Lois Mitchison Archive (Pitt Rivers Museum)

From European children's songs to Bayaka women's songs of the Central African Republic, the Pitt Rivers Museum website has thousands of hours of archival sounds held at the Museum. One of the unique archives of museum from Africa at the museum is the Miss Lois Mitchison (Mrs Godfrey) Archive which has five reel tapes of Bamum, Bom and Bayang music from Cameroon and a collection of music instruments purchased for the Pitt Rivers Museum. Mitchison is from Oxford in England, as part of her expedition Africa she bought 41 Bamum objects from Fumban in French Cameroons, a French Mandate territory in present day Cameroon. Mitchison’s audio collection includes ceremonial songs and examples of several Bamum instruments, including a rattle and a scraper (bai-pak), a zither, and a wind instrument.

The playlist example of Mitchison’s collection is available on the museum’s website includes men and women's songs, and different types of instrument sounds.
The museum is open to members of the public, scholars and other audiences.