BOOK REVIEWS135the Theron Report and its recommendations should not be interpreted as anexercise in options on the part of the South African Government; on the con-trary, it demonstrated an inability to adapt. The 'problem' of the 'Coloureds'is certainly the Achilles' heel of the ideology of white supremacy in SouthAfrica and the extent to which it has become a source of discomfort forPretoria may be an indication of the course of change which the oppressed,and not the oppressors, of Southern Africa have begun and whose outcomeonly they can determine-University of YorkI. D. J. MANDAZAAfrican Law and Custom in Rhodesia By B. Goldin and M. Gelfand. CapeTown, Juta, 1975, xvi, 325pp., Rh$ll,90.A Bibliography of African Law, with Special Reference to Rhodesia. By T. W.Bennett and S. Phillips. Salisbury, Univ. of Rhodesia, 1975, xxxiv, 291pp.,Rh$5,00.The authors of the first of these two books essayed a very difficult task. Themain difficulty arises from the fact that the African law and custom thathas grown up naturally and spontaneously over the years has been engrafted,in a somewhat clumsy way and with severe limitations, into the ordinarystatute law of the land. This has meant that there were at least three possiblelines of approach: To treat the subject as a purely ethnological study, dis-regarding the legislation; to produce a practical legal text book for the useof practitioners and others concerned with the administration of the law; orto attempt a combination of the two. The authors have adopted the thirdapproach, which is that most beset with pitfalls. It is greatly to their creditthat they have avoided these and achieved so large a measure of success.There were lesser difficulties in their way. As the authors themselvesrecognise, the basic material of their study varied from tribe to tribe andeven from locality to locality within the tribe. They have dealt with this onbro->d lin^-s and have, wisely, resisted the temptation to extend their investiga-tions to the divergent customs of such subordinate peoples as the Venda,fascinating to the ethnologist but distracting to those concerned with thepractical application of the law.In the result the book should prove of great value. For the first time,so far as I am aware, the true customary law is considered in juxtapositionwith those sections that have been modified by statute or by judicial decisions.The judicial decisions are considered critically. Apart from commenton individual cases certain tendencies are revealed which, unless they arechecked, could lead to unfortunate consequences. For example, if the authorsare correct in their belief that there is a tendency for decisions in DistrictCourts to diverge from those in Tribal Courts, then action must be takento see that this is avoided. It may prove to be nigh impossible, but somethingon the lines of the circulars of the Justice Department could help. Certainlysomething should be attempted, for legal history is full of examples of thesad results where different lines are taken in courts of more or less co-ordinatejurisdiction.Directly or by implication the authors raise a number of other questionsof the first importance. Some are inherent in the system itself. For example,how long will Africans in a modern technological state continue to wish that136BOOK REVIEWStheir affairs be governed by a system designed for a simpler society, how-ever much we may share with them a nostalgia for the older days?Other problems arise from the manner in which the system has been in-corporated into the background law of the land- It has already been hintedthat this has been inept. I am thankful that I shall not, as a judicial officer, becalled upon to construe the application of customary law laid down by Section3 of the African Law and Tribal Courts Act When the time comes whenthese problems have to be faced, I am sure this book will afford guidance tothose compelled to resolve the perplexities involved. Meantime, if the bookreceives the attention it deserves, it will serve a useful purpose simply bydrawing constructive attention to the existence of the difficulties. Apart fromits value to the busy practitioner or administrator of the law the theoreticalethnologist will find here much that is not only interesting but authoritative.Almost simultaneously, the University of Rhodesia has published acognate work. It sets out to deal with a wider field Š Africa at large. Thepresent reviewer does not feel competent to comment except in so far as thetook relates to Rhodesia, or at most, Southern Africa; but it is not un-reasonable to assume that this gives a fair indication of the general value ofthe material. Such a bibliography falls to be tested by the answers to thefollowing questions: Is it accurate? Is it comprehensive? Are the referenceseasy to find and to follow? This book appears to satisfy all these require-ments in a high degree. In fact, one is left a little awed by the extent of theresearch that must have been involved in its compilation and the competencewith which it has been handled.MarandellasSIR ROBERT TREDGOLD