The land beyond the mists
Historiography Historiography is an essential starting point for understanding “how it is we understand understandings not our own,” as Geertz phrases it. The first section of this collection consists of two essays; one examines the intellectual foundations of…
The Court’s Growing Alliance with the Germans
The visit of the Duke of Mecklenburg symbolized rising German interest in Rwanda and marked a turning point in relations between the Court and the Germans. Since the establishment of the protectorate, the German presence had been limited in extent…
The Missionaries as Mediators to Court Confrontation
As Musinga consolidated his hold on power, the threatened notables sought to protect themselves by improving their own relations with the missionaries. The Fathers suddenly found notables were willing to provide men and materials for their construction projects, and were…
The Court, the Germans, and the Missionaries
Faced with further trouble with the Fathers in the next months, Musinga again made use of Kandt and von Grawert. When the Fathers wanted to cut timber in the forest of Budaha, north of Nyantango, Musinga replied that this was…
Musinga and the White Fathers
This attempt at better relations foundered on the excessive demands and tactless behavior of the Fathers. Musinga feared the power they came to exercise through the massive wood-transporting operation, andhe resented their abuse of his notables who did not comply…
Musinga and His Mother
Although the shadow of Rwabugiri must have loomed over Musinga's early years, his development was far more closely guided by Kanjogera. She had had only one other child, a son who had died in infancy. If the relationship between them…
Musinga’s Coming of Age 1905-1913
Ahaje ubwanwa haba hanze ubwana. When Kabare won supreme influence at Court in late 1904, Musinga was a young man of twenty or twenty-one. He had already taken several wives and fathered two or three children. According to Rwandan practice,…
The White Fathers’ Local Relationships
The Fathers preferred to settle all but the most serious disputes with minimal involvement by the German authorities. Most of their stations were too distant from German posts ta be able to count on prompt aid, but even at Mibirizi…
The Dilemma of Proselytization
During their first years in Rwanda, the Fathers asked a different kind of service from the people in their vicinity, one that previous authorities had never demanded. Anxious to win converts, the missionaries and their catechists visited the neighboring bills…
The Dilemma of Proselytization
During their first years in Rwanda, the Fathers asked a different kind of service from the people in their vicinity, one that previous authorities had never demanded. Anxious to win converts, the missionaries and their catechists visited the neighboring bills…