Page:Rowland--In the shadow.djvu/249

 human finger bones threaded upon a thong. Her feet were incased in colored sandals. Her hair, black and straight, was tied with wisps of colored worsted. In her hand was a long bone. She turned several times, then crouched before the altar.

"The mama-loi!" whispered La Fouchère. "She is the grandmother of my husband; is she not droll?" A twig snapped; then came the rustle of moving bodies and the pat, pat of naked feet upon the hard packed earth. Into the open there emerged a file of negroes. They passed behind the altar and down the sides of the amphitheater. They were of both sexes, apparently quite young; they sat upon the ground and again there was silence.

Suddenly the priestess sprang from the ground and tapped three times upon the altar with the bone she held in her hand; then rapidly she made the circuit of the inclosure, mumbling words unintelligible to Dessalines. Having made the circuit she passed in front of the altar and uttered what seemed a sharp command. The effect was instant; the dark assemblage arose like a wave; one by one they approached the altar, were harangued by the mama-loi, made obeisance, and shuffled back to their places.

This ceremony was short; the worshipers were eager for the dance. Men brought a great caldron which was swung above the fire; in securing it some of the contents was spilled and it seemed to Dessalines that the fluid was sanguineous. Others brought goats which were roasted whole.

The mama-loi traced two circles about the fire; then stepping to a young man who had entered with the neo- 239