The documentary O Ddyffryn Aeron i Fadagascar (From the Aeron Valley to Madagascar) this week retraces and discusses the amazing journey of two young missionaries from Ceredigion to Madagascar in the nineteenth century. The programme is the first in a new series of spiritual journeys, Y Daith (The Journey), which discusses the true meaning of religion, faith and belief in the modern age.
Journalist, editor and author, Dylan Iorwerth, presents the programme and he has been intrigued by the story of the two missionaries in their twenties, David Jones and Thomas Bevan, who travelled to Madagascar in 1818. Both were educated at the Neuaddlwyd Academy near Aberaeron, which was established two hundred years ago to train ministers and missionaries.
"I've been familiar with the Neuaddlwyd story ever since I moved to Ceredigion," says Dylan. "I wanted to follow in their footsteps and try to understand why they took such a risk. I found the idea of missionary work difficult - forcing one culture on another, but I also admired the strength of their faith. The question I was going to attempt to answer was how much influence they had on the people of Madagascar."
During the programme we'll see Dylan visiting the exact spot on the island where David Jones and Thomas Bevan landed on 6 August, 1818, and then travelling to the capital, Antananarivo, a journey made by David Jones in 1820 in order to try and gain the support of the country's leader, King Radama.
"David Jones and his fellow travellers would have travelled in canoes and carried in sedans on part of the journey. But we travelled in an old van, which took around eight to nine hours and was a memorable journey! There were holes in the road and people do tend to drive rather wildly. There was a lot of loud horn blowing going on!"
During the week of filming on the island, Dylan had several memorable experiences, including a service in a small chapel near the beach where the two missionaries landed. "It certainly brought a lump to the throat. You could imagine that the village hadn't changed a lot since the time of David Jones and Thomas Bevan. We walked down to the beach afterwards and the children were dancing and singing hymns. Their voices will stay in my mind for a long time.
The other programmes in the series include Lyn Ebenezer and Charles Arch sharing the faith they've returned to while on a journey from Cwm Hir Abbey to Ystrad Fflur, a group from Clwyd visiting the Oberammergau Passion Play in Southern Germany, the story of the Quakers of Dolegllau, a Jew and a Muslim sharing a journey to Jerusalem, and Menna Machraeth travelling to South Africa and learning more about the work of the Tear Fund there.
© 2012 S4C
O Gymru / Made in Wales