SIXTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SAN T j\ L Ml S S ION OF TRE NOR THE RNe HU :R C H E S (THE INlJIAN HOME MlSSION TO THE -SAillTADS} FOR THE YEAR 1&31. -...,...,~.~~ DUMKA PUBLlSH!D BY THE 8ANTAL MISiI9N OJ!' TU. jfor.'.cilb:kn Oij.:UJl,OllES 1~2...
THE SANTAL MISSION OF THE NORTHERN CHURCHES ~ ~e.ctttat] allb Cijf;tt::t Urtt. Rev. R. ROSENLUN Dumka, Santal Parganas, Bika1 #issinnaries. BAGGER, MR. & MRS. V. (arr. in India Dec. 1925 &. June 1926). Saldoru BJERKESTRAND, MR. & MRS. O. S. (arr. in India April, 1925), on ju1'1 BODDING, REV. & MRS. P. O. (arr. in India Jan. 1890 & Nov. 1915) Mohulpahan BOGH, MR. E (arrived in India December, 1919), Salcloha. BUTTE DAHL, MISS MAGNHILD, (arr. in India December 1927) Baraputa DIESEN, MISS NANCY, (arrived in India December,1911), Maharo. EIE, Mr. & Mrs. O. (arrived in India Ootober, 1920). Mornai T. E. GAUSDAL, REV. & MRS. J. (arr. in India Nov. 1915 & Jan 1919..AsEam Colony GIRTZ, REV. & MRS. J. M. (arrived in India April, 1925). on fu rl. GUINES, REV. & MRS. E. (arr. in India February, 1926 & Dec. 1927) Br.setknndi GLAD, REV. A. MRS. W (new arrival Nov 1931) Dumka. HELLAND REV. & MRS. B. A.. (arrived in India Oct 1926), Kaerabani. HOLTEN, MISS GUDRUN, Carr, in Tndia Dec. 1927), Benagaria. JOHANSEN J. ESQR.. (arrived in India. 1930) Dumka. JENSEN, MISS ANNA, (arrived in India March. 1908), on furl. KAJ[pp, REV. & MRS. H. P. H. (arr. in India Nov. 1915 & Maroh, 1918). on-furl. KRISTIANSEN, REV. & MRS. A. (arr. in India Dec. & Nov.1927), GaoraDg LOHNE, MIss LAURA. (arrived in India Oct. 1928). Saldoba. LOWE, MISS ERIKA, (arrived in India Nov. 1924), on-furl. MILDE, MISS HILDUR, (arrived in Tndia Oot 1928), on furz. MILLEH., M'ISS DAGMAR, (_rrived India November. 192 1). Haraputa. NIELSEN, M'KS. DINA, (arrived in Sov. 191-n. Kornya. OJrSTAD.a.v. &:; MRS. K.(arr. in India 'Nov. 19la & May, 1917), in furz. OLISEN, Mrss.A.1UU, (arrived in India April, 1925), cmftj,rj.
OSTERGAARD DR. E. (arr. in' India 1928). Benagarla. PEDERSEN Miss Anna, (arrived in India Maroh, 1920), on. furz. PEDERSON, ReV. & Mas. M. A. (arr in lndia Oct. 1904), Kaerabani PETERSEN, DB. Miss D. (new arrival Oot. 1931). Benagaria.. RASMUSSEN MISS. M. E. (new arrival 1930.) died on her way home. ROSENLUND, REV. & M.RS. R. (arrived in India Febr.191O" DamIta THU, REV. & MRS. ARNE, (arrived in India Maroh 1920), Benagaria. TROMRORG, REV. & Mrs. KR. (arrived in India Sept. 1920 & Oct. 1928) Henagaria. WINDING, REV. & MRS. H. (arrived in India May 1917 & Deoember 1916) on furl. WOLD, MIss K. (arrived in India. Febr. 1930). Maharo. iii ~ru.6tte.6. REV. R. RosINLuND. Dumb., Sa.ntal Parganas. RIGHT REv. B. STOYLEN, KRIBTIANSAND, NORWA.Y. REV. COUNT VIGGO MOLTKB, ASIlINDBROD, FRBDBNBBOBG, DBNKARK. REv. A. J. HULTENG, Grand Forks, North Dakota. U. S. A. REV. J. J. OF.!3TAD, Attorney: REV. JOR8. GAU8DAL. Rlv. M. A. P.IIDBRBON. ~onte ~oarb.6. ihe NOWREGIAN BOARD FOR THE SANTAL MISSION Pre8ident. REOTOR HANS HORG. Vice-President. PROP. KARL VOLD. Secretary. REV. J. O.rSTAD. HOLBERGS PLADS 7, OSLO. 'Jlrea8U1 er. MISS. ASTA OPSAHL, HOLBBRGS PLADS 7, OSLO. MISS M. KINNl!IltOD, RONSBERG ESQ.
iv REV. M. JOHNE. REV.A~.E. LEJl:RE..,. S. HALB<:\,.. Adv.o.cate of. i Hig,li Gouz.t. TH~DANlsH BOARD FORTKE SANTAL MISSION P~.Bl;V\ F. 0lLD*1'I"'1!~, V A'fiY, Co~~~, ~tlmfl!l. RW. VA:if.D. -e~rmalnlj<:n, AAltlIUB; ~-+.~. REV. C. CHRITEHSEN, Villa Alb&, KGllgens Tvervej l4)j Copenhagen. MRS. SVELMO ':C.BOr.lMN,. RBV". V1DlNT V. MOLD!lB. REv. DEAN J. C. CHRISTENSEN, CARLSEN,SlrIQDT, ESQ. REV. DEAN K. HIOTKJAR. REV. A. THELE. RIGHT REV. H. FONNESBECH WULF. MI. hmr. THE AMmrttCAN BQA"DfI'OR 1'H~ SAMTAL MTSSIO'N Sugsburg Seminary, Mimreapolis, Minn. U. S. A. R~. 'A. J. 1!tt.'iJNG. 'PresU1ent RBv. J. C. AABERG Vice- ~iident. REV. M. A. PEDERSON See'y and Treas. PROF. A. HELLAND Ohairman Ex GaIN. ~. J. c.. &o.s.,el.uw. REV. W M. HMtEII1. REV. O. J. NORBY. REV, A. 1t. ' PETERSON. REV. S. O. ltondestvej). MR. OTTO ROON. MR.. SIVERT THOMPSON. ' lffi :S~. M. STENBY. The Committee of the American IJanish I'vang. tuth. Ohtt'tch. REV. A. DAN,' President. REV.. f. 0.. AABERG,.8eG,(.skm./. Mus. K'A~OLINE B.' ~OLH~D.E, G:n.\YLLING, MICJi_ 'i!r.ea&c1l er.
<SANTAL,PASTORS. Ohano llutttd\l),~tired) Dhoro,It1~ur. Jalpa Soren, 1901, Narayanpur (Tear P. O. DinaifJur.) B.a tia Mech, 1911, H8raPUtfl';(Assam Colon".) Kambo Murmu, 1916,. Ben.agana. Dhunu Kisku, 1916, BtaripUT. (,P(Jk1iri~P.O.) Musui HilsdaR, 1916, Tilabani. (Mokulpakari P. oj Kisun Tudn. 1921, Rantzaupur. (Assam Colon".) Lodo Soren, 1923, Sapadoha. (Benagaria P. 0.) Dhononjoe f)jha, 1923, Maharo. (Dumka PO.) Palu HasdaR:, 1923, Domboria. (Kaerabani P. oj Tika Murmu, 1924, Chondorpura. (Katikund P. 0.) Andreas Murmn, 1924, Dumka. Baijal HasdaR, 1924, Gamharpahari (Benagar;a P.o.) Mondol M urmu, 1924, Saldoha. (Mokulpakari P. 0.) Champai Hasdak, 1924, Pipra. (Malsera P. 0.) Khela Pastor, 1924, Assa,n1 Colony. Sonaton Hembrom, 1925, Basetkundi. (Mahespur P.o.) Minghu I~oren, 1926, J oema. (Gosaingaon p. 0.) Galu Soren, 1928, Kaerabani. Pi tor HemJrom, 1928, Mornai. (Dingdinga P. 0.) Simion Murmu, 1929, Khoribari (Muckia P. 0.) Emanuel Tudu, 1929, Dhorompur (Kumrabad P. oj Kunjal P~uria, 1930, Pharidpur (Habra P. 0) Lokhon Hembrom, 1930, Grahampur (Dingdinga. P. OJ Mongol Kisku, 1930, Dina j pur, Rautnagor, (RanisanluziJ Ragda Soren, 1931, Jolesari (Gosaingaon P.O ) P.O.)
VI Kalu Kisku, 1931, (Moltulpahari P.O.) Khudia Ma rndj, 1931, Koroya, (Dumka P.O.) Bengali Pasktn. J. Mazumdar, 1929, Rampurhat. Srinath Biswas, 1930, Nalhati
THE SIXTY FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1931. wa Ot5::F - We are humbly thaukful that some of the words said about the Church of Philcdelphia. (Revelation S, 7-18) could be applied to the church out here in which we are serving. Perhaps there is not so very muoh power in the ohuroh. But nevertheless, the open door is still before us. What was said in the report for 1980 ooncerning the political background might be repeated here. 'rhere does not Beem to be any change in the attitude of the Santals owing to political hlfiuel.ces. The same might be said as far 8S I ('&n see about the Boros among whom our mission work is steadily ~rowing and expanding.,anq concerning other people
2 THE SANTAL MISSION OF THR NORTHERN OHURCHES. among whom we are working it could at least be said that we do not fe~,,-tbei..- attitude towards Christianity or the mission much changed from what it used to be. We ha~ betll);.,0 2JlnaJUial- ;clifiielilties; iill.b7!bar owing espechl1y to tile very low prices we have got for our tea. It is a very bad time for tea business in India and Ceylon ana.,._~"here and we are not yet through it. We are very thankful to the friends in our homelands for helping us through so far by special contributions. " Another difficulty has beeu the economical situation in our Assam colony. A blld year and low prices on agricultural prorlucts caused delay in paying revenue to the Govermuellt and made it impossible for the colonist to contribute the expected amount to the church.fund. Moreover, the mission haj to fgrward ~: S~Ull of Its. 1(\,000 as ~a Joan to the Colony Loan FUl\d.toenab,w.poor colonist.to rajee.qlqpey for ~ng their taxes. And.a.t present.tile,miniojil ihas fiot.ilo 'mooey.avail~pje whiohllas llot ;boou ~m"nk.«l for some purpose. 'fhis. t~ we t.ook th" mod~y budgeted for the Maldah Fund, and into that fund we 'shal1 have'to paytifhem llack, as soon as the Colony Loan "Fund can -afford it. Xhere ~ nothing. iu.ter~8ting nor edijying in ~ l,qug taj~ ah9ut fipaneial difiqulties..uu~. J,think atl ~iw~ l1av~,got to rcpql't of suol1 t:r1l.q~1.~s ~ii!y~r. Au4 we must ;be.. thankf~. tb,~... "Qt'f).paw~ n~i;!~~
, SIXTY )liptk ANNUAL BIlPORT. any worse than theirs. One thing should be mentioned here. It might seem peculiar that we have just this year been using money out of our tea-garden reserve fund towards new construotions and maohinery. We had to do it partly because the Manager's bungalow had been destroyed by the earthquake and partly beoause the factory and machinery had become quite out of date and incapable in tbe oompetition with other tea-gardens. We were luoky that we had a reserve fund, a.nd much more could not be taken from that without t1ndangering the fuiure of the garden. Weare thankful to our managing agents Messrs G. Loohen & Co, Calcutta for able management in a. difficult and critical time. The financial difficulties - which are no doubt going to continue in 1932 as well, and perhaps longer - have been a 80rt of help in our work. Now the Christian Santals begin to believe us when we talk to them about the necessity of finding more money for the work in the oongregations themselves J a.s our friends in the homelands are poorer now than they were some ye(lrs ago. Steps towards rc selfsupport " are naturally delayed in "good" tildes when the homeland friends seem to be able to find more and more money for the work out here. But the life in the congregation out here needs a steady a.dvance towards the "grown up" stage, and hard times are a blessing in disguise as suoh times will- further such advance.. J}
, THE BANTA.L. -».1.SI81QN'~' TUB, ~T~ ~HURCBES. Wbe -.ClwrU Maatil\g in JJe.~lPria r~}>o~tedrof".in ~.e p:r;tlviqwi, tl'epql't ~gwe a,g.qqd im.pulse. 1'00 sause c#,:.j;ejfpo~lity.bas. r);)etul SQmew,hat,,stJ;e.ngth~nsd luu:e i-wi t~r~.. 4 SQ14t 0. ;QQntj.o,ua.tion pomm.ii.~' Jlas been, :tryi n g j~ :best ~ frt.ud wa,s..,add melwf3 Ifor ~e ~iq. W~.di1ee~on.. 'During theyemo we' nave had '2 conventions, one of a more 'foca'l nature in 'Pastor 3'alpa's station, Narayanpur 'innimljpur in April, ana one 'big C' ordinary'" convention lin M~h&ro in 'December. At-that convention 'z we 'had the grea.t joy 0' being together with Mena's rrem1lhe 'Church of Scot1and Mission! the Church Mi8 idn~ry1society, the 'MethocTist Episcopal Churcn and the American BaptIst Bengal Orissa 'MiE:sion. We were a.ll in all 668 persons gathered and we had 8 good d~ys together. Ev~, time ;we meet for Buch CQnventio'ns ~he, d~fferent Santal Ch.u.r.ches draw closer toge-,th~l'. 'R9:W; 'it ~8 tv be effected we do not 'yet know, hut, the,,' h?~ {s. stre~gthened that some time iu the future there will be one Santal Church. There is something unna.tnml in a.splitting up in 80 many differ ~p~' c~nrplies,j,especially for the Santals whoars not WQre than apout 2 million J>eople and who have a V8fS gtron,g tendency- to keep close together.,c~gern~.u.g themiasi()n8j;'ws.tafi ihere:is :to,ll~pq,it that, ;we, ;lla~e ibeen,seriollsly reminded of \~e uneer ~ of,..11.human plans and hopes.and,&rl'-angementa. A s has be,en tqld in our mission papers: :Miss M.,E. Ras.tDllSSen h~to leave IDdia on account \0 rapidly developing cancer and died on luu'.,wa.y,to
har liomelu.nd., We tsha.t\.k Goci folf' tthe time Miss Ra.smussen wa.~ amojig US" here, we <8&1 that it was not in vain. 'Toget'hel' ~h Miss Rasmu"Ssen Miss' H. RoUen went home, to a~com:pa.uy aud help her", And:in the same complll'tmentfrom Calcutta. wass:.mass,ado. Jensen to whom we ar-a Vl6ry thaukiulfe>r,the, g~ work she has Qane. and, wr f-eilow;sbsip\1' We :ieeli ~ after Miss Jensen hils left, we her fellow workers and the Santa.ls. The fo1lowiug missionaries havre, le ii, on :finttleagh, Mr. H. Winding withiiamily,. M,r,.. H.P. II.. ~, Miss E. Lowe, Miss A. Olesen, Mr. J. M. Girtz "'ith.fa:ttri1r.mel Mr. K. OlStad with amny. And the following we have had the j{jy of ow. coming out here, ~h. Gansdal with famj1y1.' M~ Min Mrs. M. A. Pedersen, Dr. Miss Da;gtlDaI' P.IJ8eD, Miss G. Holten (a.fter a very short resting time),!ii'. Glad and family', N.fi'ss L. 'Lohne and Mr. E. Bogb. Among those the Gla.d iamb,. 1ind ~r: Il'ls,r.~. Peteratm are new60mens ji :mightthey getr a ilhappy and blessed WOf king, ti ma.(j1l t lrfer~. BENAGARIA. -~ BUt he said, Nay. Lest, whi~,,ye gather up- the tares, ye root up. also the whea.t with them.
6 TUB san'!'al insslon 0:;' THB blo'&thern OHURCHES. Let them both grow together until the harvest." Math. 13, 29.30. These words have often come to my mind when thinking of the work here and of the year gone by. There seems to be quite a lot of "tares" among the "wheat " And if the command had been to remove it, I am afraid we should have needed more time, strength and wisdom than we have at our disposal. But we are glad that the Lord has permitted us to let it remain until the harvest and haa given us a much more joyful commission, to "preach the Gospel to every creatore. " Mark 16, 15. Our desire is that this high calling should inspire and guide all our activities. We have many short comings and mistakes to regret and confess. But we thank the Lord that He has not withdrawn His great meroy and sustaining grace. In mentioning the differen t branches of the actio vities here let me start with the:- CODp'.,.tionai Work. We have no great event to mention or any big progress to report. But we are thankful for permis sion to continue oor regular mission work in all the places of previous years. The staff is nearly the same and most of the workers have continued in the places of last year, as follows:
tux'ry ruth ANNUAL R1U>ORT. 7 BenagaNa: Pa.stor Kambo Murmu. Elders: Dhunu Kiska, Mongol Mur mu, Khade Hasdak. "Biblewomen: Anpi, Salomi, Mariam, & Salgi. Gamltaryahari: Pastor Baijal Hasdak. Elders : Sodanondo Baske. Bi blewomen: Jilpit & Hupni. 8apado.ha: Pastor Lodo Soren. Elders: Gundhu Murmn ~ Barsa Hasdal. Malho is Biblewoman there. SOMn'-Itor: Elders: Lutu Tudu, Durga Hembrom, Jadu Hasdak and Saona Hembrom. Biblewomen: Maria & Sumi. Jithia: Elders: Kerap HemLrom and Umes Mardi. Matiajuri: Elder: Ram Baske. Buruamcua: Elders: Hikim Baske and Basu Baske. Biblewomen: Ma.riam and Dolgo. Dimoadoha: Elder: Anta Murmu. Biblewomen: Chita and Pargi. We are thankful to Rev. & Mrs. Thu and the ~tudentb of Benagaria Divinity School for work and help during the year. Rev. Thu has often preached at our Sunday servic~s. Mrs. Thu has helped in the work among women. The students have done evangelistic work in the villages and also rendered good assistance in the work amoilg the young people of the congregation.
,Su:mlhha 'Hemhmm, 'elideif' ing&mha,'rpldill-l'i! 19ad to,be' dismiss-ed dolt,ing the'y..sarr (ttl account ~~' imm~al behavior. We ha.ve also "exoommunicate.cit tm1 YOllng people on account of adultery. One of them a christian 'marl's wife bas' ~expregs'ed d'esfre' to: n'e readttli~d into the cotlg eg'a1tio'n. But as sh-e :P,ad' cal''tied' 'On this immoral life for years, we have decided to wait for some lime in order to, una 'out if' She is' sincere,. ~ ; ~ or not. The Roman Catholics have been quite active at intenals' during the' yea'r. And as far as we are aore to figure out they have caused 32 persons, children anel grown u,p peop~? ~~ joi~, their church. I am, however, sorry to say, that severa.l of the grown up persons among tnose 3'2',' were nearjy going to have their names out from t~e cill,irqh. roll. Two of them are paid as elders and they are said to proclaim in the villages freedom to drink rice beer and dance,if, they only will. ~ome Gath.~lics. It is rather Eltrange to ohserve that they seem to exercise most of t~ir eoorgies towru:ds making, some of.our Christians com~ o~er into their Jo~. while they car~ 'little about hea the~s,. at least in o~r district. kt ~ end' of~ year we na(l-the joy of bap titttlg a' faan1y, hn'si>a;nd, \rife' and 'c-ni1d neat Gamnar 'pa1ta.rt. 'fl\lr m-an has b~pb:' a vety eager' -«orshipper () e'9t1 1 8pifi'ts', Butifle' Ih'st"faitn in' them and has turned to Ohrist.
'~h8.,pap~,~ Qf~ the..lftal! ~~.~be\~n,as:: ~WB : Village: fmulrdren lof ",',r"," ~m Benagaria Sapha&ollB Gamha..1tpfiha.ri Belbuni Buruameu& Dimbadoba Itor CJ Ghuian.!parents ;liieatben 8 1 5 Tot~l ~ 6 SOROOLS. Village Schools. The Progress of 'O'ur school wol'k is slow. But in spite o unqllalified teachers and difficulties in gathering the children for instruction, J am glad for the opportunity we get in OUf schools to give christian teaching, A nd I believe it is some of our most important work from the mimlun point of view. TWQ b~g boss and.one Marly ;grown up girl from olle of OUf,,vill~ge scho.ols (.Belbu~) are e~jl86tly wishing to be baptized. But the parents have not giwi911 their.satjicttiod' jas yet. -'roo ~ boys however have' been ~mitted tp go: to i()ur!c-hristiian 'boys" M. E. school at l\.lwrabani:,!with ::the pl'omise' that :tf tfjey insist on hecoming Ohristia.us' after b9.ving nad for 'some' time there, the parents will 'Root Testat..
10 THB SAN'fAt IfISSION 01' THE NORTHKRN CHUROHES. We. have a great desire to go on with our village schools a.nd improve them. Below is submitted So list of our village schools and teaohers respectively. No. Teachers' Village.' Roll Narr.e Name No. 1. Pitor Hembrom Dimbadoha 20. 2. Khela Kisku Lukhijol 18. 3. Harma Soren Hatbari 17. 4. Caitan Hasdak Asanbani 18. 5. Da.vid Hasdak Jamkandor 20. 6. Umes Baske Athuria 17. 7. Biram Murmu Ghatkandor 16. S. Dasmath Hembrom Manjhladi 16. 9. Somae Marndi Simanjor 19. 10. Sonkhor Baske Buruamcua 16. Total 177. Boys'. U p. School, 8eD.,ula Total enrolment 109. Average attendance 79. Seven teachers. Appeared for examination 96. Passed 63. A number of Muhammedan and Bengalee boys also come to our school. And we!1re glad to see them there. The school has gone well and obtained a very good report, this year from the Government's deputy inspector of schools.
I SIXTY li'lli'th ANNUAL RlI:POBT. 11 Girl.' U. P. SohooIs, Banagaria. Total enrolment 63. Average attendance e. Teachers 5. We sent a number from the upper classes to Maharo' Girls' School at the begining of the year. Several of them had no parents and we thought it better for them in many ways to be admitted there in our good boarding sohool. We have made some ohanges for the better, we believe, with regard to the teaohing stail. The Indultrial School. The industrial school is popular, especially the carpentry section. Quite a number applied for admittance. Experience has taught us to seleot those who have some knowledge in reading & writing as they can pick up the work much quicker. We imagine that the standard of the weaving section has improved from last year. The supervison there rests mostly with Mrs. Tromborg. From the mission point of view I am specially glad for the good opportunity tlie boys ha.ve for obtaining Christian instruction while staying here. The enrolment for the year ha.s been: 45. Oarpentry section 13 have finised the 8 years coo.rse. Weaving" 7""" 2" " Two boys from the weaving secti~nhave been sent to, and partly supported, at the Government Weav. ing Institute at Serampur. o
U THB SANTA.L MIBSIOB OF THlD NORTHERN OBURCHIIS. At the Hijla Mela exhibition 8efBral.prizus were obtained for wea.ving and carpent.y work. We tender our thanks to the Governll'.lBnt for grants jn aid to ow' sehools as foj]ows : Benagaria. U. P. Boys' sebool Rs. 64.0/- u. P. Girls' 360/- ". Industrial " " " " 2,800/.:.. " " Th~ Prell : Boys' Evening " " 96/- The ~ith utand well... known Srish Babu, who for a long time was manager of the press died in the middle. of the year after a long period of weakness and some weeks of serious inness. Since the. death of Srish Babu ilj r. K ~ R. Ghose, has taken over the managemellt of the pre8s beside his many other du t~es. 8ince the begining of the year the Book sales 1J.Dd the publishing part of the Press wol"k have been separated from the pri~ting work, for which separate accounts are, also carried: We feel that as a great satisfaction. The press has worked well. Beside the regular isso.ee of. '''Pet:& Hor" in Santali and "Bongo Bondhu" I in Bengali the following books have bean printed daring the year.
SIXTY FIftH ANN-UA-L REPORT. 13 Jisu Masiak' -Jion C8Irit... 509 Jisu real{, Gidrako lagit'... 1000 80r0 Daily r~dings. 400 Boro Pahil puthi 2nd. Edition 3000' Annual Report 400 Panji 19S:t 1300 B. & O. Council report 150 B. & O. Constitution... 500 Maha Sabha Report 400 Bengn.li Lutheran Hymnal 500 " Besides the above, the com posing work of the Musical edition of the Seren Puthi was completed during the year, and about 250 copies were bound to meet the immediated demands for the same. A nurnber() forms etc. }1'or the Governm-ent a.nd others lhlve also been printed. The Zemindary. The rent collections and other works in connection with thezemindary have been earned on as usual in th-e past year. On account of very low paddy prices there has heen shortage of cash among the people and consequently diffieulties in payment. :'fhat has made the --collections about Re. 1000~ -less then last year. -'Bat aside from that we have not felt any special unwillingness to pay. The statement of income and expenditure will be found in the accounts appendi~es under the head 'Of " " " " " " " " "Indian Home Mission ;Zeml-ndary Estate." * * <* * **.;.,
14 THE SAN'l'AL MISSION 011' THlIl NORTHERN CBUBOBitS. In olosing we send our greetings and cordial thanks to those who have been with us in "prayer and supplioation with thanksgiving." We trust that you will continue with us in the new year. K. Tromborg. BASETKUNDI DISTRICT. It may perhaps be well to give a short review of the work at the different stations this year. Baromaaia. The number of Christians are 102. Ragda is the leader. The previous elder Chandrae has been dismissed on aooount of several irregularities in conduct, and Baona was appointed in his place. It seempd a little diffioult for awhile, as the Christians divided themselves into two pa.rties. The two men came with their adherents and complained about the other. The trouble was settled in a short time. Espeoially in Baromasia have we been happy to see that some of the Christians have shown enthusiasm in learning the Lutheran view of Christianity, in order that they might have something with which to oppose the arguments of the Catholics. They have also assisted in the work in opposing them. Baptised 1 child of Christan parents and 6 children of heathens. 5 Died. Kormo. Tbere are 24 Christians. In this little congregaa tion which has built its own church, we have an
SIXTY PllrTR ANNUAL RBPOB'i'. 15 elder, but they are visited regularly from Baromasia. There are good signs of real christian life at this place. Average Church attendance is 18 Baptised 4 from heathens. 1 Died. Simoldohi. There are 163 Christians. I am sorry to say I had to report last year that the catholics had made a good start here. This year I have the joy of telling you that nearly all the christians that went over to the catholics have come back. The leader Ibra, is a very good and trustworthy worker, and there is good hope of the growth of the congregation. Hatimara. Average Baptised and 2 Died. number of church attendanoe 48. 10 Children of christian parents. 3 from heathens. 88 Christians. Leader is still Bhaero. Agaic and again throughout the year we heard about heathens who began to go to church but nearly as often we were told thll.t the catholics hindred them. The results were that they came neither to them nor to us. There were exceptions of course. Two young men who are in school at Hatimara, are being instructed for baptism, and we hope that their parents ljill also come. There are no new baptisms.
i6 THE SAN'rAt MISSION OF THE 1II0RTHERN OHURCHES. The big event of the year 'is that the' congre. gation ha.ve a new church~ The building that they previously used, had only three walls, and was thereforce scarcely usable. We bad the great joy of building this much needed church for money Bent us by a women's society in "Roeslyng" in Oslo. We did not get any help from the congregations as it is small and not very strong. The building is made of mud wi b'a thatehed r.oof. Kakjol. Average church attendance 16. There are 102 christians. Pitho is still the leader. The work progresses steadily. A new elder J atu, was a.ppointed instead of Bajo,,vhe was moved to Sirampur as a leader. Ch8lldpur. Average church ;attendance 30 Baptised 5 children of christian,pare'ntage 6 heathens 6 died. There are '17,6 Christians. Lubai is the leader with,the same elders. The,congregation has increased steadily mr several years, but it seems to ha.ve been a little more slack this year. Still at the beginning 9f the new year they have th.e joy of leaving several heathena unaer instruction for baptism. Avera.ge church a'ptendance 47.
Sirampur. SIXTY FIPl'B ANNUAL BJDPORT. 17 Baptised.. 8 children of christian par&.ota and: 8 heathens. 4 died. There are 40 Christians. Tile lead61' is Baja who was moved from Kakjol. He is a good worker and takes good care of the Christians: Haripur. Average church attendauce 10. Baptised 1 child of Christian parents and 5 heathens. 2 Died. Number of Christians 101. It has been a critical year for this congregation. We had to di~tniss Pastor Sugda on a'ccount"of his wif~'s bad btlhavior. Therefore Haripur and all tbe congregations that were served Ii)' hill were without a pastor for several months and did not have regular communion services. Jujhar, was at this time leader of the cdngregation assisted by a young mad, Sibram. Because the pastor had to leave in this manner the congregation suffered great injury But the two young men took up the work with entbusiasm and courage and it all seemed to go very well. Then in the meantime Sibrams' wife died of a cobra bite in July and he left the place. In the fall, at the wish of the entire congregation, their old pastor DhuDU, from Mohulpahari came. back again. It has been difficult to gather the congregation and has caulad
18 THE SANTAL MISSION OF TUg NORTHERN OHUROHES. much sorrow to see 80 few in church. To our great joy Eli Bogh took up the work in the Haripur congregation in Deoember. He concentrated his efforts on the work in Haripur congregation because it seemed the weakest. We have the hope that with God's help the congregation will again grow strong. CUDpoda. Average church attendance 18. Baptised 1 heathen. 4 Died. N umber of Christians is 78. We regret to say that the work seems to be at a standstill. Comparatively many have moved from the district. Rajpokhur. Average church attendance 20. Baptised 1 child of Christian parents. N umber of Christians 146. This is the congregation that previously was called &idpur. Bhiku's p~yer at the time of the dedication of the new church last year, namely, that their neighbors might be saved, has been answered. We baptized four children of christians and twenty eight from the heathens. Paipaharj. Average church attendance 50. Number of Christians 97. On account ofqllarreli concerning their land, the Christians have separated
SIXTY FIFTH ANNUAL RIlJPORT. 19 the village of Karipahari, and Borne go to church at Tarni and the others remained at Patpahari. Average church attendance 20. Baptised from Christians 5. " Heathens. 2. 1 Died. Basetkundi. Number of Christians 215. Pastor Sonaton and especially the elder Sagram have done a good and trustworthy work. from the district. Com paratively many have moved Average church attendance 82. Baptized from Christians 5, from heathens 4. 5 Died. At the beginning of the year we have 3 or 4 families for instruction for baptism. The total number of baptisms from all congregation: 40 children of Christians, 66 heathens, 9 confirmed, 1.3 couples married, died ~6. Church council met 2 times. We have haei 20- Sunday school classes in the Government school with an avera.ge attendance of 243. Our 9 village schools have had an average attendallce of 1040. Besides the weekly collection, the Christians began ast year to bring offerings of the firstfruits of the harvest, a.nd they continued this year. Besides thir they gave one pai of rloe per head last year and this year at a congregational meeting they decided to increase it to 2 paj. On account of the low D
20 THE S4.NT \L MISSION 01 THE NORTHIHUIl CHURCHE~. prioo- Qf l'iee it did not _ amollnt to so much in money. In some places the Ohristians have deeided to give one day's work for the repairing of their ~burches. liany have actua.lly come and given their day's work, but it is diflioqlt to get all to join in the work. We look back on the past year with thanks to God because despite the difficulties we have had in some places, we have had on the whole a good year and have experienced God's great work amongst the people. My - best thanks to all our friends who have remembered us with gifts and 10 prryer. E. G;mnes. SALDOHA LEPER. COLONY AND DISTRICT AN.\UAL REPOR'r. The outstanding event of the year was the baptism of ao patients on the last Sunday of September. More than 60 had been attending regularly their instruction classes throughout the year, and all of them asked to be baptised. But a mass baptism is always a serions matter, and especially so in a.n institution, where the majority will remain only for Ii sh ort span of year~, after which they go back to their Heathen village and relatives.,\ nother reason for being cautious is the common belief amongst the Santals, that they will hhve a grea.ter hope o cure from tbejr disease, if they become Cluisti.an~. Though there is some truth in that., namely that a. higher wq(al standard of life benvfits
SIXTY li'ljiith ANNUAL RKPOR7. 2i the treatment, still the idea is so eonlleeted with the Hea.then worship ~f spirits, that we bad to' treat it as a superstition to be got rid of. Wben the da.y for baptism approached we commnnica.ted with their respective homes and iuvited relatives to attend and also informed the congrega.tions concerned, so that they may be ready to receive them, when they go from here. And then arrived what seemed to us to be the greatest of many great days in the history of Saldoha.. The baptism took place at one of the pukltris, as the church was far too small that day, and the many hundreds who gathered around will never forget the sight of those 50 men, women girls and boys, who for the moment had forgotten all their troubles over the JOY of being admitted into the kingdom of God. The medical work has been carried on fa.ith ully and efficiently and resulted in ma.ny cases improving and arrest of the disease in some 10 caseel, most of them remaining in the colony for further observation. In all 395 lepers were trea.teda.t S~ldoba.. In November a clinic for out-door treatment was opened at Baromasia, some 10 miles from Saldoha, where the staff of the 00lol1Y will go once a \veek and give treatment to the numerous lepers of that district. At the end of the year Sli lepers are undei' treatment there. The district work bas shown very little progress. There seem! to be an open door,and 2 or 3 ffmlilies
22 THE SANTAt MISSION OF THE NORTHERN CHURCHEs. have asked for baptism, but it has proved difficult to -get them properly instructed, and for that purpose as well as for bringing the gospel regularly to the villages one or two good Elders are very much wanted. The sehool work has made slight progress in quality, so to improve that 2 trained teachers have been engaged. Two new village schools were started, the villagers having offered to build the scllool.houses in both cases at their own cost. The 5 schools of the district show an average daily attendence of 120, the 3 schools of the colony showing 50. A school house for a U. P. school has been constructed at Saldohd. partly through a donation of a Norwegian friend of the Mission, and partly through a grant from Government. V Bagger CHONDORPURA DISTRIOT. A faithful work is being done. The weak point 18 still Ranga in the North. We hope to get a well trained leader up there. in Tarni also we shall have to place a leader (instead of Kalu who has been transferred to Mohulpahari ). In fact we have found a man for this work-pastor Galu in Kael'abani who has got is home near Chondorpura. As a whole the life in the congregations is growing and along with it the feeling of responsibility.
The special congregational meetings have been continued. The outlook is very hopeful. 23 Regarding the districts Dhorompur, Tilahani-Kari. kador, Dumka-Mohulpahari, the North-West -and Chondorpura., I refer to the statistics given later on in this report. DUMKA - MOHULP AHARI. Old pastor Dhunu has been transferred from Mohulpahari to his old place Haripur. The COllgre. gation over there wanted him back when pa.stor Sugda had to leave the work, and besides that Dhunu has not heen able to go about as much as is needed owing ~o a.ge and bad health, whereas in Haripur there is a smaller area to visit. We have got Kalu Kisku ordained and ~t... tioned in Mobulpahari. His home is near Mohulp~ilari. He is a good, and faithful worker. He has been working for several years in other places (Majdiha, Tarni) and besides that he has passed his Divinity School exl:l.mination. We have much confidence in him. The work has been going on as usual and there IS nothing specially new to report. M any of the workers are old paople and they are as a whole doing their work!1ithfully. Church attendance is good. In Dumka the congregation has paid a oonsiderable sum towards rebuilding the old church in the compound which is now used as a school.
t4 THE 8ANT,i. VlSHlON OFTHI': N()R1'HERN CHURCHES. TILABANI - KARIKADOR DISTRlCT. As usual. And we should be glad if 8()methin~ unusual could be reported, but it is a. bard district In the congreg~icm there is a growing feeling oj responsibility a.nd some steps have been taken in thf direction of "unpaid work" by members, which is a very good sign. In KARLKA DOR we need a. helper in the work, the leade.r '$here u, very lonely. We hope to g~t one of the young men from the D iv'inity School. DHOROMPUR DISTRICT. The salue. could be said as in the pnwious report except that we have now got a better arrangement for ihe school at too statio., 80 that the school is now again satisfactory. The outlook is bopeful because the young men there - it it:! mostly a staff of YOD.Jag men - aze working faithfully and with hope. A.s has been said before it is always a joy to be together with tbe congregation in Dhorompur church on a Sunday. One gets a feeling _ that the work is not in vain. A ~vere hindrance to ~ work is all the drunkenness ~ the heathen po.pulatioo i there seems to be more of that here tl_h~.n in- most other areas.
BIXTY FurTH ANNUAL REfORT. 25 In the very 10,uely Bagjobda there.. re no visible results as yet but the lea.der is working with hope (see previous report). THE NORTH.WEST FIELD. Perhllps in no other district has the number of "elders" dwindled down Si) rapialy as here a.nd especially in the area near Maharo. 80me of them 8 re old pensioners and some have died or left the work. And neither the mission nor the congregations could afford in these difficult times to replace more than a part of the original number. We wish we could, but the difficult times are no doubt a useful lesson for us. Time is moving, the life in the collgregation would not he life if it were necessary to go on for ever with quite the same mf'thods as in the ojden times. A part of this district is similar to the limd to the East of the ~ or-river (a"newer country") where olden time methods might fit in. Few and scattered Christians amongst a compact and hard heathen population, the very novelty of Christianity seems to 1'equire a great num ber of elders who oould go long distances Vlsltmg Christians, giving them advice a.nd help in difficult cases, pl'eaching the Gospel ever'ywhere~ As the cong.oega.tions g"ow tl1uco of this work ought to devolve on the congreg'j'tions themselves, or rather on the members. Than the
26 THE SANTAL MISSION OP' THE NORHERN CHURCHES. need comes for unpaid workers or workers paid by the church and not by the mission. And I am very thankful to be able to tell in this report as in the pr~vious report that our unpaid elder (Hari from Jaratikur to the West of Mahara) is continuing his wo rk travelling Bround here and there,?ite!! long -distances, visiting Christians and heathens. 1 n this report it should be mentioned that Kanhu in M aharo bas passed away. He was an outstanding figure, ': one' of the "old timers" He has served long and well in the mission. In his last years he was' not able to go about so much as before. He was suffering from diabetps aud had very much troule with a swollen leg, but nevertheless he was a useful man to Maharo school and congregation. In th~ JAars when M&tharo school was being built hi~ services were especially valuable..as in JALWAE so.in DUMBRIA a church is needed. Jalwae has got the church as our friends know, alld a good leader, and the work there continues to be promis. ing. This year we bave made up our minds that we must have a church in DumbriH., our North. Western outpost with 4 Ohristian families. As leader tht3re we intend to put Gurnid in Maharo, a.good and faithful worker, wbo has hitherto been working in the school but whom, we need now for congregational 'and mission work.
SIXTY FIFrH ANNUAL RBPOBT. 2' In KOROY A the work is going on as uaual. Khudia has been ordained. In MAJDIHA there has - I am sorry to say - been 80 muoh grumbling against the leader that we shall have to wliit some time. But a pastor is needed there also. This North - Western District is of a peculiar form as it also comprises a part of Chondorpura Distriot (the Silingi area). It has proved to be a practical arrangement although it looks queer on the map. Mrs. KOROYA. Nielsen writes:- It has heen a year with things happening in the Koroya. congregation. First, that the congregation after all decided, that they would like Khudia. ordained, which was done in the month of A ugust, and we are glad now to have our own Pastor. We had the disappointment, that Ludu had to be dismissed, oecause of misconduct. As he has not been able to humble himself so far and ask for forgiveness from the congregation, he has not heen allowed to partake in the Lord's Supper. Khudia ha.s only Cunu and Hikim now as his helpers, and the three work well together. We have as hi blewomen the same two, Martha and.kolean. We are glad to have been allowed to see soree fruit of the work during the year. We baptized from the heathens 4 adults and 2 children, and beside lc
them 21 ad~s~: f_ci 2; olllld,j;en.'joi~eath-e 0011gre. gation without baptism, as ~Qe.J' Vi.ere bapt.i.ssd.b.r the oatholics about three months before. We are teaching peopm of tlut6e wihagei, amongltt wihicli fubdong41r is one, W'liere JWeMve the. Oatholios. as '''oo-wm-ket1f',a Os,t1ho"o Pttiest: has :settled d0wnont1 four mi'le~ a.way and is now building a house at Guiha,jDt1, two miles from here. That may not be a help, but I beli~ve, that 'Goa is able to uoe everything to the good 6tHis kingdom. It Be6ms that a large family at' Sibnongor has 'been attracted by them. The old parents Hnd the two sma:ilest children were baptized by them; but as t.hey were not satisfied there, they came to us after about three months and asked to be allowed to join OUI' congregation, which took place ob Ghtistmas Iday, Their grown up children have asked ~o :be 'pee,pared far baptism \vith us. 'We have' our wednesday meetings only once in the m6n~tb, thongl1 we have the sewing class every wedn~it8.y.our first sale for the National Missionary ~oclety was held in March, and we had tbe joy of ~en(jing '1ts. 68 to the Society. ot..:. We Donfinned in April 5 young men U yaung women wnd 4 ieidet women. We had meetings once 8r month for all tlie WOrk!6.llS f the Pastor and his helpers, the bille WDOlen, lihe tea~liers a.od the nurse. Of our.83 C?hildren fl. girl was married a few days I ago 3iIl4. one is. 'working as Ayah 'for the Rev. GJads' l <~nd we h,ave Jake~ ~ut.a ;boy from Kaerabani,School'i
as lie' was failing tlme.,aett time: '; he had na. iboofes'r for study. He wh1 k'ave to le&rn to cultivate his lawl;.. as he- owns land eooagh ;ror him to live on. Bat '. is ooly 12 roors: old' Mid will be sfuryieg with '.' nn!!' cie fur some time, uniiil he i5. arbi@> to WOl'~ for liimaeh. We hq,ve the same two "Plothers" in the or.(>hanage and the nurtle, who helps the smaller children and is &180 Do grea.t h~jp in the dij~n~y. I n the school we have the same teachers, only one will be changed because of marriage. The number of pupils has decre!tsed, but in spite of that we' have bad JL good year, as there has bee:ft mojif. pupils in tbeup.p8c classes and less in the Ki~derg~rt.e~ We feel that some of the biggdr heathen boys are d,r~w;.p. towards God, Majdiha. TotlU, hlnrolulent in the School 00 Average Daily Attenda.nea 45 Class I) Attenda.nce 3 Passed ElO-wninM~n: 1 4 5 i " " " 3 10 " 7 " " 2 7 " " " " 6 " 1 11 " 11 " " " Inf. 1 8 "!, 'l 2 " 16 " 8 " " " At Majdiha there has ueen the same difficulty, as wai~ at Koroya Ilist y~ Some people in the COJlgreg~. 6Wod. up ag.un.$ Mal)Nllg Ja.eing.()rd~nEMi~ n
SO THI SAN'.c.A.L 1I1SS10~ Ol- TBA NORTHKRN cnurob:i!:s. has been a ra.ther hard fight, but now it seems to cool down a little. Monsing'. own helper, Harma, has perhaps been the leader in that struggle; but as he is about to be a Oa.tholio, he has been suspended from his work. Mansing has Dasmath as his only helper now, as Bero is pensioned. His son perhaps will get the work of his father, as Mansing is wanting him. As the womens' meeting every second week was very unsatisfactory, we are now trying to gather the congregation for a monthly meeting, which seems to be of help in the work there. The school there is poor; Barier has difficulty in gathering pupils; Only 9 came for the Examination there. The teacher in Silingi, Barsa, brought for the Examination 7 boys. Barsa is a good teacher j but his smaller boys cannot come for the Examination to Majdiha, because of the 12 miles to be walked from Silingi. In closing I want to thank all our friends, who have been helping us and our work during the past year. We feel that we are not alone, but ha.ve many friends behind us. KAERABANI DISTRICT. It is but two and a half months since we returned to India and took over charge of the KRrerabani
SIXTY FIFTH,ANNU.l.LREPORT. 31 District.. It will therefore not be soeaey < for me to write a. report on this large district for the whole year. In March Rev. Kr. Ofstad was transferred to Assam and Rev. Helland was asked to look after the work until our arrival. With all these changes it was but natural to expect that the work should have suffered to some exten t. This however has not been the case, On the whole progress has been made. The workers at the out - stations are practically the same as the previous year. No changes have been made as yet, but we are facing the necessity of reducing expenses and it will therefore not be long till some of them will have to retire. Some of the out - stations have been entirely without fruit from Bmong the heathen for several years and even this year they have nothing to report. Rak, Lakhia, Dhobona Bara and Domkata. are among the barren ones. At Babhondia one Heathen has been baptized and two at Jambua. At Kaerabani we have had twenty. Besides these we have received back into fellowship severa.l fallen Christians. The "Saturday people" or the Seventh Day Adventists, who forced themsel ves into this district a few years ago and confused the minds of some of our Christians seem now to be on the retreat. Severa.l have now been receiver} back into fellowship, and as to the oouple or three who are still counted as Adventists, it really ma.kes very little difference where. they are; we know what they are.
This, Sa1urday doctrine and agitation has h9di a ~, effect on some of our Ch~stia.D8 ; it has caused them bostudy the sc,nptares.. W:e are w.orking, with hope" praying that the Lord will blebs the seed that has been sown so that it may bear fru.it fot His kingdom. Baptized from the Heathen 24. Chlld'ren of Chri~ 62. M. A.. Pederson. MAHARO GIRLS' SCHOUL. We began the year with 230 girls in the school. It was too great anum bel", but we knew from other years that it wonld become le8s aftar summer holi d&,ia. At the end of the year. we had 207 girls on the roll~ It has been a joy to beat work in the school again. The year has been a. goud one, and we are thankful to our Heavsnly Father for all His goodness to us. It is u. great privilege to work among children *00 th.,~ young. Among 80 many girls there will always be some tor whom one feels grieved, but the great majority of them are good girls who in every way try to d~ their oest. W.. we bael pratytioauy no illnesa:.t-he whole year. There has beenmol'e illaess-tban nsual rooud
about us, but we have gone free. We have been 'so thank al jor ~thah. 5 girls passed their Middle school examinatioll i~ the end of 'the year. One girl from the Upper Primar,] arid one from the Lower Primary class got scholarships. We have also tried to do what we could in the eongregatioo. We have had Sunday School for '\1.illage children eve~y Sunday; meetings for womell, and we bav-e abo, as fa.r as!posilible. visited the villages round QUod Maharo does seem a hard tip-id. In the PJist ye&l' only one man from the heathen has been baptized. It was great joy to see that man, who in spite of illnes8 and opposition, beca.me uaptized. lie was La.ptized on a Sunday and the following Sunday he left tbis wtrld to :be forever with the Lord. One great event this year was the Conveation held here in Maharo from the 12th. to 15th. December. About 700 people - Santals in majority"";ga.thered from different Missions and the I.Jord gave us some days full of blessings. We thank our friends in the homelands who have supported us by their prayers and We ask you to continue to pray for a revival IUhbng U8. Nancy Dieseu..
34 THE 84NTAL )(tssu)n O.r THll: NORTHERN OBURCBJ:8. HENAGARIA DIVINITY SCHOOL. The work has been ca.rried on with the eight students who completed their second year of the course. 'J.'he ninth student who had to postpone the oral examination, appeared for it in tbe beginning of the year and he pa.8sed, but later on we had to dismiss him on account of misconduct. During the year we have gone through the first Epistle of Panl to the Corinthia.ns and 23 Psalms. In Church History we have read the first 9 Ohapters of The Story of the Church, by Professor Charles M. ttacobs. Two hours a week have been given to Dogmatics and one hour to Liturgy. One hour a week has been given to instruction in Book-keeping, and BE in the previous yea r, there has been given instruction in f; omiletics, in English and in Singing. K. R. Class and Singing. Ghose has heen teaching the English R~v. Tromborg has givell instruction in 1.'he work among the wives of the students has been crrried on by Mrs. Thn. The daily devotional meetings, the weekly prayermeetings and the monthly social meetings has been carried on as previously. Beside the weekly visits to the surrounding villages the students h ave conducted several Sunday-services in the Village-churches in Benagaria District.
In tae and of' Janoafyand,tbau.. infl Oa)ts of February the!lchoo) had its annual camp at Dhol'QllJt.. pur. It was a very inspiring ~ur\ On Sqnday the 1st of February after the Church service we had a Tea meeting together with the oongregation.' In the meeting a village woman got ap.,~d"n.id that she and her son would become Chri~tie.Qi. H~ words made a deep inpression on all of ~ us. ~hq said : "We are not asking for food for our bodies. We have auffi. cient of that kind. What we a.re longing for is food for our souls", The pastor ID Charge of Dhorompur st~ to instruc.t them, and before tha cl-qs~ of the. yea.r., he ha.d the ple~sure to b~ptize them. During the vacation in Ma.y and J nne the st'a. dents lls~d their time to visit th~ di.iferent congregations in our Mission and, collected money fo~ th,e National Missionary Society, and they were able to send Rs. 50/- to the said society. In bhe beginning of the second term both the staff and the students had a.n attack of' Flu and the work had to be carried on in a rather irregtrla manner. In the past year the School has been "iwtqd bi Professor B. C. Mookerjee, who spoke to the Students.w.out.vil~s~s. The annual examination was held in the miffdlfe of NO 'tlmmr' ;'and in the beginning of DeQem bert :v
36 THB BANTU MISSION 0.. THE NORTHBRN OHUBCHBS. 'The students who passed their final were: examination Mongol Hembrom Ruben Murmu Samuel Philander Hem brom J oha.n Hasdak -. N ara.n Soren Mondol Tudu Bhima Baske Daniel Tudu It has been deeided that Mongol Hem l'fom and Ruben Murmu shall remain with the school as helpers and for further training. Samuel Philander Hembrom was a student from the Church of Scotland Mission among the Sa.ntals and he has got work at their mission station at Bamdah. Regarding the remaining 5 students, the Executive Oemmittee of our mission has decided that Namn Soren ;&nd Daniel Tudu should be sent to Kaerabani Distrie~ Johan Hasdak to Sultanabad District and that Mondol Todu and Bhima Baske should be sent to Assam. du~ies. May God guide and bless them in their new Arne Tho.
i:iixty ril!''fh ANNUAL XBPORT. ( BENGALI DISTRICr WORK. The past year has been marked by the absence of any missionary for work among the Benga.li people since Rev. Kampp left for Denmark in March. Undoubtedly the work has suffered greatly on that account. However, the Bengali Church Council, into whose hands the adminstration of the Church's affairs had been placed, was in this way given a chance to show its worth. This Church Council consists of the President, a Secretary and a Treasurer, and a member from each local congregation. Last year the President was Rev. J. Mozumdar. For 1932 Rev. S. Biswas was elected President. The work of the last year brought out both weak and strong points of such a self-governing body. Work has been carried 011 from four centres. Haripodo is alone in Tilabani, Bonomali and Bhobo Babu in Narainpur, Rev. }fazumdar in Rampurhat, Rev. Sl'iuath Biswas and Jatadhari at Nalhati. Since September brinath Babu has been alone in Nalhati as Jatadhari went to Lohapur where he started a boys' school. The school has fairly good attendance, but 8 school building is greatly needed, as at present they are having the classes on the veranda of a private house. At Benagaria Atu} Babu is ca.rrying on in his usua.l efficient manner. The girls' school in Narainpur has been kept going, with a good average attendace. The teacher
sa THE SANTAL )ttsbio!l OF TltB NORTlHl:nN OHURCHES. last year wa.s, Bhobo Babu's wife", a qualified teacher cab be obta.ined,l this year. It is hoped that Thf:l, Bengali paper "Bon.go Bondhu", has come out monthly this year., hut it was with difficulty that expenses were met. Two hundred copies of a Lutheran B6ngali Hymnal have been printed. This book contains 48 Bongs, many of which are translations from Danish or Norwegian. During July and A ugust a Bible study class was conducted for the evangelists by Rev. Mazumdar. Early in the year Bonomali Prasad passed the entrance examination to Serampore Theolorica1 Semina.ry, and has been studyi ng the first year ~ourse at home. 'Ddring the yeat there have been 3 adults bap. tized, 2 from Hinduism and t from Mahammadanism. Beaidea this a young man was baptized in M'aldah by Simion Pafdior. Also; 12 ohildren have been bapti~:i 10 of these are of Ohristian pa.rents and 2 orphans brought to the I;I[)spital. Narainpl1t, 6nly, boasts of a Sunday school. It ha~ an average a.tt.endance of 12. 1 feel that I must oirer an apology for writing this. Brinath ba.bu was kind enogh to- cqllect the Sta.bilties for me, add most, of tihu, other dab. is also from second hand information. It is deplorable that a Church as young as the Beng-ali Ch~uch is, $hould bl! left'tor even 11 year wi~hout a' rriissiona:ry, but ret us hope a.nd pray that each" -'member 11;y having' to 'stand
alomttli.y 'colie to a. fuller realization ol :his tesp<'tt Jo sibilit1 b.~ acbristiianto ~Cburob and 00 n\1dn nitr.., and. to ls.tn tr> seek stt43bgth' :fi'om()od tu help him ($try thu.t rellpofteibility, E. Ostergaard. BENGALI WORK IN DUMKA~ We aro thlltildtilto be able to repottn that the young mtui's' tjlub htl.s now been started. Some meetings have be~n.beld in the reading room Mid b. committee ba.g been ~lected with Mi'. J. Johs.rrsen as cha.irman, and the housefather Daniel Ojha as secretary. Some books ~ being bought for the library and other things such as geographical maps, a Badminton play.et 8te. have also been procured, and by and by we hope to have there a good and attraobiye Bort of home where the young men can spend their leisure hours. Most of the members are Santal boys from the High Scho()l. There are also a few Bengalis from the High School or employed in the Govarl1meut, offices close ~y, and also one. Punjabi. Only Christians are members. But as yet we have got no laws and rules for the a.ssociation. I think the boy" will enjoy making laws and that is ali right. In future Hfe they will have to partake In elections and interest themselves in public matte'rs to a la.rger ex.t6nt!than tieir fathers. did. It is part of ourdutjy to "S&V,.Ilbese. boys~tom. being drama
40 THE SANTAL MISSION OF TB.IC NORTHERN OHURCHES. into political agitation. But partaking in the daily life and proceedings of a Christian young men's club should teach them something about personal l'espon. sibility and duties and help to foster a sound loyal public spirit, Our first object is to give Christian young men an opportunity to feel the value and obliga.tions of Christian fellowship. Daniel conducts the Bengali services here in Dumlta.church and besides that he is doing preaching work every day here in Dumka and the surrounding villages among the Non-Santal population-a work done faithfully without much encouragement, DINAJPUR - MALDA - RAJSHAHI. In last report it was mentioned that the western part of Dinajpur district is occasionally visited by pastor Mongol. But he has got a large district of his own, Din8jpur North as we can it, where not a few people are seeking instruction, And he has got insufficient help. Pastor Jalpa who is superintending all these 3 districts, and besides that must use a considerable amount of his time in managing or looking after the management of the Boarding School in Narayanpur, is rather overworked and has ha.d much sickness persona.l1y and in his family this year. Pastor Kunjal is working the North - Eastern corder with too little help. At present we ha.ve got
SIXTY FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT. 41 to go on without any new pastor in Dinajpur distriot. About MaIda and Rajshahi it oould likewise be sa.id that more workers are needed in order to visit the lonely Christians and to instruot people who want to beoome Christians. Our 2 pastors in these 2 districts, Simeon and Champai are doing their best to reach as far as needed. Cham pai tells me about a whole villa.ge who want to become Christians, but it is not so easy to get so many people instructed satisfactorily. Besides that Ohampai has been appointed member of the Local Board and the Union Board in that part of the country whioh means an opportunity of doing some good for the Santal population. We are thankful that one of our people has got that opportunity. The little boarding sohool for girls which Champai has been hoping to get started is still a thing of the future. The mission could not find extl'a money for tha t project. We are hard up, and so are the Santa.ls everywhere owing to the abnormally low prices on agricul. tural products. Here comes the chronic problem. Our friends in the homelands are perhaps wondel'ing why the Christians in these 3 districts have not been able to ta.ke upon themselves a larger financial burden. Oompared with the ' old country" congregations they should by now have been more advanced, as the soil over there is much more fertile and some of the Christians are rather well off~
4a THB SAN't\aL lu8sion ~Tlt~ NQRT-ft.l11Ui CHUBOH:KS. ~h~ ~xpl4uation is,just ~hii tha~ '~" ~ Qttl.x few q~ tl;:w~~ WhQ, b~ve b8q.pme. well',pq ~Q,1,JWOPt~. A very bu.:s:e I1Q~bi;lX" H~lll~"pe,gr.~~t Ill~JQ.rity Qf the. S&D~ls.J. q.v~ m~t r~,llj settl~d down Q'Yeq i \b~l h.~,v~ b~~n. thef~ fqr mall]" yea,s. 4~d mapy of. tmm ~fe moving h.~e ~ncl ~ber~. g~ttiq.~ wod~ f()r wages Qf cultiytl&ing ~lte fi~c1.s of o~hers! r4~re is a Q~r taiq iqsecurity whic.h ~~ a. hindr~nq~ ~ cqn;r~~atiqtlal devq1qju:nent 3,$ l,ln as i.w..nee!\ &J.:e GQQQer~cl., aes<i~e8 t.ha.t it is VefY qa..tq~@ol thai{ lj..~q~,(. th.~ iq~euute ci.rcqmstances ou. QhJ:istiQ.llft e,4o,l4. be 'Ve,f.Y ea8,e.r t() h"v6 their boys e:d.~ted il\. hope. of their gettini, ~o. easier livelibood ~w.q tb~y th~elves ba,ve got.. uqh is sv~nt on this acconnt wh.~qh does not ~qqw in the ~,cc~nt of th~ congre~tion and ~he mi$sion, and little is left for QOut'ributions for' oth~r put'poses. But there is a growingunderstandin~ and wiilingness as reg ards coogrega:tional seh support. The work is certainly growing a~d expanding and a pressing' need for more workers is felt. That the statistics do not seem to bear this outj in other words I that the number of Christians do not seem to increa,s8 m. any remarkable extent, needs to, be. explained. It aas: ia fact been explained.above" Amollg those w,ho are. b~ptizeci masy move aw~y to otaer distpiets. Tbai. @OfS Dot mean that they are eollsequeaiiy ktst ; ~ frt0.td it" the- ir,&fl~j~e.e of te.a Gospel is in thib way capried irolm' place,.~ p~.qe. A great joy it wa.s : 01' me ~o partae in a Qonvention held in Al?ril in Narayanpuri 'The program
SIXTt FUT'lI ANNUA.L REPOBT. '8 and all arrarrg'em:ents had Leen made by the ChMsbiaUS thamselv6s and the meeting was a grea.t encouragement to au of us who were there. KAERABANJ MIDDL~ ENGLISH AND ELEME.N~A.RY TRAINING SCHOOL. I shall review briefly the work of the year-. It has been a pleasllnt year in many wa.ys, but it has been difficult in other ways. During the first few montha of tae year we hod llev. Ofstad with ~ but he moved to Assam in March. That left lis with tha district work in addition to the school. I shall freely admit that I fell th:lt we were unable to do justice to either side of th~ work. Bota the school and the district suffered.. But it was a matter of necessity. And. from October we hav~ had the PedefsoDs with U8, so we have been free to attend to our own work. One would gla.dly do two men's work, but it ca.nnot be done wel1. Since we arrived at Kaerabani, we have never before had Ii. year in whie:l dickness has interfered with the work as much as th:s year. IT ntil the hot season vacation we were spared, but from J lily until Septem ber we had at least OUI' share. A n epidemic of influenza came among us, aud put almqst all of us to bed for a few days. In an~ we had over two hundred ca.ses: as many as seventy at one time. We wel'e all kept busy ca.l'ing for the sick. Oue day there ;wereseven teachers ill. Of course, this interfered G
44 THE SANTAL MISSION OF THE NORTHERN CHURCHES. with the work. Muriel and I were spared until a.bout the last. \Ve were ju(:it hoping that we would escape, when suddenly I came down with it, and three days later Muriel got it. Although this epidemic of influenza was not dangerous, it was nevertheless very difficult. I have never in my life felt such headache. It was almost intolerable. After I had expprienced it I Was in ~ position. to sympathize with the poor boys. But the J.Jord was with us and helped us through. In the midst of the influenza. epidemic we had a cnse of typhoid. The boy came with it from his home, after vacation. He was ill for two months, but finally he pulled through and hecame Btl ong. But a month Ia.ter one of our teachers) Caleb Babu, came down with typhoid. He had caught it from his daughter, who CHme home from the Deoghur school; was home a few days, Dod died. Then hel' father took sick, and was forced to Le out of school three Il1onths. But enongh of writing about illness. In many ways we had a good year in spite of that trou bh~ One of the brightest sides of the wurk of the year was the success of the student self-goverment. This was really the second year of the. new system. Our purpo8~ is to put the boys more on their own responsibility, so that they may develop character. A boy who is forced to be good, is not necessa.rily a good boy; but a boy who is good on his own accord is apt to be a gpod boy when he gets Ollt of sohool. The boys have their own government, pa.tter~ded
after the Santa.l village government. We have been agreeably surprised to see how well they take care of their own cases. We are trying to improve the diet for the boys. We have found that boys who have been several Yflars at school have not so much endurance as they should have. Lack of vitamins in the diet is the cause. So we are trying every year to increase the size of our garden, in order that we may give the boys better food Our Training School was unusually large. There were ten boys in each of the two classes. Two young men came down from Assam to enter our Training School. We ale glad to be alle to help our friends up there. There is of confse the difficulty that they read Bengali and our language is Hindi, but with a liberal use of Santali and English, we are able to help them a. deal. We are especially emphasizing the practical side of the ed ucation of our teachers. In spite of the il1ness which imppded the progress of the work the boys who took the Middle English examination did well. We were happy to hear that 24 of the 29 who went up for the examination came through. One of the boys, Bhadu Hasdak, received a scholarship to go on to Higp School. Many non-cit ristian :boys' are seeking entrance to our sohool.,but we do 'not have room to ke~p SQ
46 THE SAN'l~AL MISSION OJ!' 'J'HlC :NOB.!l'HKRN C8 UROH.i!JS. very many. And we :feel that first of au we want to 'give onr Chlistran ohildren opportunit~ to.get an education. But we allow a few to enter every :year. And it frequently cappena that when they have rea.d a' year or two they ask to become baptised. Also this year several were baptised. We had a larger Confirmation class than usual. As the number of boys in the, higher classes increases, naturally the number of boys who enter the Confirmation class increases also. It is always so inspiring to see these fidf~ young men confirm their baptismal promise. The Music department has been upheld as usual. This year the School Band made a tour of our mission in Sant&l Parganas. We were out a week, and visited most of our stations. We hope that Borne blessing was received QY our Christian brothers in the districts. There was oneehangein theteaobiug sto.ff" David Jlta was sent on to college, and in his place we have his cousin, Joseph Jha. We send our thanks and our greetings to the folks' ~n' the homelands. Sincerely yours, B. A. Helland. SANTAL COLONY, ASSAM. Tlte Rev. Glrtz with family went on fu,rloug-h III -the. beginning of April. The :Rev. 'K. Ofstad with
sijt'!'x ljifth ANNUAL &.EpoR'i!.', <. 4fl family ha.d come from Kaeraba.oi to take ov6 r charge, In' they stayed 'onto the end of J nly. Fro-rin th~ft 10. our arriva.l on the last da.y of October -the Colony was.looked after by Mr. Bie from the Mornai 'rea Estate. The year 1931 marks the completion of 50 years of this Colony, and a greatly attended Jubilee Service was held in February. The -Secretary alld sever~l other missionaries from the DIn. country cilme here for that occasion - In order to place on record some facts about the Colony community at the completion of. the first ha.lf century, 1 give here some detawb from a list found in this office, and ~vidently ma~~ up ill the latter part of 1930. rrhe area covered by the Grahampur congt'egatiod comprises the following villages and hamlets: Christian N on-c hristian. Total Grahampur 189 8 197 Borsonpur 48 6 54 Dingdinga 16 40 56 Thakurpura 61 1 62 Kerappur 135 135 Arondpur 70 5 75 Jiadanga 82 25 j07 Lllisepur. 178 126 304 Molkepur 155 ]55 Kemolpur 85. 13 98 Horpur 75 9 84 Tota.l 1094 233 1827 ~ ;',t
48 THE SANTAt MisSION OF "fbit: NORTHERN OBUROBiDs. Bijoepur with only one family has been left out. Qf the enumerated persons 1106 were Santals, 128 Mahles (chiefly in Kerappu r), 17 Boros in Luisepnr, and 81 of many different races chiefly at Dingdinga market place. The same list shows that at the time of enu. meration there should be in this area 724butfaloes, 1074 cows and bullocks, and 679 goa.ts and sheep. A few villages and hamlets lying around the Mornai Tea Estate attends church services In the Mornai church. Here is a. list of them: Christian Non-Christian Totu.l Karlin pur 62 62 Joepur 76 7 83 Pauspnr 40 101 141 Kawamnhnl a9 ilo 69 --- Total 217 138 355... The hamlet Rangiaghutu should also have been ineludt'd in this list, but that is evidently inclnded in the figures of the Benagaria village. Of the papulation enumerated 178 persons wer~ Sautals and 177 belonging to ma.ny different races. The list shows 246 bnifalot's, 211 cows and bullocks, "tid 240 soats and sheep.
SIXTY FIFTH ANNUAL RKPORT. 40 We now come to the area covered by the Rantzaupur congreghtion : Christian N on-christi~ n Total Bankijor 103 1 10-1 Tilabl;Lni 157 1.37 Ran sau pur 167 17 Its4 Benagaria 114 129 243 8osoghutu 102 ]4 116 Simoldohi 140 29 169 8i!pur 127 117 244 Sarjomghutu 86 22 108 Lotamari 79 9 88 Ransinpur 54 4 58 Total 1129 342 1471 Jakobp~r village has been left out.. The population enumerated consisted of 1189 oantals, :17 Mllhles ( ;;osoghutu), 114 Boros chiefly in Silpur, and 131 of other races. (Rabhas in ~osoghutu Hnd M undas In Benagaria). The list shows 825 buffa.loes, 1129 cows and bullocks, and 7 i 9 goats and sheep. h~' The north-east corner of the Colony is covered the Haraputa congregation comprising: Christian Non-Christi~n Total Sukonbaonai 75 19 94 Chondorpura 14Q 67 207 'Samaguri 184 35 219
~b 'I'tiE SANl'AL'IrISSlt)N OJ' 1'1ilt:tiORTBERN i 'OBU KOBES. ~. i.j. Christian Non-Christian Total Kaerabani 120 10 130 Matiajuri 161 ~1 202 T3rnipur, SetQIltola80 28 108 1t1l.pga 105 47 152 foeotola 76 6 82 H..w'aputa. ~oo 32 282 Bbaeriguri l6l.:j.g ilo t)abargbutu 152 2 154 Sirampur 147 3 150 Total 1601 339 1940 Th~_ villages Nawadi alld Dambra have been left Ollt. Of the popllhltioll enumerated 1824 were Santals, Hi,\1 ahles, 10 BOI'os, and 84- of different races,.. '. Tile list shows 12~9 buffaloes, 14~U cows and f }}nl1ocks, and 1196 goa.ts and sheep, Bordering II P to the big rivers on the north-west lriea., the Manjada.ul'i ~on.gregation comprising the following villages:.r Christian Non-Christian Total Manjadauri 156 64 220 Edeighutu 48 9 57 ~sanghutu =34 16 56 Pbae]aodi il4 ~, t 63 277 --- Total 452 152 604
The" vill~ge~ K 1 bayargbl1t'n lifts bl1trtl ldfly out. The po ptl'la"ibn! enumerated consisted of- 493 Santals;;' 59' Borog in' Matijadabri close' to that' ri\*~r. and 52' Rabhas in Phaelaodi. The list shows 264 buffaloes, 502 cows and bullocks,. and 349 goats and sheep. The population of the 0010 n y;. had at thj~ time been a. little abo- 8 6,00,0 Wlith about 80% Ohristians and this in an area where not a single soul W'8.S, found.50, years ag,o.. A hungry stomach and two empt~ hands were as a rule a.1i the property they,: brought a.long;! and now the cleared land gives more than 20,000/- Rupees of revenue annually to Government, and 32H8 buffaloes, 4355 cows and bullocks, and 3183 goat.s and sheep should albo tell not only about the faithful la.ljour of poor immigrants, ouf also of the possibilities here. The decidedly Santal and Christia.n character of the Colony is clear-ly set forth by the figures, and ill this area Santali has become a lingua franca of mlmy non-santa.ls. TUl'ning to' the year under' review life a.nd' \York' in' the' Colony have apparently been just' asothmr' years, except for' one' most regretfuf happening. The villagij headrhan of. Ralltzailpur,, got up 8gkinst ev~ryl.' body in the rainy seaeon a.nd bad to- be! disllil~etl. ~
52 'l'he S~bll'AL lusslon OlP THE JSORTHEBN CHUUOBES. BeiTlg a.n old and. influential member of the com. munity1;le fell. into the temptation to think that he was strong enough to force everybody, and that i;nade his case only the worse. Congregation61 Work: The pastors and elders mentioned in last year's report have been working in their respective congre gations this year also. Their reports show that 172 childre.n of Christian parent.s Hnd 57 heathen persons have been ba.ptized, 87 persons confirmed, 24 couples married. The collections have this year fallen down to Rs 1,429f!f6 and we hhd to ask for help from Dumka for the congr~giltiona.l expenses. Village Schools : The stat ement tn last year's report holds good this year' too, as fal' 8S I am a.ble to see. And yet we have to be grateful even for the very small knowledge imparted by these primitive scbools. Village Elders and Blblewomen : The village elders gather people for evening prayer, and the hi blewomen gather the women for Frida.v-meeting~. In the Grahampur congr -gation there are 15 men and 13 women at work, in Ra.ntzaupur 13 men a.nd 14 women, in llaraputa. 20 men and 17 wotuen a.nd in,manjadab.ri 7 men an~ 7 women. All are _ unpaid.
: )ispedlary : In the last month of the year a young Bengalee Ohristian doctor, Mr. 8arhoi, was given temporary a.ppointment in anticipation of Bome more satisfactory medical arrangement in our work in Assam. It is pa.rt of the Dispensary work to record birth and death in the Oolony according to the reports brought by the chaukidars, and for the year 1931 the numbers are 284 and 199 respectively. The Loan Fund : Much attention could not be given to the Loan Fund during a yea.r with so many changes, and therefore no deta.ils are printed this time. We hope tq have a look at every account in this cold season. The Grahampur M. E. Boarding School : The school year in Assam begins on the ) st of March and' ends by the month of FebruarJ~' The annual exllcnination is consequently held in PelJrual'Y e\"ery year; but the M. E. examination is held at Dhubri during Chl'istmas vacation, The fo])owing figures are supplied by the head master: Appearing ann, exam. Promoted. AP1'il Deceml.-er 19;31. 1931. 1931. Clas8 A 12 () 6 8 B 6 5 10 I 8 " J, I 1M 11 1! 10.i
s.~ THE SANTt\J.. MI~lSlQlL.QF ~JlE::NOJl,Jl'HJ~ ;cabrcali:s. Appearing ann. exam. Promoted. April ~.r J981.,1931. 19~1..ela~ ;11 ~14 10 1'7 11!6 illii 3 2 ~2 iflo " IV J3 10 '? t6 " V 7 7 9 8 " " VI at Dhubri 8 7 --- rrotal 7-3 51 91,~ The results at Dhubri last year were not ~tis. factory, and this year again we sent the 7 boys off without any <test '~mination, and 'I am afraid the result will.be -the same. Yet it is evirlent that 'the aehoolwj.th the present 'stair is able to get 'boys, and ~lso to a certain. extent to get them to work, and there is,good reason to be,~hl.mjf»l ;for thitl. The local Government is giving us a gr~nt of. Rs. 50/- a. month, wj;tich is greatly appreciated, and for which we wish to express our gratitude. The boar.d.evsnumbared5s on my arrivul here. l.be rest were day scholars. The 'boarders bring their own food, only.& few orphans are getting help. But the Mission keeps a cook and p'1.''{?y,ipes for fuel and light etc. It is building. in.. few the ~~hool a. hautlicap that here is no proper school. The present accomodation is so poot" :Wat yeaoj time it will be impossible to keep going. We pmy that the L. Y. M. in
~BA'~ 'IDfY I~e ~ ~ble. *0 ;collectt f~q.d~ for this building. J. Ga~dal. HARAPUTA ms'fricrr. ~O_OM~t~e.ye..-r j~,e a.nd $.Qr~~\V~ ihave been _4iJ,tr.iQ"t~ rjlb i:t,jwh<>~vas us, 1.think. '[iie.bibjewolo8ll are t.dl-e same 'as rill ')'00 ~it9 one excepti~ \Wb&re!tlw.alder, naauied _@o n~1'!i"p,w!lw is able to rea~ and seems more.a lead.er than the old "~ot}j~r" who lea the village women In prayer after the former Biblewoman died untill this new elder's wife moved in. Somehow most of the Bil:)lewOqlan,Jtre.doinga \fai$tul ~~v~ce ~modj'.~ir sisters in the' villages, other,s al'f~ l~ I:Hlcq~ul IM\4 not so happy in the work perhaps hecause they are unable to r-ead the sci'ipture lessons. The monthly meetings with these Biblew0men have been a joy to me and -r trust, of some help to each one of my Santa) co-wol,kers. They have studied the Acts throughout ~pe y;~r..contdbu.tiolls collected at the wo~en '8 meetings in '81 amounts to.rs- 281. Not so.pad. considering the low price of rice. ' ~4ly.. Ollr SUpdfiY oifwing.or) tl1e other h"j;l,d has ~~p 19l'fl.~ The number of confirmants in Harapllta i'd. :r-uh~,. Was 2~ girls a~ ~6 bpj~.
56' THE S&NTAL MisSION OF TaE N6BTHB~N dllurchj~. : In nddition to these 11 girls and 6 boys were trained to receive Baptism and were baptised. In Manjadabri 16 girls were confirmed in ~Vlay, but Khela Pastor advised to have the boys learn some more before they be confirmed Blessed is this opportunity to deal out the message of h'1pe and life everlasting through faith in Jesus. A new class was started in Haraputa. in September '81 numbering 41 girls and almost as ma.ny boys. In Manjadabri 12 girls are enrolled and the class of boys meeting with Khelil PcIostor is about twice the number. A sewing class, opened in Maujadabri one afternoon a. week had 22 enrolled. The women's claases, reading and sewing combined, a, afternoons a week h:lve been better attended than formerly as we have had a ~1 aha.ro girl to take charge of the teaching here on the compound. In the Dispensary work too she has been a marked help. rrbis work has been much as formerly. We are looking forward to the day when we too may have a doctor who knows and cares to aid the sick and 8u~ering. Dagmar Millar.
SIXTY I"U'TH ANNUAL UHPOKT.,, MORNA! TEA GARDEN. During the past year the con'gregational work has been carried on as usual. Chnrch attendance. has been very good and our Pa~tor, Pithor has worked well as in former years. There have been meetings in the villages aod also special meetings for women. The Sunday School has been very well httended. Most of the children are of Christian parents, but there are also some from heathen homes, and some of these have even shown great interest. A Coufirmation Class was commenced, but as most of the boys and girls could not learn sufficient before the rainy season the clllss is again getting instruction in order t~at the confirmation may take pillce nf'xt year. Tbe :,chool has been well auenjed. Both the Teachers ilad to be dismissed on account of immoral behaviour and two new Teachers, Durga and Sorkar, have been engaged. In the evening school we have mostly Munda and Oraon children who work in the Gttrden in the day -time, as their parents do not want to loose the income of the children's earnings. The extention of the factory main-building, which had been planned for years, was completed during the first months of the year. The Manager's Bungalow, which was damaged by earthquak~ in 1930, was rebuilt. These building works, both of which Viere equally neoe..
ga.ry, mea.nt great expenses and later on when the teasale,auctions opli~etl in' e~l~tittk, the' t'ea market broke oorup1a.tejj,duwn, ~hich was most. disappoin~p, The.~,tp~ jnq~ry, is,.still p~~ing thrqugh::a crisis and no '.. qne.. can,.!it'll, what future: conqitions! will. b6.a~t tea has >, been sold,a8 llsu'll,.~nt in spite of our.manltg~ng, Agents' very elle~g,etiq;, ~1furts. ip. t~e int~mst of the: Garden,; only low prices have he en obtained. We are suffering like.ail~ dtjbier Gar-dens and.hoping i for l the-i iudustry to' ",cover: I=t is l'egret~bl~, tha.t- the: Gartien this yer.r is Dot in' 8 ' postti()d to give any financial' help to tille' ~Hssio[}. Wa believe that the work has meant a spiritual as web: as 8. material tilessing;' t6' the people em-pl<>yed here, atid~ W'e i;ba.-ll~ our fhends for, interce'bsions for the work \ hie1r hils' ueall' elitru;;ted, us. O. Eie. HARAP(]TA GIRL8 J SO HOOJ.J. This last year' w.ts a bright' and prosperous' yea.r in our Schuo!. From the beginning of the school: yea.r. we li3~~' nan I{ 'c');n'pl&le' staff, the rnem bers- of which are at:1. follbm',: " B.B. Barui, a'graduate of Serampore COllege, and his wife a' t'rained teacher, are Christi~ns and' Doth lmve".mauiiestap. a; k.een interest in the.,.work" which. th~y have. carded 00 most. s!1tisfactorily throughout the y~r. l am indeed,thankful tha.t we bave seoured so uquscientious ~OO C1\lnble Benga.li teachers J-Q-r. our sohoollt
SIXTY :FIrTH :ANNUAL REPORT. 59 Aside from Benoy bahu -and his wife, we have two Sa.nta} teachers Salgi Ma.l'ndi and Kapra Marndi, both trained -'teaohers from Ma.haro. I 'am much pleased with both of them. Among the former teachers only one is left - Ruth Murmu. She is a oa.pable and efficient teacher and her class especially has made good progress. h~ve All the tea.ohers seem interested in the school and been most agreeable co-workers. The great and happy event of the year was the opening of our new school building on A pril 2nd, and we moved in immediately after Easter. The building is not on ly a new one, but is very nice and cheery looking with a very good location. The class rooms are all comfortable and airy and well-lighted. This in itself h~s been not the least important factor In making the work so much easier than before. The number of girls attending has increased again this year, boarders as well as day scholars. The spirit thl'oug-hout has been good. 'rhis is true with regard to teachers and children, in school as well as in their homes. Regarding health conditions I can truly say that it has been very good. Excepting the dysentery epidemic before the summer, the girls have beau well. As our examinatiou for this year will take place in March, I am unable to to give here the statistical re.. port of the~~ame.
In ou~ Sunday. ~~l we h_v:e ilpeqt; ~'-.&sant _fs toijft~er. 00 S.u:ui~y mornisg as. BOOn as the BI )Ond.u ril\18, 40-50 ob~n ~l1'e OJ) the' spot. M~ of these are girls. Up to DecSW1er 1931: Total Enrolment....99 Average Attendance... 80 Total enrolment' of boarders... 40 A verage attendance Of boarders 115 Magn hila Buttedahl. JOEMA. At the end of March Rev. Winding with his family went on leave to Denmark and the work in the district has in the past year mainly been carried out. by the Indian Pastors and Evangelists. At the regular meetings for a.1l the workers I have had the opportunity of hearing about the work, to give advicea and help to take the n~cessary decisions from time to time. I have not been able to get much about in the district, and I have been feeling that ii is very little I can do in this big field, especially because the time I ha.ve had for the work has been very limited. A district like this c~~iniy requires the full time and labour of a missionary, more so &n aooount C) the fact that the greater part (Jf his time - a.t least during the cold season - hu to be spent in touring and camping.
si The elder Pastor, Minghu, has been made res... ponsible for the work to a great -extent. Due to hie weak health he has huwevet not been in 8r position to visit the congregations that are far away from Joema. Station. It has chiefly been the duty of Ragda Pastor, Minghu's younger brother, to be touring Hnd visiting the Christians in the different parts of the district. Ragda was ordained at the beginning of the year and has been touring a great deal showiog eagerness in the Lo.rd's work. Without his help it would have been very difficult as he and Minghu are the only twopasliom in the district. As far as I understand the Evangeligts have on the whole been working well. In severa.l villagespeople are receiving instructions for baptism and especially ill Atiabari, Mauragaon and Amlaiguri there is every hope that quite a. Dumber of Sa.ntals will be baptised after -completing the instructions. Three small churches have been dedicated during the year In Maura.gaon, Sohorpur a.nd Simolgaon. The village School work seems to be rather diffioult. Some schools have bean ronning, well but in other schools the attendanoo has been poor.. S.ome new boys wanted admission to Joema Boardina- School, but due to lack of room in the Hostel. the ~tter has had to he po.stponed. Afte1'all my impression is that Pastors as well as EvangeliBtsand teachers have been doing goo~
62 THE SANTAL'MISSION 0]' THll NORTHERN CHURCHES. w..ork. There are -however many difficulties, often many Heathen as- well as fallen Christians are opposed to the work which is being done to bring people from darkness into light. In closing this rbport I would thank all Our friends who have during the past year been remembering the work in their prayers. O. Eie. GAORANG MISSION Once more God has granted us a prosperous year with open doors and great possibilities in the Boro work. Baptisms: From amongst the Heathen Children of Christia.ns Total 203 57 260 Boros being instructed for baptism: 460. The difficulty lies in securing able and wholehearted teachers and elders. In some paces we have found it necess:lry to move about elders and combine congregations so as to be able to supply the churches with elders- The majority of the elders have done efficient work. As often as possible I ha.ve gathered them for short courses in Hi ble and round table di&cussions; the one during the 10 da.ys in t~e rainy
SIXrry Ii'lBTH ANNUAL RiDl?O&'l'. 63 season was particularly encoura.ging. Most of the elders are now able to read Boroni fluently. The books now avu.ilable are of great help to us in the work. Without printed books in the vernacular I 'should not dare to continue baptizing people by the hundreds. Tue hymn book which was completed at the beginning of the year is being used very much and is doing its missioll. In most of the congregations some members are able to sing from the hymn book. The edition of the Reader print ~d two years ago (1000 copies) is now out of print, but a revis~d and enlarged edition of 3000 copies has been printed. The supply of the old Sunday Gospel Texts as translated by Mr. Skrefsrud having long since been exhausted, a new translation of the sa.me has been completed. It is a great advantage to be able 'to hand the elders every Sunday Gospel text in their mother tong~e. Up to now they have had to Ude the Bengali Bible from which only a few were able to translate somewhat accurately. A decimal system of counting and several new words have been introduced and accepted. The two conventions held for the wesitern and eastern part of the mission seperately were well attended. Resolved at both of them: No Christian is allowed to sell his daughter, or to hire a son-in-law to work for his wife. The ohurch discipline is rather strict: If a Christian uses liquor or marries according to H~atb~n
~4 THE SAN'fAt.. msbion OlP 1'BE NORTHERN CHUROHHS. rites ';@tc.:' M is excommunicated. An rules coneernig church distup4ine Rnd congregationa,l questions are first ~iso\l~s~,.w~ththe elders and then,placed before the oll~rch ::~~mbers a.t the conventions for final decision, ~s w~ 4~'v~' ~o aim at a self-governing and self-propagating - church. ', --Church discipline does enable the Christians of our young church to grasp somewhat the seriousness or sin, and through the regular preaching there are 8.1')1 number of opprtunities for explaining that defilement through sinning is not merely by certain sins. It does make a lasting impression on the minds of the Heathen when he sees that if a Christia.n does So 1)r so, he is excommunicated by the church body. A very strong impression was made upon the entire andienee at one of our conventions when Bahadur openly confessed his sins and wa.s received back into the church. Sinee then he bas served his own people, \ri1o have migrated to Darrang, without payment from the Mission. In Darrang the Boros are self. 8.upporting.l independent, and 8elf-propoga~ingA A teacher we bad in Gaoratlg persuaded some of the,boys to leave tha sc.hool. He was t.rying himself to start a "swaraj school". After his dismissal he ki,edto prevent the Heathen boys from going to our 80hool, becau~e we are teaching the Ch~Btian religion. Nevertheless our 8chool has made g,ood progress. The boys of our school a.re la.rgely young men who avail themselves of this opportunity to leam t1), read, Ism orderliness and get an impressi{)n
of wh~ OhristialJuty is. Some of ~ ~r:k ( 1,)1 thair!b.oardi.ilg,. aond au.of ctheml ~ t~ir own cupkiqg, We h~v4 tri.ed.to t~.. ch ~mp,rqved fa.rming,. RJlda.part of thecampo.und has been cnnverted iu.to,:fi~ paddy fields. Very real was the grief In losing Soehindro~ His death m~de 11 @ep impression OD the mind.s Qf the Christiaus and on the heathens of ilia acquaintance. Sochindro proved w hat the. Boro, sunk deep in sin, can attain to when the power of Jesus Christ lifts him out of the mire. We hope, ere long to have one of our elders Oldained to become a minister of the Gospel. Our church in Gaorang proves to be too small, so we are enlarging it. We hope some.. day to build a bej;\utiful church as we feel we ought ~ show to them that a ehureb can be somewhat different from a good sized house. A smah two-room building originally meant for tempora.ry class rooms had to be used as dormitory due to the number of boys enrolled. Mission work through schools will surely prove to be an effective medium through which to win the Horos, who are very interested in education. rfhe Boros construct a.nd manage the upkeep of their own churches. Here as everywhere business depression is felt: farm products are 80 low in price tha.t it does not pay to cultivate them, as they barely pay for the tax; nevertheless aontributions in the Boro church ha.ve reached the same point &3 last year. Besides this the congregation pays one balf of the teachers' salary. In add ition