Professor Ulrich Philip Mayer

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=103748154

Philip was born into a German Jewish home in Zehlendorf, near Berlin in 1910. His Mayer forebaerers had been established in a small town in Brandenburg: Prenzlau.

In his 30's, Philip became interested in African anthropology.

Philip Mayer married Iona Mayer in Sept 1946 in Willesden, England

Child: Robert Mayer, married Cathy Cantwell (who had son George Cantwell)

Video of Philip: http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/DO/filmshow/philip_mayer_fast.htm

Philip Mayer interviewed by Alan Macfarlane, 13th July 1983

0:00:05 Introduction; how he became an anthropologist; took doctorate in law at Heidelberg University; left Germany the day after Hitler came to power; went first to Palestine after a temporary conversion experience as a Zionist; came to England in 1939 arriving on 3rd September thanks to a student visa and a place at Oxford; had an interest in the Arab world feeling that Jews in Palestine should know much more about the true predicaments of their Arab neighbours; got D.Phil on Iraqi experiences of colonialism, both Ottoman and British. Encountered Evans-Pritchard, Radcliffe-Brown and Meyer Fortes; at that time felt this micro-sociology not main interest; intended to go to Iraq to pursue studies; in 1946 met Radcliffe-Brown on a bus who suggested that as there were difficulties with the Iraq plan he should apply for a social science fellowship which the Colonial Office had just established; had previously worked under Marjorie Perham and had produced a reading list for her on betterment of rural conditions in the British Colonies; worked first in the Colonial Office on panel presided over by Lord Hailey and after a couple of months was made Kenya Government Sociologist; has never had formal training in anthropology nor been a member of a particular department; married Iona and they traveled to Kenya with Linton’s textbook and Fortes ‘Dynamics of Clanship’ in luggage;

0:05:15 Iona also a newcomer to anthropology via history at Oxford and social science at L.S.E.; she was appointed as field assistant but we worked as equal partners both there and later on in South Africa; in Kenya had no choice of the field but was ordered to go to the Gusii people to conduct fieldwork for two and a half years

0:06:48 Memories of Gusii; totally new to Africa and to anthropology so an overwhelming experience; struck by common humanity; Gusii because of inaccessibility relatively untouched; had been colonized only about thirty years before so admirable people to research; extremely litigious peoples

0:09:02 Despite own negative feelings about colonialism found the administration competent and well-intentioned though any African politician was totally misunderstood and not tolerated; personally not constrained in work; amelioration of situation with regard to bridewealth; as a result of the war the amounts expected had gone up alarmingly with painful consequences

0:13:20 Radcliffe-Brown and Grahams Town, South Africa; great influence; as a person; complex relationship with Malinowski; never saw him lecture but fascinating man

0:20:20 Had cordial relations with all senior anthropologists, including Evans-Pritchard, but not especially influenced by any of them

0:21:30 After Kenya came back to England and taught at Birkbeck, Cambridge and Goldsmiths; at Cambridge, Fortes was there and G.I. Jones, where taught courses to students and to Colonial cadets, largely on East Africa; 1953 went to South Africa to a chair at Rhodes which Radcliffe-Brown had occupied for a year after his retirement from Oxford, Monica Wilson had gone to Cape Town

0:22:53 Was intending to write on the Gusii but most of the material gathered probably won’t be used, though Iona has used a little; became interested in urban anthropology, particularly in Black townships; Xhosa migrants; networks;

0:25:40 Inaugural lecture on witchcraft based on work in Kenya; recently doing rural fieldwork in South Africa on migrant labour; using methods of new historiography on South Africa using very early administrative records; work done on the Pondo; work on youth movement among the Xhosa

0:31:31 Summary of themes of work to the present; urbanization and socialization;

0:34:00 Working in South Africa; liberal colleagues liked to think of themselves as interpreters of the Black culture to other Whites; as racial domination became more vicious we became more concerned to try and make people aware through teaching and writing; occasionally have been put under pressure from the Government to alter findings; always a battle of wits; still possible to do work there with circumspection

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