benevolent only as long as their laws and their taboos are observed, and as long as gifts are offered up to them. Neglect of any kind may arouse their anger and revenge. Communication with them is based on a regular system of give and take, but not on the moral conduct of the worshippers.

The God of Heaven is also connected with a natural body, namely with the visible heaven. But this God holds a unique position, he is above everything and is everywhere. 'Have you ever seen the limits of the heavens?' said an Ewe Native. Just as in the case of the local deities, so too the conception of the God of Heaven is a personal one, but his significance and the extent of his power are far greater than that of a tribal deity. Everything owes its existence to him. Local deities are his children, they derive their power from him. He is the creator, the guide and preserver of the world and of all that is in the world. His characteristic qualities are power, justice and goodness, and they find expression in a number of 'praise names', sayings and songs. "The creation of the butterfly is to the glory of God,' 'Rich and poor are the work of the Almighty,' 'All human beings are God's children, none of them are the earth's children,' 'He whom God does not kill will not die,' 'If you want to speak to God, speak to the wind,' 'Leave the battle to God and rest your head in your hands," "Those whom we cannot catch we leave in the hands of God.' Local deities punish those who break their commands, it is God who punishes breaches of ethical law. He takes pity on those who are oppressed and he obtains justice for them, and those who are in trouble can turn to him, he is their last resort and ‘he has mercy on us all our days', ‘he is a good God.' His remoteness, his universality and his goodness have, however, resulted in the conceptions of him being somewhat indefinite and shadowy. He does not require sacrifice and is not influenced by it; he is not influenced by worship. Belief in him is the conviction, frequently somewhat theoretical, of a just and benevolent world order, which directs the destiny of humanity as a whole and the destiny of the individual.

ONE

EDITORIAL NOTES

NE of the outstanding educational problems in Africa at the present time is the production of good school text-books. The article which appeared in the first number of Africa has been reprinted in pamphlet form (Memorandum II), and can be obtained from the offices of the Institute at 6d. per copy. The question is further dealt with in the current number in the article by Georges Hardy (see p. 145), and we hope that discussion of the problem will be continued in future numbers by authors whose experience has been gained in actual practical work in Africa.

E. von Hornbostel, in his article on negro music which appeared in the previous issue, drew attention to the fact that the music of Africa is relatively little known; there is in fact real danger that we shall not even learn what it was. An earnest appeal is made to all those who live in Africa and are in a position to do so to help to save African music, at least for scientific purposes. Von Hornbostel himself shows that this can be done with little apparatus and without much difficulty. We give every possible support to this appeal and urge our readers to assist in recording native music whenever an opportunity presents itself. They would not only be doing a service to the cause of science, but it would open to them an intimate knowledge of what is a vital part of the inner life of the African.

It is needful, however, to emphasize the fact that such records are only of full value when the words of the songs are accurately reproduced so that they can be studied and published with the music. This cannot be done afterwards in Europe, but must be recorded on the spot with the assistance of a competent Native. The object will be best achieved if the European understands the language and can check the Native's version and translate his words into a European language. In various European centres large collections of records of African music exist, but when they are not accompanied by careful notes of the text their usefulness for purposes of study is much restricted.

Nor is music the only branch of African culture which is threatened with extinction. All the other branches are imperilled. In the article in the previous issue on 'Text-books for African Schools' the desirability of the inclusion of examples of native poetry in school text-books was urged. But to do that the poetry must be known; it is astonishing how little this is the case in large areas in Africa. It is difficult to understand how a European can live for years or even decades among a strange people and take upon himself to lead them from darkness into light without studying their inner life as

expressed in their poetry. And yet this is only too often the case. It is not sufficient to collect a few legends, poems, and traditional tales and then print them in a Reader. If adequate educational use is to be made of native poetry, the poetry must be studied and a proper survey of it made; only by this method is it possible to discover what is typical of a particular language area and what is most valuable. Only such material should primarily be used. It is difficult to think of a more delightful occupation than the preparation of a collection of legends, proverbs, songs, and traditional tales gathered in the language area in which one works. In this case also the text should be dictated by a Native in the vernacular and then written down. Only in this way does it become of documentary value. This is of particular importance in the case of less known languages, in which no texts or only a few exist; the number of such languages is greater than might be imagined. When such texts are carefully noted, supplied with a good translation and also with any linguistic notes which appear necessary, they are of real value for scientific purposes and their publication can always be secured.

There are very few collections of African poetry in European languages covering either a large part of Africa or the whole Continent. The following are the best known: C. Monteil, Contes soudanais; Bérenger-Férand, Contes de la Sénégambie; Zeltner, Contes du Sénégal et du Niger; Equilbecq, Essai sur la littérature merveilleuse des Noirs suivi de Contes indigènes de l'Ouest Africain Français (the four first mentioned were published in the Collection de Contes et Chansons populaires, Paris, Leroux); R. Basset, Contes populaires d'Afrique, Paris (contains also a good collection from older sources); M. Delafosse, L'Âme Nègre, Paris, 1922; C. Meinhof, Die Dichtung der Afrikaner, Berlin, 1911; C. Meinhof, Afrikanische Märchen (from the collection Die Märchen der Weltliteratur, Diederichs, Jena); L. Frobenius, Atlantis, Volksmärchen und Volksdichtungen Afrikas, Diederichs, Jena (In this comprehensive collection twelve volumes have so far appeared).

More important than the recording and collection of African music and poetry, for scientific use, is their preservation and cultivation among the Africans themselves. This is true of native art as a whole. Here is a great task in which the Institute is anxious to help so far as lies in its power. The question of how this can be done will be discussed on a future occasion. Here it must suffice to say that any information as to the experience of readers in Africa who have assisted in the cultivation of native music and art generally will be welcome. Any ideas or proposals will be gratefully received. To such communications as seem to us suitable, we shall be glad (with permission from the authors) to give publicity in Africa.

NOTES AND NEWS

PROVISIONAL arrangements have been made for the Fifth Meeting of

the Executive Council to be held in London on Monday and Tuesday, July 16th and 17th, 1928. In order to enable the more distant countries to keep in personal and living touch with the practical conduct of the work of the Institute the constitution provides that when members of the Governing Body belonging to countries not represented on the Executive Council are at the time of a meeting of the Council in the country where the meeting is held, they may attend the meetings of the Council as full members. The Secretariat would be glad to hear by June 1st from any member of the Governing Body who may be able to take advantage of this provision, in order that the necessary arrangements may be made.

As a general rule the Journal will, by decision of the Executive Council, contain ninety-six pages. Again, however, as was the case with the first issue, so much important material has come to hand that the Institute is glad to present an enlarged number.

So much interest has been expressed in the first number of the Journal that it has been decided to publish certain of the articles separately as Memoranda II, III, and IV. The article by the Chairman of the Executive Council entitled “The International Institute of African Languages and Cultures' and the 'Preliminary Memorandum by the Executive Council on Text-books for African Schools' are both on sale, price 6d, while the article by Professor E. von Hornbostel on 'African Negro Music' has also been reprinted, price 15. 6d. per copy.

SAHARA. M. Kilian, chargé de mission par le Ministère français de l'Instruction Publique se trouvait à Djanet (Sahara central) en octobre dernier. Il a exploré une partie du Fezzan, découvert plusieurs puits anciens et des ruines d'oppidums antéislamiques à Kouffari et Djidide.

La mission scientifique Angiéras Draper, dont la composition et le but ont été indiqués dans le n° 1 d'Africa, a quitté Silet le 14 novembre pour gagner Timissa.

AFRIQUE OCCIDENTALE. Le Professeur Perrot et M. Alland, ingénieur agronome, chargés de mission par le Comité interministériel des Plantes médicinales et l'Office National des Matières premières, partis de Colom-Bechar (Sud-Oranais) en auto chenille, ont gagné le Niger. Ils se sont rendus

ensuite à Tombouctou, Kopti et Bamako, et ont visité le Soudan, la HauteVolta et la Guinée française, recherchant les possibilités de cultures des plantes médicinales et à parfum. La mission est rentrée en France en janvier.

LIBERIA. The Staatliches Forschungsinstitut für Völkerkunde of Leipzig proposes to send an expedition to study the ethnological conditions of the hitherto unknown North-West Hinterland of Liberia, which borders to the North and East on French Guinea and to the West on Sierra Leone. The leaders of the expedition will be Dr. Paul German, Director of the African section of the Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, Leipzig, and Dr. Hans Plischke, Professor at the University of Leipzig.

NORD AFRIKA. Professor Dr. Ernst Schultze, Direktor des Weltwirtschafts-Instituts der Handels-Hochschule, Leipzig, trat Mitte März eine Studienreise nach Algerien, Tunis und Tripolis an. Die Reise soll in erster Linie Studien über weltwirtschaftliche Wanderungen dienen, d.h. über die Menschenbewegungen, die irgendwo die Grenzen eines Staates überschreiten. Die kürzlich gegründete Deutsche Zentralstelle für Wanderungsforschung, die ihren Sitz in Leipzig hat, wird in dem ersten Heft ihres Archivs eine Arbeit von Professor Dr. Schultze bringen und die Studienreise nach Nordafrika soll dem Zweck der Vorbereitung weiterer Aufsätze für das Archiv dienen.