Encyclopedia of Africa

Not just breadth, but girth, of coverage is demonstrated by the encyclopedia and its 896 articles. The 40-odd modern states of sub-Saharan Africa each receive extensive treatment. In addition, survey articles discuss major anthropological and cultural themes, such as kinship and descent, initiation rites, marriage systems, music and dance, masks and masquerades, oral literature, indigenous religious beliefs, historical linguistics, education systems, the Negritude movement, and modes of African philosophical thought. Appendices include a summary of the state of African studies outside Africa, a 16-page chronology of African history divided by region, and a table of 700 ethnic groups with names, locations, languages, populations, subgroups, and notes on their histories, methods of reckoning lineage, and means of subsistence. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.