The panel intends to study the current status of African manuscripts and museum collections in Europe. Many of these collections are much richer than those kept in African museums and archives and need further research. The main objective is to create a common European database of African and Africa-related sources.
The panel intends to study the current status of African and Africa-related manuscripts and museum collections in Europe.
Many African languages have a long written tradition, e.g. Ge’ez, Kiswahili, Hausa, etc. There are extensive collections of manuscripts in these languages in Europe (London, Oxford, Hamburg, Halle, Uppsala, Paris and many other centres). Some of the manuscripts have been studied and published, while many others remain unexplored and need cataloguing and further research (dating, palaeographic, linguistic and historical study).
The manuscript collections in Europe also possess valuable Africa-related documents written by the Europeans. The largest collections are wellknown (e.g. in Basel, Halle, London). Some archives and single documents deserve special attention (e.g. the papers of J.L.Krapf in Basel, the correspondence between European missionaries and Africans, reports of colonial officials and traditional rulers within the system of native administration).
The African collections of the European museums are often richer than those kept in Africa. The conservation and further study of many objects brought from Africa to Europe is important not only for African Studies, but also for a better understanding of world civilizations and history.
The African museum collections and archives exist in all European countries from Portugal to Russia. Russian and other Eastern European sources are less known to the Africanists abroad. These rich collections, e.g. those related to Ethiopia, the Sudan and West Africa, must be explored in a wider international context of African Studies.
The main objective is to create a common European database of African and Africa-related sources.
The Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies has been collecting African archives since the 1930s. and holds approximately 4000 collections. The collection is particularly strong in political and administrative history, economic and social development and missionary papers. The paper will examine the strengths and weaknesses of the collection and the principles and methods of acquisition.
The main purpose of this paper is to provide both general information on the collection of the Missão Antropológica de Moçambique (Anthropological Survey of Mozambique) and some results issued from the inventory concerning the different materials collected or produced in Mozambique by Missão, during the six campaigns carried out from 1936 to 1956.