Colonial prejudice assumed Africans had no moral principles

Evidence

We often hear it said that Africans do not distinguish between good and evil, or at least that on these questions their ideas are those of savages, cutting morality as we understand it to ribbons. It is true that many colonials take it for granted that Africans have but a vague idea of the Supreme Being, that they are convinced that no creature can come into his presence, that he always keeps his distance and does not associate himself with the daily lives of men. In spite of this prejudice, we thought it right to take the trouble to question Bantu upon this point. The influence of God in the daily life of man is recognized in many Bantu proverbs and sayings. On the subject of theft, it is generally said that the African does not see the least wrong in it, that the only thing which matters is not to get caught. Lies and deceit, it is said, are, in African eyes indications of subtlety of mind, countenanced by all moral assessment. They would not regard adultery as any infraction of morality and it would suffice if anyone caught in the act should agree to pay an indemnity. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 698

Categorization

• XREF: The colonial stereotype Tempels catalogues prefigures the kind of misreading that the reader’s broader interest in how Western categories distort Bantu philosophy engages. — connects to: Naming the land Rhodesia was an act of colonial violence that denied African presence. — Tavengwa Gwekwerere, Davie E. Mutasa, and Kudakwashe Chitofiri, Settlers, Rhodesians, and Supremacists:…, 41; British liberals presumed Africans a lesser stage of civilization; German scholar Franz quoted denying Africans possessed any history or civilization — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 403