West African Studies

...to show how certain groups of facts are related to each other—a connection that his sharp insight allowed him to recognize. Therefore, I am providing a guide to much of this relationship here by dividing the different categories of Fetishism original: "Fetishism." In the 19th century, this term was used by Europeans to describe the traditional religions and spiritual practices of West Africa, specifically the belief that spirits inhabit or are represented by physical objects. into four distinct schools. To do this, I must now present a significant amount of material that was either left out of my previous work due to lack of space or that I felt required further investigation and comparison. Regarding the new claims I make, I have been able to provide them thanks to the constant flow of information and the answers to questions I receive from contacts in West Africa. For the rest of my work on the Fetish, I remain simply a "photographic plate" Kingsley means she aims to be an objective recorder of reality, capturing data exactly as it appears without letting her personal bias distort the "image.".

Regarding the other sections of this book, they are all secondary in importance to me compared to the Fetish, but they are related to it. They describe the environment of West African religion; without understanding that context, you cannot truly understand the subject itself. The section that my publisher, Mr. Macmillan, has labeled original: "ticketed" as "Introductory"—I could not find a name for it at all—is relevant to West African affairs because it depicts life aboard a West Coast ship. I should mention that this section was cut from my previous book; so, while you might not be happy to see it here, you should at least be glad it wasn't in the last one.

The chapter on fishing was also removed from Travels in West Africa. Critics for whom I have great respect argued it was a mistake not to explain how I obtained my fish specimens. This made me worry they thought I had stolen them! Therefore, I quickly published the article in the National Review, and through the kindness of its editor, Mr. Maxse, I am reprinting it here. It is the only previously published material in this book.

The chapter on Law contains all the information I have been able to organize so far regarding this important subject. I must hold onto the material regarding Criminal Law until I can return to West Africa and further study the mindset of...