Picture Plate from "In the Shadow of the Congo" (p. 425)

This illustration, titled “Im Lager bei Lupungu: Die Bassonge erzählen Legenden” (In the camp at Lupungu: the Songye recount legends), accompanied the report written by Leo Frobenius on the first trip of his German Inner-African Research Expedition. In the candlelit scene, Frobenius, accompanied by a lute player, listens to and writes down the stories of the population he is studying. Presenting himself in this manner figured importantly in Frobenius’ self-conception as a scientist.