St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1891-05-23
THE DOCTRINE OF SOULS
An African Belief In the 8eparaAle NataE'
Of Body and Spirit.

A African Belief In the sepsro>ls Nstur>
Of Body and Spirit.
In the second of two interesting pa,
pers on the manners, customs, supcrsti,
tons and religions of South African
tribes journal of the anthropological
institute, vol XIX, No. s, and vol. M,
No. p Rev. James Macdonald, who has
had ample opportunities for Studying
the subject, has . good deal to say about
the doctrine of souls which prevails
among the aborigines Of South Africa.
1t is extremely difficult, he explains, ia
discover what the people really believe
about the spirit world, SO many and
varied are the traditions relating to it
There are, however, certain outstand-
ing facts common to all, and of these
Mr.. Macdonald gives . clear and in
structive account.
All human beings are supposed to
have souls, but their souls are not be-
lieved to be entirely confined to the
body. A mans soul may, IL is thought,
occupy the roof Of his hut, and II he
changes his residence his soul does so
at the same time. Mr.. Macdonald takes
this to be loose and indefinite way of
expressing ''the belief that . mans
spirit may have influence ut . distance
from the place where he is himself at
any time" The people often use the
word ''zitunzela" = from ''izitunzi," {"
shadows-to express their ideas of hui
man spirits and the unseen world gen.
orally: and this is 1.-The nearest descrip-
tion that can be obtained" A man is
constantly attended by the shadows
or spirits of his ancestors rs well
as his own, but the spirit of one
who dies without speaking to his chill
dren shortly before death never visits
his descendants except for purposes of
evil. In such cases magicians, or priests
offer costly sacrifices to prevent mis-
fortune and death.
Great importance is attached to
dreams or visions, which are supposed
to be due to spirit influence. When the
same dream comes more than once the
dreamer c0nsuits the magicians. who
profess to receive revelations through
dreams. If the dreamer has seen -
departed relative" the magician says:
''Iie is hungry" Then beast is killed;
the blood is collected and placed in .
vessel at the side Of the hut farthest
from the door; the liver is hung up in
the hut, and must not be eaten until all
the flesh has been used. he''essencc"
of the food is withdrawn" by the
spirit during the night, and after q
specified tine all may be eaten except
the portions which the magician orders
TO be burned.
Ancestor worship is not only pro-
fessed by the South African tribes, but
they actually regulate their conduct
by it.
If man has a narrow escape from
accident and death he says: My IA
theirs soul saved me- and he offers
of thanksgiving accordingly.
In cases of sickness, prOpitiaotry sacri.
fees are offered to remove the displeas-
ure of the ancestors and secure . return
Of their favor. Should anyone neglect
q national custom in the conduct of his
affairs he must offer sacrifice to avert
rs the consequence of his neg
lect. When offering the propitiatory
sacrifices the form of prayer used by
the priest is: 'Ye who are above, accept
our offering and remove our trouble
In frec-will offerings, rs in escape from
danger or at the ripening of crops, the
prayer takes the following form: 'Ye
who are above, accept the food we have
provided; smell our Offering now burn
ing, and grant us prosperity and peace"
Animals are not supposed to have
souls, neither are inanimate objects.
But spirits may reside in inanimate OBJ
jects. Although . man is guarded by
the spirits of his ancestors, they do not
protect him from demons or from wiz
ards and witches. A certain measure
Of protection can, however, it is sup
posed, be obtained by the use of charms
provided by magicians. On one occa-
sion, when war was being carried on
with England, the magicians gave the
soldiers a charm against English bull
lcts- 1t was the blue flower of a species |
Of rhododendron. "Those who car
ried this talisman rushed forward |
against columns of infantry without q |
of fear or hesitation, and only |
when men began to bite the dust in all |
directions did the nature of the delu- |
lion break upon the army and panic |
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