Review articles/Besprekingsartikels

Abstract

Swiss missionary Henri Alexandre Junod has been widely recognised for his extensive entomological, botanical, linguistic and anthropological contributions regarding southern Africa. However, shortly after publishing his most acclaimed work, The Life of a South African Tribe, Junod wrote a little-studied novel, Zidji: étude de m?urs sud-africaines, in which he endeavoured to give a detailed portrayal of South African Society. Interestingly, he chose fiction as the best vehicle for conveying what he saw as the 'truth' of the situation. As the only novel written by Junod this is a unique piece of writing in relation to his other work and its study shows that it is essential to an understanding of Junod. In Zidji he attempts to give a complete picture of South African society at the beginning of the twentieth century by recounting a black convert's experiences of what Junod considered to be the three main influences acting upon black society of the time, that is, tribal life (paganism), the mission station (Christianity) and white society (civilisation). By considering his depiction of South Africa, in particular his presentation of 'civilisation', further light is shed on his sentiments and perspective of the missionary encounter, social change and race relations in South Africa.     

Late Holocene economic specialisation through aquatic resource exploitation at Kobadi in the Méma,Mali

Following the last humid phase of the Late Holocene, human groups left the Saharan latitudes of northern Mali at around 2500 cal. years BC to settle further south. The Kobadi population was among the first Neolithic human groups to enter the Niger Inland Delta in central Mali. People adapted to their new environment by intensifying one of their former subsistence practices, namely fishing. The rich and diversified ichthyofauna exploited was dominated by large Nile perches and a variety of catfish taxa. It testifies to relatively stable hydrological conditions: a fluvial lake which was probably linked permanently to the main Niger River. Fish were caught with harpoons and probably also with diverse fishing devices such as nets, baskets and fences. Preparation processes prior to cooking cannot be determined, but fish were probably cooked on hot coals or stones, the left‐overs of the meals being discarded randomly at the site. Intense exploitation of the aquatic environment near Kobadi provided an abundant, secure and predictable source of protein. Besides fish and riparian mammals, reptiles such as turtles, monitors and crocodile were hunted. Domestic cattle provided milk and/or meat. These animals were either raised at the site or obtained by means of exchange with pastoral groups roaming the hinterlands. From the 2^nd millennium BC, the focus on aquatic resources at Kobadi, mostly through the intensification of fish exploitation, may demonstrate the beginning of economic specialisation in the Niger Inland Delta. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Film review

The Mission (Ferestadeh). Written, produced, edited, and directed by Parviz Sayyad. Co‐production of New Film Group, New York, and Asia Film Production, Munich, Distributed by New Line Cinema, New York.     

“县古槐根出，官清马骨高”出处之谜

欧阳修《六一诗话》引用“县古槐根出,官清马骨高”却未说明作,有学遂对其出处提出疑问。有《同官志》的记载,加上《诗缉》的旁证,此二句当是杜甫的佚诗。     

Network Analysis of Production Clusters: The Potsdam/Babelsberg Film Industry as an Example

The cluster concept has assumed a prominent position in the institutional approaches which have been applied in economic geography in recent times. Although there are numerous analyses based on the cluster concept, no agreement has been reached to date on suitable methods for analysis and comparison of regional clusters. This paper presents a research design for the analysis of regional production clusters which employs the network analysis method to develop, in particular, the 'quality analysis' of clusters, using the film industry production cluster in Potsdam/Babelsberg (adjacent to the Berlin metropolis) as a practical example.