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International African Institute Les Religions de l'Afrique Noire by Hubert Deschamps Review by: E. M. Mendelson Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Apr., 1955), pp. 200-201 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the International African Institute Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1156081 . Accessed: 16/06/2014 21:07 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Cambridge University Press and International African Institute are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 62.122.77.48 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 21:07:31 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Les Religions de l'Afrique Noireby Hubert Deschamps

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Page 1: Les Religions de l'Afrique Noireby Hubert Deschamps

International African Institute

Les Religions de l'Afrique Noire by Hubert DeschampsReview by: E. M. MendelsonAfrica: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Apr., 1955), pp. 200-201Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the International African InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1156081 .

Accessed: 16/06/2014 21:07

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Cambridge University Press and International African Institute are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,preserve and extend access to Africa: Journal of the International African Institute.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 62.122.77.48 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 21:07:31 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Page 2: Les Religions de l'Afrique Noireby Hubert Deschamps

200 REVIEWS

Nuer, kot, findet sich bei keinem anderen Nilotenvolk wieder. Der allgemein nilotisch bekannte Wortstamm fur Gott (sekundar: Geist), Jwok, ist bei den Nuer zur Bezeichnung eines bestimmten Ahnengeistes geworden. Es ist das die gleiche Entwicklung, die wir z. B. beim urspriinglichen Hochgott der Ghimirra-Stamme Siidabessiniens historisch noch ver- folgen k6nnen: der h6chste Gott der erobernden Kaffitscho, Yero, verwies den Gott der Besiegten, Kai, auf den Platz eines untergeordneten Geistes.

Die auBerordentliche Stellung der Kultur, aber auch der Sprache der Nuer ist nachge- wiesen (vgl. ' Outlines of a Nuer Grammar' by P. Crazzolara, Wien 1933). Dafir darf aber als Grund nicht so sehr ein starkerer EinfluB von seiten des 6stlichen GroBviehziichterkom- plexes geltend gemacht werden, wie es W. Schmidt hinsichtlich der relativ sehr reinen Himmelsreligion versucht hat. Wenn es auch sicherlich bemerkenswert ist, daB der Nuer z. B. nur ein Rind dem Hochgott als Opfer darbringen soll. Andererseits ist aber ebenso auf- fallend eine starkere Bindung an das altnigritische, pflanzerische Substrat: Lippenschmuck, Blattertracht der Frauen und die Bogenwaffe sind Kulturelemente, die in diesem Raum sonst nur noch bei den Splitterstammen des Bahr-el-Ghazal zu finden sind. Ich glaube deshalb viel eher, daB es eine besondere Anlage und Fahigkeit ist, mit der dieses energie- geladene und intensiv lebende Volk sich eigene Lebensgesetze (vgl. das in dieser Aus- formung einzigartige Bodh Gesetz!) und danach auch eigene Kulturformen bewahrt und neu geschaffen hat. Die ziinftige Volkerkunde sollte diesem Gesichtspunkt bei der Beur- teilung von Kultur und Kulturleistung in Zukunft mehr Beachtung schenken.

Wenn P. Crazzolara's Werk einen Wunsch offen laBt, so ist es der nach einer differenzier- teren Darstellung und Analyse des Soziallebens der Nuer. So gut wir namlich iiber Sippe, Familie und deren groBe Bedeutung fur den Nuer unterrichtet werden, so wenig erfahren wir iiber seine Entwicklung, Erziehung, Initiation und eventuelle Zugeh6rigkeit zu Alters- klassen. Ebenso wiirde noch die Frage nach besonderen sozialen Gruppen (Schmied, Jager u. a.) interessieren. Abgesehen von dieser kleinen Materialliicke darf P. Crazzolara's Werk aber als bedeutsamer Schritt nach vorwarts in der Erforschung nilotischen Sozial- und Religionslebens bezeichnet werden. HERMANN JUNGRAITHMAYR

Les Religions de l'Afrique Noire. Par HUBERT DESCHAMPS. Collection 'Que sais-je ?' No. 632. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, I954. Pp. I62, cartes.

M. DESCHAMPS'S little book aims at being no more than a first introduction to African

religion and as such, though it has its defects, it is by no means incompetent. The first eighty pages deal with 'Traditional Beliefs' in four chapters: 'The Individual, the An- cestors, Nature', 'Pantheons, Ritual and World-View', 'Initiation and Magic', and a summary entitled ' Characteristics and Evolution of Negro Paganism '.

By and large, each theme is treated with examples from Dogon and Bambara material. These are fairly substantial but they are followed by heterogeneous and impressionistic notes on other societies: Fon, Ashanti, and Yoruba come off relatively well, but Nilotic, Congolese, and South African natives, for instance, suffer rather badly. The great importance of the work of Professor Griaule and his group perhaps needs more publicity in England, but in France, where Dieu d'Eau and other publications are so easily available, this particular emphasis is perhaps not so useful.

Some aspects of social life are treated more coherently than others: paragraphs on chieftainship, initiation, and divination are the most successful. Here and there we find some generalizations: important social role of the dead (I7), lack of a clear distinction between the natural and the supernatural in the world-view (22), near-omnipresence of the idea of a Creator God (30), frequency of esoteric levels of knowledge rendering investigation

200 REVIEWS

Nuer, kot, findet sich bei keinem anderen Nilotenvolk wieder. Der allgemein nilotisch bekannte Wortstamm fur Gott (sekundar: Geist), Jwok, ist bei den Nuer zur Bezeichnung eines bestimmten Ahnengeistes geworden. Es ist das die gleiche Entwicklung, die wir z. B. beim urspriinglichen Hochgott der Ghimirra-Stamme Siidabessiniens historisch noch ver- folgen k6nnen: der h6chste Gott der erobernden Kaffitscho, Yero, verwies den Gott der Besiegten, Kai, auf den Platz eines untergeordneten Geistes.

Die auBerordentliche Stellung der Kultur, aber auch der Sprache der Nuer ist nachge- wiesen (vgl. ' Outlines of a Nuer Grammar' by P. Crazzolara, Wien 1933). Dafir darf aber als Grund nicht so sehr ein starkerer EinfluB von seiten des 6stlichen GroBviehziichterkom- plexes geltend gemacht werden, wie es W. Schmidt hinsichtlich der relativ sehr reinen Himmelsreligion versucht hat. Wenn es auch sicherlich bemerkenswert ist, daB der Nuer z. B. nur ein Rind dem Hochgott als Opfer darbringen soll. Andererseits ist aber ebenso auf- fallend eine starkere Bindung an das altnigritische, pflanzerische Substrat: Lippenschmuck, Blattertracht der Frauen und die Bogenwaffe sind Kulturelemente, die in diesem Raum sonst nur noch bei den Splitterstammen des Bahr-el-Ghazal zu finden sind. Ich glaube deshalb viel eher, daB es eine besondere Anlage und Fahigkeit ist, mit der dieses energie- geladene und intensiv lebende Volk sich eigene Lebensgesetze (vgl. das in dieser Aus- formung einzigartige Bodh Gesetz!) und danach auch eigene Kulturformen bewahrt und neu geschaffen hat. Die ziinftige Volkerkunde sollte diesem Gesichtspunkt bei der Beur- teilung von Kultur und Kulturleistung in Zukunft mehr Beachtung schenken.

Wenn P. Crazzolara's Werk einen Wunsch offen laBt, so ist es der nach einer differenzier- teren Darstellung und Analyse des Soziallebens der Nuer. So gut wir namlich iiber Sippe, Familie und deren groBe Bedeutung fur den Nuer unterrichtet werden, so wenig erfahren wir iiber seine Entwicklung, Erziehung, Initiation und eventuelle Zugeh6rigkeit zu Alters- klassen. Ebenso wiirde noch die Frage nach besonderen sozialen Gruppen (Schmied, Jager u. a.) interessieren. Abgesehen von dieser kleinen Materialliicke darf P. Crazzolara's Werk aber als bedeutsamer Schritt nach vorwarts in der Erforschung nilotischen Sozial- und Religionslebens bezeichnet werden. HERMANN JUNGRAITHMAYR

Les Religions de l'Afrique Noire. Par HUBERT DESCHAMPS. Collection 'Que sais-je ?' No. 632. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, I954. Pp. I62, cartes.

M. DESCHAMPS'S little book aims at being no more than a first introduction to African

religion and as such, though it has its defects, it is by no means incompetent. The first eighty pages deal with 'Traditional Beliefs' in four chapters: 'The Individual, the An- cestors, Nature', 'Pantheons, Ritual and World-View', 'Initiation and Magic', and a summary entitled ' Characteristics and Evolution of Negro Paganism '.

By and large, each theme is treated with examples from Dogon and Bambara material. These are fairly substantial but they are followed by heterogeneous and impressionistic notes on other societies: Fon, Ashanti, and Yoruba come off relatively well, but Nilotic, Congolese, and South African natives, for instance, suffer rather badly. The great importance of the work of Professor Griaule and his group perhaps needs more publicity in England, but in France, where Dieu d'Eau and other publications are so easily available, this particular emphasis is perhaps not so useful.

Some aspects of social life are treated more coherently than others: paragraphs on chieftainship, initiation, and divination are the most successful. Here and there we find some generalizations: important social role of the dead (I7), lack of a clear distinction between the natural and the supernatural in the world-view (22), near-omnipresence of the idea of a Creator God (30), frequency of esoteric levels of knowledge rendering investigation

This content downloaded from 62.122.77.48 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 21:07:31 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Page 3: Les Religions de l'Afrique Noireby Hubert Deschamps

difficult (45), fear of witchcraft accusations as a social sanction (67); but these can scarcely be regarded as in any way systematized.

The fourth chapter affords a sounder summary than the previous ones might have led us to expect. Some characteristics of Negro religion are summarized, based on such general characteristics as: continuity of the individual, society, Nature, and the dead in one scheme of things, man as centre of a system of dynamic forces and powers, ceremonialism even in the most pragmatic actions, different levels of knowledge and so forth. A short sketch for an essay in classification, based on culture areas and ecological types, is followed by a tenta- tive definition of' African Paganism' (not pejoratively, but from 'paganus': peasant) in comparison with pre-Christian Egypt, Greece, and Rome. This, be it noted, is no mere return to diffusionism; it is part of a general movement of recognition that some African religions are no longer adequately described as 'primitive'. The depth and complexity of certain West African religions, for example, are sufficient to raise them in our, as yet elementary, typologies to a higher place of esteem than they have held heretofore.

The last sixty-five pages are devoted to the 'New Religions': Islam, Christianity, and Native churches wholly or partly inspired by both. It is useful to find both the old and the new treated in the same book, and here M. Deschamps, who is a specialist in colonial his- tory, has a more original and coherent contribution to make than in the first part.

Short historical sketches of the penetration of Islam and Christianity into different parts of Negro Africa are followed by descriptions of how the latter reacts to the former: Mourid- ism and Hamallism on the one hand, South African Prophetism on the other, are useful examples of this phenomenon. The theme of culture contact, already broached in the last pages of the first part, is discussed in so far as it is religiously significant: conversion of the chief and consequent collapse of the social organization, transference of allegiance from chief to marabout or missionary, superficiality of the adherence to the new religions, influence of Muslim sects and schools as a new form of grouping, relative syncretism of Islam and Christianity in the use of magic and other 'pagan' behaviour, proliferation of native groups as a reaction to the colour bar, the problem of change-over from tribal to industrial society and religious vagrancy in the latter, are some of the themes which are more or less successfully reviewed. This part closes with a lively description of prophets such as Makone, Harris, Braid, or Marie Lalou. The author does not deny us the luxury of a few entertaining stories: I for one appreciated those of Bossuet's convert (103) and the prophet Ake's communion in Pernod.

M. Deschamps concludes by comparing Africa today to the Roman Empire in its old age. Though Christianity and Islam are the main contenders for the future, he warns the reader not to underestimate Africa's own religious originality, upon which other religions may try and graft themselves, but which they should only attempt to extirpate at their own risk and peril.

Both this little book and Dr. Parrinder's African Traditional Religion begin to raise the problem of the comparative analysis of African religions. In this connexion more co-opera- tion is perhaps needed between English- and French-writing authors. Parrinder cites Labouret, Maupoil, Dieterlen, Tauxier, and Tempels, but I had the impression that he made no great use of them in his book. M. Deschamps cites only Parrinder, Herskovits and the Ethnographic Survey of Africa for the traditional religions, Latourette and Sunkler for the modern ones. In this respect the recent publication African Worlds is perhaps more valuable.

E. M. MENDELSON

Sechele, the Story of an African Chief. By A. SILLERY, C.V.O. Oxford: George Ronald, I954. Pp. 224, maps and plates. i8S. 6d.

MR. SILLERY, formerly Resident Commissioner of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now p

difficult (45), fear of witchcraft accusations as a social sanction (67); but these can scarcely be regarded as in any way systematized.

The fourth chapter affords a sounder summary than the previous ones might have led us to expect. Some characteristics of Negro religion are summarized, based on such general characteristics as: continuity of the individual, society, Nature, and the dead in one scheme of things, man as centre of a system of dynamic forces and powers, ceremonialism even in the most pragmatic actions, different levels of knowledge and so forth. A short sketch for an essay in classification, based on culture areas and ecological types, is followed by a tenta- tive definition of' African Paganism' (not pejoratively, but from 'paganus': peasant) in comparison with pre-Christian Egypt, Greece, and Rome. This, be it noted, is no mere return to diffusionism; it is part of a general movement of recognition that some African religions are no longer adequately described as 'primitive'. The depth and complexity of certain West African religions, for example, are sufficient to raise them in our, as yet elementary, typologies to a higher place of esteem than they have held heretofore.

The last sixty-five pages are devoted to the 'New Religions': Islam, Christianity, and Native churches wholly or partly inspired by both. It is useful to find both the old and the new treated in the same book, and here M. Deschamps, who is a specialist in colonial his- tory, has a more original and coherent contribution to make than in the first part.

Short historical sketches of the penetration of Islam and Christianity into different parts of Negro Africa are followed by descriptions of how the latter reacts to the former: Mourid- ism and Hamallism on the one hand, South African Prophetism on the other, are useful examples of this phenomenon. The theme of culture contact, already broached in the last pages of the first part, is discussed in so far as it is religiously significant: conversion of the chief and consequent collapse of the social organization, transference of allegiance from chief to marabout or missionary, superficiality of the adherence to the new religions, influence of Muslim sects and schools as a new form of grouping, relative syncretism of Islam and Christianity in the use of magic and other 'pagan' behaviour, proliferation of native groups as a reaction to the colour bar, the problem of change-over from tribal to industrial society and religious vagrancy in the latter, are some of the themes which are more or less successfully reviewed. This part closes with a lively description of prophets such as Makone, Harris, Braid, or Marie Lalou. The author does not deny us the luxury of a few entertaining stories: I for one appreciated those of Bossuet's convert (103) and the prophet Ake's communion in Pernod.

M. Deschamps concludes by comparing Africa today to the Roman Empire in its old age. Though Christianity and Islam are the main contenders for the future, he warns the reader not to underestimate Africa's own religious originality, upon which other religions may try and graft themselves, but which they should only attempt to extirpate at their own risk and peril.

Both this little book and Dr. Parrinder's African Traditional Religion begin to raise the problem of the comparative analysis of African religions. In this connexion more co-opera- tion is perhaps needed between English- and French-writing authors. Parrinder cites Labouret, Maupoil, Dieterlen, Tauxier, and Tempels, but I had the impression that he made no great use of them in his book. M. Deschamps cites only Parrinder, Herskovits and the Ethnographic Survey of Africa for the traditional religions, Latourette and Sunkler for the modern ones. In this respect the recent publication African Worlds is perhaps more valuable.

E. M. MENDELSON

Sechele, the Story of an African Chief. By A. SILLERY, C.V.O. Oxford: George Ronald, I954. Pp. 224, maps and plates. i8S. 6d.

MR. SILLERY, formerly Resident Commissioner of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now p

REVIEWS REVIEWS 201 201

This content downloaded from 62.122.77.48 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 21:07:31 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions