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Written Legacies

The first research trip to Middle India by staff members of the Frobenius Institute took place in 1955-1956. At that time, Hermann Niggemeyer and his wife Else traveled to Odisha to conduct an ethnographic study amongst the Kuttia Kond. Else Niggemeyer's diaries provide a revealing insight into their studies and their life during research, even outside the scientific framework. In the course of time the Niggemeyer legacy is to be further developed. Furthermore, maps detailing their travel routes on the expedition are available online.

Around 1200 diapositives from the legacy of Prof. Dr. Georg Pfeffer (1934-2020) were gifted to the Frobenius Institute. The diapositives were taken in the decades that Prof. Dr. Pfeffer conducted research in the highlands of Odisha. In the future, the slides will provide an opportunity to explore in more detail the changes in tribal cultures, particularly those of the Kond and the Gadaba.

The indologist and South Asian historian Prof. Dr. Hermann Kulke donated around 400 books about the history, culture, social structure and economy of Odisha from his private collection to the Frobenius Institute, as well as colonial historical documents, such as Settlement Reports from the princely states of Odisha. This academic literature has been included in the Leo Frobenius Library of Cultural Anthropology. Furthermore, the donation includes documents from Prof. Dr. Kulke's research in Odisha, e.g. reports from the Orissa Research Project I (ORP I 1970-1975), which have been added to the Middle India Archive (MIA) of the Frobenius Institute and digitized.


As a legacy, the ethnographic data of Prof. Dr. Roland Hardenberg are currently being added to the Middle India Archive and are available to researchers on request at the Frobenius Institute. The first are the field notes from his research in Puri, Odisha, India, from 1995 to 1996. These field diaries were transcribed by Astrid Hünlich from 2019 to 2020 (proof reading by Alisa Napitupulu) and are available in digital form. The notes include the contents of his participant observations, various sketches, newspaper clippings, and translations of interviews with ritual specialists such as the king's (Gajapati) spiritual advisor (Rajaguru) of Puri, the chief carpenter (Moharana) of the ritual chariots, and a “shapemaker” (Rupakara) who makes the wooden figures for the chariot festival (ratha yatra). In addition, there are the original audio recordings (wav format) of these interviews, as well as a recording of the chants and cheers of the charioteer of the chariot festival, which has historical value in that the obscene statements that were part of the ritual at the time are now banned. Second, the legacy also includes ethnographic data from Roland Hardenberg's research among the Dongria Kond in the Rayagada district of Odisha, India, from 2001 to 2003. The field diaries were already digitally recorded by Roland Hardenberg himself in 2005. The digital version contains the contents of the participant observation as well as numerous sketches and interviews. In addition, there are the audio recordings (wav format) of the songs of the Dongria Kond, which were recorded at various dance events, as well as the recitations of ritual specialists (Bejuni and Jani).



The Frobenius Institute has many years of experience in dealing with scientific legacies. In particular, it has field diaries, scientifically significant correspondence and extensive excerpts. This enables well-founded research in the field of history as well as access to original source material.


The archive is open to estates and legacies of researchers on Middle-India Archive.


The legacies can be viewed in the Legacies Database.