Bold Research During Troubled Times in Guinea: The Story of the Djibril Tamsir Niane Tape Archive

Abstract

The basic purpose here is to offer an archival report about historical and ethnographic material collected partly in Mali but mostly in Guinea, when such efforts in the latter country were contrary to official government policy and in some cases could be hazardous to undertake. Owing to the risks involved in some intellectual activities in Guinea between 1958 and 1984, as well as the importance of the material recorded on reel-to-reel tapes in this archive, the research accomplished by Djibril Tamsir Niane in the 1960s that culminated in the 1969-1971 expeditions to Baga villages, was itself historically significant. Moreover, the fact that once the research had been done the recorded information survived ensuing decades of potentially destructive climatic conditions and political events is remarkable. Therefore, as a prologue to introducing the archival material in the process of preservation at the time of this writing, it seems appropriate to begin this report with a description of the circumstances under which the recordings were made and how they survived to the present day.