English translation
In the original, where [Oromo] is shown in brackets, there is an exonym that is no longer used today. Some paragraph breaks have been added in the translation.
(1) Johann Jacob Greiner‘s Travel Report, December 1872 to January 1874
Extract from Mittheilungen aus der Correspondenz der
Pilger-Mission [St. Chrischona], 1874, p. 21‒24:
[…] The journey from Alexandria could be divided into three parts, insofar as it can be divided according to its character:
1) From Alexandria via Cairo, Suez, and Massowa [Massawa] to Tajurah [Tadjoura];
2) From Tajurah via Aussa and the Hauash [Awash River] to Dane;
3) From Dane via the royal camp in Woro-Ilu [Warra Illuu] to Ankober. […]
- According to the St. Chrishona overview of guests, Greiner had left the institution together with Jaagan, Gäbrä Maryam, and Johannes Mayer on December 10, 1872.
[p. 24] […] From here [Dane], now that we were in Menelek’s country, I sent a letter to Brother Mayer in Ankober to inform the king of our arrival. […]
On November 27 [1873], we finally set off. First, we had to climb the mountain fortress of Erige to say goodbye to the Prince at the same time […]. That same day, we reached the vast valley of the Borkonna River and spent the night in the village of Dschaffat. […]
On Tuesday, December 2, we had to cross the narrow valley of the Weahit River again. When it is full, the Weahit is extremely wild here, and its waters roll roaring down into the depths. From here, we climbed steeply all afternoon, getting cooler and cooler. At last, we reached the bare high plateau and saw the royal camp of Woro-Ilu on a mountain ledge to the south. Now we took off our traveling clothes and put on European ones, so I had a hard time keeping them at a distance in these unfamiliar clothes.
An envoy from the king had already been sent to meet us in the morning to check on our condition and now had to report our arrival to the king. We were assigned a house on the southeastern side of the camp. The audience with the king took place the following day. During our stay in the royal camp, the king [Menelik II] seemed to allow us to set up a station among the [Oromo]. Still, in the end, he declared that since he was about to set out on a campaign and had summoned all the officials of those countries, it was not advisable for foreigners to resettle, but better to wait until his people had returned there. In the last days of December, we bade farewell to the king, who now went out to chastise the rebel Imam Ahmed (whom he had freed in his time and appointed prince of Wollo). We left Woro-Ilu on the last day of 1873. […]
We did not reach Ankober until January 12, 1874. The royal residence, with its elevated position on a high plateau that stretches out on all sides, makes a somewhat favorable impression, while the other houses stand in an endless jumble on this barren plateau.
So, dear friends and brothers, you have accompanied me as far as Ankober. Next time, God willing, a little more. Pray to the Lord that He may especially bless the many [Amharic and Oromo?] Gospels and books of the other holy scriptures on this poor, blinded people, and also help us daily in our profession and our task according to His will for the glorification of His name and to gather His elect from among the Gentiles.
(2) Letter from Ankober, October 16, 1874
Extract from Mittheilungen aus der
Correspondenz, 1875, p. 8:
As a messenger is to leave for Adoa [Adwa] on Monday, I must write a few lines, although I do not know much to report, as we do not know whether you have received the last large letter and report.
I would very much like to be able to report to you on the station to be tackled. However, my ardent wish has not yet been realized, at least not in the main.
Even though I am already partially engaged in my work, namely concerning the school and learning the [Oromo] language, it is only possible to work and operate successfully among the people in their own country. By no means, however, will the small and humble initial work that I started in the name of the Lord and under His blessing and have continued until now be in vain.
At least my [Oromo] night and day pupils have made such progress that they provide me with tangible proof of the [Oromos’] excellent ability to learn. Therefore, I feel encouraged to be diligent in teaching and instruction in the future.
It’s a mistake that you can’t have children in this country who only go to school to learn and spend the rest of their time at home. Due to the country’s circumstances, you are forced to take the children into the house, feed and clothe them, and thus keep them under supervision. Of course, the great advantage of this is that one can then influence the children all the better, and they can be introduced to the spirit of true Christianity and familiarized with it all the sooner. However, setting up a larger school in this way will be impossible. […]
Externally, things are going well. With the few resources we still have at our disposal, we have gotten by with the help of the royal food contributions. But if I have to rely more on myself in [Oromoland] in the future, I don’t know how I will fare. Perhaps, if King Menelek grants us proper land there, I might be able to grow food myself if it is really necessary, but I could also use my time for more meaningful work.
(3) Letter from Ankober, November 29, 1874
Extract from Mittheilungen aus der
Correspondenz, 1875, p. 10:
It hurt my soul last week when I saw a transport of at least 1.000 [Oromo] slaves drifting past our house, and I could do nothing for these poor creatures. If I had the means, I would have bought off some of these unfortunate creatures and increased the number of my pupils. The price is not so high here; a child aged 7-12 years costs 10-15 thalers.
It has become quite clear to me in the time I have been here, with the great isolation and the ever-increasing xenophobia in the districts to be traveled and the ever-increasing uncertainty of the route as a result, that our task here may be less to found many stations and then to draw new personnel from home again and again. Instead, it can be enough for us if we once have a post as a sphere of activity. A kind of institution must be established at this post, where children and even quite grown-ups can be taken in and taught. […]
I didn’t let myself be misled right from the start when people thought that only natives could teach Amharic reading. I just started to spell with my [Oromo] like an assistant teacher. Lo and behold, they can now read and are also starting to write. […]
(4) Letter from Ankober, March 19, 1875
Extract from Mittheilungen aus der
Correspondenz, 1875, p. 19‒20:
I already informed you that I started a small school a year ago in the name of the Lord. It was intended as a small preparatory work for the work I would soon take up in [Oromoland]. I thought it was a good idea to turn down requests to take in Abyssinian Christian children, as our stay here was only for an indefinite period of time. If I had wanted to do something worthwhile in a short time, I would have had to devote all my energy to school work. This, however, enabled me, in addition to vigorously continuing the night and day school, to achieve the goal I set for myself a year ago in studying the [Oromo] language.
So, on the one hand, I have no regrets that our stay here dragged on somewhat against my will. The [Oromo] I have been teaching here so far will all go with me [to the new place], God willing. My prior knowledge of the language will enable me to organize things more favorably for my work when I move to the first station than would otherwise have been the case.
My pupils now hear new things every day; the existing [i.e., already translated] passages of Scripture are read and discussed in the evenings; I ask and am asked questions. As difficult as it may be for the [Oromo] to sit quietly, reread, and remember what is said and read, considerable progress has been made.
When I recently came to speak of the passage, “The heart of this people is hardened, and their ears are dull of hearing” [Matthew 13:15a], and they were surprised at the rebelliousness of the Jewish people in general, I had to tell them that the behavior of all [p. 20] other peoples toward the gospel is still the same today, namely, that it is rejected by many as foolish and accepted with joy by only a few. However, they thought that the [Oromo] would make an exception and would gladly be converted if they had teachers.
- In early 1875, only Barkii and Krapf’s 1841 edition of the Oromo Gospel of Matthew might have been available to Greiner as a print.
May the Lord grant us grace so we can finally gain a firm foothold among this promising [Oromo] people and bring capable brothers to our mother house [St. Chrischona] who are willing to dedicate themselves to the Lord alone with great devotion, but who are, above all, skilled at teaching. I could already use a brother who could support me in the school work.
In my last letter, I briefly informed you that King Menelek had now ordered his [Oromo] official to select a suitable location for us. This is certainly well-intentioned on the part of the king, and any grateful person would dismiss all further requests at such an offer.
However, I have this weakness of wanting to add a good thing to a good thing whenever possible. Setting up a mission station at random, at a place I don’t know, didn’t make sense to me and still doesn’t. Brother Johannes Mayer also agreed with me and was happy to write to the king through Alaga Saneb [Aläqa Zännäb] today to ask him to allow us both to go on a project trip to the district in question. I hope to God that this wish will be granted.
In the hope that we will soon see the land and people to whom we will soon migrate, according to the Lord’s will, and then be able to report on them, I close for now and commend our work to the intercession of all God’s dear children near and far. King John intended to wage war on Shoa [Shewa]. The King of Heaven prevented him, and he had to withdraw without accomplishing his goal. Thank the Lord with us!
(5) Letter from Ankober, June 8, 1875
Extracts from Mittheilungen aus der
Correspondenz, 1875, p. 21‒22:
As for establishing a site as an actual mission station, we still need patience. King Menelik is currently on a campaign in the land of the [Oromo] to pronounce judgment on the people, who have already been severely battered by these rods of chastisement. May the Lord grant that our initial small work of faith may serve to bring the blessing of the gospel to this (in terms of their educational capacity) promising people, that they may rise from their sins and inherit the blessing of the gospel, temporally and eternally.
My work has remained pretty much the same over the past quarter and includes schoolwork, language studies, and written assignments.
Understandably, even with a few students, all my energy should be dedicated to the school. With the orderly course of study that I have adopted from the beginning and followed so far, this school activity has developed satisfactorily, given the significance that it should have as a missionary activity.
a) It will enable me, as soon as I am among the [Oromo] people themselves, to undertake evangelistic tours with those pupils who show themselves suitable for this, because then the importance of the book from which I teach will be pointed out. A desire to possess it and to be able to read it will be awakened.
b) We are educating people who will gradually be trained to take over the school themselves finally, and we can then devote ourselves to another branch of missionary work.
c) The fact that my pupils are protégés whom I have around me and under my supervision all day long enables me to give them a fruitful idea of Christian conduct and life.
The lessons in the past quarter were thus organized as follows: As I have already mentioned, I always adhere to the principle of limiting my work to our actual missionary activity [among the Oromo]. Until now, I have not admitted any Abyssinians to the school.
As I have mentioned in previous reports, I teach German firstly because of Brother Mayer‘s children and secondly to encourage the most gifted students to awaken their linguistic talent so that they become able to produce skilled work in their native language [i.e., to enable them to translate from German to Oromo].
Recently, I have been able to begin teaching religion and biblical history in [Oromo]. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught in German, [Oromo], and Amharic. Singing is taught only in German and [Oromo]. Due to lack of time, I have been unable to add other useful subjects.
In the last quarter, two new pupils have joined my existing pupils in the following way: I bought the first one about four weeks ago in Abd-errossul [Abdul Räsul] to add another pupil to my small number of pupils. The second was sent by a prince and a great man of the king with the written remark: Instruct me fully this boy.
After much consideration, every time I saw a convoy of enslaved people passing by the upper northern side of our farm, among whom were so many boys who seemed to be excellently suited for school, the desire grew ever stronger, even in my economically disadvantaged situation, to make the sacrifice of 15-20 thalers and buy a boy’s freedom.
On a beautiful day in May, after carefully considering this matter, I set out for the slave-trading town of Abd-errossul. […] [p. 22] […] Here, the victims of this terrible trade are brought together from all countries of the East African mountainous region, mainly from the [Oromo]. […]
Because I had in mind to buy a boy, my companion took me to the house of his friend, a merchant who had already made trading trips to Berbera, Leila, and Datschura [Tadjoura], as well as to Massoa [Massawa], and was therefore able to tell me sufficiently on what extensive scale this trade is carried on today. As a European, I could not get involved with these enslavers. I left the transaction to our landlord, who promised to find a suitable boy, agree on the price, and present him to me.
He brought me two boys who did not appear suitable, but told me about a third who had called after him as he walked by, “Buy me!” “This one is it,” I said, “bring this one to me!” He was brought and offered to me for 15 thalers. Joseph Gallu [Qubee: Yooseef Gaaluu], who is making the best progress in his studies among my pupils, was with me and begged me to buy this boy. Turning to the boy, he put his arm around him and asked, “Shall we buy you, oh my brother, or should we leave it at that?” “Buy me,” he answered timidly. “Do not be afraid,” Gallu continued, “this gentleman is a good man and will let you learn the gospel with us.” After the deal concluded, I set out on my way back that same day and arrived safely back in Ankober as the evening sun set. My feet were sore, and my good mounted animal had to carry me the whole way up the difficult path.
The boy is doing well, is quick and teachable, and I hope to God that with Christian discipline, he will grow up to be a person in whom God and people can take pleasure.
In addition to my pupils and students, I also deal with written work in the [Oromo] language. With the help of my protégés, I try to penetrate the spirit of the language in order to master it.
Alaga Sanab [Aläqa Zännäb], who understands little [Oromo], sent me the [translation of the Old Testament] books Joshua, Judges, and Ruth so that I could make a fair copy.
I’m pleased that some of my students have pretty clear pronunciation and are already quite capable of helping me a little. However, this work is progressing slowly, as so much other work has been pressed on. I’m also working on translating the Calw Bible Stories because schoolwork urgently requires having such a guide to biblical history at hand. By adding the Amharic alphabet, as required in [Oromo], and some syllable combinations, I intend to complete this helpful booklet and create a reader.
All of our [Oromo] pupils, whom I teach to read, also attend my evening devotions. Teaching them biblical truths requires patience and wisdom. To get them used to paying attention, I often have to stop while reading and ask what the book has stated or pause while explaining and ask what I have said.
I now hold morning and evening devotions and try to give them an insight into biblical truths. On Sundays, I hold a kind of church service in the morning. As a lover of song, I unfortunately have little poetic spirit, but I have tried to put the 23rd Psalm into rhyme, which is now sung on Sundays to the [German] tune of “I sing to you with heart and mouth.”
6. Letter from Ankober, June 1876
Extract of Jahresberichte der Pilger-Mission auf St. Chrischona (28) 1876: 39‒40:
[p. 39] With God’s help and grace, I have come so far in the study of the [Oromo] language that I can move freely in the cause of the kingdom of God among the [Oromo] in the future. Teaching children and adults, preaching the message of salvation as an evangelist, and translation work will no longer pose me much difficulty in terms of language. I have the prospect of help.
The [Oromo] young man Joseph Galu [Yooseef Gaaluu] put a few lines on my desk a few days ago, asking me to intercede for him with his former master, Alaqa Saneb [Aläqa Zännäb]; it was his only wish, now that he had become acquainted with the Gospel, to go to his people and teach them. Of course, that was exactly what Aläqa Zännäb wanted. I took the dear boy with me to Litsche [Ləčče; Liche] and spoke to Aläqa Zännäb about him, who was delighted with the boy’s decision, which came entirely of his own accord, and expressed the thought to another friend: “This boy of mine will become the instrument that thousands of the [Oromo] people will be converted to Jesus.” He asked me most urgently to do my utmost for the boy’s more complete education and handed him over to me again.
On the way back to Ankober, I talked to him about his people and country. “Alas, my lord,” sighed the boy, “the Oromo [= original wording] perish for the sake of their sin.” Formerly, when speaking of the helpless condition of his people, how they are sold and trampled underfoot by the Abyssinian war [p. 40] campaigns, he and others used to say to me: “Oh, the Oromo should only get shotguns too, then they would be the stronger part.” That is how the Gospel creates a different attitude. Oh, may there soon be many who no longer complain about Abyssinian bondage, but receive freedom from sin and death from the Lord in truth and say: “Leave me alone; you have become too powerful for me.”
Your fear that our mission will take on a “political” character is not entirely unfounded. However, it is entirely up to us to determine the shape and form we want to give our work from the start. If we appear in the place given to us by King Menelek with worldly power and dignity, all influence for the Gospel will be lost. But if we come to serve instead of being served and honored, our word will also find good ground, and the land that the king has given us can never be an obstacle.
For the time being, I will continue my small part with confidence. The hour of departure for the long-awaited field of work will not fail to arrive. According to the latest news (at least new to us) in the missionary journals, things are moving briskly in the west of this great, desolate part of the world [Africa]. Should we stay behind in the East? Should we still hesitate and ask whether it is God’s will? We have Jesus’ command, dear friends, dear brothers. Do we want to doubt whether it also applies to the [Oromo]?
German source
Scanned from copies in the archives at St. Chrischona
References
Father Ferdinand [de Hyères]. “Journal” [of Father Ferdinand] 1866‒78 [= I]; 1879‒82 [= II]. Manuscript. Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa. [IES MS 342 (MS 334 to 344 not available in the reading room at hmml.org [since written in Indo-European language?])]
Pankhurst, Richard. History of Ethiopian Towns; vol. 2: From the Mid-nineteenth Century to 1935. Äthiopistische Forschungen 17. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1985. [On Liche, see p. 156‒58, 163‒65]
Cross-references
» Greiner, Letters to Swedish Evangelical Mission (1880, 1886)
» Greiner, Autobiographical notes (1887)