Bantu Beliefs and Magic / With particular reference to the Kikuyu and Kamba tribes of Kenya Colony; together with some reflections on East Africa after the war
C. W. Hobley
Essays
Book language: English
301 pages
C. W. Hobley's ethnographic essays from 1922 describe the beliefs, customs and magic of the Kikuyu and Kamba peoples in Kenya Colony. With an introduction by Sir James G. Frazer, the book also offers reflections on East Africa after the war. It is worth listening to as a historical source on colonial-era anthropology and its perspectives.
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Cover of the original edition (Project Gutenberg, public domain).
Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
[Contents] [Contents] BANTU BELIEFS AND MAGIC [Contents] KITUI KITUI A KAMBA CHIEF. [Contents] Original Title Page.
BANTU BELIEFS AND MAGIC WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE KIKUYU AND KAMBA TRIBES OF KENYA COLONY; TOGETHER WITH SOME REFLECTIONS ON EAST AFRICA AFTER THE WAR BY C. W. HOBLEY, C.M.G. M. R. AƿǵƒǡLjǙ. IƿǪǵ., C.M.Z.S., AǪǪLjŕ. M. IƿǪǵ. C.E. (Late Senior Provincial Commissioner, Kenya Colony) WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SIR JAMES G. FRAZER, F.R.S., &c. LONDON H. F. & G. WITHERBY 326 HIGH HOLBORN, W.C. 1922
[Contents]
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[Contents]
PREFACE
It is often said that the longer one knows the native the less one knows, and the less one understands him. This expression is doubtless comforting to persons who have not the patience to systematically study him and his views on life, but it could with convenience be replaced by a saying to the effect that the more one knows of the native the more one realises how much remains to be learnt.
The spirit of this is in accordance with the true attitude to all other branches of knowledge, for the more one learns, the more the map unfolds, and one gradually realises the vastness of the country to be explored.
During long years of service in East Africa my work has brought me into close contact with the native tribes from Lake Victoria to the coast, and I early realised that their administration could not be intelligently conducted without close inquiry into their social organisation and religious beliefs, and in this connection I would here like to express my indebtedness to the kind advice and stimulating
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