Carl Etter papers and photographs on Ainu folklore and culture
name: label: Creator
content: Etter, Carl, 1898-1982
place: label: Place
content: Japan
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Received from Patricia A. Etter in 2011.
creator: label: Creator
content: Etter, Carl, 1898-1982
culture: label: Culture
content: Ainu
setName: label: See more items in
content: Carl Etter papers and photographs on Ainu folklore and culture
abstract: label: Summary
content: Ainu folklore collected by Carl Etter during the early 1930s in the Japanese regions of Hokkaido, the Kuril islands, and Sakhalin. Also included are photographs of the Ainu people, their villages, and rituals.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Carl Etter studied religion in college, first as an undergraduate at Abilene Christian College, from which he graduated in 1922, then as a graduate student at the University of Michigan and the University of Southern California. He traveled to Japan in 1928 hoping to serve as a missionary for the Church of Christ. However, the Church would not support him, so he learned Japanese and became a teacher at a government university. While in Japan, from 1931-1932, Etter collected the legends and folklore of the Ainu people, animists who believe that spirits exist in all things including natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as rivers and trees, and in animals. In 1949 he published Ainu Folklore: Traditions and Culture of the Vanishing Aborigines of Japan, a book based upon his research. Etter earned a PhD from the University of Hokkaido in 1953.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3.5 Linear feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1931-1932
label: Date
content: 1949
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.2011-13
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into three series. Series 1: Field Research, Series 2: Photographs, and Series 3: Writings.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Carl Etter stored each Ainu legend in a small brown envelope labeled with a description of the legend and the name of the village where he heard the legend. These original titles were retained. Folder titles assigned by the archivist are indicated by square brackets. Manuscript materials have been rehoused in acid-free folders. Photographs were rehoused in mylar sleeves and acid free-folders. 

Collection and image descriptions provided in this finding aid were compiled using the best available sources of information. Such sources include the creator's annotations or descriptions, collection accession files, primary and secondary source material (i.e. documents, publications, and websites), and subject matter experts. While every effort is made to provide accurate information, it is understood that errors may reveal themselves following review by other subject experts, and new information is welcome.

The collection was processed by Christy Fic, 2011.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection contains Etter's diaries; descriptions of Ainu sign language; approximately 210 Ainu legends; Etter's published book, Ainu Folklore; 239 photographic prints and postcards; and typed notes created by Etter's daughter-in-law, Patricia A. Etter.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.