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18 · Treasure · sound archive

Batwa on a colonial record

Batwa tracks on Voice of the Congo

A disc published in 1954 includes songs and instruments attributed to Batwa communities, alongside recordings of other groups.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

EDITORIAL VISUALISATION DECLARED · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS

Editorial visualisation · Contextual correspondence

Declared editorial visualisation, based on the cartography and sources of the fact sheet; it is not an exact historical frontier.

Catalogue listing of instruments and groups with visible notes on uncertain location
EDITORIAL VISUALISATION DECLARED · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS

Editorial visualisation · Contextual correspondence

Declared editorial visualisation, based on the cartography and sources of the fact sheet; it is not an exact historical frontier.

History and context

The 1954 disc includes tracks attributed to Batwa with ikembes, male voices, horns and drums among many groups.

It serves to examine classification and provenance, not to create a pan-Batwa soundtrack.

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date
1954
Location
DRC/Rwanda, locations to verify; today Washington
Material
sound recording and metadata
Context
Restricted access and no duplication.
Curatorial reading
The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Dossier axis
treasures
Research record
BATWA · treasure-merriam-batwa-audio
Documentary coverage
1 museum source, heritage, primary corpus or research for this stop.

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

Sound recordings2 dated objects

2 / 2In the centre: Batwa on a colonial record

Also connected, without a comparable date (3)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

  • Clicks and contactBantu-speaking worlds · precolonial contacts with varying chronologies and subsequent continuity
  • Healing danceSan histories · Recordings 1968–1972
  • Musical bowsSan histories · Twentieth-century ethnomusicological documentation

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: .

From field recording to commercial record

The Rinzler Archives copy is a twelve-inch disc at 33⅓ revolutions, published by Riverside in New York. Its classification places it within the commercial recordings assembled by Frederic Ramsey, not in an exclusively Batwa series. The record credits Alan P. Merriam and Barbara Williams Merriam as recording responsables; the sleeve notes correspond to Alan. The Batwa tracks occupy separate positions in the programme —109, 205 and 206—. The editorial order is, therefore, another historical layer added to the performances.

Where it is held

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Item or group in the record · Library or archive

Exact record of the sound edition containing the Batwa tracks; the museum distinguishes recording, edition and communities represented.

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Expand this information and consult its sources

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