Professor Warren Leonard d’Azevedo, an expert on the Gola people, passed away peacefully in California on Jan. 19 at age 93. He died surrounded by family, notably his wife, Kathleen Addison D’Azevedo, daughter Anya and son Erik.
His first visit to Liberia was in the early 1950s to conduct research in Western Liberia among the Gola. At the time, foreigners required governmental permission to undertake research especially in rural Liberia. He received written permission from President William V.S. Tubman before embarking on a research journey that would span more than half a century. He became a pioneer scholar of the Gola people.
Born in Oakland, Calif., Aug. 19, 1920, he was educated at the University of California, Berkeley (BA, Anthropology, 1942) and Northwestern University (PhD, Anthropology, 1962). He had a dual research career –Native/Indian American studies, and Liberian studies. In 1963, he joined the faculty of the University of Nevada-Reno, where he eventually became full professor and departmental chair. He retired in 1988, but remained an active scholar well into this century. Professor d’Azevedo was also director of the first Peace Corps project in 1962, and continued as consultant to Peace Corps projects in Liberia and Sierra Leone through 1979. He was visiting professor at the University of Liberia in 1981, and received the Liberian Studies Association’s first annual Lifetime Achievement Award a decade later.
D’Azevedo was anthropologist, sociologist and cultural historian combined. A major theorist in the study of African art, he postulated the study of indigenous peoples in their natural habitat amidst the complexities of interactions with other peoples, some of a vastly different culture and worldview. Among his numerous scholarly publications were the following:
- “Some Historical Problems in the Delineation of a Central West Atlantic Region”, (1962)
- “Tribe and Chiefdom on the Westward Coast,” (1971)
- “Gola Poro and Sande: Primal Tasks in Social Custodianship,” (1980)
- “Uses of the Past in Gola Discourse,” (1962)
- THE GOLA OF LIBERIA (1972)
- “Traditional Artist in African Societies,” (1974)
- “A Tribal Reaction to Nationalism,” (parts 1-3, 1967-1970).
His Liberia work focused Gola social organization, ritual tradition, artistry, intergroup relations, socio-cultural change, and the impact of the Liberian state on these features of the Gola people. d’Azevedo’s “A Tribal Reaction to Nationalism” is illustrative of the significance of his work in general to a deepened understanding of the formation of the Liberian state. Exploring historical and structural processes affecting development of the state, he sought to establish the inadequacy of the view that politics indigenous to the Liberia area were simply “awkwardly overwhelmed” by the state. Professor d’Azevedo provided evidence “that the dynamics of Gola subjugation and eventual co-operative involvement in the emerging Liberian nation must be understood not only in terms of specific features of Gola and
The study importantly went on to draw the inference that this way of viewing Gola reaction to nationalism in Liberia may well be applicable to the other ethnic communities indigenous to the Liberia area. This nuanced understanding of the formation of the Liberian state has contemporary relevance as we grapple, in our post-conflict era, with appreciating the ingredients of state formation in our quest to build a more cohesive and democratic state. What a contribution of distinction of an itinerant scholar to understanding our fledgling democracy! May many daughters and sons of Liberia strive to build upon the solid foundation of this exemplary scholarship, especially at a time when a Liberian National History Project is on the horizon.
Thank you Warren, and Rest in Peace!
By D. Elwood Dunn, The Alfred Walter Negley Professor of Political Science Emeritus,
Sewanee: University of the South
Editor’s note: See “Liberian Cookhouse Cooking”, page 121, for Kathy D’Azevedo’s “On Finding Food in a Village.” She is the author of “Kwi Style Cooking”, a cookbook that evolved from she and Warren’s field work and later experiences training Peace Corps volunteers. “the girls asked, ‘How do we cook? What do we do?”, she recalled for FOL’s cookbook on writing her cookbook. “To my amazement, it was copied and took off. It went to everybody. Nobody asked if it was OK, but it was OK.” Many former Peace Corps volunteers still cherish their mimeographed copies of “Kwi”.
Addendum:
The d’Azevedo family has provided the following e-mail address for friends and colleagues wanting to send tributes or condolences:
Kathy d’Azevedo kathleendazevedo at gmail
Below is a link to Professor d’Azevedo’s obituary in the Reno Gazette-Journal, the city where he taught anthropology at the University of Nevada-Reno.
The IU Liberian Collections is curating the d’Azevedo Liberian field notes, papers and photographs. Digitization of the papers and photographs is not complete, but the finding aid for Warren d’Azevedo’s papers and for Kathy d’Azevedo’s papers are available.