RECENT LITERATURE ON BANTU TRIBES

SOME ETHNOLOGICAL AND LINGUISTIC PUBLICATIONS

SOME

BY PAUL SCHEBESTA

OME parts of Bantu territory have been extensively investigated and described in monographs and periodicals, whereas others have been almost entirely neglected. This is not the place to enter into the reasons for this, which are in fact, to some extent, of a superficial character; nevertheless we are now in the satisfactory position of being able to say that research workers, missionaries, and government officials have thrown much light on the way in which the Bantu tribes live, and on their languages. It would take us too far if we attempted to review all the Bantu literature of the last few years, but we shall try to give a summary of the principal publications.

We owe it to three missionaries that we possess particularly valuable monographs on three of the Bantu tribes, and these publications are regarded as standard works. Although not very recent they are worthy of mention here as examples of thorough investigation and description.

The first and also the oldest of the three is by J. Roscoe, The Baganda, An Account of their Native Customs and Beliefs (Macmillan, London, 1911, price 155.), which describes the old Uganda customs, now no longer in existence. The second book, of which a new edition has just appeared, is by Henry A. Junod, The Life of a South African Tribe (first edition Neuchatel, 1913, new edition Macmillan, London, 1927, £2 10s.), and this is an excellent monograph on the Thongas of Portuguese East Africa. The third and most recent book is by E. W. Smith and Murray Dale, The Ila-speaking Peoples of Northern Rhodesia (Macmillan, London, 1920, £2 10s.), and it is quite as good as either of the others.

John Roscoe has written other books, of which two are, The Bakitara or Banyoro, and The Banyankole (Cambridge University Press, 1923, pp. 370 and 176: 255. and 155. nett). They embody the results of the Mackie Ethnological Expedition to Central Africa, which was under the leadership of John Roscoe. Neither of these is as good as his most important book, The Baganda, but this is quite comprehensible, as they consist of a collection of experiences and information which can be picked up by an investigator passing through the country, while the other book represents the mature work resulting from many years' residence in the country. Never theless these two publications are of considerable value, as they contai much information regarding the material, social, and religious life of th Bahima tribe and their subject tribes the Bahera and Banyoro, the latt

being a mixed people, partly Bahima and partly Bahera. The description of native life and customs at the court is particularly detailed, and this is also a feature of the author's book on the Baganda.

An older book than the two just described which deals in an expert way with these same tribes is that by P. Julien Gorju, Entre le Victoria, l'Albert et l'Édouard (Marseille, A la procure des Pères Blancs, 1920, pp. 372, frs. 13.50). Unfortunately the material side of the cultures of the Bahima, Banyoro, Baganda, and of the Toro and Nkole tribes is not described. On the other hand, customs and rites, religion and history are more fully dealt with. Gorju's book is by no means superfluous, it supplements Roscoe's in a way that is only possible owing to the missionary having spent many years in the country.

An ethnographical book of permanent value is that written by a missionary, R. P. van Wing, S. J., Étude Bakongo, Histoire et Sociologie (Goemaere, Brussels, 1921, pp. 319, frs. 24.00). In the second and more extensive part, the author goes thoroughly into the sociology of the Bampangu, while the first part deals with the less modern history of the Congo. His information regarding tribes, clans, families, and matriarchy constitute an absolutely new field of work. What the author says about the relations between ancestor worship and fetishism and about the preservation of society amongst the Bampangu is equally important.

A more recent study by the same author is De geheime Sekte van T'Kimpasi (Goemaere, Brussels, pp. 119). This describes a Bampangu Secret Society, and the description is similar to that given earlier by Bittremieux of the Bakhimba sects of the Majombe and Bampangu tribes. Majombe and Bampangu are subdivisions of the Bakongo tribe. What is important in Wing's study is his exposé of the Bakongo idea of the soul (Chap. II) and also what he says about magic, ancestors, spirits and the Supreme Being, Nzambi. The Bakongo point of view in regard to the universe is very impartially depicted.

In this connexion two books by K. Frähsle must be mentioned: Meiner Urwaldneger Denken und Handeln, 234 pages, and Negerpsyche im Urwald am Lobali, Beobachtungen und Erfahrungen (Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1923 and 1926, pp. 190). The first of these describes in a discursive way the native life and activities, customs, and usages of the Lohali Negro (Congo), but it is not in any way a systematic monograph. The second book is undoubtedly the more valuable, in that it describes negro psychology in a masterly way. Books of this kind showing the mentality of the African are very much needed, and it would not be superfluous to draw the attention of the missionaries who have resided for any length of time in the country to this subject.

Frähsle's book is not unlike that of Thomas Burnier, Ames primitives (Société des Missions évangéliques, Paris, 1922, 112 pages, frs. 2.50). This

depicts the attitude to life and the views of Bantu tribes on the Upper Zambesi; unfortunately there is not always sufficient discrimination between these tribes.

Leo P. Bittremieux, Mayombosche Volkskunst, ingeleid door Al. Janseen (De Vlaamsche Boekenhalle), S. V. Leuven, 1924. Price: Belg. frs. 15.00, 227 pages. In this work the missionary, who is best known for his various publications on the Lower Congo, gives us a collection of Mayombe folk songs, nursery rhymes, incantations, and legends of the most varied kind. Unfortunately the original text is not given with the Dutch translation, but can be found scattered in the various publications of this author. Nevertheless this collection facilitates comprehension of the mentality and sentiments of the Congo Negroes. Bruno Gutmann, who in the past has published instructive books on the Wadschagga of Kilimanjaro, has now written a monumental work entitled Das Recht der Dschagga. The seventh volume in the series of Arbeiten zur Entwicklungspsychologie, published by Felix Krueger, Leipzig, with an appendix by the publisher, is called Zur Entwicklungspsychologie des Rechts (C. H. Beck, Verlagsbuchhandlung, Munich, 1926, 778 pages. Mk. 30.00). This work contains a unique collection of material, and will be of permanent value as a source of information in the study of law amongst primitive peoples. Perhaps students of ethnology would have preferred a more detailed description of the conception of law and fewer examples. We must not reproach the author too much for not arranging his material according to a legal system as he is not a jurist by profession, but the fact that there is no index to such a collection as this is less excusable, and is a distinct disadvantage.

No important books on travels in Africa have appeared during the last few years, but we might mention The Akamba in British East Africa by G. Lindblom (Upsala, 1919, 1920 Second Edition. 8vo, 607 pages), which is, however, already out of date.

The additional publications regarding the German Central African Expedition of 1907–8 under the leadership of Adolf Friedrich, Duke of Mecklenburg, are of more recent date. The second part of the sixth volume has just appeared: Jan Czekanowski, Forschungen im Nil-Kongo Zwischen-Gebiet, &c., vol. vi, Part 2, (Ethnography, Anthropology, Leipzig: Klinkhardt and Biermann, Com. Soc. Doc., 1924, xvi and 714 pages, 294 illustrations. Bound volume, Mk. 40.00; Cloth and leather bound, Mk. 48.00).

The first half of this volume appeared in 1917. The first part described the Bantu tribes of the middle territories, and the second part dealt with the very different tribes of the Nile-Congo middle districts, including five groups of North-Eastern Congo-Bantu. The part dealing with the Pygmies in the district lying between the Kivu Lake far into the Congo territory is very important.

Czekanowski also considers that the Pygmies represent the most ancien

form of humanity in those parts. They were followed by round-headed, thick-set Bantu from the primeval forest who came in early times from the Congo to the Victoria Nyanza district and who were later driven off, with resultant modification of their characteristics, by the immigrating Madis, Azandes, and others. In the appendix the author attempts a classification of the Bantu and Sudan languages in the form of a comparative study. Figuratively speaking this part of his labours might be compared to an ant-hill. The district under discussion is one in which there have been innumerable changes of population, and intermarriages, and it plays a significant part in African ethnology.

A book of travel by Prince William of Sweden is Unter Zwergen und Gorillas. Mit der Schwedischen Zoologischen Expedition nach Zentralafrika (German edition by Professor Dr. Hermann Schuboltz, 290 pages and 3 maps. F. A. Brockhaus, Leipzig, 1925). The ethnographical value of this book is hardly worth mention. Here and there may be found occasional observations in regard to Wambutti, Batussi, and Bahutu.

One of the territories least dealt with in literature is Angola. It is not surprising, therefore, that any one interested in African matters devours any book that deals with the natives of that colony. A fairly recent work on Angola tribes was published by the Portuguese Ministry for the Colonies, Populações indigenas de Angola, by Ferreira Diniz (Coimbra, University Press, 1918). Unfortunately it is not possible to buy the book, but its ethnographical value is not great. It is the result of a questionnaire sent by the Government to officials and to missionaries. Ferreira collated and published the replies received. The data are chiefly superficial and of the kind usually obtained as a result of such questionnaires. However, some information is given about all the tribes in all districts, and this is better than nothing. The small maps are all very useful. An excerpt from this book, which is very difficult to obtain, will be found in Anthropos, volume xx, 1925, pp. 321-31.

In this connexion must be mentioned certain new publications on nonBantu tribes living among Bantu tribes. Firstly: H. Vedder, Die Bergdama, Part I (L. Friederichsen & Co., Hamburg, 1923. Stitched 199 pages. Part II, stitched 128 pages). Both volumes give a complete picture of a singular little tribe which may be regarded as having provided the original inhabitants of South Africa. The author describes fully a very primitive civilization. In Part I he describes material possessions, the family, religion, and right of succession, while in Part II he gives examples of the poetry of this small tribe as it appears in incantations, prayers, elegies, and songs of various kinds. The second section of Part II contains original texts with literal translations. Taken as a whole the work is excellent.

A critical monograph on the Bushmen has been written by S. S. Dornan, Pygmies and Bushmen of the Kalahari. (London, Seeley Service, 1925.

318 pages, with 37 illustrations and a map.) The Bushmen in the territory between the Ngami Lake, the Molopo River, Palapye, and Rietfontein are dealt with. The author first describes his own investigations amongst the Bushmen, and then goes on to examine and criticize the investigations made by his predecessors. He estimates the number of Bushmen at ten thousand. He also notes a difference between the physique of the Cape Bushmen and the Kalahari Bushmen. He devotes several chapters to describing fully their material and physical culture. His statements on Bushmen's religion in chapter XVI are valuable, although the data given are meagre, but it is difficult to describe the religion of a tribe with nomadic tendencies. The last ten chapters deal with the tribes living around the Bushmen with whom they have contacts. This comprehensive book by Dornan was not, however, successful in describing in detail the Bushmen and their peculiarities. Deep insight into their mentality has not yet been obtained, but it is to Dornan that we owe our most detailed knowledge.

A little book edited by D. F. Bleek, The Mantis and his Friends, Bushmen and Folk-Lore (Cape Town, T. Maskew Milles. B. Blackwell, Ltd., London and Oxford, 1923, 68 pages, 10×71), gives useful information concerning the religious and mythological views of the Bushmen. The legends were collected by Dr. W. H. J. Bleek and Dr. Lucy C. Lloyd, and are of undoubted importance.

Professor Carl Meinhof, who has done so much in the interests of African questions, bases a number of his statements in his Die Religionen der Afrikaner in ihrem Zusammenhang mit dem Wirtschaftsleben (Oslo, H. Aschehoug & Co. (W. Nygaard), 1926, 96 pages, 7 tables, price 35. 3d.) on this little book of Bleek's. The foundation of the book is, however, more comprehensive as it is concerned with African religions generally, yet it deals principally with the religion of the Bushmen and of the agricultural Bantu. The author attempts to show that many social phenomena have a religious basis, the result of religious views. He reviews the cultures of the Pygmy Bushmen, the agriculturists and cattle breeders of Africa, comparing their religious and social forms.

Neville Jones, The Stone Age in Rhodesia, with foreword by Sir Arthur Keith. (Oxford University Press, London, 1926, 120 pages, illust., price 125. 6d. nett.) The first chapters of this book constitute a general introduction to early history. In Chapter V there is a description of the discoveries of the late palaeolithic period in Rhodesia. Chapter VI is the most valuable part of the book; here an attempt is made to connect the Bushmen with the 'palaeolithicum' of Rhodesia, and this is based on the Bushmen's art which is compared to that of Europeans of the glacial period. The author appears to ascribe the ancient rock paintings of the Bushmen to prehistoric times, but this contention is not accepted by everyone.