Daniel Biebuyck – författare

A dynamic translation of the timeless African epic.

The feats of the hero Mwindo are glorified in this epic work, sung and narrated in a Bantu language and acted out by a member of the Nyanga tribe in the remote forest regions of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Beautifully structured and richly poetic, the epic is in prose form, interspersed with song and proverbs in verse. As an example of the classic tradition of oral folk literature, the tale provides profound insights into the social structure, values, and cosmology of this African people.

Originally published in 1963 this volume surveys various aspects of the complex relations between rights in land, social organization and economic interests in tropical Africa. The papers - in English and French but with summaries in the other language - analyse case studies illustrating the various basic factors and problems connected with land in Tropical Africa. Indigenous systems of tenure and their adaptation to commercial agriculture, the balance between rights and obligations of groups and individuals, and the authority and duties of chiefs and headmen are discussed in detail for many different areas. Against this background important contributions are made towards the better understanding of problems raised by economic and political development, population increase, migration and scarcity of land.