The Religion, Spirituality, and Thought of Traditional Africa, by Dominique Zahan

The Religion, Spirituality, and Thought of Traditional Africa, by Dominique Zahan. 1983 softcover. 180 pages, very nice condition.

In this work, Dominique Zahan offers a composite of African philosophy. Religious rites and socialization in many African societies emphasize discretion, circumspection and stoic endurance of pain. Initiation rites, and other religious ceremonies, also emphasize the need for personal regeneration. Maturation and personal development are understood to involve ongoing transformation. Drawing heavily from post-colonial work, including Zahan's own research among the Bambara around the 1960s, this study is a great introduction to "traditional" African thought.