Initial check of the African holdings in the ethnological collection of the Berlin Missionary Society

Over a six-month period, an initial check ("Erstcheck") of cultural belongings originating from Africa within the "ethnological collection" of the Berliner Missionswerk (BMW) will be carried out at the Evangelical Regional Church Archive in Berlin (Evangelisches Landeskirchliches Archiv Berlin), where the collection is currently administered and housed. The BMW is an institution of the Protestant Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia and the Evangelical Church of Anhalt. It traces its origins to the Protestant missionary movement of the early nineteenth century and uses the positive and critical experiences of its history to contribute to current discussions on mission and colonialism. The "ethnological collection" currently comprises approximately 1,000 ethnographic "objects", predominantly from China, South Africa, and present-day Tanzania. A proportion of these "objects" were appropriated by missionaries and sent to Germany to exhibit what was perceived as the everyday life and supposed "superstitions" of local populations, with the intention of contrasting these practices with the Christian faith (and "Christian civilisation"). Other "objects" formed part of the personal estates of missionaries, were sent directly to the predecessor institution, the Berliner Missionsgesellschaft (Berlin Missionary Society, BMS), or were brought back during so-called "home furlough".

The project's overarching aim is to contribute to a critical engagement with the colonial past of the BMW and its predecessor organisation, the Berlin Missionary Society. Central to this aim are the acknowledgement and public visibility of the institution's colonial history and the assumption of institutional responsibility for the actions of historical actors within this context. Moreover, the initial assessment seeks to create a foundation for new or re-activated relationships with societies of origin, including the BMW's long-standing partner churches in Tanzania and South Africa – the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA) – both of which emerged from the missionary activities of the BMW and other missionary societies. Overall, the project understands itself as a relevant approach for how a mission organisation might address the future handling and interpretation of holdings originating from colonial contexts, and as a step towards an appropriate, contemporary engagement with its own historical collections.

The initial check serves to evaluate possible colonial contexts in line with the guidelines and recommendations of the German Lost Art Foundation (Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste, DZK). It entails a survey and, where necessary, supplementary photographic documentation of the "objects"; a preliminary assessment of possible colonial contexts; identification of "objects" requiring further research (including investigations into acquisition histories and actors); the preparation of a bilingual (German/English) report for the research database PROVEANA as well as providing research data for the CCC portal. This report is intended to serve as a working basis for potential further collaborative provenance research with representatives of African societies and is envisaged to form the foundation for a future long-term funding application to the DZK. A concluding international workshop will provide impulses for further engagement with missionary-historical collections and archival materials.

© Berliner Missionswerk