Desmond Tutu Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Childhood: 1931β1950=== Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born on 7 October 1931 in [[Klerksdorp]], [[Transvaal (province)|Transvaal]], South Africa.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=22|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=2|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3pp=9β10}} His mother, Allen Dorothea Mavoertsek Mathlare, was born to a [[Tswana people|Motswana]] family in [[Boksburg]].{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=22|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=10}} His father, Zachariah Zelilo Tutu, was from the [[Fengu people|amaFengu]] branch of [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]] and grew up in [[Gcuwa]], Eastern Cape.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=22|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=10β11}} At home, the couple spoke the [[Xhosa language]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=11}} Having married in Boksburg,{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=14}} they moved to Klerksdorp in the late 1950s, living in the city's "native location", or black residential area, since renamed Makoeteng.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=14β15}} Zachariah worked as the principal of a [[Methodism|Methodist]] primary school and the family lived in the mud-brick schoolmaster's house in the yard of the Methodist mission.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=3|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=16}} [[File:ChurchofChristtheKing.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Church of Christ the King|The Church of Christ the King in Sophiatown, where Tutu was a server under priest Trevor Huddlestone]] The Tutus were poor;{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=28|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=3}} describing his family, Tutu later related that "although we weren't affluent, we were not destitute either".{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=21}} He had an older sister, Sylvia Funeka, who called him "Mpilo" (meaning 'life').{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1pp=22, 29|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=3|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=19}} He was his parents' second son; their firstborn boy, Sipho, had died in infancy.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=19}} Another daughter, Gloria Lindiwe, was born after him.{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=22}} Tutu was sickly from birth;{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=2|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=19}} [[polio]] atrophied his right hand,{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=32|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=19}} and on one occasion he was hospitalised with serious burns.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=20}} Tutu had a close relationship with his father, although was angered at the latter's heavy drinking and violence toward his wife.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=22|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=3|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=22}} The family were initially Methodists and Tutu was [[baptism|baptised]] into the [[Methodist Church of Southern Africa|Methodist Church]] in June 1932.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=30|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=4|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=33}} They subsequently changed denominations, first to the [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]] and then to the [[Anglican Church]].{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1pp=30β31|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=4|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=33}} In 1936, the family moved to [[Tshing]], where Zachariah became principal of a Methodist school.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=20}} There, Tutu started his primary education,{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=21}} learned [[Afrikaans]],{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=23|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=4|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=21}} and became the server at St Francis Anglican Church.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=33}} He developed a love of reading, particularly enjoying comic books and European [[fairy tales]].{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=30|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=4|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=21}} In Tshing his parents had a third son, Tamsanqa, who also died in infancy.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=21}} Around 1941, Tutu's mother moved to the [[Witwatersrand]] to work as a cook at [[Ezenzeleni Blind Institute]] in Johannesburg. Tutu joined her in the city, living in [[Roodepoort|Roodepoort West]].{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=5|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=24}} In Johannesburg, he attended a Methodist primary school before transferring to the Swedish Boarding School (SBS) in the [[St. Martin's School (Rosettenville)|St Agnes Mission]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=24}} Several months later, he moved with his father to [[Ermelo, Mpumalanga|Ermelo]], [[eastern Transvaal]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=25}} After six months, the duo returned to Roodepoort West, where Tutu resumed his studies at SBS.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=25}} Aged 12, he underwent [[confirmation]] at St Mary's Church, Roodepoort.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=34}} Tutu entered the Johannesburg Bantu High School ([[Madibane High School]]) in 1945, where he excelled academically.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=25, 34β35}} Joining a school [[rugby union|rugby]] team, he developed a lifelong love of the sport.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=36}} Outside of school, he earned money selling oranges and as a [[caddie]] for white [[golfer]]s.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=27|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=7|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=37}} To avoid the expense of a daily train commute to school, he briefly lived with family nearer to Johannesburg, before moving back in with his parents when they relocated to [[Munsieville]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=36, 37β38}} He then returned to Johannesburg, moving into an Anglican hostel near the Church of Christ the King in [[Sophiatown]].{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=29|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=8|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=42}} He became a server at the church and came under the influence of its priest, [[Trevor Huddleston]];{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=10|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=43β45}} later biographer [[Shirley du Boulay]] suggested that Huddleston was "the greatest single influence" in Tutu's life.{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=31}} In 1947, Tutu contracted [[tuberculosis]] and was hospitalised in [[Rietfontein]] for 18 months, during which he was regularly visited by Huddleston.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1pp=29β30|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=9|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3pp=45β46}} In the hospital, he underwent [[circumcision]] to mark his transition to manhood.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=47}} He returned to school in 1949 and took his national exams in late 1950, gaining a second-class pass.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=47β48}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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