Methods of Work

METHODS OF WORK

It has been mentioned above applied 1853 certain villages This incident for instruction. the Telugu characteristic of larger number of cases people sionaries do not go first to them. try to describe the shall different through whose operations, under God, a community of heathen persons becomes a fuUy organised congregation of Christians. Let us suppose that an application has been received What comes next from a village. cation can be entertained those who apply must state the number of families and of persons who two things : wish to become Christians, and the number of children who win be sent to school. When the application has been signed by the elders of the community, be made through the Christian teachers in regard to the motives of the people who make the application. to them and they are made the conditions are stated understand clearly to that, 97

in Chapter that in

III

The starting the Mission

S.P.G.

to is one which has been Mission, In by Mission. the far us—the come mis- to

chapter we

In this workers kinds of Before the appU- ? inquiries will Then proof a their as of (i)

H

MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

98 earnestness, they must build a house to serve as chapel and school, and a second house for the teacher preparation, they wiU have to keep the all the time of Christian rules of life, especially to refrain from work on Sundays and from aU idolatrous acts and ceremonies, and to attend the services in the chapel, and that they must send their children regularly to school they must break off engagements of their children to non- Christians or secure that the persons to whom they are engaged are also taught and baptised. parenthetically, that in cases of need, marriages between performed catechumens are catechists who by hold above conditions being accepted, we may suppose that a teacher has been promised to the village. The building of a chapel is not so formidable a task Building a c ape ^^ might be imagined. . own houses, only larger. their houses with their own hands. size with the congregation in thirty feet long, and twelve wide, the walls being made of mud and stones. split and interlaced, the windows are open spaces with wooden bars, and are closed only on occasion with mats. For better ventilation an and the walls roof. when, becomes clear missionary, the heathen people crowd to look on from the outside, and block up the whole of the doors and windows. The chapel the roof of sometimes leaves. of

; (2) that during (3) that ; It may be added with a religious service a Government The licence. The chapel is like one of their They are accustomed to build The chapel varies ; an average one wiU be The doors are made of bamboos is left between the air space The space desirability of this by conducted the services at is made thatch or grass of The brought be has grass to

4V

'1 TEACHER AND SCHOOL-CHILDREN OUTSIDE BAPANAKOTKUR PRAYER-HOUSE.

IN DATE-PALM LEAVES TO BUILD THEIR PRAYER-HOUSE.

OUT-CASTES BRINGING

A bullock bandy

METHODS OF WORK

forest by the from the congregation. the walls are made mud, and both it and of cow smooth with a plaster sometimes painted parts in end usually adorned with a painted chapel the of is The reading desk is an erection cross. in mud. baptism After the altar will be made of the same materials. is whitewashed and chapel the of whitened often Christians are As consequence, the a clean, chapel and the Christian houses commonly strikes the of the stranger approaching the eye considerable distance. When the chapel and teacher's house have been put up, a teacher may be sent. Alas that so often, when all . is ready, no teacher is obtainable ever, that in this case the Mission is able to send some one. As the whole of the elevating influence that the Mission can have upon these people from this time forward will turn upon the teacher's work in his congregation and in it will be worth while to consider carefully his school, what the teacher will have to do. The teacher will gather his people, old and young, morning and evening service. for Morning and Evening Prayer, very much shortened and adapted to their understanding. at Evening Prayer, he especially At the end of the service, he wiU take a roll- struction. He does not read every name, call of the congregation. the name of every head but

99 The of floor is hard and The dung. are walls and for ornament, one stones of set congregation the the of The outside houses the of the same manner. the in appearance tidy the of from a village gj aiT""^ Indian Teacher Let us suppose, how- ! The service wiU be Once a day, at least, them give will in- family, whereupon of a

MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

100 every member of the family, from the grey-haired elder to the newest shrill-voiced youngster who knows his name, marked answers and is members congregation need special of the The teacher must then find means apart from the rest. to give it in the intervals Then, too, outside the daUy round of duties he duties. must look after the all He must try to make their relations with their employers smooth, and must settle their quarrels with one another Again, impartially. is it weekly, and to pay over monthly, the contributions of Lastly, he has to keep for inspection his congregation. a diary of his work, his teaching, and the chief incidents of the history of the congregation. The school duties of in the morning he mention Early here. boys and girls into school, gregation, within certain ages, being obliged to attend. religious teaching according receive All drawn up by the Mission. are regulated by the Government Code schools. The above description shows, in Definite responsibiUty is thrown upon the in his work. if they do not keep the conditions, and congregation, for, do not send their children to school, or if they themselves lead evil lives, then the teacher is withdrawn. has rarely to be resorted to, and generally leads to speedy the teacher has meanwhile been sent repentance. If to a more worthy congregation, it will not be easy to get

down. Sometimes particular instruction their work or household of congregation. interests his of duty regular to his collect need only the teacher brief collects the all the children of the con- a syllabus to For the their lessons rest, for elementary brief, the teacher This step

METHODS OF WORK

him back, a fact which sometimes makes an unstable congregation pause before committing itself. of a congregation determines whether the size have a resident teacher or not. especially when the congregation can provide a dozen or more children for the school, an effort is made to provide it with a teacher to itself. the care of two three or where he does not reside are almost invariably inferior. It wiU, then, be seen that the village schoolmasters are the backbone our work. of our village congregations one hundred and eighty-four dred and sixteen teachers in the majority teachers the of Institution at Nandyal, of which more is said Training The policy of bringing up a constant suc- elsewhere. cession of boys to be teachers in the Mission has been for years the basis of our work, and has justified itself by its Let us here, however, note how responsible results. village teachers and how great the work of these The teacher lives almost always in an their difficulties. Whatever his age may be, he has to isolated position. try daUy to be the teacher and guide of old and young. At the same time he has not much access to books or other sources of instruction in order to renew his own He may find himself a young man stock of knowledge. in the midst of a quarrelsome congregation, each party to make him in which will seek again, as the spokesman Or, may have to be the first

loi As a rule, it can When it is large enough, In cases where a teacher has villages, the results in those The number required for In 1909 there were large. is with two hun- schools The great Mission. are now provided by the is are one themselves. of he congregation the of confront iU-wiU the to of

MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

102 powerful Brahmans and Sudras. Indian teachers have acted justifies the words of praise bestowed on them three years ago by the Telugu Mission ' Two hundred agents are now employed by Committee : They are a valuable body of men and have the Mission. done good work. . . most part in uncomfortable and unhealthy surroundings, amidst the idolatry and immorality of the lowest classes of Hindus, with scant The Committee wish to put it on record that this large body of men are doing an admirable work amid most difficult surroundings and are worthy of and help.' The work Xhe work of the village teacher is superintended by called a teacher senior 3- catechist. generally an experienced teacher who has been set free from school work, and has a charge and visits each congregation or He sees that the teacher does month. regular manner, he examines into the discipline of the congregation, hears cases and tries the teaches congregation. school work so as to see that the teacher keeps his books properly, and finally, he makes a systematic report to the pastor or missionary. A larger circle of congregations is under the Indian The He has to superintend the work of both cate- pastor. pastor. chists and teachers. round aU his congregations in turn. administers the Sacraments. the teachers village all

The way in which these . They spend their days for the or help, spiritual intellectual. all sympathy The catechist catechist. is villages in of his circle village once a his work in a to settle them, and He the investigates also must Therefore, he also travel WhUe doing so he At intervals he calls in them and gives instruction

>™ '4, /a. '. *, 1* * ' > \

The church at Kalasapad

METHODS OF WORK

in some central place. Roughly is in the position of a curate, in semi-independent charge of a considerable sphere of work, while the missionary is in the place of the vicar. These are the chief Indian labours the whole progress of the Mission depends. in order to enable our readers to understand the work which exists by the support of friends at home, to add be proper a description of their representative, the missionary. what Mission nearly are all Their work, missionaries. therefore, home, and partly on tours of greater or less duration. The missionary's bungalow, where a great important work has to be done, is placed in as central a position possible as his for be church generally the central At the great festivals crowds standard for the district. wUl come flocking into it to worship and to receive the Holy Communion. At the missionary's head-quarters will be his boarding-schools, under his general supervision and other educational work, such as the instruction of his schoolmasters, will take place there be drawn of books supply the office also will be the central missionary's In several of our districts the missionary is his schools. Much correspondence with the manager of forty schools. therefore, wUl Government, at times take place He may also have medical work to supervise. generally take the form of a dispensary to give simple medical and surgical aid, and as a rule there wUl be an

103 speaking, the pastor assistants upon whose The But ^Tssion-" ary. it will personal work of the In the Telugu called itinerating are is done partly at deal of There also will district. wiU which the set ; ; and from there wiU The the for district. office for all there. This will

MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

104 assistant with a medical diploma addition to the work already mentioned, multitudinous affairs are brought to head-quarters to be settled. spite of the absence of railway, telegraph, and roads, is known all over the district when the missionary is at home, as every traveller conceives it to be his duty to pass on news to aU whom he meets on the road. by day, therefore, teachers and members of congregations win come in for consultation on matters that concern them. The missionary, itinerating Itinerat- ing mis- gether different set of duties which give the dominant sionaries. his work. character to village congregations, the visiting of which at intervals is an indispensable part of his work. them may be visited by means of a ride from the bunga- But most will be too distant, and the missionary low. must arrange tours description will help to work. First of aU a tour has to be arranged with reference to the geography of the country. connexions between most the Some tracks are impassable at certain times on tracks. account of water and mud, and at certain seasons the irrigation tanks are involve a detour of miles. known in the district, and rivers have generally to be forded and at certain times become impassable. knowledge of routes and camping places is indispensable, but at the same time the map needs often to be consulted,

In in charge of it. In it Day has an however, alto- are connected with These his A certain number of

A

visit them. order to brief in explain this department of his Roads are few and are rough cart villages to go round them may fuU, and Bridges are stiU almost un- Local

METHODS OF WORK

popular as descriptions Moreover, the purpose of the visit to each village has to be taken into account. the Holy Communion in another to examine ; For the former a instruction. necessary for the latter the evening is better. ; and marriages have also to be arranged. is more work be done to each of the available days. When the tour has been arranged, sent to the teachers to be ready with their congregations. The men of the congregation are expected to take time from their work in the morning in order to attend means some arrangement Notice must be sent also otherwise the missionary wiU find on arrival that no food village, and is procurable in the wood, or no fodder for horse or bullocks. of fact the missionary has to take nearly all the food he requires with him, for the villages can supply little. must also take tents in which to lodge. is sometimes a difficult to obtain, as the wells are often filthy, and though boiling and filtering wiU overcome this yet there are places where the liquid in any difficulty, condition is not easy to get. by the non-Christians for reasons of caste. it is so scarce that the resident teacher and congregation have ordinarily to pay for On the appointed day, tents and boxes having been packed in country carts Under favourable circumstances early in the morning.

105 distance misleading. are of In one case it is to administer or give visit in the morning is Baptisms As a rule the to occupy than sufficient notice must be this ; Sudra with masters. their the magistrates, to village is no there that fire- As a matter He Drinking water Sometimes water is refused Sometimes it. ' bandies,' start out these or

MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

io6 the bandies maintain a fairly uniform rate of two and a The servants walk with them and half miles an hour. go straight to the camping-place, where they pitch the To avoid the fierce heat of the tents. wherever pitched under are possible, ' tope generally a grove or the purpose, though in some places this turns out to be the burying-ground of the village. to afford shade for the tents, the heat at midday, even in is severe, and in summer dangerous. winter, tent requires eight or ten men to pitch it, so members of the congregation are expected to come and various directions in the Mission, labour, as a form contribution to the work of the Church, is expected and the Besides missionary's given. another is pitched for a kitchen, and a third is provided for the servants to sleep in, but, except in wet weather, they nearly always prefer not to pitch under trees. Some time after the departure of the carts, the time varying with the distance to be covered, the missionary will set out for the camping-place, riding on a pony or a if travelling by night, himself going bicycle, or perhaps, On his arrival, the teacher and the elders in a bandy. of the congregation will come to his tent, as there will be matters to report and questions on which to consult him. The men of the congregation fields during the day, and when they come in will the So the need their food. When they are ready they call the mission- are ready. Lighted by a good lantern—which ary.

sun, the tents, There trees. is ' near the village suitable for If there are no trees The large In help. of dwelling large tent, it, and to sleep are generally at work in service must wait Until they is needed in

A BULLOCK BANDY.

A missionary's encampment

: PREPARING

DINNF.R.

A bazaar in Kurnool

METHODS OF WORK

view of snakes, scorpions, is conducted through fields where chapel, wUl he find His own seated. lantern tion, for they have only tiny earthenware lamps, shaped old Roman somewhat the like of cotton hanging over the lip and burning the common oU of the country. It is one of the recognised duties of the congregation that each family in turn should provide There is no vestry, but the surplice this oil. before the congregation. work for which the missionary has come. The form of Evening Prayer used here will be of the Every part simplest kind. can audibly join is retained, but, where none of the con- gregation can read, the The composed by Telugu Christian lyrics, heartUy and sometimes musically sung. his instruction chiefly by catechising, will give serves the double purpose of adapting ligence and of discovering teacher is performing one part of his duties well. feelings are aroused by the sight and women The men are the body of the building, the men on one side fill up women on and the the All of them have lately In front heathenism. are girls who listen with complete Who an but could feel power reach their to

107 risks—he wells, and other and the village lanes to already congregation his for illumina- will serve best a with lamps, strip is donned Then all is ready for the chief in which the congregation Psalms have be omitted. to are poets, The missionary as this it to their intel- first hand whether the at What of his congregation and on the seated floor the other door). (nearest from emerged the grossest bright-eyed boys and the stillness and attention. overwhelming longing for words speak that to hearts,

MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

io8 may and comfort help temptation ! When the service is over, there are books to inspect especially there is the roU-call book showing the attend- ance at church of every member morning and evening, throughout the year. this book shows that is a the congregation. of life defaulters, who are to be called up and rebuked. often than not there is a hidden reason for not coming service, which is to be found to the Then perhaps there are people at enmity to be recon- ciled, a task more imperative in the morning. is to be celebrated work a the description of written by a missionary : ' When I take evening after the inspection of the attendance book is over, the persistent defaulters are called up for examination. they are not forthcoming, other members of the con- gregation and the teacher are asked for an explanacion. Very various are the reasons given. in my journal, a leading man of the congregation has given up coming to church. with his wife, and cannot come while living in that state. In a second case a prominent and comparatively well- to-do man has stayed away for two months. a dispute with another member of the congregation about some goats straying in the been tried by the Panchayat, or loccd Church Court, and sixpence, but has refused to pay. fined

; them with battle their in of the congregation, Experience real index the of spiritual Hereby discovered the are More out by inquiry. if the Holy Communion The following is missionary on a tour of service in a village chapel, If In one case, I find He has had a bad quarrel He has had The other man has fields. this man So

METHODS OF WORK

stays away from church, not for the want of sixpence, but because the congregation cannot secure him justice. In another case a widow in the congregation has stayed away from the Communion for two years. that one of the elders of the congregation has, the sum time, owed her admits the debt, sometimes he denies dignity she draws herself up as she explains that double dealing on the part of an elder has so worked on her mind that she cannot come to Holy Communion. Then the elder, a most unsatisfactory man, is called in, and after some shifting and much talking, he undertakes to pay fourpence half-penny, and she promises to come to the Communion in the morning. ' Let me give one evening's experience to show the kind of case we have to deal with. gregation which had been preparing Some of the members, however, more than three years. had proved far from keen. called up to say, before the congregation, whether they wished to enter the religion or not. for becoming Christians.) said that his son had died a few months ago. made him think that God was not on his side. he did not want to be a Christian. it was his right to judge God, or whether God was to The second man called up had a wife who judge him. had run away to live with someone else. trying to marry another woman. The third was a man who was utterly fit to be baptised. He would have left before but indifferent to religion.

109 She alleges all that Sometimes he sixpence. of With great it. this I was visiting a con- for baptism for service they were After (This is their phrase The first was an old man who This had Therefore I asked him whether He was now Obviously he was not

MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

no Now the first man mentioned above had was afraid to. given a lead, and was even trying to make others give up the faith he had himself renounced. lowed his example. Moreover, person employed by the Sudras to perform their sacri- fices for them, and was ineligible for admission so long he continued that as profession, which he was unwilling to give up. were struck therefore off to be somewhat congregation seemed cutting off of the unworthy members. it would do them good. case me privately that these persons were known to fields, which brought in the disfavour with the into remained in it. ' Sometimes the cases that are brought to us are such as call for s3Tnpathetic encouragement, not for rebuke. In one congregation of catechumens, who had previously shown great zeal for the new religion, I found that many were troubled by a series of deaths that had taken place One man had fallen from a tree within a few days. others had died the in people of the village had told them that these calamities were due to their joining the Christians. that they should not look on these things only as evils God allowed troubles to fall upon us to try our faith, and this was a call to them to believe in God.' The events of one evening will not resemble those of another, and one congregation provides less to deal with in the way of discipline than another.

; So this man fol- his eldest son was the the emoluments of All these persons The the the of rest list. relieved by the Probably in any But the catechist told steal whole congregation the landowners they long as so The heathen ways. various I told them : But will be it

METHODS OF WORK

it may be that seen easily missionary is back again in his tent. The day begins early in camp. or even before, the baggage light, camping-place, perhaps from The missionary, however, service—generally the Holy Communion—at some village. it must be remembered, afford, under present His visits, conditions, the only opportunities for many of his people to receive the Holy Communion. quiet and solemn. very as they must kept long The missionary rides fields. place, on reaching which the first portion of his baggage may have arrived, and sits down to breakfast under the trees before his tent comes up. of the teacher and congregation to visits But business to settle. there ought to be heat, time quiet for possible well for the missionary, or lives in a hurry. Although the above describes a typical day, there are many variations in detail. opportunity of speaking an in another a party of Chnstians will go to preach to the heathen in one of their own streets tunities may arise through of patients will come crowd missionary's labours Again, the scene of the One camping greatly.

; iii the night before at late As soon as is it for the next starts away. ten miles to six will be off for a very early The service will be The congregation cannot be their work in the be to off his next camping- to off Then there will be the receive, and midday, time the at in of This is the only rest for all. and and reading is not it ; if he his congregations, for In one village there will be non-Christian to visitors in a third oppor- ; medical work—perhaps a the missionary's to tent. will vary be spot a picnic will like

MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

112 ground in lovely surroundings the sodden plain oasis in in the mud and he will with or the at all river will ; destination and leave him to Many are the accidents that wUl interfere with the tour, and a combination of them may bring it to an end. writer had once made two marches of a long-planned tour in the best season of the year, when the rain came down, not heavUy but continuously. in one spot for three days, for the tents, so long as they are wet, cannot be moved. was prostrate with fever and another was incapacitated When a third went down with smaU-pox, by an abscess. there was nothing left but to turn homewards again till conditions could be better emergency to which the illustrated by the following vivid account from the pen of the Rev. S. Foskett ' We pitched under a few trees some distance away, separated from the village by a small stream in which water was a flowing, Uttle feet broad. three or four we got some of the Sudras, who had promised to become Christians, to attend Mattins, in order that they might get an insight into the nature of Christian worship. interested them greatly, and in the afternoon they came talk about again to their sation with them we treated about thirty patients, and then brought out our four violins to play the Christian lyrics, which they enjoy so much, giving short sketches

; another will be a mere bandies wiU the or stick ; his camp difficulty get to rise and cut him off from his find what refuge he can. The This delayed the camp By that time one servant A more obtained. serious traveller may be exposed is not more than probably The next day being Sunday, It After some conver- affairs.

METHODS OF WORiC of Christ's life between the lyrics. gathered round us, and everybody was absorbed in the little impromptu service and enjoying suddenly the whole crowd rose with a murmur that sent a thrill through one, some shouting others pointing to the sky. Coming along at a tremendous rate was a indicated. black great cloud, like people hurried as fast off shouting out as they went along, when the warning W3s late, that the stream would probably come down. too Even then, though we caught their words, we did not grasp the full import of their meaning, or the awkward- ; because the " vagu " (stream) was ness of our position a very mild-looking one, and our tents seemed far from The any servants and danger. rushed with the mallets to the tent ropes, and began to drive the pegs in a little deeper. fore the storm was noticed everything was lost in an intense darkness, broken only by vivid flashes of lightning. almost immediately over our heads, continued through- Ready for emergencies, out the night. I lay down on my cot partly dressed, and about 2 a.m. was roused by the servants, who came to report that the stream had not only come down between us and the it had also suddenly flooded the low village, but that ground behind us, and so cut off our retreat that way. For an hour after that the lights of our lanterns were glinting over the water in aU directions as steadily around us. It looked serious for us, but about

m A large number had it greatly, when ! " " Vagu ! Vagu ! We looked in the direction The marching a mountain. as possible in all directions, however, evangelists, It was sunset just be- before the pegs were finished ; The storm, which burst but tired out, it closed in

' MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

114 3 A.M. the rain ceased altogether, and shortly after we with noticed that relief rapidly, and about 4 o'clock the evangelists were able to carry me across to a small pettah, or village, on a where we took refuge. high ground, knoll of daylight appeared we found a huge river between our- selves and the friendly Sudras whom we had come to visit, and the great force of the flood one only recognised at 10 o'clock, when a number it, were swept down stream like pieces of straw.' to ford Enough has been said to illustrate the statement that differ much from another in one tour wiU There is much variation, too, in regard to their duration. This win depend on what villages have to be grouped together, and on their distance from one another and A tour may take less than a week from head-quarters. or it may take six weeks. The above description the work understand of employed in the Mission, as well as of those who are the the Church representatives of be missionaries. will It backbone masters are the apart from them the whole fabric would be but a Other mass. organised described, such as the medical work, the Evangelistic Band and the Training Institution. left to later chapters. It the history of the Mission during the modern period.

was backwater sinking the When bullocks, which tried of details. its our to readers enable will large body teachers the of at home—that the is, seen that the village school- and that Mission the of dis- of work remain be kinds to But these must be is necessary now to take up