Genre:

Regular Feature, Biography

Subjects:

Heredity, Race, Christianity, Anthropology, Superstition

    Details how Chief Khama of the Bamangwato people in Southern Africa, was 'the son of a chieftain in whose veins ran the blood of unbroken series of generations of savages', but has now become 'an African illustration that while heredity is strong, it is not invincible' (303). Shaking off the shackles of 'the hereditary paganism' that he inherited from his forefathers, Khama rejected the superstition of savage beliefs and managed to turn himself into 'a gentleman and a Christian', and even his fellow African Chiefs now recognise that 'Khama's heart [is] white—a quality which he certainly did not inherit from sire or grandsire' (303–04).