Field Work in Brazil: Speaks three African languages, Bahia
Creator:
Turner, Lorenzo Dow 1890-1972
Subject:
Turner, Lorenzo Dow
Physical description:
1 photographic print gelatin silver 7 x 4 1/2 in
Culture:
Afro-Brazilian
Type:
Photographs
Place:
Brazil
Date:
1940
1940-1941
Summary:
Information from exhibit brochure "Word, Shout, Song: Lorenzo Dow Turner, Connecting Communities through Language, August 9, 2010-July 24, 2011, Anacostia Community Museum," reads, "As Turner continued to explore the African survivals in Gullah, he was attracted to Brazil. He knew that a much larger number of Africans had been brought to Brazil as slaves than to the United States and that many of the West African languages that had influenced Gullah were the same ones that these enslaved Africans had brought to Brazil. Better yet, Turner also knew that Afro-Brazilians in the Northeast area of the country, especially in Bahia, had been able to retain man of their religious practices, oral literature, and musical heritage. Researching these survivals would be useful for him in his quest to build a more complete picture of how African languages had influenced Gullah."
Additional information from "Word, Shout, Song" reads "Salvador [Bahia] presented Turner with fertile ground for his research. This most African of Brazilian cities had received the majority of the Africans who had been enslaved in Brazil. Furthermore, its population of African descent had been able to maintain close relations with West Africa, as ships plied the waters between the two coasts taking people, goods, and news to and from. Turner had found Africa in Brazil."
Cite as:
Lorenzo Dow Turner papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Lois Turner Williams
