Traditions and Customs of S.A. Races. 143 



gence and culture to be properly grasped But it is sure 



to destroy the childish conceptions of animism which are the base 

 of Kaffir philosophy. Amongst the less developed strata of European 

 nations, amongst peasantry, for instance, traces of the animistic 

 theories are still to be found, but they disappear rapidly. The same 

 process will take place amongst the primitive races. What is the 

 main idea of the animistic system? It is this: All the phenomena 

 of nature are produced and controlled by spiritual influences, mostly 

 inimical to the happiness of man. These spiritual causes can be 

 detected by appropriate means, because they act according to certain 

 laws. The law of resemblance is one of the most conspicuous.* It 

 will be found at the base of most of the superstitions of the natives ; 

 it reveals itself under hundreds of different forms, and has inspired a 

 great part of their therapeutics. Let the great modern principle of 

 experimental science be instilled into their minds, and all that scaf- 

 folding of superstitions, which appear to them most reasonable now, 

 will tumble down at once. There are more than 130,000 native 

 children attending schools throughout South Africa ; the teaching 

 they receive enlightens their minds, and though it does not pretend 

 to lead them to the summits of science, it is certainly bound to destroy 

 the animistic theories fancied by the imagination of the savages. 



Xow, the great upholder of animism is the mungoma, the fortune- 

 teller, the man who "smells out"' witchcraft. His power is enormous 

 on the bulk of the tribe. He is the adviser of every adult. The 

 little bones of his basket are the Bible of the native, as one of them 

 was telling me. The overwhelming influence of this charmed basket 

 will fall as soon as the natives have got some understanding of the 

 succession of cause and effect, as revealed by scientific experience. I 

 might mention also as having to share the same fate, their mvsterious 

 and horrible theories of withcraft, their scanty cosmographic ideas, 

 and also those strange institutions resjarding human life and human 

 growth, which are so deeply rooted in the Bantu mind, and which 

 have given rise to a number of little-known ceremonies. The light 

 of knowledge will certainly, in the course of a long time, dissipate 

 all those shadows of animism from the native soul. 



European -political domination now established everywhere has 

 done much already, and will do more in the future, to hasten the 

 transformation of the primitive Bantu life. The chief was the very 

 heart of the tribe. Now his influence has been greatlv diminished. 

 The fact that Native Commissioners are everywhere discussing and 



* Let me give an example of it. We see often, hanging at the neck of 

 natives, a kind of amulet consisting of a shell filled with black wax, and. half 

 inserted in the middle of the wax, 2 or 3 seeds of abrusprecatorius. These 

 •svell-known seeds are like beads: bright red with a black spot; just like little 

 red eyes, the eyes of the seeds appear to look out from the shell. ..That amu- 

 let is worn by people who are said to suffer from bad spirits having taken 

 possession of them. The spirits have been already induced to go away and to 

 leave the patient. But as they are reluctant to obey, these charms put to the 

 necklace of the patient will complete the healing; the bad spirits are peeping 

 out like the seeds and preparing to leave ! 



