Just found this and had to share: In many ways a “scholar’s scholar,” William Bascom made important and lasting contributions as an art collector, museum director, folklorist, ethnographer, theoretician and teacher. Bascom’s authority derived from his wide reading, prodigious memory and legendary thoroughness, and his lifelong sp ecialization on the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria. Bascom’s major works covered his beloved Yoruba – that voluble and creative ethnic group now numbers more than 17 million people within Nigeria, as well as their New World descendants in Brazil, Cuba and the United States. Yorubas also live today in Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Gh ana, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and Benin. After learning their difficult tonal language during his first field trip in 1937-38, Bascom soon displayed distinctive tact and perceptiveness. This gifted fieldworker established a deep and lasting rapport with Yoruba of all classes and regions. As his knowledge of Yoruba increased, so did his appreciation and enthusiasm for all aspect s of their culture. He quickly developed a sense of mission to serve as its interpreter. Bascom perhaps did more than any other to make the treasures of Yoruba art, Folklore and ethnography accessible to non-Africans. Bascom studied nearly every aspect of Yoruba life during his 4+ decades of research. However, he never synthesized or simplified the extreme complexity of Yoruba culture, even in the popular short paperback he designed for classroom use. In other works, he analyzed Yoruba social organization, urbanization, innovation, culture change, technology and material culture, and he made major contributions in art and folklore. His papers on Yoruba religion, mythical, folkloric and dietary continuities in Cuba, the Sea Islands and elsewhere in the New World have become classics. Of all African peoples, the Yoruba have perhaps attracted the most enlightened scholars in recent years. Following Bascom’s pattern, many researchers have learned the Yoruba language, resulting in a vast increase in sensitivity and comprehension. Today, no African culture is better known, understood or appreciated in this country. There will always be a place for the sympathetic observer, the dedicated reader, the perceptive and fair-minded analyst—and William Bascom will long remain the model of the ultimate field anthropologist. However, in recent years since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, many Yoruba have become distinguished scholars, producing a number of important works. At present, Wole Soyinka, the first African to win the Nobel Prize, is the most celebrated of those writing in the Yoruba language....... il.proquest/assets/downloads/titlelists/serials/yorubacollection.pdf
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 20:14:45 +0000
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