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Man in Africa
Reproduced here in facsimile, this volume was originally published in 1969 and is available individually. The collection is also available in a number of themed mini-sets of between 5 and 13 volumes, or as a complete collection.
372 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 1969
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April 8, 2026
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Feelings about the book:
- I think it’s pretty cool that this anthology was put together to celebrate Daryll Forde’s 21st anniversary as Head of Anthropology.
Premise/Plot:
- This anthology is dedicated to Forde's work and the topics he had researched. These topics range from social organisation, culture, kinship, authority and belief systems across a range of African societies.
Themes:
- Kinship, social organisation, rituals, authority, political structure, gender roles, colonialism and cultural change.
Pros:
- The Politics of Law chapter by J. A. Barnes was an interesting chapter. His example of the Ngoni in eastern Zambia and how their courts interacted with the British colonial courts gave an insight into how colonialism works on an administrative level.
- Is Matriliny Doomed in Africa? Chapter by Mary Douglas was an informative contribution to this volume. This was probably the best or second best chapter in the book.
- Friends and Twins in Bangwa chapter by Robert Brain was interesting as he talked about culturally cultivated friendships amongst men in a part of West Cameroon.
Cons:
- This book suffers from the classic issue with anthologies - the quality of the essays vary.
- I don't think there were any poor essays from a technical or intellectual standpoint. But there were many that I didn't really care for.
Quotes:
‘The crucial point of difference between patrimonialism and gerontocracy lies, as Weber observed, in the basis of the relationship between the holders of authority and those who are bound to obey it.’
‘In 1929 some of the Ngoni courts were absorbed into the British legal system as officially recognised Native Courts. Their powers, membership, and jurisdiction were defined by the British, and their decisions became subject to review by Administrative officers.’
‘Prior to the British conquest, it was the custom among the Ngoni, as with the Barotse (Gluckman 1955: 9), for chiefs not to hear cases themselves. Their councillors heard the parties, and referred their decision to the chief for confirmation.’
‘Is it an accident of history that no matrilineal system of kinship is found among modern industrial nations?’
‘According to Murdock, power, property, and prestige spell doom to the matrilocal principle (1949: 206-7) and for Murdock this implied doom also for matrilineal descent. Jack Goody has written also in this vein that a poor and egalitarian economy is compatible with matrilineal descent but increase of wealth, differentiation, and inequality are not.’
‘In matrilineal descent groups the emotional interest of the father in his own children constitutes a source of strain, which is not precisely replicated in patrilineal descent groups by the emotional tie between the mother and her children (1961: 23).’
‘In matrilineal descent groups there is an element of potential strain in the fact that the sister is the tabooed sexual object for her brother, while at the same time her sexual and reproductive functions are a matter of interest to him (ibid.: 13).’
‘If matriliny divides the elementary family, and if the latter is taken to be the most viable unit of kinship in the modern world, the outlook for matriliny may indeed be dim.’
‘The tendency for the maker of a cocoa-plantation to leave his property to his son rather than his sister’s son has almost brought a change from matrilineal to patrilineal descent (Cardinall 1931: 84).’
‘On my view the enemy of matriliny is not the cow as such, not wealth as such, not economic development as such, but economic restriction.’
‘In Bangwa the only true equals, and therefore the bestfriends, are twins, born of one womb, at one time, and sharing the same rank. They are the only persons in a kin group, even a nuclear family, who are allowed to use each other’s personal name in conversation.’
‘But virilocal marriage pulls sisters out of villages, while matrilineal descent brings them back to their kin at the cost of broken marriages – as is attested by an exceptionally high divorce rate, even for Central African matrilineal societies.’
Feelings about the book:
- I think it’s pretty cool that this anthology was put together to celebrate Daryll Forde’s 21st anniversary as Head of Anthropology.
Premise/Plot:
- This anthology is dedicated to Forde's work and the topics he had researched. These topics range from social organisation, culture, kinship, authority and belief systems across a range of African societies.
Themes:
- Kinship, social organisation, rituals, authority, political structure, gender roles, colonialism and cultural change.
Pros:
- The Politics of Law chapter by J. A. Barnes was an interesting chapter. His example of the Ngoni in eastern Zambia and how their courts interacted with the British colonial courts gave an insight into how colonialism works on an administrative level.
- Is Matriliny Doomed in Africa? Chapter by Mary Douglas was an informative contribution to this volume. This was probably the best or second best chapter in the book.
- Friends and Twins in Bangwa chapter by Robert Brain was interesting as he talked about culturally cultivated friendships amongst men in a part of West Cameroon.
Cons:
- This book suffers from the classic issue with anthologies - the quality of the essays vary.
- I don't think there were any poor essays from a technical or intellectual standpoint. But there were many that I didn't really care for.
Quotes:
‘The crucial point of difference between patrimonialism and gerontocracy lies, as Weber observed, in the basis of the relationship between the holders of authority and those who are bound to obey it.’
‘In 1929 some of the Ngoni courts were absorbed into the British legal system as officially recognised Native Courts. Their powers, membership, and jurisdiction were defined by the British, and their decisions became subject to review by Administrative officers.’
‘Prior to the British conquest, it was the custom among the Ngoni, as with the Barotse (Gluckman 1955: 9), for chiefs not to hear cases themselves. Their councillors heard the parties, and referred their decision to the chief for confirmation.’
‘Is it an accident of history that no matrilineal system of kinship is found among modern industrial nations?’
‘According to Murdock, power, property, and prestige spell doom to the matrilocal principle (1949: 206-7) and for Murdock this implied doom also for matrilineal descent. Jack Goody has written also in this vein that a poor and egalitarian economy is compatible with matrilineal descent but increase of wealth, differentiation, and inequality are not.’
‘In matrilineal descent groups the emotional interest of the father in his own children constitutes a source of strain, which is not precisely replicated in patrilineal descent groups by the emotional tie between the mother and her children (1961: 23).’
‘In matrilineal descent groups there is an element of potential strain in the fact that the sister is the tabooed sexual object for her brother, while at the same time her sexual and reproductive functions are a matter of interest to him (ibid.: 13).’
‘If matriliny divides the elementary family, and if the latter is taken to be the most viable unit of kinship in the modern world, the outlook for matriliny may indeed be dim.’
‘The tendency for the maker of a cocoa-plantation to leave his property to his son rather than his sister’s son has almost brought a change from matrilineal to patrilineal descent (Cardinall 1931: 84).’
‘On my view the enemy of matriliny is not the cow as such, not wealth as such, not economic development as such, but economic restriction.’
‘In Bangwa the only true equals, and therefore the bestfriends, are twins, born of one womb, at one time, and sharing the same rank. They are the only persons in a kin group, even a nuclear family, who are allowed to use each other’s personal name in conversation.’
‘But virilocal marriage pulls sisters out of villages, while matrilineal descent brings them back to their kin at the cost of broken marriages – as is attested by an exceptionally high divorce rate, even for Central African matrilineal societies.’
Displaying 1 of 1 review