[work in progress]
Life and ministry
According to Krapf, “Berkie” (Qubee: Barkii) came from “Kum Dengai” [= Demqa in the Salaale area?] in the territory of the Galaan Oromo group. He moved to Ankober, the capital of Shewa, and was employed as a servant in the Krapf household since October 1839 at the latest.
- A relative of Barkii became Krapf’s student in November 1840. The father of this person was a petty Governor of the Galaan Oromo and showed interest in being baptised by Krapf [view letter]
Barkii also served Krapf as a resource person for Oromo language and culture. Last but not least he assisted Krapf in the translation of biblical texts (see the bibliography with links).
- During his stay in Shewa, Krapf also drafted (most likely again with the help of Barkii) translations of the Gospels of Mark and Luke, the remaining chapters of the Gospel of John, the Acts of the Apostles, Romans and Genesis. Most of these Bible texts were “sent home” (to Isenberg in London?) by the end of 1841 [view report]
The source for Barkii’s life and ministry is the part of Isenberg and Krapf’s Journal that describes the period from about October 1839 to August 1840.
- Unfortunately, the printed diary did not cover September 1840 to March 1842.
The passages that are important for Barkii’s life and ministry have been highlighted in the publication:
Krapf does not seem to have met Barkii on his later trips to Ethiopia, and Barkii is not mentioned by other authors. Therefore, we must rely on Krapf’s early statements to learn more about his life and work.
Excerpts on Barkii and Bible translation
1839
[p. 86] 30 July 1839: Serta Wolde, who was commissioned by King Sahle Sellasie to take care of the foreigners, had repeatedly ordered Isenberg and Krapf’s servant not to let anyone in when he heard that they had admitted another boy to the school.
- The servant in question could be a different person than Barkii
[p. 151-52] 27 Oct. 1839: “My [Oromo] servant, Berkie, from Kum Dengai [= Demqa in Salale Zone ?], in the tribe of Gelan [Qubee: Galaan], gave me the following information about his people.”
Barkii provided information about “priests” and “sorcerers” / relationship with Christian governors / marriages / funerals / life after death / penalties / leopards
[p. 158] 30 Oct. 1839: “I began to-day to study the [Oromo] language with the assistance of my [Oromo] servant.”
[p. 160] 6 Nov. 1839: Isenberg departed from Ankober.
[p. 161-62] 16 Nov. 1839: Krapf studied the Oromo language. […]
Krapf’s Oromo servant [i.e., Barkii] told him that the Oromo people hold the Lord’s Day in high honor. They do not work on that day and get up before dawn to pray to Waqe [God]. They call Sunday Sanbata gadda, the Major Sabbath, in contrast to [Saturday,] Sanbata tena, the Minor Sabbath.
[p. 173] 5 Dec. 1839: Krapf concluded the first chapter of the Gospel of John in his Oromo translation.
[p. 175] 14 Dec. 1839: That morning, he thought a lot about the Oromos and his outreach to them, as the indifference of the Abyssinian Christians depressed him greatly. He plucked up the courage to learn the Oromo language.
Krapf also thought about the principles that had to be observed when translating. He had previously used the Amharic characters. Since he believed that the Oromo language was not a Semitic language, that the Amharic script had some shortcomings and that the Word of God could spread from the Oromos to Abyssinia, he thought it better to use the Latin script and to write the words that do not occur in the Oromo language with letters from the Abyssinian script. After all, the inhabitants of both countries are connected. However, he knew that the Abyssinian priests would be against him if he used a foreign script, as they only wanted to write the Ethiopian script.
[p. 178] 21 Dec. 1839: His Oromo servant [i.e., Barkii] confirmed the information Krapf received from two Gurage priests, according to which the Oromo pay great respect to the serpents as the ancestors of mankind.
1840
[p. 186] 15 Jan. 1840: Krapf set about learning the Oromo language. His Oromo [i.e., Barkii] told him about two Oromo deities: Oglia and Atete. They make sacrifices to Atete, a female deity, in September and to Oglia, a male deity, in January and April.
[p. 187] 22 Jan. 1840: This morning the king set out from Angollala on a march against the Oromo groups south of Shewa, and Krapf had to accompany him in the company of Mr Rochet [i.e. Charles-Xavier Rochet d’Héricourt].
[p. 192] Krapf mentions holy “ahorn [mapple]-trees”, under which the Oromo offer sacrifices to Oglia and Ateete.
[p. 193] 23 Jan. 1840: Krapf went with Mr Rochet and his Oromo boy [i.e., Barkii] to a nearby Oromo village. Krapf greeted the inhabitants in their language and then told them through his Oromo that he had heard in his homeland that the Oromos, just like his own ancestors in the past, did not know the way to their temporal and eternal well-being. Waqe (God) had shown us the right way in his book, which is called the Gospel. It is God’s will that all people hear, know and accept this book so that they can be blessed in God’s presence after this life.
Krapf let them know [through Barkii] that he had decided to learn the Oromo language properly and then come to them to instruct their boys and everyone who wanted to know the right path. Several people said: “It is good. Just come and we will give you sheep and whatever else you need.” Krapf loved the Oromos and was convinced that a missionary who lives among them will see more fruit of his labor than among the Abyssinians.
[p. 196-97] 24 Jan. 1840: Krapf saw an Oromo grave for the first time. A beautiful aloe plant was growing on it. His Oromo boy [i.e., Barkii] told him “that the [Oromos] are of opinion, that as soon as the above mentioned plant grows on the grave of a person, he begins to get righteousness before the Wake, and goes to him. However, the [Oromos] have an idea of retribution, as they [p. 197] believe that a good man goes to the Wake, and a bad one to the fire of the Setanat or geni.”
[p. 198] 26 Jan. 1840: The military expedition entered the territory of “Mulofalada”, governed by the Queen Tsamieh, who had her residence at “Wollenso”. Krapf thought this territory might be a good place to establish a mission among the Oromos.
[p. 201-202] 28 Jan. 1840: Krapf took the Oromo translation of the Gospel of John. [p. 202] “I had the pleasure to observe that they understood it pretty well. I added some explanations to what I read, and they expressed to me their great satisfaction.”
[p. 208ff] 31 Jan. 1840: Krapf met with Tsahara, son of Queen Tsamieh, and explained to him why he had come to the country of the Oromos.
[p. 210] “He said silently to my servant [i.e., Barkii], “This is a man of the Wake (God).” […] “I have spoken much with Alaca Serat about the [Oromo] people, and given him some proofs of my translation, and he seems not to be against the instruction of that nation”
[p. 221f] 8 Febr. 1840: Last day of the expedition and return to Angollala.
[p. 223-25] Krapf’s conclusions (i.a., place where a mission might to the Oromos be established)
[p. 231-32] 6 April 1840: Krapf spoke with the King about his intention to teach the Oromos. [232] He showed the King the 1st chapter of the Gospel of John which he had translated into Oromo and written in “Amharic Characters”. The King was much pleased and said: “You are a strong people.”
“My servants [i.a. Barkii] to-day took the usual medicine against the tape-worm, which they repeat every two or three months.” (5 different remedies mentioned)
[p. 241f] 13 May 1840: [p. 242] Krapf travelled with his servants [i.a. Barkii] “through the [Oromo] Tribes of Abedtshoo and Gelan, in order to learn the correctness of the intelligence which I had received about the recent conversion of the [Oromo] people in Shoa Meda.”
[p. 242] 14 May 1840: “Having marched the whole day through a plain land, in the evening we rested at Kum Dengai, the village in which Berkie, who assists me in my [Oromo] translations, was born. His people received me very well.”
[p. 242-43] 15 May 1840: “This morning we left Kum Dengai, accompanied by about two hundred persons. Several petty Governors of the [Oromo] villages begged me to baptize them. [p. 243] I said I could not do so until they had first been instructed in the doctrines of the Christian religion, and sincerely believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
[p. 247] 28 May 1840: Krapf, his servant [i.e., Barkii] and an Armenian attend the funeral of the Muslim servant of another foreigner in Ankober.
[p. 248-49] 2 June 1840: Krapf began Bible history with his boys [might not have included Barkii]. [p. 249] “In the morning and evening I have service with the boys. Besides which I intend to preach a sermon every Lord’s day to the people of my house, but without excluding others who may wish to hear me.”
[p. 253] 29 June 1840: “In translating Matt. xix [19], my [Oromo] [i.e. Barkii] informed me, that the [Oromos] took the wife of a deceased brother.”
[p. 256] 11 August 1840: “My [Oromo] made me acquainted with some other customs of his people. Every eight years, he said, they appointed a Heiu, or general Governor, a man who has the reputation of being a warrior and public speaker, who passes through the whole tribe, hearing the complaints of the oppressed, and deciding in cases of justice. […]”
[No journal printed for the period
from September 1840 until March 1842]
1842
[p. 264-65] 10 March 1842: “My departure from Ankober was appointed to take place to-day. Having last night prepared the members of my establishment for my approaching departure, by addressing them from the words of our Saviour in [p. 265] John xiv [14] […] I set out from Ankober about four o’clock in the morning”