RETHINKING AFRICAN CUSTOMARY LAW
| Date | 01 March 1988 |
| Author | Francis Snyder |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1988.tb01754.x |
| Published date | 01 March 1988 |
REVIEW ARTICLES
RETHINKING AFRICAN CUSTOMARY LAW
LAW, CUSTOM
AND
SOCIAL
ORDER:
THE COLONIAL
EXPERIENCE
IN
MALAWI
AND
ZAMBIA. By MARTIN CHANOCK. [Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge,
1985.
xi
+
286
pp.
&25-00.]
THE
nature of African customary law has, during the past decade,
been a subject of renewed controversy. This debate has been
marked, however, by a singular style. On the one hand, it has
involved a host of fascinating and sometimes profound questions,
not only of African historiography but also
of
politics, law and
general social theory. Yet, despite the numerous published and
unpublished exchanges comprising the debate, these general issues
have rarely emerged or been articulated as such. Usually, in fact,
they have simply remained hidden, obscured by what has generally
appeared as merely another abstruse, detailed discussion.
On the other hand, the controversy would appear prima facie to
be mainly about law. The principal subject of debate has been the
meaning, history and impact of a specific form or type of law, as
well as the substance of particular concepts and norms and their
connection with particular institutions. The wider implications of a
controversy about African customary law might therefore be
thought to be of primary interest to lawyers. Strangely, however,
despite the participation of a handful of academic lawyers, most of
the running has been made by anthropologists and historians.
Lawyers, including most African lawyers, unfortunately have paid
this controversy relatively little attention.
These two features
of
the debate about African customary law
may be attenuated, perhaps, by
Law,
Custom
and
Social
Order.
Martin Chanock has written a very good book indeed on the social
history of African customary law. Using a case study of Malawi
and Zambia, he seeks to show that African customary law
developed during the colonial period. Within this general context
he elaborates a series of more specific propositions, concerning the
origins, preconditions, role and significance
of
particular aspects of
this new, so-called customary law. In making these interrelated
arguments, he clarifies both the general issues involved in the
customary law debate and also its importance to lawyers. Based on
a wealth of original archival sources, the book
is
a major
contribution to our understanding of African customary law.
It
will
be essential reading, not only for anthropologists and historians
concerned with law in Africa, but also for lawyers interested in
customary law in Africa and elsewhere. It may also serve eventually
to illuminate certain aspects of European legal history.
The book is divided into four parts. The first presents a guide to
as well as a critique of some of the literature on African law by
252
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