Charles Monteil - La Divination chez les Noirs de l’Afrique Occidentale Française - 1932

MONTEIL, Charles. — Divination among the Blacks of French West Africa. Paris, Librairie Larose, 1932. Paperback, original printed cover, 110 pages followed by an unnumbered table of contents; figures and plates in the text. Size to be measured.

Reprint from the Bulletin of the Committee for Historical and Scientific Studies of French West Africa, volume XIV, nos. 1–2, January–June 1931, with cover dated 1932. Study of divinatory practices, borrowings from Muslim traditions and geomancy, notably among the Fulani of Macina, the Bambara and Mandé, the Gourma, the Yoruba, the Dahomeans and the Malagasy. Developments on astrological correspondences, accompanied by tables and a diagram of the zodiac man.

Autograph inscription signed by Charles Monteil at the top of the first page: “To Reverend Father Wattel S. J. / Very respectful homage / 12 March 1935.”

Cover slightly soiled, small nicks and folds at the edges, spine rubbed; paper yellowed, a few foxing spots and a small stamp on the first page. An interesting copy for its inscription, combining African ethnography, the history of religions and divination.