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William F. Wheeler photographs of Africa and Efe people

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Catalog Data

Creator:
Wheeler, William F. (William Felix), 1943-2008  Search this
Extent:
5,200 Color slides (circa)
Culture:
Maasai (African people)  Search this
Mbuti (African people)  Search this
Tuaregs  Search this
Pygmies  Search this
Efe (African people)  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Color slides
Photographs
Slides (photographs)
Place:
Ituri Forest (Congo)
Algeria
Kenya
Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania)
Niger
Mali
Date:
1986-1998
Scope and Contents note:
Photographs made by William F. Wheeler during his expeditions to Africa in July 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, and 1998, mostly documenting the Efe of Akokora in the Ituri forest. Photographs relating to the Efe people of Akokora in the Ituri forest include images of Efe people, camps, musical instruments, dances, archery and poison arrows, hunting, barkcloth making and use, body marking, food, animals and plants of the rainforest, forest treks, villages (including Anduli, Dui, and Akokora). Other photographs include images of ceremonies (including an Olngesherr ceremony in the Loita Hills), Mbuti at Epulu, a Masai village in Kenya, William Wheeler's wedding to Linda Penn in a Masai village (1987), Berber nomads and scenic views in Algeria, markets and Tuaregs during a camel trip through Niger, and aerial views.
Biographical/Historical note:
William F. Wheeler (1943-2008) was born in Blackville, South Carolina, and earned a medical degree from Duke University and a specialty degree in anesthesiology at Massachusetts General in Boston. In 1978, after years of practicing medicine, he began traveling Africa by car, making over twenty-four trips during the next three decades. To gain a more intimate experience, he returned to explore the most remote places on foot. His detailed safari journals, written in the style of 19th century explorers, describe camel journeys in the Sahara, foot safaris with Maasai in Kenya and Tanzania, and hundreds of miles of treks with Efe through the rainforest of the Ituri river basin, a tributary of the Congo River. Wheeler's collection of artifacts and photographs formed the basis of a 2004 exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Man.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 2005-19, NAA ACC 2010-21
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Photographs previously filed in Photo Lot 2005-19 have been relocated and merged with Photo Lot 2010-21. These photographs were also made by William F. Wheeler in Africa and form part of this collection.
The National Anthropological Archives also holds the William F. Wheeler Efe Pgymy Papers, 1999-2004 (MS 2005-14).
Artifacts collected by Wheeler held in the Department of Anthropology collections in accessions 2036145, 2034089, and 2033754.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Hunting  Search this
Camps  Search this
Rites and ceremonies  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Slides (photographs)
Citation:
Photo Lot 2005-19, William F. Wheeler photographs of Africa and Efe people, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.PhotoLot.2005-19
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3169b6d5d-7267-48cd-acf2-8a22e16e80dd
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-photolot-2005-19