Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 5 1887.djvu/158

 150 daylight it is unlucky, but if one touches it, then prepare for a sudden death. Death also follows careless handling of the sacred bead "pulatsoo." The touching of a neighbour's meal "girnel" is followed by inflammation of the eyes; and total blindness is only averted by ceaseless sacrificing. A neighbour's corn is similarly protected. One who has unpleasant dreams must confine himself to his house for the day. If your dog howls at night, secure the services of a priestess else there will soon be a death in the family. The crowing of a cock just at sunset is an evil omen; the bird must at once be taken where roads cross and killed. The clucking of a hen at night is also unlucky. If an echo is raised, then great winds and heavy rains will follow; therefore high cliffs and hollowed precipices must be passed in silence, for there dwell the spirits of departed chiefs, and the grounds near are their fields and gardens, which must not be encroached upon. Beware of the bear, the leopard, and the bulong snake. "Did not a wounded bear jump out on a traveller, nearly squeeze him to death, and, when the man fell, poked him about, at every sign of life again biting at him, till the victim, happily recovering his presence of mind, kept perfectly still, when the brute left?" "Cannot a leopard carry off a buffalo by twisting his tail round it?" And "Does not the bulong snake bear an eternal enmity to man since the day when, at the instigation of a Bangsuit family, the gods deprived him of the power of assuming human shape?" Before liquor is partaken of a few drops must first be sprinkled on the ground, to refresh the spirits of departed ancestors. All are afraid of ghosts; women will on no account venture out after nightfall, while young men consider it a test of courage to pass a night in the woods alone.

Priestesses or witches are an institution. A future priestess is known by a small red nut being found in her swaddling-cloths a few days after birth. "When the time for initiation arrives, four more nuts will be received from invisible hands in presence of the assembled tribe. These witches have a peculiar jargon of their own, all their chants and incantations being quite unintelligible to the uninitiated. They are supposed to act as intermediaries, and are not considered to exert any malign influence; in fact, being a priestess makes little