Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review Volumes 32 and 33.djvu/678

368 the banks of the river the ghost went back into the man. This man was a ventriloquist and sang the Eghāp war song. The Bamum believed that a number of the Eghāp were in the bush and fled.

Not only is it possible for men to enter into animals, but it is believed that animals can enter into men. Especially is this the case with dogs. There is a legend that owing to the former habit of dogs carrying tales they had their mouths closed by the high god. Even at the present day it is believed that they are able to understand human speech. Striebel relates the following story. A man went to the bush to get wood, accompanied by his dog. After it had been collected it was tied on to the dog's back and they returned to their compound. As they had been caught in a rainstorm on their way a fire was made in the hut. The dog sat close to it, and when the man attempted to drive it away it said: "Have I not carried the wood?" The man immediately dropped dead.

A man went out hunting with his dog, and on the way fell into a pit. The dog then took the form of a man, and obtained a pole which he lowered into the pit, and the imprisoned man climbed out. The dog then resumed its former shape, and forbade the man to say anything about what had happened, or he would die. They then returned home and found that food was ready. The man, who was very hungry, did not forget the dog and gave it some of the food. The man's wife was very angry because of this, and attempted to drive the dog away, but the man said, "Let the dog stay." The dog heard all this and beat the ground with its forefoot. The wife then tried a second time to drive the animal away, and the man said, "Let the dog be, for if it had not been for it I should now be dead." As soon as he had said this the dog answered, "You will die," and the man fell down dead on the ground.

Some of the stories told by certain members of the tribe with reference to their belief in ghosts have been recorded