The morning news., 1899-04-27


Office TO ferret out the person who so be-
witch polaoned cup OF "igga' is placed
before him, which he Is obliged 10 drink
II by any strange good fortune he should
survive the ordeal his life is spared ard
search for a new victim begun until the
| real culpr.i Is discovered.
a traveller in this country Is likely at
any moment 20 be seized upon as victitl
of popular fury. A native may be stricken
with disease, or meet with one of thou
sand other perfectly natural calamities.
But every event, however trivial. must
have an occult reason for its being, and
the burden Of guit invariably is fastened
upon the one in whom the charlatan
'uklars' see the most chance of enrich
ing themselves. Human sacrifice Is com
non among all Vusayo tribes Those sac
rhced are usually slaves or prisoners Of
war, although If the proper religious sea-
son comes around and there are none Of
these available they have no scruples in
killing those of their own kin, usually wo-
men or children, seldom men, as the pres
orvation of the latter Is necessary to the
welfare of the tribe.
on the occasion OF particularly sacred
festival as many as a dozen are strung
up by the hands and feet and roasted to
death over a fire, around which the priests
gather, While with long nets they catch
the evil spirits as they are driven out
of the bodies by the heat and thrust them
back into the fire again with various po-
tent prayers, which will cause them 10
be consumed. The heads of those sacri-
feed are preserved and apportioned to the
principal chiefs. while the bodies are US
ually eaten. The Vitsayos believe that at
the birth of a child witches and evil spir-
its congregate and watch for an oppor-
tunity to seize the soul of the infant ana
supplant IL with some malevolent one Be
Gore the child is born the mother Is shut
up in a small hut and provided with a
scanty amount of food. The entrance Is
sealed and every crevice stopped up, that
witches cannot enter. while day and night
two or more "uklars" circle round with
incantatlons, waving small images and
fetch boxes to frighten the evil spirits
away. Pieces of raw meat are stuck on
the top Of long poles, planted in a circle
round the dwelling and covered with pois-
onous liquids, which the devils hust eat
and succumb before they can enter the
circle.
When the child Is born the mother beats
against the side of the hut, which is
broken open. when the priests rush in with
torches and long sticks, with which they
chastise her numerically. The child, in
the meantime, is placed In a shallow hole
dug in the ground, and three witch candles
fastened TO its head and allowed to burn
until they are almost consumed The
child usually is badly burned in the pro,
cess but such misfortune is needed liz.
tle. so long as the witch is expelled. A
more rigorous ordeal has TO be undergone
several years later by male children.
when they are admitted as members of the
tribe. For several hours they are strung
up by the fingers, while the priests beat
them unmercifully with sticks and slash
them with sharp knives TO inure them 20
hardship and torture. Should the victim
manifest signs of pain during this trying
operation he is dispatched or else dis
owned by his parents and treated as a
slave by the entire community, being ta-
tooed In way denoting his degradation.
The Dead Beheaded.
When man dies his head is immedi-
ately cut off and placed in a magic bowl,
which is then tightly sealed up, that his
spirit may not be seized by the evil de-
mons. Various prayers are said over this
grewsome relic by the priests, after which
it is buried for several weeks until IL
shall have been visited by the gods. 1t is
then disinterred and adorns the ridge pole
OF the dwelling belonging to the successful
claimant for its ownership. The head is
supposed 10 contain all the prowess and
virtues of The deceased and is preserved.
the body either buried or cremated The
ownership of number of these heads is
a token of Importance, and assures their
fortunate possessor a high standing.
The Vitsayos, i'm common with most saw
age races are firm believers in the po-
tency of the devil dance for the exorcism
OF evil spirits If an epidemic of small
pox, cholera or other disease occurs in a
village 1t is attributed at once to some
| evil spirit who has taken up abode in a
banyan tree. The search for this undesi-
rable visitor Is made at night by the
| priests, who are unfailingly led to the
| right tree by the influence of the good
| deities. When the right spot is finally
| discovered the ''uklars'' arrange them
selves around the base of the tree TO keep
the spirit from escaping, while others re-
turn to the village to bring the men OF
| the tribe to aid at the ceremony.
Then horrible din begins, and the tom
| toms and other Instruments are beaten
with fanatlcal fury to drown the cries OF
the prisoner spirit from reaching the ears
of his fellows and bringing help. The
| chief priest takes his position in the cen.
| ter of the circle, brandishing a sacrifcial
| knife, with which he stabs the inanimate
form of the tree time and time again
| Swaying gradually to and fro, he works
| himself to a state of frenzy. all the time
| grooming incantations. Suddenly he LEAPS
into the air, proclaiming that his bosly
| has been entered by the gods who are
directing his movements, and slashes him
self with the knife. while the assembled
natives offer their sacrifices and pray tC
be relieved from the evil spirit. Th,
priest, smearing the end of a stick will
his own blood, draws circle around tn,
trunk of a tree few feet from its base
above which the evil spirit cannot rise
| Then the natives attack the lower par
with hatchets and spears until, in tht
judgment of the "uklars," the demon
has been conquered, when the ceremony
comes to an end with much feastiug an,
dancing.
New Pavement.