ABSTRACT
The Umbundu belief in reincarnation throws responsibility for determination of personality back upon the ancestral spirits (olosuku, olosande) or upon the Spirit World or Fate. Many folk-tales and proverbs could be quoted to show the Umbundu ideas with regard to personality. Adult expectation of normal development in children is perhaps best seen in the Umbundu concept of sense or intelligence (olondunge), something which every normal person is expected to have in some measure from the time of weaning. The Umbundu concept of personality as being achieved by a process of social integration is of fundamental importance, bearing in mind that society consists of the whole kinship group. Umbundu treatment of children, the habitually respectful form of address used in speaking to them, and respect for their personalities is further evidence of the tender side of Umbundu character, as is also their banning of angry behaviour from the relations of the home.
