Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 14, 1903.djvu/340

 3IO Correspondence,

owners. He died in his old village and was buried on the top of the hill where he lived. The incoming Yaos worshipped his spirit as the previous chief of the district. This they did till their own chief Kapeni died, when his successor left off making offer- ings to the old Kankomba and paid his worship to the recently dead Kapeni. This he will continue to do till he himself dies and becomes to his successor the next object of worship.

Occasionally, however, one finds that some old chief may be remembered for more than one generation. This is especially the case if he should belong to a family which continues to have in- fluence in the country and whose members, instead of joining in the worship of the recently dead chief, prefer to continue their offerings to their own old ancestor. Sometimes a dead chief is believed to have influence in the spirit world, and has been success- ful in securing a copious supply of rain or other benefit to the country. His spirit will continue to receive offerings for a much longer period than his less influential neighbours in the spirit world.

This is the practice among the Yaos, the Angoni, the Mang'anja and the Anguru tribes who live in this part of Africa.

2. [Were " the ancestors of Chikusi, the last chief of the Angoni, supposed to be located in " a particular bull, or in bulls generally ?]

When Chikusi's predecessor died, his spirit was located by Chikusi and his headmen in a bull, a particular bull, which was from that time set apart and thus considered sacred. The bull was chosen by the headmen and the spirit was by them enshrined in the animal. To this bull, or rather to the spirit that took up his abode in the bull, all the off'erings of Chikusi and his headmen were made. If the bull died another was chosen and put into its place, and so on, till Chikusi himself died, when his spirit was located in an animal in the same way and the worship of his pre- decessor from that time forward ceased.

N.B. — The animal in whom the spirit takes up his abode is fixed on by the headmen and the chief, and the spirit of the dead man is asked to accept the animal as his abode.

3. [Are the spirits of all the members of a particular tribe or family " supposed to be located " in the same species of animal ? Are the family named after it ? and does the species receive any particular honour on that account ?]

The chief Chikusi was honoured by being located in a bull.