Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 23, 1912.djvu/160

 138 Reviews.

outside his general list of "devils" as the "last and least " of those beings. Mr. Roscoe, on the other hand, dignifies him as " one of the principal gods of the country," who formed a river and lake, the latter of which bears his name. I mention all these contradictions not in the least to reflect upon either of the dis- tinguished authorities to whom we owe our information, but to exemplify the variations of tradition. It is only what we expect, only what we are familiar with in classical mythology. But, if tradition be untrustworthy in these matters, has it any greater claim on our belief when it deals with the events not merely of a far past, but of lives of men who have long ago, unlike these gods, ceased to have any influence on the present ? Can we place any faith in the pedigree and legends of the royal family ?

Wanga may have been one of the oldest of the gods : he was not the "Creator." That honour was given to Katonda. How he managed to "create" we do not know, nor whether there is a Creation legend. Consequently we are ignorant what the Baganda idea of creation is. Anyhow Katonda had only a small temple, and he received little attention. It is obvious that he was of very small account. The tale called The Creation in Sir Harry Johnston's book is simply a version of the legend of Kintu. There not Katonda but Mugulu (Heaven or The Above) is the parent of Nambi, who becomes Kintu's wife. He seems to be regarded as a magician-king, of enormous power and wealth but limited knowledge, and that obtained in purely human fashion ; and he was aghast at Kintu's cleverness. He supplied from his stores certain articles of food by way of gift to Nambi when he parted with her to Kintu ; and from these the bananas, Indian corn, beans, and ground nuts that grow so well in Uganda are derived. How the rest of the things on earth came is another question, and a question for which we find no answer.

The Baganda were divided into clans, formerly thirty-six in number, each having its totem, and most of them having also a secondary totem. These clans were exogamous and descendible in the male line. The royal clan is that of the Leopard. The king had an extensive assortment of wives, but such of them as belonged to certain clans were never allowed to rear a son who might be a candidate for the throne. The reasons for the prohibi-