Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes the main historical processes that resulted in the existing structure; and discusses the traditional orientation as a basis of conservatism. It indicates the forces of change. The situation that confronted in Swaziland was fundamentally similar to that confronting other anthropologists dealing with simple, homegeneous societies undergoing revolutionary change through contact with complex, highly specialized societies. The historical method is particularly difficult because of the approach of the Swazi to time, and the absence of written records. Swazi do not co-ordinate events and the social settings in which they occur in any clear time sequence. The book illustrates how witch doctors in Swazi conservative society are the leading specialists; witch doctors in the black-white milieu are regarded as criminals on the one hand, and are linked with doctors and missionaries on the other.