Skip to main content

Search

My Visit
Donate
Home Smithsonian Institution

Site Navigation

  • Visit
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Entry and Guidelines
    • Maps and Brochures
    • Dine and Shop
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Group Visits
      • Group Sales
  • What's On
    • Exhibitions
      • Current
      • Upcoming
      • Past
    • Online Events
    • All Events
    • IMAX & Planetarium
  • Explore
    • - Art & Design
    • - History & Culture
    • - Science & Nature
    • - Innovation & Tech
    • Collections
      • Open Access
      • Snapshot
    • Research Resources
      • Libraries
      • Archives
        • Smithsonian Institution Archives
        • Air and Space Museum
        • Anacostia Community Museum
        • American Art Museum
        • Archives of American Art
        • Archives of American Gardens
        • American History Museum
        • American Indian Museum
        • Asian Art Museum Archives
        • Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art
        • Hirshhorn Archive
        • National Anthropological Archives
        • National Portrait Gallery
        • Ralph Rinzler Archives, Folklife
        • Libraries' Special Collections
    • Podcasts
    • Stories
  • Learn
    • For Caregivers
    • For Educators
      • Art & Design Resources
      • Science & Nature Resources
      • Social Studies & Civics Resources
      • STEAM Learning Resources
      • Professional Development
      • Events for Educators
      • Field Trips
    • For Students
    • For Academics
    • For Lifelong Learners
  • Support Us
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Membership
    • Make a Gift
    • Volunteer
      • Smithsonian Call Center
      • Ambassador Program
      • Museum Information Desk
      • Docent Programs
      • Behind-the-Scenes
      • Digital Volunteers
      • Participatory Science
  • About
    • Our Organization
      • Board of Regents
        • Members
        • Committees
        • Reading Room
        • Bylaws, Policies and Procedures
        • Schedules and Agendas
        • Meeting Minutes
        • Actions
        • Webcasts
        • Contact
      • Museums and Zoo
      • Research Centers
      • Cultural Centers
      • Education Centers
      • General Counsel
        • Legal History
        • Internships
        • Records Requests
          • Reading Room
        • Tort Claim
        • Subpoenas & Testimonies
        • Events
      • Office of Human Resources
        • Employee Benefits
        • How to Apply
        • Job Opportunities
        • Job Seekers with Disabilities
        • Frequently Asked Questions
        • SI Civil Program
        • Contact Us
      • Office of Equal Opportunity
        • EEO Complaint Process
        • Individuals with Disabilities
        • Small Business Program
          • Doing Business with Us
          • Contracting Opportunities
          • Additional Resources
        • Special Emphasis Program
      • Sponsored Projects
        • Policies
          • Combating Trafficking in Persons
          • Animal Care and Use
          • Human Research
        • Reports
        • Internships
    • Our Leadership
    • Reports and Plans
      • Annual Reports
      • Metrics Dashboard
        • Dashboard Home
        • Virtual Smithsonian
        • Public Engagement
        • National Collections
        • Research
        • People & Operations
      • Strategic Plan
    • Newsdesk
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts
      • Photos and Video
      • Media Kits
      • Fact Sheets
      • Visitor Stats
      • Secretary and Admin Bios
      • Filming Requests

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

Pages

  • « first
  • ‹ previous
  • …
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • next ›
  • last »
  • Mandingo musical ensemble including sake rattles musicians, preceding the initiation rite, Kadanso Village, Sierra Leone

  • Large wrap-around cloth, called tika, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Two musicians, Soda with hudondo drum and iron gong, Slife with nkali gong, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Front of hu ronko shirt prepared by Bokari Mansaray, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • The weaver, Pa Modi, separating the two groups of threads, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Muslim prayer ground, Salikene day, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Front of hu ronko shirt belonging to the son of Samuel Conte, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Hutansi bag, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

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

  • Street scenes, Telia Village, Sierra Leone

  • Kurunkeme, the smaller form of beaded band, made by Siridi Conteh, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Y.B.F. Kuyate wearing a Kuranko style hat, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Cloth being lined by hu ronko shirt preparer Dunto, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Front of yellow dyed and stamped hu ronko shirts, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Limba boy, in dress typically worn during the weeks preceding his initiation dance, practices his acrobatic dance, Seredugu Village, Sierra Leone

  • Painted figure carved by Mohamed Bangura, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Looking north to Bafodea Town, near Kamabungbu village, Sierra Leone

  • Limba boy, in dress typically worn during the weeks preceding initiation dance, performs acrobatic dance in front of musical ensemble, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

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

  • Sori Bunka performing, part of a "Devil" dancing group, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Kamagbembe Village, Sierra Leone

  • Kuranko style hat belonging to Y.B.F. Kuyate, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Wooden bowl, Kayago Village, Sierra Leone

  • Abandoned Bafodea old site, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Special ceremony for a twin boy who is to be initiated, Kadanso Village, Sierra Leone

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

  • Limba women ready to go to the farm with rice seedlings to be planted, near Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Cloth of European and native thread, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Sai Woi with tool for cutting palm kernels and climbing rope, near Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

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

  • Front of hu ronko shirt stamped by Momodu Conteh, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • The weaver, Pa Modi, attaching the warp threads at the beginning end, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • A Limba weaver from the Biriwa Chiefdom working at a side loom, Fadagu Town, Sierra Leone

  • Hunter bag belonging to Alenke, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Blanket using cotton warp and weft from second-hand wool sweaters, made by the weaver Pa Modi, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Carved Gbangbani men's secret society horn, Wara Wara Bafodea Chiefdom, 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

  • Limba man making bee trap baskets, Kambia Village, Sierra Leone

  • The weaver, Pa Modi, laying out European black and native white warp thread, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Members of the women secret society, Bondo, dancing and singing after the female initiands has been moved off into the bush, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Bakunto, a men's secret society (Gbangbani) gong, inside Yeredi Mansaray blacksmith shed, Kamagbembe village, Sierra Leone

  • Hu ronko shirt stamped by Suma Mannio, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Standing female figure, carved by a local artist, Freetown, Sierra Leone

  • Girls, with elaborate hairstyles and colored beaded headbands, perform a last, very controlled dance during final initiation phase, called "washing hands" or "turning" kakunutu, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Decorated wood storage box made by the village blacksmith, Kamabonsi Village, Sierra Leone

  • Acrobatic dance that marks Gbondokalii, the boys initiation music, preceding the night before going to the bush, Kamabonsi Village, Sierra Leone

  • The weaver, Pa Modi, weaving tan wool and white native cotton thread weft for the Paramount Chief of Wara Wara Bafodea Chiefdom, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Protective charm, called saraka, at a cassava field, near Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Pa Sori Barrie making women hair pieces called kubala, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • At the end of their bush period, initiated boys, wearing their brown native cloths and native cloth cap, announce to friends and relatives that their initiation is just about finished. They also carry on their shoulder a small decorated wood slit gong. Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

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

  • Mayoi musical group performing at memorial, also called second funeral, for the late Pa Bayo, Bafodea Town, 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

  • Wooden bowl, called Kutunki, at the new village chief crowning ceremony, Kakpongpon Village, Sierra Leone

  • A bride and slightly younger women and girls dance and sing in their own village during the day of activities before the wedding, Siemamaya Village, Sierra Leone

  • Black and white cotton cloth, made by a Fulbe weaver, Hindia Village, Guinea

  • Gara dyed native cloth, Mali Village, Guinea

  • Decorated Gbangbani wood slit gong used during initiation period for boys, Wara Wara Bafodea Chiefdom, Sierra Leone

  • Protective charms, called saraka, hanging over house entrance, Kasasi Village, Sierra Leone

  • Hammock made by Bunte, owned by Pa Modi, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Drum belonging to the village chief, Kadankan Village, Sierra Leone

  • Freetown, Sierra Leone

  • Alymamy Mansaray, a musician belonging to the Rainbow group, playing crotch drum, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Two hu ronko shirts stamped by Ali Kamara, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Ceremony of measuring the cloth to be used by the boys in the bush, part of the preliminary activities of Limba intiation rites, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Sori Bailor working at his blacksmith shed, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Piles of rice stalks ready to be threshed, near Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Boys "Devil" dancing group at memorial for a non-Muslim Limba village head, Kadanso Village, Sierra Leone

  • Iron wrist gongs, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Native cloths gara dyed by Mariama Mansaray, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Hammock made by Bunte, owned by Pa Modi, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Second-hand wool hats and sweaters for sale, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Yeredi Mansaray, a blacksmith, working the bellows, Kamagbembe village, Sierra Leone

  • Woman holding decorated gourd spoon, Kadanso Village, Sierra Leone

  • Leather case for gun powder, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Bumban Village, Sierra Leone

  • Hu ronko shirt stamped by Pa Wosi Conteh, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Two pieces of iron slag from Kassengbe farm village, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Natural landscape around the village, near Hindia Village, Guinea

  • Limba man wearing hu ronko shirt and traditional hat made of native thread, Kadanso Village, Sierra Leone

  • Acrobatic dance that marks Gbondokalii, the boys initiation music, preceding the night before going to the bush, Kamabonsi Village, Sierra Leone

  • Limba boys, on the shoulders of their followers, returning from the bush where they were dressed in an elaborate costume and beaded band hanging down the front of their chest, shortly before performing final acrobatic dance for their preinitiation period, Kadankan Village, Sierra Leone

  • Alymamy Mansaray, a musician belonging to the Rainbow group, playing crotch drum, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Acrobatic dance that marks Gbondokalii, the boys initiation music, preceding the night before going to the bush, Kamabonsi Village, Sierra Leone

  • Gara design wood stamp, belonging to the late Imam of Bafodea Town, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Kadi carding wool, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Pa Salifu Mansaray wearing an hu ronko stamped shirt, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

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

  • Limba woman, Yenba Mansaray, with body scarifications, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Painted figure carved by Mohamed Bangura, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

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

  • Leather whip, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Salifu Kamara playing large drum called huban and Sie Mansaray playing wood gong called nkali, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Hu ronko shirt stamped by Pa Wosi Conteh, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Street scenes, Telia Village, Sierra Leone

  • Leather workers making a shoe, Hindia Village, Guinea

  • Fulbe musical ensemble, from the old Kamuke Chiefdom, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone

  • Decorated posts at the village mosque, Koin, Guinea

  • Traditional slat and pepper basket, called hukpari, Kakoya Village, Sierra Leone

  • Sokerella, which is to be the new village town site, Sirekude Village, Sierra Leone

Pages

  • « first
  • ‹ previous
  • …
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • next ›
  • last »
Silver rings worn on left hand fingers of Alimamy Salifu Mansaray, Chief of Wara Wara Bafodea Chiefdom, Bafodea Town, Sierra Leone
View Slideshow
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer
View Finding aid

Footer logo

Link to homepage

Footer navigation

  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Get Involved
  • Inspector General
  • Records Requests
  • Accessibility
  • EEO & Small Business
  • Shop Online
  • Host Your Event
  • Press Room
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

Social media links

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Get the latest news from the Smithsonian

Sign up for Smithsonian e-news

Get the latest news from the Smithsonian

Email powered by BlackBaud (Privacy Policy, Terms of Use)
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Back to Top