Shona Religion: With Special Reference to the MaKorekore

This insightful anthropological study by Dr. Michael Gelfand, first published in 1962 by Juta & Company, offers a detailed examination of the religious beliefs and practices of the MaKorekore subgroup of the Shona people. The book explores themes such as ancestral worship, traditional spiritual communication, death rituals, and the enduring influence of Shona cosmology on daily life.

Spanning 184 pages with an additional twelve pages of introductory material, the volume includes 39 black-and-white photographic plates and a fold-out map detailing tribal regions and ceremonial sites. Gelfand’s writing draws from extensive fieldwork and personal observation, offering both academic insight and human depth.

Michael Gelfand, a respected physician and ethnologist, was known for his work bridging Western medical practice with indigenous African belief systems. His research on the Shona people remains foundational in the study of Southern African religions and cultures.

This volume is typically found in hardcover with cloth boards. Most copies show mild wear from age—light edge rubbing, occasional foxing, or toned pages—but remain firmly bound with clean interiors.

Essential for students of African religion, ethnography enthusiasts, or collectors of regional cultural studies, Shona Religion remains a valuable and authoritative reference on traditional spiritual life in Zimbabwe.