Theoretical considerations of the multivariate von Mises-Fisher distribution

We develop theorems that are analogous to the famous theorems of Lindley & Smith (1972) for the case that the data are from the p-variate von Mises-Fisher distribution. Results similar to those of Lindley & Smith are obtained for the two-stage case. There is, however, a departure from normal theory in the three-stage case, since closed form solutions do not exist when sampling Sfom the von Mises-Fisher distribution. The difference is discussed and elaborated.