Urwald-Dokumente

Dr. Alfred Mansfeld arrived at a German colonial station on the Cross River in Western Cameroon in 1904. He found it almost deserted and in ruins. Undaunted, he not only performed his administrative duties but learned in detail how the local people lived, familiarizing himself with seven ethnic groups: Ejagham, Keaka, Obang, Anjang, Banjang, Batanga-Balundu, and Boki. He came to love and respect them on their own terms. His fascinating book, the result of insatiable curiosity, is filled with careful, objective notes on architecture, trade, warfare, slavery, handwork, religion, marriage, birth, death, health, justice, music and dance, joke-telling, stories, and more. Dr. Mansfeld, not a trained ethnologist, credits his results to his two friends King Ogba, from Mbenjan in Ejagham land, and interpreter Odjong-ofo, who, for three years, patiently explained the workings of their own cultures. Mansfeld said he reported only what they told him. 

His book is profusely illustrated with photographs, drawings, and maps. The people in the photographs appear less as anthropological specimens than as fellow humans who did not mind posing for this congenial stranger. Mansfeld used an Ernemann “Russland” camera with an oak case, especially designed for use in the tropics.

The figure on the front cover shows a granite altar to place offerings.