Society, Conversion, and Frustrations in the CMS and LMS Missions of Unyamwezi, Western Tanzania, 1878-1898

Abstract

This paper examines conversion strategies and unexpected results in the missions of Church

Missionary Society (CMS) and London Missionary Society (LMS) in Unyamwezi, western

Tanzania, between 1878 and 1898. Western Tanzania attracted Catholic and Protestant

missionaries in the second half of the nineteenth century. Of all the pioneer missionaries,

Catholics and Moravians established themselves in the region. Consequently, their education

and health institutions received a considerable scholarly attention. Although these missionaries

established themselves in the region, the works of the CMS and LMS, notwithstanding the

popularity of their medical services and education among the Nyamwezi people, ended in

frustration. They subsequently closed their missions after two decades of fruitless missionary

work. This paper, therefore, presents this unanticipated outcome of the CMS and LMS

missionaries whose conversion strategies had marginal impact on attracting the Nyamwezi

people to Christianity. The paper situates the missionaries’ failures within the context of the

social world of Unyamwezi, namely indigenous beliefs and practices, slavery, and porterage;

these affected evangelisation in the two missions of Urambo Kilimani and Uyui.