Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/122

 Arabic language, in which the sound so rarely corresponds to the symbol. The Ganda alphabet is composed of Latin letters, x and q, however, being replaced by other characters.

Hitherto foreign religions have scarcely had access to this country. Islam, which is making so much progress north and south of the plateau, seemed destined to prevail in U-Ganda; but the practice of circumcision, which nearly all Mussulmans have to undergo, except perhaps in Senaar and the Blue Nile, infringes the laws of the country, which, though permitting murder, forbids all mutilations. A hundred young men who had been circumcised were burnt by order of the king. Still, foreign Mohammedans have been allowed to build a mosque. The Catholic

and Protestant missionaries have made but few converts, although they both hoped to be able to strike a great blow by converting the king, baptised in anticipation as "Constantine the Black." For the rest, the Wa-Ganda have neither idols nor fetish gods, properly so-called; they believe in a universal creator, Katonda, whom, however, they do not worship, believing him too far above them to condescend to listen to their prayers. Hence they confine themselves to invoking the lubari, either welldisposed genii or dreaded demons, dwelling in the lakes, rivers, trees, and the rocks of the mountains. Mukusa, the god of the Nyanza, becomes occasionally incarnate in a wizard or a witch, announcing through this medium rain or drought, peace or war, triumphs or disasters. Another dreaded god, he who lets loose the scourge of small-pox, seems to be the spirit of an ancient king, dwelling on the west of Mount Gambaragara above the region of the clouds. All the kings have their apotheosis, and after becoming demi-gods continue to govern the people, massacring or