowed into the church service after the end of the liturgy, they were supposed to sit at the back of the church and had to attend the "boet onderrich"/"tug onderwys" for at least a year, before they were officially re-admitted as full congregation members. Further duties included: - regular visits in the hospital - regular visits in the jail - two times a week evening services (Wednesday and Friday) in the "location". As an itinerant evangelist, the main emphasis of his work was however on the trips to the reserve and over the farms. In his annual report for 1965/1966 he mentions three journeys to the Aminius reserve (of which he was accompanied on the first and second one by the local RMG missionary who introduced him into this part of his work). Dawids does not mention specifically a farm trip during that year, but it must be assumed that he also spend weeks on different journeys over the farms.6 RMG 2.641 C/l 2 p. 011,Mentioned in list "Mitarbeiter und Mitarbeiterinne in SWA (ELK)" 1965 RMG 2.640b p. 004, Mentioned in list of evangelists who were not present at conference of evangelists in Okahandja August 1968,7 Ein Foto, das ich von seiner Frau bekam - denn mit ihm habe ich nicht reden können - zeigt ihn bei der Grundsteinlegung (keine weiteren Informationen). !Gao !gâmseb was (together with Evangelist Dawids) one of the Evangelists who joined the "sendingreis" to Botswana in August 1969.8 During its meeting of 04./05.02.1976, the Church Board supports the application by pastor Schankweiler, to have Dawids visit Germany from 18.05. - 23.06.1976 as a guest of Schankweiler.9 Pastor Dawids visits former RMS missionary Rolf Schankweiler and his Protestant-Reformed congregation Zeppenfeld in Siegerland. The congregation Zeppenfleld-Wiederstein paid for his flight. "Dort [bei der Passkontrolle am Flughafen Frankfurt a. M.] aber erlitt er den nächsten Schreck: Der Zollbeamte im Rhein-Main-Flughafen kontrollierte zu lange. Er [Dawids] wusste um die Angst der Weißen vor Terroristen und welche Jagd sie auf eben dieselben anstellten. Ihm wurde bereits ein wenig bang. Und dann fragt auch noch der Beamte: "Sind Sie Tourist?" "Nein, nein!" ruft unser braver Pastor Gabriel in tausend Nöten aus und wehrt entsetzt ab, "ich bin kein Terrorist!" Der Mann vom Bundesgrenzschutz guckt erst verdutzt und lacht dann herzhaft auf. Ein dabeistehender Südwester Mitpassagier erklärt Pastor Gabriel die beiden Wörter, - und nun lacht auch unser "Nicht-Terrorist!" laut und herzhaft!"10 "Er segnete die Kinder mit ein und er war auch vorher bei der Konfirmandenvorstellung dabei. Er hat die Kinder mitgeprüft, und zum Schluss durften sie ihn nach Herzenslust nach seinem Land, seinen Menschen, auch nach seinen Lebensbedingungen fragen. Ein Mädchen hebt den Finger: "Und wie und wo leiden Sie am schrecklichsten unter der Apartheid?" So abwehrend und energisch habe ich Pastor Gabriel selten gesehen, wie da vor den Kinder und vor der Gemeinde in der Kirche: "Ek will nou niks meer hoor van Apartheid nie! Ons het die medisyne ..." Wir haben die Medizin für alle unsere Nöte, hieß das, - wir haben den Herrn über Leben und Tod! Wir haben, was wir brauchen, nämlich Jesus Christus" Lasst uns darüber sprechen! Und mit aller Politik lasst uns in Ruhe!"11 Dawids speaks the following languages: Afrikaans, Herero, Oshikwanyama, Okumbi. The language that he uses most frequently is Okumbi. According to Dawids, there are many Kumbi living in Windhoek. Married: Married on 19.03.1958 to Frieda (no surname recorded), born in Gobabis.12 Children: Lagmond (??) 16.09.1950 Josefina 27.05.1952 Lydia 11.09.1961 Efraim 31.12.1963 Rebekka 08.12.1968 Hildegard 15.11.1966 Regina 11.04.1971 Education: Other family members connected to RMS: Mission Stations: Congregations: Gobabis 1965-1969 "Aflosdiens in Sehitwa" Gobabis 1970 - Otjihene 197613 History with the RMS: 1 AELCRN Cardsystem of the co-workers, n.N. 2 "Gedurende 1911 1912 het 'n trek bestaande uit die weduwee Cecilia Johanna Scholtz met drie volwasse kinders asook F.N. (Frikkie) de Flamingh en S.O. (Fanie) Lambert van Grootfontein in Duits-Suidwes-Afrika na Angola getrek." Private versameling, prof. H.M. Roos, Maplelaan 47, Clydesdale, Pretoria: C.J. Scholtz, "Dagboek van C.J. Scholtz. Hoe ik van Damra Lam Trek naar Portgies Lam", 204 pp; PU: S.O. Lambert, Herinneringe, "Vertel deur Stephanus Oskar Lambert." Manuskrip, p 25. 3 Werner Kroll, 1952-1969, u. a. in Gobabis. 4Eises. 5 All private information of Gabriel Dawids from his wife Frieda Eises. 6 RMG 2.641:011-012. 7 AELCRN "Evangeliste-Konferensies 68, 71, 73". 8 Immanuel 1969 9/2:17. 9 AELCRN 02-11/06 KB-Notule Januarie - Desemb. 1976:n.N. 10 Schankweiler 2004:182. 11 Schnakweiler 2004:183. 12 AELCRN Cardsystem of the co-workers, n.N. 13 AELCRN Cardsystem of the co-workers, n.N. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------