Till'; n.vt.AXANdA ui< MA-LAiuicn. 255 



when he dies, and every family tire is put out as >oon as the 

 news of his death is heard. The following day the new Chief 

 produces a fresh flame by means of the Lcsliaiia, and this is 

 never allowed to die out until it is extinguished at his death. 

 The tires on every family hearth are re-kindled from the new 

 Chief's tire. The same practice is followed in some or all 

 these details by native tribes in Angola, the Congo, Uganda. 

 and many other parts of Africa ; but, what is more striking, we 

 see the same idea existing in places as far apart as Samoa on 

 the one side and among the people of the Xatchez tribe of 

 Indians in North America on the other. b^jr a full discussion 

 of the subject, giving many illustrations, ancient and' modern, 

 see Frazer : "Golden Bough: The ^^fagic Art," 3rd edit., vol. 

 ii, chap, xvii, etc. 



The most interesting point to be observed in these customs, 

 however, is to be found in the apparent resemblance to some 

 ancient rites which became crystallized in the Egyptian Ritual, 

 and wliich are recorded in " The Book of the Dead." Dr. 

 Churchward, in " Signs and Symbols of Primordial Man," draws 

 attention to the widespread practice of a rite which represents 

 in symbol the ancient legentl of Sut and Horus. 



So far I have not been able to get any evidence as clear as 

 that of the WcUunqua ceremon\- practised by the Warramunga 

 tribe in Australia,* but there are many points of contact in the 

 rites I have described in the foregoing pages, and if it can be 

 proved that these esoteric rites are derived from some ancient 

 common source, the value of the careful study of the customs 

 of the Bantu will be evident to everybody. 



The legend of Sut and Horus was this : Sut was the God 

 of Darkness ; Horus was the God of Light. Sut was the supreme 

 deity till Horus came on the scene, when a tierce battle enstied. 

 and the God of Darkness was overcome. Being hard pressed. 

 Sut transformed himself into a snake and disappeared into a 

 hole in the earth. In order to keep him there, Horus placed 

 a magic pole with his own hand upon it over the spot. 



It appears that wherever traces of this myth are found, 

 there will be seen the emblem of the snake, the hole into which 

 it disappeared, and the footsteps (of the purstiing Horus?). 



Sut, and consequently the serpent, was regarded as the 

 Spirit of Evil. From a careful study of the Bantu folk-lore, 

 we find that among the tribes of the Northern Transvaal the 

 hyaena, and not the snake, is regarded as the embodiment of 

 evil. This gives us a starting point. The Bapedi custom of 

 laying the spoor of the hyasna round the Mphato is singularly 

 reminiscent of the spoor of the man described elsewhere. 



Further, the image of the crocodile worshipped by the 

 Bagananoa is called "The father (or grandmother) of the 

 Snake." It is taken from its retreat in the bowels of the earth 



* Spencer & Gi'l-ti. "The Northern Tribes of Central Australia." 



