In which the discourse on apparitions is continued, with some
observations on secret societies, both tribal and murder, and the
kindred subject of leopards.
Apparitions are by no means always of human soul origin. All the
Tschwi and the Ewe gods, for example, have the habit of appearing
pretty regularly to their priests, and occasionally to the laity,
like Sasabonsum; but it is only to priests that these appearances
are harmless or beneficial. The effect of Sasabonsum's appearance
to the layman I have cited above, and I could give many other
examples of the bad effects of those of other gods, but will only
now mention Tando, the Hater, the chief god of the Northern Tschwi,
the Ashantees, etc. He is terribly malicious, human in shape, and
though not quite white, is decidedly lighter in complexion than the
chief god of the Southern Tschwi, Bobowissi. His hair is lank, and
he carries a native sword and wears a long robe. His well-selected
messengers are those awful driver ants (Inkran) which it is not
orthodox to molest in Tando's territories. He uses as his weapons
lightning, tempest, and disease, but the last is the most favourite
one.
There is absolutely no trick too mean or venomous for Tando. For
example, he has a way of appearing near a village he has a grudge
against in the form of a male child, and wanders about crying
bitterly, until some kind-hearted, unsuspecting villager comes and
takes him in and feeds him. Then he develops a contagious disease
that clears that village out.
This form of appearance and subsequent conduct is, unhappily, not
rigidly confined to Tando, but is used by many spirits as a method
of collecting arrears in taxes in the way of sacrifices. I have
found traces of it among Bantu gods or spirits, and it gives rise to
a general hesitation in West Africa to take care of waifs and strays
of unexplained origin.
Other things beside gods and human spirits have the habit of
becoming incarnate. Once I had to sit waiting a long time at an
apparently perfectly clear bush path, because in front of us a
spear's ghost used to fly across the path about that time in the
afternoon, and if any one was struck by it they died. A certain
spring I know of is haunted by the ghost of a pitcher. Many ladies
when they have gone alone to fill their pitchers in the evening time
at this forest spring have noticed a very fine pitcher standing
there ready filled, and thinking exchange is no robbery, or at any
rate they would risk it if it were, have left their own pitcher and
taken the better looking one; but always as soon as they have come
within sight of the village huts, the new pitcher has crumbled into
dust, and the water in it been spilt on the ground; and the worst of
it is, when they have returned to fetch their own discarded pitcher,
they find it also shattered into pieces.
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