Le dieu de ces tyrans

HAAFNER SOCIETY FOUNDED

To commemorate the 240th anniversary of the birth of the travel writer
Jacob Haafner (1754 - 1809), a meeting was held in Amsterdam, on March 13,
1994, to found the Haafner Society. The main goal of the Society has set
itself is to re-publish the complete works of Jacob Haafner and stimulate
the study of the historical, literary, linguistic, anthropological, and
philosophical aspects of his work. He was one of the first and foremost
critics of the colonial condition. His essay on the 'usefulness' of the
Christian missions was recently republished in a paperback edition. In this
he takes a stand against missionary support of colonial exploitation. The
motto of his book, borrowed from Voltaire, "Il est difficile de servir un
dieu qu'on ne connait pas, plus difficile encore d'aimer le dieu de ces
tyrans", leaves no shadow of doubt about his point of view.

By Jaap de Moor

In a lively and entertaining meeting, speeches on various aspects of
Haafner's work were delivered. Agnes Vercammen opened the gathering with
the performance of an ancient Indian dance. Hanneke van den Muyzenberg
commented on aspects of the colloquial Tamil in the works of Haafner.
Marianne Perdaen chose to highlight the Indian medical tradition of herbs
as described by Haafner. She also quoted Haafner as one of the precursors
of vegetarianism in Europe. The poet and linguist Emma Crebolder recited a
poem based on Haafner's South African experience. She commented on the
unwritten language of the Khosan using beads as a means of communication,
which Haafner failed to compreheng during his stay in Cape Town. Ad van
Schaik, a modern travel writer, contributed a slide presentation on Fort
Sadraspatnam (near Madras), where Haafner spent some enthralling years in a
multi-cultural and multi-ethnic environment. Dr J. Bel gave a penetrating
analysis of the history of the reception of Haafner's work in the
Netherlands. The philospher Professor J. de Mul gave three reasons for not
becoming a member of the Haafner Society. He left the audience
flabberghasted, but became a member nevertheless. Finally, the provisional
president of the Society, Paul van der Velde, told the audience that
membership would be restricted to those who have contributed substantially
to the progress of Haafner Studies or who have distinguished themselves by
a truly Haafnerian way of life. "The Society will keep a very low profile",
he said.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Jaap de Moor
PO Box 9515
2300 RA Leiden
the Netherlands