Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-06-06
1T is THE BIGGEST IN VICTORIA NYANZA
AND is BOSSED BY AN AMERICAN

sacrifices to Mukasa. They contributed
iocks OF sheep and goats. and that In
such numbers that when the royal sac
riices We're made the blood ran In
streams from the gates OF the temple
down into the lake. Mutesa, the grand
father OF the present king Of Uganda,
once sent 100 slaves 100 women. 100
cows and 100 goats at one time TO this
goddess
THEY EAT DEAD MEN.
1t is on the Sesse Islands that the
Secret Society OF the Bachichi who
have the custom of eating dead human
beings, Is believed TO have its head, and
at present all who die there are watched
by their relatives for eight days to
prevent their being so consumed. a
similar custom exists IN Uganda, and
also along the upper shores of Lake
Tanganyika. / met n German trader
during my stay at Mwanza who had
lust returned after long march from
Tangsnyika- During this trip he went
from UJiti at the center Of the lake.
along the eastern shore to the top and
spent some time with the natives. He
tells me that the people or the different
villages there are closely related and
thai when a. man dies his family at
once sends word to their relatives of the
neighbor1ng villages TO come and take
possession of the body. They do so and
then prepare n feast of which the dear
departed Is the piece dc resistance The
body is cut up and roasted over a fire
or boiled with bananas in an earthen
pot. No one of the village to which the
man belongs is allowed to Join in the
horrible feast, and the family OF the
dead are not allowed to be present.
Such bodies are taken away In the day
time, soon after death, and the process
sion carrying them Is one of four men
tFl n MI fn,. No.
These people are called the Manyema
and until recently they have accom-
panied the burial Of their chiefs with
human sacrifices, 10 living women being
buried in each grave. The legs of the
women were broken at the knees and
their arms at the elbows. and they
were then laid fiat In the grave with the
dead body of the chief on top OF them.
After this ten live men whose arms and
legs were broken in the same way were
placed over the top of the chief. and the
grave was then filed up. MY authority
for this last statement Is j. f. Gun
ningham, a fellow OF the Royal Geo
graphic Society of London, who for
some years was one of the chief Brit
ish employees In this part of Africa
My German friend told me that the
officials about Lake Tanganyiiea. have
been trying to stop the practise of eat
ing the dead, but that the natives are
supeThtillOus IN EeSbru 10 II, anu lflHI
IL still goes on.
THE ISLAND OF THE DEAD.
II was shortly after leaving the
Sesse islands that our ship coasted the
shores of the Island of the Dead which
lies almost opposite the German mill
tary station OF Bukoba- 1t is n little
rocky mass. covering but few acres.
which rises out OF the lake almost
straight upward for several hundred
feet. There is a bluff at one end, and In
this there are caves which the natives
from the mainland use as their burial
vaults. They bring the bodies over in
canoes and lay them away in the caves
10 rest.
Farther back in the country the Bazi-
has, as these people are called, have
plrblic cemeteries in which they bury
their chiefs in an odd way. As to the
ordinary people, when they pass away,
they ane wrapped in bark cloth and are
placed in deep graves. after which
tree Is planted over each to mark his
resting place. The chiefs are buried