Professional Documents
Culture Documents
8
Detailed Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Contributors
1. Introduction
Leadership Defined
Ways of Conceptualizing Leadership
Definition and Components
Leadership Described
Trait Versus Process Leadership
Assigned Versus Emergent Leadership
Leadership and Power
Leadership and Coercion
Leadership and Management
Plan of the Book
Summary
References
2. Trait Approach
Description
Intelligence
Self-Confidence
Determination
Integrity
Sociability
Five-Factor Personality Model and Leadership
Strengths and Leadership
Emotional Intelligence
How Does the Trait Approach Work?
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Case Studies
Case 2.1 Choosing a New Director of Research
Case 2.2 A Remarkable Turnaround
Case 2.3 Recruiting for the Bank
Leadership Instrument
Leadership Trait Questionnaire (LTQ)
Summary
References
9
3. Skills Approach
Description
Three-Skill Approach
Technical Skills
Human Skills
Conceptual Skills
Summary of the Three-Skill Approach
Skills Model
Competencies
Individual Attributes
Leadership Outcomes
Career Experiences
Environmental Influences
Summary of the Skills Model
How Does the Skills Approach Work?
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Case Studies
Case 3.1 A Strained Research Team
Case 3.2 A Shift for Lieutenant Colonel Adams
Case 3.3 Andy’s Recipe
Leadership Instrument
Skills Inventory
Summary
References
4. Behavioral Approach
Description
The Ohio State Studies
The University of Michigan Studies
Blake and Mouton’s Managerial (Leadership) Grid
Authority–Compliance (9,1)
Country-Club Management (1,9)
Impoverished Management (1,1)
Middle-of-the-Road Management (5,5)
Team Management (9,9)
Paternalism/Maternalism
Opportunism
How Does the Behavioral Approach Work?
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
10
Case Studies
Case 4.1 A Drill Sergeant at First
Case 4.2 Eating Lunch Standing Up
Case 4.3 We Are Family
Leadership Instrument
Leadership Behavior Questionnaire
Summary
References
5. Situational Approach
Description
Leadership Style
Development Level
How Does the Situational Approach Work?
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Case Studies
Case 5.1 Marathon Runners at Different Levels
Case 5.2 Why Aren’t They Listening?
Case 5.3 Getting the Message Across
Leadership Instrument
Situational Leadership® Questionnaire: Sample Items
Summary
References
6. Path–Goal Theory
Description
Leader Behaviors
Directive Leadership
Supportive Leadership
Participative Leadership
Achievement-Oriented Leadership
Follower Characteristics
Task Characteristics
How Does Path–Goal Theory Work?
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Case Studies
Case 6.1 Three Shifts, Three Supervisors
Case 6.2 Direction for Some, Support for Others
Case 6.3 Playing in the Orchestra
Leadership Instrument
11
Path–Goal Leadership Questionnaire
Summary
References
7. Leader–Member Exchange Theory
Description
Early Studies
Later Studies
Leadership Making
How Does LMX Theory Work?
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Case Studies
Case 7.1 His Team Gets the Best Assignments
Case 7.2 Working Hard at Being Fair
Case 7.3 Taking on Additional Responsibilities
Leadership Instrument
LMX 7 Questionnaire
Summary
References
8. Transformational Leadership
Description
Transformational Leadership Defined
Transformational Leadership and Charisma
A Model of Transformational Leadership
Transformational Leadership Factors
Transactional Leadership Factors
Nonleadership Factor
Other Transformational Perspectives
Bennis and Nanus
Kouzes and Posner
How Does the Transformational Leadership Approach Work?
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Case Studies
Case 8.1 The Vision Failed
Case 8.2 An Exploration in Leadership
Case 8.3 Her Vision of a Model Research Center
Leadership Instrument
Sample Items From the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ)
Form 5X-Short
12
Summary
References
9. Authentic Leadership
Description
Authentic Leadership Defined
Approaches to Authentic Leadership
Practical Approach
Theoretical Approach
How Does Authentic Leadership Work?
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Case Studies
Case 9.1 Am I Really a Leader?
Case 9.2 A Leader Under Fire
Case 9.3 The Reluctant First Lady
Leadership Instrument
Authentic Leadership Self-Assessment Questionnaire
Summary
References
10. Servant Leadership
Description
Servant Leadership Defined
Historical Basis of Servant Leadership
Ten Characteristics of a Servant Leader
Building a Theory About Servant Leadership
Model of Servant Leadership
Antecedent Conditions
Servant Leader Behaviors
Outcomes
Summary of the Model of Servant Leadership
How Does Servant Leadership Work?
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Case Studies
Case 10.1 Everyone Loves Mrs. Noble
Case 10.2 Doctor to the Poor
Case 10.3 Servant Leadership Takes Flight
Leadership Instrument
Servant Leadership Questionnaire
Summary
13
References
11. Adaptive Leadership
Description
Adaptive Leadership Defined
A Model of Adaptive Leadership
Situational Challenges
Technical Challenges
Technical and Adaptive Challenges
Adaptive Challenges
Leader Behaviors
Adaptive Work
How Does Adaptive Leadership Work?
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Case Studies
Case 11.1 Silence, Stigma, and Mental Illness
Case 11.2 Taming Bacchus
Case 11.3 Redskins No More
Leadership Instrument
Adaptive Leadership Questionnaire
Summary
References
12. Followership
Description
Followership Defined
Role-Based and Relational-Based Perspectives
Typologies of Followership
The Zaleznik Typology
The Kelley Typology
The Chaleff Typology
The Kellerman Typology
Theoretical Approaches to Followership
Reversing the Lens
The Leadership Co-Created Process
New Perspectives on Followership
Perspective 1: Followers Get the Job Done
Perspective 2: Followers Work in the Best Interest of the
Organization’s Mission
Perspective 3: Followers Challenge Leaders
Perspective 4: Followers Support the Leader
Perspective 5: Followers Learn From Leaders
14
Followership and Destructive Leaders
1. Our Need for Reassuring Authority Figures
2. Our Need for Security and Certainty
3. Our Need to Feel Chosen or Special
4. Our Need for Membership in the Human Community
5. Our Fear of Ostracism, Isolation, and Social Death
6. Our Fear of Powerlessness to Challenge a Bad Leader
How Does Followership Work?
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Case Studies
Case 12.1 Bluebird Care
Case 12.2 Olympic Rowers
Case 12.3 Penn State Sexual Abuse Scandal
Leadership Instrument
Followership Questionnaire
Summary
References
13. Leadership Ethics
Description
Ethics Defined
Level 1. Preconventional Morality
Level 2. Conventional Morality
Level 3. Postconventional Morality
Ethical Theories
Centrality of Ethics to Leadership
Heifetz’s Perspective on Ethical Leadership
Burns’s Perspective on Ethical Leadership
The Dark Side of Leadership
Principles of Ethical Leadership
Ethical Leaders Respect Others
Ethical Leaders Serve Others
Ethical Leaders Are Just
Ethical Leaders Are Honest
Ethical Leaders Build Community
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Case Studies
Case 13.1 Choosing a Research Assistant
Case 13.2 How Safe Is Safe?
15
Case 13.3 Reexamining a Proposal
Leadership Instrument
Ethical Leadership Style Questionnaire (Short Form)
Summary
References
14. Team Leadership
Description
Team Leadership Model
Team Effectiveness
Leadership Decisions
Leadership Actions
How Does the Team Leadership Model Work?
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Case Studies
Case 14.1 Can This Virtual Team Work?
Case 14.2 Team Crisis Within the Gates
Case 14.3 Starts With a Bang, Ends With a Whimper
Leadership Instrument
Team Excellence and Collaborative Team Leader Questionnaire
Summary
References
15. Gender and Leadership
Description
The Glass Ceiling Turned Labyrinth
Evidence of the Leadership Labyrinth
Understanding the Labyrinth
Gender Differences in Leadership Styles and Effectiveness
Navigating the Labyrinth
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
Case Studies
Case 15.1 The “Glass Ceiling”
Case 15.2 Lack of Inclusion and Credibility
Case 15.3 Pregnancy as a Barrier to Job Status
Leadership Instrument
The Gender–Leader Implicit Association Test
Summary
References
16. Culture and Leadership
16
Description
Culture Defined
Related Concepts
Ethnocentrism
Prejudice
Dimensions of Culture
Uncertainty Avoidance
Power Distance
Institutional Collectivism
In-Group Collectivism
Gender Egalitarianism
Assertiveness
Future Orientation
Performance Orientation
Humane Orientation
Clusters of World Cultures
Characteristics of Clusters
Anglo
Confucian Asia
Eastern Europe
Germanic Europe
Latin America
Latin Europe
Middle East
Nordic Europe
Southern Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Leadership Behavior and Culture Clusters
Eastern Europe Leadership Profile
Latin America Leadership Profile
Latin Europe Leadership Profile
Confucian Asia Leadership Profile
Nordic Europe Leadership Profile
Anglo Leadership Profile
Sub-Saharan Africa Leadership Profile
Southern Asia Leadership Profile
Germanic Europe Leadership Profile
Middle East Leadership Profile
Universally Desirable and Undesirable Leadership Attributes
Strengths
Criticisms
Application
17
Case Studies
Case 16.1 A Challenging Workplace
Case 16.2 A Special Kind of Financing
Case 16.3 Whose Latino Center Is It?
Leadership Instrument
Dimensions of Culture Questionnaire
Summary
References
Author Index
Subject Index
18
Preface
This eighth edition of Leadership: Theory and Practice is written with the objective of
bridging the gap between the often-simplistic popular approaches to leadership and the
more abstract theoretical approaches. Like the previous editions, this edition reviews and
analyzes a selected number of leadership theories, giving special attention to how each
theoretical approach can be applied in real-world organizations. In essence, my purpose is
to explore how leadership theory can inform and direct the way leadership is practiced.
19
New to This Edition
First and foremost, this edition includes a new chapter on followership, which examines the
nature of followership, its underpinnings, and how it works. The chapter presents a
definition, a model, and the latest research and applications of this emerging approach to
leadership. It also examines the relationship between followership and destructive, or toxic,
leadership. In addition, the strengths and weaknesses of followership are examined, and a
questionnaire to help readers assess their own follower style is provided. Three case studies
illustrating followership, including one that addresses the Penn State sexual abuse scandal
and another that looks at the 1936 U.S. Olympic rowing team, are presented at the end of
the chapter.
In addition to the discussion of destructive leadership in Chapter 12, this edition includes
an expanded discussion of the dark side of leadership and psuedotransformational
leadership and the negative uses and abuses of leadership in several of the chapters. Readers
will also find that the ethics chapter features a new self-assessment instrument, the Ethical
Leadership Style Questionnaire (ELSQ), which assesses a leader’s style of ethical leadership
and will help leaders understand their decision-making preferences when confronting
ethical dilemmas.
This edition retains many special features from previous editions but has been updated to
include new research findings, figures and tables, and everyday applications for many
leadership topics including leader–member exchange theory, transformational and
authentic leadership, team leadership, the labyrinth of women’s leadership, and historical
definitions of leadership. The format of this edition parallels the format used in earlier
editions. As with previous editions, the overall goal of Leadership: Theory and Practice is to
advance our understanding of the many different approaches to leadership and ways to
practice it more effectively.
20
Special Features
Although this text presents and analyzes a wide range of leadership research, every attempt
has been made to present the material in a clear, concise, and interesting manner. Reviewers
of the book have consistently commented that clarity is one of its major strengths. In
addition to the writing style, several other features of the book help make it user-friendly.
Each chapter follows the same format: It is structured to include first theory and then
practice.
Every chapter contains a discussion of the strengths and criticisms of the approach
under consideration, and assists the reader in determining the relative merits of each
approach.
Each chapter includes an application section that discusses the practical aspects of the
approach and how it could be used in today’s organizational settings.
Three case studies are provided in each chapter to illustrate common leadership issues
and dilemmas. Thought-provoking questions follow each case study, helping readers
to interpret the case.
A questionnaire is provided in each of the chapters to help the reader apply the
approach to his or her own leadership style or setting.
Figures and tables illustrate the content of the theory and make the ideas more
meaningful.
Through these special features, every effort has been made to make this text substantive,
understandable, and practical.
21
Audience
This book provides both an in-depth presentation of leadership theory and a discussion of
how it applies to real-life situations. Thus, it is intended for undergraduate and graduate
classes in management, leadership studies, business, educational leadership, public
administration, nursing and allied health, social work, criminal justice, industrial and
organizational psychology, communication, religion, agricultural education, political and
military science, and training and development. It is particularly well suited as a
supplementary text for core organizational behavior courses or as an overview text within
MBA curricula. This book would also be useful as a text in student activities, continuing
education, in-service training, and other leadership-development programs.
22
Digital Resources
23
SAGE edge
SAGE edge for Instructors
A password-protected instructor resource site at edge.sagepub.com/northouse8e supports
teaching with high-quality content to help in creating a rich learning environment for
students. The SAGE edge site for this book includes the following instructor resources:
Test banks built on AACSB standards, the book’s learning objectives, and Bloom’s
Taxonomy provide a diverse range of test items with ExamView test generation.
Each chapter includes 100 test questions to give instructors options for assessing
students.
Editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides offer complete flexibility for creating a
multimedia presentation for the course.
Lecture notes for each chapter align with PowerPoint slides to serve as an essential
reference, summarizing key concepts to ease preparation for lectures and class
discussion.
Carefully selected video and multimedia content enhances exploration of key topics
to reinforce concepts and provide further insights.
Sample answers to questions in the text provide an essential reference.
Case notes include summaries, analyses, sample answers to assist with discussion, and
exercises.
Suggested course projects and assignments help students to apply the concepts they
learn to see how they work in various contexts, providing new perspectives.
Chapter-specific discussion questions for study help launch classroom interaction by
prompting students to engage with the material and by reinforcing important
content.
Exclusive access to influential SAGE journal articles and business cases ties
important research and scholarship to chapter concepts to strengthen learning.
Tables and figures from the book are available for download.
SAGE coursepacks provide easy LMS integration.
24
SAGE edge for students
The open-access companion website helps students accomplish their coursework goals in an
easy-to-use learning environment:
25
SAGE coursepacks
SAGE coursepacks make it easy to import our quality instructor and student resource
content into your school’s learning management system (LMS) with minimal effort.
Intuitive and simple to use, SAGE coursepacks give you the control to focus on what really
matters: customizing course content to meet your students’ needs. The SAGE coursepacks,
created specifically for this book, are customized and curated for use in Blackboard, Canvas,
Desire2Learn (D2L), and Moodle.
In addition to the content available on the SAGE edge site, the coursepacks include the
following:
Pedagogically robust assessment tools foster review, practice, and critical thinking
and offer a better, more complete way to measure student engagement:
Diagnostic chapter pretests and posttests identify opportunities for student
improvement, track student progress, and ensure mastery of key learning
objectives.
Instructions on how to use and integrate the comprehensive assessments and
resources are provided.
Assignable video with corresponding multimedia assessment tools bring
concepts to life that increase student engagement and appeal to different
learning styles. The video assessment questions feed to your gradebook.
Integrated links to the eBook make it easy to access the mobile-friendly
version of the text, which can be read anywhere, anytime.
Interactive eBook
Leadership (8th ed.) is also available as an interactive eBook, which can be packaged with
the text for just $5 or purchased separately. The interactive eBook offers hyperlinks to
original and licensed videos, including Peter Northouse author videos in which the author
illuminates various leadership concepts. The interactive eBook includes additional case
studies, as well as carefully chosen journal articles from the web, all from the same pages
found in the printed text. Users will also have immediate access to study tools such as
highlighting, bookmarking, note-taking/sharing, and more!
26
Acknowledgments
Many people directly or indirectly contributed to the development of the eighth edition of
Leadership: Theory and Practice. First, I would like to acknowledge my editor, Maggie
Stanley, and her talented team at SAGE Publications (Lauren Holmes and Alissa Nance),
who have contributed in so many different ways to the quality and success of this book. For
their very capable work during the production phase, I would like to thank the copy editor,
Melinda Masson, and the project editor, Bennie Clark Allen. In her own unique way, each
of these people made valuable contributions to the eighth edition.
I would like to thank the following reviewers for their valuable contributions to the
development of this manuscript:
I would like to thank the following reviewers for their valuable contributions to the
development of the seventh edition manuscript:
27
Eric Buschlen, Central Michigan University
Steven Bryant, Drury University
Daniel Calhoun, Georgia Southern University
David Conrad, Augsburg College
Joyce Cousins, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Denise Danna, LSUHSC School of Nursing
S. Todd Deal, Georgia Southern University
Caroline S. Fulmer, University of Alabama
Brad Gatlin, John Brown University
Greig A. Gjerdalen, Capilano University
Andrew Gonzales, University of California, Irvine
Decker B. Hains, Western Michigan University
Amanda Hasty, University of Colorado–Denver
Carl Holschen, Missouri Baptist University
Kiran Ismail, St. John’s University
Irma Jones, University of Texas at Brownsville
Michele D. Kegley, University of Cincinnati, Blue Ash College
Jeanea M. Lambeth, Pittsburg State University
David Lees, University of Derby
David S. McClain, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Carol McMillan, New School University
Richard Milter, Johns Hopkins University
Christopher Neck, Arizona State University–Tempe
Keeok Park, University of La Verne
Richard Parkman, University of Plymouth
Lori M. Pindar, Clemson University
Chaminda S. Prelis, University of Dubuque
Casey Rae, George Fox University
Noel Ronan, Waterford Institute of Technology
Louis Rubino, California State University, Northridge
Shadia Sachedina, Baruch College (School of Public Affairs)
Harriet L. Schwartz, Carlow University
Kelli K. Smith, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
David Swenson, The College of St. Scholastica
Danny L. Talbot, Washington State University
Robert L. Taylor, University of Louisville
Precious Taylor-Clifton, Cambridge College
John Tummons, University of Missouri
Kristi Tyran, Western Washington University
Tamara Von George, Granite State College
Natalie Walker, Seminole State College
William Welch, Bowie State University
28
David E. Williams, Texas Tech University
Tony Wohlers, Cameron University
Sharon A. Wulf, Worcester Polytechnic Institute School of Business
Alec Zama, Grand View University
Xia Zhao, California State University, Dominguez Hills
In addition, I would like to thank, for their exceptional work on the leadership profile tool
and the ancillaries, Isolde Anderson (Hope College), John Baker (Western Kentucky
University), Kari Keating (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Kathryn Woods
(Austin Peay State University), Eric Buschlen (Central Michigan University), Lou Sabina
(Stetson University), and Neda Dallal.
A very special acknowledgment goes to Laurel Northouse for her insightful critiques and
ongoing support. In addition, I am especially grateful to Marie Lee for her exceptional
editing and guidance throughout this project. For his review of and comments on the
followership chapter, I am indebted to Ronald Riggio (Claremont McKenna University). I
would like to thank Sarah Chace (Marian University) for her contributions to the adaptive
leadership chapter, Leah Omilion-Hodges (Western Michigan University) for her
contributions to the leader–member exchange chapter, Isolde Anderson (Hope College) for
her comprehensive literature reviews, Robin Curtiss for her contributions to a case study on
followership, and Rudy Leon for her editorial assistance.
Finally, I would like to thank the many undergraduate and graduate students whom I have
taught through the years. Their ongoing feedback has helped clarify my thinking about
leadership and encouraged me to make plain the practical implications of leadership
theories.
29
About the Author
30
About the Contributors
Crystal L. Hoyt
completed her doctorate in social psychology at the University of California, Santa
Barbara, and is a professor of leadership studies and psychology at the University of
Richmond. Her primary research interests include female and minority leaders,
stereotyping and discrimination, stigma, and cognitive biases. In her primary area of
research, she explores the role of beliefs, such as self-efficacy, implicit theories, and
political ideologies, in the experiences and perceptions of women and minorities in
leadership or STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, or of
those who are overweight. In a more applied fashion, she examines factors, such as
role models, that may buffer individuals from the deleterious effects of stereotypes
and discrimination. Her research appears in journals such as Psychological Science,
Journal of Experimental and Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin, and The Leadership Quarterly. She has published over 50 journal articles and
book chapters, and she has co-edited three books.
Susan E. Kogler Hill
(PhD, University of Denver, 1974) is Professor Emeritus and former chair of the
School of Communication at Cleveland State University. Her research and
consulting have been in the areas of interpersonal and organizational communication.
She specializes in group leadership, teamwork, empowerment, and mentoring. She is
author of a text titled Improving Interpersonal Competence. In addition, she has
written book chapters and published articles in many professional journals.
Stefanie Simon
is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Siena College. She
earned her PhD in social psychology from Tulane University and was the Robert A.
Oden Jr. Postdoctoral Fellow for Innovation in the Liberal Arts at Carleton College
before joining the faculty at Siena. Her research centers on the psychology of
diversity, with a focus on prejudice, discrimination, and leadership. In her work, she
focuses on the perspective of the target of prejudice and discrimination, as well as the
perspective of the perpetrator of prejudice and discrimination. She is particularly
interested in how leaders of diverse groups can promote positive intergroup relations
and reduce inequality in society.
31
1 Introduction
Leadership is a highly sought-after and highly valued commodity. In the 20 years since the
first edition of this book was published, the public has become increasingly captivated by
the idea of leadership. People continue to ask themselves and others what makes good
leaders. As individuals, they seek more information on how to become effective leaders. As
a result, bookstore shelves are filled with popular books about leaders and advice on how to
be a leader. Many people believe that leadership is a way to improve their personal, social,
and professional lives. Corporations seek those with leadership ability because they believe
they bring special assets to their organizations and, ultimately, improve the bottom line.
Academic institutions throughout the country have responded by providing programs in
leadership studies.
This book treats leadership as a complex process having multiple dimensions. Based on the
research literature, this text provides an in-depth description and application of many
different approaches to leadership. Our emphasis is on how theory can inform the practice
of leadership. In this book, we describe each theory and then explain how the theory can be
used in real situations.
32
Leadership Defined
There are many ways to finish the sentence “Leadership is . . .” In fact, as Stogdill (1974, p.
7) pointed out in a review of leadership research, there are almost as many different
definitions of leadership as there are people who have tried to define it. It is much like the
words democracy, love, and peace. Although each of us intuitively knows what we mean by
such words, the words can have different meanings for different people. As Box 1.1 shows,
scholars and practitioners have attempted to define leadership for more than a century
without universal consensus.
While many have a gut-level grasp of what leadership is, putting a definition to the term has proved to be a
challenging endeavor for scholars and practitioners alike. More than a century has lapsed since leadership
became a topic of academic introspection, and definitions have evolved continuously during that period.
These definitions have been influenced by many factors from world affairs and politics to the perspectives of
the discipline in which the topic is being studied. In a seminal work, Rost (1991) analyzed materials written
from 1900 to 1990, finding more than 200 different definitions for leadership. His analysis provides a
succinct history of how leadership has been defined through the last century:
33
1900–1929
Definitions of leadership appearing in the first three decades of the 20th century emphasized control and
centralization of power with a common theme of domination. For example, at a conference on leadership in
1927, leadership was defined as “the ability to impress the will of the leader on those led and induce
obedience, respect, loyalty, and cooperation” (Moore, 1927, p. 124).
34
1930s
In the 1930s, traits became the focus of defining leadership, with an emerging view of leadership as
influence rather than domination. Leadership was also identified as the interaction of an individual’s specific
personality traits with those of a group; it was noted that while the attitudes and activities of the many may
be changed by the one, the many may also influence a leader.
35
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI
I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.