We Have Been
Shown Trees Said To Be Used, But Had Always Reason To Doubt The
Accuracy Of Our Informants.
We once found a tree in a village, with
many pieces of the bark chipped off, closely allied to the Tangena or
Tanghina, the ordeal poison tree of Madagascar; but we could not
ascertain any particulars about it.
Death is inflicted on those
found guilty of witchcraft, by the muave.
The women wail for the dead two days. Seated on the ground they
chant a few plaintive words, and end each verse with the prolonged
sound of a-a, or o-o, or ea-ea-ea - a. Whatever beer is in the house
of the deceased, is poured out on the ground with the meal, and all
cooking and water pots are broken, as being of no further use. Both
men and women wear signs of mourning for their dead relatives. These
consist of narrow strips of the palm-leaf wound round the head, the
arms, legs, neck, and breasts, and worn till they drop off from
decay. They believe in the existence of a supreme being, called
Mpambe, and also Morungo, and in a future state. "We live only a few
days here," said old Chinsunse, "but we live again after death: we
do not know where, or in what condition, or with what companions, for
the dead never return to tell us. Sometimes the dead do come back,
and appear to us in dreams; but they never speak nor tell us where
they have gone, nor how they fare."
CHAPTER IV.
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