The Palgrave Handbook of African Traditional Religion. Edited by Ibigbolade S. Aderibigbe and Toyin Falola

Reviews Copyright © 2024 Association for the Academic Study of New Religions, Inc. 125 and significant field research in its own right. Especially interesting is­ Garlington's section on Baha'i bhajans. A bhajan is "a rhythmic devotional song that has long been popular among bhakti sects in India" (140). In addition, the Bahá'í use of avatar concepts strikes an eschatological connection between the appearance of Bahá'u'lláh (1817–1892, charismatic founder of the Bahá'í Faith) and the long-­ expected Kalki avatar. (The reviewer notes that Bahá'u'lláh first came to be associated with the Hindu messianic figure of Kalki by American Bahá'í George O. Latimer in 1915. ) The editing is clean and crisp, with forward momentum, giving the narrative verve and vigor. Nevertheless, there are several problems with the current volume. A major drawback is that there is no epilogue or other bridge to the present, which may cause some readers to wonder why little has been done by the author over the past twenty years to update this study. How is it relevant to the present-­ day Bahá'í-­ inspired activities in India? There is no mention of current Bahá'í "community building" efforts in the Indian subcontinent. (See, for example, https: //​ www​. bahai​. in​/community​-building/. ) The bibliography, moreover, apparently has not been updated. Most notably missing is ­ Francesco Stermotich-­Cappellari, La Fede baha'i in India. Origini e sviluppi di una nuova religione The Baha'i Faith in India: Origins and Development of a New Religion, 2016. Additionally, and somewhat oddly, there is a reference to an appendix (11) that is not included in the published version. Fortunately, typos and formatting errors are few and far between, except for the bibliography, where the name of "Baha'u''llah" (sic, 227) is misspelled twice. There is also no index. A sound academic work, William Garlington's classic and foundational study, The Baha'i Faith in India, has received the long-­ overdue recognition that it richly deserves, by way of publication as volume 28 in the prestigious Studies in the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions series of Kalimát Press. ­ Garlington's work may be the first word, but not the last word on the subject. His solid study lays a firm foundation for future scholarship to build upon, and will hopefully spur additional research into the Bahá'í Faith in India. Recommended for university and public libraries with substantial collections in comparative religions. The book is also good reading for individuals intrinsically interested in the subject matter. Christopher Buck, Independent Researcher The Palgrave Handbook of African Traditional Religion. Edited by ­ Ibigbolade S. Aderibigbe and Toyin Falola. Palgrave Macmillan, 2022. xxiii + 642 pages. 249. 99 hardcover; 249. 99 softcover; ebook available. This impressive book claims to be the "only single volume or Handbook on African Traditional Religion" (25). I would characterize it rather as the latest significant addition to a growing body of literature on African NR-27-4Text. indd 125 NR-27-4Text. indd 125 5/9/24 3: 33 PM 5/9/24 3: 33 PM Nova Religio 126 Copyright © 2024 Association for the Academic Study of New Religions, Inc. Traditional Religion. Most definitely, the Handbook's encyclopedia-­level comprehensiveness makes it a substantive and unique contribution with a balance of topical chapters (46 total) that would be difficult to duplicate due to the variety and depth of the articles. Fortunately, we are in the era, and this has accelerated in the last five to ten years, where books on African religions' importance in their own right, rather than as a category within a foreign context, are being written and celebrated. This volume furthers that effort and advances the field of African Religious Studies markedly, thanks to a collection of essays that bring updated methodological and heuristic issues to bear upon the African religious scene, including Africa's diasporic communities. There is a certain bittersweet element to the arrival of these much-­ needed volumes on African religions, especially when we read from the Handbook's Introduction that, "Unfortunately, it can be argued that there seems to be no other religion that has been so degraded and misrepresented in the minds of Western audiences as the African. . .