essay

Three source notebooks in Tiv ethnography

Human Relations Area FilesNew Haven, Conn. • Published In 1958 • Pages:

By: Bohannan, Paul, Bohannan, Laura.

Abstract
This source represents an experiment in putting anthropological field notes into the Files. These notes contain excerpts from official documents, selected and commented upon by the authors in addition to original field materials. The source is divided into three parts or notebooks. The first part is a compilation of official reports on Tiv history and political organization. Of particular interest to the ethnographer are the reports on the Nyambua cult, a mass movement with political overtones. The second part deals with subsistence, technology, and economics. It is organized entirely from the authors' field notes. The last part consists of information on Tiv life cycle. Materials on infant and child care, adulthood, senescence and death, and life histories are also included. There is a compilation of official and missionary correspondence on the institution of exchange marriage and the effects of its abolition. It is the authors' opinion that official reports on Tiv family groups, sub-clans, clans, and tribes should be properly looked upon as descriptions of different aspects of the Tiv lineage system; and they have been coded as such in this source. The authors, professional anthropologists, organized and prepared these notes especially for the Human Relations Area Files.
Subjects
Historical and archival research
History
Mode of marriage
Political movements
Congregations
culture
Tiv
HRAF PubDate
1998
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Western Africa
Document Type
essay
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Robert Lee ; 1958 ; Leon G. Doyon ; 2022
Field Date
1949-1953
Coverage Date
1910-1953
Coverage Place
Benue State, Nigeria
Notes
Paul and Laura Bohannan
unpublished manscript
Includes bibliographical references (p. 480)
LCSH
Tiv (African people)