The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1873-11-06
THE DENOGRtFIG PRESS.
PUBLISHED EACH THURSDAY
TERMs 8;
a cARoLINA yIsHag.

l.
thenism Among North Carolina Negroes.
Prom the tsifm lnksson IN ~ eQst. 81 7sEkt
/ About q mile above Brown Alarsh,l
a station on the Carolina Central Rail-
way, about forty miles from this city,
and about two hundred yards to Alhei
left of the railroad track, eau be seen
the fSSanetuary of Tena. Tena,d the
"God, is a negress, apparently about
| fifty wears of age, with a head OF per-
| fecfly white hair. There is nothing
about her person or features, with the;
exception of her hair, that would par
| ticularly strike one, and she does not
differ from most colored persons in
appearance. Tena, we learn, was err
| iginalTy from Wilmington, and mem-
Der of tho Front Street Methodist
Church. She was very dem menstrative
and noisy during the services, and
very often would run out and climb
| up tree in front Of theaedifice, and
there make the. most horrible noise
| imaginable. Finally, on account of
her noisy manner and repeatedly an
noying the congregation, sheiwas leNs
communicated, and this closed her
connection with the Methodists. In
| 1868 she located at RroWn Marsh,
Whereshe has resided ever since. Up
on her arrival she Immediately COM
menced to establish a a'schurch1 81 her
own among the colored people, Int
did not4sneceed very we'll nptil the
close. of the war, when she pushed her
| work with renewed vigor, and sue mas
now about sixty persons in her abando
- The. fsProphetessD declares herself
ssssdod )" and asserts that she can tqfe-
see and foretell any and every thIng
that is to be, and nlakes the bahd WOr1
ship and respect her aaa such. The
.ssanctnary"" is a rRde, log cabin con-
tanning one room, built In the coFa-
moilest way imaginable. Nearing the
sssanctuarY,2 in front from the railroad
track, the first thing that strikes the
observer is a couple of poles, about
forty feet high and about eight feet
aparts each with amants shirt hanging
onliti the shiFtsare made of commpR
unbleached. homespun. On entering
| the inclosure one would be struck
with the cleanliness of the yard s. noS
astick or even q straw is allowed to
remain In the yard, as IL would be
considered an i'll. 1mmediately in
4 front Of the gate and about half way
/ between the fence and Inc sssanctnary9
is small pen about ten feet square,
and in. the middle of the pen is block,
Sthe seat Of the st1od." sfhis pen Is
ltern1ed bv them the using gifiR- -hOase.l
Hero 4hey all hutidle up t0gether and
dance and sing something that w0uld
remind one OF an Indian War-song.
Proc eef1iug around the left corner of
the Issanctuary.D ltlaenext thing to OBJ
serve will be peculiaryrshaped clay
hole about nineteen feet long and two
and d half feet deep, half full sof mud
tly aV!water! In this clay-h0le each
Eofsthe band goes makes q clay ball
about two. inches in diameter, and
places it on the edge of the bank TO
dry and become hard. Following our
guide around the house to the back
door. we noticed four poles Placed in
the. ground, forming square. about
three feet from the door. On each
one of these poles there lie covering
for the heads, two bonnets and two
hats. Around these poles the band
dance on certain days lsupposed 70 be
/ holy days of the band.1 Fena the
God. has two seats of honor during
prayers--one in the Fireplace and the
other in the bed. She invariably sits
| a la IlurQqte during the services, ana
her followers kneel prostrate on tne
floor. They are known throughout
1
have their day of atonement, and on
this occasion the "Godn offers up her-
self as a sacrifice for the sins of her
foIlowe-s.i During this portion OF the
ceremonies for the day she sits on the
fireplace and throws. ashes over her
/ self then walks over, stepping on
ever one of her followers, who are Iy-
ling on the ground, face down. to
s,mash out their SINS" The band obey
her, and perform every one OF the
/ dogmas Of Tena scrupiiuusly, as tits
part of their religion and faith. The
i band is sometimes on the railr0ad,
sweeping the track and ties. and on
every Wednesday each and every one
is required to visit and carry the "God"
a small basket of provisions. Any
who fail to comply with the require
rnents are punished. The ssGodP is
very profane,i and held in fear and
trembling by colored people of the
neighborhood, though they do not
fear that she will hurt them BY physi-
cal strength, but by @eonjdriHg, put
ting mouth on them, or geffefing
them The band has been in opera.
ton for the past eight years, and sue
ceeded in building shed in which to
s'worship.Y The authorities refnsed
to let them use the shed for thatspnr-
i pose some twelve or eighteen months
ago. on accout of the bad effect il had
on the coloFed peoples who were dis
i posed to credit Tenass assertions =
f,tf1 e5l9s9sq faisfeafnos
lsla ioa HOW MOTTO GET UP. !gog
-IsTs }fE xsHss1a ke--- gsua alaatafe8z8
From the Old and New for October. s,,f
+ Adrian, with the unconscious good
fortune of youth, slept, as he usually
did, not deep, refreshing sleep, all
night long; and awoke, not with sticky
eyes a SENSE of having been slowly