Newly reissued; this book is still regarded as one of the best synthesis of ethnographic research undertaken amongst the Shona people; taking indigenous religion and culture as a starting point. The author; a renowned anthropologist and sociologist of Zimbabwe; examines the historical background and sources of Shona history from the fifteenth century. He details; from anthropological perspectives; kinship and village organisation including patrilineal kinship; Shona marriage and the position of women in Shona society. The author explores the subsistence and cash economies of the Shona peoples; their contribution to commercial farming; their use of land; and their function as a migrant labour force. Further sections focus on chiefship; courts; and interpretations of sickness; personal misfortune; witchcraft; death and the afterlife. The final sections of the book consider the functions of traditional religion at family and tribal levels; the interface between traditional and new religions; and rural and urban influences; amongst the Shona people.
#3310984 in Books Mercer Univ Pr 2000-04-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.35 x 1.37 x 6.30l; 1.51 #File Name: 0865546541348 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. excellent window into day to day lifeBy Elmer B. Fuddledi bought this book for 2 purposes:1. learn more about the 40th alabama infantry in which one of my ancestors served and was mortally wounded at vicksburg; and2. gain insight into the daily issues and struggles of that time.this book; although in a somewhat redundant fashion accomplished both those goals.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy DRHThis is my great great grandfather and grandmother! How exciting!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great letters but lackluster editingBy R. D. CarlsonThe letters included in this collection are noteworthy for their content and relative completeness. Rarely does one get to read both sides of a Civil War correspondance. Usually letters from home were lost or destroyed during troop movements and only the soldier's letters remain. Grant Taylor; however; managed to hold on to many of his wife's letters and the perspective this gives on the dynamics between husband and wife is fascinating. Anyone who doubts the impact of homefront hardships on the frontline soldier need only follow Grant Taylor's growing frustration as he slips from uneasy acceptance of his military service in 1862 to depressed introspection and resignation toward his own death in 1865.Editorially; this book suffers from a military slant that avoids discussing the very things that make these letter important: the soldier's concern for family and home and the impact that concern had on his mental and emotional condition. Footnoting is haphazard at best and wavers between military history and endlessly repetitive genealogy. I can appreciate the work that went into identifying each person mentioned either by given or nicknames; but by page 30 we are already familiar with who the cousins and brothers are and don't need to be reminded.Read the book for its appeal as a primary source but skip the notes.
