Mission of rediscovery
Local artists unlock the secrets and talents of the Trappists for all to enjoy, writes Patrick Compton
AGROUP of Durban artists will hold an exhibition at Mariannhill from tomorrow until next Sunday to celebrate the extraordinary impact an obscure Catholic order of monks made in KwaZulu-Natal more than 135 years ago.
It all began in 1879, when the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, otherwise known as the Trappists, decided to send 31 monks, under the leadership of Father Franz Pfanner, to establish a religious colony in southern Africa.
After one failed attempt in the Eastern Cape, the Trappists bought a farm near Pinetown in 1880. Two years later, under the direction of their architect, Brother Nivard Streicher, they had constructed a towering red-brick monastery in the neo-gothic style that Father Pfanner named Mariannhill, after the Virgin Mary. In an amazing burst of energy, the Trappists then added another 22 mission stations – all within a day’s ride of each other – between 1882 and 1900.
Controversy, however, courted every early move Father Pfanner made. To respond to the wishes of local chiefs who wanted the missionaries to “teach the book” to their people, he had to disobey the contemplative order’s strict rules of silence and ignore its prohibition on teaching. He also went against a ruling that the order was to have no contact with women, introducing a group of them as teachers at Mariannhill. Eventually they would become the Sisters of the Precious Blood.
When the general council of the order discovered the nature of the missionary activities in Natal, they removed Father Pfanner from office and effectively exiled him to one of the outstations – Emmaus – where he spent the last 15 years of his life until he died in 1909.
By then, however, his work had been vindicated as the Trappists, having been expelled from their order, now became a new entity, the Missionary Congregation of Mariannhill, whose priests are still active today.
The religious politics is a fascinating sideshow for the group, but not central to their interest in Mariannhill and its outstations, which are still used today, although some are in a state of disrepair.
The group of artists were first made aware of the Trappists five years ago when a member of the group, Peter Robinson, showed a painting of his to fellow group member, Maggie Strachan. “It was fascinating,” Strachan recalled. “It portrayed an arch doorway opening into a dark interior with just a hint of light. I asked him to tell me about it.”
It transpired that the painting was a detail of a mission church at Reichenau, near Underberg, described by local architect Robert Brusse as Brother Nivard’s masterpiece. Robinson provided her with some literature about the Trappists and Strachan was hooked.
Strachan noted that in recent years the group had enjoyed excursions to outstations such as Centocow, Lourdes and Emmaus, and been inspired in different ways.
“A few of us are Catholics, while others have been spiritually stimulated in other ways. Most of us have responded to the wonderful architecture and the beautiful natural environment.”
Members of the group have also visited the archives at Mariannhill and based their artworks on the architectural drawings of Brother Nivard as well as a series of early photographs taken of the priests working with the community.
Commenting on Brother Nivard’s drawings, Strachan described them as “exquisite. They’re done with fine pen and ink and the detail is such that you see how every little brick is drawn in perfect detail. They’ve got a treasure trove of important historical and artistic material in the archive”.
It’s a little known fact that Mariannhill was visited by Mahatma Gandhi and Mark Twain, with one of the monastery’s famous students being Steve Biko.
Strachan recalled some of the group’s excursions. “They’re really out of the way and sometimes we got beautifully lost in the lovely rolling hills.” One excursion concerned an attempt to find a mission station at Otting.
“We eventually gave up hope of finding it, but then we found a guide who eventually left us in the middle of a forest. We still felt lost, but then we took another turn and suddenly found this beautiful monastery in the middle of the African bush. It was being used because we saw people leaving after a Sunday service. We saw peacocks strutting around outside and some beautiful artefacts inside. It was magical.”
A remarkable coincidence also served to cement the links between the group and their Trappist enterprise. One of the new members, Nomsa Ngidi, had changed her focus from painting landscapes to portraits. One day, Strachan visited the Mariannhill archive and saw a photograph of a man who looked a lot like someone Ngidi had painted.
It turned out that the man, who was one of the first three black ministers to be ordained in Rome, was her great-uncle.
The exhibition, which will include photographs, paintings and multi-media artworks, will open at the St Anne’s Hall at Mariannhill at 11.30am tomorrow.
Robert Brusse, a leading conservation architect, will give a talk at St Anne’s Hall at 11am on Saturday, November 11.