Immortality of the belief in a future life is universal; the souls appear sometimes as animals, at other times as human beings; often beneficent, but generally malicious and hostile, and therefore they are much feared. In the west this has to a great extent become mixed up with fetichism or quite overshadowed by it.
Superstitions.—The belief in amulets and in favorable and unfavorable omens and countless other superstitious prevail. The Negroes fear the evil spirits of the caves and mountains; they also fear the evil spirits of the forest, which frequently appear as animals; they fear magicians and witches; and here as everywhere they believe in persons who during the night go about as vicious animals (in the west this characteristic is chiefly attributed to the caste of the smiths); and they fear the souls of the deceased. This is more distinct in the east than in the west, where these various forms of African pandemonism have been changed into fetichism. The Negroes hold certain days to be lucky and others to be unlucky, and will not undertake anything of importance on the latter; and they have numberless other superstitious which we omit.
One trait is exhibited in the east which is entirely absent in the west, but which we found (p. 32r) widely spread in South Africa—the humaniz ing of former deities. Thus the Shilluks are said to worship the protector of their tribe, who is supposed to have conducted them into their present country (Schweinfurth), and by whom it is certain they originally meant a deity, and not a human being.
Themy of the west the creation of men is attributed to the supreme god. They are said to have proceeded either from caves in the earth or from a rock in the ocean (Akral)—a myth which bears a strik ing resemblance to other legends about the creation. According to an other belief, all beings originated in a separate city of the heavens.
Future dead are supposed to live either under ground or to go to far-distant regions, across the ocean or a large river, whenever an evil spirit endangers them; many believe that they again return, but as white people; others, that they always remain in the vicinity of the living, but invisible to them. Among the Ashantees the good spirits ascend to heaven on the souls' path, the Milky Way. The belief in a recompense after death is also extensive; and while the slightest trespass against the laws of religious cult is considered punishable in the Hereafter, it is not so as regards murder or baseness. Other tribes—for instance, the dingoes—say that it is not known whence man came or whither lie goes.
Punishments for Relzkious severe punishments in flicted by the gods for violations of religious rites, of food prohibitions, the festival days, the sacred spots, etc., remind us of Polynesia, and the stringent enforcement of the laws in these .respects is similar to the Poly nesian taboo (p. 200). The strict ceremonial toward the king has a re ligious basis, as also have many other customs, such as, among the Daho mans and \Vidas, the practice of women and children approaching the father of the family on their knees, the usage of women eating apart from the men, the secrecy maintained about the food prepared for the king, absti nence from certain articles of food and on certain days, etc. ; for some indi viduals and classes are considered less holy than others. Their oaths and ordeals are mostly invocations to some fetich, who will certainly take revenge if called upon in an unjust cause; or a fetich is laid upon the accused, and if lie is guilty he at once confesses. They guard themselves against harm from sacred animals by hanging a fetich on a tree or fence.
Offerings and deity is appeased with offerings of food —chickens, palm wine, fruits—deposited in out-of-the-way places; some times he is appeased with dress materials and money. At the erection of buildings, at the time of the new moon, to attain fecundity, etc., the Negroes offer human sacrifices, children or captives taken in war.
priests are very powerful; they question the god as to his opinion, speak to him, designate the offerings, manufacture amulets and fetiches, foretell events, speak oracles, and cure diseases by conjuring the ghosts which caused the malady, for all diseases (for which they have some medicaments which are really effective) are the effects of hostile demons; they also make rain and bless the marching of troops, the new born children, ete. In some of their devotions they become so wrought up that they fall into convulsions. Their office is often hereditary. The priests generally dwell in the temple when there is one. The snakes in Vida have a large house with a numerous priesthood, and such fetich houses are not rare. In some regions magicians, fortune-tellers, and fetich-men exist in addition to the priests; the latter then occupy a higher rank; they only are known in the east, a real priesthood seeming to be absent. On the Slave Coast there are also priestesses, who enjoy great respect.