A Pilgrimage with the nuns

Today I went on a pilgrimage with the nuns…. 

I could just leave it with that sentence and let you all jump to your own conclusions… but because I’m nice I will explain!

A group of about 12 trainee Sisters (novices) from the Benedictine order came to visit Nyangao this weekend to go on a pilgrimage.  The sisters were from as far afield as Namibia and India, and were joined by sister Regina, a German sister who lives in the mission at Ndanda.  The pilgrimage was about an hour’s walk in to the bush near Nyangao, with the nuns singing sweet sounding hymns in Kiswahili, and the mzungus, (Clare and I) tagging along behind.   

The nuns.. .pilgrimizing

 The destination was to the to the site of the death of Sister Walburga, a German missionary nun who founded a health clinic in Nyangao in the late 19^th century, and was killed near Nyangao in 1905. 

The shrine to Sister Walburga

  At the site is a small shrine where the sisters had a service led by the Father of Nyangao’s mission and the story of Sister Walburga was told…. It went a little something like this….. (I’ve added a few factual bit’s to make it a little less biased, but kept the important - but maybe not quite true- bits as well!)

 

Father Michael... doing his thang!

Sister Regina from Ndanda

 

























Sister Walburga and other missionaries from the German Benedictine congregation came to Tanganyika (as it was called before it became Tanzania) in the late 19^th century, and set up a small mission in the village of Nyangao.  In 1905, the indegenous tribes started to rebel against German colonial occupation in a bloody war known as the maji-maji rebellion.  German outposts and garrisons were attacked throughout the country by tribes armed only with spear or knife fighting against German troops armed with machine guns and many thousands of locals were killed, as were those Germans that were caught. 
 News of the rebellion spread to the mission at Nyangao and the Sisters and Fathers there fled the village.  They were helped by sympathetic locals who hid them in their houses a few miles away from the village deep in the bush, but they were found by the rebels within days.  The Fathers tried to fight the rebels using their guns (yep.. Fathers with guns) and held them back for a while until one of the Father’s was wounded in the shoulder and was unable to fight.  The group realised they were defeated and so the Father stood and made the sign of the cross over the group to protect them.  Upon seeing this rebels thought this was some kind of witchcraft and stopped attacking, giving the Germans time to flee to safety across the bush toward the port of Lindi.  However, during their flight they realised that Sister Walburga had been left behind but they were unable to go back for her.   A messenger boy later told them that he had seen sister Walburga lying wounded, and she had been given water and ugali by some local people, but then later her body could not be found.  A rebel leader had claimed the blood on his knife was that of the Sister that he had killed twice over.

And so there now stands a memorial to sister Walburga on the site where she fell, and it is visited regularly by the sisters from Nyangao, and the current Hospital at Nyangao is named St Walburg’s in her honour.

Once the service was over, the rain started – surely a sign ? (of something) – so we all got a little soggy on the walk back, but once it stopped we soon dried out in the 30+ degree heat!   

What do you call a wet nun?...... (answers on a postcard)

Spot the nun

On the walk back through the reservoir in Nyangao some of the nuns paused for a photoshoot! 

Photo shoot with the nuns!

How many nuns can you fit on a bridge?

Once back at the convent in Nyangao, we were led to the grave of another famous sister – sister Bernadine, who was instrumental in founding the current mission and hospital in Nyangao.  After all of this walking the nuns had worked up an appetite, so we were treated to a great lunch in the convent (those nuns know how to eat!).  

The grave of Sister Bernadine

So it was a nice day, and it was good to learn the history of the mission in Nyangao and meet the nuns properly – but I don’t think I’ll convert just yet!!