Expedition Henrique de Cavalho into the Mautiânvua (1884-1888): the story of an African collection
- Autores: Manuela Cantinho
- Localización: Anales del Museo Nacional de Antropología, ISSN 1135-1853, Nº 11, 2005, págs. 13-48
- Idioma: inglés
- Enlaces
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Resumen
In the context ofthe "civilizational movement" carried out by the Europeans in the African continent during the 19th century, the scientific explorations, which integratedan anthropologkal component proved essential to the understanding of the "colonial and scientific imagery", which needs to be identified.
With that aim in mind, the Museu Etnográfico da Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa (Etnographic Museum of the Lisbon Geographical Society) and the Instituto de Investigagdo Científica Tropical (Tropical Research Institute} (IICT), with the support of the Fundagdo da Ciencia Tecnología (Foundation for Science and Technology} (FCT), and wíthin the scope of the Project POCTI/HEC/EXPLORA (PEDER), have been developíng a Une ofresearchfor the comprehensive survey of the "collecting contexts" that are at the origin ofthe exísting colonial collectíons in Portugal.
Based on the ethnographíc features ofthe scientífíc expedítion into hunda, Angola, by the explorer Henrique Augusto Dias de Carvalho is thus initiated a cycle ofstudies deemed essential for the understanding of the history of Colonialism and Anthropology in our country.
The collectíons of the museum of the Sociedade de Geografía de Lisboa (SGL) acquired by this Portuguese explorer during the 19th centuryplay an essential role in that understanding. They intégrate a vast artefactual assemhlage, which brings forward the characteristics of the far-reaching Portuguese presence in the African continent, which simultaneously denounce and intégrate the different scientific perspectives discussed amongst the SGL.
