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Simon Ottenberg photographs of Limba and Afikpo Peoples

National Museum of African Art

Object Details

Photographer
Ottenberg, Simon
Collector
Ottenberg, Simon
Place
Nigeria
Sierra Leone
Guinea
Africa
Occupation
Weavers
Topic
Beadwork
Headdresses -- headgear -- Africa
Rites and ceremonies -- Africa
Clothing and dress -- Africa
Cultural landscapes
Music
Dance
Photographer
Ottenberg, Simon
Culture
Fulbe (African people)
Igbo (African people)
Mandingo (African people)
Limba (African people)
Fula (African people)
See more items in
Simon Ottenberg photographs of Limba and Afikpo Peoples
Summary
The collection primarily includes photographs of Limba peoples taken by anthropologist Simon Ottenberg during field research in northern Sierra Leone within Bafodea Town, the capital of Wara Wara Bafodea Chiefdom, and Guinea, from October 1978 through July 1980. The collection also includes photographs taken while conducting field research at an Afikpo village-group, in southeastern Nigeria, from January 30, 1988 to February 5, 1988 and in 1992.
Biographical / Historical
Simon Ottenberg (1923-) is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Washington. He studied under Melville J. Herskovits and William R. Bascom at Northwestern University. He was a 1970 Guggenheim fellow. He has written at least seven scholarly books and has curated numerous exhibitions.
Extent
3145 Slides (photographs) (color)
Date
between 1978-1992
Custodial History
16 photographs taken by Pa Huff, a Wesleyan Methodist Minister, at Bafodea old town and new town were donated to Ottenberg in 1999 by former field assistant Paul Hamaidu Mansaray.
Archival Repository
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
Identifier
EEPA.2005-001
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Slides (photographs)
Color slides
Black-and-white transparencies
Arrangement note
The collection is arranged into two series by peoples, and further arranged by location. Arrangement Series 1: Limba Peoples, Sierra Leone and Guinea, 1978-1980 Subseries 1.1: Field Research, Year One, October 1978-August 1979 Subseries 1.2: Field Research, Year Two, September 1979-1980 Series 2: Afikpo Peoples, Guinea and Nigeria, 1988, 1992
Processing Information
Finding aid by Eden Orelove, 2018. Slides digitized in 2017.
Rights
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Photographs by Pa Huff, Hamaidu Mansaray, and Labelle Prussin are restricted. In these cases, the photographer's permission is required for access and publication of images.
Genre/Form
Color slides
Black-and-white transparencies
Scope and Contents
The collection primarily includes photographs of Limba peoples taken by anthropologist Simon Ottenberg during field research in northern Sierra Leone within Bafodea Town, the capital of Wara Wara Bafodea Chiefdom, and Guinea, from October 1978 through July 1980. The collection also includes photographs taken while conducting field research at Afikpo village-groups in Guinea and southeastern Nigeria, from January 30, 1988 to February 5, 1988 and in 1992. There are also some photographs by Pa Huff, a Wesleyan Methodist Minister, Venice Lamb, and Professor Labelle Prussin.
Restrictions
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Related Archival Materials note
Related EEPA collections include: EEPA 1996-020 and EEPA 1994-012 (video-recorded interviews conducted by Ottenberg), and EEPA 2000-007 (photographs taken in Southeastern Nigeria within the Afikpo Village Group). Simon Ottenberg Papers are located at the National Anthropological Archives, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1536868297930-1536868298400-0
Metadata Usage
CC0

In the Collection

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  • Abandoned Bafodea old site, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Talabi mask performer, part of a "Devil" dancing group, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • View of the village from the hill of caves, Kakoya Village, Sierra Leone

  • Daba Kamara preparing mud in order to shape new clay pots, Kamanda Village, Sierra Leone

  • Cloth of European and native white cotton warp, native white cotton weft, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Siemamaya Village, Sierra Leone

  • Cattle for sale, Bindi market, Sierra Leone

  • Traditional door, called kukanka, Kamagbembe village, Sierra Leone

  • Circular meeting place in front of traditional round houses, Kabate Village, Sierra Leone

  • 7-band stamped shirt prepared by Pa Wosi Conteh, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Protective charm, called saraka, used by farm work group, Kamagbembe Village, Sierra Leone

  • Hu ronko shirt preparer, Ali Kamara, making new gara design stamps, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Traditional embroidered hat made by Sunkiye, Kaka Village, Sierra Leone

  • Salifu Mansaray carving a slit wood gong called nkali, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Large two-headed cylindrical drum, huban, used only in the Poro musical ensemble, Bumban Village, Sierra Leone

  • Girls, elaborately dressed and covered with heavy oil, perform a last, very controlled dance during final initiation phase, called "washing hands" or "turning" kakunutu, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Potatoes growing fields, near Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Hammock of Mende origin, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Hu ronko leggings prepared by Sunkiye, Kaka Village, Sierra Leone

  • Wrap-around cloth, called tika, from the old Kamuke chiefdom area, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Members of the women secret society, Bondo, returning from the bush with the kampa platform, Kakonso village, Sierra Leone

  • Gara dyed clothes belonging to the late Imam of Bafodea Town, on display for sale, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Ruins of a wall made of stones, abandoned Kakoya old site, Kakoya village, Sierra Leone

  • Binti singing with Mayoi musical group at memorial for a non-Muslim Limba village head, Kadanso Village, Sierra Leone

  • Bondo elders, carrying on their heads boxes with sacred objects, accompany initiated girls during their final initiation phase, called "washing hands" or "turning" kakunutu, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Silver rings, off of the hand, worn on left hand fingers of Alimamy Salifu Mansaray, Chief of Wara Wara Bafodea Chiefdom, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Natural landscape around the village, Kambia Village, Sierra Leone

  • Girls, elaborately dressed and covered with heavy oil, are about to perform a last, very controlled dance during final initiation phase, called "washing hands" or "turning" kakunutu, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Carved Gbangbani men's secret society horn, with cowrie shells, Sierra Leone

  • Mohamed Bangura, a wood carver, making an standing female figure, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Women in ashobi dress dancing and singing with the Rainbow group, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Rainbow, a large, youthful contemporary ensemble performing music, dance, song and masquerade, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Drum belonging to the village Chief, used only for announcement, Siemamaya Village, Sierra Leone

  • Kuboli, a wood mask worn by a messenger of the men secret society, appearing publicly during the last day of the preinitiation period for boys, Seredugu Village, Sierra Leone

  • Eldest son of the late Pa Bayo, carried in a hammock, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Clay spinning weight with a brown colored band, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Daba Kamara shaping large clay pot, Kamanda Village, Sierra Leone

  • Kabaya farm village, near Telia Village, Sierra Leone

  • The weaver, Bumbun, putting thread on a boat, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Iron wrist rattle, used as musical instrument, Siemamaya Village, Sierra Leone

  • The Fulbe weaver, Mabo, making a beater used in weaving, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Bag and protective charm, called saraka, belonging to an hunter, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Decorated wood storage box, Kadanso Village, Sierra Leone

  • Women cooking food under a tree, near Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Mari wearing cloth dyed and stamped by the weaver Pa Wosi Conteh, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Mandingo musicians playing drum and sake rattles during the preinitiation dance for boys, Kakpongpon Village, Sierra Leone

  • Women hair pieces, called kubala, made by Pa Sori Barrie, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Bunte working on a hammock at the side of his house, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Unsewed bands for two cloths, part of ceremony of measuring the cloth to be used by the boys in preliminary activities of Limba intiation rites, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Crossing the Mongo River, near Kamabonsi Village, Sierra Leone

  • Village shrine with charms of miniature axes, said to ward off witches, Telia Village, Sierra Leone

  • Musician playing instrument, called kunkuma, made of three metal keys on a large wooden box at a memorial, also called second funeral, for a deceased woman, Kakonso Village, Sierra Leone

  • Back of a stamped hu ronko shirt, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Hu ronko shirt in the style of the Yalunka people, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Wives of the late Pa Hono, a Limba village head, at his second funeral, Kadanso Village, Sierra Leone

  • Girls, elaborately dressed and covered with heavy oil, perform a last, very controlled dance during final initiation phase, called "washing hands" or "turning" kakunutu, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Stamped hu ronko shirt on display Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Girls, elaborately dressed and covered with heavy oil, are about to perform a last, very controlled dance during final initiation phase, called "washing hands" or "turning" kakunutu, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Traditional Limba hunter cap, from the old Kamuke chiefdom area, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Face mask, carved by a local artist, Freetown, Sierra Leone

  • The weaver, Pa Derisa, working at a standing loom, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Decorated stamped pants, called sagbene, belonging to Sori Mansaray, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Sori Mansaray wearing decorated stamped pants and shirts, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Kakpongpon Village, Sierra Leone

  • Boy, in initiation dance costume from the northern area of the chiefdom, wearing the cowry-shell face-piece, Sirekude Village, Sierra Leone

  • Fulbe weaver making 3-4" wide narrow strip native white band, Kamanda Village, Sierra Leone

  • Traditional door, called kukanka, Kamagbembe village, Sierra Leone

  • Village meeting place, Sirekude Village, Sierra Leone

  • Unsewed European cloth stamped by Pa Wosi Conteh, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Large clay black pot made by Kuta Mansaray, Kamanda Village, Sierra Leone

  • Hu ronko shirt stamped by Amadu Mansaray, Kamabonsi Village, Sierra Leone

  • Round houses with thatched roofs, belonging to Pa Salifu Mansaray, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Seredugu Village, Sierra Leone

  • Talabi mask performer, part of a "Devil" dancing group, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Binti and Soda performing with Mayoi musical group at memorial, also called second funeral, for the late Alymamy Sayo, Kamagbembe Village, Sierra Leone

  • Adze used by the wood carver Mohamed Bangura, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • During the weeks preceding final initiation dance, Limba boy, accompanied by musical ensemble hired by his followers, practices his acrobatic dance, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Cattle for sale, Bindi market, Sierra Leone

  • Coming out seventh-day ceremony for a newborn Fulbe girl, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • European thread weaved by Brema Tarawale, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Limba eldrely woman spinning cotton thread, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Women hair pieces, called kubala, made by Pa Sori Barrie, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Leather and metal charm worn around the neck belonging to the late Pa Bayo Mansaray, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Leaves for the black dye used by hu ronko shirt preparer Dunto, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • The kututeng, a small rectangular metal lamellaphone, with nine to thirteen slender metal tongues, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • At preinitiation dance, boys helpers dancing, Kadanso Village, Sierra Leone

  • Man wearing tauntola and native pants without leggings, near Telia Village, Sierra Leone

  • Leather work, Dionghassy Village, Guinea

  • Crowd on the road waiting for arrival of Honorable P.H. Kamara, a minister in the Sierra Leone government, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Painted two-headed janus figure carved by Mohamed Bangura, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Suma Mannio Mansaray making bare for use in climbing trees, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Large raffia palm stool, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Limba women singing at the time boys, to be initiated, are being dressed with their elaborate initiation dance dress, Seredugu village, Sierra Leone

  • Leather and metal charm worn around the neck belonging to the late Pa Bayo Mansaray, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Nuhu Kamara wearing traditional hunter cap, shirt and native pants, Kamabonsi Village, Sierra Leone

  • Limba women cooking for farm work group, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Girls who have just returned from the initiation bush bow down before leaders of the Bondo society, Seredugu Village, Sierra Leone

  • Two iron wrist rattles, used as musical instruments, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • The weaver Suma Mannio, wearing a stamped hu ronko shirt, holds up a cloth band with goourd spoom, part of traditional initiation dress for a boy, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Mariama Mansaray sewing cloths for tie dying, native thread, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

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Silver rings worn on left hand fingers of Alimamy Salifu Mansaray, Chief of Wara Wara Bafodea Chiefdom, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone
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