Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/689

 DAMASCENE

Oil

DAMASCUS

artificially irrigated. The population is composed of the Hill Damara and the Herero; besides these there are also some 4000 Kaffirs, Bastards, and Nama, and 1500 Christian Ovambo. The Hill Damara, or Klip Kaffirs, about 20.000 in number, were the original pos- sessors of the countrj-, but were robbed of their pas- tures and flocks by the invading Herero. Down to our times they lived among the Herero as slaves, without rights and protection, poor and despised; at the up- rising of the Herero they naturally sided with the Ger- man Government and thereby improved their lot con- siderably.

The Herero, or Ovaherero, are a tribe of the Bantu, ami immigrated, during the seventeenth and eight- eenth centuries, from the north-east into Damaraland. Their bodies are well built, their skin is chocolatc- coioured, their hair wa\-y and jet black. The cloth- ing of the men consists of an apron, made of the skin of sheep or goats, and woimd around the hips; that of the women comprises a leather cap with a veil, a long apron, and a hide thrown over the back; nimieroiis rings of iron and pearls adorn their arms and legs, and a niunber of pearl strings encircle their necks. The Herero are boastful, vain, avaricious, beggarly, given to lying and cheating, dishonest, and cruel and fero- cious in their hatred ; on the other hand, they are also hospitable, possess a high sense of honour, and great love for their parents. Their religion consists in an ancestral cult, especially of the deceased chiefs of each tribe, and a gruesome belief in ghosts and specters, to whom they frequently offer sacrifices. True they recognize a God of heaven and earth, but they do not

rship him; they think of him, but they do not tli:iiik him. Previous to the insurrection of 1904- 190G, which almost destroyed them, they were divided into tribes; these were ruled by chiefs, who were at the same time the tribal priests. In the fights with the Nama, all the Herero had acknowledged one com- mander-in-chief, Mahcrero Kajamuaha. After his death, in 1890, the German Government chose his younger son, Samuel Maherero, as supreme chief, pass- ing by the rightful heir. Generally speaking, monog- amy prevails among the Herero, though the chiefs and the wealthier tribesmen often have several wives.

The acquisition of the present German Southwest Africa by Germany was begun in the year 1883. The Bremen merchant Liideritz acquired the bay of Angra Pequcna and a few strips of land from the native chiefs; in 1SS4 this territory was placed vmder the protection of the German Empire. The heir to the rights of Liideritz, the German Colonial Company for Southwest iVfrica, obtained more land. As Maherero, the supreme chief of the Herero, had formerly sided with the Kiiglish against the Germans, he was fon-rd, on 2] cti>biT, ISS.'), to conclude a treaty of pnilcclinii and amity with Gennany, and to acknowledge the German supremacy. As this treaty was in many re- gards obscure, many quarrels arose between the Gerin.in Government and the Herero chiefs; small uprisings were, however, easily quelled. The love of freedom, predominant in the Herero, mmierous injus- tices committed by the whites, extortions on the part of the white traders, antl other causes finally led to the great insurrection of the Herero in the beginning of 1904, which soon spread throughout the colony. It took almost three years to subdue the sedition and

treat sacrifices of men and money had to be made, or the nation of the Herero, who before had mnn- bered between SO.OOO and 100,000, the revolt re- sulted in almost ronipleto annihilation. The Herero who had been taken prisoners were accommodated in camps, where hundreds of them were carried off by viniient diseases. After peace was made, the rem- nant was handed over to officials, farmers, business and private houses, as servants.

Mi.ssions in Damaraland were first begun by Protest- ants. Since 1844 the Rheinisch-evangelische Mis-

sionsgesellschaft laboured in Ilereroland without in- terruption. Before the insurrection it numbered 15 stations with 2.3 missionaries, 46 schools with 875 boys and 1182 girls, and counted 8300 coloured Christians The Fathers of the Holy Ghost were the first Catholic missionaries who, at the end of the seventies, made the attempt to found a mission among the Herero ; owing to the mtolerance of the Protestants, however, they were compelled to abandon the work in 1881 (cf. Katholische Missionen, Freiburg, 1882, pp. 107-111). It was only when German rule had been definitely es- tablished, that the Catholic mission was at liberty to work in this field. On 1 August, 1892, the Prefecture Apostolic of Cimbebasia Inferior was erected, and under it was placed the whole of Damaraland and Ovam- boland; in 1896 the territory was given in charge of the German Oblates of Mary Immacidate. But by the Colonial Government they were forbidden to work among the Ovambo, Hereros, and Kaffirs, and even after they had been put on the same legal footing with the Protestants they still had to fight against odds. All obstacles were finally removed in September, 1905. The Prefecture Apostolic in 1908 numbered 9 stations with 22 fathers and 18 brothers (all Oblates), 10 sisters (Franciscan Sisters from Nonnenwerth) ; there are 850 white, 210 black Catholics ; 9 churches or chapels, 10 schools with 236 pupils, 1 trade school with 14 pupils, 1 high school for boys, 1 academy for girls, 1 orphan asylum, and 2 hospitals.

SCHINZ, Dculsch-Siidweslafrik-a (Oldenl^irg, 1S91); FRAN- COIS, .Varna anrf Damara (Mas<let)Urs, 1.S9I)); Dove, Dculsch- Siidweislafrika (Gothn, isn6; Berlin, 1903); ScliWABE, Mit Schwert uvi! Fihir •■• I^, ulsch-Sudiveslafrika (Berlin, 1904);

Paul, Die U m^cren Kolonien (Dresden, 1905);

Meter, Wi:l .V der Herero (Berlin, 1905); Irle,

Die Herero H'i'' I lii, riiii.i; hEVTWElti, Elf Jahre Gouvemeur in Deutsch-Sudu\..^i.iji ika ilJerlin, 1906); Die Katholischen Mis- simen (Freiburg, 1906-07). XXXV, 176-183; Jahresberichte Uber die Entwicklung der deutschen Schutzgebiete (Berlin).

JOSPPH LiNS.

Damascene, John, Saint. See John Damascene, Saint.

Damascus, in Syria, one of the oldest cities in the world. According to Flavins Josephus it was fovmded by Us, grandson of Sem; it is mentioned in the Bible at the time of Abraham (Gen.,xiv, 15;xv, 2); also on the pylons of Karnak, among the SyTian cities cap- tured by the Pharaoh Touthmes III.

Kingdom of Damascus. — Damascus allied itself with Soba against David, was conquered and ol)liged to receive a Jewish garrison (II K., viii. 5; I Paral., xviii, 5) ; but under Solomon it became the capital of an independent kingdom, established by Razon or Rasin (III K., xi, 24). From this time Dama.scus w.is freipiently at war with the kings of Israel, while it leaned on tho.se of Juda, who sought with its aid to weaken their rivals of Samaria. The most famous of these enemies of Israel was Hazael, who had ascended the throne of Damascus with the help of Elijah and ElLsha (III K., xi.x, 17; IV K., viii, 28; x, 32; xiii, 3). His successors were less fortunate. Jeroboam II, King of Samaria, captured Damascus (IV K., xiv, 28). When not engaged in mutual conflict the kings of Damascus and Samaria entered into alliances with the neighbouring princes against the powerful kings of As.syria; hence Dama.scus, usually at the head of the confederation, is often mentioned in cuneiform in.scriptions. In 734 B. c. Dam.'uscus and Samaria nearly ruined Jenisalem. But Achaz, King of Juda, invoked the help of the A.s.syrian King, Tiglath-Pileser III (TheglathphaKsar), who defeated the allies, cajjtured Damascus after a siege of two years, and put an end to the Kingdom of .Syria (IV K., xvi, 9-12). For the list of the kings of Dama.s- cus see Smith, "The A.s.syrian K|)onyni. Canon" 191.

The Greek City.— Thenceforth Damascus seems to have lost its autonomy. Jeremias (xlix, 27) threatens it with new chastisements, a proof that it