highly ceremonious procedures which later evolved. 
It was known among the people that the quantities 
of rice water and spices might radically alter or strengthen 
the toxicity of the poison. Thus, they believed that a 
strict adherence to the ceremonies of gathering and prep- 
aration had to be maintained lest the slightest error cause 
the death of an innocent or the salvation of a guilty per- 
son. This belief gave the witch doctors full power to 
direct each ordeal as they desired, for they maintained 
that they were the only members of the society suff- 
ciently versed in the correct procedures to perform the 
various ceremonies without making errors which could 
lead to a miscarriage of justice. An interesting point, 
however, is that the people realized the existence of this 
control. Their tolerance can be explained only by sup- 
posing that they believed it possible for the genie of the 
plant partially to work through these men. 
Chatin (1873) summarized the physical factors which 
could control the outcome of the trial. The items il- 
lustrate the necessity for the strict laws governing the 
ceremonies. 
The controlling factors were: 
1. An ignorance of the true fruit. 
2. The inherent ability of the fruit to kill or to save. 
3. The victim’s possession of a charm to protect 
him. 
4. The presence at the trial of a person with a sim- 
ilar talisman. 
5. The presence of an evil genie who could grasp 
the person and destroy him. 
6. The impure state of the person who would have 
committed some wrong. 
7. The varying maturity of different fruits. 
The last factor was the only one controlled by the peo- 
ple, for it was known that the red color deepened with 
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