South and South Central Africa / A record of fifteen years' missionary labors among primitive peoples

by Hannah Frances Davidson

"If they do not do it properly," she replied, "I send them back to repeat it until it suits me."

This is the keynote of the situation. In addition to showing them how to perform a task, one must insist on their doing it just as they have been told. If they become careless or learn with difficulty, one should not become discouraged and go and finish the work—for this frequently is easier than to teach the natives—but should insist on their repeating the task until it is properly done. Some natives with very little instruction become experts at certain kinds of work. And sometimes even raw ones readily adapt themselves to housework with very little training. A lady in Bulawayo, who was a very careful housekeeper, had a native boy as servant, who was giving excellent satisfaction, yet she supposed that on her own exertions depended the work of keeping the rooms in order. Finally he concluded to leave her service, and she said she did not know until after he left how much work he had really done. He had been in the habit, early in the morning, before his master and mistress arose, of going over the house, cleaning and polishing mirrors and furniture.

Macha Mission Church and Boys' House Built by Mr. Myron Taylor.

Another native, whose name has been frequently mentioned in these pages, was exceedingly cleanly and careful in his personal appearance. His clothes were always well washed and mended, and he went on the principle that a stitch in time saves nine. He learned to do things by seeing others perform them and was able to do them well. Although coming from a raw heathen home he was called an exceptional native, even by those who had had long experience with civilized natives.

As a rule those who are careful and painstaking are generally slow, and many who are quick often do not perform their work properly. Some never seem to respond to careful teaching, and with others, many both trying and ludicrous blunders often occur. In the early days of Macha Mission we had a half-grown boy, by the name of Hamambile, helping in the kitchen. He was a good boy and seemed to be performing his work properly. One day several of the boys, who had been working on the farm and had soiled their hands, came into the kitchen. Hamambile was washing the dishes, so he generously stepped aside and invited the boys to wash their hands in the water where the dishes were being washed, and this they were vigorously doing when Sister Engle stepped in at the door. Nor did her presence in the least abash the boys, for they saw no impropriety in the act.

Again, during the last year some new girls had joined the mission family and were being initiated into the mysteries of housekeeping. They seemed to learn well and were doing their work properly, but one day Sister Doner, on looking out of the window, was shocked to see a girl out in the yard with the dishpan, washing her feet. She too failed to see anything out of place in her act when she was first spoken to. She said she was just making use of some of the nice soapsuds on the water, for she thought it was too nice to throw away. It can easily be seen that one needs to be continually watchful while teaching some of them. On the other hand, there is no doubt that the raw native considers the white man or woman very cranky and extreme when he insists on cleanliness and order about the work.

On account of the great need it was necessary to build both a church and boys' house in the one dry season. There was erected a substantial church, 42 x 21 feet, with a wide veranda in front, which was also partly walled up, and a boys' house, 55 x 16 feet, of five rooms, with a veranda all along the front. These were both of burnt brick with thatched roofs. All the hardwood timber for rafters and plates, and also the large amount of thatching grass, were procured by the boys the same season, beginning in March and April. The bricks too were made and both buildings were under cover by the 1st of December. This was all done with the aid of the school boys under the supervision of Brother Taylor, assisted by David. Part of the time the work was in progress during school hours, the boys who assisted at such times receiving full wages, as they are all eager to earn a little extra money. During the month of brickmaking, the boys donated their time as an offering to the Church.

After they had made the bricks, Brother Taylor started on the foundation of the church, and then trained several of the Batonga boys in bricklaying. Together with himself and David they laid the walls of the church, all the larger boys having a share in some part of the work. The walls of the building are high, are fourteen inches in thickness and well laid. When this was completed Brother Taylor left David, assisted by some of the boys, to put on the thatched roof, which too is an excellent piece of work, while he turned his attention to the boys' house. Nearly all the brick work of this building was done by the boys under his supervision, and at the same time he was directing some in sawing by hand and making door and window frames out of the native hardwood timber. Later some of the boys were instructed in thatching it.

When this boys' house, fifty-five feet long, was completed in January, the only thing in its construction that had been bought for the purpose was the zinc under the walls to exclude the ants. The doors were made of the boards of packing cases in which a wagon had been sent from America; the thatching was tied on with strips of animal hides procured from the natives. The bedsteads were made of poles procured in the forests and reeds from the river. These were tied with bark string, and over the top were placed animal hides also bought from the natives. Later the rooms were whitewashed and they, with the long veranda in front, made an excellent and clean-looking home for the boys. The church had imported doors and windows, as well as zinc and thatching twine. Otherwise the material was almost native.