The collection consists of two (2) amulets collected by Labelle Prussin in Bafodea, Sierra Leone in 1979. One amulet is a copy that Prussin had made of a "hatumere" (Fulbe) or "sebe" (Mande). It was intended to be folded and enclosed or hidden in a leather pouch. The original amulet was later collected by Simon Ottenberg and is now in the collections of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art. The other amulet is a sheet of paper inscribed in Arabic. It was previously mounted over the lintel of the entrance to the Chief's house in Bafodea.
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 As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today.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.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 2008-18
Related Materials:
The original amulet collected by Simon Ottenberg is held by the National Museum of African Art.
The Department of Anthropology object collections holds artifacts collected by Labelle Prussin.
Genre/Form:
Works of art
Amulets
Citation:
MS 2008-18 Two amulets collected in Bafodea, Sierra Leone, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Collection consists of five episodes of National Geographic EXPLORER. Titles are: FIRE AND STEEL; WAY OF THE WADAABE; SAMBA; JU JU MUSIC; HAITIAN VOODOO.
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 As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today.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 Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Provenance:
Received from Linda Goldman in 1990.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Video recordings
Citation:
National Geographic Explorer videos, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Record 1 Side A. North America: French Canada. Fiddle and foot-stamping --United States: Eskimo. Drum and voices ; Indian. Flute, Drums and voices ; Hawaiian. Bamboo poles, Nose-flute ; Northeast. Dulcimer ; Southeast. 5 string banjo, 12 string guitar, Fiddle and banjo ; Southern. Harmonica, Skiffle band and voice, Guitar, New Orleans street band -- Mexico and Central America: Indian harp and gourds, Marimba, Mariachi --West Indies: Steel band ; Cafe Orchestra --South America: Brazil. Drum, fife and voices ; Peru. Indian harps ; Bolivia. Cana, Quena and bombo, Sicu and drums ; Argentina. Quena, bombo, and charango. Record 1 Side B. British Isles: England. Pipe and tabor, Hand bell ringers, Concertina and voice ; Ireland. Irish harp and voice ; Uillenn bagpipes, Mouth music ; Scotland. Scotch bagpipes --Scandinavia: Norway. Hardanger fiddle, Langeleik ; Finland. Kantele --Western Europe: Netherlands. Clogs and voices ; Belgium. Street organ, Hurdy-gurdy, Vielle ; Switzerland. Alphorn and cowbells ; Austria. Zither ; Spain. Pipes, tabor and castanets, Flamenco guitar, castanets, hand-clapping, foot-stamping and voice, Guitar -- Eastern Europe: Bulgaria. Pipes and accordion ; Hungary. Cimbalom ; Russia. Balalaika, Balalika Ensemble. Record 2 Side A. Near East and Europe: Serbia (Jugoslavia). Tamboritz ; Greece. Shepherd pipe and kanun ; Turkey. Zornah, bagpipe and davul ; Armenia. Tar, zoorni, doly and hand-clapping ; Jordan. Drums and pipes ; Syria. Pipes, stringed instrument and drums ; Lebanon. Pipes, stringed instrument, drum and voice, Bagpipes and drums, Arabic drums and pipes ; Israel. Chalil and miriam drum ; Arabia. Ud ; Aden. Ud, pipes and voices ; Yemen. Pipes and drums -- Africa (West): Senegal. Halam, Tabala, iron percussion and voices ; Liberia. Bow harp, or musical bow -- Africa (West and East): Cameroon. Pit violin and drum ; Ethopia. Kinnor --Africa (Central): Talking drum and voices, Log drum, Sansa, Xylophones ; Congo. Harp, Bow Harp ; Zambia: Drums. Record 2 Side B. Asia (Central): Iran. Ud, dunbak, and pipe ; Afghanistan. Robab and tabla ; Azerbaijan-USSR. Tar, nai, rebab and hand-clapping -- Asia (Southern): Pakisan. Dholak, bansri and voices ; Kashmir. Tabla and tanpura ; India. Snake charmer music: shannai, tabula and cymbais, Introduction to instruments: tampura, tabla, sitar, Classical music and voice. Sitar, Shanai, Bansir, tanpura, tabla --Asia (Southeastern): Burma. Harp and cymbals, Guitar and cymbals, Drum circle ; Thailand. Gongs --Asia (Pacific Islands): Sabah. Gongs ; Indonesia. Garmelan --Asia (China): Erh-hu, seh, and t'i, Butterfly harp --Asia (Japan) Koto, Samisen and voice, Gongs and temple bells --Asia (Korea): Koto and drum, Flute, drum, stringed instrument and voice --Pacific Islands: Tahiti. Cocoanut drums and voice ; Philippines. Guitar and voice.
Local Numbers:
FW-ASCH-LP-1442
Follett.24
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
Follett 1964
General:
Jacket notes and leaflet include descriptions and illustrations of the instruments. Production notes: "The instruments heard on these records were recorded in their native countries." [compiled and edited by Moses Asch from the collection of Folkways Records].
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. No duplication allowed listening and viewing for research purposes only.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Audiovisual materials created for an exhibition on African American Dance, held at the Arts and Industries Building December 14, 2000 - June 1, 2001. More than 300 paintings, photographs, sculpture, and archival objects -- some dating to the early 1600s -- are used to trace African American dance from its roots in west and central Africa through the 20th century. On view are masks, robes, drums and musical instruments from Africa, along with works by such artists as Richmond Barthe, Romare Bearden, John Biggers, Elizabeth Catlett, Archibald Motley, Sam Gilliam, and Howardena Pindell. Dancers featured include the Nicholas Brothers, Josephine Baker, Carmen de Lavallade, and Alvin Ailey. Organized by the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, Wilberforce, Ohio. Sponsored by the Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture. This collection of audiovisual records contains sound recordings of the exhibition script.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Some items are not accessible due to obsolete format and playback machinery restrictions. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, purchased through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative
Edited footage shot in West Africa (1931), Haiti (1934) and Georgia (U.S. ca. 1930) for/by Melville Herskovits.
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 Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Provenance:
These films and related papers were transferred to the National Anthropological Film Center by the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies at Northwestern University in 1977.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Melville Herskovits films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Preservation supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the National Film Preservation Foundation. Cataloging supported by Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Contributed in memory of Professor Sarah Webster Fabio (1928-1979), poet, educator, Black Arts Movement icon, and one of the Literary Corner's analysts.
Abraham Rosman and Paula G. Rubel were professors of anthropology at Barnard College, Columbia University. The collection consists of materials documenting their research, writing, and teaching, and reflects their interests in ritualized exchange systems, kinship, social organization, and material culture.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of materials documenting Rosman and Rubel's research, writing, and teaching, and reflects their interests in ritualized exchange systems, kinship, social organization, and material culture. The bulk of the collection documents their fieldwork and research among the Kanuri of Nigeria, Kalmyk Mongols in New Jersey, Northwest Coast and Athabaskan societies, pastoral nomads of Iran and Afghanistan, peoples of New Guinea and New Ireland, as well as research on art, ethnographic objects, museums, and collecting. The collection includes field notes, historical and archival research and notes, bibliographies, correspondence, writings, maps, photographs, and sound recordings.
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.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into three series: (1) Fieldwork and research, 1952-2004; (2) Conference papers, 1970-1995; and (3) Teaching, circa 1980-circa 1990.
Biographical Note:
Abraham Rosman was born in New York City in 1930. He earned his BA in anthropology from City College (1959) and PhD in anthropology from Yale (1962). His dissertation "Social Structure and Acculturation among the Kanuri of Northern Nigeria" was based on fieldwork conducted in 1956-1957. He was appointed Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Columbia University in 1962. He was a full professor at Barnard College from 1972 until his retirement in 1998.
Paula G. Rubel was born in The Bronx, New York in 1933. She earned her BA in psychology from Hunter College (1953) and her PhD in anthropology from Columbia University (1963). Her dissertation was based on fieldwork among an immigrant community of Russian Kalmyk Mongols in New Jersey. She was part of the faculty of Barnard College from 1965 until her retirement in 1989, becoming a full professor in 1974.
Rosman and Rubel were married 1971. They worked together throughout their careers, focusing their research on comparative studies and structural analysis of ritual exchange, kinship relations, power, social hierarchies, religion, and material culture. They studied kinship and exchange along the Pacific Northwest Coast, among pastoral groups in Iran and Afghanistan, and in New Guinea and New Ireland. They also studied ethnographic objects, tribal art, and the social world of museums, collectors, and dealers. Their partnership was collaborative, alternating first authorship with each publication. They were the authors of numerous monographs including
Feasting with Mine Enemy: Rank and Exchange among Northwest Coast Societies (1971), Your Own Pigs You May Not Eat: A Comparative Study of New Guinea Societies (1978), The Tapestry of Culture: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (1981), and Collecting Tribal Art: How Northwest Coast Masks and Eastern Island Lizard Men Became Art (2012).
Rubel died in 2018 and Rosman died in 2020. Their final book, Aliens on Our Shores: An Anthropological History of New Ireland Papua New Guinea 1616-1914, was published posthumously in 2021.
Sources Consulted
Sharp, Lesley A. "Paula G. Rubel (1922-2018)." American Anthropologist. 121.2 (2019): 540-542.
Sharp, Lesley A. and Maxine Weisgrau. "Abraham Rosman (1930-2020)." American Anthropologist. 123.1 (2020): 205-207.
Abraham Rosman
1930 -- Born in New York City
1951 -- Marries Bernice Lieberman
1952 -- BA in anthropology from City College
1962 -- PhD in anthropology from Yale University Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University
1966 -- Associate Professor of Anthropology, Barnard college, Columbia University
1971 -- Divorces Bernice Rosman Marries Paula G. Rubel
1972 -- Professor of Anthropology, Barnard College, Columbia University
1998 -- Retires
2020 -- Dies
Paula G. Rubel
1933 -- Born Paula Glicksman in The Bronx, New York
1953 -- BA in pyschology from Hunter College
1954 -- Marries Hewitt Rubel
1963 -- PhD in anthropology from Columbia University
1965 -- Lecturer, Barnard College, Columbia University
1966 -- Assistant Professor, Barnard College, Columbia University
1971 -- Divorces Hewitt Rubel Marries Abraham Rosman
1974 -- Professor, Barnard College, Columbia University
1998 -- Retires
2012-2014 -- President, Association of Senior Anthropologists
2018 -- Dies
Provenance:
Donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Abraham Rosman in 2019.
Restrictions:
The Abraham Rosman and Paula G. Rubel papers are open for research.
Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings.
Digital media in the collection is restricted for preservation reasons.
Access to the Abraham Rosman and Paula G. Rubel papers requires an appointment.
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Item Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Edited film shot in Oyo, Nigeria during field research. This visual record reflects Bascom's approach to the study of African aesthetics, one which integrated an analysis of the social role, status, and function of the artist with his/her individual style, ideas, and technique. Footage records traditional Yoruba craft techniques including pottery making, spinning cotton, dyeing thread and cloth, weaving of ikat cloth on a men's loom, and woodcarving. Also filmed is master Yoruba woodcarver, Duga of Meko, carving and painting a ritual effigy of Shango.
Legacy Keywords: Pottery manufacture of Nigeria ; Spinning of cotton thread Nigeria ; Textiles dyeing of Nigeria ; Weaving laying of warp Nigeria ; Carving woodcarvers Nigeria ; Effigies carving of Shango Nigeria
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 Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Local Number:
HSFA 1989.19.1
Provenance:
Received from Berta Bascom in 1989.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
The Historic Maps of Africa collection includes 78 maps and dates from circa 1631 to 1973. Geographic content of individual maps varies from topographical information, boundaries of colonial territories, and ethnic groups, among other topics. While several depict the continent of Africa in its entirety, many focus on specific countries and geographic regions. There are a particularly large number of maps depicting the West African Coast.
Scope and Contents:
The Historic Maps of Africa collection consists of 78 maps, dating from circa 1631 to 1973, with the bulk created in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The maps vary in size, ranging from the smallest at 7 x 7 (7/8) inches to the largest at 40 x 30 (5/8) inches.
Geographic content of individual maps varies from topographical information, boundaries of colonial territories, and ethnic groups, among other topics. While several depict the continent of Africa in its entirety, many focus on specific countries and geographic regions. There are a particularly large number of maps depicting the West African Coast.
The majority of the maps in the collection feature color illustrations. Titles and descriptions of the maps are in several languages (Dutch, English, French, German, and others), representing the different colonial powers in control at the time. Particular maps of interest include an 1830 colored map in English titled "Africa from the Best Authorities," which illustrates the entire African continent, various ethnic groups, and the inroads made by European colonial powers; and a 1656 topographic map in French depicting the west-central coast of Africa, specifically the mountains and rivers of the region.
Digital copies of the maps are available.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in chronological order.
Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Citation:
Historic maps of Africa collection, EEPA 1991-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Lina Brock was an anthropologist whose research focused on the Tuareg people of Niger. This collection consists of field notes, journals, genealogies, marriage statistics, censuses, maps, writings, audio recordings, photographs, and other material relating to her work.
Scope and Contents:
The Lina Brock papers consist of materials relating to Lina Brock's work with the Taureg in northwest Africa. The collection includes field notebooks, journals, genealogies and kinship notes, censuses, marriage statistics, writings, maps, cassette tapes, 35mm slides, and other material.
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.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into six series: (1) Research, 1959-1989; (2) Writing, 1975-1990; (3) Sound recordings, 1986-1988; (4) Photographs, 1974-1976; (5) Maps, undated; and (6) Personal, undated.
Biographical Note:
Lina Lee Brock (1945-1991) was an anthropologist whose research focused on the Tuareg people of Niger. She earned her BA in Philosophy from Reed College (1967) and her MA (1974) and PhD (1983) in Anthropology from Columbia University. She was a professor of Anthropology at Sarah Lawrence College from 1981 until her death.
From 1973-1976 she conducted field research in Niger on the effects of economic change and the drought of 1968-1974 on patron-client relationships in Tuareg society. Her field work included historical research in local and national archives, as well as study of oral tradition, social structure, deomographics, and economic activities. In the late 1980's she returned to Niger to conduct additional research on Tuareg literature, oral history, and the Tamajeq language.
Brock died of pancreatic cancer in 1991.
Provenance:
Received from Louise Lennihan in 2016.
Restrictions:
The Lina Brock papers are open for research. Access to archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Access to the Lina Brock papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Citation:
Lina Brock papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
