André Raponda Walker
Encyclopedia
André Raponda Walker was a Gabon
ese author, ethnographer, Catholic priest, and missionary. Walker wrote extensively about Gabonese language and culture.
mother, Princesse Agnorogoulè Ikoutou, niece of King Louis Dowé, and Robert Bruce Napoleon Walker, a British merchant in Gabon, and member of the Anthropological Society
. Robert Walker was a significant contributor of African artifacts to British Museums, in particular, his collection of African shields.
The young boy spent a year in England around his fourth birthday but returned to Gabon in 1876 and started at the school of Sainte Marie in 1877.
He was ordained in 23 July 1899 and his first assignment was at Notre-Dame des Trois-Epis in Ngounié
in southern Gabon.
He was the first person from Gabon to be ordained as a Catholic priest. He served at several locations in Gabon where he learnt a number of local languages and created dictionaries and lexicographies. These works are still used today.
From about 1930, Monsignor Walker was one of the few missionaries still studying and documenting Gabonese anthropology, as many foreign researchers had returned to their countries of origin. Walker used interviews to gather the oral traditions of his country using his knowledge of about twelve Gabonese languages. He gathered histories of the Gabonese estuary, the N'Gounie River
valley and coastal areas.
Raponda-Walker retired in 1947 at Libreville
. He had been stationed at a number of locations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea
, including Sindara
, Libreville, Boutika (Guinée Equatoriale), Donguila, Lambaréné
, Saint-Martin (near Mouila)
et au Fernan-Vaz.
Andre lived to see his country independent. Most of Raponda-Walker's work was published in the last few years of his life, after editing by Marcel Soret, a French ethnologist. The work contributed to a systematic project to record Gabonese culture led by Hubert Deschamps.
.
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
ese author, ethnographer, Catholic priest, and missionary. Walker wrote extensively about Gabonese language and culture.
Biography
Raponda-Walker was born to a MpongweMpongwe
The Mpongwe are an ethnic group in Gabon, notable as the earliest known dwellers around the Estuary, where Libreville is now located.The Mpongwe language identifies them as a subgroup of the Myènè people of the Bantus, who are believed to have been in the area for some 2,000 years, although the...
mother, Princesse Agnorogoulè Ikoutou, niece of King Louis Dowé, and Robert Bruce Napoleon Walker, a British merchant in Gabon, and member of the Anthropological Society
Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland is the world's longest established anthropological organization, with a global membership. Since 1843, it has been at the forefront of new developments in anthropology and new means of communicating them to a broad audience...
. Robert Walker was a significant contributor of African artifacts to British Museums, in particular, his collection of African shields.
The young boy spent a year in England around his fourth birthday but returned to Gabon in 1876 and started at the school of Sainte Marie in 1877.
He was ordained in 23 July 1899 and his first assignment was at Notre-Dame des Trois-Epis in Ngounié
Ngounié
Ngounié is one of Gabon's nine provinces. It covers an area of 37,750 km². The provincial capital is Mouila.To the southeast, Ngounié borders the Niari Region of the Republic of the Congo...
in southern Gabon.
He was the first person from Gabon to be ordained as a Catholic priest. He served at several locations in Gabon where he learnt a number of local languages and created dictionaries and lexicographies. These works are still used today.
From about 1930, Monsignor Walker was one of the few missionaries still studying and documenting Gabonese anthropology, as many foreign researchers had returned to their countries of origin. Walker used interviews to gather the oral traditions of his country using his knowledge of about twelve Gabonese languages. He gathered histories of the Gabonese estuary, the N'Gounie River
Ngounie River
The Ngounie River is the last and second most important tributary of the Ogooué River, the first being the Iyunda River.It flows in Gabon, and passes through Fougamou, Sindara, and Mouila.- Course :...
valley and coastal areas.
Raponda-Walker retired in 1947 at Libreville
Libreville
Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon, in west central Africa. The city is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea, and a trade center for a timber region. As of 2005, it has a population of 578,156.- History :...
. He had been stationed at a number of locations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...
, including Sindara
Sindara
-Notable residents:* André Raponda Walker, the anthropologist and priest worked here.* Bruno Ben Moubamba, a Gabonese politician.-References:...
, Libreville, Boutika (Guinée Equatoriale), Donguila, Lambaréné
Lambaréné
Lambaréné is the capital of the political district Moyen-Ogooué in Gabon. The city counts 24,000 inhabitants and is located 75 kilometres south of the equator....
, Saint-Martin (near Mouila)
Mouila
Mouila is the capital of the Ngounié region of Gabon. It lies on the River Ngounié and the N1 road and has a population of about 20,000 people. Its main sight is the Lac Bleu, a lake known for its bright blue water....
et au Fernan-Vaz.
Andre lived to see his country independent. Most of Raponda-Walker's work was published in the last few years of his life, after editing by Marcel Soret, a French ethnologist. The work contributed to a systematic project to record Gabonese culture led by Hubert Deschamps.
Legacy
Walker is well regarded in his country. His image appeared on one of the nation's postage stamps in 1981. He also has a school named in his honour, Collège et Lycée Raponda WalkerCollège et Lycée Raponda Walker
Collège et Lycée Raponda Walker is in Port-Gentil, the second largest city in Gabon. The school has just over a thousand pupils. Since 1975 it has been named for André Raponda Walker, a famous writer and the first Catholic priest in Gabon.-History:...
.
Works
- Dictionnaire mpongwè-français, suivi d'éléments de grammaire, Metz, 1934.
- Essai de grammaire tsogo, Brazzaville, 1937.
- Notes d'Histoire du Gabon, 1960.
- Dictionnaire français-mpongwè, 1961.
- Les Plantes utiles du Gabon (with Roger Sillans), Paris, Le Chevalier, 1961, 614 p. (Coll. Encyclopédie biologique, 56).
- Rites et croyances des peuples du Gabon (with Roger Sillans), 1962.
- Contes gabonais, 1967.