Different Worlds: The History of Namibian Civilization From Finland 1469172674, 9781469172675

Citation preview

THE

NAMIBIAN FROM

HISTORY

of

CIVILIZATION FINLAND

DIFFERENT

ORLDS

Rewe

AINI NIINKOTI & Eten Nirntotrr Notes

Digitized by the Internet Archive In 2023 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation

https://archive.org/details/differentworldsOOOOniin

DIFFERENT WorLbS

THE HISTORY of NAMIBIAN FROM

CIVILIZATION FINLAND

[ IFFERENT WorRLDS

AINI NIINKOTI

Copyright © 2012 by Aini Niinkoti. Library of Congress Control Number: ISBN: Hardcover Softcover Ebook

2012903537 978-1-4691-7267-5 978-1-4691-7266-8 978-1-4691-7268-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. This book was printed in the United States of America.

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CONTENTS

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READ

WITHOUT

PREJUDICE

This is dedicated to my godparents Raija-Liisa and Leo Vanska

1969

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

WANT TO acknowledge St. Mary’s congregation, Turku University Students Federation, St. Mary’s youth choir group, and Turku Christian Institute for the study grants for me and my family between 1969 and 1995. I want to thank friends, family, schoolmates, motivators and colleagues for all the support. Thank you!

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AUTHOR’S NOTE

HIS IS THE author’s own viewpoints through life experiences book

with the influences of the two countries. The words in this are from real life experiences and the Evangelical Lutheran

Church in Namibia, which has been associated with the author's family. The language and points may be difficult to grasp by many readers from backgrounds different from the author's. It was not easy to gather relevant evidences from the missionary workers (they preferred meetings) and from Namibians who have lived all their lives in Namibia. The respondents are Namibians who have not lived all their lives in Namibia

because of church, studies, and the innovative Namibian youths who were born in exile or grew up in exile. On the questionnaire which was posted on the social media, the author’s Finnish colleagues together with Finnish children who lived or were born in Namibia liked the questions,

and some responded. The Finnish civilians enjoyed answering many questions straight; the author’s family and Finnish godparents helped much to share their histories. The names of the respondents have been

changed to protect their identity. The aim of this book is for the future generation not to repeat history and to thank the Finnish people, who had opened doors to all the Namibians without limitations. It encourages the youths to be involved and to stand up for their own benefits. The book would also like to encourage Christians to share productive ideas that lead to a real positive change and for them to cry tears of happiness. New words, some images from Finnish newspapers,

family photos, and godparents’ old photos will be included. Rev. Niinkoti traveled with his Swedish hidden topics for his thesis (because of the war) until he died in 2003. Prior to his death, he had

already given authorization for the books reuse. The relationship between the author and Rev. Niinkoti is that of the father and a daughter. They have shared many things and this writing will save most of his work.

The book cover was planned by the author's son and it also answered many of his questions. The original manuscript was partly drafted in Finland, and it’s part of the author’s own project through her cultural cooperation in Finland.

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AINI NIINKOTI

1 ELCIN HISTORY IN OUR MIND

AMIBIA IS MADE up of 823,145 square kilometer of land and it has about two million inhabitants. The country lies along the Southern Africa and it shares its north borders with Angola and Zambia, eastern border with Botswana, South Africa to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It gained its independence in March 21, 1990 and has a vast of wealth. The natural resources found in Namibia are diamond, uranium, silver, lead, tin, copper, lithium, cadmium, gold, tungsten, zinc, salt, spices, hydropower, fish, sea, rivers, forest, dunes, the sun, and two deserts. Oil, coal, and iron ore are newly found. Namibia is also known for its wildlife like its neighboring countries. Namibia has eleven ethnic groups: Owambo, Herero, Damara, Himba, Colored, Europeans, Kavango, Nama, Caprivians, Tswana, and San. Owamboland

is in northern Namibia, and it is the largest ethnic

group in the country.Owamboland is made up by the following tribes: Ondonga, Oukwanyama, Ongandjera, Uukwambi, Uukwaluudhi, Ombalantu, Uukolonkandhi, Eunda, and Ombandja. They are Owambo people (Aawambo, plural; Omuwambo,

singular); foreigners call the area

Ovamboland because it is not easy for them to pronounce the oshiwambo letter W Each Owambo tribe speaks the Oshiwambo language in different dialects, and some of the Namibian languages are also spoken in neighboring countries. The official languages are English, German, Afrikaans, and all eleven regional languages are used. Christianity: On September 9, 1870, the Finnish missionaries arrived in Owamboland, in the Ondonga kingdom. The reason for coming was to spread the Gospel in Namibia and not to build the state in any way. The missionaries arrived during Chief Shikongo Kalulu’s kingdom, and

he served as security to the missionaries until 1874, when the chief died; he was succeeded by Kambonde Nankwaya followed by Chief Kambonde Mpingana, who accepted Christianity work. The missionaries were unable 415s

to set up the mission’s own stations without the chief’s permission. Other Owambo chiefs did not accept Christianity; they had other interests. Later the missionaries received extensive lands to build and set up their own stations. The Omusati region, as it is called today, and Oukwanyama

refused the spread of Christianity in their territories at first. They did not want their relatives to attend indigenous schools. Indigenous chiefs sent their servants with horses to collect young Christians from early missionary school (okagumbo kaamati), but the servants failed; most of these male

students became teachers and preachers. Men who went to Christian schools in other villages married wives from other tribes. Ondonga as an ethnic group is the second largest ethnic group in Owamboland while as a place it’s the place of the birth of the Finnish mission work, today’s success story in the Evangelical Lutheran history. All the missionaries’ productive works are in Ondongan territory. A missionary private hospital, private secondary school and most of the missionaries’ tombstones are in Ondonga. This explains why FELM headquarters, now ELCIN headquarters, is located in Ondonga. Every tribe in Owamboland cross Ondonga territory on their way to and from the capital city Windhoek. The former colonial administration offices were in Ondonga and most of the pastors are from the Ondonga tribe as well. According to Rev. Niinkoti, in 1957 the church was independently formed in Ovamboland, and it was called Evangelical Lutheran Ovambo-Kavango Church. “In 1984 the name changed to Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia. ELCIN has two dioceses, with two bishops. ELCIN has a printing press, library, institute for preachers and deacons, two secondary schools, and two hospitals.” The former missionary workers were composed of more females than males, from rich families. Young women went through a special, confidential missionary training. So that they can relocate to their working places, the mission has its own rules that missionaries needed to sign before relocating to Namibia and other countries where the mission served. It was the work of Martti Rautanen (nakambale kanene, the “greatest

hat” who was born in Novoselki, in Angria (today Russia). Martti and his wife, Frieda, had many children, and only three of them survived. Martti is also known as a scientist as he collected many plants for a German university. He spoke many languages—Russian, Finnish, English, German, Dutch, Herero, and Oshiwambo. It took him many years to get an Owambo man

to church and convert him to Christianity. Martti lived in Owamboland for many decades, until he died.

«16x

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The missionaries faced difficulties during their early years; there was hunger, illness, deaths, and tribal fights. Most of them died in Namibia, and some returned to Finland. They exchanged goods with the Owambo people to survive. The tribes that refused the Gospel noticed the other tribes wearing clothes; later they got attracted to fabric, goods and the development’era’. Indigenous Namibians then accepted the Gospel. The Lutheran church gained many members, in Ondonga areas first, and later the missionary work spread all over Owamboland.

In 1925, Martti

Rautanen himself was able to ordain Owambo men as pastors for the first time in northern Namibian civilization history. Bishop Leonard Auala witnessed that day; he was a young boy in the church, as he explained in his book. Since then the missionaries were welcome in many Owambo territories, and until today Finnish missionaries are hailed in northern Namibia. Owamboland was marked by many churches, medical centres, schools,

and stations with modern bricks buildings (peengulu) or by civilization (paahumi). The Finnish missionaries built barn-shaped churches with straw-hipped roofs. Both Finnish missionaries and Owambo people had destroyed the Namibian forest by cutting down the trees for building or fire, but today the forest is protected. Churches were not hot in the summer afternoons, and aesthetically the churches were interesting. Small children who lived abroad thought that those churches were stable because of the shapes and roofs from the outside. The missionary stations were aesthetically beautiful, with nice fences, flowers, gardens, houses, water tanks, high wooden ceilings, saunas, swimming pools, and baking ovens. “I want to renovate missionary stations because the houses are just falling down” (Aluhe). People who took care of

the stations did not have enough knowledge on construction work; they were just commanded it anyhow. These Christian communities are not the same anymore without a missionary; the sauna needs solar systems today and they are hardly used. The Namibian Lutheran church was dependent, and still dependent on the missionaries that they should change in the name of God and for their future generations’ sake. Bishop Auala in his book wrote about the tasty snacks in the missionary stations that he enjoyed and the smell of the bun (uupula) in the oven as a child. Not only did the children like the atmosphere, but also the surroundings which were nice for Namibian adults as well. It was different from the Namibian way of living and the feeling was good to live near the church, even in Finland. DIFFERENT WORLDS

«17

Niinkoti family

Bishop Auala was the great-grandson of the chief Shikongo Kalulu. “He

was the son of Nakanyala Mukwiyu, who was converted to Christianity and renamed Vilho.” As a child, Bishop Auala was known as Leonard Vilho or Nangolo Vilho. He changed to the well-known Leonard Auala as an adult.

He chose Auala as a family name when the SA authority gave Owambo people access to choose their own family name. (Bishop L. Auala, 1975, page 21, and Rev. Niinkoti, 1974, page 27 to 28). The topic change of names in northern Namibia explains it more. Bishop Auala wrote that he grew up with both Owambo culture and Finnish culture. He was a grandfather to many Owambo children and the father of their fathers in Namibia and in Finland.

“The kingdom was not happy with the idea of having their son living in the missionary stations. The Ondonga kingdom and the missionaries fought

about where the bishop should live. The kingdom wanted him to work for them, and the missionaries wanted him to work for them. He preferred to

work for the chief, but he did not want to annoy his missionary family as well.” Many Namibian children grew up with the Finnish missionary families like Bishop Auala.

Bishop Auala and his wife, Aina, took care of many children, especially the orphans who grew up in the stations. Rev. Niinkoti (biological parents, Hanna and Frans Kambonde) was one of the children who were brought up by the Finnish missionaries Lempi and Otto Makkonen from his early «18s

AINI NUNKOTI

life with his twin sister. The missionaries took the twin (Rev. Niinkoti)

because the father had many sons and the mother died during the twins’ birth. The indigenous father fought for his children; he was then given his daughter, who did not survive. He agreed later that the missionaries can raise his son and he would come often to see his child, afraid that his son would turn into a European. The missionaries asked the bishop wife's, Aina, to breast-feed the baby because they had a son who was born in the same year as the twins. The indigenous father, Frans, paid with meat and milk to the missionaries. Rev. Niinkoti lived with Magdalena (Ihuhwa)

Haimbili, who took care of him most of the time since he was a baby, and they lived together when the missionaries came back to Finland. The media stories usually give a different story to what is true. Rev. Niinkoti grew up with the Finnish culture and the Namibian culture. “The Bishop was the father of all his members as well as of the missionaries.” (Kotimaa, 1983). The bishop had played a role in building a good relationship between Finland and Namibia. The first time he visited Finland was in 1959 while the last time he visited was the year before he died, in 1982. The SA regime did not permit him to study in Finland, only in South Africa. Like Rev. Niinkoti, they both faced visa problems and racial issues during their travelling. Bishop Auala and Rey. Niinkoti had been two of the early Africans to be seen in Finland.

es)

Happy children in Turku student village in 1970s, DIFFERENT WORLDS

219s

The following are Owambo views about Finnish missionaries work in Namibia: “T think the missionaries did a good job as far as teaching Namibians about God and his kingdom and Christianity, how to read and write and connect us to the rest of the world and opened us up to new ways of thinking and looking at life. But what I don't like is how they made us hate our culture and made us believe that everything about us is pagan, bad or evil. Our traditions, although different from theirs, they have worked for us and our ancestors for hundreds of years. Instead of making us embrace them, they taught us to hate them and look down upon them, which I believe was wrong. The Finnish as a people, they have culture, customs and tradition of their own that are still evident in their society today. If the tables were turned, I don’t think they would like it if someone from the outside comes and do the same thing to them and make them hate, be ashamed of their way of life. In that I think they have failed tremendously” Rutu commented. The book had received indubitable facts from all the respondents. There are many Owambo Christians who are ashamed and feel guilty of their own customs. Firstly it is the Namibians’ own choice to grow from all obstacles, improve the national diversity, which also make up a nation as a whole. Secondly it is the Namibian people’s own choice to let the obstacles work against them, as they have done in many years. Thirdly, God has created humans (animal), and it’s the humans’ duty to create the world that they’re living in. It is good to have those people who at least succeeded to preserve their culture and let none destroy it but adjusted it without harm. “A necessary spiritual revelation” (Tylvas, pastor's son commented on the missionary work). FELM work has done a good job by saving many lives of the Namibian people. During the war, four missionaries were not allowed to live in Namibia and South Africa because they banished the Bantu education and they refused to ‘play two faces’ by benefiting the Namibian people. The mission work and the Owambo people have, however, helped each other in many ways, also strengthening the link between the two nations. “The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission work has done good thing because it provided my father good education.” Ayesheaantu said. Most families felt good to live in the missionary stations; they did not even want to move away after their retirement. Few preferred to move away

to own their own plots and fields. The Namibians who lived and worked in the mission stations all of their lives went confused of what to do next,

«20»

AINI NIINKOTI

where to start, and how, when the missionaries left Namibia. FELM and ELCIN decision makers did not pay much attention to the future problems that ELCIN workers and their family would develop when the missionaries returned to Finland for good. Some orphans were left under very good care of the trusted parents who also worked in the stations; others were just left in Owamboland and in Okavango. In the 1990s, few brought-up children relocated with their Finnish foster mothers and were provided a visa each year to live in Finland and gain a good education in Finland. Many others were left to survive on their own, something that left a huge vacuum in many lives of those associated with ELCIN and many found it difficult to fill in; others are still fighting against it, and very few have won it. When

raised in different cultures when adopted or brought up by or in another culture, children mostly tend to adapt the new culture and understand it extensively that they can be manipulated easily, however, for Rev. Niinkoti that could not have happened.

DIFFERENT WORLDS

421s

a

ya ELCIN EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT eee

00S

SO

Children Playing

N MANY NAMIBIAN tural areas, young mothers have many children. Not all the children have opportunities to finish school. They drop out of school because of expensive uniforms, school repeating, and school fees. Young girls become parents at early age. Consequently, These mothers, even though they go through hardships of fetching water, woods from long distances sources with baby bags (odhikwa) on their a22»

back, and raise the children on their own, they are still happy to live that way and manage their lives the way they can. They share many things in their communities. They gather and do traditional works together. They naturally make oil, clay pots and straw baskets (iimbale). Some come to understand of the cost when the children start school, when the food is not enough, and face other challenges. The parents can give away their own child for bringing up (sometimes even force another parent to foster their children) because of difficulties in providing basic needs. A minor

can enter marriage even before she is old enough to know how to take care of a child. The parents also just flog or punish the children because of the parents’ own problems. For that matter, these children sometimes do not perform well at school because of problems at home. Some schools label the children as not talented because the teachers themselves ignore the issues that cause the child difficulties in learning. They are teased at school and chased away from anywhere they go in their neighborhood. Apart from the fact that it is expensive, it is hard for Namibians to find grants, invitations, and visas to study abroad; ELCIN can create its own community empowerment to make things happen for them easily. In the Bantu education system, the students were taught in other languages to limit their contact with the real world and to close the doors to civilization. English language was not used in the education system at first, only Afrikaans, not even Namibian languages. The colonial authorities planned the syllabus for indigenous. Every racial group had different school systems hospitals, foods, and shops. Today most Namibians are affected by that history. There are still Namibians who believe that another black Namibian cannot earn, own, and live like a white Namibian. There are still those who ask others whether a fellow Namibian is a foreigner when on holiday on the safari lodges or in shop when paying over a certain amount. As in most of African countries, people still believe that when coming from the Western world, one is rich and have containers of goods to share. “In 1990, when the new school started, there were no South African soldiers

around. All races were treated equally. However, it would take a long time that the education of the blacks would reach the level of white people” (ELCIN Nkurenkuru High School, 2009).

Policy makers must pay attention to what slows Namibian development and remove the different black and white levels in a beautiful Namibia. The gap between segregated schools and public schools depends on the country policies only, the same as the income differences depend on people's backgrounds. There are no different educations between human races; it DIFFERENT WORLDS

«23

all depends on mainly the individual’s efforts for their own achievement of equality. Namibians have been considered lacking the literacy to learn right from the beginning of all indigenous schools. They were labeled as people who cannot learn. The students learned things they did not understand, and they learned things from other cultures. The teachers taught things they did not know or understand either. The final certificates were the only thing that mattered during the Bantu education. Namibians did not have money to build their own schools and did not have right to do that. Education from books was the only thing which seemed important and life seeing education was ignored totally. Northern Namibians were not taught only taught to become imitators than to become innovators. Some missionaries who refused to ‘play two faces’ were deported because they helped the Namibian people. The missionaries who ‘played two faces’ had also agreed with the colonial regime’s abominations toward the Namibian people. They did not even dare to help those who were deported or disturbed to protect themselves. There were missionaries who still believed that Namibian people cannot learn, but one has to understand that people believe different things for different reasons, and every man has a personal history. Few of the missionaries did not know that a man can learn in many ways, not only by reading and writing. That was a hard time for many missionaries themselves, and those who did not want to play two faces but have less saying. Their visa could not be renewed to stay in Namibia and South Africa. “The well known delightful teacher in the FELM history,” Mikko Ihamaki, could not fake himself to black people, so he integrated with black people right from his early days in northern Namibia. He learned from Namibians, taught them how to do things the right way and tried to open doors for them openly. There were many missionaries who tried to open the doors to the Namibians by risking their lives. Mikko wondered how the Owambo students played volleyball without knowing volleyball rules; he instructed them, and they had fun together. (M. and E. Shamena 1980).

The following letter was drafted by Rev. Niinkoti in 1973, in Finland, during his studies: You know well that I am a member of Owambo Kavango Church. Perhaps you heard already what is going on there with the missionaries. The SA government is disappointing the church by disturbing the FMS to do its work in peace in Namibia. | When Olavi Ojampera wanted to discuss with the missionaries in Owamboland, he could not do it, because he was given only three hours to “24x

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stay there. The only chance he had was to discuss with the church leaders in a town outside Owamboland. Mikko Ihamaki, who was the field secretary, is not permitted to travel to South-West Africa (Namibia) and South Africa. Mikko is not involved

in politics but he was faithful in his work and action. In the letter to the Owambo people, he said, “I wanted to be faithful to the black people and the white people in the country of apartheid, where temptation is to use two faces.” Now four missionaries are not permitted to stay in Owamboland; two of them were teachers at Oshigambo High School. Many bad things are happening in Owamboland; therefore I ask you to pray for the Owambo Kavango Church. This Rey. Niinkoti-drafted letter (1973) and M. and £. Shamena

(1980) both proved that they were missionaries who were faithful to the Namibian people. Ihamaki and other three missionaries wanted to make a healthier place for the Namibians to live, but without teamwork, this was difficult. These missionaries disagreed with the Bantu education methods; they are the reason Owambo started learning proper education. The good missionaries encouraged the first ten students to go for the three years international matriculation level in English for the first time to change the Bantu system, and they did it. The missionary school was expensive, and was only for the Lutheran workers, like pastors, teachers, and nurses’ families other students required the best grades to enter the missionary school. ; Marja Vaisala was one of the teachers (one of the godmother to Rey. Niinkoti’s first child together with the Shamenas) who brought mathematical

skills to Oshigambo High School for the first time. She was among the two teachers from Oshigambo High School who did not have their visa renewed because of their honesty. Marja’s father was a famous Finnish astronomer and physicist in Finland; her two uncles were mathematicians and meteorologists. One can understand the reason why the Oshigambo (a missionary school) and Swakopmund schools (for the missionary children)

wanted Marja to teach at the two schools at the same time. Marja Vaisala was the one to make a decision on which university E. Niinkoti had to study. The facts in this book are not contemplating another history but own history, where life’s lesson is truly believing. The group of good missionaries wanted to teach Namibian Christian students to understand the meaning of education more than collecting school certificates and grades.

DIFFERENT WORLDS

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Enongelo Engela Parish Institute 80s

Academically, many missionary schools produced like Oshigambo and Ondimbo produced many high profile people. Former Christian students who went to exile got better the education opportunities and ended becoming teachers and priests. Other students who remained in the country were stuck on the same teaching, nurses and preaching methods which was not easy for them as it was against their wish. Oshigambo High School celebrateditsfiftyyearsin2009. Many Namibian missionary schools students who escaped to exile during the war found it easy with their studies abroad, and they knew what they wanted. Missionaries’ children who were born in Namibia went to a Finnish missionary school in Swakopmund a town in the Namibian coast; they had good security, foods and they were protected from all dangers. The Finnish missionaries children studied in their mother language, and they received everything they needed from their own country, which was a productive thing for the future of these children. The Namibian children who lived or were born in Finland because of the church or political reasons had no opportunities to learn their mother languages and culture which developed many problems when they returned back to Namibia. Most Christian parents allowed their children to attend the missionary school, and few parents refused for personal reasons, they wanted their children to learn their own roots. In 1987 and 1988,

most of these workers allowed their teenagers children to go to Oshigambo a26x

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High School, but the students went to fight for their country’s freedom and promote equal rights and justice and almost all Namibian schools were empty that many teenagers left Namibia and went to exile. Young Namibian students who were in exile (in Africa) went to study and learned the history of Africa and African literature for the first time in their lives and other priest’s children joint the military. Education there was for all Namibians.

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Missionary work caused the Owambo natives to ignore their beliefs, customs and cultural backgrounds. Even those that did not harm or hurt a man, “I don’t know if it was really their intention to do so but as a result their work has ignored not only the Owambo beliefs and cultural events but other Namibian groups that they have interacted with as well. Shunning DIFFERENT WORLDS

“27~

our ways and beliefs, while holding on to their own beliefs, created a sense of inferiority, shame in our own cultures and belief that is evident today

in Namibia. There are many wonderful beliefs and customs in our culture that are guided by serving and praising one supreme being and living a meaningful life on earth that should have been held on to by Namibians, but Finish missionaries labeled them as evil and ungodly that we don’t practice them or teach our people anymore. We lost part of our history and culture because of that,” Nepunda said. People in northern Namibia are ashamed to express their original customs, but with this research, Namibians who have been abroad are proud to express their culture after experiencing other cultures. The Namibians abroad do understand that culture is not only about beliefs and customs; the word “culture” includes science, arts, interaction, spirituality, socialization, heritage, language the list is long. Most customs had faded totally in northern Namibia; even to get an Owambo massage (Okuthula omasipa) was a sin. “In the heathen country the missionaries met a strange

society. It had many customs that they considered not only savage but even sinful and unsuitable for Christians, especially for marriage; family life had many such features” (Rev. Niinkoti).

Some of cultural practices in Namibia, include removal of four bottom teeth for fashion which can be seen in older males and females in certain part of northern Namibia today, marks below the eyes, (okushatwa). The ostrich egg beads around the females’ waist, female beads on the wrist and on the ankle, and the belt around the boys’ waist, are no longer common practices. Namibians were forced to cut their hair off. (M. and E. Shamena).

Cutting females’ hair without their wish is unpleasant. A woman is beautiful when her natural hair is neat and done. “A woman’ beauty is hair and shoes” A hair dresser joked once. When a girl (okakadhona) develops to a woman (omukiintu) without hygiene training, she will have problems on how to start taking care of herself as an adult. Lice (eena) are everywhere in the world; European pharmacies provide medicine for that problems. In West Africa, schoolgirls’ hair is corn rowed and done every school day, and they wear earrings. “Borbor head” means a boy’s shaved head in Krio language. School children are still shaved in northern Namibia regardless of whether they are boys and girls. In the old day's Western world, people saw new styles on the streets, magazines and shops but in Owamboland, fashion was only seen in the churches and schools. Later Owambo people ordered clothes from South African catalogues (okaatoloko) Mohamedays, Kansacity, Charles, and they «28»

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received their foreign products through local post offices where they paid high fees. There was also a catalogue for interior design called Home Choice, where Namibians order blankets (ekumbatha), pots and upholstery items.

People who travelled to towns to work brought new styles to the villages. Western fashion translated Owambo leather to fabric during Martti Rautanen’s time. The fabric became expensive because of poor weather conditions in northern Namibia. Bishop Auala wrote that Owambo workers in the missionary stations wore second-hand clothes, also repaired them to use. Read-made clothes made Namibian men stop making leather cloths for their women. Ready to use clothes are very useful in disaster situations for all people and in all conditions. Rev. Niinkoti wrote that it was a man’s job to make leather clothes for the women because they took care of the animals. All modern products in Owamboland were transported from outside the country. Rev. Niinkoti’s money did not stay in the country because of the migrant labor who bought everything from the foreign markets. Carefully the book is trying to tell that “OWN-MADE?” attitude is good. Why did they bring their own fabric while there was already traditional leather?

The following would be the three main reasons. a) For positive image b) To gain members

c) To monopolize indigenous people d) For trade

If ‘“Owamboriginal’ leather was developed, then Owambo men would not attend the church; they would be in northern Namibia doing what they always had been doing. In Namibia people needed only knowledge on how to do things by themselves. Indigenous men used big hats (egala lyondjeke), which originated from the Western cowboy hat. Between the 1940s and 1950s was a folky style period among Owambo Christians; this is still famous. The community-focused on folky style for women which was a loose blouse, and scarf for married ladies and aprons on their waist and a long loose flower skirt with gatherings which was developed later to an Owambo skirt (odhelela). The Owambo dress may had originated from

a combination of regency and empire dresses, but in the Owambo dress, the bust seam moved above the bust. The Owambo dress has a higher hem, a long and wide round loose gathering skirt, and short puffy sleeves with DIFFERENT WORLDS

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a round neckline. The sleeve cuffs, upper bust seam, and the dress’s skirt hem are trimmed by cotton zigzag laces with beautiful colors. The dress closes on the back neckline with a button or with a hidden hook. The Owambo dress’s history is not as old as the Namibian Herero dress from the Victorian era. In 1960s and 1980s, Owambo went hippy, black powered, and elegant. For the Namibian working class’s own convenience, they used the modernist style. They looked neat and smart on their creased pants, suspenders, padded shoulder suits, A-line skirts, beautiful blouses, ties, afro hairs, rolled hairs, straight skirts, and free-of-mind fashion. These people were happy, strong, determined, aware, motivated and active in their

own changes. Many of the Christian workers and young students became politicians. This group was not much dependent. “Nakambale kanene’s hat” or Martti Rautanen’s hat (nakambale kanene) reduced in size and had

been reshaped on weight. In the 1990s, the independence brought Rastafarian knitted hats, dreadlocks, attires style, kente weave, /apa (oshitengi), batiks, woven aso oke wears, kimonos, and others new international fashions also arrived in Namibia. “Finnish young women dress very nice. Namibian young women’s clothes are too open,” seventy-two-year-old Namibian commented on street fashion in Finland during her holiday. According to Finns point of views, those who visit Namibia, they also think that Namibian youth fashion is too open especially for young women. The Western fabrics’ introduction was not done appropriately; people received clothes just to cover their nudity. Northern Namibians eat organic foods: Dried or fresh dark green vegetables (omboga and ombindi), and there are slightly bitter leaves that

when shaped like pancake and dried are called omaanda or omavanda. Mopane worms (omagungu) are picked by hands ; they are also found in many southern African countries. Fresh beans are eaten during the harvest time, and dried beans are smashed and spiced (oshigali) or boiled with

spices, sorghum (iilyavala or iilyalyaka), dried and fresh meat, dried and fresh catfish, special Owambo wild tomatoes, local vegetables (iiyenda), and when left to grow and dry, they become calabash (ompamba). Sweet

potatoes is also grown and eaten in northern Namibia. There is small perch fish (onhangu), which is not like other fish; this is a special one, and like all

other foods, it has to be washed with a lot of water many times to remove the sand from it.

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Babies like porridge (oshifima)

Oshifima (millet porridge or pap) is made from Pennisetum spicatum (omahangu flour) or maize (epungu flour). It is eaten from a straw basket

(oshililo) or a clay pot (etiti). It is the staple food for many Namibian

ethnic groups and famous also in other part of Africa; it is called nshima, fufu, and ugali and prepared in different flours and roots and very tasty when eaten by hands. It is served with vegetables, sour milk, and different kinds of meat, vegetables and fish, often cooked with spices. Owambo people do not use many spices like other Africans. Oshifima can be eaten with grill meat this is called (oshoma). Oshifima is eaten with clean hand

everywhere, and Owambo people believe that it make a man strong. Hand washing and a prayer in a Christian house is mandatory before and after meals.

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Rey. Niinkoti teaches her daughter Aini how to carry a

basket on the head while taking a photo to her God parents!

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Owambo drinks: A cereal drink (ontaku or oshikukundu), oshinwa contains no alcohol; it is served cold and is made from marula fruits.

Omagongo, omalovu, owalende, and ombike—these four contain alcohol. These are fermented for alcohol and taste for those who like it strong. Windhoek special, a one-liter bottle of this beer is called omukonyo. Red

wine bottle is called epunyapunya. Glass bottles have a recycle deposit everywhere in the country. Empwaka and otombo, these two have alcohol too. Local drinkers gather and pass around a cup of drink, and one drinks after another drinker (fiilangemo). Sour milk (omashikwa) can be eaten

with oshifima porridge or drank. The milk is accumulated in bottles or in bowls and fermented for days with a special root called (omukunzi), Ginger beers are mostly found in bottle stores; it is called beer, but it contains no alcohol most of the time. There was no training for the use of alcohol in northern Namibia; the Christian people were told not to drink at all. Most Christian Namibians and some Christians drank in secret, some

drank to get drunk, while others didn’t drink at all. Cup (ekopi), calabashes (omhamba or omhindo), bottles and traditional wooden cups (cholo) were used for drinking. Owambo berries, fruits, and nuts: Sclerocarya birrea, known as marula (ongongo); Berchemia discolor (eembe); eemheke; Ficus sycomorus (onkwiyu or

onghwiyu); Adansonia digitata (omakwa), also known as boabab; Diospyros mespiliformis (eenyandi); Hyphaene ventricosa (eendunga); watermelon; pumpkins; Voandzeia subterranea (eefukwa); peanuts (eembundufukwa);

and imported fruits like papaya, mangos, and. guavas came with the Portuguese.

Every missionary had his/her own motive to become a missionary; the motive can be to pursue a dream, relocate, life improvement, leadership, gain respect, to help, in repairs, new experiences, born in the missionary

family, employment,and other interests. In modern times, young people are interested to go abroad to work for development cooperatives. The Owambo people who worked as domestic workers with the missionaries prepared food for their bosses, which was different from Namibian foods and the cookers and their masters ate different kind of foods. A recipe of a cake, for example, was hidden even to the domestic workers and other local people who believed that it was God’s miracle that formed something beautiful and tasty, different from ‘Owamboriginal’ bread (oshikwiila,

omungome ot ohima). They had no idea about the baking powder those days. The European cake was called oshikuki or enkuke. When the first Owambo woman learned home economics and first aid (including ambulance DIFFERENT WORLDS

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driving), this made a big change in many areas of northern Namibia. The student was, Diina (Kadhila) Niinkoti, who also wrote the first cooking book in Oshiwambo language with a teacher, Maria Nakathingo. Diina started selling cakes for birthdays, and she still is doing it to survive; she also started a garden, which the flood destroyed, where she had different

fruits. The two Namibian women published their first cooking booklet in Oshiwambo language in the 1970s. “There was always an ingredient missing, like cinnamon, butter, cardamom, ginger, and vanilla sugar,” she commented. Namibians children who started schools in Finland, born in Finland and lived in missionary stations had a tough time with languages and also with foods. They spent most of their lives with Europeans and adapted to the European way of living. The children in Namibian Christian communities spoke and understood different western languages and ate typical Finnish foods since their infancy stage, like the Finnish liquorice candy (salmiakki), thin pancake (lettu), peas soup herne keitto, mykyrokka, kalakukko, Finnish Easter food (mammi), klimppisoppa, Karelian pasty, juusto cheese, bun, drank the Finnish sour milk pidma, an Easter drink sima, mehu (juice),

and others. The Owambo people also learned how to prepare different kind of casseroles during Christmas, and they could prepare Finnish foods themselves. Very few missionaries learnt how to cook and eat Namibian local foods though they had lived there for decades.

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Sharing food ideas

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e2oor

Toys in northern Namibia have been Hyphaene ventricosa fruits, wire cars, fabric dolls, arrows (uutati or outa), slingshot (ongumi), and much

different kinds of wooden toys before PVC plastic toys arrived in Namibia. The children in Owamboland sometimes played with almost everything, just like the Himba baby in the Babies movie.

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a2, NORTHERN NAMIBIAN RELIGION

CC

UR CHURCH IS called the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The word ‘evangelical’ means that our church doctrine is from evangelism, which is based in God’s words or in the Gospel, which stated that people are saved if they believe in Jesus” (Rev. Niinkoti, 1983, Mark 7:5-13).

aa Congregation (egongalo)

Each ethnic group had its own beliefs; some of them are similar for example, Owambo and Herero share the same stories of the two brothers; Kalunga Kanangombe and Nyambi Karunga who are still remembered by the two groups. The two brothers are believed to have led the two groups from Eastern Africa to Namibia.

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Namibian ethnic groups have a different way to tell about God and their gods. The Christian Namibians tell the same stories about God. The non-Christians Namibians have different stories about God. The non-Christian beliefs are not considered religions. These are considered as indigenous traditions or paganism. Non Christian ethnic groups suffer most from bad publicity, labeled as pagans, magicians, and sometimes labeled dirty. The Christian opinions and point of views about God are similar. It depends in the area that they live, their family history, and customs. Most northern Namibians still believe that Kalunga Kanangombe is the god of the Owambo people. Kalunga is still known as a supreme being in the Owambo group and still remembered by his name. Christianity just translated the word “God” to “Kalunga” with a different thinking. This topic concentrates on the Owambo Christian people that earlier believed in Kalunga Kanangombe, without baptism, and now believe in

the God of all people, with baptism. When talking to Christian people, there are signs that define the church a Christian belongs to. The religion they were brought up with is seen through the person’s behaviors and actions. In a discussion, some Christians swear like, “Oh my God (Sha kalunga or kaalunga kange),” “Jesus Christ (Jesus Kristusa),” “Between the Bible (Nopokati kombiibeli),” and “Swear to the cross (Nomushigakano).”

One can also dip the finger in the mouth, touch the ground, point to the sky, and make a cross on the forehead.” In many cases, it is not easy to know the difference between a God believer and a non-God believer. Many Christians believe the Son of God under the influences of their own cultural beliefs. Other Christians mostly use a decent language and civilized words. One notices that Owambo Christians cannot start the meal normally without praying. The Christians also like to hum a lot of the hymn songs day and night that sometimes irritate other people. They repeat many happiness expressions as a sign of politeness; words like thanks (ijaloo, dangi, or tangi), loved one (omuholike), my friend (kaume kange) and

right (oshoosho) are heard many times in a day. This is mostly used when thankful of something, bless others or just to please another person. The behaviors of religious people can be very good, but the actions can tell a different story, especially toward other minority groups. Therefore it is not easy to differentiate a fake religious person from Gods’ believers. The worship of gods is chosen freely these days but Namibians prefer to worship in churches. The gods worshippers are hardly found, but they still exist in different ways. Magic has been practiced in Owamboland but is fading. 438»

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There are places in Namibia where witchcraft is still practiced. Owambo people travel to other areas when looking for magicians. They even travel to other countries to seek healers, givers, and protectors. Owambo Christians do not feel comfortable to discuss such things. Namibian opinions about Kalunga Kanangombe (northern Namibian

supreme god) are as follows: “I know of Kalunga Kanangombe, but not enough to really understand his magnitude as believed by my ancestors. Being from a Christian family I didn’t hear much of Him but more of God the Creator. Which I believe is one and the same, just called by different names, based on our cultural differences and languages. He serves the same purpose to Christianity as he did to my ancestors, who lived before the missionaries ever even thought of coming to Namibia,” Aina, the pastor’s daughter, said. “I have heard about Kalunga Kanangombe. He was ‘the god’ in which our ancestors bestowed their trust and beliefs,” Shihwa said. Those beliefs, which were deleted, died without any chance for adjusting and were not recorded by Namibians themselves because all records were done by non Namibians who could not see everything that was important to the Namibians. Today there is a myth of religions in the country that have developed after the country’s independence. Most religious people do not accept each other, even family members who attend different religions. The Owambo people imagine that only the religion that they belong to a person can be saved; the other religions are called eengerkki dho shiveva or itkalunga. A Namibian Finnish said that there are many churches today in Namibia because of healing, fortune, and other reasons. The Owambo

own religion was changed in many ways. “In our church there are rules, which are created by the congregation and the ELCIN leaders. The rules are done to lead the congregation’s works and they are also done to put everyday life in order. Drums (ongoma) are beaten in the ELCIN church, hands are clapped during singing, choruses are being sung with movements, the wooden small boat-shaped instrument (okahumba), traditional skirts are used by the Christian women, and so

on.ELCIN is divided by two groups. One group feels good and happy when Owambo people use their traditional items and try to bring it back, and another group is afraid that if the Christians follow the traditions, this will also cause the return of paganism. If a tradition has nothing that hinders a Christian from obeying God’s words, then that tradition is good to follow. ELCIN goals are to take God’s words first before the church's traditions and national traditions” (Rev. Niinkoti 1983). DIFFERENT WORLDS

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Some Owambo people went to church to meet relatives and friends and share political news. Nowadays, some youths go to observe the latest fashion in the church villages during offering time, where the congregation brings in front of the church. Owambo people have different kinds of imaginations about Christianity see northern Namibian religion. In the old days, people accepted almost everything for nothing to generate a profit.

Flute (okahwiiloli)

ELCIN music: ELCIN has its own hymns, and the songs are mostly translated from Finnish hymns in Oshiwambo into two Owambo tribal languages (Oshindonga and Oshiwanyama); the same languages were used to translate the Bible and were used in schools. The songs are gospel, and they tell biblical stories. During the war, the songs were also used as ~40~

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prayers for freedom. There is a starter of the songs in the church who assists in starting the songs. ELCIN has its own choir, which is led by trained musicians. Every congregation has its own choir and many singing groups every Sunday. The congregation’s choir members also help to start difficult melody songs. Many churches have no piano, and it is difficult to start the songs in the church; sometimes it takes time to figure out the right melody of the song. Again long humming in the church irritates when a less-listed song appears on the hymns board. The church did not allow dancing, playing of the drums, dried Owambo cucumber (ompamba), an Omunghete wooden instrument (okahumba), and joik (ligola) in

the church, like in many African churches. The slight movements, foot stomping, clapping hands, and snapping fingers are seen in the chorus (uukolasa).

Ofifiya choir at the Niinkoti family

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God mother Raija-Liisa and Aini as a baby listening to a piano The choruses have been converted from the revolution songs, with

different words; they can also be from translated foreign gospel songs. “Kumbaya (Come by Here) My Lord,” “We Shall Overcome,” and “Nkosi Sikelel’i Afrika” were used. The Christians gathered at nights to

sing revolution songs. They shared SWAPO

news in the stations. The

revolution songs were different from gospel. The revolution and Owambo traditional songs were forbidden. The traditional musician Kankondi Katimo’s songs were not sang much by the Christians, but he made them

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laugh on the radio Owambo. Today the talented Ovakwaita Vokokongo brothers are entertaining Christian weddings and singing from their heart and converted the hymn songs.

Guitar (Oshiketala)

Today Namibian youths are singing gospel songs to their own audiences. The culture and the religions have been misunderstood by many Namibians. Traditional songs are today played by youths even on social media for free of charge. “To get an idea of possible trends I examined the attitudes of the students. The youth are the nation of tomorrow, and the students are the future leaders” (Rev. Niinkoti, page 3, 1974).

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Baptism (eshasho)

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4. CHANGING OF NAMES IN NORTHERN NAMIBIA

AMILY NAMES (EDHINA lyokuukweni or ofani): E. Niinkoti, 1974, on page 28, stated that in the old Owambo custom, the name of the father becomes one’s surname. “It is not easy to understand what the family name means in English (surname) and Afrikaans (van) languages

unless one looks in the dictionaries of these two languages. Family names in Swedish (slaktnamn) and in Finnish (sukunimi) have clear meaning for

the family name.” Family names before were patronymic. In Namibia, the father’s name is used as family name, like Lago-Tuna of (ya) Elia or Aini of

(ya) Matti. Unlike the Finnish historical way of using family names, like Antinpoika (Antti is the name and pozka means “son” or “a boy”), a Finnish surname that simply means Anderson in Swedish language. When the colonial authority gave right to Owambo to choose family names, Owambo people preferred to use their forefathers’ names. Some Owambo people continued to use their father’s first name for respect. The family siblings can then have two different surnames. The siblings who choose the father’s first name will have a different family name from the siblings who choose their forefather’s name. The use of family name is good because it saves the family history. A family that continues to use the family name without changing it for one reason or the other remains the same for many years. The children of one family will be able to identify each other by the use of the same family name. This will help keep family members from marrying relatives. By following one family name, the family members will identify each other everywhere they go. In the research on the Southern Finland graveyard on October 5, 2011, and the interviews made, the respondents remember many of their greatgreat-great-great-great-grandfathers. They have one tombstone for one family with many names on it. They only continue to add a name on the tombstone instead of buying a new one when a family member dies. One tombstone for one family is practical and preserves the family history for “45s

many generations. “My family grave is getting full. There are nine people lying here,” an old lady said smiling. Last time a corpse was buried in the same grave was in 1985, the old lady’s own grandmother. This is good for land saving, money saving, and keeping one family at the same place. This is not possible for many families in Africa because people die young; it will be impossible for the next coffin to wait for twenty years. The only thing possible for Africa will be the cremation system that does not have a waiting period. The family names story telling has been practiced many years in Owamboland, with which a person can tell as many names historically (this is called okwiitanga) as possible. The person starts with his/her own name, followed by the father’s name, followed by the grandfather's name,

then the great-grandfather, and it continues with the ones remembered. Interesting family names and forenames in Finland are Hikipaa (sweat head), Hopeavirta (silver stream), Heimo (tribe), Raitis (Sober) likka (rough), and Susi (fox). These are interesting family names and forenames from Namibia too: Ndikuhole (I love you), Ayesheaantu (all are human), Ndahalaombili (I want peace), and Ndjemboyomukuba (Cuban gun). To

translate the two Finnish words from the Niinkoti family name, it will be “so house”; niin means “so,” and oti is a house in Finnish language. This

is commonly misspelled in Finland as Niinikoti. There are many ways of asking a stranger the name in Owamboland; the first name and family name are not enough sometimes. The following questions are common. “What is your name (ongoye olye)?” “Who are your parents?” “Where are you from?” “Who are your neighbors?” If it gets too complicated, the school’s name and the teacher’s names will also be asked. In the towns, Owambo Christian unmarried mothers give their children the mother’s own family name most of the time. They are not bothered much with the father if he is not around.

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A holiday at Otsandi (Kookuku Gwanekongo)

“If Martti Rautanen was alive he will be asked why Namibian names were changed.” The names must be found again wherever they disappeared. (Omadina naa kongululwe apaa kanena). This topie appeared in Omukwetu (ELCIN paper), Namibians, for many years, have been wondering why and how their names were changed. “The reason for changing the Namibian names is unknown to the Namibians.”. Owambo people could not pronounce and understand their Christian names. The Owambo people were baptized with Finnish and foreign-sounding first names.

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Namibian people lost their identities and their culture by being renamed. The indigenous names became second names. A name like Aina Ndapanda Magano is a female name; Aina is a Finnish name (the word aina means

“always,” ndapanda means “happy” in Oshiwambo, and magano means “a gift”). Aina Ndapanda Magano will be “always a happy gift” if translated to English. Another name, Aina Amupala will be understood by the Finns as “always breakfast.” In Finnish aamupala is breakfast. Many Namibians change the spellings of their Christian names when they go international. Namibian names were changed because of Christian baptism. Historically, this had happened in many countries too where missionaries had been invaded. Indigenous Owambo received Finnish names and foreign-sounding names as their first names. The Christian record keeping began at the same time the Owambo tribe was recorded in congregation books. The church record keeping history in Finland has many interesting stories that the church recorded almost everything a person owned, including how many animals. A colleague said. Owambo names were baptized in the church as the first names. Names like Kaunapawa, Lago-Tuna, Mewawa, Mukumo, Kasoondaha Pendapala, Keumbo, Panduleni, Mutaleni, Ndahalaombili, Aluhe, Tumenge, Lapindja were baptized in the ELCIN church. In Finland, names like Ndapanda,

Ndapewa and Lago-Tuna, Nangula, Nandigolo, Namene, Iyalo, Tulinaye, and Ileni have been baptized in Finnish churches, sometimes with a lot of problems. The name choosing became the parents’ own decision, whether “48x

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choosing a foreign-sounding name or an indigenous name. The foreign names have been already given and recorded; one thing remaining is to make those names easier for the Namibian people to use and understand their

meanings. Owambo people had problems in pronouncing the Christian names that were given to them. The following are examples on how the Christian names are called in northern Namibia. Most of the Finnish and Swedish forenames, according to Saarikalle and Suomalainen (2007), have

name days, but other Christian names have no name days in the Finnish calendar. Suoma (Suwama or Shuwama) 8.4 Viktoria (Vikoolia or Vikito) 22.3 Gabriel (Gapiliela or Gapi) 24.3

Erkkior Erki (Eliki or Erkky) 18.5 Raija (Laija) 9.2

Kyllikki (Kiiliki) 8.12 Louise (Lwiise) 25.8 Petrus (Peetulusa) changed to Peter 29.6

Vilho (Viliho) 6.4 Samuel, Sam (Saamwele) 20.8 Aini (Heini) 10.5 Hans (Hansi) 27.12 Raimo (Laimo) 3.10 Leonard (Loonata)

Niklas, Nickey (Nikolasa) 6.12 Stefan (Shitefa) 26.12 Magdalena (Mahata or Mahatalena) 22.7 Moses (Moosesa) Katrina (Katalina) 25.11 Raakel, Rachel (Laakela) 17.12 Paulus (Paulusa, Paulusha, or Pau) Jason (Jaasoni or Jaashoni), English name Helvi (Helivi) 15.10 Colin (Kolena)

Tylva (Tilivesa) Harri and Harry (Hali) 6.1 Rebekka (Lepeka) 17.5 Fransina (Fulansina) Laura (Laula) 20.5 DIFFERENT WORLDS

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Rauha 29.12 and Lauha 20.4 (both called Lauha) Senia (Seenia or Sheenia) 24.1

Epafras (Epafulasa or Epafu) Saara (Saala or Shaala) 19.7 Urho (Uluho) 17.6 Elizabeth (Esapeta, Isapeta, or Elisapeta) 19.11 Selma (Seelima or Sheelima) 5.12 Kirsti (Kilisti or Klishti) 24.7 Hilma (Hilima) 21.11 Matti and Martti (Mati) 24.2 Martin (Maitina, Malitina) 10.11 Marta (Maalita, Maita) 27.7 Gideon (Giitiyona or Mangiti), Hebrew Marja 15.8 and Maria 2.7 (both are called Malia) Lahja (Laahija; Magano in oshiwambo, Gift in English) 7.8 Ester (Estela or Eshitela) 16.5 Albertina (Alupeletina or Nepeti) 24.4 Wrycliff (Wiikilifi) Filemon (Filimoni), Latin Paris (Paalisa or Paalisha) Tiitus (Tiitusa)

Kristoffer (Klistofa, Kristof, or Kiitofa) 15.3 Sylvi (Silivi or Shiilivi) 8.8 Hertta (Helita) 4.11 Ritva (Litiva) 27.5 Armas (Alumasa) 28.3 David (Daafita) 30.12

Hilja (Hiilija) 8.10

Hedvig (Heduviha) 15.10 Veronica (Veloonika) 17.8 Robinson, Robin (Lobinsoni), Swedish, found 7.6 Amos (Amoosa), Hebrew name

Lempi (Lembi or Rembi in Oshikwambi) 24.11 Every Finnish and Swedish name found in the calendar are celebrated in Finland; Namibian Lutheran Christians were not introduced to the

name days. The names are spelt the right way when writing. The last letter sometimes has been changed, like Taimi-Taimy, Toini-Thoiny, Erkki-Erkky, Hileni-Hileny, Sofia-Sophia.

H has been added at the end of the names,

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like Eliah, Ainoh, Johannah, Hannah, Sarah, and others. Esther is mostly spelled in English as “Esther,” and Marta is “Martha.” The Owambo people also shorten their names or make the indigenous second name the first name for their own convenience. Most Namibians cancel their Finnish names and use international, indigenous names or biblical names. These pronunciations developed because the names were completely

unusual and difficult to the Owambo people. The names did not sound like indigenous names; they were just difficult to integrate to the Owambo language and culture. Owambo people were not given the meaning to the names, but young Namibians know the meaning of the names from asking. They also wonder when the name is just a name, with no meaning to it. In Owambo culture, all names refer to something or somebody. Finnish non-Lutherans find it interesting to hear these old names. They also wonder why the Owambo people have historical Finnish names. Finnish people who travel to Namibia for hunting, families, holidays, education, and business keep thinking how the ancient Finnish names ended up in Namibia. Owambo people have a nicknaming custom. Missionaries are remembered by their nicknames—good nicknames and bad nicknames. The good nicknames are from humorous issues and good jokes. The bad nicknames can be cruel, pointing the individual’s habit, animal names, and other personal behavior. Nicknaming was practiced more in the old days. There were not much hobbies, and people wasted time laughing at each other, even with things that needed to be corrected or hurt others. Today this is not practiced by civilized people anymore. Namibians migrants with Finnish names in Finland are asked often whether they are adopted, they have renamed themselves, or if they are joking when they say their names. One feels embarrassed if the name has to be read aloud in public places. “You have a beautiful name.” That feels good always after hearing that compliment at work or seminars, where the name cards are used. Godparents had proved that President Urho Kekonen was surprised to meet an African boy called Urho. When little Namibian Urho gave the president flowers (Helsinki Sanomat, 1970).

To live in the country where one’s name came from, for some years, learn the language well, study the history of the name’s original country, and learn the culture as an adult is good to understand oneself; but it also

prepares you to have the freedom to own and use it freely and visit a month or two in that country. It feels good that one is named after an important person. Today freedom of naming has brought Owambo Christians to skip many foreign names that they do not understand. They are bringing DIFFERENT WORLDS

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back their ancient names that they understand. They are also creating new names on their own. Foreign names are also repeated in many places in

Namibia too. Not all the Finnish missionaries had mastered the Owambo names’ pronunciation. Next is the example on how the Owambo people were called by foreigners in Namibia: Hango (Hang’ho) Elago (Elang’ho)

Mwatotele (M’vatotele) Hamwaama (Ham’vama) Kehupitho (Kehupihito) Hashoongo (Hashuungo) Hango (Hanko) Shipingana (Sipingana) Amadhila (Amadihila)

Engombe (Enkobe)

Mookwandje (Mookuadje) Nandigolo (Nadiholo) Nghilundilwa (Ngilundilua)

Mwetunyana (Muetunyana) Nuugwanga (Nuwanka or Nuug’uanka) Mwaala (Muaala) Amakutuwa (Amakutuva)

Lago-Tuna (Lako-Tuna, Lako) Niiwango (Niwanko or Niiwangho) Lugodhi (Lukod’hi)

Shuungula (Suunkula) Hasheela (Haseela) Ambinga (Apinka) Amukongo (Amukonko) Emvula (Emuvula) Katengela (Katenkela or Katenghela) Bandeka (Bateka) Nghilifanande (Ngilifanante) Nghindengwa (Ngidenkua or Nghihindengua) Tshali (Tis hali) Nghalipo (Ngalipo) Tshapwa (Ti’shapua) Mphingana (Mupihingana) “52x

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Ndipwashimwe (Dipuasimuve) Tulipamwe (Tulipamuve)

Ndahepele (N’tahepele) Nghilifaali (N’kilifa-ali)

There are difficult words in the Finnish language that Owambo people cannot learn only those who have spoken Finnish language all their lives; for example, this very long word, which they have to train for a long time: epajarjestelmallisyydellinsdkddn and simple word like mother (aiti) which need a special mouth technique to say it correct. The missionaries preferred to use the Christian names. Owambo names are difficult for them to pronounce. They did not know the meaning of all the names. The person whom a child is named after becomes the child’s namesake (mbushe) or namesakes (oombushe if there is more than one namesake. Both parents

can select the child’s names, but most of the time the man is in charge of the name in northern Namibia. The Lutherans in town do not follow many of the old traditions like in Owamboland. One missionary can have as many namesakes as possible in the areas they have been working in. The families who were named after each other share support and love. The baptism event has godparents (aathikameni) present. In Owambo

culture, godparents are as important as the namesakes. They are often a close friend, family members, family friends, and others like missionaries. The godparents and namesakes belong to the church. Children receive gifts and support from godparents like from the namesakes. The relationship between the child and the godparents and namesakes is sometimes similar to the relationship between parents and child. The godparents play a big role in the godchild’s life, including the big events. The godparents and namesakes act as the ‘social security’ to the child. The missionaries renamed Owamboland “Ambomaa,” and the Owambo people called Finland “Osuomi” or “Oshoomi.” Ambolainen is an Owambo person in the Finnish language (Omuwambo in Oshiwambo language). A

Finnish person is called omusuomi by Owambo people. Owambo is just an area name and was more used in colonial times. Owambo people who lived in Finland for a long time preferred to be called Namibians or by their own names than by their ethnic group. Owambo tribes belong to clans. The clan members gather in funerals, weddings, and big events. Each members

of the tribe belongs to two

clans, a patriclan (ezimo lyokooho) father side and a matriclan (ezimo

lyokoonyoko) mother side. These members mostly belong to one ancestor. DIFFERENT WORLDS

25a

Owambo people in Owamboland still follow their clan and know which clans they belong to. The matriclan is stronger than the patriclan; all the children belong to the mother clan in many families. “It is important for an Owambo person to know his parents’ clans. Therefore everyone can say his mother’s and his father’s clan” (Rev. Niinkoti, 1974, page 9). He also added

that practical life clans have lost their original meaning. Owambo people only know their totemic names. He gathered thirty-five clans groups from the students he interviewed in 1974 and what he had learned from his culture.

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5. SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN ELCIN

N NORTHERN NAMIBIA infants are baptized on the first months of their lives and parents decide.

ct ae

—+- @

rs i °*4

Most babies are baptized in the white long gown silk or polyester

The reason some children get baptized late is a delay in the parents’ confession and other reasons. On Sunday mornings, children go to church with their families. The children like Sunday school (osikola yosoondaha) in Owamboland. Children are happy to have a break from domestic works and schoolwork. Children gather with friends and neighbors to study the 455%

Bible. Sunday is the favorite day of the week for Christian children and is the only day of the week that the children have time to spend with their parents and friends. Sunday evenings, they have time to play with other children. Christians even prepare special meals on Sundays. After Sunday school, children play tag (elama) on their way home. They also play traditional games while waiting for the teacher; games are amangusa, kakende, ohaye, odoota, osamangela, madeima, omutimboko and water kicking during rainy season. Sunday school is a Bible study for children. It provides gospel songs for children and camping with other children from other congregations mostly during weekends. They are trained to become the good Christian members for their congregations. The children learn to live in faith, obey the rules, and respect grown-ups in their communities. The Sunday school’s leaders in Owamboland are adult Christians helped by the youths. Children perform on Christmas Days, Easter, and other church events. They are happy when they are given an opportunity to be heard. The songs are beautiful, and they remind the adults their own childhood. The youths get confirmed at a certain age. They study catechism and get confirmed. When the youths are confirmed, they are allowed to receive Holy Communion (Uulalelo Uuyapuki) in the church. In Owamboland, there has been a Holy Communion registration (omainyolitho guulalelo uuyapuki) but nowadays the registration is not done. “The Holy Communion creates a relation between a Christian and Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:23-25, John. 6:56)

and togetherness between believers. It creates the courage to plant fruits (1 Corinthians 11:26)” (Rey. Niinkoti, translated from Oshiwambo).

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Brownie (Ontetango) Scouts:

girls

There

scout

is

and

the

boys’

scout organization in the churches. It is a good

organization because the children and the youths learn things that matter to them, including ‘life seeing. The disadvantage of this organization is that it is not affordable to all

children and youths in the villages. It is expensive for many families to afford the uniform and other items. The scout trains children to help others. Scouts sing in a

happy way. They compose songs themselves; they play big drums and dance.

The Git Guide song in Prpathtolart had the same melody as the Finnish national anthem; the song is called “Owambo Our Land (Owambo Eduletu).” It has been sung much in Engela scout group in the 1980s. During the war, the colonial soldiers felt threatened by the scout organization because of the uniform and activities that trained Owambo youth to do other activities and enjoy life. The scout organization has been a very good organization for the young people in Namibia.

DIFFERENT WORLDS

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em

6. INDIGENOUS TALES

Ongano ya Shindulinga: Shindulinga’s Tale Shindulinga was a man with one leg

He was the only child, loved and supported by his mother He did not have any job because of his disability He spent his days and nights in the granary (eshisha), he only went out to eat and drink He was hidden all his life to stay away from persecutions, he gained weight His mother was the one to look for him hardworking wives So that she can have domestic help. His mother found him two beautiful ladies The mother lied that her son Shindulinga is working in town (Komoonda).

He will come some days from town for a holiday Her problem was only to get help in the field work and water fetching Mother told the wives that her son is rich and handsome Two wives came to stay with Shindulinga and his mother Shindulinga was glad that his mother loves him so much He was proud that his mother found him wives The wives were getting tired to wait to see their husband

They kept asking when their husband is coming The mother kept promising that he is coming One day one wife got sick She stayed at home Shindulinga have to go eat as usual She heard a sound and she grabbed from where she was lying down The door of her room was opened ajar She went to the door to see clear and listen to the song she is hearing

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(The song was sang by Shindulinga all the time he went to eat) She saw a man jumping with one leg and singing The man was singing like this: I have a lovely mother She looked for me women

Saying that I am at work in town And I am just in the granary He repeated the song (while jumping) The wife did not do anything, she was surprised She went back to lie down After work the other wife came to the room The wife who saw Shindulinga told the other wife about it The wives made up a plan together The wife that was not sick got sick Did like the other wife did to see for herself They have to decide whether to stay or go The next day the two wives left (Story told by cousin Naambo Julia Kapolo in the nights 1987),

Lalli Lalli was the Finnish man He was a hardworking man He was married to a wife

Lalli one day he came home He received unhappy news from his wife about Bishop Henry Lalli became angry after hearing the news He took an axe Went to face the bishop

Lalli found the bishop and beheaded him Lalli removed the bishop’s hat

Lalli wore the bishop’s hat The bishop’s hat got stuck on Lalli’s head

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While he tried to remove the hat away from his head, it tore away Lalli’s scalp He took the He wore the The ring cut Lalli died in

bishop’s ring ring off his finger the river

(Story was told by a former missionary in 1995. The story has been taught in the school that the author’s son that he also repeated).

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Santa Claus

Hrvaa

FJoulua ja

©Onnellista

Gutta

DIFFERENT WORLDS

Wuotta

“61s

The Owambo girl on the reindeer’s back believed in this Santa Claus

and his reindeer. She kept dreaming and praying to see the two wonderful creatures again in Africa and that was just a dream. As a teen she told her friends about the Joulupukki, as called in Finland, who gave her candies, clothes, and a madam bag she received in Finland just because she behaved before December 24.

Godfather

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AINI NIINKOTI

7 SUPERSTITIONS

Superstitions from Northern Namibia (Iidhila) If grey hair appeared when you are young this means wisdom and wealthy signs If you are good at domestic work you will be a good wife If you cook Owambo porridge soft (omatepi) you will not be a good wife If a single woman dreams snakes she will get pregnant If a knife is used in the pot/pan it is a bad luck If the ground hornbill tweets on the field it is the sign of death If the child looks an adult straight in eye the child is not well brought up If upper eye-lid is shaking it is a good luck, on the lower eye-lid it is a bad luck If sneezing shout “daddy” taatei for blessing If walking toward the chief you have to crawl If self-talking you are mad If a man obeys the wife it is a bad sign If baby come with hands first it is a bad sign If the child reached another ear with the arm the child can start school If white chickens in the yard it is a bad sign If visitor comes during meal the visitor knows how to cultivate If open front teeth it is the sign of beauty If owls seen it’s a sign of witchcraft If employed the first salary is for the parents If giving birth to twins this is a bad luck If there is a rainbow in the sky it will rain If the sun is ninety degrees it is five o’clock in the evening (fact) If the sun is forty-five degrees the clock is one in the afternoon (fact)

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Superstitions from Finland (Taikausko) If it’s Friday the thirteen it’s bad luck If full moon wolves are howling Ifa fork drops a woman will appear Ifa knife drops a man will appear If a bread loaf is placed on the table upside down it means hunger If red hair it’s a witch's sign If tin breaks in small pieces on New Year’s Eve when melted and thrown in water it’s a bad luck sign of the New Year If you clean a bedroom naked with a robe on your waist your future husband’s spirit will visit in the night If you pick seven flowers naked from the field and put under the pillow future husband’s spirit will visit If you calculate the rooster callings it means the waiting years for your husband, if not heard then the husband appears in the same year If the hands are crossed and thumbs are rounding inside it means hungry, if the thumbs are rounding backward the stomach is full If you wear white on someone else’s wedding it is a bad sign Ifa woman wants a good husband she has to roll naked in the meadow If you want to see if your lover loves you take a daisy flower and repeat “she/he loves me, she/he loves me not.” The phrase said last when picking the last petal is the answer If you walk under the ladder it is a bad luck The rainbow in the sky, there are treasures on its beginning and on its ending If baby born it was brought to sauna by the stork If you break a mirror following seven years are bad luck If you cultivate good grain for seven years the next following years are unproductive If you walk naked in the field you will meet your future husband If you buy a wedding gown for yourself it is a bad luck The sun rises on the east direction (fact) The sun sets on the west direction (fact) Similarities from both cultures

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If long fingers this means a thief If a black cat crosses the road it is a bad luck (one have to spit three times on the left side) in Finland

If you travel to your home country you must kiss the ground If not baptized you will go to hell If a person has smile pits it means beauties If shooting star passed the sky someone is dead somewhere in northern Namibia. If shooting star passed one has to make a wish in Finland.

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8. CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE AND CHILD REARING IN NORTHERN NAMIBIA

HRISTIAN MARRIAGE IS very common in Namibian towns and villages. “Concerning the situation in Ovamboland, Christian

marriages had to be in agreement with God’s word and without elements of pagan culture. Because the missionaries were not acquainted with Ovambo culture, it took a long time for them to purify the parishioners’ marriage from the customs which originated in paganism” (Rev. Niinkoti, 1974).

Some cultures from Namibia’s neighbor countries are getting married twice, first in the traditional way, then the Christian way. Today marriage in Owamboland is like a contract wherein a woman

and a man pay attention to each other's belongings and mostly from where one is coming from regardless of sincere affection. It can also be of interest what one can benefit from the other. Very few youths marry in these days to build a family together and raise their children in faith. Today’s marriage is different from ancient Owambo marriages. as it is just a transformation of the youths to the adult male (omulumentu) and female (omukiintu). When

a couple finds each other, they introduce themselves to their families.

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Mother (meme) and Father (tate)

(The wife's family name changes to the husband’s family name on their wedding day)

Then the engagement event will take place at the bride’s house. It is a small party where the couple exchanges the engagement rings. Next the bride tells about what made her wedding traditional. “It was organized in the traditional manner. We also had some traditional dancers.” A newly wedded bride Kafili commented. The bride price (iigonda or lombola) before marriage ended but not totally;

many Christian women still want to receive some cattle or an ox. Christian women today contribute to their wedding feast because it is expensive for the bridegroom alone. Indigenous Owambo men made and gifted leather clothes to their female mates as explained before.Rey. Niinkoti wrote that the wedding ox was for the bride’s mother, and the wedding cannot take place without it. The Owambo bride price is lower than those of other African women and Asian women overheard from colleagues’ conversations. A Christian husband and wife are supposed to live in peace, faith, and harmony until death parts them. Bride price payment is not a taboo all over Africa, but for Christian families, they skip the price. Rey. Niinkoti called the bride price payment ofuto. For some family, it is a save for the wife and children when the father or husband dies or wants divorce. Most northern Namibians Christians still believe that because of the wedding rituals, the marriage will last for a long time when it goes public and it is blessed by God. The rituals are the engagement announcement and the wedding feast (ohango, ohombo, and efundula). DIFFERENT WORLDS

PCVAS

In towns the invitations are strictly followed, and the wedding feast is only for the important invited guests, not for uninvited guests. There

will be family members and friends of both bride and bridegroom in the Christian wedding feast, and it is not celebrated many days. The engagement is followed by the church announcement, which the couple themselves has planned. In the village, the announcement happens on a Sunday, when the couple has to go to church, and the priest asks them to stand up during

their announcement moment. Announcing the wedding day in the church is also to let the gate-crashers know that there is a party in the village. On the announcement day, the white flag is hanged in both the bride’s and the bridegroom’s houses. It is a sign of the happy news. There will be a small party on that day or a big party, depending on the wedding budget or decision of the couple. The announcement day is also the beginning day of the wedding. There will be people from different areas coming to organize the wedding. Family members, friends, and neighbors will sing, dance, and pray. There will be new faces in the village from that day coming, going, and some staying for days until all the wedding rituals are done. Every Christian family has its own personal rules that they follow and obey. After the announcement day, the bride will be called the omufukokadhona, and the bridegroom will be called omufukomati. The wedding day is mostly set on Saturdays and June or December are the favorite months for many. The wedding takes place in church; sometimes the church can have many weddings at the same time—one to eight couples or more. Many guests wait outside for hours because the church is full. The couple has maids (iinkumbi); this custom is from the ancient times but

today is used in different ways. These are the good friends, and they wear similar clothes, mostly satin fabrics. “I had fifteen adults and four young maids (iinkumbi) because it

was important for me that they are part of my special day,” Gwiishaka just-married Namibian answered. The mothers of the bride and bridegroom wear similar Owambo traditional dresses (ohema yonhulo) and white scarfs, carry omushila (dried cow or horse tails for waving). The bride and bridegroom wear the same as in

Western Christian weddings. Polyester is not a good fiber when not blended in northern Namibian sunny December afternoons. The white color that

the bride selects is good for dark-skinned people and for the climate unlike black, which is used on funerals, which is not good because of the sun. When the Christian wedding ceremony is finished, the couple walks home, if the house is near the church. If the house is far away from the 368s

AINI NIINKOTI

church, they (wedding distance close to home the left distance home. for the cooks to dress

witnesses and the just-married couple) drive some so that people can dance, sing, /igola joik and walk This also helps for the food to get on the tables and up and make up for the party. People dance, sing,

and ligola. “Stop /igolent (joiking), because only pagans do that. Whoever

ligola will come out from the car fast,” a missionary said in an Owambo wedding” (M. ja E., page 36, see also bride price on page 34). Ligoleni is to repeat this, “Lililililililili,” loud, faster, and with a high tune. It is used for thankful and happy moments; it is more than saying thank-you (ijaloo or tangi). Joik is the word used in Lapland for the Sami people way of singing. The difference is that the Sami tribe’s joik is in a low tune. When the couple arrives home, the food time begins. “We had cool drinks, juices, salads, rice/macaroni, meat, and some traditional food.” A Christian bride Getrude tells about her wedding foods. Owambo people like traditional foods and potato salads (omusilaye) in big events. Most

families do not cook at their home because they will eat at the wedding house for many days and even bring food to their houses from the wedding house. Owambo people give gifts to the wedding couple, and the couple gives gifts also to special guests, mostly food. The families who lack food-making knowledge invite a cook to prepare special foods for their special guests. A cook can even come as far as from another town. Traditional chicken is also prepared in a special way, which is called Owambo organic chicken deepened in marula oil (ondjove). In

Christian houses, alcohol is forbidden; for those who want to drink, they go somewhere else. After the bride’s house, the wedding continues to the bridegroom’s house, and that means the bride’s farewell day from her family. In the old days, the family of the bride cries because they feel that they are losing their daughter, and the bride cries because she is going to live under her man’s control. The man is happy on the day he receives his wife and takes his wife to his father’s house. These days, working men have houses before marriage that they don’t need to take their brides to their fathers house after the wedding. The Namibians have lost a lot, and the lost cultural practices are the ones that have gone. Divorce has increased in Christian marriages today unlike in the Owambo marriage where divorce very uncommon. Rev. Niinkoti stated that a Christian polygamist was told to divorce his wife because of initiation rites issues between 1969-1974, where thirty-five parishioners were excommunicated. A Christian woman married to a babtized Christian polygamist man were both excommunicated from the church. There were DIFFERENT WORLDS

369%

many conflicts in the church, but there were also things that the church could not do anything about, like bride price (iigonda), inheritance issues,

as well as wealthy polygamists who were not excommunicated. “Because in northern Namibia it is the woman who owns a kitchen

(epata or elugo), it’s the woman who takes care and delivers a child (okanona) or makes a family (epata), then a woman (omukiintu) is important than a

man because she can build and take care of a kin (ezimo). A man only helps in multiplying his own kin with one or several wives.” Owambo people are

still matrilineal, Rev. Niinkoti wrote.

After the wedding, the couple’s names will change to mother and father status (meme na tate). They will then be free to start their sexual life and the couple will then start to have their children. In early Christianity times, Owambo people considered those who had a Christian marriage as still unmarried, so the Christian mothers were unmarried mothers in

Owamboland because they skipped initiation. It was and is even hard for the Owambo Christian woman to have a child before marriage. If they want to have a child just because they want one or for other reasons, because of the Christian community harassment, it is impossible. The unmarried mother’s house or widow’s house is called “a little house” (okagumbo). Therefore

this has scared many women from having sex, thinking that they will have children, end up living in Okagumbo, excommunicated from the church and rejected by their own people. Songs like “Okagumbo Kameme Seelima” (Lady Selma’s Little House) were played on the radio in Owamboland. The

indigenous songs were used to talk about one another in good ways and bad ways; they were made up, and some were from real life experiences. The schools and the church did not include or counsel family life education, life seeing, and there were no reliable media. People get news from the vague grapevine, like a woman having sex before marriage is a sin, she is a prostitute, and others. If the woman has a child without marriage, they are sinners; there will also be bad names for her and the child. This had made people live under fear of parents, community, and fear of God. There are still fears in single Christian adults to break this tradition; this is not relevant for the population growth that had been strained by factors such as war, when many Namibians died, and because of poverty (illness and hunger). The Owambo Christians who have been in exile and the young generation do not believe much what is said in the grapevine; they discourage it, and they discover for themselves the truth. They also feel free to discuss sexual issues with their parents, friends, and search for themselves the correct information. (The grapevine can spread things like tortoise eggs hatching out baby snakes. «70%

AINI NUNKOTI

That kind of grapevine news is only good and cheap for product promotions, but one has to be able to hand out enough prototypes and instructions for correct information. Eighty-five percent of Namibians can read and write in their own languages. In connection to this, people can also give incorrect information while you are present without confirming if that’s the truth unlike in the Western world where people are given a chance to either say it from their mouths or then confirm if the information correct).

Child responsibility support in Namibia from the father is minimal and this makes it possible for him to continue to produce as many children as he can in the same community or in another. The law does not force Namibian fathers to take care of their children, like in Scandinavia where the states support single parents and the children, and it is the both parties to do family planning. The “illegitimate” children cannot be baptized if their parents do not confess in the ELCIN church. Most priests break this tradition and baptize all children equally. Owambo Christianity does not accept cohabitation; it’s a sin up to these days. Males and females from Christian communities do face multiple judgments and generalizations almost in everything, especially pastors children and those who came from exile, because of the different development stages. Marrying within Christian communities is not always a success because of the women’s predominance in northern Namibia. Christian females who lived abroad grew power and independence, which all men cannot understand and sometimes cannot even control. Previously, a man can have as many wives to work for him in the field and make for him many children to work for him but today this is not so common in Namibia. Education, development stage, and jobs have increased the power of some Namibians to live independently without domination. Child bearing is no longer a priority and women start to be aged without family because of education and family planning. Modern women today want to have their children with a responsible male, not just with any man. Women do not also want old-fashioned attitudes, which persist in most people of a certain age. Different life challenges forced young women to create their own living paths to end the cycle. The priests Moving from institute to institute, congregation to congregation, country to country, for the Christian workers children it was good and bad experience.. It was a success life lesson to some priest’s children and a big life challenge to other children. It made many youths suffer because they had to learn something new all the time for a short time or have useful education, which just went to waste because of bad coping strategies. The new norms brought DIFFERENT WORLDS

471s

to northern Namibia did not integrate the Owambo indigenous culture in positive ways. These Owambo people were left with the feeling of emptiness for the principles and customs that were deleted without correcting them although they were very important to the Owambo people’s own needs for harmony, security, and inner Joy. “In the Christian marriage idea Jesus compared the wedding with God’s words. Wedding ceremony is an important event that makes people feel good when they receive an invitation card. The invitee feels the inviter is a good person to open her wedding door for them to celebrate together the wedding day. The invitee feels special and greater than the uninvited person. The inviter takes responsibility to make relatives and friends happy by inviting them to the wedding. The invitee cannot refuse the invitation, but if they cannot attend the wedding, they will let the inviter know and understand their reason for not attending. In the old times, the wedding news makes all Owambo people happy. People went to weddings without invitations. The wedding that we are used to in our culture does not match with God’s words. In the royal wedding from the Bible, people refused invitations and killed the invitation messengers. What is the royal wedding then? It is the joy that will be in heaven because of eternal life that believers will receive in heaven from the savior” (Rev. Niinkoti, translated from Oshiwambo).

Rev. Niinkoti and his family

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AINI NUNKOTI

9 CHARITY COLLECTION, AID IN ACTION, AND THE CHANGE

AMIBIA’S ECONOMY JS stable and relatively effective. The whole of Africa is going digital, and everything is changing fast. African poverty is still the headline in Western news, and Africa is other people's prototype of a place where others benefit and African themselves are suffering. A solution will be found if only all Africans get involved and are given opportunities. Why people so low paid in Namibia? “Everyone knows about the foreign farms and mines that pay Namibian people cents. Those pastors from Oniipa are not paid well. One just feels sorry for them,” two respondents answered. The Christian domestic “cleaners” earn small salaries, which is still a huge problem in Namibia. They mostly work temporarily at a place while looking for a better-treatment and better-income working place. “The guest farm training was good. The owner ste not live in Namibia and my manager was friendly but the local workers were badly treated and they are not paid well.” A foreign student who went on an internship as a chef to one of the Namibia guest farms has a long story to tell. ELCIN growth: The church seems to slow down the development. The leadership of the church and structures is recycling the past. ELCIN believes in the strategies that are not creating jobs; they believe in ready-made strategies. They are not improving better incomes to the priests and to the church workers. As a free country, the church has also reached the stage that every worker in the church must be happy and enjoy their work like all the citizens. The book makes points that may be useful to end the cycle in the ELCIN church. There must be a positive solution to end that dramatic decrease in members of the church, priest complains, deaths in membership, and put people in charge of their own changes around them. For a solution, the church needs every member a/3e

who is old enough to be involved in the church changes. Members who are gone cannot be returned, but the ones who are still in church can be encouraged to stay by changing the attitude, facing the reality, and putting them in charge the right way. Moving away from church does not end the cycle, but teaming, acting, and listening to each other will do much for the church’s benefit. Facts from Rev. Niinkoti’s abstract tell things that happened during the Old Testament era that are still happening in the current church. ELCIN must stop evangelizing old thinking. The globe is changing; therefore action is needed. It is the time that ELCIN needs to share empowerment tools with other churches in Namibia and outside Namibia. ELCIN must share knowledge with different organizations directly without any ineffective third part and without any blackmailing. If ELCIN does not increase the church’s own capacities by acting and strengthening its own power, then the church will still depend on the international support and rerepeat its history. “If only half of the support reached the poor Owambo people, then Owamboland has been more than it is today,” a student commented. Where is ELCIN now? Where are they going? How will they get there? Who will help her to get there? When is it getting there? ELCIN have five missing question marks to improve. The five questions above had been ignored by the church even in this rough environment. That can be a strategy-thinking plan to follow that may help the church to produce positive outputs. Constant change can bring ELCIN to become a sustainable living religion. There is no way to escape the constant change on earth because it is vital. The church can choose the change that works for ELCIN or choose the change that works against the church and its policy makers. The ELCIN priests and all the workers have been going with the flow for many years because of the church’s own hardship for 142 years. The churches have to evolve from the hardship by making the right decisions. The monthly salaries of the ELCIN workers are small that one cannot compare to the one child support in Finland, even for an educated bishop with a doctor's degree. “The priests’ salaries in Owamboland cannot feed a family,” Rev. Niinkoti reported to Turun Sanomat newspaper in 1974. The above respondent was on 2011. These workers know about the ELCIN economical problems for many years, but they’re voiceless and powerless. “They wait manna to fall from heaven.” The priests have been suffering for many years in Owamboland, and they are still suffering and dependent. Rev. Niinkoti wrote that the church is economically dependent and poor; “74x

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it cannot provide economical advices or help the church members by empowerment tools in the Omukwetu newspaper. Many of Rev. Niinkoti’s writings were not followed early enough. “Action delayed,” he noted. They have to work almost 24/7 without having time for themselves and families. Those who were destroyed by the war, tortured, are under care of their children; those who lived in missionary houses did not have houses or were affected by the flood. The South African colonial administration imposed a taxation system in Owamboland at the end of the 1920s. The church today puts local businessmen to contribute to the church’s economic growth, and this is a good change. By reading the Bible in English, one comes to understand that people at Jesus's time were wealthy, risk takers, and paid taxes for their needs. They did not value individual wealth, but they worked together and shared to live equally without problems. Old testaments have not reported beggars and thieves much; these nations healed one another, touched one another, blessed one another, and their generations repeated their fathers’ history, knowing what matters to them. That is the histories that have been in some Western world; then they had limitations on shopping for food and clothes for the rich not to have more than the poor. Teaming is good as one nation. For economical considerations, the church should offer

opportunities to the hardworking Christian people for job creations and open channels with ready, established companies. Nakayale church is the first modern monument in the Christian history of art, this book has noted down. Namibian civil servants working for the government can afford to save. Pay pension and the church workers’ salaries go for urgent use only. The civil servants and other workers are happier when they visit their families in Owamboland. They do take good care of their families without limitations. The priests have limitations, and they cannot satisfy a small family size. By breaking the vicious circle of poverty among many of the ELCIN workers, they resigned, joined the government, started up businesses, died, complained, and developed their own economic paths. During the war, a few priests resigned from the church to become colonial ministers for the South African colonial regime, for better salaries (Vialahdyksia Namibia Itsendistymistd, page 222).

To break the cycle, this was a big risk for them. They had made a change in their lives and were able to feed their families and educate their children. This was not an easy decision for many, but they did what they have to do. “Pray pray very much, but beware to tell God what you want” (French saying). ELCIN must focus on success factors, success stories, and future DIFFERENT WORLDS

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aspirations interventions to benefit the church, to reduce poverty, and to distribute income equally. Looking back to what happened between the years 2000 and 2010; the church has lost many lives under the age of retirement for poverty reasons. This means that the change is needed. The ELCIN graveyards are growing fast that ELCIN soon needs to buy lands from the state. Inspiration sharing is good, especially if it is done by creating concepts and forums within the church members. New age investments are created for positive changes and only through investments, savings, and funds can country productivity be supported. This book learns that poverty cannot skip good taxation payment plans and sustainable economical development. Namibian GDP per capita will grow fast if all citizens contribute to the economy's growth. Natural resources are increasing in the continent; the church must invest in a strategic infrastructure for its own growth. Namibian ELCIN workers aged with no savings. They restart a new life after retirement; most of the time they depend on their wives, siblings, and relatives. ELCIN workers face serious problems when they are retired; they have no place to stay and land to develop. Some of them end up buying the cheapest land in any environment, where they cannot produce anything. Some end up living separately from each other (wife and husband), and this is a hard-knock life for these families. The recorded challenges to these workers today are drought, flood, hunger, lack of clothes and shelters. A

discussion with a Namibian, one of northern Namibian Christian fellows, proved that there are many bad happenings in ELCIN that need serious overhaul because of poverty. Owambo Lutheran members have joined new churches for their peace of mind. In the Christian communities, there are thinkers who believe that priests must work free for God. The servants of God do not require payments because God will pay them on the Judgment Day. The philosophy is appreciated but sounds useless because life is short. “God go bota mi bred (God will butter my bread).” A Krio saying. This proverb is used in different ways in north Namibia for many years. “God is there (Kalunga opo eli).” Imagine men and women who went to study abroad for many years to become ELCIN workers and then earn less than 100 each month in their working history. Priests have been reported falling from altars because of empty stomach. God will not take a knife to butter bread, but these workers themselves need to do that. This develops a few church workers to establish personal business agendas toward the aid, as it is reported in the Finnish media. «70

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Few articles in the Finnish media, 2010-2011, reported about the church aid being misused for personal economical development; the policy making is important in these issues and clear follow up on the aid from and to the journey. This kind of media must have transparency worldwide before the donors grow the urgent aid fatigue. (A former Finnish worker

wrote that she was fired in Naimibia by the FELM after her report on the misuse of the aid that she witnessed. She also wrote that children school fees in a certain school, which parents are also paying to the Namibian missionary school, were stolen, thousands of Euros. The FELM resent the money to the school, and everything was forgotten.) This kind of methods encouraged corruptions in many ways, its increase poverty, harm others, and create anger in people who really want to help. There will be no one to point a finger at when it comes to unproductive aid plans than the aid, which has clear agreement. Aid that goes through the government is easy to control, and it is easy to point a finger bookkeeper and policy makers. The aid agreements, which go through meetings and shaking of hands with coffee and cakes, must be followed through documents and follow ups so that there will be evidence of how the process works. People these days are civilized than the ancient man, who trusted almost any “conman” who knows how to wear suit and tie. Cooperation aid seems to be in a flux era already as the project workshop proved in Helsinki on August 30, 2011; there are many discussions already going on in Finland and around the globe about international aid problems. The tough climate has been a big challenge on the last four years for how long ELCIN will be dependent. In reference to the definition of poverty the needs to the body, soul, and environment of ahuman being; and this book’s views from life lessons on FELM and ELCIN poverty is reflected by low salaries, poor workplace environment, homelessness, unequal opportunities, powerlessness, ‘using of each other’ and voicelessness. The effort to curb the above problems contribute much to poverty and force many people to live the poorest lives in the developing countries. The Namibian church workers carry a smile on their faces, but deep down in them they are suffering. Without the above measures, one cannot afford to buy the important human needs—food, clothing, shelter, health, and education. Foreign aid without continuous control, public agreement, and auditing repeats the cycle. A Samaritan is losing a dime every day by being willing to

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help, but that dime does not always reach the target group for one reason or another. There have been no constant changes, and the cycle repeats, as it has been for decades, and even creates extra problems. What caused the Namibian church workers’ kids to suffer most physically, economically, psychologically, psychosocially, and for some, children were forced not to remain in the country (for some to leave first to exile, then to leave again after independence)? “That is a subject at the core of my existence as one of those kids. As a kid I grew up with a stigma that labeled me as a preacher’s kid, who lives in a nice community and has all the luxury that comes with it. I was expected to live up to a higher standard that reflected my parents, most especially my father’s beliefs, not to say they are any different from mine, but my point is that I was only a kid. I wasn’t and still not the pastor in the family. The pressure from living in such communities is so hard that children hate being part of the community. The communities weren't perfect; there was a lot of competition, jealousy, discrimination, and so on. Such was so evident that even at a young age, you knew whose house not to play at and who would say hi to you and your family or not. Things, especially money or salaries, were distributed based on favoritism. Most preachers married teachers and nurses so they can provide for their families. | remember my father never had money to give to any of us. It was Mother who provided, and this can be hard on the family, especially the kids. The poverty mentality and the appearance of having it all from the outside is tormenting. The church was run by men, and one would wonder if they had a fear of God in them at all. People, especially church worker, suffered in name of serving the Lord, while those that are at the heart of decision making or distributing the money lived a lavish life. A life with three to five cars with the ELCIN brand all over it, but using the cars as if they were their very own possessions. While others that are on the receiving end struggle to find a means oftransportation to take them from one place to another to do God’s work. People in the church built houses for their workers based on favoritism and not on the title and position the worker holds in the church, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. A lot was done in the name of serving God to the church workers and their children, which left them with a bad mark or taste for that line of work or pushed them to leave Namibia or to be based elsewhere in the world, post colonialism, except for those whose fathers were making those decisions. I can write a book about this subject so I better end here.”

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This is a Namibian story from a local newspaper on April 15, 2011 (see also bibliography for the whole letter): Tired of Fake Pastors

Just last week a local newspaper reported about a woman who had

a sexual relationship with a pastor while he was married and he went as far as sweet-talking her into lending him thousands of Nam dollars. This is not the first time I’ve read about such incidents and it’s

disturbing. Since most so-called pastors are men, they con our women into sleeping with them, apparently to go to heaven, and most of these pastors are from foreign countries.

There are a lot of wrongs in the Christian community in our country, and until they are corrected the church will not have a major impact in the leadership of the country. In many churches we find lack of accountability, wrong teachings, fake and false prophecies,

self-glorification, which I hate, worship of money and materialism,

fake miracles—the list is endless.

“Religious leaders should lead by example and desist from slacking in their obligations to God and their congregations. Blame should also be given to our old churches like the Lutheran, Catholic, and

the NG Church for their lackluster church services. They all stick to the same old, boring tradition of singing a’ few songs, then the main sermon, then offerings, then you go home. The devil is changing his tactics every day, so churches should also change theirs. Church leaders should also think about standing up, clapping, and playing the piano in church because that’s what we are there for, to glorify the

Lord. That is exactly what attracts most people to join other churches so as not sit like zombies the whole lecture through!” (Tangeni Barnes

Ekandjo Walvis Bay, see bibliography for the full letters).

The disadvantage for these kind of issues is that people are really dying from poverty and affected by poor policies. In the industrial world, people are secured by their governments. It’s up to those who contribute to charity foundations to be involved on how their dime is used. European media proved that they have already started to do a follow up of the effectiveness of aid. Direct support is productive; Internet bank payment, DIFFERENT WORLDS

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forex, foreign exchange services, through a trusted friend from the same area, and express post services are trustworthy. There are ways to stop the poverty from repeating the cycle, but just like climate one cannot do a lot

to solve all the problems; only by living happy is good for all people in the world. Increasing sustainability and sharing knowledge is important than living under control of others because of the lack of understanding and knowledge. ELCIN needs to provide information to the congregations on global environment awareness and in economic matters. This book is pointing a finger to the African countries that depend on donors to be aware of the tough environment that is going around in many supportive countries. Therefore getting involved, being responsible,

and implementing quality changes may improve the world of all people equally by finding positive solutions. Everybody needs better life and the donor recepients wants exactly what is in the donor countries, but we need to note that it is out of clear strategies for individual countries. It is out of hard work, accountability and transparency by all parties that poverty can be alleviated the right way. The ELCIN church must create its own financial possibilities, which benefit the nation equally and for a long term. The earth is changing; therefore adults must be involved and improve their own well-being by doing things sustainably. Africa’s greatest weakness is the lack of technology, opportunities and knowledge, but it is a rich continent, not only with the natural resources but also the atmosphere around; all they need is only to exchange ideas that really make a change. A healthier world needs prosperous people to do business cooperatives with other prosperous people who are not hiding the productive knowledge and new ideas for a real innovative change and share the empowerment tools. Academic education has not included everything and sometimes is difficult to be understood by practical people that they only study to pass, but they cannot perform in the future. The important education is still missing in Africa as they have been kept away from there for decades; it’s time to encourage the young students to learn handicrafts and industrial designs to put eyes onto creative learning, which will lift up the continent. This does not mean turning the church into business but creating some kind of security for the church because we have to live also. NICs (newly industrialized countries) and BRICS are involved in the economic growth, and they are very much cooperative with Namibia’s development by doing things their way. Research and development is good input indicator to measure innovations. Why had the church ignored this «80»

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indicator for decades? For many African countries the church introducers also introduced the trade which later developed complexities. New raw materials are suspected in Namibia, and Namibians need to make a good use of them or keep them under the ground for the future generation, who may know how to touch the earth without harming the environment and benefit equally. “Blame attitude” is not going to create a good image. The church should only pay attention to what has to be done correctly and strategically to contribute to the country’s own growth. A newsletter reported that Rossing Uranium mine has no benefit for Namibia because the Namibian government and Namibian shareholders own less than 10 percent. “A black secretary's salary is 35 N$ an hour and a Namibian white secretary earn 412 N$ an hour” (Ahjo, 2011). These days the church is free to put up weaving projects unlike before and employ skilled people which can lead to manufacturing. Before technology, there were indigenous crafts artisans who had worked hard to develop brands and designs for today’s global market. This is why the Christian innovative forerunners refused to introduce that kind of knowledge. Martti Rautanen did not accept the Owambo people to learn how to use the weaving loom; he stopped the cotton project at the birth of the church in Namibia. “No way! We came here to tell these people about Jesus Christ, that they will be saved. This kind of things will waste time. Take away everything, take away” (Bishop wrote on page 24).

By sharing knowledge, ELCIN needs to contentrates more on civic duties of the church and economical development, health, and the education system. Tax payers in Finland have contributed to ELCIN charity for over a hundred years to this day. If Martti Rautanen allowed the cotton and weaving project, this may have changed ELCIN’s dependency habit. During the war in Europe, linen was used and made to all kinds of clothes. “We always put money on the Owambo charity when thinking of you and your family,” a Finnish godmother said. She was disappointed when she received letters asking for school fees and other needs. The lady sent money direct with a registered post, and from that time everything changed to better. A missionary took an African baby to congregations to collect money for Owambo charity. The congregation members who want to hold the baby have to put money before holding the African baby. The baby’s mother heard about it, and she did not allow the lady to stay with the baby on her own again. The mother of the child explained. With the interviews DIFFERENT WORLDS

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made among Finnish civilians on what they know about Namibia, the middle-aged group remembered the word Owamboland or “Ambomaa,” but they do not know where it is located. Few colleagues remember gifting old clothes, making candles, collecting money in schools, and being involved

in different kinds of charity projects. Many have relatives, teachers, and neighbors who went to work in Namibia as missionaries. Western people who have not traveled much think that Namibians need help all the time—Hottentots, Bushmen, lazy, sick, poor, and backwater people. Namibians need to tell the reality about the country through Namibia’s history. They have to make changes for their children to live like other people without limitations. Namibians have no idea about Finland. Owambo people who have heard Bishop Auala’s poem, “Oshoomi,” do know where Finland is because at the beginning of that poem, it has told that Finland is near Sweden. The poem said Finland is located at the northern edge of Europe. The poem did not change the mind of people who learned it, but they still believe that Finland is in heaven, where one goes with a plane, the place where only saints live and bring goods. This kind of thinking developed because the Namibian Christians depended on missionaries for many decades. The missionaries gave free goods to the people to gain church members, and this made Owambo people believe that Finland is the country in heaven where everything is free. The Owambo Christians relied on the dependency methods for so long. Many Namibians are surprised when they hear that Finland also has other churches and it is a place in Europe. They are surprised to see that Finland is a country on earth. It surprises a Namibian when seeing in Finland that Finnish people work manual labors. (See also 32/2010 Suomen Kuvalehti, page 53.) Some

of the SUCCESS

stories:

1. A Namibian Lutheran dentist received a dentist chair as a surprise gift from a Finnish dentist. She was able to begin her own dentist clinic in Namibia. This created jobs for Namibians and also

contributed to the economic growth of the country. In this article it was just a gifted dental chair, not money, that made a change. 2.

Eudafano Women Cooperative (EWC) is a group of women in northern Namibia who gathers marula kernels to produce oil,

which they also supply to the Body Shop in the United Kingdom. 482»

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These women are happily paying for their children’s school, feeding their families, and investing. This cooperative is mutual, and these women have learned and achieved by sharing knowledge and information of how to make business. 3. Meme Kaino is the old congregation’s secretary who resigned and went to work as an organic farmer. She is today having food on her table and paying her children’s school fees. She is enjoying her retirement by just doing farming as a hobby today. The author met her by surprise in 2002 in her garden. The success stories show that the cycle is breakable, but it can also be continuous. No country is doomed to remain poor if knowledge and information are exchanged productively between active individuals. The three examples above argue that direct start-up with visible agreements, trainings, and follow-ups can bring the change fast even without fund contributions. Informal agreements made through casual meetings are dangerous. That kind of charity most of the time has no deadlines; poor Africans eat today and tomorrow have nothing and have a dress today and next month have nothing. Do not give a stone when one needs a loaf of bread; as Christian, you give what one really needs. Listening to those who are in need first is better. Anonymous charity foundations are doing the right things for the poor people. A charity that goes anonymous is mostly owned by empathic, successful people. This kind of charity supports and understands the problem in the areas they direct the aid to; they understand the culture and do it sustainably without harm. They do it without publicity that comes with the media and entertaining businesses. They are involved themselves, listening to the ones in need directly and making a visible change without displaying (helpless and voiceless) photos of “those little ones.” Direct knowledge exchange is relevant with other churches; this will improve the church workers’ incomes, better than relying on aid alone. Establishing new partnerships with different institutions will give hope to the church,

and a new creative approach will do a positive change. If ELCIN church follows where the world is heading, the church will continue to be a success story in the history of Namibian churches as it is today. If ELCIN continues to depend on aid support, the generation that has been active in volunteering to Owambo charity is not going to last forever, and the

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future Finn generations have no knowledge about northern Namibia, ELCIN and FELM histories. For global economic development reasons, and while people are getting more involved with their own environments development, this research wonders how FELM aid cooperation and the aid of the Finnish-Namibian society will function for the next two decades and improve the ELCIN salaries and others.

Good friends are forever

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(This is what Africa needs, a lift up. The girl in the photo thinks she is

strong, but the truth is that the hands carrying her are warm, protective, and trustable that she won't fall down.)

The young non-Christian Finns most of the time stop Namibians from curtseying (bending their knees) and from bowing heads for them because they think it is not good for Owambo people to lower themselves. Today Namibian themselves are changing that too, but it will require much time. Western people who travel to Namibia for their own reasons show a different face by integrating with the Namibian people. “Imagine a man who is older than my grandfather calling me ‘sir,” one respondent said in Namibia.

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ee

10. FELM WITHDRAWAL FROM NAMIBIA AND THE MISSIONARIES TODAY

HIS MISSION ENDED at the moment when Namibians needed the mission work most. Namibians who came back from exile needed the mission workers to help them to reunite with their families. At that period, medical care, social work, and psychosocial help between the two groups of those who had been in the country and of those who returned from exile were needed. This was a difficult time encountered by the Namibians who came back from the war, because of new strategies that they have to go through to be able to cope with new situations and for their families to welcome them back home without problems. The missionaries are still missed very much in Namibia, and the mission withdrawal kept the missionaries and Namibian veterans from enjoying the advantages of the free country, where they can do shopping in the same shops, eat in the same restaurants, share hotels—new things that were not possible in the apartheid period. The Finnish godchildren, namesakes, friends, old colleagues, students, and old neighbors are missing their Finnish loved ones and are always willing to give a letter to take to Finland when one is travelling there. The Namibians have little knowledge about what happened to the missionaries after the missionaries returned to Finland. Namibians who can afford a ticket have been visiting Finland to see their old friends, and Finns who can travel visit their friends too. It is easy for Finnish people to go back to Namibia, but it is very difficult and limited for a Namibian to come back to Finland. Today some of the Namibian children who have been living in Finland are invited easily by their Finnish family friends who have not been in Namibia. They are doing business cooperatives to help one another fairly. “Tam with my relatives who knew me as a child and they also have my photos on the wall frames for more than forty years,” one Namibian «86x

said after receiving a warm welcome in Finland from their godparents. The Namibians who live in Finland are asked when visiting Namibia the missionaries’ old friends, even those who had passed away, and the different congregations members from those who have lived in Finland before. In Finland, a Namibian is also asked about Namibians’ unknown friends by the missionaries. The contact between the Namibian people and Finnish missionaries’ former workers is weak. A missionary once said, “We were just told to leave Namibia and I was sad. I would have liked to stay longer after my retirement.” Female missionaries were the majority in Namibia; it is sad that they age on their own. Missionaries could not make their own decisions to set up a family and have children. That has not been accepted in the mission work; they needed permission from their leaders. Today many unmarried missionaries are almost a hundred years old. They have no children and anybody to help them in everyday life in their own houses as they wish. “I blame the war and the mission work for not having my own family and now I have to face this,” one missionary cried. If the FELM decision makers have a chance to offer an old people’s house or a service place for old missionaries, this will avoid old people from suffering alone. This can also help the missionaries to stay together, continue their activities even on their final stages of life. Most of the missionaries gift their heritages to the FELM. Today FELM and ELCIN are talking about development cooperation. The FELM cooperation and the Finnish-Namibian society are both led by former missionaries. Namibians in Finland come together on their own different groups, joint African events, cook Namibian foods, grilling, dance to Namibian music, share productive information, help each other when in need (regardless of

skin color, religion, tribe, and language), visit godparents and missionaries too, and travel to other Scandinavian countries to meet other Namibians without coordination.

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Rev. Niinkoti

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11 APARTHEID THEOLOGY: THE DRAFT THESIS

This is a silent history: — ib Apartheid is born out fear of non-Europeans.

2i Apartheid springs from the idea that the interest of Europeans and

non-Europeans are mutually exclusive. To talk of apartheid is to talk of enforced repatriation. The message (or commandments) of the religion makes its mark,

not only on people’s way of interacting with each other, but also on the municipal and national legislation. . The conflict about the relationship between Christians and pagans had biblical parallels. God’s creation forms a unit and at the same time a rich diversity

about what God’s will is (Tower of Babel).

A chosen people with a task to spread Christianity and civilization among the Africans. The established national church rejects every attempt to break the laws of the government.

But the loyalty is anchored in a theology based on William Greenough Thayer Shedd statements about ruling by dividing.

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10. The church has not found any compelling reason in the Holy Script to object to the principle about the separate development of the races. 11. Hertzog wanted the whites and the blacks to live apart so that

they should not mix together; otherwise, this would lead to

bastardization. 12. The appeal to Galatians 3:28.

13. The National Party and the three Dutch reformed churches have these aims: a.) A Christian national, republican state based on the word of

God, along the clear lines of our people’s history, adapted to modern condition. Not cast in the mold of foreign model. b) The maintenance of the guardianship principle in relation

between white and colored and the rejection of the policy of equality. 14. Verwoerd, “Nor would I do anything in the interest of the Bantu at the expense of the white, because I would not take up a spade to turn the first sod in digging the grave of the white man.”

I came from a land where apartheid is practiced. You cannot be happy living in a country practicing apartheid and racial discrimination. The ideology of apartheid and the way it looks in practice turns out to be a non-Christian doctrine. The Holy Script has been used to try to show how apartheid is a non-Christian doctrine or how apartheid is against Christianity. The people using apartheid are Christians and religious persons, and they also use the Bible to defend this doctrine. These religious people, the whites in South Africa and whites in Namibia, want to discriminate the blacks because the Bible is used for defending racial discrimination that can be called the apartheid theology. I want to study that theology. It is of great importance to have a deep understanding of the relationship between apartheid and the word of God. I hope my research will be useful for my church in opposing apartheid. As a precaution, I have written to Bishop L. Auala to report what my plan is regarding my research. If he will be afraid about me being occupied with the theology of apartheid, then I should also be afraid. The Boers are people you have to be careful with.

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For my research, I need three kinds of literature: Uh Literature about the historical background of apartheid. I need to

tO

know what apartheid is and how it came to existence. Someone says that apartheid was born out of fear, a fear for non-Europeans. This is in line with what Dr. Verwoerd said when he was the minister of Bantu affairs “nor would I do anything in the interest of the Bantu at the expense of the white, because I would not take up a spade to turn the first sod in digging the grave of the white man.” Literature about the theology of apartheid. That means the books where the Boers defend apartheid using the Holy Script. There I shall read how the Boer theologians used the Bible to defend the ideology of apartheid and the use of it. Deuteronomy 32:8 is a passage that, in the opinion of the Boer theologians, shows that apartheid is from God. This passage says, “When the highest handed out inheritance to the people, when he divided the children of the people, then he marked the borders for the different people according to the number of Israel’s children.” The tale of the Tower of Babel is one of the passages used for defending apartheid. Dutch Reformed

Church

(Die Nederduitse

Gereformeerde

Kerk) has

not found any compelling reason in the Holy Script to object to the principle about the separate development of the races. Prime Minister Hertzog said, “The whites and the blacks must live apart, so that they should not mix together. Otherwise this would lead to bastardization.” The National Party and the three reformed churches have a five-point clarification; one of the points is, “The maintenance of the guardianship principle in relations between whites and coloreds and the rejection of the policy of equality.” | need more materials for this theology as this is the central theme in my thesis. Literature helping me to formulate my summary. I have noted that books like Time for Action can help me with this. It is a misunderstanding of the Holy Script if you use it to defend the policy of apartheid. I must find passages in the Bible that reject this ideology, like Galatians 3:28, and many more there, neither male nor female.

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4. For passages in the Bible used for and against apartheid, I need to make a deep biblical and exegetic study. The historical background must be short.

It must not be polemical. The most important is to describe the theology. The arguments of the Reformed churches. The social ethics of the Boer churches. What is the status of the church in Milje? Analysis of their theology. mmenos

Paul’s deacon: ecumenical diaconal State and church Catastrophe The Gospel says go out in the world and serve Change people’s attitude Financing of the deacon

What is biblical ethics? The Bible is not a textbook. In the first century BC, ethics was a political issue. People were waiting for revenge. They were also waiting for judgment. Fanatic Christians did not have political power. In Romans 13, power is considered something given by God. Primitive Christianity thought that Jesus would find a kingdom on earth. Power was in the hands of the strong ones. Your fellow human being is an Israelite during Jewish times. Love meant wise deeds. The heart was

considered to be the center of man while the soul was considered to be Life and Power was considered as mammon. God’s kingdom completes the old one; it does not abolish it. The Gospel of Matthew is embossed by ethics. Matthew used the word “reason” instead of “power.” Ethics is an attitude about fellow human beings. Being complete is the same as being undivided. Heavier commandments revoke lighter commandments. Jesus puts old commandments into a new order. He did not insist on the old commandments. Loving God is the most important requirement in Mathew. Loving your fellow human being is the consequence of loving God. The last Judgment is a question of deeds. Love can be called the attitude of Christ.

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Paul rejected the law. To be a Christian is to walk in the Holy Spirit. Paul writes instructions for the congregations. Jesus is a model character and the self-giving love. Conscience is a channel for Christian ethics. The question about individual ethics, Christ as an example. Minimal intellectual theory. Assurance on the presence of Christ. Author's note: Rey. Niinkoti wrote originally about apartheid theology in the above draft paper, in 1974, in Finland during his studies under the Saint Maria congregation fund and the Turku University Students Federation. The apartheid theology was Niinkoti’s first drafted topic, as it showed in his Swedish notes, but because of fear of scrutinization and injustice, he published “The Matrilineal System in Relationship to Marriage and Family,” in English languages the survey he made among the students at two missionary schools in Namibia. The silent thesis (Apartheid Theology)

notes produced a number of questions between the translator and the author. Knowing many languages is important in many people's lives, even for life security. The English language is the most spoken international language but is also a diplomatic language that if these notes were in English, Rev. Niinkoti will be more in danger or killed. The soldiers took him away from his Engela home (where he worked as an institute principal) violently with a helicopter for questioning and searching the houses and offices in the Institute several times for the SWAPO fighters, but these notes were saved by being in the Swedish language. Swedish language was the language of expression where Rev. Niinkoti was studying and was not understood in Namibia so it served as security not only for himself but also for his family. What caused the Namibian church workers’ kids to suffer most physically, economically, psychologically, psychosocially, and for some, children were forced not to remain in the country (for some to leave first to exile, then to leave again after independence)? “I am not aware of the

suffering which mostly targeted the church workers’ kids only. I can only assume that maybe it is because most pastors were prominent SWAPO advocates,” one of the priests’ children Tutu said. Politics and religion were traditionally the same thing in Namibia. Namibian priests, teachers, and students were not only to spread Christianity and teach but they were also involved in many political issues in different ways. Pastors in Namibia have been involved in politics; many

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of them broke the silence, and many of them did it in fear while hiding silence. Instead of preaching God’s words, they have to prepare their abstracts politically, which was sometimes ironical that the congregation does not even understand. Few missionaries skipped their safari holidays and got involved themselves with Owambo people. The Christians who helped others in exile had to do it during the nights, risked their lives and that of their families. In these communities, people lived in fear and could

hardly trust each other as many were paid to ‘puppet’ others.

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12. AFRICAN CHURCH HISTORY

HIS WAS THE task of the Africans who learnt about how to write the real history of the African church. Many of the historians never managed to write the history of the African church. We didn’t have an African church as such to write about. The African church varies on African soil, and it is an institution within which Christianity is incarnated into the African environment. The churches that had been developed in this way were brought to Africa in their countries. Many of the missionaries preached that a real African church is needed, but the scholars were of the opinion that the churches built by the Christian mission were the genuine African Church. These churches are just imitations of the churches in Europe or America. Many descriptions of the African Church rely on missionary sources. This fact leads to the belief that Europeans were the only active persons when it came to spreading the Gospel in Africa. Spreading the Gospel was just communication of foreign ideas to passive Africans, who were to receive everything regardless of whether they needed it or not. There was no dialogue, no application, and no growth. This is not the truth; the white missionaries had the Africans as helpers, and they were depending on them from the very beginning for functions that the white employees could not perform. There are European church historians who left out the fact that Africans were active in building the church in Africa. These are C. P. Groves, K. S. Latourette, and many more. The way they looked upon the growth and development of the church in Africa was the same as for the mother churches. It was difficult for them to think that the church was an African product. They could not understand Christianity that came from the European culture and was expressed in an African way. Even if they demanded that the African Church had to cease being European or American, they reviewed the church organization, ethos, liturgy, art, and

theological orientation compared to the main churches.

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The dogma of European Christianity prevented the scholars from achieving a true history of the African Church. Many writers only thought that there is a Christian church in Africa but not a Christian church of Africa. The Christian society concentrated on what was part of the white African society. There were religious interactions between institutions and others. Every day there was contact between the members and the outsiders. Christianity is a form of social power in the society, and it is difficult to understand the church without understanding its relationship to the rest of the society. The church and the African society interacted in a way that the church shaped and was shaped by the society in which it was founded. When the culture was changed, the African history became true, and Africa became a place that the world was interested in, since the Africans wanted the church to be led by the Africans. All missions have endorsed the idea that the “young churches” in Africa should be completely controlled by Africans. In some countries, the leadership and wealth were shifted over to national churches. The relationship between the state and the church has society take another form, but as the whites had no political control, white missionaries cannot be accused of secret consensus with the African government against African interests. The center point of relations between church and society is culture. The one who writes the church history of the African Church must also be the writer of the history of the continent. African Church historians must be interested in the whole African past. In order to understand the relationship between the church and the African culture and social anthropology, you have to research items that go back to the beginning of the church on the continent.

(Translated from Swedish)

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13. WHAT IS THE CHURCH?

VETO THE difficult situation in which the northern Namibian church is involved, it is interesting to see what the people think about the identity of the church and what they expect from it when they are suffering. In order to investigate what the people think about the church, I had presented this research to a group of confirmands. It was not easy to get them to understand the purpose of the research. On the other hand, as far as I understand the situation of the respondents, the fear might be the cause of the lack of free participation, so that the respondents could not express themselves openly and freely to what they think of what the church is and what the church must do to serve the people who are suffering from persecution and injustice in Namibia. In spite of all these problems, I got some thoughts concerning the question on what the church is. As far as I deduce from the definitions of what the church is, there are people who think that the word “church” is referring to the building where Christians worship God on Sundays. “The church is a temple of God where all God’s people come together to be blessed by him.” “The church is a building where God’s word is preached.” Some respondents understood the church in terms of community. This community is founded by Christ, all the Christians belong to it, and all believers are in unity. There are pastors in these communities who helped the other believers to grow in faith. Christ is the owner of the church, and all believers are his servants. The believers are praying for one another. One respondent said the church is the fellowship of the Christians, where they are helping each another. According to the answer of one respondent, the church is the community where the word of God is proclaimed. “The church,” said another respondent, “is the evangelism, because the forgiveness of sins is given within it.” One respondent said the church is all the Christians on earth.

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Consequently, another question was presented concerning the crucial

issue when thinking about the church and its talk to serve the people. I got some answers. Some of the answers I got were like; The church is being prevented to express its views about politics. There is conflict between the

church and the state. Many people do not understand the relationship between the church and the state. Actually a Christian is at the same time a

member of the church and a citizen of the state. When a pastor or layman is mentioning any political problems, he is doing it as a member of the church but at the same time as a citizen of the state.

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14. TERTULLIANUS

ERTULLIANUS IS WELL-KNOWN because of his Christian writings and his teachings in congregations. He was born in Carthage around 100 AD and he was not a Christian. He became a Christian when he was an adult. He worked in the court of Rome, but he returned to Carthage to observe and write. His works appeared in AD 195-220. In AD 207, he joined Montanism. Tertullianus is known as a theologian because of that. He was the first to use Latin in theology. He described the importance of trinity teachings and Christology in sins teachings. Tertullianus wrote about things that are connected with the church. He fought against paganism, especially the gods of the gnostics. In his writings, he tried to help and give clear information on how to be in congregation every day. He did not like philosophy; he referred to hilbsbihie as the mother of magics (iipanga). He thought that faith issues cannot be changed by human knowledge. What a man (omuntu) believes cannot be clarified by

his own knowledge; therefore believing is different from human knowledge. Religious belief cannot be compared with human knowledge. This thought of Tertullianus will be understood well in the Augustinian sentence, “I believe though it sounds stupid.” This is clear about how Tertullianus was fighting philosophical knowledge. The philosophers believe in what enhances the mind. Tertullianus wanted to prove that kind of knowledge was not for Christians. On the other hand, Tertullianus supported human knowledge in religious matters but not in a philosophical way. There are some of his writings that were considered as theology by creation. All people who are Christians and people who are not Christians share one thing in common about God. The Holy Spirit in a man makes him/her a Christian by creation even though the said man has not yet found Christian teachings.

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The creation points its neatness and its orders are for God characteristics. This kind of thought is also found in the Christian doctrine that creation teaches us much about God. On the trinity (uukwatatu) writings, Tertullianus used the Logos doctrine as it is found in the belief supporters. In the Christology doctrine, Tertullianus said this: Christ is the word that came from God at the

creation. When God said, “Let the light appear (nakuye uuyelele),” the word appeared. Christ is one with God but different from God his Father. Christ is the messenger (omuhololi) of God because God is invisible. To

differentiate the relationship between God the Son, the Holy Spirit, and God his Father, God the Father is the greatest above the two to explain

how God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are connected; Tertullianus used the word “persona.” They are three personas, but they are not different; they are one substance. This can only be understood like a flare from one ray of light. In his Christology, Tertullianus described Christ with two forms—God form and the person form. These prove that there are two substances in Christ. This thinking can also be taken as God who died and crucified in Jesus Christ. To compare Irenaeus and Tertullianus, at first Tertullianus

proved that Jesus has done a saving and was made human to live a good life. Jesus is to take care of God’s creation and save it. Secondly, Tertullianus looks at Christ as a teacher of God’s new order, which frees a man to work with God's will. By following God’s order, man is brought to salvation and

salvation is growing with God’s orders. God’s self is controlled by human doing. God rewards a man who is doing good things and punishes one who is doing bad things. God has to reward or punish man because if not, there will be no one who is doing good things. God gives man luck as a reward of

his work. Bad doings and also good doings, God gives both differently. These thoughts are fighting the thoughts of Marcion, who taught that God is a God of love and he has nothing to do with human works

and has no will to punish man. Tertullianus wrote about redemption to save man from sins. It is because of redemption that man will be saved from perishing, which saves man from all sins. He also thought that man’s

perishing started already right from birth and it was spread because of the birth continuation. His points became the point of traditional sin

teachings. Because of redemption, man is given power to start a new life. Redemption is the power that is given to man to be able to do good things

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that are acceptable by God. Tertullianus’s writings about sins, redemption, and other doctrines are done for a reason, to argue Marcion’s writings about the God of love. This became the foundation of salvation teachings, more in the Western theology and of the Roman Catholics.

(Translated from Oshiwambo few young males still remember Rev. Niinkoti teachings).

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CETTE

15% PREACH (EUVITHO), FEBRUARY 12, 1984

Matthew 13:24-30

Topic: The Field of the Wheat and the Weeds Theme: God’s Guidance ly The congregation of God is usually mixed up:

a) There are evil Christians—Those who are Christians by names b) There are good Christians—God-believing Christians What should be done with the evil Christians?

a) The evil Christians have to stay with peace in the congregation. b) They do not need to be judged by anyone; let them all be together until the harvest. (1 Cor. 4:5) The guidance of God is seen here:

a) During the Old Testament, evil people were condemned quickly from God’s congregation, but in the New Testament era, God tells them to turn their way of living or repent. (Ezek. 18:23) Today we are living in the era where God removes sins from evil b) people and turns them to good people. c) This time God is waiting for evil people in the congregation to confess their sins and receive forgiveness. d) God’s congregation, today I would like you to note one thing, that God’s guidance will end; it is not forever. e) At this moment, God’s congregation is actively expressing and sharing the words of God, counseling souls, strengthening other Christians’ faith by sharing sacraments; these are the days we are celebrating God’s blessings.

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4, What will happen on the Judgment Day?

a) Bad people will be taken away from God’s believers. b) Lucky people are those who found Christ, were born again, and found the righteousness with God’s redemption. c) The harvest day is the final day; there will not be time to turn back

5. We must believe in Jesus Christ: Let’s believe that his blood will wash away our sins and reunite us with God the Father, our savior. Amen.

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16. BIBLE FELLOWSHIP

Zechariah 7:9-10

Song 23 from ELCIN hymn Song 482 from ELCIN hymn ie The above words are directed to the following helpless people: a) The widow b) The orphan c) The foreigner d) The poor (penniless)

People oppress other people who are helpless. The Bible expresses the situation of the helpless people ‘like this: People do many evil things to the helpless against their will. (Amos 8:4-6)

Poor people are considered helpless; overachieving people use them in whatever way they wish. But the Bible proved that God talks on behalf of the poor people. (Ps. 68:6)

God is considered as the father of the orphan. He supports the widow. (Ps.10:12)

God is asked to assist the poor and protect them. (See verses 14 and 17).

God also blesses poor people (2 Cor. 9:9) and gives them what they need. It is good in worship service to do good to the poor: To do good to the poor and show kindness. (Jer. 22.3, Exod. 22:20-23, Matt. 25:36)

Poor people receive gifts on Thanksgiving Days. (Esther 9:22) Job is praising his righteousness (Job 28:14) with the words in Job 28:12-13, 15-16. «105s

5. To help poor people brought God blessings: What man has been given, to possess it with the poor people. (Deut. 15:4)

6. God himself takes care of the helpless people; this increases faith of the believers.

Translated from Oshiwambo

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17; PREACH (EUVITHO), JANUARY 23, 1977

HE. SUNDAY

(OSOONDAHA)

has the same

meaning

as

in the ELCIN calendar, which says, “Jesus is the owner of the families.” Apostle Paul in these words is discussing with the Christians in the Corinthian congregation. In the congregation, Corinthian people were very proud for the following things in the world’s eye: wisdom, power from having a high position in politics, and thirdly they were proud of their wealth. The congregation had many people who were not wise, powerless, and not wealthy. They were considered as useless, and they were put down by the others. Delight in the lord your God: In these words, Paul is greeting God’s children in the Corinthian congregation. To recognize the Christians’ who deserved to be praised by their thinking in that time from those who were just proud of their education in philosophy (wisdom), strength in politics, and wealth, which in the Corinthian congregation were not many. Many of the believers in the Corinthian congregation were disrespected and considered insane but not because they had mental disorders but because they were not wise enough to understand things that required philosophical brilliance. Others were those who were dependent and lived under the control of others, and others were from low classes. Many of the Corinthian congregation members were considered as useless people. They were not in the congregation because they were not important at all. God invited them to his church just the way they were so that the wiser, powered, and wealthy people will understand that human wisdom has nothing to do with God. “Human wisdom has power only between a man and another man. Therefore between a man and you, there is the Lord.” One thing interesting found in these words, is

that people who were considered coming from low classes and useless, now that they became Christ believers, they were given eternal saving power by «1l07x

God through Jesus Christ. These people are highly honored, and they were not useless people anymore. This came from God’s will and God’s own thought. They themselves have nothing to do with that honor that God had given them. The eternal life that they were given is free from God. They had not worked for it at all. But what does “delight” means? In verse 30, in Christ the Corinth congregation members received righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Apostle Paul wrote these three ideas with God's thought, not with human thought: a) Righteousness—By this word Paul is not thinking of human knowledge; man appeared in righteousness. This is thought of what God has done. This is a proof of God’s will to save man.

b) Holiness—With this word, Paul proved that a man who has been far from God will be connected with God.

c) Redemption—In this word, Paul taught that God himself gave the Holy Spirit to Jesus Christ to be the savior so that we will be free from sins.

It is because of righteousness, holiness, and redemption that man receives the Holy Spirit, which leads to salvation. Our Christianity is also like in the Corinthian congregation members. The Holy Spirit that we receive is a free gift from God. We have a chance to have our entire congregation registered with our names to God. The

names are registered and remembered by God himself, not by any other man. This is from God’s redemption (not any of us will say, as a member of Christ’s congregation, “I want to love God because he did not love me”).

We can only say this, “How much your love is for God, when you love me like this much with satisfaction.” These words are helping us to understand the Holy Spirit to be in Christ’s church. Many members in this congregation were born and raised in our congregation, and they are used to saying, “I am a member of the ELCIN church.” They repeat this many times until it sounds useless. Some members joined the congregation by imitating others to become Christians. Some members joined the church because others are going to church. The other ones do not understand what it means to be a Christian and a member of the church. To be a Christian in the congregation means that a person is raised by faith and the Holy Spirit. A Christian understands God and knows God. God knows the church members well. With God’s love we become Christ’s members and inherit eternal life. (Jer. 9:23-24) “The wiser «108»

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should not boast for their wisdom, the stronger should not boast for their strength, the rich should not boast of their riches, but the one who wants to boast should boast about the knowledge of knowing me that I am the Lord who practices righteousness, holiness and redemption on earth. I am delighted with these boasts. The Lord says” Author’s translated from Oshiwambo.

Children

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18. OBEY THE STATE

AMIBIANS ARE USED to following rules, and that’s why obeying the rules in Namibia is not a new thing. Before the Western colonies arrived in Namibia, the Namibian tribes had always had the chief. The chief's power and rules led the northern Namibians communities. The Owambo chiefs were people who had a heart to lead the tribes in peace and in harmony. The tribes referred to the good chief as the father of the tribe. If the chief is not good to the tribe, he will not be

referred to as the father of the tribe. He will not be loved, and sometimes his tribe will end his life. One example of a harsh king in Owamboland is the king Kamhaku Kahuhwa, who was killed by his own people because of his leadership. There is a song about him that explains how bad his leadership was. Namibia is a humble and peaceful nation. The phrase “obey the state” is not new to the Namibian nations. This brings the Namibian curiosity of how the Bible defines it. At first there must be a clear understanding on how the word “state” means in the Bible in this context. In the New Testament, this word is defined as “power.” This means “obey the leaders” is understood to mean obeying the people who have the power because the state is the power. God gave the state power to do the work. With another thought, the state does its work with force. This has to be elaborated

because Namibians are not a nation who required force. Owambo says, “Where there is peace, there is restlessness.” How does the Bible think about force? God himself gave the state a sword to lead the nation; this sword in the hand of the state cannot be used for the state leaders’ benefit. The government leaders and the state are the servants of the nation and the nation’s good. Everything that has to be done with that sword from God, it must be for the public good and satisfies the nation. It is important to understand why the state must be obeyed. Martin Luther King started with «110+

the commandment, “Love others like you love yourself.” In the state, every man has a right to own life, and all men are equal. With this commandment, every human right must be protected so that everybody can share it. This could only happen if the leaders are real Christians—not all Christians are real Christians. Many Christians have many unlawful agendas. Because of these unlawful agendas, people are not all saved and protected. People are not served like God wants. Then God gave his son authority to protect human authority. The sword was given because of the Christianity’s weakness so that the state can use power and force to punish and destroy those who do not follow the commandment of love. The state was set to secure humans. The state would not have been set if every Christian follows the commandment of love. The Christian are led to obey the state to show love to the whole nation. The state must serve the public as the public requires. A good state will create equal opportunities in its nation and listen to it. The good state will not treat people on how they did not plan to do. The states that do not mind about human skin color are the good ones. All men go to the same heaven; there is not a heaven for different colors people and all men live on the same earth. Evils on earth made God give the authority to lead for a change of all people and give power to the state to destroy those evils. Christians must obey the state equally and follow the commandment of love without harming/hurting. The states that do not follow the commandment of love, make peace, and protect its nation are human states, not God’s states. The Christians decide whether to obey such states who do not love all the people. Apostles in a situation like that made a good decision when they decided to follow God but not the people who did not protect them. The church and the state are related. The church is trying to help people spiritually. Christians must not follow evils in church and outside the church. The state stands for every citizen. The state makes policies and provides security for its nation. In Namibia, the big question mark is on living. The SA government had proof

of bad structures in Namibia. Namibians must prayed to their own God to provide them a good state, not the humanism state and injustice state.

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19. WHAT FAMILY PLANNING MEANS IN YOUR NATION Eee

Guideline:

a) Family size: 1. Small family: 1-2 children 2. Medium family: 3-4 children 3. Large family: 5-6+ children b) Child-rearing decision: 1. A person has to be careful not to reduce the nation.

2. A person has to prepare for child upbringing and support. c) What the Bible says: Genesis 1:27 Genesis 13:16

d) Family plan: 1) Because of healthy conditions 2) Parents decision on family size 3) National plan for population growth

Giving birth is a human responsibility given by God on the day the person was created. “So God created mankind in his own image ..., Male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27). That is what God told Adam and

Eve in the paradise. God told Abraham the following words: “I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring can be counted” (Gen. 13:16).

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During the Old Testament era, offspring were referred to as the gift from God, and a family with many children was referred to as blessed by God. A person without a child was seen as not blessed by God. When human experts did not have enough knowledge in family planning, people were just giving birth in the name of giving birth. The family that gave birth to two got two, the family who gave birth to three got three, and the family that gave birth to ten had ten, and so on. On those days people were not much interested to plan their family; they did not learn much about birth-giving ineffectiveness and the children’s upbringing. They received their children in peace. They also carried their problems in peace the problems like illness, poverty, hunger, and limitations. When the experts found new methods on family planning, family relations started also to improve, and parents started planning their family sizes. The parents took more care of their families and kept them well. There were also new problems found while giving birth like a mother loses a lot of energy when she is delivering a baby. They also found out that parents’ incomes can also be won by their children if they are too many. The other problem was that if parents cannot satisfy their children’s needs, then the children will not receive an better upbringing. Because of one problem or another, it is also possible that a mother can die if she continues giving birth. Therefore, with the above problems, family planning is useful. The family relation experts do measuré the families on the amount of the children. If the family has one to two children, it is considered as a small family. If the family has three to four children, it is considered a medium family, and if the family has five to six or more, the family is considered a big family. On the family built up, the parents agree on the family size they would like to have. That kind of decision is called family planning. When the mother starts to give birth to the children, they pay attention not to pass the amount of the children they had planned, and this is called birth control. This means that parents who planned to have a small family will give birth to one or two children. Parents who planned to have a medium family will give birth to three or four children. The parents who planned to have a big family will give birth to as many children as possible. Family planning has brought many discussions in nations, and it divides people in two groups. One group thinks that it is good to give birth without family planning. Another group thinks it is a good idea to be

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responsible and plan a family before giving birth. Birth control is done by the following methods: A) Medical method

If a woman gets too many children, she gets weak and gets older fast. The womb gets weak and will not be able to carry children, especially the children who come after the others. In some cases family planning specialists can prescribe a birth control method to a mother to avoid problems. B) Parents’ own method

Parents do control children’s birth because of their future plans and for their children’s benefit. The family has to focus on the things that make their family comfortable, to live as a happy family. The children have to be happy because their parents are happy to raise them. The children have to receive educations and good upbringing like their parents have experienced. The children must wear neat clothes like their parents. Children must eat healthy foods like what their parents are eating. The children receive medical treatments like their parents had received. This means that all the children’s benefits depend on their parents’ support. When parents try to save for the future of their children, they give birth to the children that they are able to take care of and live an effective life together. In a civilized world, it is wrong to give birth to children and raise the children in a poor

environment. Theologically it is forbidden to bring the children on earth and have them suffer. Therefore birth control helps humans to give birth to planned children, who can enjoy living without problems. C) Social security (omahupilo)

Asia is the largest country and the most populous continent in the world. Asian women get married at a young age and make many children in their families. When there are many people like that, there is also poverty, including problems with space to live in towns and cities. This has destroyed many people benefits and chances in Asia. The independent governments in Asia are providing training and support on family planning so that people will give birth to the children

that they can take care of. This is because the government cannot support all the people. Asia was an example that explained more the survivor method,

which supports birth control in the world. To answer the topic question, which was, “What does birth control mean in your nation?” Birth control supports human health, national 2114s

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survival, and also children’s well-being. These are the good reasons of practicing it. Birth control for reducing the nation’s population, if not introduced carefully, it is a bad reason to follow birth control. I believe

we will get more information in this family planning debate. I end here. Thank you!

Sharing knowledge in natural pigment development

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20. CHILD UPBRINGING: A SPEECH TO OWAMBO MOTHERS

Te IS VERY important to bring up a child, but it is difficult to do it. These difficulties forced parents to prepare a good path to raise a child. The plan of bringing up a child is to raise the child to develop to a good human adult. Audience, this speech is not from an expert, but it is prepared to make it clear to you what the child-raising conference is all about. A child deserves to have good Parents, involved in the child’s upbringing. The word “parents” begins with a capital letter because it is very important. The early five years of life are most important in human life and in the child’s upbringing. If the child is not attended well during the childhood years, this will bring personal problems to the child in the future, bring problems to the others, and possibly cause him/her to be rejected by others. It is the parents’ own responsibility to contribute, recognizes, and support the needs that are relevant to the child. If there are needs that are not paid attention to, then man faces difficulties. If the needs are fulfilled, the person lives without problems. The three needs of every child are:a) Health:

Protection

from

illness,

hunger,

thirst,

tiredness,

sleeplessness, cold and hot weather. The child must be well supported because of this need. b) Acceptance: Respect, appreciation tells the child he/she is important, accept the child as he/she is, to believe that his/her life is important and must be protected. c) Security and love: The child’s security is important. Parents or guardians must pay attention to the child’s security and suggest trusted groups with the same interests. If security has been lacking «116s

at an early age, the child may finds himself in problems and might ends up making mistakes when trying to protect him. Things that drive a person to misbehave are:— a) Childhood

0-5 years: In this stage, if the child has not been allowed to make mistakes at home, the child will not learn to take risks. Therefore the child must not be encouraged to do perfect all the time the child learn from making mistakes. The home is the first place where the person has to feel secure. A newborn infant must get full attention. The baby must be loved; it must be received with warm hands, kisses, and played with. The caring atmosphere has love, warmth, friendship, peace, and calm; if these fail, a child will be brought up in an environment without security. b) Parents’ relation The parents’ relation influences the growth and education of the

child’s mind. The children’s difficulties are brought by their own parents if they do not relate well. If the parents are in love, respect each other, and do things together, these strengthen and create a

sense of security for the child. If the family has marriage difficulty issues, this weakens the child. c) Parent child relation Love between an adult parent and a child. Parent understanding of a child’s interests, talents, ideas of the child, and parents remain supportive and authoritative to the child. It is important for a parent to assist the child to pursue his/her dreams. d) Maltreatment

When a child is not wanted by his/her own parents, or they just do not love the child, the maltreatment develops.

Discouraging the child Bad punishments, judgments, distractive gossips, being cheated Giving difficult rules oe aoe Rejection

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Comparing with others Nn 6. Proving unwanted Maltreatment causes the child to live in a bad world and the world of hate.

2) Controlled It is not productive for parents to force a child to do what they think is right for the child. Some parents do blame a child with unproductive reasons. These kinds of controls do cause a child to do the following:

1. 2. 3. 4.

Self-blame all the time Awill to annoy parents Avwill for the parents to die Feeling of escape

f) Spoiling Overindulgence can disturb a child not to learn how to decide and do things on his/her own. A child loses hope and changes. The child can fight against that kind of upbringing by doing what the parents do not want. Parents’ plan Parents can give the child works that they did not accomplish. The child may not be talented or interested on those plans, but the parents force the child to do it. This disturbs the child because the child wants to satisfy his/her parents, and this limits the child’s own interest.

The above-mentioned points are the personalities that cause a child to misbehave. Next are the signs of behavioral disorder in a child for the lack of understanding that parents destroy a child with wrong upbringing rules. That's why parents need to know very well how to bring up the child in the right way to be a good human adult. It is difficult to accept signs of behavioral disorder by a child and it can be emotional.

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The following are the signs that may help a parent to notice behavioral disorders: a) Negative self-esteem: This person thinks that he or she is useless

and that he has no courage to help and to help himself. b) Unprotected feeling: The child feels unloved and unneeded by other people. This kind of person becomes isolated because there is no place where this person feels like home and welcome. The person is afraid that all the time there are problems caused by others and blamed for this. c) Hopelessness: The person is not confident and has no motivation

to be involved. He develops shyness and is always isolated. It is difficult to express opinions and is not able to discuss with others. d) Nonauthority: Careless in behavior, is confused, and does not know what he wants. e) Feelings of unadjustment: This person has a problem to come near other people. This person can create others problems easily. f) Immature behavior: Undeveloped and acts like a child all the time.

He is controlled by others and especially by his parents. This person grows a short temper easily when with others. This person does not think for himself and is weak for self-guidance. g) Imbalanced: This person can take many tasks at the same time. Avoid problems with alcohol or with drugs and in most cases they use excuses. h) Brain damage can cause different kinds of behavioral disorders.

This is just individual picture of what can bring a child personal disorders later. A child with a behavioral disorder can be helped by professionals earlier and during their adult stage. The important thing is to love the child. Parents can build a secure life for the child. The child without love will suffer in the future. Children must be brought up with God's words but not with strict rules and untidy so that they grow feeling protected. God will give you knowledge if you obey his words of love and bring up your children in faith.

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21. THOSE LITTLE ONES

N THE WALL of my studying room, there is a hanging picture. In the picture, there is a child and an angel. The little girl is walking on a small wooden bridge with cracks. Under the small bridge, there is a waterfall flowing powerfully. The girl is walking in the dark, and the angel’s hands are stretched over the head of the girl; the girl’s and the angel’s faces show cheerfulness in spite of the dangerous way the little girl is walking on. Many times I like to examine that picture in order to understand what an artist wants has in mind. Jesus teaches in favor of children: a) Achild can enter the kingdom of heaven. -

Jesus teaches with an example of the child who can enter the kingdom of heaven and who can be the greatest in it. To become like children means to obtain the spirit of a child. If one thinks

about the relationship of the child and its parents, the trust in them is always perfect. Inneed the child asks help from the parents trustfully without pondering whether they are able to give it or not. When the child is in danger, he/she runs to the parents, being sure that the danger cannot reach him/her there. Professor Anton Frichsen said, “The child owns what is most important in the world the ability to get along stronger cheerfully and with confidence. It is never pretending to understand and shape life, the only thing it does is to live, to live in alliance with

power in life.” This is a typical spirit that Jesus requires from us so that we can enter the kingdom of heaven. That is not the only

thing that happens by obtaining a child spirit; we become humble, and it is humbleness that is the virtue of those to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 4121s

Christianity is a religion that requires belief from people. Belief is what is told about Christ. Belief is what Christ said. Belief in what Christ did. Believe in Christ as mankind’s savior and finally believe in God the creator of heaven and earth. How difficult it is for the people of our time to believe in God. What is told about God in the Bible is no sense to them because it does not agree with natural law. Through reasoning they try to understand God in order to believe in him, but they get disappointment instead. Many people feel humiliated when being told to believe without understanding what they have to believe in. These people lack the spirit of a child; therefore they are not humble enough to meet Christ in belief. On the other hand, I am not condemning reasoning about Christ or

God, but I am against having reasoning about God or Christ as a STARTING POINT of believing in him. Christ can help anyone who trusts in him enough to believe. What is needed is a radical and complete change in our life so that we give ourselves in belief to Christ. He will do great things through us in this world and lead us to heaven.

b) Jesus defends children. In Jewish religion, the children always had a lower position in society. They did not know the law and could not control their

lives by reasoning. Like women, their number was not needed when they attend meetings. Maltreatment of children is happening in many places. In the beginning of the Christian era, the Egyptian Hilarion wrote to his wife, Alis, to tell her to bring up their child if it is a boy but to let it die if it is a girl. Jesus is against disregard and cruelty to children. He warns his followers to welcome the children and to help them in his name. How are children treated nowadays? There are still cases where children are not treated well. In industrial countries, many children are suffering from lack of human or parent intimacy between the children and their parents. This happened when their parents pay much attention to their activities outside the house. They work hard to get money in order to reach a high standard of living. When they come home, they are tired and spend little time with the children.

Some parents try to satisfy this lack of intimacy by giving the children toys. Beautiful clothes and everything the children want. If the situation is like this between parents and the children, then AINI NIINKOTI

later the children will suffer in their lives. Parents can give materials things to their children, but most important of all is to have their hearts in them. Love between parents and the children ensure the happy life that the children will have in the future, but “to love is to have time.” In nonindustrial countries, where there are no machines, manual power helps the people to progress economically. Married couple wants to have as many children as possible in order to have many workers in the family. The more children one has, the larger the cornfield one can cultivate. In many cases, many parents have children because of their own ambition. This is shown by the proverb, “Children are profitable at the cornfield but bad at the cooking place.” Here the parents want to get from their children but not to give. “This is not happening in the industrial world because the state takes good care of their societies.” Some parents educate their children in a cruel way. Some children suffer from continuous quarrels between their parents. In our time, Jesus’s defense for the children is valid. We have to receive the children in Jesus’s name as they are a gift from God. c) These little ones. The phrase “these little ones” can refer to the children in continuation from what is mentioned above and also refer to normal men and women in the society or among those who believe in God. This means that normal men and women in the society must not be prejudiced by Christian followers, but they have to accept them in Christ’s name. People in low state are everywhere in the world; even in industrialized countries, all people are not equal. Everywhere in the world there are people suffering from poverty, illness, alcoholism, and many other misfortunes that lower people’s

dignity. At the beginning of my life I thought that Europe is a land free from such difficulties, especially poverty. I thought all are beautifully clothed all have good houses, with everything a modern man possesses and enjoys however through the window of my room I saw people throwing in rubbish heaps things that I regarded being still good and needed. I always admired the richness of people in the West and later I got disappointed. In the streets I have met people with dirty and untidy clothes, some of them with wounds, people DIFFERENT WORLDS

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whom nobody wanted to talk to. From my window I saw some people in the same state hunting rubbish heaps to pick something from there. I felt pity for “these little ones” in the European society. This is one type of those little ones, and they are many. Christ is telling you to welcome them in your fellowship and to help them. Among Jesus's followers are also people of lowly states. Jesus warns

his disciples from causing them to be unstable in their faith. The Pharisees disregarded the common people; therefore they were hated. The followers of Christ are not allowed to prevent others to enter the kingdom of heaven by their pride or arrogance. Christians have to avoid putting the weak in faith into temptations. Children are included in this category. They must be helped to grow in faith.

Finally, let's go back to the wall painting of the small girl and the angel as I mentioned at the beginning of the chapter. In that text Christ talks of the angels and little ones. What is an angel? It is the messenger of God, a human protector. Jn the days ofJesus, people believed in angels. People believed that every man has his own angel in heaven. The little ones are most threatened by people despite, the facts that God loves them much. Jesus talks about the angels of those who are little in age, worldly importance, and religious importance in order to show that God knows about their situation and is taking care of them. It is in obedience to God’s will to help the little ones. This is the way to the kingdom of God. Author's note: The conclusion provides improvement of the understanding

of the role of the ELCIN and FELM decision makers’ approaches, to realizing that there are better ways to do things by following the scriptures.

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Abbreviations Evangelical Lutheran Mission Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia Reverend Newly industrialized countries

Finnish Mission Society South Africa

Polyvinyl chloride Gross domestic product Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa Terms

Batik: Aso oke:

Northern Namibia African elegant Ghanaians traditional handmade weave Cloth that a woman wraps around Printed textile Nigerian handwoven fabric

Kimono:

Japanese wear

Owamboriginal:

Everything that originated from northern Namibia Sami way of singing like ligola Expression for happiness like joik Finnish soup Finnish soup

Owambo: Attire: Kente:

Lapa:

Joik:

Ligola: Mykyrokka: Klimppisoppa: Kalakukko:

A meal kind of bread

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BELIEVED IN SANTA CLAUS ini Niinkoti is a Namibian and had lived most of her life in

Finland. The author had turned her family life experiences into book that includes family images. This book tells what makes some Namibians think that Finland is in Heaven and God is in Finland. The book explains how Finnish name became a Namibian name and a

Finnish name became difficult to pronounce in Namibia.

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978-1-4b91-