Martti Rautanen
Encyclopedia
Martti Rautanen (10 November 1845 Novasolkka (Novoselki), Ingria
– 19 October 1926 Olukonda Constituency
, Namibia
) was the pioneer of Finnish Mission in Ovamboland
, Namibia
.
in the province of Savo
in Eastern Finland, but had moved to Ingria. Martti Rautanen considered himself a Russian as he was born and living in Russia. Encouraged by the pastor of his church and his mother, Martti Rautanen left Ingria in 1863 for Helsinki
to study at the preparatory school for missionaries organized by the Finnish Missionary Society.
they travelled via Hereroland
where they arrived in April 1869 and spent there over a year. Finally, they reached Ovamboland in July 1870. The Finnish missionaries managed to start work primarily in the southeastern territory of the Ondonga
tribe.
Rautanen worked in Ovamboland over 50 years acting as the director of a missionary station established in Olukonda in 1880, translating the Bible, and very patiently educating the local populations. The first local people to become pastors emerged in 1925.
Rautanen's literary work consisted of translation of hymns and the publication of a hymnal in 1892 in Ndonga. Rautanen also wrote poems which were used as texts for new hymns in Ovamboland. Rautanen started translating the Bible already in 1885. The New Testament was published in 1903, but it took until 1920 before the whole Old Testament was translated and it was not printed until 1954. Rautanen's 'testament' for the Ovamboland people was a selection of texts published posthumously with the title Travel Rod in 1934.
Rautanen was also active in the study of ethnography. He respected and gave great value to the indigenous culture. His ethnographic collection is now deposited in the National Museum of Finland
. Rautanen's contribution to scientific knowledge concerning Ovamboland is also considerable. He made meteorological observations and collected plants.
. The local people in Ovamboland called him Nakambale - "the one who wears the hat". He loved to wear a skullcap, which for the locals resembled a small basket - okambale. His nickname was written on his tombstone. Rautanen is a respected person in present-day Namibia as well.
Rautanen married Frieda Kleinschmidt in 1872. She was daughter to a German missionary Franz Kleinschmidt. The couple had nine children, many of whom deceased due to malaria at an early age.
Ingria
Ingria is a historical region in the eastern Baltic, now part of Russia, comprising the southern bank of the river Neva, between the Gulf of Finland, the Narva River, Lake Peipus in the west, and Lake Ladoga and the western bank of the Volkhov river in the east...
– 19 October 1926 Olukonda Constituency
Olukonda Constituency
Olukonda Constituency is an electoral constituency in the Oshikoto Region of Namibia. It has 9,094 inhabitants, the district capital is the settlement of Olukonda....
, Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
) was the pioneer of Finnish Mission in Ovamboland
Ovamboland
Ovamboland was the name given by English-speaking visitors to the land occupied by the Ovambo people in what is now northern Namibia and southern Angola...
, Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
.
Childhood and education
Rautanen was born in a poor Finnish family in Ingria near St. Peterburg, Russia. Rautanen's family lived in the village of Tikanpesä in the parish of Novasolkka . The family originated from JoroinenJoroinen
Joroinen is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .The municipality is unilingually Finnish....
in the province of Savo
Savo
Savo may refer to:* Savo Island near Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands* Battle of Savo Island, 9 August 1942* Savonian dialects of the Finnish language* Savonia or , a historical province of Finland* Savo - a main-belt asteroid...
in Eastern Finland, but had moved to Ingria. Martti Rautanen considered himself a Russian as he was born and living in Russia. Encouraged by the pastor of his church and his mother, Martti Rautanen left Ingria in 1863 for Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
to study at the preparatory school for missionaries organized by the Finnish Missionary Society.
Missionary activities
Rautanen departed from Finland with four colleagues on 24 June 1868 towards Ovamboland in present-day Namibia. From Walvis BayWalvis Bay
Walvis Bay , is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies...
they travelled via Hereroland
Hereroland
Hereroland was a bantustan in South West Africa , intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Herero people. It was set up in 1968 and self-government was granted two years later....
where they arrived in April 1869 and spent there over a year. Finally, they reached Ovamboland in July 1870. The Finnish missionaries managed to start work primarily in the southeastern territory of the Ondonga
Ondonga
Ondonga is a traditional kingdom of the Ovambo in what is today northern Namibia. Its capital is Ondangwa. Its people speak the Ndonga dialect....
tribe.
Rautanen worked in Ovamboland over 50 years acting as the director of a missionary station established in Olukonda in 1880, translating the Bible, and very patiently educating the local populations. The first local people to become pastors emerged in 1925.
Rautanen's literary work consisted of translation of hymns and the publication of a hymnal in 1892 in Ndonga. Rautanen also wrote poems which were used as texts for new hymns in Ovamboland. Rautanen started translating the Bible already in 1885. The New Testament was published in 1903, but it took until 1920 before the whole Old Testament was translated and it was not printed until 1954. Rautanen's 'testament' for the Ovamboland people was a selection of texts published posthumously with the title Travel Rod in 1934.
Rautanen was also active in the study of ethnography. He respected and gave great value to the indigenous culture. His ethnographic collection is now deposited in the National Museum of Finland
National Museum of Finland
The National Museum of Finland presents Finnish history from the Stone Age to the present day, through objects and cultural history. The Finnish National Romantic style building is located in central Helsinki and operates in collaboration with the National Board of Antiquities , an association...
. Rautanen's contribution to scientific knowledge concerning Ovamboland is also considerable. He made meteorological observations and collected plants.
Nakambale
Shortly prior to his death, Rautanen received an honorary doctorate in theology at the University of HelsinkiUniversity of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
. The local people in Ovamboland called him Nakambale - "the one who wears the hat". He loved to wear a skullcap, which for the locals resembled a small basket - okambale. His nickname was written on his tombstone. Rautanen is a respected person in present-day Namibia as well.
Rautanen married Frieda Kleinschmidt in 1872. She was daughter to a German missionary Franz Kleinschmidt. The couple had nine children, many of whom deceased due to malaria at an early age.
Sources
- Matti Peltola: Martti Rautanen - Mies ja kaksi isänmaata. Kirjapaja, 1994.
- Matti Peltola: Nakambale, the life of Dr Martin Rautanen. Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission, 2002.
- Aapeli Saarisalo: Etelän ristin mies. WSOY, 1971. ISBN 951-0-03097-X
- Olli Löytty: Ambomaamme. Suomalaisen lähetyskirjallisuuden me ja muut. Vastapaino, 2006. ISBN 978-951-768-186-5
- NamibWeb.com - Olukonda