Adolf Ellegard Jensen
| Adolf Ellegard Jensen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 January 1899 Kiel |
| Died | 20 May 1965 (aged 66) Mammolshain |
| Nationality | Germany |
| Fields | Ethnology |
| Influences | Leo Frobenius |
| Influenced |
Joseph Campbell Adolf Friedrich Helmut Straube Meinhard Schuster Barbara Frank Horst Nachtigall Wolfgang Rudolph Peter Snoy Eike Haberlandt |
Adolf Ellegard Jensen (1 January 1899 in Kiel - 20 May 1965 in Mammolshain, Taunus) was one of the most important German ethnologists of the first half of the 20th century.
Jensen's main research interests were myth, ritual and cult. He furthered the theory of Cultural Morphology founded by Leo Frobenius. Jensen is mostly known for his research on religious sacrifice that led him to the introduction of the concept of Dema Deity. His best-known work is 'Myth and Cult Among Primitive Peoples', published in 1951.
Jensen studied physics in Kiel and in Bonn, concluding his studies with a dissertation on Max Planck and Ernst Mach in 1922. One year later he became acquainted with Leo Frobenius and became his faithful disciple. As a member of the Institute for Cultural Morphology founded by Frobenius and known today as Frobenius Institute, Jensen took part in research journeys to South Africa, Libya, Southern Ethiopia and Seram Island in the Moluccas. He became a full-time ethnologist after publishing a paper on circumcision and rite of passage ceremonies. He held a teaching position at the University of Frankfurt beginning in 1925.
During the Third Reich Jensen was chosen to be appointed to lead the Frobenius Institute, also known as Institute for Cultural Morphology, as well as Frankfurt's Museum of Ethnology (Museum für Völkerkunde) after Frobenius' death in 1938. However, his appointment fell through owing to the opposition of the Nazi authorities, who also withdrew his Venia legendi in the University of Frankfurt, for Jensen had not divorced his Jewish wife. Finally in 1945, after Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II, Jensen was appointed Director of the Frobenius Institute, as well as Director of Frankfurt's Museum of Ethnology. He would keep both posts until his death. Together with fellow ethnologist Franz Termer, Jensen reestablished the German Anthropological Association (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Völkerkunde) which he led between 1947 and 1954. This organization had to be established anew during the postwar reconstruction of West Germany
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