Book ReviewsThe Genuine Shona. By M, G elf and. Gwelo, Mambo Press, 1973, 205 pp. Rh$3,70.This book is likely to provoke a variety ofreactions. Some will be stimulated by itssweeping generalisations and others dismiss itas superficial. Some will share many of theauthor's conclusions, particularly on aspects ofShona culture such as their manners, theirconcept of brotherhood, family life and reli-gion, but may be offended by some of his harshcomments. Those who have read the author'sother books and articles may find little that isnew in the present study. The book is, in fact,a mixture of reportage and academic research.In the first part of the book traditionalShona manners ranging from greetings to tablemanners are described in detail. Relationsh'psbetween members of the Shona extended familyare also described and so are Shona ideas ofthe good and beautiful, right and wrong. Thesecond part of the book deals with traditionalreligion and Shona medical beliefs and prac-tices. The third part deals with marriage andin the last section an attempt is made to assesschange in Shona society. Urban informantswere questioned on various topics such astheir present views on marriage customs, kin-ship, death rituals, food habits and so on.The book as the title indicates is mainlyabout traditional Shona society. But this societyhas undergone great change over the lasteighty years. This change has largely been dueto urbanisation, industrialisation, and contactwith other cultures. Thus readers interested incontemporary Shona society will not find muchthat is of use to them. Those interested intraditional society may also be disappointed.For Professor Gclfand has tended to describehow the traditional Shona ought to behaveand not how they actually behave. Thus hehas ignored deviant behaviour, and the tensionsand conflicts that occur in daily life. Crimesare committed, neighbours quarrel, divorces oc-cur and so on. This omission, however, mayhave been deliberate as Gelfand has discussedsome of these issues in his other studies. Thebook should, therefore, be read along with otherpublished studies of Shona society.Gelfand's interest in the ideal Shona hasled him to make a number of sweepinggeneralisations. For example, in discussingtraditional medical beliefs and practices(pp. 114, 117), he states:In times of sickness or death of one ofits members the family vadzimu are con-sulted to see which one of the spirits hascaused the family to lose the protectivepowers of these spirits and so allowedevil to enter their homes. In otherwords, no one should die. Man shouldlive for ever. Death is not natural. Evena very old person should never die andlife is removed by the vadzimu.In other words, the Shona must alwayshave their dead in mind and no one willdoubt the findings of a ng'anga that theillness came simply because the guiltyperson had failed in some way to respecta spirit elder.From my own studies and from those of others,however, it has been found that the Shonapeople in general make a distinction betweennormal and abnormal sickness and betweennatural and unnatural events in life. Thuspeople do not consult ancestor spirits or othersocial agencies when an illness is regarded asnormal or natural. Some deaths are regardedas natural, others are not. People agree that102men and women grow old and die. Moreover,in times of illness and other misfortunepeople sometimes question the diagnosis of theng'anga (traditional doctor). Where this is thecase the patient and his social group can seeka second opinion.The section dealing with the urban Shonaand social change is rather thin and generallyunsatisfactory. Here I have two main criticisms.The first concerns the manner in which Gel-fand carried out his surveys. We are not toldhow he obtained his samples of informantsand whether these were representative samples.Secondly, he could have strengthened thissection by drawing from other urban studiesthat have been done in recent years. Forexample, the two studies by P. Stopforth(Survey of Highfield African Township; TwoAspects of Social Change, Highfield AfricanTownship Salisbury, Salisbury, University ofRhodesia, Department of Sociology OccasionalPapers Nos. 6 and 7, 1971, 1972) would havegreatly enriched Gelfand's analysis of kinshipUniversity of Rhodesiaand marriage in modern Shona society.After examining the various aspects ofShona culture Gelfand concludes that thereare many aspects of Shona culture that aregood: "Africa has something to offer theworld in human behaviour and this the Shonaman and woman can give by their fine example.'He argues that means must be found of blend-ing these Shona cultural aspects with what theWest has brought to Mashonaland.Although the book is impressionistic inparts, controversial in others, and not alwaysfactually accurate, it cannot be ignored bystudents of Shona society. Whether or not theconclusions drawn are accepted, the book Isbound to find its way into footnotes for manyyears to come. The study will be all the morevaluable if it succeeds in provoking others toexamine with greater precision aspects and thefunctioning of the Shona society. One can onlyagree with Gelfand that as many aspects ofShona culture as possible must be recordednow for the use of future generations.G. L. CHAVUNDUKAThe Formation of Christian Communities In the Rural Area. By P. Calvin. Gwelo, Mambo Press,1972, Occasional Papers : Missio-Pastoral Series No. 1, 48 pp. RhS0,40,This brief work is Intended as a guide andstimulus to Christian ministers working in Rho-desia's Tribal Trust Lands. The author, both aRoman Catholic priest and a doctor in socialanthropology, makes available to his mission-ary colleagues the insights gained from hisacademic training and his work in the field.The first part of the booklet deals with theconcept of 'community' and with the principalfeatures of traditional Shona communities;these can provide a natural basis for the for-mation of newer Christian communities. Herethe author shows a thorough grasp of his sub-University of Rhodesiajeet expressed with a clarity that is all toooften lacking in the writings of academics.The second part of the work is prescriptiverather than descriptive. The author presents anumber of practical suggestions on how minis-ters can encourage the growth of specificallyChristian communities. These are plausiblyargued and presumably reflect the author's ex-perience in missionary work, though no evid-ence is presented on how the suggestions haveworked out in practice.The work can be well recommended to theChristian ministers for whom it is intended.M. F. C. BOURDILLONRhodesia : Little White Island. By J. Parker. London, Pitman. 1972, viii. 166 pp. £2,00.The Might to Say No, By J. Todd. London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1972, 200 pp. £0,40.In Camera ; Secret Justice in Rhodesia. By P. Niesewand. London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson,1973, 209 pp. £2,50.The Real Case for Rhodesia. Bv C. Chesterton, Honeydew (Tvl), Janssonius & Heyns, [1973] 219pp. Rh$l,95.None of these books is written in a dis-interested or detached manner. The first threeIn fact recount the unpleasant experiences oftheir authors in Rhodesia. Parker and Niese-wand were both journalists who fell foul ofthe Official Secrets Act and were prosecuted.103