Bantu Beliefs and Magic is C. W. Hobley’s ethnographic study of the religious beliefs, magic, and customs of the Kikuyu and Kamba peoples of Kenya. Based on long administrative experience in East Africa, the book records ceremonies, taboos, spirit beliefs, and ritual practice, with reflections on the region after the First World War.
Written from a colonial-era perspective that should be read critically, the work nonetheless preserves a substantial body of observation on East African religion and social life. Hobley records detail that is valuable for the comparative study of African belief systems. For students of anthropology, the ethnography of East Africa, and the study of magic and religion, the book remains a useful, if period-bound, primary source.