Brazilian and African sources for the study
of cultural transferences from Brazil to Africa315
particular project and the utility of the institution and members to the success-
ful completion of the research. For studies concerning eighteenth- and nine-
teenth-century slavery in Salvador and surrounding area, the newspaper col-
lections are useful. Social and family historians would also benefit from the
holdings of the institute, its collection also interesting economic historians.^11
Private collections either owned by individuals or institutions are numer-
ous in Salvador and also relevant to the study of Bahian slavery or Afro-
Brazilian history in various eras before and after abolition. The two major
Salvador convents, Carmo and Desterro, have oflicial histories and substan-
tial documentation of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century commercial transac-
tions that shed good insights on the relationship between the Salvador Church
and the institution of slavery.^12 Also of interest is the collection of the recently
deceased professor and cocoa fazendeiro Frederico Edelweiss, an extensive
collection of books and documents covering a range of academic disciplines all
dealing with Bahia. He called his collection a 'Bahia Studies Programme' cap-
tured in a multi-room library;^13 in the case of Afro-Banian Studies while dupli-
cation does exist between some of the Edelweiss holdings and that of CEAO,
there are sometimes singular holdings owned by Edelweiss not found in the
centre. His collection of Amerindian linguistic texts and tracts is unmatched,
truly invaluable. It is my sincere hope that the collection in its entirety will be
quickly moved to a special section of the library of the Federal University of
Bahia, access to be made available to all interested researchers. During the
past Edelweiss was at the disposition of all researchers who came to Salvador,
allowing one to work unrestricted in his library; as his Bahian collection was
symbolized by an inclusiveness and globality of approach, its utility to the
researcher in varied disciplines should be stressed.
Culture and cultural history clearly dominate research patterns of the
recent past in Salvador and in Bahia state. With its African studies centre
performing the function of intellectual patron, little emphasis has been placed
upon more contemporary Brazilian-African relations, something of an irony
as the centre itself was a result of the first Brazilian diplomatic initiative
towards Africa in 1960 during the government of Jânio Quadros.^1 * This more
contemporary approach to Africa and Brazilian-African relations is to be
found in the African studies centres in Rio de Janeiro, (linked to the Candido
Mendes University Foundation) and Säo Paulo, a more integral part of USP.
The Centro de Estudos Afro-Asiáticos in Rio is administratively an
integral part of the Candido Mendes University Foundation and offers multi-
disciplinary courses concerning Africa (Asia receives significantly less atten-
tion), to any interested university student in the Rio area, regardless of the
student's institutional affiliation.^16 The heart of the Rio centre is the library,
a collection very strong in contemporary African affairs and recent African
independence movements. This contemporary interest of the Rio centre is