Survey of African marriage and family life /

The present volume comprises the reports of the three investigators together with an introduction by the Director of the Survey. It represents the results of several years' work during which all the available documents have been scrutinized, results of recent and current field investigations have been studied, and questionnaires have been circulated to missionaries in the field, to African administrations, and to re search organizations. The Director of the research team visited Paris for consultation with members of the Ministère de la France d'Outre-mer, and has had correspon dence and discussions with the staffs of the Belgian, French, and Portuguese embassies in London; Mr. Lyndon Harries visited the United States to study documents in mission research libraries; he also used opportunities arising during a visit to South, Central, and East Africa to meet and confer with missionary organiza tions and administrative officers in Kenya, the Rhodesias, and South Africa.

The Committee records its debt to the numerous organizations and individuals who, in their official capacity or privately, have assisted this inquiry by replying to questionnaires, supplying memoranda, and lending unpublished documents. Many of these sources of information will be acknowledged in the text. In particular the Committee desires to express its thanks to the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the British Colonial Social Science Research Council, whose generous financial support enabled the study to be undertaken; to Mr. Merle Davis for his work in connexion with the initiation and planning of the survey, and to many others in Europe, Africa, and the United States of America without whose collaboration the inquiry could not have been completed.

It has not been the intention of the sponsoring bodies, in organizing this survey, to suggest solutions for the problems of African marriage arising from the rapidly changing conditions of today. The aim of the survey has been to present a factual account of the existing situation against the background of indigenous social organiza tion and custom; to point out and analyse the changes in African social organization due to modern developments and contact with Western industrialized societies; and to give an account of the various ways in which administrations and missionary bodies are handling these problems.