Tempels’s colonial missionary encounter radically transformed his own convictions

Evidence

While Tempels was attempting to “civilize,” he found his moment of truth in an encounter with the people he came to teach. He thus became their student, and he tried to understand their version of the truth. During this encounter he came to know many things about the Bantu, which radically called into question his own convictions as the civilizer. He explored these conscious experiences without making any metaphysical assumptions. This intercultural encounter had a profound transformational effect in the life of Tempels. His active participation in the symbols and rituals of those he was supposed to teach led him to understand and internalize their indigenous beliefs better, rather than just limiting himself with prejudices. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 533

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to debates on how colonial encounter transforms the colonizer-and to the ‘negotiated identity’ literature (Mosima 2016).