Kolobeng Mission
Kolobeng Mission | |
---|---|
Location | Kumakwane, Kweneng, Botswana |
Coordinates | 24°39′17″S 25°39′56″E / 24.65470°S 25.66550°E |
Elevation | 1,030 metres (3,380 ft) |
Built | 1847 |
Built for | David Livingstone |
Governing body | Department of National Museum and Monuments |
Indeed, not ten inches of water fell during these two years, and the Kolobeng ran dry; so many fish were killed that the
hyaenasfrom the whole country round collected to the feast, and were unable to finish the putrid masses. A large old alligator, which had never been known to commit any depredations, was found left high and dry in the mud among the victims.
David Livingstone on the drought between 1848–1849
Kolobeng Mission (also known as the Livingstone Memorial), built in 1847, the third and final mission of
History
Before
At their new location, the Bakwena built a dam and canal from the river as well as a school while Livingstone built Sechele's house, taught the clan how to irrigate fields, and practised Western medicine. Livingstone stated that their attempt at living at Kolobeng "succeeded admirably".[1] However, after the first year, a drought caused the river to run dry. Livingstone reported that the temperature of the soil in the sun 3 inches (7.6 cm) below the surface at noon reached 134 °F (57 °C).[1] Livingstone's fourth child, Elizabeth, died two months after being born during the drought and was buried at Kolobeng.[2] During the drought, the Bakwena, seeing that other tribes in the area were receiving rain, asked Livingstone to produce rain, but, while he sympathized, he tried to stop their rainmaking rituals and requested that they focus more on praying to God. Sechele's uncle had this to say about Livingstone and his response:
We like you as well as if you had been born among us; you are the only white man we can become familiar with (thoaela); but we wish you to give up that everlasting preaching and praying; we can not become familiar with that at all. You see we never get rain, while those tribes who never pray as we do obtain abundance.[1]
In 1852, the
Present-day
The site sat unattended until 1935 when a doctor from the Scottish Livingstone Hospital in Molepolole built a fence around the mission. Today, only the remnants of the irrigation system and the foundations of the buildings remain.[4]
Legacy
In honour of the 200th anniversary of David Livingstone's birth, a play, I Knew A Man Called Livingstone, was created. The play is told through the eyes of the African people whom he met during his travels, and part of the play focuses on his time spent at Kolobeng.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Livingstone, David (1857). "Missionary travels and researches in South Africa". Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- ^ Heidenreich, Marion. "Kolobeng" (in German). Stadthagen, Germany: Nyala Tours. Archived from the original on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- ^ Legodimo, Chippa (22 June 2012). "How the Battle of Dimawe shaped Botswana". Arts & Culture. Mmegi. Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- ^ "Livingstone Memorial – Kolobeng Botswana, Livingstone Safari Botswana". Botswana Travel Guide. Archived from the original on 22 November 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- ^ McVicar, Ewan. "I Knew A Man Called Livingstone: Education resource pack" (PDF). Toto Tales. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
External links
- Official government page on Kolobeng
- Other historical sites in Botswana
- Official page of I Knew A Man Called Livingstone
- Kolobeng Find a Grave page for the Livingstone cemetery at Kolobeng.
- Elizabeth Pyne Livingstone grave site Find a Grave memorial page for infant Elizabeth, which includes a photograph of the grave site.