In Dwarf Land and Cannibal Country A Record of Travel and Discovery in Central Africa

Abstract

FURTHER information regarding the dwarfs of the north-eastern part of the Congo Basin is one of the main desiderata in African anthropology. We therefore turned to this volume hoping, from its title and size, for detailed measurements of these dwarfs, convincing evidence as to whether they belong to several tribes or are all clans of one tribe, and for further light on their beliefs and folklore. But we are disappointed, for the book adds practically nothing to our knowledge of this group of dwarfs, and the title is misleading. The book narrates the story of Mr. Lloyd's missionary labours and adventures from July 14, 1894, to the end of 1898; most of these three and a half years were spent in the Uganda Protectorate, and the author's acquaintance with the Congo dwarfs was obtained between October 6 and 15, 1898. The account of his experiences with this people occur only within some seventeen pages, whereas 368 are devoted to “Out of Dwarf Land.”

In Dwarf Land and Cannibal Country A Record of Travel and Discovery in Central Africa.

By A. B. Lloyd. With an introduction by the President of the Church Missionary Society. Pp. xxiv + 385. (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1899.)