https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8714-7886
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Abstract
In eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Southern Africa, European colonial and cultural imperialism was met with a variety of responses by the indigenous people. Some overtly and violently resisted, others ‘collaborated’ or sought ‘accommodation’ within the system, while others resorted to hidden forms of resistance. While we know a lot about the overt forms of resistance, we still know little about those who resorted to mimicry and sly civility and those who occupied a ‘third space’ – liminality – as a form of subverting and resisting the colonial onslaught. These strategies are at one in their subversion, mockery, and destabilising effect on the culture and authority of the coloniser. King Moshoeshoe I, the founder of the Basotho nation, used these strategies to write himself and his people into existence in the face of colonial intrusion. This paper, therefore, seeks to demonstrate how mimicry, sly civility and occupying an ‘in-between’ or unhomely position were employed by Moshoeshoe I as strategies to not only make nonsense of alien beliefs and practices, but also preserve their ways of living, worshiping, and knowing, as well as allowing survival from the onslaught of Western theological and cultural domination. Yet, where we can, we also highlight the precarity of some of King Moshoeshoe I’s strategies and decisions.
En Afrique australe des 18e et 19e siècles, l'impérialisme colonial et culturel européen a suscité diverses réactions de lapart des peuples autochtones. Certains ont ouvertement et violemment résisté, d'autres ont « collaboré » ou cherché un « accommodement » au sein du système, tandis que d'autres ont eu recours à des formes cachées de résistance. Bien que nous en sachions beaucoup sur les formes manifestes de résistance, nous en savons encore peu sur ceux qui ont eu recours au mimétisme et à la civilité sournoise et ceux qui ont occupé un « troisième espace » - la liminalité - comme une forme de subversion et de résistance à l'assaut colonial. Ces stratégies ne font qu'un dans leur effet subversionnel, moqueur et déstabilisant sur la culture et l'autorité du colonisateur. Le roi Moshoeshoe I, le fondateur de la nation Basotho, a utilisé ces stratégies pour s'inscrire lui-même et son peuple dans l'existence face à l'intrusion coloniale. Cet article cherche donc à démontrer comment le mimétisme, la civilité sournoise et l'occupation d'un « entre-deux » ou de positions non domestiques ont été employés par Moshoeshoe I comme stratégies non seulement pour rendre absurdes les croyances et les pratiques étrangères, mais aussi pour préserver leurs façons de vivre, d'adorer et de connaître ainsi que pour survivre à l'assaut de la domination théologique et culturelle occidentale. Pourtant, là où nous le pouvons, nous soulignons également la précarité de certaines des stratégies et décisions du roi Moshoeshoe I.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Statement of Ethics
At the time this study was conducted, the authors' institutions did not require ethical approval to be sought for this type of research.
Notes
1 Throughout this article, Moshoeshoe I shall be used as a short form for King Moshoeshoe I.
2 No wonder why Leonard Thompson has a book by the title, Survival in Two Worlds (Citation1975).
3 For a more in depth discussion on the role Mohlomi played in nurturing and grooming Moshoeshoe I into the leader that he became cf. Max du Preez (Citation2011).
4 In Southern African historiography, these upheavals are known as the Mfecane/Lifaqane wars. The word mfecane comes from a Nguni word which means ‘crushing’. It came into use in the 1960s. The Southern Sotho equivalent is lifaqane. The mfecane/lifaqane was a state of continuous wars and disturbances of the early nineteenth century that led to the scattering of people in all directions and to the death of millions of people in Southern, Central and East Africa.
5 We are aware that opinions as to whether Moshoeshoe I desired to be baptised or not differ. Sanders (Citation1975, 270) and Thompson (Citation1975, 318–323) believe that Moshoeshoe I was preparing to be baptised when he died. I contented that this was a display of Moshoeshoe’s ambivalence towards missionary teaching. Having warmed up to certain tenets of Christianity and mimicking them in the process, Moshoeshoe also had to content with his power and authority that were ‘legitimated by Sotho customs’ (Hodgson Citation2003, 218). Occupying the third space of enunciation could have been the best possible way of retaining the trust of the missionaries while also retaining his power and authority, which were dependent on attachment to his culture.
6 The extent of the bitterness and coldness between the missionaries of the two denominations is captured by Ferragne (Citation1978, 66). He writes that in the course of their interactions, Fr. Gerard paid a visit to Moshoeshoe. While there, the Protestant missionaries arrived. Moshoeshoe I asked the Catholic group whether they were afraid that others had come. Fr. Gerard wrote in his diary, ‘Not at all was our reply, we will meet them and greet them, which we did. We exchanged an icy handshake, as cold as it would feel in Siberia’ (Ferragne Citation1978, 66).
7 Sesotho here is understood to represent the traditions, customs, and practices (culture) that are embodied in the chief as the principal guardian and custodian of the said culture. Sesotho is not necessarily used in reference to the language of the Basotho, which it is sometimes used to represent. The authority of the church as an institution is contrasted with the authority of sesotho as an institution. To avoid confusion when used to refer to culture, sesotho will not be capitalised. When used to refer to the language it will be capitalised.
8 Casalis was one of the French Protestant missionaries sent to southern Africa by the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society in 1833. He eventually became one of King Moshoeshoe I’s trusted political advisors.
9 The concept of thingification has been borrowed from Marx’s reification: thingification continuum. For a more comprehensive discussion of these relations, see Tairako (Citation2017, 1–26).
10 Adam Krotz was a Griqua hunter as well as a liberated slave who was inclined to missionary work in Southern Africa. He advised Moshoeshoe about the wisdom of enlisting the services of the missionaries. He further relayed to the London Missionary Society Moshoeshoe I’s desire to have the missionaries come to work with him and his people.
11 King Hintsa of the Xhosa had his head decapitated and Waiyaki wa Hinga of Kenya was buried alive but upside down for resisting British colonisation. In the Carribean, Chief Hatuey was burnt alive for leading a guerrilla war against the Spanish colonists.