bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Resources of Paris Missionary Archives and Libraries for the History of Gabon
Authors: Gardinier David E. 
Published: May 2006

The first members of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost arrived in the Gabon estuary in 1844. Their activities were largely confined to the northern shore of the estuary and nearby Cape Esterias until 1878. When they began to establish posts on the coasts from Loango to Rio Muni and at various points in the Ogooué and N'Gounié valleys. The establishment of New Kamerun and the coming of the First World War delayed their penetration into the Fang areas of the northern interior until the 1920s. Prior to the early 1880s all of Gabon belonged to the Vicariate Apostolic of the Two Guineas with its bishop at Libreville. After that time the southern coasts were assigned to the new Vicariate Apostolic of Loango. Loango itself formed part of the colony of Gabon until 1918 when it was definitively attached to the Middle Congo.The kinds of records deriving from the Spiritan presence in Gabon, which are housed in the mother house of the French province, include: (1) the Bulletin Général de la Congrégation, handwritten from 1857 to 1885 and then printed. The Bulletin summarizes the activities of each vicariate and each mission station, annually at first and then for periods of two to four years. (2) Annual and five-year reports to the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in Rome; annual reports to the Oeuvres de la Propagation de la Foi and the Oeuvre de la Sainte Enfance, French lay organizations which provided the bulk of the funds for missionary activities; reports to the superior-general of the congregation and later to the secretary for African missions.
Taking Arms Against a Sea of Scholarship: Serial Bibliographies and Indexes of Interest to African Historians
Authors: Henige David 
Published: May 2006

Hopkins' observation that bibliographies are “the basis of all academic study” would seem to be indisputable. Yet this paper is in large part a response to a study that indicates that, if not open to dispute in principle, in practice this dictum is more widely ignored than heeded. The study in question purports to demonstrate that, by and large, historians admittedly do not attempt to make systematic use of bibliographic tools, relying instead on footnotes, word of mouth, and serendipity, thereby falling short of their academic obligation to be exhaustive in the research enterprise. I was reluctant at first to credit this claim, preferring to put it down to a defect in the questionnaire approach of the author. But then I discovered that the latest edition of the Jahresberichte für deutsche Geschichte, by far the pre-eminent German historical bibliography, had escaped deflowering (that is, its pages had remained uncut) on the shelves of our Reference Department for nearly two years!One robin does not, as they say, make a spring and I would hesitate to draw any far-reaching conclusions from this single example, no matter how egregious. Yet, when I began to search out historical bibliographies, I was surprised at how many there were, particularly so for serial bibliographies and indexes, of which I have so far found about 900, at least three times as many as I had naively anticipated initially.Bibliographies come in a variety of forms. There are major retrospective bibliographies, which aim to include all or virtually all that has been published on a particular subject during a particular period of time. Such bibliographies sometimes appear as articles, but more often as books. For African studies, Scheven has undertaken to produce periodic indexes of bibliographies of this kind, in both formats.
A Report on the State of the Moroccan Archives
Authors: Park Thomas K. 
Published: May 2006

A gradual transformation is taking place in Morocco in the ease with which it is possible to have access to archives. In a year and a half in Morocco my research in the archives both of Rabat and of the town of Essaouira was expedited by the administrators and ministries responsible in a way that approached what is current in England, for example. Those who have done archival research in Morocco will recognize the significance of such a change.This report begins with a discussion of living accommodations in Morocco that may be of interest to those wishing to do research in the archives. Following this section I have tried to set out, first, the types of archives to be found, as well as their accessibility, and, second, the sorts of archival material likely to be found in each archive. Finally, I have appended a few suggestions about getting permission to do research in these archives. I can speak with accuracy for Rabat and Essaouira and, though it may be unwise to say they are representative of large and small towns, at least the two examples may be of some general significance.Those who can afford to stay at the Rabat Hilton may skip this section because it is targeted to those who cannot or would prefer not to spend that much money. A fairly inexpensive hotel, yet one that a North American would feel comfortable in, is fairly easy to find in most of the major cities or towns of Morocco. These would run about $20 to $30 a night for two people. In Rabat two possibilities are: BELERE (33, Av. Moulay Youssef) and LES OUDAYAS (4, Rue Tobrouk). Both are within an easy walk of the Royal Archives and the Archives of the Bibliothèque Générale.
African Members of the Zambezi Expedition, 1861–1864 A Prosopographical Foray
Authors: Clendennen G. W. , Simpson D.H. 
Published: May 2006

Throughout the entire period of the Zambezi expedition, the European members were accompanied and supported by Africans, either individually or in groups, and this essay is an attempt to list most of those who were with David Livingstone during his final three years in the Zambezi-Shire region. While the positive contributions made by Africans to the venture have been frequently overlooked, so has been the magnitude of Livingstone's problem training various African groups to carry out the tasks for which he hired them, with an end toward integrating them into the Expedition. The mere fact that circumstances caused him to turn to so many different groups of Africans in such a comparatively short period of time attests to the scope of Livingstone's difficulty. On the other hand, the problems faced by Africans in attempting to master new skills, many of which were “European” in nature, under the usually chaotic conditions in which the Expedition was immersed, can hardly be imagined. As will be indicated below, however, the African people usually served Livingstone and his men very well indeed.Five groups of Africans will be considered: Krumen, Kololo, Sena men, “Johanna” men, and Shupanga men. In addition to delineating briefly their respective periods of service and mentioning in general terms the contributions each people made, an attempt will be made to list their personal names.
Computerized Handling of Oral and Written Information for Prosopography of Gonja
Authors: Haight Bruce M. , Pfeiffer William R. 
Published: May 2006

Initial Development of the ProjectI carried out field research in Gonja during the summer of 1969 and in 1972/73. The richness of both oral and archival information became something of a liability when I started writing up my research because of the practical difficulties involved in storing such a large quantity of information in a retrievable form. Drawing upon my work with Wilks, I created cross-indexed files to all articles and books, unpublished articles, archival material, and field interviews. At the same time, all of the above materials were coded so that they could be retrieved quickly on the basis of filed call numbers. Information derived from these materials was then carded and on each card the source of the information was identified by code number. This coding and carding enabled me to gain quick access to my sources of information, but I remained unable to handle rapidly the discrete pieces of information found in these sources. This problem was solved through computerized handling of information. In the following paper I shall present an account of the development of that capability and evaluate its effectiveness and potential in historical research.
Sudanese Historiography and Oral Tradition
Authors: Ibrahim Abdullahi Ali 
Published: May 2006

One of the most curious aspects of Sudanese historiography is that it has almost completely ignored the ongoing attempts to apply the methods of historical criticism to oral tradition in reconstructing the African past. Though an awareness of these attempts on the part of Sudanese historians is not lacking, it has not gone beyond vague indications, casual remarks, and limited use of oral data. This paper investigates the apathy of Sudanese historiography with respect to oral traditions, drawing on articles on the writing of history in the Sudan, as well as on historical writings that have actually made use of oral traditions.Sudanese historiography here means writings by Sudanese on history-writing in the Sudan; general histories of the Sudan; and local histories of the Northern Sudan. The history of the Southern Sudan is excluded because the contribution of oral tradition in reconstructing the history of this region has been markedly different. I also distinguish between traditional (biographers, genealogists, etc.) and amateur historians on the one hand and modern historians on the other. The modern historians, with whom this article will deal exclusively, are graduates of the Department of History in the University of Khartoum (or a similar university by extension), which was established in the late 1940s,and who have been exposed to the Western critical spirit and modern techniques of historical research and writing.2 Unlike the modern historians, traditional and amateur historians have always made use of both oral traditions and written sources.
On the Trail of the Bush King: A Dahomean Lesson in the Use of Evidence
Authors: Bay Edna G. 
Published: May 2006

Twentieth-century historians of the Fon kingdom of Dahomey have been blessed with an unusually rich and accessible body of primary source material. Published in English and French by a succession of visitors to the kingdom, this literature includes references to Dahomean affairs beginning as early as the seventeenth century and continuing with regularity through its conquest in 1892/93 by the French. The accounts, however, are fullest in number of writers and in detail of observation for the period of the reigns of kings Gezo (1818-58) and Glele (1858-89).European observers of the Dahomean polity approached the state for a variety of commercial, religious, and political reasons, but typically they were permitted to visit the capital, Abomey, only in conjunction with the major cycle of annual ceremonies, Xwetanu. Because Xwetanu -- or Customs, as the ceremonies were dubbed by the Europeans -- ranged in duration from several weeks to several months, travelers drew their information about the kingdom from the advantageous point of a relatively long period of time spent in close observation of the court at what was unquestionably the most important period of the year. Fascinated and sometimes repelled by the sights they witnessed, they set down their own observations, describing land forms and economic activities, court life and ceremonial, and officers and institutions of the state.
Ecological Perspectives on Mande Population Movements, Commercial Networks, and Settlement Patterns from the Atlantic Wet Phase (ca. 5500-2500 B.C.) to the Present
Authors: Brooks George E. 
Published: May 2006

In this paper I discuss known and probable migrations and areas of settlement of proto-Mande and Mande-speaking groups during eight climate periods spanning the past eight millennia. Recent scholarship concerning west African climate patterns in past times has made feasible provisional periodizations of west African history that are independent of European-derived chronologies. Concomitantly, these historical periodizations offer provocative insights regarding such long-term processes as human migrations and settlement patterns; the diffusion of cultigens and domestic animals; the development of long- distance trade routes; and the use of horse cavalry in warfare.The provisional historical schema comprising eight climate periods and Map 1 depicting ecological zones are principally derived from the pioneering studies of Sharon E. Nicholson and of Susan and Roderick McIntosh, and from the analyses I have presented elsewhere: (1) The Atlantic Wet Phase which extended from ca. 5500 to ca. 2500 B.C., was succeeded by (2) a two-and-a-half millennia-long period of desiccation. (3) There was a six centuries-long transiton period between ca. 300 B.C. and ca. 300 A.D., during the latter part of which ecological conditions improved sufficiently to permit the development of intra- and trans- Saharan commerce. (4) Four centuries of moderate rainfall ca. 300-ca. 700, and (5) four centuries of abundant rainfall ca. 700-ca. 1100, were followed by (6) a four centuries long dry period extending from ca. 1100 to ca. 1500. (7) A brief wet period, ca. 1500-ca. 1630, preceded (8) a two centuries-long dry period lasting until ca. 1860.
Généalogies de héros chez les Téké Tsaayi du Congo
Authors: Dupré Marie-Claude 
Published: May 2006

Construire l'histoire d'un pays quand on ne dispose que de la mémoire et des traditions orales est une situation familière à l'anthropologue. Y parvenir est une entreprise qui n'est pas toujours couronnée de succès. Le principal moyen de remonter dans le passé est fourni par les généalogies de personnes illustres qui ont été transmises de diverses façons. Puis de les comparer entre elles en les posant sur une même échelle temporelle. Les écueils sont nombreux. Plus le personnage est important, plus ses héritiers, ou ses détracteurs tendent à fournir des informations divergentes. Un exemple célèbre est la généalogie des rois du Dahomey qui est loin d'être entièrement claire.L'histoire des Téké tsaayi intéresse une zone plus restreinte, un carré d'environ 100 kilomètres de côté situé à l'ouest des sources de l'Ogooué dans la forêt qui couvre les monts du Chaillu. Les autres groupes téké se trouvent dans les savanes situées à l'est de cette zone, à l'exception des Téké laali. Le travail de comparaison mené sur 13 généalogies a permis de remonter jusqu'aux débuts du 18e siècle et d'esquisser, sur près de trois siècles, un rythme temporel marqué d'abord par la métallurgie, puis par les guerres, puis par la traite et l'invention du masque Kidumu. Chacune des périodes a suscité un ou plusieurs héros dont le souvenir était diversement conservé en 1966-72. Parfois l'énumeration tourne court et cela renseigne aussi sur la faible profondeur de la mémoire. Ces généalogies constituent des documents exceptionnels qui contrastent avec l'épaisseur bien mince du passé dans une société ol'on arrive généralement aux temps immobiles dès que l'on dépasse la 3e génération, comme je le montre aussi dans ce travail.
Memoire, Conscience Collective et Mentalites au Burundi, ca 1900-1962
Authors: Feltz Gaëtan 
Published: May 2006

“Les mentalités, une histoire ambiguë,” tel est le titre d'un article de Jacques Le Goff (1974), qui constituera le point de départ d'une réflexion sur la profondeur et la dimension historiques des sources qui peuvent faire déceler des attitudes et des mentalités, à travers des témoignages, récits autobiographiques, ou encore des interviews. Si la perception d'un changement de mentalites ou d'attitudes profondes peut paraître “ambiguë”--parce que faiblement perceptible--, certains faits cependant traduisent des signes de changement dans la mentalité d'un groupe social, voire d'une société globalement soumise à une contrainte externe, comme par exemple lors de la colonisation au XXe siècle en Afrique noire.Aujourd'hui, nous nous intéressons à l'histoire du dedans, à l'histoire vécue par les acteurs eux-mêmes. En confrontant ces diverses historiographies, arriverons-nous à mieux comprendre ce que doit être l'Histoire par rapport à ce que l'on nous apprend à l'école (Ferro 1981/1983), à ce que l'on ressent en temps qu'historien et à ce qui est réellement vécu (Feltz 1987)? Peut-être que la perception du fait colonial par ceux qui l'ont vécu du de-dans permettra de mieux cerner les effets de ce temps de l'histoire, la recherche de techniques quant à la collecte des sources est certes utile, elle l'est moins quand on cherche à déceler une dialectique irréversible à travers certaines données conjecturelles (Verhaegen 1986; Cannel/ Kahn 1974).
Jesuit Documents on the Guinea of Cape Verde and the Cape Verde Islands, 1585-1617 in English Translation
Authors: Hair P. E. H. 
Published: May 2006

As part of a projected series of edited early Portuguese texts on Guinea, in the early 1960s the late Vice-Admiral Avelino Teixeira da Mota began to assemble, partly from archives, documents for a volume he intended to call Jesuit Reports. As it happened, many of the documents, especially those from Jesuit sources, were published in 1968 by another Portuguese scholar, the late P. Antońio Brásio. But Teixeira da Mota did not abandon his project, partly because he considered that Brásio did not always take account of all copies of a document and all variant readings, and partly because Brásio was unable to accompany the documents with informed Africanist annotation. In the 1970s Teixeira da Mota sent me his own collection of documents to translate into English— and also so that I could ultimately contribute part of their annotation. My translations were completed just before Teixeira da Mota died in 1982, and I have since translated a number of other documents, all from Brásio, which help to round out the picture. Not all of the documents were written by the Jesuits themselves, but most were.When it became clear that the publication of Teixeira da Mota's series would proceed at best very slowly, I began to publish those of the translations which were of material in the public domain, beginning with the material printed in the early seventeenth century by Guerreiro. Since much of the material related to Sierra Leone, I published in the Africana Research Bulletin of the Institute of African Studies at Freetown, and am much indebted to the organizers of the journal for providing an outlet.
A History Manuscript in Hausa Ajami from Wurno, Nigeria by Malam Haliru Mahammad Wurno
Authors: Philips John Edward 
Published: May 2006

This manuscript is a history of the family of Muhammad Buji, who led a migration from the town of Bunkari in Argungu (Sokoto State, Nigeria) to Wurno, sometime capital of the Sokoto Caliphate. It is important as an illustration of the ongoing historiographical tradition of Islamic west Africa in local languages, and as evidence of the strong historical sense and continuing production of historical documents by certain of the scholars of the area.Wurno was constructed ca. 1830 by Muhammad Bello, Sultan of Sokoto and successor of Usuman dan Fodio, founder of the Sokoto Caliphate. Its primary purpose was to defend Sokoto from the northeast, and it replaced Magarya as the principal ribat (frontier fortification) and residence of Bello in that area. It also became the staging point for the annual dry season campaigns against the Gobirawa and other enemies of the Caliphate. When the Caliph himself was resident there, it became the capital of the state. Barth referred to it as such in his account of his travels. Wurno was the capital with more and more frequency as the nineteenth century wore on.
In Pursuit of a Chameleon: Early Ethnographic Photography from Angola in Context
Authors: Heintze Beatrix 
Published: May 2006

In recent years early photographs from Africa have increasingly attracted the attention of historians and ethnologists, as have those from other parts of the world for some time. It has been attempted to ascertain the general and specific circumstances which led to them being made and subsequently used. The multifarious problems raised by their interpretation have been discussed. Books and articles have been published in which historical photographs form an integral and principal component. And it has been attempted to tap hitherto neglected, or to a large extent unknown, photographic archives and collections.One of the countries to which least attention has been paid in this field is Angola, whose photographic documentation is widely scattered and in some cases not accessible. It is likely that many valuable collections have yet to be discovered; and of those that are known, in most cases the financial means and the expertise necessary for their conservation are lacking. In the light of this generally bleak situation Jill Dias' recent systematic review of the period from 1870 to 1914 is particularly welcome. My own contribution will take her work as its starting point, but will focus exclusively on ethnographic photography.“Ethnography” will be used here in the sense in which photographers and researchers active in Angola during the period concerned (1875-1940) understood it—as a description (more systematic in some cases than in others) of “uncivilized,” “native” African peoples and cultures. It should be remembered that the boundary between “physical” and “cultural” anthropology was at that time still fluid.
Are Bibliographers Like Shortstops? Gresham's Law and Africana Bibliography
Authors: Henige David , Sabin James T. 
Published: May 2006

A well conceived and executed reference book can become a perennial, a notable tool indispensable to research in the field…Despite its relatively brief history, African studies has developed a remarkably abundant bibliographic infrastructure to support its aims. This is tangibly evidenced in the recent appearance of Yvette Scheven's cumulated bibliography of Africana bibliographies, which comprises citations to well over 3200 bibliographies of various stripes published between 1970 and 1986, or an average of nearly 200 each year. Of course, some of the parts of the structure overlap and even duplicate other parts, and by no means has every effort attained acceptable standards, but on the whole there has been little about which to be ashamed or mortified.Perhaps this should come as no surprise. In theory at least, the obstacles to preparing useful bibliographies are not outrageously demanding, and not at all commensurate with their enduring value. Mechanically, there are only a few rules, but these are unrelenting: entries must be accurate in all their parts, as well as complete, yet should be economical as well, and not provide useless information; coverage must be comprehensive within stated parameters; and access must be facilitated by means of thoughtful organization, extensive cross-referencing, and thorough and sensitive indexing. The intellectual challenges to accomplishing these goals might not be overwhelming; nonetheless forethought, punctilious and constant attention to detail, linguistic ability, doggedness, and above all a commitment to the highest standards of accuracy are all imperative.