The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1873-09-11

AFRICAN Ralirion.

departed hover round the graves and
their former homes Sometimes the
bodies are buried in the houses, and the
spirits join In tie family meals; they
are supposed to be always present, and
ofteng In the course Of conversation,
some one VIII say, You remember
that, Msnsues do you not p
The natives Of the Gold coast, how
ever, believe that there is an unterwelt,
OF shadowland, beneath the ground, to
which the soul migrates as soon as life
is exBinguished. The spirit then re-
sumes the rank which it had upon the
earth. When kings die, a number of
slaves and wives are killed, to attend
them as a retinue; gold-dust and cloth
are packed up in the grave. It is also
believed that AZ the garments which a
man has worn out VIII then come to life
again-a resurrection of old clothes;
for not only human beings have souls,
but also inaninate things. When they
place some food upon the grave, they
are not so foolish as to think that the
spirit eats the body of the food, which
they see remains untouched, and is
gradually destroyed by insects and the
atmosphere, as bodies are eaten by
worms, and turn to dust in the grave;
they maintain that the food has a soul,
or essence, and that this 1t is which the
spirit consumes. So, also, it may be
observed in the cemeteries of the Krus,
where basins, tumblers, ETC., are placed
outside the grave, that these articles are
always broken, that they may not be
stolen They believe that the ghost of
the deceased can drink ont of the ghost
of the tumbler, and that q fracture of
the outward glass does not iniure the
spirit of the glass, any more than
wound upon the body Injuries the soul
of human being.
These people believe in the under
world as firmly as they believe in
country adjoining their own. With
them faith is not duty difficult to be
acquired, but simply part of their
nature. A woman who was killed that
she might join the cOrtege of a king
upon the Gold coast, was first stripped,
according to the custom, and then
struck upon the head. She was only
stunned by the blow; awaking, she
found herself surrounded by dead
bodies. She ran back to the town,
where the elders were sitting in council,
informed them that she had been into
the land of the dead, and that the king
had sent her back because she had no
clothes. The elders must dress her
finely, and then kill her over again; and
this accordingly was done.
No ideas of reward or retribution are
associated with the future state. As for
their gods, some of them are good, and
some of them are evil their characters
are human and mixed. The good ones
can be made fierce by neglect, the evil
ones can be propitiated by fattery and
presents. The fetichmen and priests
act as interpreters between gods and
men. They sometimes say to an ire
hgious man, You had better take care,
my friend. saw Ohyiwoo to-day, and
he is in a rage because you have given
him nothing this harvest" Or, to an
other, they viii say, 81 I met Bosumassi
Just now in the forest he told me to
thank you for that bottle of palm-wine. -
20 did he like it % " Yes; he said it
was very good indeed" These anec-
dotes will show how faint for these
people is the division between the two
worlds, and how unearthly things form
part of their ordinary life.
They believe in one God, the creator
of the world but suppose that he is
Indifferent and passive god sitting
outside the universe" and seldom, if
ever, pray to him. They say that he
has deputed the administration of the
earth to yiceroy gods or spirits, who
govern human beings as they please.
sc Just as the queen" said Palmer,
3" sends out to this country governors
and commandments" They often discuss
the mystery of evil. Why" they
ask, '.does God allow these evil spirits
to torment us?"
They do not believe that these gods
punish men for any offenses save those
against themselves, viz, the withhold
ing of tribute and homage, and the
breaking of oaths sworn In their name.
It is only the fear of public opinion
which deters the natives from commit
ting those offenses. which cannot be
touched by the Law but, happily, they
are governed by opinion in a remar-
kable degree; and, in small commune
ties, where men have no resources of
their own, and no pleasure except in
society, this must always be the case.
It viii therefore be perceived that, on
the Gold coast theology, morals and
religion are not connected with each
other The missionary comes to them
and says: ''The God who created the
world, and in whom you believe, is not,
as you suppose, Indifferent to what you
do. He sees every thing He remem-
bers everything; He commands you to
worship Him, and He also commands
you to do good to one another. In this
life the wicked may sometimes be pro-
sperous the iars-and the thieves, and
the people who viii not go to church,
may have plenty of cloth and cattle and
slaves, while the good people may be
poor; but, after death, the souls of men
do not go to dwell in a world beneath
the ground. They are taken to the
presence of God, and there they are
judged-kings and slaves are the same
in his sight-those who have served
Him faithfully and have been good viii
live with Him in happiness forever, and
those who have disobeyed his laws and
| injured their fellow men viii be sent to
the evil spirits, and roasted in FIRE"
Now, it surely requires nc argument
to prove that, if the natives could be
brought to adopt this belief, their
morals would be of necessity improved.