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'''Adriaan Hendrik Johan Prins''', generally known as '''A. H. J. Prins''' (1921, [[Harderwijk]], [[Gelderland]] –11 February 2000) was a [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[African studies|Africanist]] and maritime [[anthropologist]].
{{short description|Dutch Africanist and maritime anthropologist}}
{{more references|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox academic
⚫
| name = A. H. J. Prins
| image =
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| native_name =
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| birth_name = Adriaan Hendrik Johan Prins
| birth_date = {{birth year|1921}}
| birth_place = [[Harderwijk]], Gelderland, Netherlands
| death_date = 11 February {{death year and age|2000|1921}}
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| occupation = Anthropologist
| period =
| known_for =
| title =
| boards = <!--board or similar positions extraneous to main occupation-->
| spouse = Ita Prins
| children = [[Harald Prins]]
| awards = <!--notable national-level awards only-->
| education = [[University of Utrecht]]
| alma_mater = <!--will often consist of the linked name of the last-attended higher education institution-->
| thesis_title =
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| doctoral_advisor = Henri Th. Fischer
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| era =
| discipline = Anthropologist, [[African studies|Africanist]]
| sub_discipline = <!--academic discipline specialist area – e.g. Sub-atomic research, 20th-century Danish specialist, Pauline research, Arcadian and Ugaritic specialist-->
| workplaces = [[University of Groningen]]
| doctoral_students = <!--only those with WP articles-->
| notable_students =
| main_interests =
| notable_works =
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{{infobox military person
|embed = yes
|allegiance = [[Allies of World War II]]
|branch = Intelligence
|unit = [[MI9]], [[21st Army Group]]
⚫
}}}}
'''Adriaan Hendrik Johan Prins''' (1921&ndash;11 February 2000) was a Dutch [[African studies|Africanist]] and maritime [[anthropologist]].


He was a recipient of many research grants and fellowships ([[UNESCO]], [[Ford Foundation]], the Netherlands Organization for Pure Research, etc.), Prins was frequently consulted by the Dutch government and royal court, who valued his wealth of knowledge about the peoples and cultures of [[Africa]] and the [[Middle East]].
He was a recipient of many research grants and fellowships ([[UNESCO]], [[Ford Foundation]], the Netherlands Organization for Pure Research, etc.), Prins was frequently consulted by the Dutch government and royal court, who valued his wealth of knowledge about the peoples and cultures of [[Africa]] and the [[Middle East]].


In addition to scores of [[encyclopedia]] entries and dozens of scholarly articles in a wide range of international journals such as ''Anthropos'', ''Man'', ''Human Organization'', and ''The Mariner’s Mirror'', Prins regularly published in Dutch [[newspapers]] and magazines. Moreover, he illustrated many of his books and articles with his own ethnographic photographs, sketches, and pen drawings.
In addition to scores of encyclopedia entries and dozens of scholarly articles in a wide range of international journals such as ''[[Anthropos (journal)|Anthropos]]'', ''[[Man (journal)|Man]]'', ''[[Human Organization]]'', and ''The Mariner’s Mirror'', Prins regularly published in Dutch newspapers and magazines. Moreover, he illustrated many of his books and articles with his ethnographic photographs, sketches, and pen drawings.


==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
Prins studied social geography and [[ethnology]] at the [[University of Utrecht]] under Prof. Dr. Henri Th. Fischer.
Prins studied social geography and [[ethnology]] at the [[University of Utrecht]] under Prof. Dr. [[Henri Th. Fischer]].


In 1943, the [[Nazi Germany|German]] occupying forces ordered [[Netherlands|Dutch]] students and faculty to sign a "loyalty declaration." Like many others, Prins refused and joined the [[Dutch resistance|resistance movement]], ultimately becoming Chief of Intelligence in the VIth Brigade (Veluwe). He was known as “Peter,” his ''[[nom de guerre]]''. Following the 1944 [[Battle of Arnhem]], he was incorporated into the British Intelligence Section ([[MI9]]), a department of the War Office tasked with aiding resistance fighters in enemy occupied territories. Given the rank of 1st Lieutenant, he served in the Intelligence Branch of the General Staff of the 21st Army Group, commanded by [[Montgomery]].
In 1943, the [[Nazi Germany|German]] occupying forces ordered Dutch students and faculty to sign a "loyalty declaration". Like many others, Prins refused and joined the [[Dutch resistance|resistance movement]], ultimately becoming chief of intelligence in the VIth Brigade (Veluwe). He was known as "Peter", his ''[[nom de guerre]]''. Following the 1944 [[Battle of Arnhem]], he was incorporated into the British Intelligence Section ([[MI9]]), a department of the War Office tasked with aiding resistance fighters in enemy-occupied territories. Given the rank of first lieutenant, he served in the Intelligence Branch of the General Staff of the [[21st Army Group]], commanded by [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Montgomery]].


After [[demobilization]] in 1945, he resumed graduate studies at Utrecht. A year later, having acquired his ''doctoraal'' degree, he became a [[research assistant]] at Utrecht's Institute of Ethnology under Fischer. In 1947, he received a [[fellow]]ship at the [[London School of Economics]] (LSE) for [[social anthropology]] training under [[Raymond Firth]], [[Siegfried Nadel]], and [[Audrey Richards]]. Then, equipped with language training in [[Swahili language|Swahili]], he travelled to [[Kenya]] as a British Colonial Fellow for [[ethnographic]] research in the [[Teita Hills]]. Guided by Senior District Commissioner [[Harold E. Lambert]], a [[Cambridge University]]-trained [[anthropologist]] and [[linguistics|linguist]] specialized in the Swahili and [[Gikuyu language|Kikuyu]] languages, Prins began his fieldwork. Later, he dedicated one of his books to Lambert.<ref>A Swahili Nautical Dictionary</ref> Although Prins focused initially on British anthropological topics, such as [[kinship]] and [[social structure]], his enduring interest concerned the [[maritime history]] and cultural ecology of [[seafaring]] peoples.
After [[demobilization]] in 1945, he resumed graduate studies at Utrecht. A year later, having acquired his ''doctoraal'' degree, he became a [[research assistant]] at Utrecht's Institute of Ethnology under Fischer. In 1947, he received a [[fellow]]ship at the [[London School of Economics]] for [[social anthropology]] training under [[Raymond Firth]], [[Siegfried Nadel]], and [[Audrey Richards]]. Then, equipped with language training in [[Swahili language|Swahili]], he travelled to [[Kenya]] as a British Colonial Fellow for [[ethnographic]] research in the [[Teita Hills]]. Guided by Senior District Commissioner [[Harold E. Lambert]], an [[anthropologist]] and [[linguistics|linguist]] specialized in the Swahili and [[Gikuyu language|Kikuyu]] languages, Prins began his fieldwork. Later, he dedicated one of his books to Lambert.<ref>A Swahili Nautical Dictionary</ref> Although Prins focused initially on British anthropological topics, such as [[kinship]] and [[social structure]], his enduring interest concerned the [[maritime history]] and cultural ecology of [[seafaring]] peoples.


==Career==
==Career==
In 1951, two years before earning his [[PhD]] from Utrecht U, Prins was hired as the first anthropologist at the [[University of Groningen]], where he later became the founding director of the Institute of Cultural Anthropology. Although he lectured at many institutions in [[Europe]], [[East Africa]], and the [[Middle East]], he remained there until his retirement in 1984.
In 1951, two years before earning his PhD from [[Utrecht]], Prins was hired as the first anthropologist at the [[University of Groningen]], where he later became the founding director of the Institute of Cultural Anthropology. Although he lectured at many institutions in Europe, East Africa, and the Middle East, he remained there until his retirement in 1984.


===Fieldwork===
===Fieldwork===
A committed fieldworker, Prins made numerous journeys abroad during and after his [[tenure]] in Groningen. In 1957, he began studying [[dhows]], the lateen-rigged sailing ships of the [[Indian Ocean]] and the way in which they operate, first in the [[Persian Gulf]], then on the coast of [[Zanzibar]], [[Kenya]] and [[Tanganyika]] (1957, 1965–66, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971). Other projects involved research in [[Ethiopia]] (1954–55), [[Iraq]] (1957), [[Iran]] (1959), the [[Persian Gulf]] (1970, 1973), [[Syria]] and [[Turkey]] (1961–62, 1970), [[South Arabia]] (1970, 1973), [[Zambia]] (1972, 1974). One of the founders of the Arctic Centre at Groningen University, he made annual research trips to northern [[Scandinavia]] from 1968–92, and beginning in 1970 traveled to [[Greece]] and made frequent journeys to the [[Mediterranean]] island of [[Malta]].
A committed fieldworker, Prins made numerous journeys abroad during and after his [[tenure]] in [[Groningen]]. In 1957, he began studying [[dhows]], the lateen-rigged sailing ships of the [[Indian Ocean]] and how they operate, first in the [[Persian Gulf]], then on the coast of [[Zanzibar]], [[Kenya]] and [[Tanzania Mainland|Tanganyika]] (1957, 1965–66, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971). Other projects involved research in [[Ethiopia]] (1954–55), [[Iraq]] (1957), [[Iran]] (1959), the [[Persian Gulf]] (1970, 1973), [[Syria]] and [[Turkey]] (1961–62, 1970), [[South Arabia]] (1970, 1973), [[Zambia]] (1972, 1974). One of the founders of the Arctic Centre at Groningen University, he made annual research trips to northern [[Scandinavia]] from 1968 to 1992, and beginning in 1970 traveled to [[Greece]] and made frequent journeys to the [[Mediterranean]] island of [[Malta]].


==Retirement==
==Retirement==
After his retirement in 1984, the [[Dutch government]] restructured [[higher education]] and terminated the anthropological institute at Groningen University. As an Emeritus Professor, Prins continued various maritime and cultural historical research projects. He died on 11 February 2000, after five years of illness, the result of a debilitating [[stroke]]. Buried in [[Noordlaren]] near "Huis ter Aa," his family home in the old rural village of Glimmen south of [[Groningen (city)|Groningen]] City, he was survived by his wife Ita, nine children, and sixteen grandchildren.
After his retirement in 1984, the [[Dutch government]] restructured higher education and terminated the anthropological institute at [[Groningen University]]. As an Emeritus Professor, Prins continued various maritime and cultural-historical research projects. He died on 11 February 2000, after five years of illness, the result of a debilitating stroke. Buried in [[Noordlaren]] near "Huis ter Aa," his family home in the old rural village of [[Glimmen]] south of [[Groningen (city)|Groningen]] City, he was survived by his wife Ita (P.A.C. Prins-Poorter, 1921–2016),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://prinspoorter.weebly.com/|title=P.A.C. Prins-Poorter - Home|website=prinspoorter.weebly.com}}</ref> nine children,<ref>among his sons is fellow anthropologist [[Harald E.L. Prins]],</ref> and sixteen grandchildren.


==Selected publications==
==Selected publications==
* ''The Coastal Tribes of the Northeastern Bantu: Pokomo, Nyika, Teita'' (1952).
* ''The Coastal Tribes of the Northeastern Bantu: Pokomo, Nyika, Teita'' (1952).
* ''East-African Age-Class Systems: An Inquiry into the Social Order of the Galla, Kipsigis and Kikuyu'' (1953; reprinted by the Negro Press in 1970)
* ''East-African Age-Class Systems: An Inquiry into the Social Order of the Galla, Kipsigis and Kikuyu'' (1953; reprinted by the Negro Press in 1970)
* "An Analysis of Swahili Kinship Terminology." ''Journal of the East African Swahili Committee'' Vol.26:20-27; Continued, Ibid. Vol.28:9-16.
* "An Analysis of [[Swahili language|Swahili]] Kinship Terminology." ''Journal of the East African Swahili Committee'' Vol.26:20-27 (1956); Continued, Ibid. Vol.28:9-16 (1958).
* "On Swahili Historiography." ''Journal of the East African Swahili Committee'' 28:26-40 (1958).
⚫
* ''Bibliografie van Harderwijk: Grondslagen voor een verzameling bronnen en publicaties, geannoteerd, bijeengebracht en van een inleiding voorzien'' (1960).
* "Uncertainties in Coastal Cultural History: The Ngalawa and the Mtepe." ''Tanganyika Notes and Records'' 63:204-213 (1959).
⚫
* ''The Swahili-speaking Peoples of Zanzibar and the East Coast of Africa'' (1961, 2nd edition 1967)
* "The Somaliland Bantu." ''Bulletin of the International Committee on Urgent Anthropological and Ethnological Research'' 3:28-31 (1960).
* ''Sailing from [[Lamu Islands|Lamu]]: A Study of Maritime Culture in Islamic East Africa'' (1965).
⚫
* ''Bibliografie van [[Harderwijk]]: Grondslagen voor een verzameling bronnen en publicaties, geannoteerd, bijeengebracht en van een inleiding voorzien'' (1960).
⚫
* ''Schippers van Blokzijl: Een Maritime Maatschappij in Miniatuur'' (1969).
⚫
* ''The Swahili-speaking Peoples of [[Zanzibar]] and the East Coast of Africa'' (1961, 2nd edition 1967)
⚫
* ''A Swahili Nautical Dictionary'' (Preface by Julius Nyerere, 1970).
* "The Didemic Diarchic Boni." ''Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute'' 93:174-186 (1963).
* "A Carved Headrest of the Cushitic Boni: An Attempted Interpretation." ''MAN'' Vol.65:189-191 (1965).
* ''Sailing from [[Lamu Islands|Lamu]]: A Study of Maritime Culture in Islamic East Africa'' (1965).<ref>Described as "probably the best book ever written on East African maritime culture. It is stuffed full of information on dhow types, construction, rigging, ownership, crewing, and decoration. It even includes some intriguing observations on the cultural meaning of ships to the Swahili" (Gilbert p.9). Gilbert, Erik. 1999. Sailing from Lamu and Back: Labor Migration and Regional Trade in Colonial East Africa. ''Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East'', Vol.XIX (2):9-15.</ref>
⚫
* ''Schippers van [[Blokzijl]]: Een Maritime Maatschappij in Miniatuur'' (1969).
* "Islamic Maritime Magic: A Ship's Charm from Lamu. Pp.294-304. In: ''Wort und Religion - Kalima na Dini''. (Festschrift fuer Ernst Dammann). Stuttgart:Evangelischer Missionverlag. (1969)
⚫
* ''A Swahili Nautical Dictionary'' (Preface by [[Julius Nyerere]], 1970).
* "Dutch Maritime Inventiveness and the Chinese [[Leeboard]]." ''The Mariner's Mirror'' Vol.56:349-353. (1970)
* "Maritime Art in an Islamic Context: Oculus and Therion in Lamu ships." ''The Mariner's Mirror'' Vol.56:327-339.
* "Maritime Art in an Islamic Context: Oculus and Therion in Lamu ships." ''The Mariner's Mirror'' Vol.56:327-339.
* ''Didemic Lamu: Social and Spatial Structure'' (1971).
* ''Didemic Lamu: Social Stratification and Spatial Structure in a Muslim Maritime Town.'' Groningen: Instituut voor Culturele Antropologie der Rijksuniversiteit (1971).
* "The Shungwaya Problem: Traditional History and Cultural Likeness in Bantu North-East Africa." ''Anthropos'' Vol.67:1-2,9-35.
* "The Shungwaya Problem: Traditional History and Cultural Likeness in [[Bantu peoples|Bantu]] North-East Africa." ''Anthropos'' Vol.67:1-2,9-35.
* "The Maritime Middle East: A Century of Studies." ''The Middle East Journal'' Vol.27:207-219.
* "The Maritime Middle East: A Century of Studies." ''The Middle East Journal'' Vol.27:207-219.(1973)
* "Development in Arctic Boat Design: Efflorescence or Involution?". pp.&nbsp;12–30. In: ''Netherlands-Swedish Symposium in Scandinavian Arctic Culture''. Groningen: Arctic Centre (1975).
⚫
* ''Jan van Schaffelaer: Requiem voor een Gelderse Ruiter'' (1982)
* “The Mtepe of Lamu, [[Mombasa]] and the Zanzibar Sea.” pp.&nbsp;85–100. In: ''From Zinj to Zanzibar: Studies in History, Trade and Society on the Eastern Coast of Africa.''(In Honour of James Kirkman). Eds. J. de V. Allen and Thomas H. Wilson. Paideuma: Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde vol.28. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1982.
⚫
* ''[[Jan van Schaffelaar]]: Requiem voor een Gelderse Ruiter'' (1982)
* ''Watching the Seaside: Essays on Maritime Anthropology by dr A. H. J. Prins'' (eds. Durk Hak, Ypie Kroes & Hans Schneymann, 1984).
* ''Watching the Seaside: Essays on Maritime Anthropology by dr A. H. J. Prins'' (eds. Durk Hak, Ypie Kroes & Hans Schneymann, 1984).
* ''Copernicaanse Cultuurkunde'' (1984)
* ''Copernicaanse Cultuurkunde: Een Geometrisch Model naar Tri-Sferisch Ontwerp'' (Assen: Van Gorcum, 1984)
* "Two Trends of Thought in Turkish Maritime Culture: The Ethical Ship and the Magical Galley." ''The Mariner's Mirror'' Vol.70:45-58.
* "Two Trends of Thought in Turkish Maritime Culture: The Ethical Ship and the Magical Galley." ''The Mariner's Mirror'' Vol.70:45-58.
* ''Handbook of Sewn Boats: The Ethnography and Archaeology of Archaic Plank-Built Craft'' (1984).
* ''Handbook of Sewn Boats: The Ethnography and Archaeology of Archaic Plank-Built Craft'' (1984).
* “The future of maritime research: questions of culture and problems of process.” pp.&nbsp;1–8, in: ''Sewn plank boats: archaeological and ethnographic papers''. McGrail, Sean; Kentley, Eric, eds. Greenwich, London: National Maritime Museum, Archaeological Series No.10; Oxford: British Archaeological Reports International Series 276. (1985)
* ''In Peril on the Sea: Marine Votive Paintings in the Maltese Islands'' (1989).
* ''In Peril on the Sea: Marine Votive Paintings in the Maltese Islands'' (1989).
* ''Groningen: Middeleeuwse Hanzestad vanaf de Waterkant'' (1994)
* ''[[Groningen]]: Middeleeuwse {{ill|Hanzestad|nl}} vanaf de Waterkant'' (1994)
* “Mediterranean Ships and Shipping, 1650-1850.” In: ''The Heyday of Sail: The Merchant Sailing Ship 1650-1830'' (1995).
* “Mediterranean Ships and Shipping, 1650-1850.” In: ''The Heyday of Sail: The Merchant Sailing Ship 1650-1830'' (1995).


==Sources==
==Sources==
* “From Tropical Africa to Arctic Scandinavia: A. H. J. Prins as Maritime Anthropologist.” In: ''Circumpolar Studies'' 2: 21-28. See: http://arts.eldoc.ub.rug.nl/FILES/publications/general/archarctic/2005/Topjevdijs/04.pdf
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120426043810/http://arts.eldoc.ub.rug.nl/FILES/publications/general/archarctic/2005/Topjevdijs/04.pdf “From Tropical Africa to Arctic Scandinavia: A. H. J. Prins as Maritime Anthropologist.” In: ''Circumpolar Studies'' 2: 21-28.]
* “Dr. A. H. J. Prins as a Maritime Anthropologist: A preliminary appraisal and an introduction.” By Durk Hak, in: ''Watching the Seaside'', 1984:1-10.
* “Dr. A. H. J. Prins as a Maritime Anthropologist: A preliminary appraisal and an introduction.” By Durk Hak, in: ''Watching the Seaside'', 1984:1-10.
* ''Anthropology News'', Vol. 41 (4): 92.
* ''Anthropology News'', Vol. 41 (4): 92.
* ''Anthropology Today'', Vol. 16 (3): 25-26.
* ''Anthropology Today'', Vol. 16 (3): 25–26.
* ''Focaal: Tijdschrift voor Antropologie'', No.35.
* ''Focaal: Tijdschrift voor Antropologie'', No.35.
* Trouwborst, Albert A. 2000. "In Memoriam Adriaan Hendrik Johan Prins (1921-2000)." ''Facta: Sociaal Wetenschappelijk Magazine'' Vol.5(8):13.
* Mulder, Marten. 2010. "Prins, Prof.Dr. Adriaan Hendrik Johan" [https://www.dodenakkers.nl/wetenschap/prins.html]


==References==
==References==
<references />
<references />


{{Authority control|VIAF=76418447}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
⚫
| NAME = Prins, A. H. J.
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Dutch anthropologist
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1921
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 2000
| PLACE OF DEATH =
⚫
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prins, A. H. J.}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prins, A. H. J.}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:2000 deaths]]
[[Category:2000 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Harderwijk]]
[[Category:People from Harderwijk]]
[[Category:Dutch academics]]
[[Category:Dutch Africanists]]
[[Category:Dutch anthropologists]]
[[Category:Dutch anthropologists]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Groningen]]
[[Category:Utrecht University alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century anthropologists]]
[[Category:Dutch expatriates in the United Kingdom]]

Latest revision as of 21:34, 20 September 2024

A. H. J. Prins
Born
Adriaan Hendrik Johan Prins

1921 (1921)
Harderwijk, Gelderland, Netherlands
Died11 February 2000 (aged 78–79)
OccupationAnthropologist
SpouseIta Prins
ChildrenHarald Prins
Academic background
EducationUniversity of Utrecht
Doctoral advisorHenri Th. Fischer
Academic work
DisciplineAnthropologist, Africanist
InstitutionsUniversity of Groningen
Military career
AllegianceAllies of World War II
Service / branchIntelligence
UnitMI9, 21st Army Group

Adriaan Hendrik Johan Prins (1921–11 February 2000) was a Dutch Africanist and maritime anthropologist.

He was a recipient of many research grants and fellowships (UNESCO, Ford Foundation, the Netherlands Organization for Pure Research, etc.), Prins was frequently consulted by the Dutch government and royal court, who valued his wealth of knowledge about the peoples and cultures of Africa and the Middle East.

In addition to scores of encyclopedia entries and dozens of scholarly articles in a wide range of international journals such as Anthropos, Man, Human Organization, and The Mariner’s Mirror, Prins regularly published in Dutch newspapers and magazines. Moreover, he illustrated many of his books and articles with his ethnographic photographs, sketches, and pen drawings.

Early life and education

[edit]

Prins studied social geography and ethnology at the University of Utrecht under Prof. Dr. Henri Th. Fischer.

In 1943, the German occupying forces ordered Dutch students and faculty to sign a "loyalty declaration". Like many others, Prins refused and joined the resistance movement, ultimately becoming chief of intelligence in the VIth Brigade (Veluwe). He was known as "Peter", his nom de guerre. Following the 1944 Battle of Arnhem, he was incorporated into the British Intelligence Section (MI9), a department of the War Office tasked with aiding resistance fighters in enemy-occupied territories. Given the rank of first lieutenant, he served in the Intelligence Branch of the General Staff of the 21st Army Group, commanded by Montgomery.

After demobilization in 1945, he resumed graduate studies at Utrecht. A year later, having acquired his doctoraal degree, he became a research assistant at Utrecht's Institute of Ethnology under Fischer. In 1947, he received a fellowship at the London School of Economics for social anthropology training under Raymond Firth, Siegfried Nadel, and Audrey Richards. Then, equipped with language training in Swahili, he travelled to Kenya as a British Colonial Fellow for ethnographic research in the Teita Hills. Guided by Senior District Commissioner Harold E. Lambert, an anthropologist and linguist specialized in the Swahili and Kikuyu languages, Prins began his fieldwork. Later, he dedicated one of his books to Lambert.[1] Although Prins focused initially on British anthropological topics, such as kinship and social structure, his enduring interest concerned the maritime history and cultural ecology of seafaring peoples.

Career

[edit]

In 1951, two years before earning his PhD from Utrecht, Prins was hired as the first anthropologist at the University of Groningen, where he later became the founding director of the Institute of Cultural Anthropology. Although he lectured at many institutions in Europe, East Africa, and the Middle East, he remained there until his retirement in 1984.

Fieldwork

[edit]

A committed fieldworker, Prins made numerous journeys abroad during and after his tenure in Groningen. In 1957, he began studying dhows, the lateen-rigged sailing ships of the Indian Ocean and how they operate, first in the Persian Gulf, then on the coast of Zanzibar, Kenya and Tanganyika (1957, 1965–66, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971). Other projects involved research in Ethiopia (1954–55), Iraq (1957), Iran (1959), the Persian Gulf (1970, 1973), Syria and Turkey (1961–62, 1970), South Arabia (1970, 1973), Zambia (1972, 1974). One of the founders of the Arctic Centre at Groningen University, he made annual research trips to northern Scandinavia from 1968 to 1992, and beginning in 1970 traveled to Greece and made frequent journeys to the Mediterranean island of Malta.

Retirement

[edit]

After his retirement in 1984, the Dutch government restructured higher education and terminated the anthropological institute at Groningen University. As an Emeritus Professor, Prins continued various maritime and cultural-historical research projects. He died on 11 February 2000, after five years of illness, the result of a debilitating stroke. Buried in Noordlaren near "Huis ter Aa," his family home in the old rural village of Glimmen south of Groningen City, he was survived by his wife Ita (P.A.C. Prins-Poorter, 1921–2016),[2] nine children,[3] and sixteen grandchildren.

Selected publications

[edit]
  • The Coastal Tribes of the Northeastern Bantu: Pokomo, Nyika, Teita (1952).
  • East-African Age-Class Systems: An Inquiry into the Social Order of the Galla, Kipsigis and Kikuyu (1953; reprinted by the Negro Press in 1970)
  • "An Analysis of Swahili Kinship Terminology." Journal of the East African Swahili Committee Vol.26:20-27 (1956); Continued, Ibid. Vol.28:9-16 (1958).
  • "On Swahili Historiography." Journal of the East African Swahili Committee 28:26-40 (1958).
  • "Uncertainties in Coastal Cultural History: The Ngalawa and the Mtepe." Tanganyika Notes and Records 63:204-213 (1959).
  • "The Somaliland Bantu." Bulletin of the International Committee on Urgent Anthropological and Ethnological Research 3:28-31 (1960).
  • Bibliografie van Harderwijk: Grondslagen voor een verzameling bronnen en publicaties, geannoteerd, bijeengebracht en van een inleiding voorzien (1960).
  • The Swahili-speaking Peoples of Zanzibar and the East Coast of Africa (1961, 2nd edition 1967)
  • "The Didemic Diarchic Boni." Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 93:174-186 (1963).
  • "A Carved Headrest of the Cushitic Boni: An Attempted Interpretation." MAN Vol.65:189-191 (1965).
  • Sailing from Lamu: A Study of Maritime Culture in Islamic East Africa (1965).[4]
  • Schippers van Blokzijl: Een Maritime Maatschappij in Miniatuur (1969).
  • "Islamic Maritime Magic: A Ship's Charm from Lamu. Pp.294-304. In: Wort und Religion - Kalima na Dini. (Festschrift fuer Ernst Dammann). Stuttgart:Evangelischer Missionverlag. (1969)
  • A Swahili Nautical Dictionary (Preface by Julius Nyerere, 1970).
  • "Dutch Maritime Inventiveness and the Chinese Leeboard." The Mariner's Mirror Vol.56:349-353. (1970)
  • "Maritime Art in an Islamic Context: Oculus and Therion in Lamu ships." The Mariner's Mirror Vol.56:327-339.
  • Didemic Lamu: Social Stratification and Spatial Structure in a Muslim Maritime Town. Groningen: Instituut voor Culturele Antropologie der Rijksuniversiteit (1971).
  • "The Shungwaya Problem: Traditional History and Cultural Likeness in Bantu North-East Africa." Anthropos Vol.67:1-2,9-35.
  • "The Maritime Middle East: A Century of Studies." The Middle East Journal Vol.27:207-219.(1973)
  • "Development in Arctic Boat Design: Efflorescence or Involution?". pp. 12–30. In: Netherlands-Swedish Symposium in Scandinavian Arctic Culture. Groningen: Arctic Centre (1975).
  • “The Mtepe of Lamu, Mombasa and the Zanzibar Sea.” pp. 85–100. In: From Zinj to Zanzibar: Studies in History, Trade and Society on the Eastern Coast of Africa.(In Honour of James Kirkman). Eds. J. de V. Allen and Thomas H. Wilson. Paideuma: Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde vol.28. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1982.
  • Jan van Schaffelaar: Requiem voor een Gelderse Ruiter (1982)
  • Watching the Seaside: Essays on Maritime Anthropology by dr A. H. J. Prins (eds. Durk Hak, Ypie Kroes & Hans Schneymann, 1984).
  • Copernicaanse Cultuurkunde: Een Geometrisch Model naar Tri-Sferisch Ontwerp (Assen: Van Gorcum, 1984)
  • "Two Trends of Thought in Turkish Maritime Culture: The Ethical Ship and the Magical Galley." The Mariner's Mirror Vol.70:45-58.
  • Handbook of Sewn Boats: The Ethnography and Archaeology of Archaic Plank-Built Craft (1984).
  • “The future of maritime research: questions of culture and problems of process.” pp. 1–8, in: Sewn plank boats: archaeological and ethnographic papers. McGrail, Sean; Kentley, Eric, eds. Greenwich, London: National Maritime Museum, Archaeological Series No.10; Oxford: British Archaeological Reports International Series 276. (1985)
  • In Peril on the Sea: Marine Votive Paintings in the Maltese Islands (1989).
  • Groningen: Middeleeuwse Hanzestad [nl] vanaf de Waterkant (1994)
  • “Mediterranean Ships and Shipping, 1650-1850.” In: The Heyday of Sail: The Merchant Sailing Ship 1650-1830 (1995).

Sources

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References

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  1. ^ A Swahili Nautical Dictionary
  2. ^ "P.A.C. Prins-Poorter - Home". prinspoorter.weebly.com.
  3. ^ among his sons is fellow anthropologist Harald E.L. Prins,
  4. ^ Described as "probably the best book ever written on East African maritime culture. It is stuffed full of information on dhow types, construction, rigging, ownership, crewing, and decoration. It even includes some intriguing observations on the cultural meaning of ships to the Swahili" (Gilbert p.9). Gilbert, Erik. 1999. Sailing from Lamu and Back: Labor Migration and Regional Trade in Colonial East Africa. Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Vol.XIX (2):9-15.
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