Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 26, 1915.djvu/118

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ne'er be dull" : and the same sort of praise may be given to this book, which has something good for every taste.

W. H. D. Rouse.

Short Bibliographical Notices.

The Ban of the Bori : Deino7is and Demon- Dancitig in West and North Africa. By Major A. J. N. Tremearne. Demy 8vo, pp. 497. Heath, Cranton & Ouseley, Ltd., London, 1914. Price 21s. net.

This is perhaps the most interesting and valuable of the long series of books in which Major Tremearne has described the beliefs, folklore, and sociology of the Hausa people. The title " Ban of the Bori " means the cult of spirits, ghosts, and bogies of various kinds and functions, collectively known as Bori, while " Ban " follows Robertson Smith's use of the word to imply " a form of devotion to the deity." The book represents four months' work among the Hausas resident in Tunis and Tripoli, where most of them are slaves. The elaborate account of demon- possession is valuable and interesting, and may be usefully compared with Mrs. Seligmann's description of the Egyptian Zar {Folk-Lore, vol. xxv. p. 300 sqq.). This demon cult appears to be a blend of three different elements : the indigenous Hausa beliefs ; superstitions picked up from travellers and neighbouring tribes ; from the Islam of the Arabic overlords. The chapters dealing with " Totemism and King-killing " are valuable in con- nection with Sir J. Frazer's discussion of the subject in The Golden Bough. Major Tremearne has adopted the sound method of recording the statements of his authorities in their own words. Though it may be difficult at times to reconcile vague and some- times contradictory information, the value of the book is largely increased, and the writer has clearly done his best to enter into the thoughts of the Hausa?, and " to think black." Major Tremearne promises us in the near future another book dealing with the question : " Is there anything in common between the