Sources

The Shona Peoples: An Ethnography of the Contemporary Shona, with Special Reference to their Religion

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "The Shona Peoples: An Ethnography of the Contemporary Shona, with Special Reference to their Religion." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/the-shona-peoples-an-ethnography-of-the-contemporary-shona-with-special-reference-to-their-religion.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). The Shona Peoples: An Ethnography of the Contemporary Shona, with Special Reference to their Religion. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/the-shona-peoples-an-ethnography-of-the-contemporary-shona-with-special-reference-to-their-religion

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-the-shona-peoples-an-ethnography-of-the,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {The Shona Peoples: An Ethnography of the Contemporary Shona, with Special Reference to their Religion},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/the-shona-peoples-an-ethnography-of-the-contemporary-shona-with-special-reference-to-their-religion},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Michael F. C. Bourdillon is an anthropologist, and this academic book, published by Mambo Press in Zimbabwe, is an ethnography of the Shona people, based on extended fieldwork, covering Shona social organization and religion, including ancestor veneration and spirit mediumship, in considerable ethnographic detail. Its strength is sustained direct fieldwork within Zimbabwe combined with publication through a press based in the region studied, rather than solely through outside Western academic publishing. Its limit is that it documents Shona practice as observed during Bourdillon's own research period, and Shona religious life, like any living tradition, has continued to change since, particularly through ongoing interaction with Christianity, so more current practice needs more recent sources.

Facts

Assessment

Reliability Tier

Michael Bourdillon's ethnography of Shona religion, in its third revised edition, the standard account including the status of Shona as a twentieth century cover term over the Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika, Korekore and Ndau communities.

Notes

Third revised edition of the 1976 original. The standard ethnography of Shona religion, including the status of Shona as a twentieth-century cover term over the Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika, Korekore and Ndau communities.

Citation

Author

Michael F. C. Bourdillon

Publisher

Mambo Press

Publication Year

1987

URL

https://archive.org/details/shonapeoplesethn0000bour

Source Type

Ethnography

Claims Backed By This Source (53 claims)

This source backs 53 claims across the atlas. As facts: 37 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 8 holds. Plus 7 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Deities, 11 claims: 8 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.
Subcategories, 8 claims: 4 well-attested, 2 holds, 2 general references.
Articles, 7 claims: 7 well-attested.
Sacred Objects & Ritual Items, 7 claims: 5 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Cultures, 5 claims: 2 well-attested, 2 holds, 1 general references.
Religions, 5 claims: 3 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Doctrines, 2 claims: 1 holds, 1 general references.