Johannes King

Johannes King (born: Adiri circa 1830 - 24 October 1898), was the first Maroon missionary, and the first important writer in Sranan Tongo. King belonged to the Matawai tribe, and performed his missionary activities for the Moravian Church.

Biography

Adiri was born as a son of granman (paramount chief) Kodjo of the Matawai, near the plantations of Haarlem and Maho in Suriname. Adiri was born and raised in a completely illiterate society. In 1852, Adiri moved to Maripaston. During this period, he fell ill, and the illness lasted many years. In 1855, Adiri started to receive visions: a strange god pointed at an alien religion, told him to go to the city, and be baptized. Adiri went to Paramaribo, where he met van Calker, who was the preacher at the Moravian Church. He didn't stay long, and returned to his village soon after. Adiri returned in 1860, and had taught himself to read by then. He had used an A.B.C. (alphabet) book, and Singiboekoe, a book with psalms from the Moravian Church in Sranan Tongo. Once again he didn't stay long, but when he returned home, he started to build a church in Maripaston. In 1861, he returned to the city, was baptized, and changed his name to Johannes King.

Missionary

King first started to preach under his own people for which King was paid by the mission. King was briefly granman when his brother died, but opted to be solely a preacher. In 1864, he was sent to the Ndyuka for a dual purpose: The Moravian Church had up to then been unable to reach the Ndyuka, and the Matawai wanted to make a peace treaty with the Ndyuka. In 1864, King published a book about the visit in Sranan Tongo. The book is hard to read, because he uses an autodidactic spelling and often confuses a with h. The original is archived by the Moravian Church in Zeist.