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2/1/1957 - West to Kunama Country by Smith Hempstone Jr.

NOT FOR PUBLICATION INSTITUTE OF CURRENT WORLD AFFAIRS SH ebruar West unama Country S Consulate Asmara Eritrea Walter S Rogers institute Current World AfSairs A York New York Dear Rogers The heart squat Baremtu village souare oplressive itChin sweat under tweed co61ness arcade which laces pools shade The muezzin minaret mosque calling faithful Dra mournfully ramshackle shops shuttered ainst midday A Kunama Baria women racial cousins known collectively Shankalla steps arcaded arket waiting impassive A Kunama warrior sZocky negroid feature strode across blazing square dragging bleating other clasping pointed Kunama spear It years since Kunama spear drank blood In forces aalakl Sagad great Regasts King Kings medieval Ethmopma tiring expeditions against Falasha rebels Semien massif allowed reard their tough campaigning invade Kunama country There veteran campaigners To extinction alterna months fighting mountains killing burning looting It neither ilotic Kumama Baria cousins wrath invasion Semi Aer arabs north Beja Fuzzy uzzies forces Imperial Ethiopia itself The Kunama Baria lacked neither courage intelligence But sense belonging apart Nilotic pagan opposed their infinitely advanced uslim Coptic neighbors surrounded alien common victim Nalak Sagad terror repeated intensified Yasu Great reputation magnanimous Ethiopia rulers hordes mountains retribution Yiunama Shire provin Although crushed their villages their tribes reduced Kunama Baria warriors retiring Negus harrassed movements stragglers fired grass through which marauders Faced alternative Of extinction Baria Kunama lived constant state warfare earned themselves years followed Yasu reputation ferocity which Italian occupation Eritrea They attacked grazing parties their northern borders traveller their marches Gradually however tribes ranged Gondar Keren constricted O00 square miles Setit River Ethiopian border north Gash spilling around Barentu The Baria gradually intermarried Beni Amer other neighboring tribes adopted Islam assimilated Not Kunama They retained their language their matriarcha Iron Age their animistic paganism It The journey itself Barentu At Saturday pulled ourselves gulped cofTee rolls hurried Asmara railroad station catch littorina three times single diesel train which WoId Agordat The shifta SH active Agordat So everything value except cameras A between assav train Agordat resulted being snare train I shared hides bedspring school teacher assorted Eritreans going Timkat Coptic Epiphany And lurched At Keren travelling companions departed cloud sniffed limes motion sickness walking sticks assorted bundles We moved front group Beni Amer proud featured white robes desert carrying swords handles beaten silver The narrow gauge train puffed along smoothly through countless tunnels along edges Oreath taking gorges until hours later Agordat dusty desert villae I0 people hills efore The hotel crumbling structure Aside Italian rezidenza storw buildin Agordat One hotel rooms avail after dispossessing flock pigeons accustomed through between lattice roost furniture Two table rickety chairs completed furnish Two nights spent there while waited Baren The ginning bugles police station punctuated visits camel market ending throb drums mCoptic Timkat Days cooing pigeons complaining camels bleating goats The usual frenzied battle seats aboard Barentu usual ending elbow knees advantage found selves staading All successful claimants however apparently intention going Barentu surrender seats slight consider ation Despite protests chassis venerable vehicle lamentations those groaned schedule BARENTU BUS Not claimants passengers iUSLl I GOLDo ITH For noserigs ready market Few fellow passengers western clothes And usual European riders friends Beja Baria Kunama dressed burlap cloth perhaps strip hanging shoulder inevitable spear spoken Beni Amer proud aloof their primitive companions Here tawny gazlle there often eaten camel bolted terror gasped hills Baria plain climbed fully scarp which Barentu before endless flats which merge scant regakd international boundaries The Sudan Pastor Hagner Swedish missionary known Keren Andersson SH promised Barentu Kunama country He nowhere Th activity white rather protruding obviously disabled He extricated himself introduced himself Karl Johan Lundstrom educational director Swedish Lutheran Nissions Eritrea welcome Pastor Hagner would along while advised under arcade PASTOR HAGNER And Kunama warrior crossed square waiting Pastor Hagner We The pastor accompanied Gunnar Svensson young Lutheran clergyman charge mission where chugged their Volkswagen stationwagon followed cloud Off lurched which Barentu About miles outside turned south through acacia thorn Ahead stuck mountainside white stamp brown envelope Ausa Kunama Swedish mission which headquarters The mission which appeared halfway large mountain reality crowded Small abrupt butte which perhaps above valley directly front range mountains The narrow decaying which snaked butte mission pastor Italians during mission property confiscated house workers nearby Before there track After lunch boiled potatoes carrots sausage Pastor Hagner Kunama village Sossona beast which straddles hills beneath mission Sossona village about grass tukals differing Coptic grass ground sweep Sossona pastor explained large village inhabitants It shrunk Kunama wandered search better pastures sweet water about people About quarter these Lutherans mainly pagan smattering Copts Nuslims The villagers nosed stocky friendly We visited karraI Chris thepastordescribed asoeefthardestworkingandmost villagers His compound sisted three which stone goats Nany tools wealth evidence The villa proud guests produced three rickety chairs couple footstools We coffee falling mountains behind Barentu leave climbed rocky trail mission On stopped mission school where young Kunama about distant villages lived KUNANA COUNTRY divide first grades They eight eighteen After Yasu years instructed reputation ferocity native school teacher third fourth grades Kunama woman first second grades A intelligent students Pastor Hagner explained Lutheran secondary school As A really outstanding scholar added might Sweden further training About third dents girls represented biggest steps taken mission Strangely enough women heavy highly regarded Kunama whose society matriarchal respects In several AUSA KUNANA Kunama girla asked attend school admitted But A sense peace tribesmen stole warned pastor could waMted girls schoolet And elders warne girls would become sterile terrible thing Kunama woman attende school We called Italian district officer Pastor Hagner backed troops But battle first students birth That rather elders warnings SH After supper salad orangeade evening prayer Pastor Hagner performing vious delight children accordion organ The prayers hymns Kunama tongve curious language words ending Pastor Hagner first Kunama written language about years An eerie nightly visitor Ausa Kunama whistled through white washed mission buildings crawled comfortable built three legged chairs Sweden brought mission years We eight sandy river Gash which Kunama Barka watch water villagers stock Dead center river bottom Kunama braced crude platform drawing water buckets splashing cular troughs From every direction every valley Kunama herdsmen their flocks cattle lowing smell water The mission burros bearing lister waited patiently their drink bnrdened water stands Pastor Hagner motioned follow shuffled tDrough ankle A villager further river thinking buying mission I thought mioht We river through dusty silent spectral under mantle great formless brooding animal other Song birds flaunting brillian dipped turquoise crimson haunted acacias crying warning approach There around Pastor Hagner although I three leopards within sight mission years plain dotted ghzelle The river brilliant white against ochre again The locatio It carved outcropping river On other river similar formation pretty solid below river water retaining which would going during drought period The kunama digger squatting shade unaware value prize The pastor hauled bucket water tasted There sediment Out water itself clear Come mission counsel gedde asked T purpose plied digger shrug shoulders He cattle obviously interested selling Counsel always answered pastor Yes Mengedde mitted We saying cohnsel elephant without counsel cannot rabbit That saying I ISSIO SCHOOL friend Come counsel For Sweden eiephant As walked pastor doubtful would mission would probably along present which gradually caving How I asked would would The itself labor digging worth about American dollars Because excellent location price might double We mission Call clinic Nuslim villager asked pastor today Sunday since clinic except emergencies closed Sun Counsel elephant happy Tuesday About dozen natives waiting outside which mission clinic Their ailments ranged diseases which prevalent among Kunama suffering infection caused crude female circumcision SH Before treatment began mission staff gulped tablespoon liver short orning prayer pastor Then Abel unama dresser started serious cases That pastor pointing Abel interesting history His great grandfather Kunama Christ He lived course years before white unama country doubtful heard whites since Kunama because speak different similar language seldom travel outside their It could village village preaching aainst violence warfare He KUnama unlike would future generations message truth Kunama should revere honor their truth This whose Alangae smooth although never lived white Abel grandfather father witchdoctors Sossona after conversion natural should become medical assistant His knowledge grasses herbs saved Abel reformed witchdoctor medical assistant without portfolio hearing mentioned looked milky blindness smiled In afternoon crossed valley visit larger village shadow Catholic mission The priest great friend Lutheran neighbors scrupulously respect other spheres influence So directly villageo On across grave ofthe first Lutheran missionaries Kunama It marked block mortar discourage scavengers plain plaque It J Vanberg Only scraps where raised letters inscription The metal hungry Kunama taking their chances damnation scraped letters grave melted spearheads As climbed terraced hillside unknown where Kunama learned agriculture probably being intelligent people devised themselves Copts never occured invent wheel never learned terracing themselves tinkling bells faintly first distinctly group Pastor Hagner leading narrow stopped whispered I I believe there And Ena village And Ena orders Great Oe really counted finding At harvest around December Ku bulge millet honey spirits tribal heroes enter Kunama women usually sprinkling young girls replace crones These possessed women missionaries clothing masticated IOJNAiA WONEN AND FRIEND their custom women ordinarily stiffen their coiffures carry spears speak unknown tongue They remain state about during which travel viliage village where feted drink Each village depending possessed women Finally after about working themselves ectasy possessed women gather secret valley dance until While unconscious possessed women through agony which represents departure spirit place Necca Nedina Pastor Hagner unable explain pagan Ku Muslims their Necca Nedina explanation probably heard cities places possibly without reference Islam Then possessed women awake remembering nothing spirits another The tinkling bells sistant peeking around And Ena shuffling around inside karral They sarong clothes bright striped black carried spears silver hawks bells leather thongs thick rolls white wrapped coronets fronts their heads NISSIONARY S GRAV E When sighted shook their spears babbled their unknown tongue apparently gobbledegook Arabic Italian Tigre words They happy having their pictures taken shook their spears decidedly unfriendly fashion When showed signs leaving girls young probably sophomores possessed business karral disappeared grass walled labyrinth village We followed slowly skeptical degree their ectasy healthy respect spears hands people belly Halfway through village tinkling bells warned Us friends coming This there withered obviously She strutted howled shook spear faces gstoo Then kissed hands Kunama greeting owled A couple cohorts managed pretty imitation other matched confined themselves occasional whoop raher torpid spear shakingo When nobody watching We pictures could traced across valley mission through sacred grove Where Kunama people gather every seven years feasting match making renewing friend ships The whistling winds night Ausa Kunama second place evening soloist hyena whose tirade Southern Cross joined supported chorus village We mission filled sounds unusual bustle crying child The Svenssons three daughter fever convlSionso Pastor Hagner rolling venerable Austin comfort Volkswagen women Svensson Berglund Mro Svensson carrying POSSESSED WONEN child joined Keren doctor For great Left resources tramped across valley climbed mountain explored abandoned workers which lived mission during World War II Gold found Eritrea seldom large enough quantities mining paying proposition Such mined quality anklets noserings products which ready market among Kunama other primitive tribes About fifteen sites currently being mined The consisted large processing buildings roofless paved vacated snakes skins drying nests swallows several shafts dropping vertically bowels mountain The operative seven years cause shifta activity Ethi opian b0rder fifteen miles The mission Pastor Hagner bothered shifta because loyalty Kunama After bunging rocks shafts resist spitting bridge dropping stone followed another trail valley floor There seated under lacey acacia little superintending benefit woman building watched herdsmen driving their stock watering places upper pastures KUNA HOUSE RAISING Our Lutheran friends return evening little better touch intestinal Pastor Hagner tired after driving although Kunama country still offer sensed better At seven morning after handshaking around Swedish coffee Ausa Kunama There sense peace fulfilment there fortunate again anywhere Received New York