Global Journal of Human Social Science, D: History, Archaeology and Anthroplogy, Volume 23 Issue 3

Landtman´s ethnography was well received: “Professor Landtman has written one of the best descriptive books about one of the most interesting peoles of the world”, with these words opened Malinowski his review of Landtman´s monograph, based on fieldwork in 1910—12, but only published in 1927. It is interesing to compare Landtman´s fieldwork with that of one of his contemporaries, the young anthropologist Diamond Jenness, born in New Zealand, who was later to ecome famous in Canada for his fieldwork among Inuits. However, the work of Diamond´s that is worth comparing with Landtman´s work is the former´s first fieldwork that was carried out in Melanesia in 1911-12, which he did together with his brother in law, a Methodist missionary. Landtman, too, began his research with the support of the missions, and throughout the duration of his work he maintained contact with the missionaries and counted on their help. As a matter of fact, the whole Melanesian world (as well as Australia and Oceania, and Africa as well, for that matter) was teeming with missionaries: the London Missionary Society, a congregational Protestant mission had initiated their activities in 1872, when the Reverend Samuel MacFarlane and the Reverend A. W. Murray arrived in Mawatta, a Kiwai community in the Binaturi River´s desembocadura, accompanied by native helpers from other islands, and had constructed a building for the misión there. The missionaries arrived as the first wave in the process of colonization, a bit later a comercial station was established close by. As the last wave in this process of colonization, in 1891 the first government station was opened, in the desembocadura of the Pahoturi River, formally with the objective of reducing the conflicts between neighbouring tribes. As the European nations had divided the cake betveen them, there was also a kind of “social división of work” among the missionary organizations: while “in © 2023 Global Journals Volume XXIII Issue III Version I 63 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 D Gunnar Landtman (1878-1940)