Kenelm Burridge Papers
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Copyright 2002
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
spcoll@ucsd.edu
Descriptive Summary
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Kenelm Burridge Papers
Creator:
Burridge, Kenelm
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0710
Physical Description:
3.6 Linear feet
(9 archives boxes and 2 map case folders)
Date (inclusive): 1952-2005 (bulk 1952-1977)
Abstract: Papers of anthropologist Kenelm Burridge, with a primary focus on the Tangu people in the Bogia region of the Madang Province
of Papua New Guinea in 1952, and additional materials on Malaya (1954-56) and Catholic missions and missionary impacts on
indigenous peoples in Northwest Australia and Papua New Guinea (1968-1977).
Languages:
English
.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Kenelm Burridge papers primarily document his anthropological studies of the Tangu people in the Bogia region of the Madang
Province of Papua New Guinea in 1952. Burridge subsequently lived in Malaya between 1954 and 1956, and researched Catholic
missions and missionary impacts on indigenous peoples in Northwest Australia and Papua New Guinea in the late 1960s through
1970s, and the papers include materials from these studies. The collection contains photographs, with a special emphasis on
the Tangu; diaries containing field notes and observations; a small amount of correspondence; maps of Papua New Guinea with
a focus on regions where Burridge lived and worked; and some typescript manuscript drafts.
Arranged in four series: 1) TANGU, PAPUA NEW GUINEA (1952), 2) MALAYA (1954-1956), 3) MISSIONS - NORTHWEST AUSTRALIA AND PNG,
and 4) MISCELLANEOUS.
Biography
Kenelm Burridge (1922-2019) was born in Malta on October 31, 1922 to a Maltese mother and British father, and much of his
early childhood was in India. Burridge was eventually sent to the United Kingdom to study at a boarding school. When the Second
World War broke out in 1939, he joined the Royal Navy. During his naval career he served aboard the submarine HMS Splendid;
after the Splendid was attacked and sunk by a German ship, he was captured and held as a prisoner of war in Milan. He later
escaped to nearby Allied forces with the help of locals.
After the war Burridge left the Navy to study at Oxford, where he obtained a B.A. in Law and an M.A. in Anthropology. Burridge
wanted to focus his anthropological studies on the Southwestern Pacific, so acting upon the advice of Sir Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard,
he began his doctoral work at the newly established Australian National University under S. F. Nadal. After completing his
fieldwork in Papua New Guinea in 1952, Burridge obtained ANU's first PhD in 1953.
Burridge was a research fellow for two years at the University of Malaya, and became the chair of anthropology at the University
of Baghdad in 1956, a position he left in 1958 as a result the 14 July Revolution. He then served as an anthropology lecturer
at Oxford before taking up a professorship at the University of British Columbia in 1968. During his time at UBC he published
several works and became ingrained with the community before retiring in 1988. Kenelm Burridge passed away on May 21, 2019
at the age of 97.
Preferred Citation
Kenelm Burridge Papers. MSS 710. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Acquisition Information
Acquired 2009, 2014
Publication Rights
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Anthropology -- Papua New Guinea
Ethnology -- Papua New Guinea
Anthropology -- Australia, Northern
Ethnology -- Australia, Northern
Burridge, Kenelm -- Archives
TANGU, PAPUA NEW GUINEA (1952)
Box 1, Folder 1-2
Field diaries
General note
Includes index at back of text.
Box 1, Folder 3
Research index and appendix
Box 1, Folder 4
Summary notes (various topics)
Box 1, Folder 9
Family/genealogy diagramming
Box 2, Folder 8
Maps
General note
Hand-drawn maps of villages and settlements in the Tangu area.
Oversize MC-006, Folder 07
Maps
General note
Bismarck Achipelago map (German) with handrawn Tangu area map on verso (1934) | Handrawn map of area surrounding Mangigum
(undated) | Sketchs of Tangu area settlements (1952) | Annotated maps of Papua New Guinea (1952), including where other anthropologists
had done research.
Oversize MC-006, Folder 08
Maps
General note
Australian New Guinea (Ministry of Post-war Reconstruction Regional Planning Division) | Map of Lae, New Guinea (Aust. Survey
Corps, 1943) | Combined topographical map of Bogia and Madang (1944) | Markham and Sag Sag, New Guinea (Aust. Survey Corps,
1943) | Headwaters of the Purari and Yuat Rivers (Royal Geographical Society, 1933) | Karkar Island (US War Dept., 1944) |
Maps of Bogia East, Malala West, Uvo West, and Tamol East in Northeast New Guinea (US War Dept., 1943-44)
Box 3, Folder 1-4
M.1-M.4 notes
General note
Topics include: Garamb, bamboo shoots, evil and moral order, theft and shame, bush mystique, Ranguma lore, birth, sickness,
death, spirits, gods, ancestors, archetypes, etc.
Box 3, Folder 6
Settlements
General note
Notes on settlement histories (who lives where and why); includes Wanatzir, Mangigum, and Riekitzer.
Box 3, Folder 10-18
Stories and myths (notes numbered N.1-N.31)
Box 4, Folder 3
Negatives and contact sheets, with notes and index
Box 5, Folder 1
Correspondence and itineraries
Box 5, Folder 2
Report on fieldwork in Batu Pahat, Jahore
Box 5, Folder 3
The story of Batu Pahat - Typescript
Box 5, Folder 4
Research reports and summaries
General note
Includes diary from July 5-16, the very beginning of Malaya work (where Burridge selects Minyak Beku as his place to study)
as well as some additional notes.
Box 5, Folder 5
Field diary (Minyak Bekua and Batu Pahat)
General note
Index at page 270.
Box 5, Folder 6
Research notebook - Settlements
General note
Notes on Kuda Kepang, the district of Batu Pahat and Minyak Beku.
Box 6, Folder 1-2
Notes - Property and land
General note
Tables with data (owner, dates of ownership, usage of property, etc.) of properties in Minyak Beku, Bindu and Parit Sulong.
Box 6, Folder 3-8
Minyak Beku notes
General note
Extensive notes; topics include: economy, offices held, indigenous population, genealogies, values, Islam, race relations,
kinship.
Box 6, Folder 10
Notes - Local councils in Minyak Beku and Parit Sulong
Box 7, Folder 1-2
Govt English School, Batu Pahat - Student essays
Box 7, Folder 4
Notes - Islam and Malay values
Box 7, Folder 5
Material from Office of the British Advisor, Jahore
Box 7, Folder 6-8
Photographs and negatives
Box 7, Folder 11
Malaya history typescripts and short articles
Box 7, Folder 12
Malacca souvenir handbook
MISSIONS - NORTHWEST AUSTRALIA AND PNG
Box 8, Folder 2
Field notebooks 1-4
1968
General note
Describes Burridge's time in Broome, La Grange, Lombadina, Beagle Bay.
Box 8, Folder 4
Report on field reconnaissance in Broome and neighboring parts
1967-1968
Box 8, Folder 5
Travel diary - Mission research (multiple locations)
1972
Box 8, Folder 6
Travel diary - Missions and missionaries, Australia
1972-1973
Box 8, Folder 7
Universal Brotherhood Mission, West Australia
1974
Box 8, Folder 8
Notes/observations from La Grange mission
1976-1977
General note
Includes Manala (Mangala) language guide.
Box 9, Folder 1
Photographs, NW Australia
ca. 1972
Box 9, Folder 2
Travel diary including Tangu, with correspondence and prints
1970-1972
Box 9, Folder 3
Photographs, PNG
ca. 1972
Box 9, Folder 4
Kenneth Burridge interview with Sjoerd Jaarsma
1995 April 3
General note
Interview touches on work and relationships between Burridge, New Guineans, and missionaries; Burridge's life leading up to
his time in New Guinea. Interview dates from approx. 1995; transcript produced in 2005.
Box 9, Folder 5
Notes on Canada and California missions
1980-1981
Box 9, Folder 6-7
Travel journals - India
1980, 1992
Box 9, Folder 8
Unidentified sound recording - 3 reel-to-reel tapes
undated
General note
Notes on tape include "Lombadina songs," frogs, and "Butcher Joe."
