4-20 XOSA KELKUOX AND SUPERSTITIONS. 



The Xosas seem to have n;» name for our httle good folk, 

 the fairies, but they have plenty of mischievous sprites and elves. 

 The river-elf, i-canti, appears as a many-coloured snake. It is 

 greatly feared. Stones were flung into the river to 

 drive it away, or it was scared away by singing, 

 shouting, and clapping of hands, before people ventured 

 to cross. It sometimes came out of the river and entered 

 into a i^erson, who thereupon became possessed, and might 

 develop into a witch-doctor. Of such a person they said 

 unecmiti, he has, or is possessed by, the river-elf; or iitzifasa 

 ngecanti, he starts practice through the river-elf. Another water- 

 sprite, bearing tlic name of the river il^elf, um-lambo, was the 

 cause of eruptions, uku-jaditka, breaking out on the face or body. 

 One suffering from such an eruption, or from the anaemia of 

 which it is a sign, was being punished b}- the river, iisohva 

 nguuilambo. When a person was drowned, it was this river god 

 that was the cause. Such a person was said to have gone off with 

 the river, or by the river, iimkUe iiumlambo, or ngumlambo. He 

 might often be propitiated by making a small contribution, riiina, 

 such as a seed, pin, or bea.d, to the river before crossing. 



The river-dwarf, it-lii(i, or ii-fikoloshc, is a mischievous being 

 who lives either in the water or in the reed-grass, iiujcobo, or the 

 reeds, ingcongolo, beside the water, to which he was banished for 

 his love intrigues. He is represented as a dwarf, sometimes with 

 thickset hair, who goes about playing tricks on j^eople. He has a 

 round stone, which he grasps, fiiuibata, and thereby renders 

 himself invisible. Women are fond of him, as he supplies them 

 with love-philtres, and procures them lovers. "////;' has come out 

 of the reeds " is a proverbial saying equivalent to our " the cat 

 is out of the bag.' 



Another creature that has the power of assuming human 

 shape, and is an arch-deceiver is i-mbulu. He has a tail, which 

 he vainly endeavours to hide. He is the type of those who borrow 

 and fail, or delay, to pay back. It is curious to note that in 

 Central Africa i-mbnlo is the name of the Caj)e hunting dog, 

 which in Xosa is called i-.vunli, a word evidently of Hottentot 

 origin. 



A gigantic ogre, who lives in the forests and has a distorted 

 face, and tusks like those of a boar, is isi-gcbenga, a word now 

 used in the sense of a robber and murderer. Its root is probably 

 gchn. to gash. 



A cannibalistic ogre of great size, who figures largelv in 

 Kafifir folk-lore, is i-gongqongqo, or i-ciiiiu. He hops on one leg. 



A hobgoblin, with a frowning face, who devours naughty 

 children, is ti-nomanyamanyama (the one wiHi the bits of meatV 



Prayer. 



The spirits of departed chiefs were approached by i)rayer 

 and by sacrifice. When a man v.-as visited by severe illness, and 

 this was supposed to be sent by the ancestral spirits because of 



