The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-11-19
The Fantees.


happened to be stationed in a small
fort in town situated in a district re-
mote from European intercourse, where
l had the opportunities of observing the
Fantee in its natural state. One day,
while strolling about in the bush near
the town. | discovered bush-path wider
and in better condition than those miser-
able tracks generally are. ] followed it
up. and after about one hundred and
fifty yards, the path suddenly terminated
thought that | must have passed some
turning. and 50 retraced my steps but
only to find that the path did end
where had first stopped. / thought il
strange that any one should take the
trouble to cut it, and looked around to
discover the reason The bush at tine
termination of the way in no wise diff
fered from that at any other part, but
found a large number of clay saucers,
more like the saucers of tiowers-pots
than any thing else, scattered about. |
went back to the fort and inquired pri-
vately what that meant. / learned that
the path was a fetish-path, TO which the
people resorted every Tuesdy for sacrifi-
cial purposes. The Tuesday following !
went at an early hour to the bush, and
and took up a position near the end OF
the path where j could observe what
took place and could not be seen myself
After waiting sometime / heard noise
of people approaching, and soon the wor-
shippers came in sight. There were about
twenty of them in all. First came the
fetish-man or priest, attired i'm black
country cloth, or, as it would be called
in England, glazed lining, and carrying
a live fowl. Next came the tetish-wO-
man, or prietess, also dressed in a strip
of black lining, and carrying a bottle
containining rum. Her feet were painted
with symbols, no doubt Of direful por
tent. The figure eight appeared in
white horizontally on her forehead, thus
% white circles were described round
each eye, and three white streaks on the
cheek. She was a very mcagre woman,
and remarkably ugly even for nogress.
Following these two came the laity,
both men and women, and dressed IN the
usual gay cloths common to the country.
The whole party halted where the clay
saucers lay, and stood silent for short
space. Then the priest and priestess
commenced some incantation in sing
song voice, waving their arms about the
while. When that was finished the fet-
ish man produced knife from his girdle
and disembowelled the fowl, placing the
entrails in one of the saucers, while the
woman poured little rum from her bot
tie on them. The man, after lntently
regarding the sacrafice for come time,
rose and spoke to the congregation, eX-
planning to them, | suppose, the result
of the offering. The woman then sprink-
led some of the blood of the fowl and
some more rum on the ground and
bushes, and then the whole party retired
again, taking with them the body Of the
fowl, which they doubtless considered
too valuable to leave behind, and on
which they intended to dine later on in
the day. In native trials, when the
plaintiff whistles to ascertain If the de-
tendant or his witnesses are speaking the
truth, he administers to them fetish, or
proof water, a dec0ction of herbs mixed
with water; if, after drinking it, the
man vomits, it is supposed TO be certain
proof that he has not spoken the truth,
and he consequently loses his case:
Another method of divination is called
playing fetish, in which the plaintiff and
the defendant play sort of cats cradle
with string, the result showing which OF
the two is in the right. Fetish men and
women are supposed to possess some hid
den power, by means of which they are
able to exert such an influence over any
they wish who is present, as to compel
him to do what they want. On one oc-
casion, when a Fantee chief and his fol-
followers came TO hold a "palaver" or
conference with me, he brought with
him fetish woman, embellished with
the usual hieroglyphics. ! asked my in
terpreter why she came there, and he re-
piled, "Oh, she comes to blow medicine
at you and make you do what the king
wants." No restriction seemed TO be
imposed on the Fantee priests or priest
esses, as regards cclibacy or any thing
else; they live the same sort of lives rs
their countrymen, and marry and pur-
chase for marriage in the same way as
their neighbors.-,Sunday Magazine.