372 Report H.A.A. Advancement of Science. 



beinif who kills or gi\es life and in whose existence the Ba-Ronga 

 believe firmly. (8ee Z^.s Ba-Bomja, pp. 408-25.) 



It is a long work to cook the beer. When it is ready and sutK- 

 cientlv strong, the gathering takes place. 



The first of the ceremonies of that da\- is the sacrifice on the 

 grave. The master of the mourning* takes a pot of beei', ;uid followed 

 by the crowd, especially by the bafukiiJii, goes to the place ^^here the 

 deceased has been buried. He stops there and pra^'s : " 8ee this jar of 

 beer! We bring it to thee; we have gathered to 'tear to pieces the 

 mourning.' We beseech thee that this ceremony maj- be performed in 

 peace and good understanding." Then he pours a little of the drink 

 into the cup which is on the grave, the same which the deceased was 

 using when alive. One ntvkvlu then takes the jar, which is still 

 almost full, and he drinks it with the other bahikiilu. This has been 

 done cahuly. Tt seems that the nephews by the sister have a special 

 right to the food consecrated to the gods. Nobody contests it with 

 them. But this act has made them bolder. The baftiknln become 

 troublesoivie. As soon as the crowd has come back from the grave 

 they steal another pot of beer. They insult the masters of the village. 

 They say : " Why ! You have never sent us any notice about the 

 decisions concerning the mourning ! We are tired I We will go and 

 take our wives with us I " But some of the old men go to them and 

 tell them : "Be good ! Do not spoil the feast ! "t 



* There are two persons called masters of the mourning : the male one, the 

 liiotlier of the deceased, who in c-anyini; him to the grave has held the head, 

 anil the female one, who is the first widow. 



+ This stran;^e l)eliavionr of tlie lirttitkiiJit, nephews by the sister, is not the 

 oidy Honga custom showing a rivalry between the families descending from 

 the brothers and tliose descending from the sisters. It seems as if the sons of 

 the sister of a man were in a way tlie representatives of tlie family nuich more 

 than the sons of liis brothers. However, as we liave seen, the brotiiers of the 

 del-eased are tlie fust lieirs of his property, wives included. Some etiinologists 

 try ti> exphiin this and other similar facts by the hypothesis that tliere has 

 l)eeii an evolution in the family system of the Hantu. In former times the 

 father, l)eing an unknown agent, the brother of the mother was the natural 

 protector of her children. There was a sjiecial relation between him and 

 them, and it is .still recognised l)y the special terms by which they call each 

 other. If the hnp.sudiui or hatidmln claim their iiin/iiiiit's widows, it would 

 be a relic of tlie old family system. Nowadays their riglit is not recognised 

 any more, as the actual family system is distinctly based on father right. The 

 fatliei- is ll<»^\ the head of the family ; his l)rothers aio known, live with him, 

 and ha\e become his n;itural heirs. 'J'heir right is so e.\cliisi\i^ that e\en if a 

 widow is taken by a iifii/.i(/ii, the children born from the new union behjng not 

 to the /itiiliihi, but to the sons of the deceased. This explanation, called the 

 nKtlri'ircdtr Itfipotltcsis, is no ilonbt \ery interesting. Hut in the case we are 

 dealing with it is not nectjssary to have lecourse to it. As we shall see, the 

 hdhitidii ha\e a reason for their claim. It is this : the widows having been 

 aciiuired by the deceased husband l>y means of the money coining from the 

 liihiJd of liis sisters, belong in a way to them I It is, jierhaps, also the reason 

 why the sisters jneside oxer the whole business of the reiiartition of the 

 widows, and this fact is quite sutlicient to explain the attitude of {\w iHitiikiilii 

 on this occasion. 



