The Washington herald., 1912-09-15

, gascan ants, which in some instances are
as large as cats.
Among the Hovas, the supreme tribe
If Madagascar, and which inhabits the
country about Antananarivo. the capital
o. the island. children born during the
unlucky days had more of chance for
its life than among other tribes. The
baby was laid directly in front of an OK
pen gate. The gate was thrown open and
the oxen allowed to escape. II by any
chance the infant wis not trampled 10
death, the evil spirit was declared not
TO be within IL and 1t was permitted to
live. The present prime minister of Mad
agascar was put through this test when
he was an infant.
Other tribes to the west and south,
which ! do not have the pleasure OF vis-
itiug. dispose Of their uhlIcky infants
by abandoning them in their cemeteries.
1t Is said that at night the midwife takes
the infant into the forest, in which all
the dead are laid unburied, and deserts
II near the grave Of some of its relatives.
I should do but little credit to the for
eign missionaries and the French Off
cials II did not state that much has
been done TO wipe out these and other
great evils. The French Jesuits as well
as Protestant missionaries of all denom-
nations are making great headway
against these brutalities. and many other
hidecus customs of the natives. Never
theless IL is estimated that only one
tenth of the entire population of the is
land has been Christianized.
Another custom among the Tanala
which struck me as being very cruel was
their method Of abandoning their sick in
the cemeteries when they became insen-
sible. The moment an invalid lost his
or her consciousness. the devil was DEEM
ed to be in possession of the body. No
time was lost in taking the unfortunate
person to the cemetery. where il was
laid among the dead and left to die.
Death Is Feared.
There is a great fear OF death among
all the tribes OF Madagascar. Dead per-
sons are mostly disposed OF al night
Among the Tanala corpses are taken to
a thick forest and laid on the ground
to decompose. After attending a funer-
al the mourners take great pains to pu-
rify themselves by all sorts OF abolu-
tions. II a passer-by meets a funeral
procession on the road he invariably
spits about a dozen times while passing
the dead one.
Among the Hovas corpses are covered
with a granite slab. In this tribe grave
robbery is very common. These people
usually put a coin in the mouth of their
dead very rich persons put jewelry In
the tombs OF their relatives), and as
consequence grave robbery is quite COM
mon. The rich put heavy slabs over
their dead to protect them from desc
Grafton.
Another OF the more savage tribes TO
the west keep their dead for several
weeks after expiration. They allow the
corpse to decompose. in order that It
may be purified for burial This Is pos
sihly the
funeral rites. Peculiar to say, much
eating. drinking, and carousing is carried
on In the same apartment with the de-
ceased
One OF the great scourges of Madagas-
can barbarism has been partially re-
moved. That is the tenga ordeal for the
identification of persons possessed of the
evil spirit Tenga is a deadly poisonous
sap, but II taken in very small doses
acts as powerful emetic. Nine times
out or ten It kills those who take It.
When the chief OF a village has reason
to believe there Is a sorcerer or a. witch
In the community. every person takes
a dose of the poison. Those who die are
possessed Of the devil. Those who live
are clean. Whole villages have been
swept out of existence by this super
stition. 1t is now practiced clandes-
timely. y-.
II Is peculiar fact that the Madagas-
cans had no knowledge OF the wheel
prior to its introduction by foreigners
transportation was carried on by porters
Many OF them who have
been bred to the calling can carry enor-
nous loads i have seem some of them
as much as 800 pounds on their
shoulders. porter can always be iden-
lined by the large humps on his back
and shoulders. In many instances the
children OF porters inherit the defects OF
heir fathers In this respect. In some
'amilies the men have been porters for
several hundred years. The children of
.hese men are invariably afflicted with
the lumpy shoulders and bumped back.
This Is one reason why there are no
wen halfway decent roads In the island
Throughout the entire land there are end
ess foot paths made by these porters
Z seems hardly reasonable that the ma
i've should not have thought of making
he OK take the place of the human por-
er.
wear European Dress.
Between Antananarivo. the capital, and
ramatave, the port OF entry on the east
coast. there are two paths, one on which
TO go from the capital and the other to
approach It. On each of these paths |
'ying their hides, wax, and other mer- |
.handise.
Madagascans have recently developed |
l strong desire for European dress. As
consequence II Is a hard thing for |
missionaries In outlying districts to keep |
heir clothes 1t has become quite COM |
non among the natives to steal WESTERN
.lothes under the pretense Of f'borrow-I
ng" them. It Is quite a comical sight