The history of global Christianity is full of little-known heroes who have been overlooked. One of these is Rasalama, the woman who was Madagascar’s first Christian martyr.
The island of Madagascar is situated east of Africa. Before Christianity came to Madagascar, it’s people – the Malagasy – held to a mixture of religions and superstitions, with an emphasis on treating the dead with honour.
The evangelisation of Madagascar began badly. In 1818 the London Missionary Society sent out two Welsh couples with two children but, within months, only one of the six was alive. Undaunted, further missionaries arrived, learnt the language and introduced teaching and western technology. The king of Madagascar, Radama I, recognising the practical value of what the missionaries brought, encouraged them. Previously, the Malagasy language had only ever been written in an Arabic alphabet for a select few, but the missionaries now wrote it in a Latin alphabet and made it accessible to everybody. Soon thousands of children, including many girls, were learning to read and write. The Bible became the first Malagasy book, and hymnbooks and The Pilgrim’s Progress followed. Soon there were Christian converts and one was a young woman, Rasalama. From a relatively poor background, she started education in 1824 at a rural mission school. Her family then moved to the outskirts of the capital, Antananarivo, where she joined the first Christian community, and in May 1831 Rasalama became one of the first Malagasy to be baptised.
In 1828 King Radama died and was succeeded by one of his wives, Ranavalona. For a few years, she continued her husband’s policies but gradually became increasingly brutal. Indeed, her reign soon became so dominated by a hatred of foreigners, executions, forced labour and trials by lethal poison that she became known around the world as ‘the mad queen of Madagascar’.
Ranavalona hated the church and in 1835 banned Christianity entirely. Reluctantly, the missionaries left, leaving the embryonic Malagasy church on its own. As persecution began, the small numbers of Malagasy Christians, all young in the faith, met secretly in remote places. As persecution intensified, Rasalama went into hiding but in 1837 was discovered living in a cave. She was arrested and interrogated, courageously expressing her outrage: ‘We have not encouraged rebellion, stolen anybody’s property, or spoken ill of anybody, yet our property is confiscated, and we are reduced to perpetual slavery: I would advise the persecutors to think a little about what they are doing, lest they bring on themselves the wrath of God.’ She was made a slave of a court official who repeatedly abused her. Rasalama endured this patiently but asserted her faith by refusing to work on Sundays. She caused further offence by warning her master that at the Last Judgement all men and women would be equal, something unacceptable in a culture where royalty felt they were totally superior.
Rasalama now announced that she rejoiced to be counted ‘worthy to suffer affliction for believing in Jesus’. She was beaten, sentenced to death and imprisoned in a brutal iron frame designed to painfully twist the body. As she was led away to be executed, she prayed and sang hymns, her cheerfulness impressing those who watched. Passing by the chapel where she had been baptised she cried out, ‘Here I heard the words of the Saviour!’ Reaching the place of execution, she asked permission to kneel and pray and was then brutally speared to death. In a manner deeply offensive to Malagasy customs, her body was left unburied and allowed to be eaten by dogs. At the age of 37 she had become the first – but sadly, far from the last – Malagasy to give their life for Christ. Today the site of her martyrdom is marked by a large memorial church.
Strengthened by Rasalama’s witness, the Malagasy church stayed firm during the decades of persecution that followed. In 1861 Ranavalona died and was succeeded by a son, Radama II, who repealed many of his mother’s policies and allowed freedom of religion. Persecution of Christians ceased and missionaries and their schools returned. Today well over 80 per cent of Madagascar’s population are Christian.
It’s an inspiring story and let me highlight three things.
First, Rasalama was a surprising hero. Usually, persecution falls on church leaders but Rasalama seems to have been no more than an ordinary church member. Her faith is particularly notable because she had only recently become a Christian and there were no examples of martyrdom in her own culture. It’s a sharp reminder that every Christian, whether new or old in the faith, sheep or shepherd in the church, needs to be prepared to take a stand, however costly, for the faith.
Second, Rasalama was a strategic hero. Without being aware of it, Rasalama set an example that encouraged others to follow her faithfully through the decades of persecution. The result was that when the missionaries finally returned to Madagascar they found that the church was alive and well. To this day Rasalama’s heroism, and the sacrificial witness of those Welsh missionaries, are honoured in Madagascar’s history.
Finally, Rasalama is a symbolic hero. Rasalama died in a part of the world known to very few in Europe or North America and her act of witness came close to being utterly forgotten. As such, she symbolises the countless women and men who have been martyred for Christ and who remain completely unknown.
Unknown, of course, to us, but perfectly known, valued and honoured by God.
J.John
Reverend Canon
