The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1931, Page 67

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER

67

endless. In most instances the case goes first to
the native chief of the district. It has been said
that fully 95 per cent. of the native heathen court
cases are lobola cases.

“One of the prime eyils resulting from the
lobola system is its sister evil, mutengalori. Cattle
are not to be found in this part of the country,
owing to the tsetse fly, and gold sovereigns are just
as scarce. Hence they overcome the difficulty by
giving another woman or girl, often a mere child,
in exchange. This mutengatori system multiplies
a hundredfold the already existing ‘evils of the
lobola system.

“One man about to take a wife has not the
required amount of money. So he pays down what
he has and promises the father or guardian his first
daughter. Thus the hapless little girl is sold before
she starts on her journey into the world and is
often turned over to her owner as soon as she is
old enough to be of service in the garden.”

Another mission-worker tells this to illustrate
the sad lot of native African girls: —

“A mother hailed me in the street to tell me
her troubles. She told of two little girls who had
been taken off to marriages, and she had never seen
them again. Wouldn’t I, some time when out visit-
ing in that direction, go to see her babies? Another
little girl, three or four years old, was playing about
the door as we talked, and soon I heard the mother
anxiously calling to the little tot to get inside the
house quickly, which she did; and we went on
talking as if there had been no interruption. Soon
my dull eyes saw what the sharp mother eyes had
been looking for — not a beast of prey, but a man.
And then I understood. She was afraid he would
want to marry the child, and if the father were
willing, which would only mean, ‘Did he have the
goods?’ the mother would be powerless to pre-
vent it.” F. J. 1.

News Items from the Eastern Field.

On March 20 the members of Ebenezer Lu-
theran Church, Greensboro, N.C., gathered in the
basement of their new building to celebrate the
seventy-fifth anniversary of the birthday of Prof.
Frederick Berg of Immanuel Lutheran College.
For many years a small group of friends has been
in the habit of assembling to congratulate Professor
Berg on his birthday and to present him with the
inevitable box of cigars. This year, however, the
lay members themselves, prompted by the high
esteem in which they hold the venerable professor,

decided to give him a pleasant surprise on his dia-
mond birthday anniversary.

In short talks, delivered by a rather large num-
ber of speakers, Professor Berg’s services rendered
to Ebenezer received considerable emphasis. Speak-
ing after the manner of men, the very existence of
Ebenezer is due to a great extent to Professor Berg,
since it was he who years ago gathered the dispersed
and discouraged and inspired them with new hope
and zeal.

At the close of this term, Professor Berg will
have rounded out twenty years of teaching at Im-

Prof. Frederick Berg.

manuel Lutheran College. There his greatest con-
tributions are the excellent notes he has written for
the various courses in theology.

* * *

The following is a clipping from Alma Mater:
“Pastor P. D. Mueller’s withdrawal from the pas-
torate in the large Topeka, Kans., congregation did
not mean cessation of work for him. In the Kansas
Tnutheran we read the following: “The mission
among the colored people of North Topeka, begun
by the Rev. P. D. Mueller but three short weeks ago,
is already serving twenty-nine children between the
ages of seven and sixteen and five adults. Instruc-
tion is given on two evenings of each week. They
are conducted in the humble cottage of St. John’s
colored janitor, who, together with his wife, is an
active missionary.’ ” :

The day is not distant when not merely a lone,
but zealous pastor, as in this case, but all congrega-
tions in every larger Lutheran center will sponsor
at least one mission among the colored people. —