RELIGION OF THE KAFFIRS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, 28 April 1891, Page 4

RELIGION OF THE KAFFIRS.

i To give a concise view of the religion oi the Kaflfrs as a whole would be no easy task; different tribes having different opinions, and the accounts even of those who have resided amongst them being too contradictory to allow the opinion of all ••the authorities" to be received with equal weight. The dead again can come back .to the earth when it suits their convenience, and can do much mischief to those against whom they have an ill-will, or who have in any way offended. Accordingly, says the author of •• Peoples of the World." with the Kaffirs the policy of ar wise man is, " De mortuis nil nisi bonum," a piece of morality which probably originated amongst EuroKeans from a similar motive. Dead men, owever, do not usually come to earth in their former guise, but enter into the bodies of various animals, chief among which are serpents and lizards. If a snake finds its way into a Kaffir's hut, it is not.instantly destroyed, as among;thfe Whites,it Aypuld be; on the contrary, the Kaffir has an titter dislike to killing these animals on any occasion, and especially so when it enters his house. He will touch the snake gently with a stick, and if it shows uoisiga-oj-. irritation, then he will conclude thatil; hiu'st be one of his forefathers in this disguise come on earth to warn him that if he is not treated with more respect, some grievous harm will befall the person who inhabits the kraal it has visited. To propitiate the irate progenitor, a sacrifice will be immediately offered up. If a sheep, or most other animals, except a cow, calf, or a beast of prey, enters a dwelling, the Kaffir concludes in like manner that they have called for the sanie reason that the snake has—viz., togive warning of some evil about to befall the head of the house. To avert danger in battle, sacrifices will also be offered up to their ancestors, or if they have been fortunate in war, in the hunt, or on any other occasion, as proofs of gratitude, either U> the spirits who have assisted them, or to the departed guardians, who in this manner have shown their goodwill to those on earth. These sacrifices consist of cattle, generally bulls, and are tendered with an infinite amount of ceremony and form.