men 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.103Niesewand also suffered Detention, as did MissTodd for her part in the 'No' campaign againstthe settlement proposals of 1971-2. None ofthese three books is of great weight but theywill undoubtedly be useful for the historian ofthe future who wishes to discover what Rho-desia was like after U.D.I. What will thenstand out is the close similarity between theexperiences and reactions of these three authorswho were otherwise so different, in background,temperament and political views; equally note-worthy will be the fact that the reader meetsthe same small range of characters who playsubsidiary roles in the authors' predicament Šlawyers, policewomen, journalists. The con-clusion surely will be to emphasise both theuniformity and smallness of Rhodesia's rulingwhite class, which perhaps is why two of thethree are banned.The fourth book under review is a diatribeagainst Africans, in which Rhodesia is littlemore than a 'peg' on which to hang anti-communist and anti-nationalist arguments. Thetone is so hysterical that it is difficult for areviewer to summarise its meaning, but oneexample of the author's methods is illuminat-ing. He cites from The Rhodesia Herald com-plaints about the 'uselessness' of an African'sreading History, Sociology and Shona at theUniversity of Rhodesia; what is not cited,however, is this reviewer's published reply tothat complaint which showed that the studentin question had been found eminently suitablefor professional social work among Africans.Readers will be interested to note that thisbook is not banned.R.S.R.Old and New in Southern Shona Independent Churches. Volumes I: Background and Rise of theMajor Movements. By M. A. Daneel. The Hague, Mouton, 1971, 557 pp. 60 Dutch Guilders.Independent Churches are growing rapidlyin numbers and membership throughout Africaand in Rhodesia in particular. Dr Daneel'sstudy of this phenomenon based on years ofparticipant observation is welcome and timely.The volume under review is the first of aplanned series of four: it is concerned withthe socio-economic and religious backgroundof the Southern Shona and an historical accountof the rise of Independent Churches in thesouthern districts of Rhodesia. Further volumeswill consider the attractions of these movementsespecially as shown by patterns of recruitmentand affiliation, the organization and leadershipof Independent Churches, and finally theirritual and belief.The Zionist and Ethiopian churches cameto Rhodesia from the American Negro equiv-alents through South Africa where the earlyleaders in Rhodesia met the independent move-ments while working as migrant labourers.Nevertheless, once established the movement inRhodesia took on characteristics distinct fromthe South African movement. Some of theleaders were of high standing in missionChurches which they left after disillusionmentor conflict with mission authorities. Others re-lied on charismatic gifts to obtain a followingrather than on familiarity with Church educa-tion and organization. The relationship betweenindependent Churches and established MissionChurches varied between tolerance and mutualantagonism at the start, although later most,if not all, Independent Churches aspire to rela-tionship with Mission Churches in which theyare acknowledged as equal denominations with-in the Christian body. The attitude of In-dependent Church members to traditional reli-gion also varies from refutation to tolerance,depending partly on how closely the Churchconcerned modelled itself on some establishedmission body. The relationship with govern-ment depended to some extent on personalrelationships between leaders and local ad-ministrators. At the outset, the IndependentChurches were suspected of being politicallyorientated, occasionally with some justification.But the attempts of many leaders to improvethe status of their Churches through officialapproval and recognition have eventually beensuccessful. One finds a number of historical andsocial variables producing a rich variety ofchurches spreading their influence throughoutRhodesia (especially in the case of JohnMaranke's Apostolic Church). Well suppliedwith a full index, the volume under review isan invaluable historical source book usingboth documentary evidence and oral traditionson the rise and spread of Independent Churchesin Rhodesia.104