The New York herald., 1878-01-19
AFRICA'S SUPERSTITIONS.

LECTURE by PAUL 3. DU CHAILLU ON THE
wITCHCRAFT AND RELIGION OF AFRICA
Mr.. Paul B. Du Cuaillu ectured last night at As.
socatoD Hall on the "Witchcralt and Supersttions
Africa" am going TO take you again, said he Into
the jungle OF Equatorial Africa. stanley that
jungle at the head OF the Congo ho there
the cannibals and tho dwarfs discovered.
And what jungle 1t isl At the end OF each days
journey l mado no negro could tell mo where that
forest ended. There great dangers there
sometimes has to fight tho people. 1t is not
very pleasant to fight; 1t was not very pleasant
for Stanley but he had to fight or DO killed.
Tho people scattered In great tribes, divided
into and tho into amiles the chiefs and
the old men making the laws. Three institutions are
everywhere prevalent-polygamy, slavery and witch
craft 1t Is wonderful how these people love to get
married. They marry all the time and got
tired OF II. Some Of them marry old eighty 1--we
ninety years, just as some Of US do at home. you
know. (Laughter.) The largest number Of wives
have belonging to one man was about three hun
dred, and when asked him how many children he
had, he SAID, between six and eight hundred. Two
hundred, moro or less DIDN'T seem 10 trouble him at
all. The wivos slaves, their nds buy
them when they are three or four years OLD IRON their
fathers; that IS a sort OF dowIy. foygamy s also
poIiticai institution rne ibes arc always at war
and hence tries to got as many wives he can
from tue surrounding tribes SO as 10 have friends
among them They have great abhorrence Of blood
relation ship ana NO man Is allowed to take vile Of
his own clan
THEIR wIrcncRAFr AND cANSIDALsM.
The groat OF tnat country Is It's superstitions
and 1t very hard TO get at the bottom facts about
their religious belei They have two names which
represent ideas Of God apd OF the Devil The
Dovil is the of all evil and witchcralt. When
person Is sick no is bewtched by some one, the
sorcerer sorceress has 10 be killed The doctors
poiut them out, ana they have TO swallow poison
prove their Innocence. This poison ~ the root OF
tree called Jundo, belonging to the strychnne order,
but these doctors take 1t and do not dic.
Here, II man sees the new moon his
right shoulder, or his lett, It is lucky or
unucky; but there IL is unlucky II he sees the new
moon at ALL and on the day OF the new moon nobody
dare so out OF his hut. The queen OF wchcraft lives
In the moon ana the people of world the in
sects on which witcncrat tecds ana when witchcrat
Is very hungry she seuds the plague and kills more
| people. Those who have any connection with tue
| spirit II tho moon women aud must be IN
trance The people are honest IN their bciiets, but OF
course there Is JugsIsry among them. Among many
sort oil religious feast, as they do not Kill
people purposeiy except prisoners OF war
those taken in war. made inquiries
about this cannibaiism, wanted to Know which
best eating, women men. They all agreed that the
women were best, They didn't tell me an yihins new,
tor knew that before. (l4aughtcr) Their war dance
Is perfectly terrible They cover themselves all over
with the decayed flesh and brains from tue heads OF
their dead warriors, which they always keep In par
ticular touse IN every village. Then they havo
dance, aud when morning comes each man cuts his
hand IN several places and lets the blood flow into
large wooden DISH and they rub themselves with that
blood aud then 10 10 war.
SOME SUGGESTIONS TO MISSIONARIES.
The most difficult thing the missionaries have TO do
Is to bring themselves 10 level oi thinking win
these people. some OF the negroes very fierce.
They would not DO bad the traders did not bring
them such ali amount oil spirits. II rs laushaDic some
times to the missionaries on the deck OF ship and
the barrels OF under the dcck bOth gong TO tho
same place They are KIND to the Inssionar res, but
you know when one gcts lutc civilized he gets sol
fish, anu they know that where the missionary comes
the trader Will follow, and they ike trade. stan
Icy has madc Il great, grand journey. II you
VIII LOOK at the aoors oi mat man you VIII see 1t IS
perfectly marvellous. And how quickly he did II
He explored the lakes discovered ny Spekc. Burton,
any amount oi rapids and iougnt his way through to
the coast Livingstone was great man, bat his bors
in south Africa Stanley just vent right through
under tho Equator and IN that deadly climate. where
tho natives nad been spoiled aud made fierce by mo
slave trade think the journeys oi Spoke and Lv ng
stone and stanley and Cameron the finest Journeys
that over were made modern or olicn tines