Tjetjoo, Elias * ?, ? † . Elias was the son of Chief Tjetjoo from Okazeva.1 Elias worked amongst the people of Tjetjoo since 1886. [The source seems to be very weak, since it is only a remark in BRMG, reporting about the opening of the station Okazeva 14 years later.]2 Elder/Evangelist of August Kuhlmann in Okaseva at the White Nossob, to the east of Otjihaëna, amongst the people of Tjetjoo. Kuhlmann settled there in 1899 and was caught up by the war at the station. Detailed information available by Kuhlmann: (The elder as a "congregation policeman or spy"): Kuhlmann writes about Elias under the topic "A vigilant elder", p. 83, what Elias had told him about his observations concerning one of the congregation members: "[...] ich konnte bis dahin jedoch noch nicht feststellen, welche Wege er geht, so oft ich auch am Abend bis in die Nacht hinein seinen Spuren folgte. Aus diesem Grunde komme ich seit einiger Zeit spät zur Ruhe. Gestern ging ich spät abends an seiner Wohnung vorbei, traf aber nur seine Frau zu Hause. Ich zog mich daher ins Gebüsch zurück und wartete dort auf seine Rückkehr. Diese verzog sich lange; der Mond stand im Begriff "schlafen zu gehen", als ich Schritte nahen hörte. Ich ließ ihn ungestört in seine Hütte gehen. Seiner Frau befahl er, einen Becher Kaffe aufzuwärmen. Nun trat ich an die Hüttenöffnung, hockte nieder, grüßte und bat um eine Kohle, um meine Pfeife anzuzünden. Er war sehr still. Ich sagte auch nichts, tat einige Züge aus meiner Pfeife und reichte sie ihm, wie wir das nach unserer Weise zu tun pflegten. Endlich fragte er: "Elias, was treibt Dich in der Nacht hierher? Was suchst Du?" "Ich suche eins der anvertrauten Schafe," antwortete ich, "das mir verloren gegangen ist. Weißt Du vielleicht, wo es ist?" "Ich bin`s", war die Antwort, und er schlug die Augen nieder." Kuhlmann and his family were confronted by the war when the people of Tjetjoo joined the Herero troops on the 14th January 1904. Only a few Herero remained back at the mission station. Amongst them was the wife of Elias and the wife of the teacher David who looked after missionary Kuhlmann and his family. After a few days Elias returned with the soldiers of Tjetjoo, only to move away from Okaseva again shortly afterwards. On the request of Kuhlmann two young men are left behind at the station to offer a certain protection for the mission family. The appearance of marauding soldiers in the following days made the security situation most uncertain for Kuhlmann. With the help of one of the young men, whom he send to Otjihaënena, Kuhlmann found out that his missionary colleague had left that mission station. After eight days in uncertainty and danger, Kuhlmann left Okazeva with only the most important belongings, following his congregation. After two days of exhausting travel by ox wagon, with only the two young men as guards, they reached the camp of the eldest son of Tjetjoo, Traugott Tjetjoo. (Traugott was baptized as a young boy, married a Christian Herero women, but his contacts with the mission congregation loosened when he married a second non-Christian woman.) Here at the camp of Traugott Tjetjoo, Kuhlmann, his wife and three small children were re-united with the members of his congregation who were now under the military command of Elias. After a few hours of travelling they find the camp of the former congregation. In a meeting with the leaders of the congregation, they discuss all things of importance and Kuhlmann authorizes them to celebrate weddings and baptism in extremis after which he left them, this time accompanied by four men, two of them Christians of his former congregation in a desperate attempt to travel westwards and reach Okahandja. Only a few days of travel showed how fragile their situation and that the escorts were no real protection. Marauding armed fighters were a constant threat, and Kuhlmann and his family were forced to return back to Tjetjoos men and their own congregation. For a short time they are again under the protection of the military unit of Tjetjoo and Elias and his soldiers. However, the war situation became unbearable to the Kuhlmanns so that they attempted a second breakthrough to Okahandja. Now they are accompanied by their former guards and Jakobus. Jakobus, a son of one of the "Großmänner" was a Christian from the congregation Okazeva which Kuhlmann married to one of the daughters of Traugott Tjetjoo. Jakobus courage, his resolute handling of dangerous situations and his special commitment to the missionary saved the life of the missionary on several occasions during the risky journey over Okerekere, Okapaue3, Okandjezu4 and Owikokorero to the military camp of Samuel Maharero, for whom they had the protection letters of Tjetjoo. After many strenuous days they reach the camp and were put under the protection of field marshal Kaijata. Here in the vast camp, Northeast of Okahandja, where the Herero soldiers and their families with their rich booty had merged under the command of Maharero after the first successful attacks, Kuhlmann met members of different mission stations and their elders. Under the extreme conditions of the war situation they practiced their Christian faith as a minority amongst their nation. Kuhlmann was approached by the elders of this group with a request that touched the life and soul of the work of the RMS amongst the Herero: Now, that all the missionaries had left their Herero congregations, can't he stay with them? "Muhonge, why did all our teachers departed from us in this war? Earlier, during the wars against the Namas, all the missionaries moved with us, proclaimed God's word and took care of the dying. Why should we be without God's Word now? We Herero do not fight a war against God, and we do not reject God's Word. Will our children no longer be baptised, our young ones not be married? You are the last missionary amongst us; we ask you not to desert us! Keep the work of the Lord awake during this war time so that our congregations are not depraved. And if you say, that your family can not remain here, bring them to Okahandja and return to us. You can wear an insignia so that every Herero will recognise you." This fervent and urgent plea, which must have been formulated in February 1904 and was recorded in this form by Kuhlmann himself in a book about his experience, touched the German missionary deeply and left him in a dilemma about the right decision. In the conflicting interest between his commitment towards the Christian congregations and his loyalty towards his identity as a German "[...] it is the constant conflict between my missionary and German feelings [...]"5 which , combined with the fear of being handled as traitor to his own country, the latter finally prevailed and he turned down the request by the elders. They made no secret of their sadness because of this decision. Deeply disappointed by the report of their elders, the congregations approached Kuhlmann themselves in the same matter and the request to baptize those who were attending baptism classes in their congregations at the beginning of the war. Out of consideration for his fellow missionaries he also sees himself not authorized to administer this sacrament. After repeated pleas he baptised several children and married some couples. To ease his conscience, Kuhlmann summoned the elders again and officially installed them as heads of the congregations "[...] in place of the missionary [...]", authorizing them to preach, baptize and marry during the time of the war. In their reply the elders committed themselves to these duties and to abstain from any active participation in war activity. A service on a Sunday is celebrated in the camp. The further journey of Kuhlmann to Okahandja was delayed for another week. With the whole Herero army they move from Katjapa to Oviombo. In this desperate situation he met "Nationalhelfer" Josaphat Kamatoto in the camp. He was amongst a group of Herero who followed the order of the Chief of Staff?? of the Herero to unite for the final battle. His promise to remain with Kuhlmann until he is save, gives them new hope. (On the 7th April 1904 the battle of Mount Onganjira in the Otjisasu was fought.)6 On the day of this battle Kuhlmann is helped by Kamatoto to move his wagon in the direction of "Otjosasu" (sic!) and protects them against to Hereros which are too agitated??. KAMATOTO VISITED BERLIN!! (Kuhlmann spricht einmal von Kamatoto als Nationalhelfer p. 64 und dann von Evangelist p. 65) Leutwein had send a tactical letter to Maharero from whom he expected an answer to find out the position of his forces. In a meeting of the militariy leaders with Maharero it was decided that Kuhlmann should forward the answer to a wirtten letter to Maharero which was discussed in Otjisasu. When the departure of Kuhlmann was again delayed to the next day, Kamatoto himself intervened before Maharero and managed to got a escort for the journey for the same day. A group of soldiers brought them close to Okohandja from where the family Kuhlmann found their own way up to this settlement, where they are questioned by the colonial military leaders as they had important intelligence information. After this gruelling experience, and without congregation and work Kuhlmann and his family moved to Karibib and Otjimbingwe where their youngest child died of exhaustion. During his stay in Otjimbingwe, Kuhlmann got in contact with the first Hereros who returned from the field, starved to death and wounded. Kuhlmann handed them over to the colonial authorities and started the first negotiations with the colonial regime concerning the remaining cattle stock of the Herero and an amnesty for all Hereros who handed them over to the authorities. The brusque reply of von Trotha left no doubt about the policy of the German regime: - all cattle will be taken from the Hereros on their surrender - able men and women will be force into work at places where they are needed - a court of justice, installed by von Trotha will hold court about all cases of murder. After he had collected "7-800 Herero" and made them to surrender to the colonial Administration, Kuhlmann terminates this, what he called "mediation service". The death of uncounted human lives amongst the prisoners, who originally only handed themselves over because of the promise of the missionaries, was the reason for his decision. When Governor Lindequist took over the Administration of the Colony, Kuhlmann formed part of a delegation which negotiated the conditions of surrender for the Herero. Out of the Herero who were spread in the whole country, Kuhlmann selected the "[...] most influential and reliable [...]" and moved with them to the mission station Omburo. Some of them were send out by Kuhlmann to make others to come and join him. "[...] poverty-stricken and completely naked, shreds of material and hide hanging from their bodies, marked by the misery of war [...]". Out of those who returned, he let his helpers select additional helpers who were send out again to make others to return to the mission station. Because of the hostile attitude of some of the Hereros in the bush, the helpers were partly armed with rifles which Kuhlmann were supplied by the colonial administration, to use, if necessary "gentle force". Kuhlmann had collected and handed over to the colonial regime about 5000 prisoners with more than 200 rifles. Except in Omburo, Diehl organised a similar station in the east. Later another station was established in the North and staffed by Olpp and two "armed and experienced messenger divisions" from Omburo. Five of the original mission stations were completely abandoned because of the new situation after the war. Kuhlmann gives the impression as if he was the initiator of the itinerant evangelist. "Schon am Schluß der Sammeltätigkeit machte ich versuchsweise mit der Versorgung der dort arbeitenden Herero einen kleinen Anfang, der zu weiterem Vorgehen ermutigte. Durch einen treuen Evangelisten ließ ich die Arbeiter aufsuchen und die nach dem Wort Gottes verlangenden unterrichten. Als sich dieser Weg als gangbar erwies, setzten wir ihn fort und stellten immer mehr Wanderevangelisten ein. Auf diese Weise haben wir, wenn auch eine geringe, so doch dankbare Missionstätigkeit begonnen, bei der wir von freundlichen alten und neu ins Land gekommenen deutschen Farmern großes Entgegenkommen finden." (p. 85+86). New about the work of the itinerant evangelist was the fact that the mission and its workers would become completely dependant on the goodwill of the white farm owners. Additional to the countless rules and regulations created for the blacks outside the reserves, the evangelist was now at the mercy of the farm owner who was the absolute ruler of his farm. Only he would decide whether to allow an itinerant evangelist on his farm and under which conditions. Kuhlmann writes about an evangelist Gottfried who accompanied him on one of his travels into the field and who braught a young girl on his back so that she could be baptized. (p. 88) Kuhlmann never saw, except for one man, any of his members of the Okazeva congregation. "The old chief and his advisors, like many thousand other Herero, amongst them Josaphat Kamatoto, who supported us so much in the war, perished during the terrible pursuit through the Sandfeld." "Ein Teil des Stammes und der Gemeinde ist unter unsagbaren Nöten über die Grenze ins englische Gebiet geflohen. Zu meiner Freude erhielt ich vor nicht langer Zeit sichere Kunde, daß die Christen, obwohl sie seit 6 Jahren ganz auf sich angewiesen sind, an Gottes Wort festhalten, und daß der Älteste Elias und sein Bruder, der Lehrer David, weiterhin das Evangelium verkündigen und Zucht und Ordnung unter ihnen halten." (p. 89) Kuhlmann's story ends with the rather cynical sounding description of the successes of the RMG amongst the returning prisoners. Married: Children: 1907: Traugott Tjetjoo läßt Gouverneur Schuckmann über Missionar Meier ausrichten, dass er ohne etwas zu befürchten nach DSWA zurückkommen kann. Dort sollen sie sich auf Otjihaenena mit ihrem Vieh niederlassen dürfen, ohne dass ihnen das Land gehören solle. Die Älteren der evtl. zurückkehrenden Herero sollen "die jüngeren Leute als Arbeiter stellen".7 Education: Other family members connected to RMS: Mission Stations: History with the RMS: 1 BRMG 1904:203. 2 BRMG 1900:78. 3 Farm No. 190 in the Gobabis district along the Black Nossob, SE of Steinhausen. (According to A.P.J. Albertyn, "Die Ensiklopedie ..." and Map "Republic of Namibia, 1994.". 4 Farm No. 211 in the Gobabis district, NW of Steinhausen (According to A.P.J. Alberty, "Die Ensiklopedie ..." and Map "Suidwest-Afrika, 1966." 5 "[...] es ist der sich stets einstellende Widerstreit meiner missionarischen und deutschen Empfindung [...]" p. 57 "Auf Adlers Flügeln". 6 Brigdman 1981:102. 7 AELCRN II 11.4:ohne Blattzählung. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------