Christina was one of the five Khoekhoe people Georg Schmidt baptised at Baviaanskloof in 1742 [MS]. With Magdalena, she was one of the first two women baptised in the valley [MS]. She is the least known of the five. The records give only her baptismal name and say that she was the sister of a man called Moses [MS]. Her page exists so that her place among the first Christians of Genadendal is not forgotten, and so that anyone who knows more can add to it.
What the letters in square brackets mean
Facts on this page are followed by a tag that shows where they come from.
- [IC] Independently Corroborated. Confirmed by at least two sources that do not depend on each other, or by an official record.
- [MS] Mission-Sourced. Comes from Moravian records, above all Georg Schmidt’s diary and letters, and the histories written from them. Nothing about Christina survives from her own side.
- [TBV] To Be Verified. Seems likely, but nobody has confirmed it yet.
At a glance
| Born | Not known |
| Died | Not known |
| Known for | Being one of the first five people baptised in the valley, in 1742 [MS] |
| Link to the valley | One of the first members of the Christian community that became Genadendal |
What is known
In 1742 Schmidt received a letter from Herrnhut giving him authority to baptise [IC]. He baptised Willem on 2 April 1742, and then Africo, Kupido, and Vehettge, who took the name Magdalena [MS]. The fifth person baptised that year was given the name Christina [MS]. The historian Mansell Upham, working from Schmidt’s records, describes her as the sister of Moses [MS]. Who Moses was is not recorded in the sources found so far.
Her Khoekhoe name is not known.
On 4 September 1742 the VOC’s Council of Policy at the Cape ruled that Schmidt was not qualified to baptise, and banned him from baptising any more Khoekhoe until further notice [TBV]. Christina was therefore among the last people Schmidt baptised at the Cape. He left in 1744 [IC].
Links to other figures
- Georg Schmidt baptised her in 1742.
- Magdalena was the other woman baptised in that year.
- Africo and Kupido and Willem were the three men baptised with them.
What is still open
- Her Khoekhoe name.
- Who her brother Moses was, and whether he was also one of Schmidt’s students.
- Whether she stayed with Magdalena’s small congregation after 1744.
- When she died, and whether families in the valley descend from her.
- The exact date of her baptism.
Related
References
- Muatze (Mansell Upham). Moravian missionary Georg Schmidt (1709 to 1785) prohibited (1742) from baptising Cape of Good Hope aborigines (2022). The five people baptised, their names before and after baptism, Christina as the sister of Moses, and the Council of Policy ruling of 4 September 1742, citing Cape Archives C 120.
- Moravian Church in America. Coffee with Moravian Ancestors: Georg Schmidt (2021). The five baptisms and the names given, including Christina.
- Wikipedia. Genadendal. The first converts and their baptismal names.