Moritz von Leonhardi

Moritz Freiherr von Leonhardi (9 March 1856 – 27 October 1910) was a German anthropologist.

Leonhardi was the son of the Minister Plenipotentiary Ludwig (Louis) Freiherr von Leonhardi and Luise, née Bennigsen. He grew up in Karben and Darmstadt. He studied law in Heidelberg until he had to cancel due to sickness. Since then he lived in Karben. Moritz von Leonhardi is a nephew of the liberal politician Rudolf von Bennigsen.

He worked as a privat scholar in Groß Karben, from where he corresponded with scientists. Since 1899, encouraged by the novel publications of Walter Baldwin Spencer and Francis Gillen on Australian cultures, he connected with missionaries in Australia, especially to Carl Strehlow, missionary conductor in Centralaustralian Hermannsburg. Since 1907 Leonhardi engaged in the lively anthropological scientific discussion with the publication of the first volume of the Arrernte - and Loritja tribes. Amongst other things he was concerned with the acceptance and positive assessment of the existence of a high god of the Aranda. Leonhardi frankly opposed to Spencer and Gillen, who in his time were influential scientists.

The contemporary discussion around 1900 was affected by a severe lack of acceptance towards the, according to the European view, newly discovered cultures of the Aborigines. Therefore, Spencer and Gillen followed the evolutionistic cultural anthropology of Edward Tylor and James Frazer. In contrast Leonhardi stood for a humanistic notion of anthropology in the tradition of Adolf Bastian and Rudolf Virchow. Leonhardi managed to confirm his claim for acceptance of the Aborigine-Cultures mainly in collaboration with Carl Strehlow and with a preciser handling of sources as the one of his scientific opponents. These texts constitute a possible base for political claims of the Aborigines in the 21st century. (Kenny, 65) Strehlows and Leonhardi's heavy critique of Gillen's and Spencer's absolutely wrong translations and interpretations, as for example translating the Aranda-word 'Alcheringa' into 'Dreamtime', still influencing today's popular literatur, is granted in latest researches. (Völker, Nicholls)

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