Paths in the Rainforests: Toward a History of Political Tradition in Equatorial Africa
by Jan M. Vansina
University of Wisconsin Press, 1990 Paper: 978-0-299-12574-5 | eISBN: 978-0-299-12573-8 | Cloth: 978-0-299-12570-7 Library of Congress Classification DT352.65.V36 1990 Dewey Decimal Classification 967
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Vansina’s scope is breathtaking: he reconstructs the history of the forest lands that cover all or part of southern Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Congo, Zaire, the Central African Republic, and Cabinda in Angola, discussing the original settlement of the forest by the western Bantu; the periods of expansion and innovation in agriculture; the development of metallurgy; the rise and fall of political forms and of power; the coming of Atlantic trade and colonialism; and the conquest of the rainforests by colonial powers and the destruction of a way of life.
“In 400 elegantly brilliant pages Vansina lays out five millennia of history for nearly 200 distinguishable regions of the forest of equatorial Africa around a new, subtly paradoxical interpretation of ‘tradition.’” —Joseph Miller, University of Virginia
“Vansina gives extended coverage . . . to the broad features of culture and the major lines of historical development across the region between 3000 B.C. and A.D. 1000. It is truly an outstanding effort, readable, subtle, and integrative in its interpretations, and comprehensive in scope. . . . It is a seminal study . . . but it is also a substantive history that will long retain its usefulness.”—Christopher Ehret, American Historical Review
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Jan Vansina is the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor and the Vilas Professor in History and Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His many books include his 1994 memoir Living with Africa, Oral Tradition as History, Kingdoms of the Savanna, and The Children of Woot, all published by the University of Wisconsin Press.
REVIEWS
“Until the publication of Paths in the Rainforests, it was difficult to make more than superficial attacks on the widespread myth that Central African peoples live in ‘impenetrable jungles as their ancestors have lived for thousands of years.’ Even those few among the 200-plus small scale societies that we have understood in some depth have seemed isolated in time and space. Jan Vansina’s Paths makes a truly significant contribution to African history by providing a solid framework for the description and integration of a millennium of evolution of the many societies of the vast rainforests."—Curtis A. Keim, African Studies Review
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Maps and Figures
Preface
Acknowledgments
Note on Spelling
Chapter One: Voids and Blinders, Words and Things
Chapter Two: The Land and Its Settlement
Chapter Three: Tradition: Ancient and Common
Chapter Four: The Trail of the Leopard in the Inner Basin
Chapter Five: Between Ocean and Rivers
Chapter Six: The Eastern Uplands
Chapter Seven: Challenge from the Atlantic
Chapter Eight: Death of a Tradition
Chapter Nine: On History and Tradition
Appendix: Comparative Lexical Data
Notes
Works Cited
Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
Paths in the Rainforests: Toward a History of Political Tradition in Equatorial Africa
by Jan M. Vansina
University of Wisconsin Press, 1990 Paper: 978-0-299-12574-5 eISBN: 978-0-299-12573-8 Cloth: 978-0-299-12570-7
Vansina’s scope is breathtaking: he reconstructs the history of the forest lands that cover all or part of southern Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Congo, Zaire, the Central African Republic, and Cabinda in Angola, discussing the original settlement of the forest by the western Bantu; the periods of expansion and innovation in agriculture; the development of metallurgy; the rise and fall of political forms and of power; the coming of Atlantic trade and colonialism; and the conquest of the rainforests by colonial powers and the destruction of a way of life.
“In 400 elegantly brilliant pages Vansina lays out five millennia of history for nearly 200 distinguishable regions of the forest of equatorial Africa around a new, subtly paradoxical interpretation of ‘tradition.’” —Joseph Miller, University of Virginia
“Vansina gives extended coverage . . . to the broad features of culture and the major lines of historical development across the region between 3000 B.C. and A.D. 1000. It is truly an outstanding effort, readable, subtle, and integrative in its interpretations, and comprehensive in scope. . . . It is a seminal study . . . but it is also a substantive history that will long retain its usefulness.”—Christopher Ehret, American Historical Review
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Jan Vansina is the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor and the Vilas Professor in History and Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His many books include his 1994 memoir Living with Africa, Oral Tradition as History, Kingdoms of the Savanna, and The Children of Woot, all published by the University of Wisconsin Press.
REVIEWS
“Until the publication of Paths in the Rainforests, it was difficult to make more than superficial attacks on the widespread myth that Central African peoples live in ‘impenetrable jungles as their ancestors have lived for thousands of years.’ Even those few among the 200-plus small scale societies that we have understood in some depth have seemed isolated in time and space. Jan Vansina’s Paths makes a truly significant contribution to African history by providing a solid framework for the description and integration of a millennium of evolution of the many societies of the vast rainforests."—Curtis A. Keim, African Studies Review
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Maps and Figures
Preface
Acknowledgments
Note on Spelling
Chapter One: Voids and Blinders, Words and Things
Chapter Two: The Land and Its Settlement
Chapter Three: Tradition: Ancient and Common
Chapter Four: The Trail of the Leopard in the Inner Basin
Chapter Five: Between Ocean and Rivers
Chapter Six: The Eastern Uplands
Chapter Seven: Challenge from the Atlantic
Chapter Eight: Death of a Tradition
Chapter Nine: On History and Tradition
Appendix: Comparative Lexical Data
Notes
Works Cited
Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE