Leo Frobenius
Encyclopedia
Leo Viktor Frobenius was an ethnologist and archaeologist and a major figure in German ethnography
.
as the son of a Prussia
n officer and died in Biganzolo, Lago Maggiore, Piedmont
, Italy
. He undertook his first expedition to Africa
in 1904 to the Kasai district
in Congo
, formulating the African Atlantis
theory during his travels. Until 1918 he travelled in the western and central Sudan
, and in northern and northeastern Africa. In 1920 he founded the Institute for Cultural Morphology in Munich
. In 1932 he became honorary professor at the University of Frankfurt, and in 1935 director of the municipal ethnographic museum
.
In 1897/1898 Frobenius defined several "culture areas" (Kulturkreise), cultures showing similar traits that have been spread by diffusion or invasion. With his term paideuma, Frobenius wanted to describe a gestalt, a manner of creating meaning (Sinnstiftung), that was typical of certain economic structures. Thus, the Frankfurt
cultural morphologists tried to reconstruct "the" world-view of hunters, early planters, and megalith
-builders or sacred king
s. This concept of culture as a living organism was influenced by the theories of Oswald Spengler
.
Frobenius taught at the University of Frankfurt. In 1925, the city acquired his collection of about 4700 prehistorical African stone paintings, which are currently at the University's institute of ethnology, which was named the Frobenius Institute in his honour in 1946.
His writings with Douglas Fox were a channel through which some African traditional storytelling and epic entered European literature. This applies in particular to Gassire's lute
, an epic from West Africa
which Frobenius had encountered in Mali
. Ezra Pound
corresponded with Frobenius from the 1920s, initially on economic topics. The story made its way into Pound's Cantos through this connection.
In the 1930s, Frobenius claimed that he had found proof of the existence of the lost continent of Atlantis
.
Due to his studies in African history, Frobenius is a figure of renown in many African countries even today. In particular, he influenced Léopold Sédar Senghor
, one of the founders of Négritude
, who once claimed that Frobenius had "given Africa back its dignity and identity." Aimé Césaire
also quoted Frobenius as praising African people as being "civilized to the marrow of their bones", as opposed to the degrading vision encouraged by colonial propaganda.
On the other hand, Wole Soyinka
, in his 1986 Nobel Lecture, criticized Frobenius for his "schizophrenic" view of Yoruba art
versus the people who made it. Quoting Frobenius's statement that "I was moved to silent melancholy at the thought that this assembly of degenerate and feeble-minded posterity should be the legitimate guardians of so much loveliness," Soyinka calls such sentiments "a direct invitation to a free-for-all race for dispossession, justified on the grounds of the keeper's unworthiness."
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
.
Life
He was born in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
as the son of a Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n officer and died in Biganzolo, Lago Maggiore, Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He undertook his first expedition to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
in 1904 to the Kasai district
Kasai region
The Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is divided administratively into Kasai-Occidental and Kasai-Oriental. It shares its name with the Kasai River....
in Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
, formulating the African Atlantis
African Atlantis
The African Atlantis was a civilization thought to have once existed in southern Africa, initially proposed by German ethnologist Leo Frobenius towards the end of the 19th century...
theory during his travels. Until 1918 he travelled in the western and central Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, and in northern and northeastern Africa. In 1920 he founded the Institute for Cultural Morphology in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. In 1932 he became honorary professor at the University of Frankfurt, and in 1935 director of the municipal ethnographic museum
Museum der Weltkulturen
The Museum of World Cultures is an ethnological museum in Frankfurt, Germany. Until 2001 it was called the Museum of Ethnology .-History:...
.
In 1897/1898 Frobenius defined several "culture areas" (Kulturkreise), cultures showing similar traits that have been spread by diffusion or invasion. With his term paideuma, Frobenius wanted to describe a gestalt, a manner of creating meaning (Sinnstiftung), that was typical of certain economic structures. Thus, the Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
cultural morphologists tried to reconstruct "the" world-view of hunters, early planters, and megalith
Megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.The word 'megalith' comes from the Ancient...
-builders or sacred king
Sacred king
In many historical societies, the position of kingship carries a sacral meaning, that is, it is identical with that of a high priest and of judge. The concept of theocracy is related, although a sacred king need not necessarily rule through his religious authority; rather, the temporal position...
s. This concept of culture as a living organism was influenced by the theories of Oswald Spengler
Oswald Spengler
Oswald Manuel Arnold Gottfried Spengler was a German historian and philosopher whose interests also included mathematics, science, and art. He is best known for his book The Decline of the West , published in 1918, which puts forth a cyclical theory of the rise and decline of civilizations...
.
Frobenius taught at the University of Frankfurt. In 1925, the city acquired his collection of about 4700 prehistorical African stone paintings, which are currently at the University's institute of ethnology, which was named the Frobenius Institute in his honour in 1946.
His writings with Douglas Fox were a channel through which some African traditional storytelling and epic entered European literature. This applies in particular to Gassire's lute
Gassire's lute
Gassire's Lute is a West African epic collected by Leo Frobenius and published in his collection, Atlantis: Volksmarchen und Volksdichtung Afrikas . The English translation is by Douglas Fox, published in African Genesis...
, an epic from West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
which Frobenius had encountered in Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
. Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
corresponded with Frobenius from the 1920s, initially on economic topics. The story made its way into Pound's Cantos through this connection.
In the 1930s, Frobenius claimed that he had found proof of the existence of the lost continent of Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
.
Due to his studies in African history, Frobenius is a figure of renown in many African countries even today. In particular, he influenced Léopold Sédar Senghor
Léopold Sédar Senghor
Léopold Sédar Senghor was a Senegalese poet, politician, and cultural theorist who for two decades served as the first president of Senegal . Senghor was the first African elected as a member of the Académie française. Before independence, he founded the political party called the Senegalese...
, one of the founders of Négritude
Négritude
Négritude is a literary and ideological movement, developed by francophone black intellectuals, writers, and politiciansin France in the 1930s by a group that included the future Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor, Martinican poet Aimé Césaire, and the Guianan Léon Damas.The Négritude...
, who once claimed that Frobenius had "given Africa back its dignity and identity." Aimé Césaire
Aimé Césaire
Aimé Fernand David Césaire was a French poet, author and politician from Martinique. He was "one of the founders of the négritude movement in Francophone literature".-Student, educator, and poet:...
also quoted Frobenius as praising African people as being "civilized to the marrow of their bones", as opposed to the degrading vision encouraged by colonial propaganda.
On the other hand, Wole Soyinka
Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Soyinka is a Nigerian writer, poet and playwright. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, where he was recognised as a man "who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence", and became the first African in Africa and...
, in his 1986 Nobel Lecture, criticized Frobenius for his "schizophrenic" view of Yoruba art
Yoruba traditional art
The Yoruba of South Western Africa , have a very rich and vibrant artisan community, creating traditional and contemporary art...
versus the people who made it. Quoting Frobenius's statement that "I was moved to silent melancholy at the thought that this assembly of degenerate and feeble-minded posterity should be the legitimate guardians of so much loveliness," Soyinka calls such sentiments "a direct invitation to a free-for-all race for dispossession, justified on the grounds of the keeper's unworthiness."
Works
- Die Geheimbünde Afrikas (Hamburg 1894)
- Der westafrikanische Kulturkreis. Petermanns Mitteilungen 43/44, 1897/98
- Weltgeschichte des Krieges (Hannover 1903)
- Unter den unsträflichen Äthiopen (Berlin 1913)
- Paideuma (Münich 1921)
- Dokumente zur Kulturphysiognomik. Vom Kulturreich des Festlandes (Berlin 1923)
- Erythräa. Länder und Zeiten des heiligen Königsmordes (Berlin 1931)
- Kulturgeschichte Afrikas (Zürich 1933)