IN the course of a long and dedicated career as a Native Commissioner in Rhodesia (1908-1941) F. W. T. Posselt wrote numerous articles and booklets on the history, customs, laws, religion and institutions of the country's African tribes giving his interpretations of their underlying principles. In 1935 these were published in a single volume as Fact and Fiction-A Short Account of the Natives of Southern Rhodesia. Now elusive in the original, this work is a mine of information gleaned from tribal elders by this perceptive and sympathetic author. He covers matters of a legendary basis and of verifiable fact but is ever aware of the shadow zone between fact and fiction, and conscious of the fragmentary nature of his glimpses into a vast field. He notes that ceremony permeates all phases of African life and recognizes the value of folklore in elucidating what, to the white, appears to be the complex character of the black. There is an outline of the legal ideas, beliefs and social life of the Vazezuru; and chapters on the Watawara, the Batonga and the Barozwi. Another deals with the rise of the Amandebele. More than forty years ago Posselt wrote: "If the Native has so far reacted in many ways disappointing to our expectations (plans), the fault must be sought more in the methods followed by the preceptor than in the response of the pupil; for an immoderate haste permeates our methods . . . the desire to do good without understanding the nature of him whom it is intended to benefit. . . must mar much of our labour. . ." This reprint edition of Fact and Fiction, which carries a thoughtful new Foreword by Roger Howman, is most timely and will make for greater understanding among Rhodesians. Used in good condition.

 

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