Johann Ludwig Krapf
Johann Ludwig Krapf | |
|---|---|
| File:Krapf.jpeg | |
| Born | 11 January 1810 |
| Died | 26 November 1881 |
| Occupation | Christian Missionary |
Johann Ludwig Krapf (1810 – 1881) was a German missionary in East Africa, as well as an explorer, linguist, and traveler. Krapf played an important role in exploring East Africa with Johannes Rebmann. They were the first Europeans to see Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro. Krapf also played a key role in exploring the East African coastline.
Early life
Krapf was born into a Lutheran family of farmers in southwest Germany. From his school days onward he developed his gift for languages. He initially studied Latin, Greek, French and Italian More languages were to follow throughout his life. After finishing school he joined the Basel Mission Seminary at age 17 but discontinued his studies as he had doubts about his missionary vocation. He read theology at Tübingen University and graduated in 1834. While working as an assistant village pastor, he met a Basel missionary who encouraged him to resume his missionary vocation.
Ethiopia
In 1836 he was invited by the Anglican Church Missionary Society (CMS) to join their work in Ethiopia. Basel Mission seconded him to the Anglicans and from 1837-1842 he worked in this ancient Christian kingdom. He prepared himself by learning ancient Ge'ez and the Amharic language of the highlands. Krapf's pietist background did not help him much to understand and appreciate traditional Ethiopian Christianity, especially their emphasis on saints, liturgy and use of Ge'ez, a language no longer spoken.
Thus he centered his interest on the Oromo, in his time known as the Galla, people of southern Ethiopia who then were largely traditional believers. He learned their language and started translating parts of the New Testament into it. While 1842 saw Krapf receive a doctorate from Tübingen University for his research into the Ethiopian languages, it also witnessed the expulsion of all Western missionaries from Ethiopia. This ended his work there.
Kenya
Krapf spent some time in Alexandria, Egypt, where he married. From there he set off for East Africa hoping to reach the Oromo from what is now the Kenyan coast. Most of the East African coastline was then part of the Zanzibar sultanate. Sultan Sayyid Said gave him a permit to start a missionary station at the coastal city of Mombasa. Krapf started again by learning the languages of the local Mijikenda people and also Swahili which is an East African lingua franca language of communication.
Soon after arrival in Mombasa his wife and young daughter died from malaria. Krapf moved to the higher grounds of Rabai on the coastal hills and started his station New Rabai. Here he wrote the first dictionary and grammar of the Swahili language. He also started studying other African languages, drafting dictionaries and translating sections of the Bible.
In 1846 he was joined by Johannes Rebmann, another southwest German Lutheran who was in the service of the CMS. Krapf and Rebmann set off to explore the interior of East Africa and they were the first Europeans to see the snowcapped mountains of Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. They sent reports back about them back to Europe were ridiculed by the experts back home.
Krapf's deteriorating health forced him to return to Germany in 1853. He brought with him several old Swahili manuscripts, including copies of the Book of the Battle of Tambuka, the earliest Swahili manuscript. In Korntal he continued his linguistic studies and advisory work for the Christian missions. [1]
Krapf's legacy
- The Anglican Church of Kenya counts him as its founding father.
- Linguists have been drawing on his works as he did research languages as diverse as Ge'ez, Amharic, Oromo, Swahili, Kamba, Mijikenda and Massai.
- His house at New Rabai is now part of Museums of Kenya. The building of the German Embassy at Nairobi is called "Ludwig-Krapf-House".
- In his home town of Tübingen-Derendingen there is an elementary school that bears his name.
References
- ^ Contexts of African Literature, Albert S Gérard, page 90.
Sources and further reading
- Eber, Jochen: Johann Ludwig Krapf: ein schwäbischer Pionier in Ostafrika. 2006
- Gütl, Clemens. Johann Ludwig Krapf - "Do' Missionar vo' Deradenga" zwischen pietistischem Ideal und afrikanischer Realität (Beiträge zur Missionswissenschaft und interkulturellen Theologie, Bd. 17). Hamburg 2001.
- Gütl, Clemens. Johann Ludwig Krapf's "Memoir on the East African Slave Trade" - Ein unveröffentlichtes Dokument aus dem Jahr 1853. Mit Einleitung herausgegeben von Clemens Gütl (Beiträge zur Afrikanistik, Bd. 73), Wien 2002.