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MS 4600 Frans M. Olbrechts Papers relating to studies of the Cherokee of North Carolina

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Catalog Data

Creator:
Olbrechts, Frans M., 1899-1958  Search this
Correspondent:
Allen, Louis  Search this
Holt, R.D.  Search this
Reichard, Gladys Amanda, 1893-1955  Search this
Swadesh, Morris, 1909-1967  Search this
Extent:
28 Boxes
Culture:
Cherokee  Search this
Iroquois  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
ca. 1926 - 1931
Scope and Contents:
Box 1-11, (1) Vocabularies; Box 12, (2) - (15) Vocabularies, Phonology, Morphophonemics, and Syllabary; Box 13 (16) - (32) Grammar; Box 14 (33) - (47) Texts, no translations; Box (15), (48) - (65) Texts with translations; Box 16 (66) - (73), Disease-name papers; Box 17 (74) Disease-name papers; Box 18 (75) - (83) Disease-name papers; Box 19 (84) - (88) Wilnoti formula papers; Box 20 (89) - (93) Wilnoti formula papers; Box 21 (94) Botany; Box 22 (95) - (98) Botany; Box 23 (99) Botany (Plant specimens, oversize carton); Box 24 (100) - (118) Myths, Miscellaneous Ethnographic notes; Box 25 (119) Photographs (Iroquois masks); Box 26 (120) - (123) Personal, Unidentified, and Reference materials; 27-28 (123) Reference materials.
The papers in this collection are largely limited to the materials Olbrechts collected during the course of the work with the Cherokee, though a few miscellaneous other materials are included. In addition to the material indicated below, there are copies of manuscripts of James Mooney and a fewmiscellaneous other material are included. In addition to the material indicated below, there are a few diaries and expense notes. There are also a very small amount of correspondence.
Arrangement:
(1) Vocabularies; (2) vocabularies, phonology, morphophonemics, and syllabary; (3) grammar; (4) texts with no translation; (5) texts with translations; (6) disease-name papers; (7) Wilnoti formula papers; (8) botanical notes and specimens; (9) myths and miscellaneous ethnographic notes; (10) photographs of Iroquois masks; (11) personal, unidentified, and reference material
Biographical / Historical:
Frans M. Olbrechts was trained in linguistics and folklore in his native Belgium and became one o fhis country's leading anthropologists, recognized for his museum work, teaching, and scholarly writing. In all of those areas, his work became particularly concerned with art, magic, and popular culture.
Olbrecht's earliest work outside Europe was among American Indians. In 1925, while studying linguistics and folklore with Franz Boas as a postdoctoral fellow of the Education Foundation of the Committee for the Relief of Belgians, he was introduced by Boas to the staff of the Bureau of American Ethnology. It was subsequently arranged that he would carry out field work among the Cherokee of North Carolina, using as a basis of his inquiries the so-called Swimmer manuscript of Cherokee formulas that had been copied by James Mooney, of the Bureau of American Ethnology. His work resulted in James Mooney, The Swimmer Manuscript: Cherokee Sacred Formulas and medicinal Prescriptions, revised, completed, and edited by Frans M. Olbrechts, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 99, Washington, 1932.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 4600
Restrictions:
Cherokee formulae are restricted due to cultural sensitivity. These folders cannot be reproduced or published without permission of the tribe. This collection contains content that may be culturally sensitive.
Topic:
Medicine -- Cherokee  Search this
Folklore -- Cherokee  Search this
Ethnobotany -- Cherokee  Search this
Masks -- Iroquois  Search this
Texts -- Cherokee  Search this
Wilnoti formulas  Search this
Language and languages -- Documentation  Search this
Indians of North America -- Northeast  Search this
Indians of North America -- Southern states  Search this
Citation:
Manuscript 4600, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.MS4600
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3a5a08dbf-9cd9-4e68-b358-79428f2a4faf
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-ms4600