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The Soul of Central Africa; A General Account of the Mackie Ethnological Expedition
The Soul of Central Africa A General Account of the Mackie Ethnological Expedition Author:John Roscoe General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1922 Original Publisher: Cassell and company, limited Subjects: Ethnology Uganda Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free tri... more »al access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER IV ANKOLE -- BELIEFS AND CEREMONIES OF THE BAHUMA The Gods -- Fetishes -- Transmigration of Souls -- Death and Funeral of the King -- Purifying the Country -- A Lion Hunt -- Illness -- Sickness in the Herd -- Death and Burial of Ordinary People -- Purification Ceremonies -- The Ghost -- Death of Women -- Marriage Ceremonies -- Children -- Milk Taboos. AONG the Bahuma of Ankole, beyond the daily rite of offering milk to the ghosts, there is no regular form of worship. They acknowledge the existence of a Creator, but he has no temple or shrine and is not asked for any favour. His work is finished and he has delegated his powers to other gods. There are four gods who are said to be the sons of Ruhanga, the Creator, their names being Isimbwe, Ndohola, Wamala, and Kashoba. These deities were at one time resident upon the earth in the form of men ; when they retired from this world, certain servants became their mediums and priests, and there has been a succession of these mediums from that time to this. These gods are only appealed to on special occasions ; they are called upon during war, or when there is any trouble among the herds. When the men go out to war, the women gather from the kraals and go into the bush, where they sit under trees and from time to time call upon the war god, Kashoba, to protect their husbands and sons. They take with them pots of milk, and they drink this and talk in the intervals of praying and calling on the god. Earth - quakes are attributed to the movements of one of the gods, and thunde...« less