SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK..
( Notice in this column does not necessarily preclude subsequent review.) BAROTSELAND. By D. W. Stirke. (John Bale, Sons, and Danielsson. 21s. net.) The Barotse are an African tribe known to most of us through the intelligence, liberality, and loyalty of their late chief, Lewanika. Mr. Stirke has spent eight years among them and spent them well : he gives an absorbing account of their customs and methods of government. Some of the songs he quotes have a remarkable definiteness of vision, and they have in addition a vigorous humour of their own ; for example : "The hippopotamus of Libonda jumps in. You see him swimming. He sees a boat near the bank. He shakes the water at the bottom." Or again : "The birds have eaten my mother. They have made me live alone and be poor. All my relatives are dead. This year they will eat your mother." Even their riddles have the same concreteness of image :— " My father's calabash has spots." Answer, " A tiger-fish" ; "Chief and chief do not visit each other." Answer, "It is the forest " ; "The people of the north dance and those of the south dance." Answer, "The leaves of trees." There is a preface to the book by Sir Harry Johnston.
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