(Maggie Strachan (centre) in her studio with
fellow Trappist artists. From the left, Scott Kotze, Estelle Hudson, Bridget
Clutten and Gill van Wyk. Photo: Bharti Gosai)
(Report
by Patrick Compton)
A group
of Durban artists will hold an exhibition at Mariannhill from November 5 to 12
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 a pioneering group of 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 that Father Pfanner made. In order 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 also 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
being undertaken 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 before he died in 1909.
By then,
however, his life’s 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 of them 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,” Maggie 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. Peter then provided her with some literature about the Trappists
and Maggie was hooked.
Maggie
noted that in recent years the group had enjoyed regular excursions to
outstations such as Centocow, Lourdes and Emmaus, and been inspired in
different ways by what they had experienced.
“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
fascinating early photographs taken of the priests working with the community.
Commenting
on Brother Nivard’s drawings, Maggie 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.
Maggie
recalled some of the group’s excursions to various outstations with a smile.
“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 one such 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 artifacts 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, Maggie visited the
Mariannhill archive and saw a photograph of a man who looked a lot like someone
Nomsa 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 11h30 on November 5.
BLOB:
Robert Brusse, one of South Africa's leading conservation architects, will give
a talk at St Anne's Hall, Mariannhill, at 11h00 on November 11. – Patrick Compton
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