Reverend Hlongwane With Church Procession

Reverend Hlongwane and Church Procession, 1946. This photograph was published in Bengt Sundkler's book "Bantu Prophet in South Africa." The caption below the photograph reads as follows: "The Chief Of His Church. Rev. J. Mdelwa Hlongwane, the founder and president of the Bantu Methodist Church, nicknamed the 'Donkey Church.' The photo taken from a rally of Independent Bantu Churches in Pimville, Johannesburg, on which occasion the Rev. Hlongwane gave a 'charge' to the assembled ministers. Banners with inscriptions in English and Zulu are carried in procession." Photographic image of Reverend Hlongwane standing at the beginning of a procession wearing clerical attire and holding bibles at his side. Near him are some men holding signs to represent various churches like Bantu Methodist Church and The C.C. of God in S.A. Photograph by Constance Stuart Larrabee, 1948.

Constance Stuart documented church services, processions, and baptisms in several African churches. A 1938 series of photographs shows a baptism near Pretoria. In 1946, she spent time with several congregations in the Johannesburg area. Some of these photographs were published in Bengt Sundlker's book "Bantu Prophets in South Africa" (first published by Lutterworth Press, London 1948).

There are no prints of this negative in the Constance Stuart Larrabee Collection. EEPA produced an 8x10 study print for reference purposes.