ABSTRACT

Originally published in 1943 this book discusses the life and culture of the Lovedu, a Bantu tribe in South Africa. As well as discussing the Rain-Queen, much of the book is devoted to the royal institutions; the network of links woven by kinship, marriage and marriage cattle, the legal procedure of compromise and appeasement and various aspects of magic, witchcraft and religion. Considered as a whole, the culture emerges as a structure supporting and in turns supported by the Rain-Queen.

chapter I|16 pages

Pageants of the Past

chapter II|17 pages

A Picture of Everyday Things

chapter III|18 pages

Bases of Subsistence

chapter IV|18 pages

Co-operation and Exchange

chapter V|15 pages

Family Ties

chapter VI|17 pages

Some Social Groupings

chapter VII|24 pages

Early Training

chapter VIII|15 pages

Fertility and the Drum Cult

chapter IX|23 pages

Marriage and the Social Structure

chapter X|22 pages

Cogs in the Political Machinery

chapter XI|25 pages

The Genius of Juridical Adjustments

chapter XII|10 pages

The Pursuit of Health

chapter XIII|19 pages

The Role of the Ancestors

chapter XIV|21 pages

Witchcraft and Sorcery

chapter XV|11 pages

The Rain Cult

chapter XVI|17 pages

Tribal Traits and Attitudes

chapter XVII|30 pages

Culture Contact and Culture Change