This book, the first to be published by Editions Présence Africaine, not so very long ago constituted an event for all those who interested themselves, for whatever reason, in the African world. Father Tempels indeed reveals the existence of a Bantu ontology and ethics - i.e. an organized and hierarchized system of the world. Man and God, Life and Death, Good and Evil, the Individual and Society are speculated upon in their reciprocal relationships. Father Tempels's enterprise has not failed to give rise to many comments and criticisms emanating, moreover, from the most diverse horizons. None the less, it is true to say that this work marks an important moment in Africanist studies by the sympathetic and serious way in which the author tackles spirituality in African culture.
