Chapter I: Front Matter

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Production notes at line #16
Explanation of typographical conventions at line #34

This electronic edition of Edith A. How's _People of Africa_ was produced by John Walker in January 2003. It follows the 1921 edition (the only one of which I am aware) published in London by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and in New York by the Macmillan Company. I have corrected two typographical errors in the original text: "sandstorm" was misspelled as "standstorm" on page 21 (section 1 of chapter III), and "bought" appeared where "brought" was intended on page 33 (paragraph 3 of section 2 of chapter IV).

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PEOPLE OF AFRICA
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PEOPLE OF AFRICA
=====================================
by Edith A. How, B.A.

Universities' Mission to Central Africa

With Six Coloured Illustrations

LONDON
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge

New York: The Macmillan Co.

1921

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PREFACE

It is hoped that this book and its companion volume dealing with non-African peoples will be the beginning of a series of simple, readable accounts for Africans of some of the various objects of general interest in the world of to-day. There are many such works published for the use of English and American children. But the native African has a totally different experience of life, and much that is taken for granted by a child of a Northern civilized land needs explanation to one used to tropical uncivilized surroundings. Again, the African knows the essential operations of everyday life in their simplest form, whereas the European knows them disguised by an elaborate industrial system. All this makes books written for English children almost unintelligible to a member of a primitive race. These two volumes are far from perfect, but it has been difficult to know always how to select wisely from the mass of material at hand. They will have served, however, a useful purpose if they form a basis for adaptations into the various African vernaculars, and afford an inspiration for other works of a similar nature. Thanks are due to Miss K. Nixon Smith, of the Universities Mission to Central Africa, for her kindness in criticizing the MSS. from her long experience of the African outlook.

EDITH A. HOW
_June_, 1920.