Bride Price

Ian Mathie
Mosaique Press: £12.99

With exotic landscapes, indigenous people and ancient customs borne of tribal history, Africa can beguile and unnerve visitors in equal measure.

Spiritual beliefs passed down through generations can seem primitive to those of us unfamiliar with their way of life, but not to author Ian Mathie who spent part of the 1970s working on water resource projects and staying in remote villages in deepest Africa.

While living in what was then known as Zaire, Ian Mathie became a foster father to a young orphaned girl who needed a home.

When a much-feared party official from a neighbouring village demanded that a Bride Price be set for the girl so he could take her as a wife, Mathie had to find a way to outwit the tyrannical suitor using only his wits, and a limited knowledge of local customs and traditions.

Bride Price is full of interesting characters and lovingly describes the people Mathie came to care for and documents their wonderfully pragmatic way of life, not to mention the odd gruesome practice.

Bride Price is one of a series of books written by Ian Mathie about his time in Africa. The next instalment, Man in a Mud Hut will be reviewed in this section soon.

Shelley Antscherl
books@dutchnews.nl