Hobley, C.W.

Bantu Beliefs and Magic. With a Particular Reference to the Kikuyu and Kamba Tribes of Kenya Colony; Together with some Reflections on East Africa After the War.

London, H. F. G. Witherby, 1922. 15.5 cm x 22.5 cm. Frontispiece with guard, 312 pages. 11 plates. Hardcover [publisher’s original green cloth] with gilt lettering and blind stamp on spine. Blind ruling to front board. Deckled fore and tail-edges. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Interior bright and clean. This being the copy of Charles Marsh Beadnell, with his name on the front endpaper.

Includes, for example, the following: Natural Religion – Spirit Beliefs – Sacrifice – Circumcision Ceremonial – Death and Burial Ceremonial – Superstitions Regarding Children and Women / Magic – The Evil Eye – Kikuyu Magic and Magicians / Miscellaneous – The Constitution and Working of Councils – War and Peace – Miscellaneous Customs and Beliefs – Legends – Dances – Women as Factor in Tribal Organisation – East Africa After the War etc.

Introduction by Sir James Frazier (1854-1941), a noted Scottish social anthropologist and folklorist, influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion. His most famous work, The Golden Bough (1890), documents and details the similarities among magical and religious beliefs around the globe. Frazer posited that human belief progressed through three stages: primitive magic, replaced by religion, in turn replaced by science. (Wikipedia)

Charles William Hobley, CMG (1867 -1947) — known as C. W. Hobley — was a pioneering British Colonial administrator in East Africa. He served the Colonial Service in a variety of roles in Kenya and Uganda from 1894 until his retirement in 1921 and published a number of monographs on a variety of subjects. Serving in a number of positions, from surveying, railway management and transport administration, Hobley was appointed Assistant Deputy Commissioner for the East African Protectorate in 1902 where he became involved in colonial settlement policy. His experiences brought him into contact with many indigenous tribes. He played a leading role in the formation of the East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society, whose Journal he edited for several years. He was also was associated with the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Anthropological Institute, the African Society, the Royal Colonial Institute and the Society for the Preservation of the Fauna of the Empire. (A. T. Matson and Thomas P. Ofcansky, ‘A Bio-Bibliography of C.W. Hobley’, History in Africa, Vol. 8 (1981), pp. 253-260)

Provenance: Surgeon Rear-Admiral Charles Marsh Beadnell (17 February 1872 – 27 September 1947), best known as C. Marsh Beadnell, was a British surgeon and Royal Navy officer. Beadnell was born in Rawalpindi. He was educated at Cheltenham College and studied medicine at Guy’s Hospital. He was a Fellow of the Chemical Society and of the Royal Anthropological Institute. A rationalist and sceptic, he was president of the Rationalist Press Association (1940-1947). Beadnell described himself as a “devout agnostic”. He died in Petersfield, Hampshire.

• Keywords: Africa · Africa, British East · African Cultures · African Identities · Anthropology · Beliefs and Customs · British · British Colonial Administration · British Colonial History · British Dominions · British East Africa · British Empire · British Imperial · Circumcision · Ethnography · Funerals and Burials, Rituals etc · Government · Magic · Magician · Marriage · Native, Rituals and Customs · Natives · Religion · Religion and Culture · Religion, Primitive · Rituals · Traditions · Women
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 120217AB

EUR 220,--