The Ethnogrphy of South Africa ¹

Abstract

MR. McCALL THEAL, the celebrated historian of South Africa, introduced into his volumes on that subject, published first of all some fifteen or more years ago, a variety of chapters and paragraphs on (he traditional history, the habits and customs of the South African natives—Bushmen, Hottentots, and Bantu negroes. He considered that this work, owing to its being scattered through a number of volumes was not sufficiently useful or accessible to students of South Africa, and therefore has now selected much of his ethnographical material from the aforesaid history, and has republished it in a separate book, the volume under review. To these chapters origin ally written, we may suppose, about twenty years ago—or even more—he has added a good deal of recent research work, and it may be said at once that although in some respects this book is not quite up-to-date and fails to appreciate some of the newest theories and most recently discovered facts, it is likely to be essential to all students of Africa for a long time to come. It is eminently readable; and although there are a few mistakes, such as perhaps no such work could be exempt from, the slight defects of the book are rather in the nature of omission than of commission.