(or sometimes leaves and seeds) was merely scraped and 
powdered, added to water, and allowed to steep. Some- 
times the person was only given the bark to chew, fol- 
lowed by a large draught of water. However, in many 
cases, there were certain additions to the brew which 
made the procedure extremely complicated. A simple 
addition consisted of salt to enhance the poisonous effects. 
But more often, the extra material was made up of pow- 
dered glass, lizards, toads, crushed snakes, and human 
flesh. The hearts of the previous year’s victims were 
dried in the sun, powdered, and mixed with the succeed- 
ing year’s brew. This mixture, which might additionally 
have contained human brains, liver, blood, and bile, was 
put into a vat or tub and allowed to infuse and ferment 
fora year. When it was needed, two spoonfuls were ad- 
ded to a cup of water and mixed. 
This practice seems to have been especially common 
among the Balantes, for it was their tribe which held 
human skin to be particularly significant. As in Mada- 
gascar, the natives believed that spirits of evil subsisted 
on human flesh. Similarly, it was thought possible for a 
person’s body to become host to one of these spirits, who 
had come to torment the community, whether or not the 
individual was cognizant of the spirit’s presence. Thus, 
when undergoing the ordeal, if the pieces of skin were not 
found among the egested material, the person was de- 
clared guilty, for the evidence that he was harboring an 
evil spirit seemed incontrovertible. 
Among the majority of the tribes which employed 
this poison, preparations and all aspects of the procedure 
were carried out in public to demonstrate that no trickery 
was involved. To substantiate this further, a sample from 
each batch of poison was given to dogs before the ordeal. 
When the dogs were dead, proceedings commenced. 
In one tribe, the accused was seated on a high seat in 
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