IDNO

N.102180.MF

Description

“A view from the hill top up the Tongo valley at sunset.”

Place

W Africa; Ghana; Upper East Region; Tongo [Gold Coast; Northern Territories]

Cultural Affliation

Tallensi

Named Person

Photographer

?Fortes, Meyer

Collector / Expedition

Fortes, Meyer

Date

27 November 1934

Collection Name

Fortes Collection

Source

Drucker-Brown, Susan

Format

Glass Negative Halfplate

Primary Documentation

Other Information

N.102180.MF - N.102187.MF were kept in the box now numbered C551/.

Context: Fortes describes the geography of the area and the uniquesness of the Tong Hills. He writes, “The district of Zuarungu is a typical portion of the Trans-Volta plateau. A number of bouldery hills from 100 to 500 feet high are scattered over its undulating surface. The most conspicuous are the Tong Hills, a small range stretching for about four miles just north of the river. It adds an attractive touch to an otherwise uninspiring landscape. A fringe of uninhabited bush, the home of a fari amount of game, follows the course of the two Voltas. From the Tong Hills the area of close settlement and perennial cultivation spreads out like a fan to the west, north and east. Generally speaking, settlement is relatively sparse and recent along the periphery of this area, except in the north-west segment, and densest and most ancient middle.” (Fortes, 1945, p.5)

Bibliographical Reference: Fortes, Meyer, 1945. Dynamics of Clanship Among the Tallensi (London: Oxford University Press).

Bibliographical Reference: Fortes, Meyer, 1949. The Web of Kinship Among the Tallensi (London: Oxford University Press).

Bibliographical Reference: Fortes, Meyer, 1987. Religion, Morality and the Person: Essays on Tallensi Religion (London: Oxford University Press).

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Alicia Fentiman, 29/4/2008]