The patients forming the subject of the following paper were natives of East, West and South Africa. The South African group are mainly Basutos, mostly non-English speaking, and hence interviews had to be carried out with the aid of an interpreter. To obtain correct perspective of their types of illness it is of course necessary to know thoroughly their customs, beliefs and mode of living. For the sake of brevity illustrations are given only from the Basuto tribe, although it must be borne in mind that there is considerable difference between this and the other groups in this respect.