[The following is in relation to the brutal prosecutions against native Christians by Ranavalona I, Queen of Madagascar in the mid-1800s.]
On 7 July 1857 Queen Ranavalona ordered the exile of all Europeans from the island, thus leaving Madagascar isolated from the rest of the world. Infuriated that the death penalty was not being implemented for crimes which she viewed more wicked even than murder, Ranavalona also insisted that from now on anyone caught preaching Christian doctrine or in possession of a Bible be put to death immediately.
[…]
On Queen Ranavalona’s command, soldiers began to spy on anyone they suspected of being a convert. Soon long lists of offenders were being drawn up and circulated among government officials. But there were still ways and means of reading the Bible and the ever-resourceful Malagasy soon found that if they split the bible up into booklets they could easily hide these smaller texts in the thatched roofs of their houses, in rice-storage pits or various other cubbyholes around the house. A young woman named Mary Rasalama was one such who turned to subterfuge rather than relinquish her faith.
Situated outside her house was a large rice pit which was used for storage and which she now made twice as big by digging out the walls. Afterwards she then covered the top of the pit (its mouth) with a huge stone and on top of this she placed leaves, branches and rubbish as camouflage. At night, when the wind was up or the rain was falling, Rasalama and her friends then congregated in the pit where they would sit and quietly sing and pray to the Lord. It wasn’t ideal, but at least people had somewhere to congregate.
Unfortunately it wasn’t long before neighbours, realizing what was afoot, reported Rasalama’s activities to the relevant authorities. Rasalama was arrested and, although given the opportunity to recant and admit her error, she refused. In August 1838 she was led out of the city to a barren field where she was told to kneel down. Her guards permitted her to pray and she began ‘Lord Jesus, into Thy hands I commit my spirit’. Before she could say any more several soldiers crept up behind her and stabbed her in the back with their spears. When she was finally dead, her body was thrown to the dogs. It was an inglorious event, but one which would be repeated in various guises for years to come.
Source:
Klein, Shelley. “Queen Ranavalona I.” The Most Evil Women in History. Barnes & Noble Books, 2003. 86-7. Print.
Ranavalona I (born Rabodoandrianampoinimerina)
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