Yalemba
Encyclopedia
Yalemba was a mission of the Baptist Missionary Society
(BMS) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
, lying on the north bank of the Congo River
between Basoko
and Yangambi
.
The mission was established a short distance downstream from Yabibi Rive. The early missionaries planted coconut palms which were still standing in 2009.
The BMS was at first granted the right to run the mission only during the life of George Grenfell
, the BMS leader in the Congo. The government gave this right as a personal favour to Grenfell due to his friendly attitude to the authorities and the assistance that he had given them in the past.
Eventually the BMS was able to obtain a 20-year lease in October 1905.
The missionaries found they had to deal with local people who spoke eight or nine different languages.
Grenfell died in 1906, and the BMS started to allow their missionaries to be openly critical of the Belgian regime.
In 1908 the missionary W.R. Kirby was stationed at Yalemba. In January of that year he made a tour of the country on the other bank of the river, and a summary of his findings was published in the London Times on 18 June 1908.
He made serious accusations that the head of the post at Lingomo
was forcing the local people to harvest rubber, burning the villages of those who resisted, destroying their crops of bananas and manioc and taking men, women and children into captivity.
John F. Carrington
was Director of the Teachers' College in Yalemba, known as the Grenfell Institute.
He supervised translation of the New Testament into the Lokele language
.
Carrington was the first European to learn drum language, used by the local Kele people
to quickly communicate over long distances.
At Yalemba he found two drum languages, corresponding to the Heso language of the Basoko
people and the Topoke language of the Baonga villagers on the other side of the Congo.
However, when he arrived in 1951 he found that out of 200 boys at the school only 20 could drum.
Carrington said "The boys now say, 'We want to read and write,' and laugh at the drum".
|publisher=United Bible Societies |year=1956}}
|url=http://www.panoramio.com/photo/12956521
|title=yabibi-rive - 2008
|work=Panoramia
|accessdate=2011-10-27}}
Baptist Missionary Society
rightBMS World Mission is a Christian missionary society founded by Baptists from England in 1792. It was originally called the Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Amongst the Heathen, but for most of its life was known as the Baptist Missionary Society...
(BMS) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, lying on the north bank of the Congo River
Congo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
between Basoko
Basoko
Basoko is a town on the Congo River in Tshopo District of northern Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 47,970....
and Yangambi
Yangambi
Yangambi is a city in the Isangi territory of Tshopo District, Democratic Republic of the Congo.-Location:Yangambi is on the north side of the Congo River and lies on the R408 road which connects it to Kisangani to the east....
.
The mission was established a short distance downstream from Yabibi Rive. The early missionaries planted coconut palms which were still standing in 2009.
The BMS was at first granted the right to run the mission only during the life of George Grenfell
George Grenfell
George Grenfell was an Cornish missionary and explorer.-Early years:...
, the BMS leader in the Congo. The government gave this right as a personal favour to Grenfell due to his friendly attitude to the authorities and the assistance that he had given them in the past.
Eventually the BMS was able to obtain a 20-year lease in October 1905.
The missionaries found they had to deal with local people who spoke eight or nine different languages.
Grenfell died in 1906, and the BMS started to allow their missionaries to be openly critical of the Belgian regime.
In 1908 the missionary W.R. Kirby was stationed at Yalemba. In January of that year he made a tour of the country on the other bank of the river, and a summary of his findings was published in the London Times on 18 June 1908.
He made serious accusations that the head of the post at Lingomo
Lingomo
Lingomo is a community in the Équateur province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.In 1908 the missionary W.R. Kirby was stationed at Yalemba...
was forcing the local people to harvest rubber, burning the villages of those who resisted, destroying their crops of bananas and manioc and taking men, women and children into captivity.
John F. Carrington
John F. Carrington
John F. Carrington was an English missionary who spent large part of his life in the Belgian Congo.He became fluent in the Kele language and in the related drum language, and wrote a book on the subject.-Career:...
was Director of the Teachers' College in Yalemba, known as the Grenfell Institute.
He supervised translation of the New Testament into the Lokele language
Lokele language
The Kele language, or Lokele, is a Bantu language spoken in Zaire and the Congo by the Kele people.-External links:* http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/mar/10/how-we-know/?pagination=false...
.
Carrington was the first European to learn drum language, used by the local Kele people
Kele people (Congo)
The Kele people are a Bantu ethnic group of about 160,000 people, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.They mainly live on the south bank of the Congo River between Kisangani and Isangi....
to quickly communicate over long distances.
At Yalemba he found two drum languages, corresponding to the Heso language of the Basoko
Basoko
Basoko is a town on the Congo River in Tshopo District of northern Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 47,970....
people and the Topoke language of the Baonga villagers on the other side of the Congo.
However, when he arrived in 1951 he found that out of 200 boys at the school only 20 could drum.
Carrington said "The boys now say, 'We want to read and write,' and laugh at the drum".
Sources
|title=The Bible translator, Volumes 7-8|publisher=United Bible Societies |year=1956}}
|url=http://www.panoramio.com/photo/12956521
|title=yabibi-rive - 2008
|work=Panoramia
|accessdate=2011-10-27}}