Tlou! tlou! the elephant-singers of botshabelo

The book tells the story of the Batloung, a Batswana tribe of Southern Africa, from the early nineteenth century to ca. 1960. It provides historical insight into the Batloungs ancient customs, practices and beliefs and describes the experiences that shaped the people. It tells of wars, of disruption, of the wanderings of a homeless nation and of their first encounter with the white people who came to settle in South Africa. The book deals with how the Gospel affected the Batloung, and how their pastoral, communal way of life was changed by the rapid expansion of mining and industry and the uneasy social structures of the twentieth century. Tlou! Tlou! is the product of research, interviews and the personal experience of the author, Friedrich Dierks, who was a missionary to the Batloung for many years. He dedicated his original German book to his predecessor, Johannes Schnell, who founded the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church Mission Station of Botshabelo. The translator is a granddaughter of Missionary Schnell.