Karl Edvard Laman (born Karl Edvard Ersson) (1867–1944) was a Swedish

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

and

ethnographer Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

active in

Kingdom of Kongo The Kingdom of Kongo ( or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' ) was a kingdom in Central Africa. It was located in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. At its gre ...

during the period of 1891 through 1919. Laman and his wife collected a large group of ethnographic materials and this collection of more than 2,000 pieces is the most comprehensive of that brought back by the Swedish missionaries of his time.

Early years

Karl was born in

Smedjebacken Smedjebacken is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Smedjebacken Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden, with 5,100 inhabitants in 2010. Geographically, the town Smedjebacken is situated by the lake Barken, with an area of , which in ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 1867. His father, Gustaf Ersson worked at a mill, and his mother, Christina Ulrika Wallin, was a maid at the

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or Minister (Christianity), ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of n ...

. While young, he worked as a gardener in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. Karl's studies were paid for by a sister of his grandmother, Sofia Eriksson, who married the restaurateur Carl Frederick Laman of

Västerås Västerås () is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 158,653, over 100,000 mo ...

who had inherited a small fortune.Namnet Laman genom ingifte: Västerås domkyrkoförsamling AIA:20 Husförhör 1879–1892, Genline GID:2605.28.50100 During this time, Karl changed his surname to Laman. After graduating from a school in Västerås, Karl registered with the

Mission Covenant Church of Sweden The Mission Covenant Church of Sweden ( – until 2003 'Swedish Mission Covenant'), founded in 1878, was a Swedish evangelical free church in the Radical Pietist tradition. It was the second-largest Protestant denomination in Sweden, after the ...

missionary school in

Kristinehamn Kristinehamn is a locality and the seat of Kristinehamn Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden, with 24,053 inhabitants in 2022. Geography Kristinehamn is situated by the shores of lake Vänern where the small rivers ''Varnan'' and ''Löt'' ...

in 1888. Two years later, in 1890, he was ordained a

Career

In 1891, Laman emigrated to the Congo on a mission tour and stayed until 1919 . During his time in Kongo, he combined his ministry with linguistic study which resulted in numerous books, dissertations, and an almost complete translation of the Bible to Kikongo, the original language of the region and today the main language in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

and

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. His most notable work was the Kikongo- Français dictionary of about 60,000 words completed during expeditions to minority groups in the region. He also published ''Grammar of the Kongo Language (Kikongo)'' in 1912. In order to study the local languages and social systems, Laman worked with young, local,

Bakongo The Kongo people (also , singular: or ''M'kongo; , , singular: '') are a Bantu ethnic group primarily defined as the speakers of Kikongo. Subgroups include the Beembe, Bwende, Vili, Sundi, Yombe, Dondo, Lari, and others. They have li ...

evangelists. In 1912, these evangelists assisted Laman with his survey questionnaires in Kikongo, developed to map out the languages and cultures of Kongo groups. While in the Congo, Laman collected everyday objects, insects, bird eggs and animal skins. ''Notes on some mammals collected in the

Congo Free State The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), was a large Sovereign state, state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II, the const ...

by the Swedish missionary, K.E. Laman'', written by the Swedish

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Einar Lönnberg Axel Johann Einar Lönnberg (24 December 1865 – 21 November 1942) was a Swedish zoologist and conservationist. Lönnberg was born in Stockholm. He was head of the Vertebrate Department of the '' Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet'' (Swedish Natural ...

, was published in 1908. Laman's collection of twelve human skulls are now with the

Swedish Museum of Natural History The Swedish Museum of Natural History (), in Stockholm, is one of two major museums of natural history in Sweden, the other one being located in Gothenburg. The museum was founded in 1819 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, but goes bac ...

while his collection of

Nkisi or (plural varies: , , , or ) are spirits or an object that a spirit inhabits. It is frequently applied to a variety of objects used throughout the Congo Basin in Central Africa, especially in the Territory of Cabinda that are believed to co ...

is with the

Museum of Ethnography, Sweden The Museum of Ethnography (), in Stockholm, Sweden, is a Swedish science museum. It houses a collection of about 220,000 items relating to the ethnography, or cultural anthropology, of peoples from around the world, including from China, Korea, ...

. Laman received the Linn Medal from the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

, and an honorary doctorate from

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

Personal life

Laman and his wife, Selma (née Carlson; 1862–1936), are buried at Stjärnorp.

Partial works

* 1899
''Nkanda wabilekwa bianza uzayulwanga mpangulu ye nkadulu au: Kimfumu kiabibulu ye minti ye bititi ye matadi''
* 1905
''Nkand' a nzambi vo masonukwa manlongo mabundane nkanda mia luwawanu luankulu ye luampa''
* 1936, ''Dictionnaire kikongo-français, avec une étude phonétique décrivant les dialectes les plus importants de la langue dite Kikongo'' (translated: "Kikongo-French dictionary with phonetic study describing the major dialects of the language known as Kikongo.")

Early years

Career

Personal life

Partial works

References

Further reading