National Anthropological Archives

Guide to the Papers of H. Arlo Nimmo

Summary

Collection ID:
NAA.2009-17
Creators:
Nimmo, Harry
Dates:
1965-1967
1963
Languages:
Collection is in
English
,
Sama
, and
Tausug
.
Physical Description:
5 Linear feet
6 document boxes, 5 card file boxes, 1 binder box, 1 flip-top box plus 16 sound reels; and 12 maps (6 of which are duplicates)
Repository:
The papers of H. Arlo Nimmo document his field research among the Bajau (also known as Sama Dilaut) in Tawi-Tawi Province in the southern Philippines in 1963, 1965-1967, 1977, 1982, and 1997. The collection consists of correspondence, field journals, censuses, genealogies, kinship charts, transcripts of songs, unpublished manuscripts, card files, photographs, sound recordings, and maps. Nimmo's initial research focused on social change, but he collected data about other aspects of Bajau culture, including social organization, kinship, religion, fishing, boats, boat-building, art, and music.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of H. Arlo Nimmo document his field research among the Bajau (also known as Sama Dilaut) in Tawi-Tawi Province in the southern Philippines in 1963, 1965-1967, 1977, 1982, and 1997. The collection consists of correspondence, field journals, censuses, genealogies, kinship charts, transcripts of songs, unpublished manuscripts, card files, photographs, sound recordings, and maps. Nimmo's initial research focused on social change, but he collected data about other aspects of Bajau culture, including social organization, kinship, religion, fishing, boats, boat-building, art, and music.
Also in the collection are recordings of his 2001 interviews with Gerard Rixhon, an Oblates of Mary Immaculate priest, stationed in Tawi-Tawi and Jolo from 1953 to 1974. In addition, the collection contains materials regarding the Bajau from Don Hart and Rony Bautista.

Arrangement

Arrangement
This collection is arranged into 6 series: (1) Correspondence; (2) Research Data; (3) Unpublished Manuscripts; (4) Maps; (5) Photographs; (6) Sound Recordings.

Biographical Note

Biographical Note
Harry Arlo Nimmo is a Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at California State University East Bay at Hayward. He earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from University of Hawaii in 1969. As a graduate student, he conducted six months of field research among the Bajau (also known as Sama Dilaut) of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines in 1963 and another eighteen months in 1965-67. He returned to conduct more field research in Tawi-Tawi in 1977, 1982, and 1997. As a result of civil strife, massive immigration, and economic changes following his field research in the 1960s, the Bajau culture (as studied and documented by Nimmo) no longer exists in Tawi-Tawi. In addition to his master's thesis, Social Organization of the Tawi-Tawi Badjaw (1965), and his dissertation, The Structure of Bajau Society (1969), Nimmo has published extensively on his Bajau research.
Selected Bibliography
1965
Social Organization of the Tawi-Tawi Badjaw. Ethnology IV (4): 421- 439.
1966
Themes in Badjaw Dreams. Philippine Sociological Review XIV (1): 49-56.
1968
The Bajau of Sulu Fiction and Fact. Philippine Studies XVI (4): 771-775.
Songs of the Sulu Sea. ETC. XXV (4): 489-494.
Reflections on Bajau History. Philippine Studies XVI (1): 32-59.
1970
Bajau Sex and Reproduction. Ethnology IX (3): 251-262.
Posong, Trickster of Sulu. Western Folklore XXIX (3): 185-191.
1971
Bajau: Gentle Boat-Dwellers of the Philippines. Nomads of the World. Washington, D. C.: National Geographic Society.
1972
The Bajau of the Philippines. Ethnocentrism Series. HRAFlex Book OA8-001. New Haven: Human Relations Area Files.
The Sea People of Sulu. San Francisco: The Chandler Press.
You will remember us because we have sung for you
. Philippine Studies XX (2): 299-322.
1973
A Tribe of Ancient Mariners Comes Ashore. Natural History 82 (10): 334-45.
1975
The Shamans of Sulu. Asian and Pacific Quarterly VII (1): 1-9.
1976
A Functional Interpretation of Bajau Songs. Directions in Pacific Traditional Literature, edited by Adrienne L. Kaeppler and H. Arlo Nimmo. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press.
1977
The Bajau of Sulu. Filipino Heritage I: 261-265.
1978
The Relativity of Sexual Deviance: A Sulu Example. Papers in Anthropology XIX (1): 91-98.
1984
Bajau. Muslim Peoples I: 75-80. Edited by Richard V. Weekes. Westport: Greenwood Press.
1986
Recent Population Movements in the Sulu Archipelago: Implications to Sama Culture History. Archipel 32: 25-38.
1990
The Boats of the Tawi-Tawi Bajau, Sulu Archipelago, Philippines. Asian Perspectives 29 (1): 51-88.
Religious Beliefs of the Tawi-Tawi Bajau. Philippine Studies 38(1): 3-17.
Religious Rituals of the Tawi-Tawi Bajau. Philippine Studies 38 (2): 166-198.
1994
The Songs of Salanda. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
2001
Magosaha: An Ethnography of the Tawi-Tawi Sama Dilaut. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.
2005
Silungan Baltapa. The Voyage to Heaven of a Sama Hero. (Co-authored with Nicole Revel, Alain Martenot, Gèrard Rixhon, Talib Lim Sangogot, and Olivier Tourny.) Paris: Geuthner.
2010
The H. Arlo Nimmo and Tarabasa Idji Collection. Voices from Sulu. Edited by Gerard Rixhon. Quezon City: The Ateneo de Manila University Press.
2012
A very far place: tales of Tawi-tawi. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Administration

Author
Lorain Wang
Sponsor
Digitization and preparation of these materials for online access has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund.
Processing Information
The collection arrived at the National Anthropological Archives through multiple deposits. All accretions were described and organized by H. Arlo Nimmo before they were transferred to the National Anthropological Archives. For the most part, his original organization has been retained. A few folders filed under "miscellaneous" were moved and filed with other related materials. Nimmo's folder titles have also been retained and his descriptions have been incorporated into this finding aid. Series 5: Photographs were processed separately.
Photographs processed by Gina Rappaport in 2015.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by H. Arlo Nimmo.
Separated Materials
8 mm color film (and DVD copy) of Tungkalong shot by Nimmo in 1963 was transferred to the Human Studies Film Archives. See HSFA.2011.02

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Contact repository for terms of use.
Conditions Governing Access
According to the wishes of H. Arlo Nimmo, his correspondence and field notes are restricted until his death.
Copyright and Terms of Use
Standard copyright restrictions apply.
Preferred Citation
H. Arlo Nimmo papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Filipinos Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chants Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stories Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sama languages Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tausug (Philippine people) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Songs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Language and languages -- Documentation Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Maps Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ethnology -- Philippines Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Music Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bajau (Southeast Asian people) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kinship Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fishing Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tawitawi (Philippines) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rites and ceremonies Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Slides (photographs) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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