This article discusses the secular and religious meaning of the relief
work by Finnish Christian missionaries in Ovamboland in the former South
West Africa at the beginning of the twentieth century. Ovamboland
regularly suffered crop failures and food scarcity, therefore, famine
relief became an established part of the missionaries’ everyday work.
This article discloses the concrete policies of distributing relief as
well as the divine significance the missionaries attached to the hunger
catastrophes. Even though the religious conviction was usually the most
important signifier when the missionaries categorise the local people,
famine relief was provided for both the baptized and unbaptized Ovambos.
The missionaries also understood famines as good opportunities to
gather people into the mission stations and preach the Christian gospel
to them. Thus, they distributed both bodily food and spiritual food to
the people.