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4. Marriage in 1904
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4 Marriage in 1904 Earlier on, he put in much effort, worked really well and his behaviour was modest. This ended in autumn last year. Complaints have already come from East Africa, similar to the case of his predecessor who lived with a waitress as his concubine. Obviously, the Negro in love is, in his dullness, not able to do any other kind of work. Carl Velten in May 1905, expressing his frustration about Mtoro Bakari who had broken with him Recognition of Mtoro Bakari’s talents and achievements did not help him much when he seriously pursued a relationship with a German woman. It seems that, at the beginning of May 1904, Mtoro Bakari and Bertha Hilske were betrothed by Adolf Schmidt, a Protestant pastor living not far from the home of the Bakaris at that time. Four months later Mtoro Bakari contacted the Colonial Department of the German Foreign Office in order to obtain the papers that were necessary to conclude a civil marriage. After the Governor of German East Africa forwarded a letter of the Bagamoyo District Office stating that there were no known facts preventing Mtoro Bakari from marrying, the civil marriage took place on October 29th , 1904, in BerlinCharlottenburg , where the Bakaris had moved during the summer.1 Bertha’s last name, a German derivation of “Hilski”, indicates that she originally came from a Polish family. In fact, she was born in eastern Germany in 1876, in a town (Berlinchen) that today is situated in the northwestern part of Poland.2 That she went to Berlin, probably in search of employment, was nothing unusual, the more so since there were a great number of immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe at the end of the nineteenth century. Bertha Hilske lived together with family members, 1 This is the date of the civil marriage. It seems that, at the beginning of May 1904, they were betrothed by “Pastor Schmidt” in Berlin, Hagelbergerstraße 31. Carl Velten believed that they had actually married in church, but this was only possible after concluding a civil marriage, cf. C. Velten to the Prussian Minister of Culture, 16 June 1904 (GStA PK, I.HA Rep.208A, Nr.121, 42-43). Apart from his address, little information seems to exist about Adolf Schmidt, cf. the Berlin directory (Berliner Adressbuch 1904, 1654; 1905, 1849). 2 Berlinchen (Polish: Barlinek) is situated some 140km northeast of Berlin. It was part of the Soldin district in the Neumark region. The date and place of birth of Bertha Hilske are recorded in the historical registration file of Mtoro Bakari in the state archives in Berlin. F O U R 42 4.1 Mtoro Bakaris’s signature from his letter of 21 December 1906 possibly her parents, and presumably contributed to the family income by seeking ordinary employment12 3 On the other hand, Mtoro Bakari earned a good salary but used to live as a sub-tenant, finally staying as a lodger with the Hilske family. This was a common practice for single persons at that time, not only for those who were unsure of whether they would live permanently in a certain place. It appears that Mtoro Bakari fully accepted the possibility of living in Germany when he decided to marry a second time. After being informed that his wife in Bagamoyo was unfaithful, he had given her, according to Islamic law, a twofold divorce in December 1903, on condition that she would forgo the rest of the bridal gift due from him.4 1 2 3 An article that comments negatively on her union with an African identifies her as a “factory worker” and her husband as an “assistant teacher”. ‘Die Rassenfrage in unseren Kolonien’, Deutsche Warte, 19 November 1905. 4 See the German translation of the letter of divorce dated 14 December 1903. The original, which may no longer exist, was sent back to Carl Velten by Amour bin Nassor, the former lecturer and headman of Bagamoyo, in order to be used for teaching purposes, according to C. Velten to the Prussian Minister of Culture, 16 June 1904 (GStA PK, I.HA Rep.208A, Nr.121, 42-43). [54.81.58.140] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 06:19 GMT) Marriage in 1904 43 Instead of urging Mtoro Bakari to make sure that all the legal requirements were met before being betrothed to another woman, Carl Velten was categorically opposed to his marriage to Bertha Hilske. In his opinion, the colonial administration – if not...