A Solitary Ethnologist at the End of a Colonial Research Mission: Ziedonis Ligers and the School of Marcel Griaule

When asked about the research implemented by Latvian Ziedonis Ligers (1917–2001) in
France, Eric Jolly, a specialist in history of ethnology, replied: “I don’t even know who would
have retained memories of Ligers, since all that generation has faded.” “That generation” refers
to the researchers who, led by Marcel Griaule, conducted expeditions in Sub-Saharan Africa for
more than half a century. The latter took place in the areas of the middle course of Niger River.
For that purpose, a floating laboratory was built. Ligers, who had defended his doctoral thesis in Sorbonne, spent 9 years of ethnographic work aboard. The findings resulted in 12 books and
numerous scientific articles. Until 1970s, Ligers signed his publications as a researcher at the
French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). He lost the status of researcher in the
1980s. Moreover, his publications, which mainly documented material culture, myths, and
rituals, did not gain recognition. The reason could be hidden in the complex relationship between ethnography, ethnology, and anthropology.
Claude Levi-Strauss once pointed out that ethnographers record data about different
cultures, ethnologists analyse them, and anthropologists compare the results at a conceptual level. In the mid-20th century, the focus of ethnological research in France began to shift and was determined by Levi-Strauss and George Baladier who took on this conceptual work. Griaule’s school, with its emphasis on detailed documentation, waned in significance. In this context, Ligers’ research largely went unnoticed. He had obtained the data under Griaule’s programme, prioritizing documentation but leaving conceptualization to the broader pool of researchers. After Griaule’s death, the team of once-assembled researchers dispersed, each working with their own data. Away from colleagues and exploratory synergy, Ligers was left alone with his extensive collection of data and made an immense effort to systematize and publish his work. Perhaps in this way, Ligers expressed responsibility for bringing the mission entrusted to him to an end.