The archive of the Generalate of the White Fathers (WF) in Rome is a well-known “treasure trove for Africanists of all disciplines.” Owing partly to the availability of a series of published catalogues and guides, it attracts a steady flow of external researchers and features prominently in the bibliographies of numerous recent works on sub-Saharan African history. What many Africanists might not be aware of, however, is the existence of regional WF's archives, the holdings of which do not necessarily replicate—and in fact often complement—those of the central Roman deposit. It is to this latter, by and large neglected, category that the archive of the WF's headquarters in Lusaka, Zambia (WFA-Z), belongs. In the summer of 2001 Fr. Hugo Hinfelaar, longstanding missionary in Zambia, renowned scholar and part-time keeper of the WFA-Z, entrusted the authors with the task of updating the in-house catalog of the archive under his charge, in light of fresh acquisitions. This enriching experience provided the initial incentive for the preparation of this paper.

Until not long ago, the WF were the largest missionary society to operate in Zambia. They were also one of the earliest to settle in the country, their first station among the Mambwe, in the Tanganyika-Malawi corridor, having been inaugurated in 1891, before the effective inception of British rule. The Mambwe themselves had long been harassed by the politically and linguistically dominant ethnic group in northern Zambia, the Bemba, towards whom the WF directed their subsequent efforts. The establishment of Chilubula mission by the bishop of the newly constituted Nyasa Vicariate, Joseph Dupont, in 1898 marked the beginning of the WF's colonization of Lubemba.

This note aims to provide an overview of the Tanzania National Archives (TNA) system and the records it houses. The system comprises a headquarters in Dar es Salaam and six regional branch offices located in Mbeya, Mwanza, Arusha, Dodoma, Tanga, and Singida. Access to the TNA requires a research permit from the Tanzania Commission for Research and Technology. It is best to apply well in advance. Attaching a letter of recommendation from a contact at the University of Dar es Salaam that comments specifically on the value of the proposed research project to the application can expedite its processing tremendously. Computers may be used in the archives and researchers may ask for specific folios to be photocopied. It is advisable to keep detailed records of requests.

The three major groups of materials retained within the TNA system are records from German colonial times (pre-1916/17), the British records (pre-1962), and records from various levels of government and administration of post-independence Tanzania (Tanganyika). Almost all colonial records in the collection are housed at the TNA headquarters, as are most of those post-independence documents that originate from central government and ministerial headquarters. A considerable number of post-1962 records originating from local level government and administration have also been moved to Dar es Salaam.

During a visit in the summer 1970, Jacques Hymans, professor of History at San Francisco State Univeisity, found discarded papers strewn over the floor of an abandoned European-style house at Mushenge (Nsheng), the capital of the Kuba kingdom, zone Mweka, West Kasai, Democratic Republic of Congo. He salvaged them and then kept them at home. After his death Ms Kelley Hymans gave the papers to the collections of Memorial Library of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. To this a notebook, which Wisconsin obtained through the good offices of Professor Mary Douglas, has been added. This contains a census of the capital for 1939-40 carried out by Jules Lene (Lyeen) as tribute collector for the Kuba king.

Since early colonial times the Kuba people were well-known in Europe for their sculpture and their artistic textiles, and because they formed a single kingdom headed by a “divine” king. This was also the only territory in the Belgian Congo where “indirect administration” was officially practiced after 1920. Under such circumstances it is not surprising that the Kuba capital Nsheng, known as Mushenge, eventually became a minor tourist attraction for amateurs of their arts. After independence, travel in Congo became difficult and the prestige of Mushenge declined, but some of its fascination remained, and Hymans was one of the persons still attracted to it. His last visit to Mushenge occurred in 1970, not long after the death of king Bop Mabinc maKyeen. It is on that occasion that he salvaged the papers now in Madison.