The House of Sciences: The First

Modern University in the Muslim World

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebookmass.com/product/the-house-of-sciences-the-first-modern-university-in-t
he-muslim-world-ekmeleddin-ihsanoglu/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

The Making of the Modern Muslim State: Islam and

Governance in the Middle East and North Africa Malika
Zeghal

https://ebookmass.com/product/the-making-of-the-modern-muslim-
state-islam-and-governance-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa-
malika-zeghal/

Religious Freedom in Islam: The Fate of a Universal

Human Right in the Muslim World Today Daniel Philpott

https://ebookmass.com/product/religious-freedom-in-islam-the-
fate-of-a-universal-human-right-in-the-muslim-world-today-daniel-
philpott/

University Physics for the Life Sciences Randall D.

Knight

https://ebookmass.com/product/university-physics-for-the-life-
sciences-randall-d-knight/

Gregory Palamas And The Making Of Palamism In The

Modern Age First Edition. Edition Norman Russell

https://ebookmass.com/product/gregory-palamas-and-the-making-of-
palamism-in-the-modern-age-first-edition-edition-norman-russell/
ISE A History of Europe in the Modern World R.R. Palmer

https://ebookmass.com/product/ise-a-history-of-europe-in-the-
modern-world-r-r-palmer/

The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and

Environmental Narrative from the Fifteenth to the
Twenty-First Century (World Social Change) 5th Edition
Marks Whittier College
https://ebookmass.com/product/the-origins-of-the-modern-world-a-
global-and-environmental-narrative-from-the-fifteenth-to-the-
twenty-first-century-world-social-change-5th-edition-marks-
whittier-college/

Research Methods in Kinesiology and the Health Sciences

First Edition, (Ebook PDF)

https://ebookmass.com/product/research-methods-in-kinesiology-
and-the-health-sciences-first-edition-ebook-pdf/

Landscapes of the First World War 1st ed. Edition

Selena Daly

https://ebookmass.com/product/landscapes-of-the-first-world-
war-1st-ed-edition-selena-daly/

Studying the Qur'an in the Muslim Academy Majid

Daneshgar

https://ebookmass.com/product/studying-the-quran-in-the-muslim-
academy-majid-daneshgar/
i

The House of Sciences

ii
iii

The House
of Sciences
The First Modern University in the
Muslim World
zz
EKMELEDDİN İHSANOĞLU

1
iv

1
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.

Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press

198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.

© Oxford University Press 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction
rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above.

You must not circulate this work in any other form

and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

CIP data is on file at the Library of Congress

ISBN 978–​0–​19–​005155–​6

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America

v

Contents

Preface ix
Acknowledgments xv
Note on Transcriptions xvii
List of Abbreviations xix
Introduction: Universities in Europe, Medreses in the Muslim World xxi

PART I: Genesis, Development, and Closure of the Darülfünun

1 New Pursuits in Education, Orientation to the Occident 1
1.1 Planning of Central Education 8
1.2 Birth of the Idea of Darülfünun 11
1.3 The Establishment of the Society of Science
[Encümen-​i Dâniş] 16
1.4 A Critical Voice From Within 21
2 The First Attempt: Enlightening the People 23
2.1 A Drive Toward Harmony Between Modern Science and
Islam 26
3 The Second Attempt: Darülfünun-​i Osmanî [Ottoman
University] 30
3.1 The Comprehensive Modern Framework and 1869 Regulations of
Public Education 32
3.2 The Ottoman Version of a French University 33
3.3 Student Affairs 34
3.4 Administrative Structure 35
3.5 Financial Resources 35
3.6 Inauguration of the Darülfünun-​i Osmanî 36
vi

vi Contents

4 The Third Attempt: Darülfünun-​i Sultanî [Sultanic University] 42

4.1 The School of Law 46
4.2 School of Civil Engineering; School of Roads and Bridges 49
4.3 The School of Arts 51
4.4 Administrative and Financial Structure of the Darülfünun-​i
Sultanî 52
4.5 Language of Instruction and the Translations of Textbooks 53
4.6 The Legacy of the Sultanic University 55
5 The Successful Commencement 1900 56
5.1 The Inauguration of the Darülfünun-​i Şahane [Université
Imperiale] 59
5.2 Darülfünun-​i Şahane Regulations 61
5.3 Curricula 62
5.4 The First Teachers of the Darülfünun-​i Şahane 63
5.5 Admission of the First Students and the Beginning of
Education 63
5.6 The First Graduates of the Darülfünun-​i Şahane 65
6 The Second Constitutional Period 65
6.1 Tuba Tree Legend and Emrullah Efendi’s Project 68
6.2 The New Bylaws of the Darülfünun 74
6.3 University Education for Girls 79
6.4 Controversy Regarding the Education of Girls and the End of
Segregation 83
7 The War Years: 1914–​1918 and the German Influence 85
8 The Armistice Years and the Pre-​Republican Period 94
8.1 Nationalism and the First Student Boycott in the Darülfünun 99
8.2 The Rapprochement Between the Darülfünun and the Ankara
Government 101
9 Darülfünun after the Proclamation of the Republic 103
9.1 A Short Honeymoon 103
9.2 Solving the Building Problems and Sparking the Autonomy
Privilege 106
9.3 Accusations and the Recurrence of an Old Refrain: Reform of the
Darülfünun 108
9.4 The Resignation of Darülfünun Rector Ismayıl Hakkı Bey and the
Election of a New Rector 110
ix

Preface

This book examines the process of founding a Western institution,

namely a university, in the Ottoman Empire, a cultural environment wholly dif-
ferent from that of its place of origin in Western Europe. The Ottoman Empire
(1299–​1923) possessed deeply entrenched academic traditions and institutions
of its own that made the transfer much more than a simple process of appro-
priation. Those who initiated the efforts to found this modern institution of
learning were the very Ottoman administrators and intellectuals who styled
themselves as the protectors of Islamic civilization. This fact has left its mark as
one of the distinctive features of this process. The Ottoman Empire assumed the
leadership of the Islamic world throughout the centuries, and considered the
seat of their empire, İstanbul, as the capital of the Islamic world. The Ottoman
sultan, who was also the caliph of the Muslim world, and his government, the
Divân, also assumed responsibility for the development of Islamic civilization
and its advancement. Early on, they became familiar with Western science and
technology, which they were able to utilize in a “selective” fashion in line with
their own particular needs.
As far as education was concerned, the Ottomans inherited the academic
institutions and traditions that had proliferated under the rule of their polit-
ical predecessors, the Seljuk Turks (1037–​1194). The most important of these
institutions and the primary source of scholarly–​scientific activities were, without
any doubt, the medreses. These charitably funded centers of learning had been in
continuous existence since the founding of the empire until its end in the first
quarter of the twentieth century.
The intensity of Ottoman medrese construction paralleled the political and
economic advance of the empire, and these developments reached their peak
during the sixteenth century. The number of medreses in each century was double
that of the previous century. The city that had the largest number of medreses
was the imperial capital, İstanbul. During the nineteenth century, prior to 1869,
the period when modern Western educational institutions were also becoming
x

x Preface

more widespread, there were 166 active medreses in İstanbul and 5369 students
[talebe-​i ulûm] at these institutions. According to one estimate, the Ottomans
founded 665 medreses in the European provinces that currently constitute
the nations of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Hungary, and the former
Yugoslavia. The Italian priest Giambattista Toderini, who stayed in İstanbul
from 1781 to 1786, where he studied and documented aspects of its cultural life,
held the opinion that Ottoman medreses were in many respects more advanced
than their counterparts in Europe. This was particularly the case for their scien-
tific autonomy.1
Medrese education in the Ottoman period was divided into two major
branches of learning. The first group was composed of the so-​called traditional
sciences [culūm naqlīyah], which consisted of Arabic linguistics and grammar,
rhetoric, and religious studies. The remaining disciplines were categorized under
the rubric of the rational sciences [culūm caqlīyah]. They had been appropriated
and assimilated into various cultures of Islam from classical Greek, Persian, and
Indian antecedents, and included logic, mathematics, astronomy, and medi-
cine. The medrese provided a common education, culture, and shared worldview
among the mosaic of Muslim peoples of diverse ethnic origins. At the same time,
it functioned to ensure equality of opportunity in education for the individual,
as well as providing mobility, both vertical and horizontal, among the various
strata of society. Structurally, medreses were charitable institutions initiated by
wealthy patrons and protected under shari’a law through a system known as the
waqf [Turkish Vakıf]. Because the medreses’s land endowments and revenues were
held in trust through the waqf, they were able to achieve financial autonomy and
institutional longevity.2
The system continued as such over a period of hundreds of years. The state
officials and medrese teachers, as well as their students and graduates, were an in-
tegral part of the Ottoman social fabric and the political powers that governed
them. They were all essential to the strength of the empire and the stability of
society.3
Until the nineteenth century, the Ottomans would continue to seek answers
to their most pressing intellectual and practical problems from within Islamic

1. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, Science, Technology and Learning in the Ottoman Empire: Western
Influence, Local Institutions, and the Transfer of Knowledge (Oxford: Ashgate, 2003), 48–​49.
2. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, “Emergence of the Ottoman Medrese Tradition,” in Archivum
Ottomanicum 25 (2008): 283–​338.
3. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, “Ottoman Educational and Scholarly Scientific Institutions,” in
History of the Ottoman State Society and Civilisation, ed. E. İhsanoğlu (İstanbul: IRCICA,
2002), vol. 2, 368–​389.
xi

Preface xi

culture and its institutions of learning. It was only after the Ottoman govern-
ment was compelled to face the political advance of Europe that Ottoman
administrators turned their attention westward for scientific and pedagogical in-
spiration. The balance in the Ottomans’ struggle with Europe began to tilt against
them by the eighteenth century. By then, the nation-​states in Europe surpassed
the Ottoman Empire economically, technologically, and militarily. After the re-
sult of the long wars during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that ended
in Turkish defeats, the Ottomans began to examine their rivals more carefully
and to follow with greater interest the features that had ensured European supe-
riority, including new developments in education and learning. The Ottomans
could no longer take their superiority over the Europeans for granted. What
in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries had been a selective appropriation of
Western science and technology became a far more comprehensive transfer of
knowledge by the nineteenth century. However, it is important to note that the
transfer did not take place in a vacuum, and that it marked the beginning of a
multifaceted interaction between Ottoman and Western cultures, traditions,
and institutions.
The crushing superiority achieved by some European nations as a result
of the Industrial Revolution in economic productivity, intercontinental and
overseas transportation, communication, and military power contributed
to perceptions of the decline of traditional societies such as those of the
Ottomans, Chinese, Indian, and Japanese. The advances in European science
and technology came to symbolize the immense chasm between these countries
and the West.
European countries undergoing the Industrial Revolution felt the need for
experts qualified in modern science and technology and for a workforce similarly
equipped. This led to the demand for a more systematic modernization process
in the fields of science and engineering in the universities that would be capable
of responding to these new requirements. The reform measures that Ottoman
intellectuals and administrators decided to adopt in the attempt to bridge the gap
with Europe resulting from the Industrial Revolution included the foundation
of a modern university. This was to be a completely new institution rather than
the simple transformation of the existing pre-​modern medreses. At the same time,
this new project formed part of the French educational system that the Ottoman
administrators were adopting throughout the empire as their new model. French
public educational policy ensured that public education would be divided into
primary, secondary. and higher education, and that it would be state funded.
This became possible only with the centralization of the state administration.
The conditions that were conducive to the development of the modern univer-
sity in Europe in the nineteenth century, as explained by Walter Rüegg, that is,
xi

xii Preface

secularization, bureaucratization, and specialization, had their parallels to a cer-

tain extent in the Ottoman Empire.4
The Ottoman administrators who assumed the leadership of the Islamic
world also aimed at the development of a modern Ottoman culture built on a
harmonious synthesis between Islamic and Western values. Their keenness to
create their own version of modernization was very clear from the beginning
during which they coined a new word for the institution they were about to es-
tablish. For the modern institution of higher education known in the West as a
university, they coined the term darülfünun, the “house of sciences,” to underline
its distinct modern character, which is entirely different from that of medrese.
Even so, from the very beginning they had set about founding this new institu-
tion on their own resources, and thus their goal of realizing a modern university
was never a simple or straightforward process.
Therefore, this study sheds light on an important and pioneering experiment
involving both Islamic and Western cultures. It will track the multifaceted trans-
formation at work in İstanbul during the transition from classical to modern
modes of scientific education. The Ottoman administrators themselves occupy
the focus of my study, as they were the ones who set the terms for the new ethos
that came to undergird the modern norms and institutions of the empire. In doing
so, this study situates the establishment of the Darülfünun within the general con-
text of Ottoman modernization. Nevertheless, it also challenges a conventional
opinion, which maintains that the nearly fifty years that it took to establish the
full-​fledged Ottoman University was due to the traditionalist government’s op-
position to reform policies. According to this narrative, the government was ret-
icent to welcome the modernization of the centuries-​old Ottoman educational
system because of a bitter struggle between religious and secular parties within
its ranks. This simplistic conflict between traditionalists and modernizers, at the
same time, either neglects or underestimates the ways in which the Ottoman cul-
tural heritage was preserved within the Darülfünun.
As well as explaining the origins of the Darülfünun and the motivations for its
founding, this study also highlights the impact of the Ottoman University out-
side the Ottoman domain. The Darülfünun in İstanbul inspired various leaders
in other parts of the Muslim world. Students trained at the Darülfünun became
influential advocates for the new Arab nationalism by providing the necessary in-
frastructure for national universities throughout the Arab-​speaking world. Out of
this intellectual ferment, a new Ottoman Turkish scientific language developed,

4. Walter Rüegg, “Themes: Introduction,” in A History of the University in Europe, ed. Walter
Rüegg (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), v, 3–​9.
xi

Preface xiii

the terminology from which served as a convenient vehicle for expressing and
teaching modern science throughout the empire. This is perhaps the first mono-
graph study of the development of such a language.
To put this study in the right perspective, concise introductory information
is given regarding the origin of the university in Europe, the modernization of
the university in the nineteenth century, and the diffusion of the university as an
institution of higher education outside Europe, specifically to the Muslim world.
xvi
xv

Acknowledgments

This study goes back almost three decades to 1989. On the 150th anni-
versary of the Tanzimat reforms in the Ottoman Empire, I was asked to con-
tribute to a commemorative volume. In 1990 I offered a detailed study on the
first attempts to establish an Ottoman University: the “House of Sciences” or
Darülfünun in Turkish. Two years later, I published a survey article on the changes
in notions of science that emerged in Turkey in the nineteenth century, as well as
the institutions that arose to meet the demand for modern science and education
at the time. Since then, I have been following up on research into these topics,
which has culminated in the publication of two Turkish-​language volumes on
the history of the modern Turkish university under the title Darülfünun: A Focal
Point of Ottoman Cultural Modernization (2010).
Throughout these years, I have extensively benefited from the newly opened
Ottoman and Republican Archives attached to the Office of the Prime Minister,
minutes of Ottoman and Republican Parliaments, official published documents
hitherto not studied, newspapers, memoirs, and many other sources. During this
long period, some PhD studies, which were inspired by my first articles, have been
written, illuminating aspects of the most recent periods of the Darülfünun up to
the present day.
Studies on the emergence, evolution, and diffusion of the university in Europe,
particularly in the nineteenth century, were of great help to me as I came to de-
velop a proper framework for understanding the rise of the modern university
in a Muslim environment. Such a comparative approach allowed me to correct
many misconceptions, which have come to constitute a sort of established ortho-
doxy in the field through the published work of generations of scholars. However
much this present contribution will serve to address the lacunae and distortions
in past scholarship on science and education in the late Ottoman period, much
basic research still remains to be done.
I would like to thank my colleagues who helped me in preparing this English
text. In particular, I would recognize the great work done by the late Semiramis
xvi

xvi Acknowledgments

Çavuşoğlu in translating the English edition from the Turkish original. Grateful
acknowledgment is due to my lifelong colleague Dilek Orbay, for her care and
diligent work, and to Didar Bayır, for her help and advice.
I also owe the publication of this English version to two dear colleagues: William
Shea from Padua University, who enthusiastically urged me to see it through to
press; and Ronald Numbers from the University of Wisconsin-​Madison, who
read the first English manuscript meticulously, and proposed many suggestions
and recommendations to develop the text to appeal to an English-​speaking read-
ership. I also would like to acknowledge the significant contribution of Michael
Shank from the University of Wisconsin-​Madison, who read the introduction,
and made useful suggestions and amendments.
xvi

Note on Transcriptions

In this book, Turkish words, regardless of their language of origin, names

of places within the boundaries of modern Turkey, and the names of Ottoman
Turks, are transcribed according to the official modern Turkish orthography,
with the exception that proper names ending with “d” are not changed to “t”.
Some words and annexation of words are given in italic, e.g. Meclis-​i Vâlâ,
Encümen-​i Dâniş. In such cases, the following explanation regarding the pronun-
ciation of Turkish is noted here:

â: as English a in “far”
c: as English j in “jam” or “John”
ç: as English ch in “China” or “charity”
ğ: a soft guttural, pronounced almost like the gh in “ought”
ı: as English i in “dirt”
î: as English ee in “feet”
ö: as French eu in “deux” or German ö in “können”
ş: as English sh in “show” or “shine”
û: as English u in “rule”
ü: as French u in “lune” or German ü in “über”

The “^” sign is used to indicate long vowels in the following cases:

a. In those cases when lengthening and softening the vowels is necessary (tersâne,
zâbitan, mekâtib);
b. “î” to indicate the possessive “î” (dahilî, sultanî);
c. also used to indicate the long vowels in Arabic and Persian words (ruûs,
mekâtib, danishgâh) and in proper names to indicate the long vowels.
xvi

xviii Note on Transcriptions

For geographical names, common English forms, e.g. Ankara, Aleppo, Baghdad,
and İstanbul, are given as such. For less known places both Ottoman and current
names are given, e.g. Skopje (Üsküp), Bitola (Manastır), Mytilene (Midilli).
Ottoman Turkish words existing in an English dictionary (e.g. Vizier, Grand
Vizier, Pasha) are used as such.
Italics are used for foreign terms, book titles, and names of institutions
throughout the text.
The names of institutions and offices are capitalized: e.g. Darülfünun, Divân-​ı
Muhasebat, Encümen-​i Dâniş, etc. Titles are not capitalized unless they come be-
fore a personal name: e.g. grand vizier, müderris; but Grand Vizier Mustafa Reşid
Pasha, Müderris Hilmi Efendi.
xi

Abbreviations

AUB American University of Beirut

BCA State Archives of the Prime Ministry (Republican
Archives) [Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri—​
Cumhuriyet Arşivi]
BOA State Archives of the Prime Ministry (Ottoman
Archives) [Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri—​ Osmanlı
Arşivi]
CHF Republican People’s Party [Cumhuriyet Halk Fırkası]
CUP Committee of Union and Progress Party [İttihad ve
Terakki Cemiyeti Fırkası]
DİA Türkiye Diyanet Foundation Encyclopedia of Islam
[Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi]
IRCICA Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture
ISAR Foundation for the Research on Islamic History, Art
and Culture
M. Stands for French Monsieur, if it comes before
European names
MMZC Meclisi Mebusan Zabıt Ceridesi
OMLT History of Mathematical Literature During the
Ottoman Period [Osmanlı Matematik Literatürü
Tarihi]
OTTBLT History of the Literature of Natural and Applied
Sciences During the Ottoman Period [Osmanlı Tabii
ve Tatbiki Bilimler Literatürü Tarihi, 2 vols., 2006]
PCN physique, chimie, sciences naturelles/​physics, chem-
istry, biology
RPEs Regulations of Public Education (1869) [Maârif-​i
Umûmiyye Nizâmnâmesi]
SPC Syrian Protestant College
TBMM Turkish Grand National Assembly [Türkiye Büyük
Millet Meclisi]
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Negerleben in
Ostafrika
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Negerleben in Ostafrika

Ergebnisse einer Ethnologischen Forschungsreise

Author: Karl Weule

Release date: November 14, 2023 [eBook #72124]

Language: German

Original publication: Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, 1909

Credits: Peter Becker, Jude Eylander, Reiner Ruf, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
(This file was produced from images generously made
available by The Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK

NEGERLEBEN IN OSTAFRIKA ***
 Anmerkungen zur Transkription
Der vorliegende Text wurde anhand der Buchausgabe von 1909 so weit wie möglich
originalgetreu wiedergegeben. Typographische Fehler wurden stillschweigend korrigiert.
Ungewöhnliche und heute nicht mehr verwendete Schreibweisen bleiben gegenüber dem
Original unverändert; fremdsprachliche Ausdrücke wurden nicht korrigiert.
In der im Original gewählten Frakturschrift wird nicht zwischen den Großbuchstaben ‚I‘
und ‚J‘ unterschieden. Zur Übertragung in die heute üblichen Antiquaschriftarten wurden
aber im Register die Einträge getrennt nach den beiden Anfangsbuchstaben aufgeführt.
Das Original wurde in Frakturschrift gesetzt. Passagen in Antiquaschrift werden hier
kursiv wiedergegeben. Abhängig von der im jeweiligen Lesegerät installierten Schriftart
können die im Original g e s p e r r t gedruckten Passagen gesperrt, in serifenloser Schrift,
oder aber sowohl serifenlos als auch gesperrt erscheinen.
In einigen Lesegeräten ist es zurzeit nicht möglich, Tondateien direkt abzuspielen oder
Daten in MusicXML-Format herunterzuladen. Aufgrund der stets fortschreitenden
technischen Entwicklungen wurde diese Möglichkeit hier dennoch vorgesehen, um solche
zukünftigen Funktionen der Endgeräte zu unterstützen.
Negerleben in Ostafrika.
 Negerleben in Ostafrika.
Ergebnisse einer ethnologischen Forschungsreise.

Von

Dr. Karl Weule

Professor an der Universität und Direktor des Museums für Völkerkunde in
Leipzig.

Mit 196 Abbildungen, darunter 4 bunte Vollbilder, und einer Karte.

Zweite Auflage.

Leipzig:
F. A. Brockhaus.
1909.
 Vorwort.

O„ rt, Datum, Adresse, kurz, ein Briefkopf — also die üblichen

Reisebriefe!“ Gemach, mein Herr oder meine Gnädigste! Schon
zwischen Brief und Brief besteht, trotzdem er heute den Charakter
des Kunstwerks längst verloren hat, ein Unterschied; um wieviel
mehr beim Reisebrief, dessen Form und Inhalt in ungleich höherem
Grade durch die Umstände, aus denen heraus er entsteht, bedingt
werden. Ehrlich will ich zudem — falls die Briefform nun einmal ein
Verbrechen ist — gestehen, daß die Kapitel dieses Buches ihre
jetzige Form erst in Leipzig angenommen haben. Meine Reise
besaß auf Grund ihrer besonderen Ziele auch einen ganz
besonderen Charakter. Ich sollte den Menschen erforschen, sollte in
den Sitten und Gebräuchen, den Erzählungen und Mythen die
Negerpsyche ergründen. Das bedingte einen unausgesetzten,
innigen Verkehr mit den schwarzen Leuten. Masumgumso nennt der
Suaheli die Tätigkeit, die ich ein halbes Jahr hindurch getrieben
habe; unsere Wörterbücher übersetzen das mit „Unterhaltung“. Das
trifft den Sinn meines Masumgumso nur so obenhin; dieses hatte
stets den ernsten Hintergrund der wissenschaftlichen Forschung,
nicht den des Zeitvertreibs. Maneno, Worte, waren es gleichwohl,
aus denen es sich zusammensetzte. Kann nur der Leser eine
geeignetere Form der Darstellung nennen als die von mir gewählte,
die die gesamten Eindrücke eines bestimmten, soeben zum
Abschluß gelangten Zeitraumes noch gänzlich unverwischt, dabei
jedoch harmonisch ineinander verarbeitet und wissenschaftlich
vollkommen verwertbar wiedergibt, ohne dabei in das trockne
Einerlei des Tagebuches zu verfallen?
 Meine Ostafrikareise liegt bereits um mehr als ein Jahr zurück;
eine Unsumme von Berufsgeschäften hat mich an der sofortigen
Herausgabe meiner Eindrücke gehindert. Der drohenden Gefahr des
Verblassens dieser Eindrücke bin ich dadurch begegnet, daß ich
über die Geschehnisse und Ergebnisse jener Reise genau Buch
geführt, ja, wo es die Zeit zuließ, sogar Wortlaut und Tonfall des
Masumgumso schriftlich festgehalten habe. Vieles habe ich
gleichzeitig an Verwandte und Freunde berichtet, besonders an den
trefflichen Alfred Kirchhoff, den ich leider nicht mehr wiedersehen
sollte. Bei meiner Rückkehr am letzten Januar 1907 war er bereits
schwer krank; am 8. Februar ist er verschieden.
Aus meinen gewissenhaften Aufzeichnungen habe ich das
jetzige Buch zu komponieren vermocht, ohne den einzelnen
Auftritten im Busch und im Urwald, auf dem Marsch und im
Negerdorf Gewalt anzutun, und ohne die Milieustimmung zu
verderben. Das ist wichtig, gerade bei jenen einzelnen Bausteinen,
aus denen das große Gebäude der Wissenschaft vom Menschen
von vielen Mitarbeitern nach und nach errichtet werden soll.
Weltbewegende Ereignisse bleiben dem Negerleben im allgemeinen
vorenthalten; da macht die Stimmung, aus der das kleine
Geschehnis geboren wird, alles. Daß ich sie i m m e r getroffen hätte,
möchte ich nicht behaupten; im großen und ganzen wird der Leser
indes mit mir zufrieden sein können; mir persönlich steigen jedenfalls
beim Lesen meiner Zeilen alle die seltsamen Szenen, deren Zeuge
ich gewesen bin, wieder mit einer Deutlichkeit vor das Auge, als
hätte ich erst gestern vom dunkeln Weltteil Abschied genommen.
Zum nicht geringen Teil verdanken wir die Anschaulichkeit
unseren modernen Forschungsmitteln. Die photographische Kamera
ist freilich nicht mehr neu, doch bewährt auch sie sich noch immer,
sogar weit besser, will mich dünken, als in der Hand der Reisenden
früherer Jahrzehnte. Das bringen die feinen Objektive und die guten
Platten mit sich. Auf meine mehr als tausend tadellosen Aufnahmen
von Land und Leuten irgendwie stolz zu sein, habe ich darum
keinerlei Ursache.
Neuer ist schon der Phonograph, und kaum erst in die exotische
Völkerforschung eingeführt der Kinematograph. Die Leistungen der
Sprech- und Singmaschine haben den Vorzug, auch den Lesern
eines Buches zu Gesicht und zu Gehör gebracht werden zu können;
ich habe darum wenigstens eine kleine Auswahl der von mir
gesammelten Eingeborenenlieder abgedruckt. Der
Kinematographenfilm ist das Demonstrationsmittel des
Vortragssaals; zugleich ist er das Archiv der dahinschwindenden
Sitten unserer Naturvölker. In dieser Eigenschaft sollte seine
Anwendung mit allen Mitteln und in größter Ausdehnung angestrebt
werden, solange es noch Zeit ist. Es liegt in der Natur der Sache,
daß er seinem eigenen Herrn, der ihn selbst mit den Szenen aus
dem Eingeborenenleben bedeckt hat, am meisten erzählt; ihn
versetzt er schon beim Aufblitzen des ersten Bildchens in das alte
Forschungsgebiet zurück. Der Anschaulichkeit des Buches kommt
damit auch er, wenn auch nur indirekt, zugute.
Mein gänzlicher Mangel an musikalischer Bildung hat die
Transkription meiner Lieder durch musikalische Freunde bedingt;
gern statte ich den Herren Dr. von Hornbostel in Berlin und Dr. Albert
Thümmel in Leipzig den wohlverdienten Dank ab.
Nicht geringe Schwierigkeiten bereitet die Wiedergabe gewisser
Bantusprachlaute durch unser deutsches Alphabet; am größten sind
sie beim Laute „tschi“. So hart wie ihn unsere Sprechweise bedingt,
ist der Laut nicht; das „t“ ist kaum hörbar; aus diesem Grunde habe
ich vorgezogen, die Silbe nach dem Standardalphabet „chi“ zu
schreiben.
Das Buch ist Stückwerk. Natürlich. Wie sollte es dem einzelnen
Forscher auch möglich sein, die Gesamtheit der Lebensformen einer
ganzen Rasse zu erfassen! Selbst einer Rasse wie der des Negers.
Wir nennen den schwarzen Mann Naturvolk; für uns klebt er am
Boden, mit dem er bei seiner offenkundigen Ruhelosigkeit
gleichwohl nicht verwachsen scheint. Nur scheint; in Wirklichkeit ist
er bodenständig wie kaum ein anderer Teil der Menschheit. Afrika ist
Sitz und Heimat des Negers seit jeher; in seinen weiten Räumen ist
er entstanden; dort ist er physisch zu dem geworden, was er heute
ist; dort hat er auch seine Kultur entwickelt. Diese Kultur ist anders
als die unsrige; sie ist sicherlich nicht so hoch; doch gewährt auch
sie ein ganz bestimmtes, scharf umrissenes Bild. Ob es reizvoll ist,
sich in dieses Bild zu vertiefen? Lies dies Buch: es hat in breiten,
kräftigen Strichen eine Anzahl Züge jenes Bildes festzuhalten
versucht. Nachher magst du selbst urteilen.

Leipzig, 19. September 1908.

K. Weule.
 Inhaltsverzeichnis.

Seite
Vo r w o r t V
Erstes Kapitel. Die Ausreise 1
Z w e i t e s K a p i t e l . Die Ziele 15
D r i t t e s K a p i t e l . Es kommt anders 30
V i e r t e s K a p i t e l . Lehrzeit an der Küste 42
F ü n f t e s K a p i t e l . Einmarsch ins Innere. Die ersten
Eindrücke 64
S e c h s t e s K a p i t e l . Umschau 87
S i e b e n t e s K a p i t e l . Einleben ins Volkstum 102
A c h t e s K a p i t e l . Marsch nach Süden. Meine Karawane 136
N e u n t e s K a p i t e l . Bei Matola 170
Z e h n t e s K a p i t e l . Mit und unter den Yao 194
E l f t e s K a p i t e l . Weitere Ergebnisse 238
Z w ö l f t e s K a p i t e l . Rovuma-Idyll und Zug ins Pori 254
D r e i z e h n t e s K a p i t e l . Unyago überall 283
V i e r z e h n t e s K a p i t e l . In voller Ernte 297
F ü n f z e h n t e s K a p i t e l . „Und will sich nimmer erschöpfen
und leeren“ 338
S e c h z e h n t e s K a p i t e l . Schlußzeit in Newala 388
S i e b z e h n t e s K a p i t e l . Wiederum zum Rovuma 405
A c h t z e h n t e s K a p i t e l . Die Meisterzeit 429
N e u n z e h n t e s K a p i t e l . Zur Küste zurück 477
Z w a n z i g s t e s K a p i t e l . Rückblick 495
Register 515
 Abbildungen.

Seite
Karl Weule (Titelbild)
Kap Guardafui 1
Hafen von Daressalam 2
Eingeborenentanz in Daressalam 6
Straße im Eingeborenenviertel von Daressalam 10
Karte der großen Karawanenstraße.
Eingeborenenzeichnung 15
Dolcefarniente in einem Hofe von Daressalam 19
Im Europäerviertel von Daressalam 24
Bucht von Lindi 30
Dampfer Rufidyi. Eingeborenenzeichnung 32
Mündungsgebiet des Lukuledi oberhalb Lindi (Separatbild) 33
Reede von Lindi 37
Arabische Dhau. Eingeborenenzeichnung 41
Kettengefangene. Eingeborenenzeichnung 42
Seliman Mamba 45
Yao-Frauen von Mtua (Separatbild) 49
Mädchen aus Lindi 51
Tanz der Weiber in Daressalam 53
Alter portugiesischer Turm in Lindi 55
Unter Palmen 57
Die Ngoma Liquata. Eingeborenenzeichnung 64
Makua-Frauen aus dem Lukuledi-Tal (Separatbild) 65
Mueramann und Yao 67
Ruinen der Missionsstation Nyangao 71
Wamuerafrau 76
Muerajüngling 77
Muerafrau mit Unterlippenpflock 79
Lichte Baumgrassteppe mit Barra-barra (Separatbild) 80
Massassiberge. Eingeborenenzeichnung 87
Inselberg von Massassi 89
Unsere Mtandibesteigung. Eingeborenenzeichnung 95
Buschbrand auf dem Makonde-Plateau (bunte Tafel) 96
Wanyassa-Jäger mit Hund. Eingeborenenzeichnung 102
Studienbummel in der lichten Baumgrassteppe 107
Lager in Massassi 111
Am traulichen Herd. Hütteninneres in der Rovuma-Ebene
(Separatbild) 112
Taubenschlag und Speicher 120
Marschbereit vor Massassi 123
Rattenfalle 125
Antilopenfalle 127
Perlhuhnfalle 129
Falle für Großwild 129
Yaohütte 135
Meine Karawane auf dem Marsche.
Eingeborenenzeichnung 136
Yao-Gehöft in Chingulungulu (Separatbild) 136
Lager in Mwiti 142
Jalousie mit Swastika 147
Yaohäuptling Nakaam 149
Hofinneres in Mwiti 155
Ältere Makondefrau im Festschmuck (Separatbild) 160
Hüttentypus der Rovuma-Ebene 162
Hüttengrundriß 162