Adriaan Hendrik Johan Prins, generally known as A. H. J. Prins (1921,

Harderwijk Harderwijk (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city of the Netherlands. It is served by the Harderwijk railway station. Its population centres are Harderwijk and Hierden. Harderwijk is on the western boundary of the Veluwe. The south ...

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

– 11 February 2000) was a Dutch Africanist and maritime anthropologist. He was a recipient of many research grants and fellowships (

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

, 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 Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. 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 A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...

and magazines. Moreover, he illustrated many of his books and articles with his own ethnographic photographs, sketches, and pen drawings.

Early life and education

Prins studied social geography and

ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...

at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

under Prof. Dr. Henri Th. Fischer. In 1943, the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

occupying forces ordered

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

students and faculty to sign a "loyalty declaration". Like many others, Prins refused and joined the

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

, 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 The Battle of Arnhem was a battle of the Second World War at the vanguard of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It was fought in and around the Dutch city of Arnhem, the town of Oosterbeek, the villages Wolfheze and Driel and the vicinity f ...

, he was incorporated into the British Intelligence Section (

MI9 MI9, the British Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 9, was a highly secret department of the War Office between 1939 and 1945. During World War II it had two principal tasks: (1) assisting in the escape of Allied prisoners of war (P ...

), 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 A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, a research institute or a privately held organization, for the purpose of assisting in academic or private research. Research assistants are not in ...

at Utrecht's Institute of Ethnology under Fischer. In 1947, he received a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

ship at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

for social anthropology training under

Raymond Firth Sir Raymond William Firth (25 March 1901 – 22 February 2002) was an ethnologist from New Zealand. As a result of Firth's ethnographic work, actual behaviour of societies (social organization) is separated from the idealized rules of behaviou ...

, Siegfried Nadel, and

Audrey Richards Audrey Isabel Richards, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, FRAI, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (8 July 1899 – 29 June 1984), was a pioneering British social an ...

. Then, equipped with language training in Swahili, he travelled to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

as a British Colonial Fellow for

ethnographic Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...

research in the

Teita Hills The Taita Hills, sometimes also spelled as Teita Hills, are a mountain range located in the Taita-Taveta County in south-eastern Kenya. The hills consist of three massifs: Dawida, Sagalla in the southern side of Voi township and Kasigau in t ...

. Guided by Senior District Commissioner

Harold E. Lambert Harold E. Lambert OBE (1893–1967) was a British linguist and anthropologist in Kenya. Born in Pield Heath, raised in Bournemouth, and educated at Queens' College, Cambridge (1912–1915), Lambert served as a platoon commander in t ...

, a

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

-trained anthropologist and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

specialized in the Swahili and

Kikuyu Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language. It may also refer to: * Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya *Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people *Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Cent ...

languages, Prins began his fieldwork. Later, he dedicated one of his books to Lambert. Although Prins focused initially on British anthropological topics, such as kinship and

social structure In the social sciences, social structure is the aggregate of patterned social arrangements in society that are both emergent from and determinant of the actions of individuals. Likewise, society is believed to be grouped into structurally rel ...

, his enduring interest concerned the maritime history and cultural ecology of

seafaring Seamanship is the Art (skill), art, knowledge and Competence (human resources), competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques ...

peoples.

Career

In 1951, two years before earning his PhD from Utrecht U, Prins was hired as the first anthropologist at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Founded in 1614, the university is th ...

, where he later became the founding director of the Institute of Cultural Anthropology. Although he lectured at many institutions in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, East Africa, and the

, he remained there until his retirement in 1984.

Fieldwork

A committed fieldworker, Prins made numerous journeys abroad during and after his

tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

in Groningen. In 1957, he began studying

dhows Dhow ( ar, داو, translit=dāwa; mr, script=Latn, dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically spo ...

, the lateen-rigged sailing ships of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

and the way in which they operate, first in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

, then on the coast of

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

and Tanganyika (1957, 1965–66, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971). Other projects involved research in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

(1954–55),

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

(1957),

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

(1959), the

(1970, 1973), Syria and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

(1961–62, 1970), South Arabia (1970, 1973),

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

(1972, 1974). One of the founders of the Arctic Centre at Groningen University, he made annual research trips to northern

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

from 1968 to 1992, and beginning in 1970 traveled to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

and made frequent journeys to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

island of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

Retirement

After his retirement in 1984, the

Dutch government The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekk ...

restructured

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

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 Noordlaren is a village in the municipality of Groningen in the Dutch province of Groningen. It had a population of around 545 in 2021. In 2010 it was said to be 850 years old. In the past Noordlaren was a farming village. Nowadays there are stil ...

near "Huis ter Aa," his family home in the old rural village of

Glimmen Glimmen is a village in the northeastern Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Groningen, about 10 kilometres from the city. It had a population of around 1,342 in 2021. The river Drentsche Aa flows past the village, nearby the ''Huis ...

south of Groningen City, he was survived by his wife Ita (P.A.C. Prins-Poorter, 1921–2016), nine children, and sixteen grandchildren.

Selected publications

* ''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

: Grondslagen voor een verzameling bronnen en publicaties, geannoteerd, bijeengebracht en van een inleiding voorzien'' (1960). * ''The Swahili-speaking Peoples of

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).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. * ''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 Julius Kambarage Nyerere (; 13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian anti-colonial activist, politician, and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as president from 1962 to 1964, af ...

, 1970). * "Dutch Maritime Inventiveness and the Chinese

Leeboard A leeboard is a form of pivoting keel used by a sailboat largely and very often in lieu of a fixed keel. Typically mounted in pairs on each side of a hull, leeboards function much like a centreboard, allowing shallow-draft craft to ply waters f ...

." ''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 Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

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 Jan van Schaffelaar ( 1445 – 1482) was a cavalry officer in the duchy of Guelders (or Gelre), the Netherlands. Born in the region of Barneveld (town), Barneveld in the Veluwe Quarter about 1445, he was in the military service of David of Burgundy, ...

: 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 vanaf de Waterkant'' (1994) * “Mediterranean Ships and Shipping, 1650-1850.” In: ''The Heyday of Sail: The Merchant Sailing Ship 1650-1830'' (1995).

Sources

“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. * ''Anthropology News'', Vol. 41 (4): 92. * ''Anthropology Today'', Vol. 16 (3): 25–26. * ''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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prins, A. H. J. 1921 births 2000 deaths People from Harderwijk Dutch Africanists Dutch anthropologists University of Groningen faculty Utrecht University alumni 20th-century anthropologists Dutch expatriates in the United Kingdom