Niesewand 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.104The book does, however, have some weak-nesses. The author's treatment of the socio-economic and particularly of the religiousbackground of the Southern Shona is dis-appointing. Instead of filling the southern gapin the ethnography of Shona religion, theauthor fuses his own observations of the Ka-ranga with studies of the Shona elsewhere andat times it is not clear which group of Shonahe is writing about. It seems strange, forexample, to write of 'mhondord spirits, a namewhich applies to a number of classes ofspirits in Korekore and Zezuru country, butwhich is rarely used among the Southern Shonaand not used at all in some areas.A second point of criticism is that Daneelsometimes presents us with a clear, over-systematic account of Shona beliefs, such asone might expect from an indigenous informant,but giving no indication of how the beliefswork themselves out in practice. Thus, forexample, the author states:At one stage or another the Njuz.upossesses its host (hardly ever a male)and leads her to the 'city of the Njuzuspirits' (Guta reNjuzu) under the nearestdam or river, where she stavs for severaldays (p. 129).Some explanation is needed and none is given.In this section of the book certain Europeanconcepts such as 'magic' and 'worship' receiveanalytical attention which would perhaps haveUniversity of Rhodesiabeen better spent on African concepts and be-liefs.The section on the missionary backgroundto the rise of Independent Churches is a morevaluable contribution. Of particular interest isthe comparison between the Roman CatholicChurch and the Dutch Reformed Church asthey operate among the Southern Shona: theirremarkable similarities appear to beliefundamental doctrinal differences. The author'sdiscussion of the greater defection from thelatter body to the new Independent Churchessuggests the lack of elaborate ritual in theDutch Reformed Church to be more funda-mental than the doctrinal, political or ad-ministrative differences between the two bodies.For a full discussion, however, of the masspopularity of Independent Churches we mustwait for the next volume in the series: in thisvolume, reasons for independency are con-sidered at the level of leadership rather thanof popular support.The book contains a wealth of material forthose who are interested in religion in Rhodesiaor in independent religious movements in Afri-ca; and the emphasis on the particular and thedetailed case studies complement the moregeneralized studies of Sundkler and Barrett.It is unfortunate that the price will keep thiswork confined on the whole to institutionallibraries.M. F. C. BOURDILLONBlack and White Elites In Rural Rhodesia. Bv A. K. H. Weinrich. Manchester, Manchester Uni-versity Press, 1973, 244 pp. £4,00.Empirical studies of racial attitudes in Rho-desia are conspicuously rare; consequently,racial views in the political arena achieve mostvisibility, resulting in the portrayal of suchattitudes as essentially uniform and static. Anotable exception, of course, is the work byC. A. Rogers and C. Frantz (Racial Themes inSouthern Rhodesia, New Haven, Yale Univ.Press, 1962); however, their study is subjectto a number of distinct limitations Š it isdated, restricted to a small sample, and pro-vides little, if any, insight into rural attitudes.Dr Weinrich's recent work, within the con-text of this 'empirical vacuum', provides valua-ble insight into the heterogeneity of racialviews among Rhodesia's rural black and whiteelites. Written in conjunction with her previousstudy (Chiefs and Councils in Rhodesia, Lon-don, Heinemann, 1971) this work focuses onthe 'interaction of Europeans who stand in in-fluential and authoritative positions in Africancommunities, and with the emergent Africanelite' (p.9). Her European sample consisted offourteen district commissioners, fourteen ex-tension officers, an equal number of mission-aries, and eight farmers, while her data on the105