Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 24, 1913.djvu/510

 472 PokoDio Folklore.

but give yet another account of him. Unfortunately I was not able to take it down verbatim, and could not always follow the narrator, nor get him to repeat what was not clear, but the gist of it is that the ngojama, though quasi- human in shape, is an animal and has a tail. He used to roam through the bush, eating raw flesh, till he met with a Wat named Abalefe, who showed him how to make fire and cook, and tamed him to some extent. But one day the savage nature broke out ; he turned on Abalefe and ate him, and then went back to the bush.

The theological discussion between Bombe and the ugojaina has a curious parallel in a bit of Galla tradition which I owe to the kindness of the Rev. W. B. Griffiths of the United Methodist Mission. A Galla, — (one of " our Galla," presumably the Barareta or Kofira), — when sending out his son to herd the cattle said,—" Go and herd together with the son of God " (Gurba Wakatin). The spies of the Bworana Galla followed the boy, and asked him what his father had said. On being told, they asked, — " Where is this God }'our father speaks of." The boy answered and said, — " God is he who is above." They answered, — " We are now going to kill you, — let the God whom your father and mother speak of save you ! " When they had finished saying this, those Bworana surrounded that youth on this side and on that, and flung their spears at him. But they could not hit him. They missed him (every time), and (finally) they fought and killed each other.

Of the kitiimisi there are two kinds ; one walks upright, like a child of Adam {binadauiii) ; the other moves about, — most uncomfortably, one would think, — in a sitting position, and in this way only attains a height of about two and a half feet. He has legs, though he does not use them and, apparently, does not need them. He wears a cloth {kitambad) of kaniki (black, or dark-blue, cotton stufQ- As to the clothing (or non-clothing) of the ngojama I have no informa- tion at present. It is very dangerous to meet him ; some