The Neglected Missionaries

While doing bibliographic research on Africa for the Permanent Ethnographic Probability Sample at Northwestern University, I have had to comb much literature about Africa in my search for authors who have adequately described at least ten different aspects of the culture, have lived among the people for at least one year, and have some claim to knowledge of the native language of the people. In the investigation of bibliographies on over 400 African tribes, it has become quite evident that there is a relatively large body of detailed material written by missionaries which is seldom consulted in general research about Africa and is not readily available for use by persons with specialized research interests. These missionary reports are usually scattered in missionary records, in many journals (some of which are little known), and in books printed in small quantities by obscure presses. Most frequently they are written in German, Flemish, French, or Portuguese, and this, in addition to their not being readily available in most American libraries, may account for their not being consulted.