Photographs made during celebrations of the 800-year anniversary of the founding of the Drikung monastery, from June through August 1979. They document Buddhist structures, religious dignitaries and Tibetans, dances, and various religious events. Franz H. Michael and Eugene I. Knez made the photographs in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir; Rumtek and Gangtok, Sikkim; Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh; and one photograph each in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand and Rajpur (probably in Uttarakhand). The audio recordings, which may have been made by NAA, are recordings of Franz Michael commenting on the photographic slides in this collection and an associated film depicting the ceremony at the Ga-ngon Monastery in Ladakh, India.
Biographical/Historical note:
Franz H. Michael (1907-92) was a specialist in nineteenth-century China and in Sino-Soviet relations. He taught at the National Chekian University in China, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Washington, and the George Washington University (GW). Born in Freiburg, Germany, he served as an attache in the German diplomatic service until 1933, at which point he began working at the National Chekiang University in Hangchow, China. In 1938, he came to the United States, where he taught Chinese affairs and European history at Johns Hopkins University (1939-1942). From 1942-1964, he taught and served as assistant and acting director of the Far Eastern and Russian Institute at the University of Washington, and then taught and served as associate director and director of GW's Institute for Sino-Soviet Studies (1964-1972). Michael retired from GW in 1977.
Eugene I. Knez (1916-2012) was an ethnologist with a special interest in the culture of Korea. In 1945, he made his first trip to Korea as part of the United States Army; there, he served as the military chief of the Bureau of Culture in the Department of Education and assisted in the reestablishment of the National Museum of Korea and the founding of the National Museum of Anthropology (now the Museum of Korean Folklore). After serving in the United States on the staffs of the Peabody Museum at Yale University and the Washington State Museum, Knez returned to the Far East in 1949-1952 as a cultural affairs officer attached to the American embassy. He was later director of the United States Information Service office in Pusan and American regional public affairs officer for southern Japan. In 1959, Knez joined the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology as its specialist in Far Eastern ethnology. In the 1960s he undertook an East China Seas program, which involved the study and comparison of the material culture in villages in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the Ryukyus. He retired in 1978.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 80-13
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Related film footage of the 800th anniversary celebrations, shot by Franz H. Michael, is held in the Human Studies Film Archives in HSFA 86.11.6.
The National Anthropological Archives holds the Eugene Irving Knez Papers.
The University of Washington Special Collections and George Washington University Special Collections hold Franz H. Michael's Papers.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Photo lot 80-13, Franz H. Michael and Eugene I. Knez photographs and sound recordings relating to Tibetan Buddhism in northeastern India, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
