Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 22, 1911.djvu/433

 Reviews. 397

ealabash, wanting to drink the dregs ; but, wlien he raised it to his mouth, out jumped the puppy, straight into his eye, and there it became the pupil.

In the volume on law and customs, the second chapter, dealing with religion and magic, is of great interest to the folklorist. The Edo-speaking peoples recognise a supreme divinity, Osa or Osa- lobula, and there is a great deal of ancestor-worship. Osa's emblem consists of a pole with white cloth on it, and is found in nearly every village ; he plays a conspicuous part in their tales. Creator of the world and all that inhabits it, he is said to have an evil counterpart in Osanoha, or Osa of the bush. The Ebo are minor deities, and temples sacred to them, Egwaibo, are found in various parts of the country. Charms, much used and receiving sacrifice, are called Uchumu. Esu is first cousin to our devil. In the greater Egwaibo, stones and other emblems of the deity are deposited, and it is very curious that, when these emblems are brought out, all women are warned to keep out of the way, whereas no precaution seems to be taken to prevent them from seeing these objects in the shrines, which not infrequently are cleaned by women. This and other instances given seem to show that the danger lies more in observation of the ceremonies than in the fact of seeing the sacred objects. Women have a different set of divinities, the principal among whom is Obiame, the mother of all mankind. There is further a child's deity called Akobie, represented by a human figure on the wall of a house, in which there are several shrines. A portable charm is called Ohume- wele, and in the morning, before speaking to anyone, its owner wets his finger with saliva, draws it over the amulet, and then down his forehead, saying, — " May every man, woman, and child do good to me."

The book contains an interesting description of the manufacture of "medicine," and an instructive account of ceremonies con- nected with witchcraft ; one can only regret that there are not more of these. As for charms, the resemblance of the idiogbo to the Ababua torro is remarkable.

The Government of Nigeria is highly to be commended for having given its official recognition to the importance of anthro- pology by the appointment of a Government anthropologist, and furthermore for having selected for this post so efficient