Book Reviews : The Drums of Affliction—A Study of Religious Processes among the Ndembu of Zambia. By v. W. TURNER (Oxford, Clarendon Press and The International African Institute, 1968). xiii + 326 pp. 65s
Abstract
Book ReviewsThe Drums of Affliction—A Study of Religious Processes among the Ndembu of Zambia. By v. W. TURNER (Oxford, Clarendon Press and The International African Institute, 1968). xiii + 326 pp. 65s SAGE Publications, Inc.1969DOI: 10.1177/030639686901000322 Robert I. Rotberg Massachusetts Institute of Technology 'For Europeans,' said one of Turner's informants, 'things are more important than people, [but] for us, people are more important than things.' By 'people' the informant meant 'customary ties between people' living and dead-ties which can be demonstrated, strengthened, adjusted and refashioned by the public performance of and general participation in ritual. Turner follows Leach in viewing ritual as fulfilling both magical and communicative functions: the symbols of ritual are storage units of information-'multi-faceted mnemonics', to use his own apt description, 'each facet corresponding to a specific cluster of values, norms, beliefs, sentiments, social roles and relationships within the total cultural system of the community performing the ritual'. But Turner would probably also agree that it is possible to view the use of ritual in Central Africa as a structured exercise in interpersonal dynamics-as a conscious but highly stylised and traditionally sanctified, elaboration of a small-group coping mechanism. The author's material is rich and he