Flags, funerals and fanfares: Herero and missionary contestations of the acceptable, 1900-1940

Abstract

The article describes the contested relationship that existed between Herero people and German missionaries in Namibia between 1900 and 1940. It is argued that Herero converted to mission Christianity with specific aims and intentions, which were not necessarily the same as those envisaged or intended by German missionaries. The article highlights leisure time, commemorative activities and funerals, and indicates that Herero acquired specific forms of music, dress, comportment, and behaviour from German missionaries. Once these specific forms were acquired they were often transformed and brought to the fore in ways that were considered unacceptable by the missionaries and settler society in general. The article shows that apart from race there was little difference in the intentions and activities of Herero and German settlers, both of whom sought to influence the same colonial administration. In conclusion it is argued that, in the last resort, what was of primary importance in the colonial setting of Namibia between 1900 and 1940 was the issue of race.