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of the people the African evangelists introduced to them on their periodic
visits 310 . As a result, the Wesleyans and Lutherans led to the creation of
religious identities separate and different from each other, even if they were
both Chriastian.
Despite differences, rivalries and break-ups between the Wesleyans and the
Lutherans, the approaching war of 1894 in the Blouberg-Makgabeng area,
helped to unite the two denominations. During the hostilities between the
Boers and the Bahananwa, the Black Wesleyans found themselves without
a White spokesperson, which would negotiate with the attacking Boers on
their behalf. The Wesleyans therefore turned to missionary Christoph
Sonntag, a Lutheran, who was not only physically present in the theatre of
war, but also actively involved in “mediating” between the warring parties.
As a result, in the build up to the 1894 war, Maloba and Modiba, who had
broken away from the Lutherans, came back to the Berlin mission’s fold,
seeking protection of Sonntag against the warring parties 311 . War,
diplomacy and politics became so salient at that time and resulted in
religious identities taking a back seat as people united in the face of
common threat.
When the first missionary set foot in the Makgabeng area in the second half
of the 19 th century, the only known form of religion was African ancestral
310 Ibid, p. 40.
311 KAZB: BMG, SA: Das Eindringen der , pp. 2 – 3.
176