lo4.
during th is decade; r a th e r, e f f o r ts were quickened and the m iesion- a rie o took an even more a c tiv e p a rt In the ro le of ad v iso r and
d ire c to r of o iv iliz a tio n among th e ir people. More and more the r e a liz a tio n th a t th e ir te r r ito r y was changing from an e s s e n tia lly is o la te d , Native land to one in which the A frican was a segment in a Europeanized c iv iliz a tio n led the m issio m rio s to tr y to adapt
th e ir chargee fo r l i f e in th is new environm ent, and even in some in stan ces to look w ith favour on th is new em igration of Europeans a s a means to c i v i l i z i n g th e N a tiv e s .
"of course th is movement (B ritis h in to Backhouee) w ill have a g re a t c iv ilis in g e f f e c t on the N atives, and so we w ill' tr y to make the b est of i t . " !
In the beginning, Hughes was a g a in st the n e g o tia tio n s between Ohlef W aterboer and the new s e t t l e r s , b o i t may be assumed th a t, as he
s a y s , under th e c o n d itio n s th o e m ig ran t fa rm e rs would be o f h e lp in the e f f o r ts toward c iv iliz a tio n . The m issio n aries were try in g to make the b a st of the s itu a tio n , and were re a c tin g to e x te rn a l pressu res and c o n d itio n s, fo r the now fa c to r was th ere to s ta y . The influ en ce of the Europeans, then, may be considered as another
fa c to r in the alre ad y e s ta b lish e d p o licy o f considering a t le a s t a pseudo-European c iv iliz a tio n as p a rt o f the C h ristia n meseage.
The a ttitu d e o f d isapproval held toward th e N ative customs and mode o f l i f e , as in form er p erio d s, seems to be held in p ro p o rtio n to the e x te n t to which tho to ta l Native l i f e had boon a lte re d by ^-Hughes to M ullens, l6 December 106?.
105,
missionary e ffo rt» and o th e r presG uree. In o reasin g ly fewer s ta te ment© of d isg u st and anim osity toward the oustomo a re eean In th is
e e c tio n , and in th e ir place are seen accounts vfhioh show a c le a re r understanding o f these ways o f l i f e from what might be c a lle d an an th ro p o lo g ical p o in t of view. Undoubtedly much change wae due to
lessened preecure a ris in g from antagoniera between C h ristia n and heathen p ra c tic e s , and a lso to new m losionarles who held d if fe re n t views from th e ir o ld er colleagues and accepted th e new s itu a tio n no th e s ta tu s quo ra th e r than as a d iffe re n t co n d itio n from the p a s t.
O rltloism o f rem aining N ative p ra c tic e s was lim ited la rg e ly to m arriage, which was polygamous in o p p o sitio n to the m issionary in sista n c e on monogamy as the C h ristia n form o f m arriage, a mis understanding o f the C urrent p ra c tic e o f "b rid e p ric e " , which wae f a r from tho concept held by the m issio n arie s, tho inoreaolng drink problem, which was not e s s e n tia lly an o rig in a l Native custom but introduced by Europeans, the scanty Native d re ss, which was in many ways more s u ita b le than V icto rian olothini^ introduced by the m ission a r ie s , and the I n itia to r y r i t e s o f the tr ib e s which had presented
strong problems from the very f i r s t .
An example o f the m issionary
a ttitu d e toward m arriage forme may be seen c le a rly in a statem ent by Hoe»!"The la tltu d ln a r ia n view o f some reverend Doctors we u tte r ly d isc a rd , fo r of a l l the e v ils o f heathenism , bigamy and polygamy a re some o f tho most try in g , and hazardous to n ativ e O h rlstia n s, and are the true