In African Societies, Lucy Mair unites the two main strands of anthropology teaching: the discussion and illustration of the various analytical concepts used by anthropologists in the study of social systems; and ethnography – the detailed study of particular societies, nowadays obtained by participant observation. All societies discussed are in sub-Saharan Africa. This 1977 book will be of great use to students of social anthropology studying ethnography. Presenting as it does brief ethnographic accounts of a wide variety of African societies, as well as exemplifications and discussions of many theoretical concepts, the book offers the reader quick and easy access to a large body of information which previously had to be mined from a large number of monographs.