Introduction
During the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Prussia conquered large parts of France within a few weeks. This was to lead to the proclamation of the German Empire in January 1871.
In his annual report for donors at the end of 1870, Johann Ludwig Krapf commented as follows on the relationship between Germans and Oromos.
English translation
Krapf, Annual Donor Report 10 (November 21, 1870), p. 5-8
[ Oromo version of the Gospel of Luke ]
Fortunately, the printing of the Gospel of Luke in the Oromo language has just been completed at the press in Chrischona, so that [Johannes] Meyer and Rufo can take with them at least a small portion of the Word of God in printed form. It is of great importance that the Protestant missionaries present themselves immediately with the Word of God. The Catholics do not distribute Bibles, but instead merely build churches and monasteries.
[ Open doors ]
The [Oromos] are very receptive to Christianity and Christian culture, which is why the Catholics have set their sights on this great nation with all their energy. Also, Europeans can live in that country without the danger of disease, as the climate at altitudes of 5-8000 feet above sea level is excellent, and the products of both cool and hot zones can be cultivated.
I have often said that the [Oromo] country is the area that should be colonized by Germany. Should not Germany, which has experienced such a great salvation this year, out of gratitude to the Lord, take care of these important and numerous people and, above all, send them the Gospel, especially since it is to be assumed that they are related to the ancient Germans.
[ The Oromo people as descendants of the Vandals? ]
It is well known that the Vandals, who were a Germanic Gothic tribe, moved to North Africa (from Spain) in 429 A.D. under their king Gaiseric and founded a large empire there with Carthage as their capital. When this empire was destroyed at Bulla [during the Vandalic War in the 6th century], the remnants of the Vandals seem to have fled into the interior of Africa, more in a south-easterly direction. No wonder the [Oromos] still say today that they came across the great sea, and that they point north-west when asked about their origins. There are still some very German words in their language, and even the word “Goths” can still be found, as gota means a “strong hero,” from the verb goda, meaning “to make, to perform.” They call themselves Oromo, meaning “strangers,” or Orma, which translates to “brave men.”
[ Ideas and customs of the Oromo ]
Since the [Oromos] will be mentioned more often in the reports of the [St. Chrischona] Pilgrim Mission, it will be desirable for some readers to learn something about their ideas and customs. First, I would like to provide some examples of their proverbs and chants, which they hold in high regard.
Proverbs
- Namni ho bola lite hadaroma, meaning, “when a person has fallen into the pit, he becomes wise.” They say: harm makes you wise.
- Ilkanin namni hundumtu fira, “With regard to teeth, all humans are related” (i.e., a friendly face is not to be trusted without further ado).
- Ini aka kosi ta, which translates to “he is like dung” (i.e., as good and useful as manure).
Chants
[Note that the German translations are rhymed like the Oromo originals.]
(1) Tschaba ati murte
Naman badschisin;
Liqui ati fudte
Naman basisin.
The wood you cut,
be the burden of your shoulders;
and it is yours to carry off,
what you have borrowed.
(2) Wanin korrisa
Muka kabada
Djarsi rorisa
Durba kadada.
The monkey Wanin clutches
the strong tree with grumbling;
an old old man is still so stupid
that he whines for children.
[Translation uncertain]
(3) Sila simalan yaba
Simali damen cabu;
Si’a gandaran gala
Gandata waren cabu.
In vain I climb up the pipe,
The pipe has no branch;
In vain I return to the city;
It does not feel the glory of war.
(4) Galani na ninde
Giben na gesise;
Ano dufa djenan
Diben na tesise.
The river swallowed me up
and rolled me into the sea;
I was forced home,
when I wanted to visit you
(i.e., an obstacle came in the way when I wanted to visit you).
[ Religious beliefs and practices of the Oromo ]
As for the religious beliefs of the [Oromos], they are not exactly as foolish as the other pagan peoples, but they are misguided enough to keep them in bonds of darkness, so that this nation, endowed with special spiritual gifts, consumes its energies in the service of vanity and serves the creature more than the Creator.
In general, the [Oromos] recognize a higher being as the author of all creation. Still, they also worship many spirits whom they regard as envoys and messengers of God, as well as guardian angels (ayana). They are under the delusion that their god (waka) has a wife, for whom a special festival is celebrated every year, in which only the women take part. Perhaps it is from this idea that the female sex is held in such high esteem by the [Oromos] that women themselves can become queens. Every first day of the week bears the name of this goddess. She is called Gifti, i.e., the mistress, the princess. No wonder the [Oromos] are receptive to the belief in the Catholic Queen of Heaven, Mary, whom they call Marami.
When the [Oromos] get up in the morning, they spit at the rising sun (adu, if the sun means the principle that is hostile due to the heat; biftu, if the sunshine is regarded as the shining, fertilizing, and blessing principle), which they call a goat, and say: korbesa bate, fayatin na oltschi, meaning, “You goat that has come out, give us a good day.” But because they do not know which of the many spirits will protect them throughout the day, they say: “You who has protected us this day, protect us this night too.”
Sacrificial priests (calitscha) and priestesses (caliti), dream interpreters (ayanditscha) and interpreters (ayantu), sorcerers and quacks (djila), who heal the sick through sympathy and other arts; they also have a large number of fat-inspectors (mora ilalitscha), who tell fortunes from the fat of the sacrificial animal. In cases of illness, they turn to one of these people. One of the most distinguished doctors is the calicha, to whom one may not come without rich gifts of incense, coffee, etc.
In addition to the gift, you must hold green grass in one hand, which you must place under the sacred tree in front of your hut and kiss it. However, this may only be done on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. You have to report to a [p. 7] distinguished medicine man, but with an ordinary one, you simply enter, greet him, and tell him your request. When he knows this, he enters a special, sacred chamber where no one is allowed to enter. There, he makes a smoke, which intoxicates him, whereupon he lies down on a wooden bed and begins to whistle and scream terribly. During the noise in the chamber, the people standing outside have to pray continuously. Finally, a voice, which is said to be that of a spirit, calls out, telling the people to obey the orders of his servant, the calitscha. He then comes out and tells the questioner how to treat the sick person or prescribes medicine. The people give their gifts, kiss the holy tree again, and go home.
In addition to the gift, other medicine men are only allowed to bring a handful of grass, but the purpose of the visit is not told to him, only to his wife. He then simply smells the grass and uses it to divine the treatment that the sick person needs. A third type of doctor uses the intestines of a sheep or a goat to divine whether someone will die in war or not. A fourth kind goes to small hills or mountains and from there prophesies war and other great plagues that will come upon the land.
When someone dies, they are washed clean and wrapped in a new cloth. A cow is slaughtered on the grave and immediately eaten by the relatives and those present. A hut is then built on the grave, in which a month-long watch is kept so that the ravenous hyenas do not remove the body. At the same time, the deceased is mourned day and night, partly by weeping and wailing, partly by smoking, drinking coffee, and eating meat. After the mourning period, the hut is demolished, and a tree is planted in its place. If it grows, the [Oromos] believe that the deceased has been saved; if it withers, however, the person is in the ekera or hell, where the [Oromos] believe the wicked are banished. Every year, the deceased’s brother or next of kin is required to offer beer and coffee at the grave. By pouring the offering onto the grave, he says: “My brother, you who are down there, nourish yourself with it and do me much good on earth.” Kings are buried on high mountains, and grand festivities are held at their funerals. Large fires are lit, sacrifices are slaughtered, honey wine is poured on the grave, and people come in masses from all sides.
In spring, when the trees sprout and the flowers open, the men sacrifice a white goat under their sacred tree so that they may have a good year. Thus, the [Oromos] still have many customs and ceremonies, especially at weddings and at their circumcision festival, from which their pagan nature, alienated from the living God, is revealed.
[ Vision and mission ]
How important and glorious it would be if this country were to be occupied by a series of mission stations. The Lord has mercifully spared Germany from plunder and destruction this year and has given it what appears to be a great future. How could our fatherland best prove its gratitude to the Lord than by becoming a missionary nation, as it was a Reformation nation in its time, while Catholicism has produced nothing but revolutionary nations?
- Krapf is probably thinking primarily of the French Revolution (1789-99)
Germany, with the greater [p. 8] power conferred upon her, has now also greater tasks to fulfill in the world, not for destruction or merely for proud display, but to promote and protect works of peace, above all the mission among the heathen, whereby she will also receive a great blessing.
But if it falls into pride, unbelief, frivolity, security and pure materialism, it will become ripe for anti-christianity, which will develop rapidly anyway when peace is restored, while at the same time significant changes will take place in the Orient, especially in Türkiye, which will also pave the way for the antichrist, who will probably be the president of a united republic of nations with the false prophet at his side. Now the earthly paradise that the Cainites already sought will be established. But Abel, i.e., everything that adheres to the Bible and professes a supernatural religion, must be destroyed so that we can be calm and undisturbed, and no more reactions can arise.
[ A call to action in the face of the apocalyptic end times ]
Dear friends! We are fast approaching this great hour when the power of darkness will crucify Christ in his members; therefore let us strive and pray to the Lord that we may remain vigilant, that we may have the spiritual oil in our lamps of faith and love and keep ourselves unspotted from the world and its nature; that we may also do the Lord’s work with zeal and still save at home and outside in the world of the Gentiles what can be saved. May our body, soul, and spirit, together with our earthly possessions, be sanctified to the Lord. All bodily and spiritual gifts are seeds for eternity and are not given to us so that we have them only for ourselves and for our glory or self-indulgence, but so that we may scatter them again, so that God’s kingdom may be built. All that God gives may flow back to Him, otherwise it is all avarice and spoils in avarice and becomes judgment, while if used correctly according to God’s will it becomes a seed of life for life and has great consequences, even beyond that time when God will create a new heaven and a new earth.
Be commended to God, dear friends. May He reward you for your love and work in the Pilgrim Missionary Work, and inspire in you the joyful and firm resolve to do more and more, inspired by His love, for His honor, and for the salvation of lost souls in all lands.
Korntal, November 21, 1870
Your feeble fellow pilgrim, Dr. L. Krapf
German original
Jahresbericht für die Theilnehmer an der Zwei-Centimes-Collekte zum Besten der Pilger-Mission auf St. Chrischona bei Basel [Annual report for the participants in the two-centime collection for the benefit of the Pilgrims Mission on St. Chrischona near Basel] 10 (1870):
Cross-references
For more information on the Oromos, Krapf referred to his German publication Reisen in Ostafrika, vol. 1 (Korntal/Stuttgart 1858), p. 92-107. Following is the somewhat abridged English translation as published in Travels, Researches … (London 1860):
The conversion of Pauline Fatme was very important for the beginning of the European Protestant mission among the Oromos. Pauline’s biography was published in several languages, including English (in 1857).