LEOPARD MEN HUTTON". 533 



When the leopard is wounded corresponding wounds appear upon 

 the human body of the were-leopard, usually in the form of boils, 

 and when the leopard is killed the human body dies also. It is, 

 however, possible apparently for the soul to throw off the possession 

 permanently as old age is approached. The father of Inato, chief of 

 Lumitsami, got rid of the habit by touching the flesh of a leopard. 

 The village had killed one and he carried home the head. After that, 

 he explained, he could no longer associate with the leopard kind. 

 It is generally held, and doubtless not without some substratum of 

 truth, that a man under the influence of the possession can be quieted 

 by feeding him with chicken dung. Probably this produces nausea. 



Possession is not confined to men. Women also become were- 

 leopards and are far more destructive as such than men are. Of men, 

 those who have taken heads are most dangerous, and are believed 

 to kill as many men as leopards or tigers as they have done as warriors. 



The actions of the leopard's body and of the human body of the 

 were-leopard are closely associated., As has been noticed, if the 

 human limbs are confined the leopard's freedom of action is re- 

 stricted, and troublesome were-leopards are said to be sometimes 

 destroyed in this way. 



On one occasion the elders of a large Ao village (Ungma) came 

 to me for permission to tie up a certain man in the village, while they 

 hunted a leopard which had been giving a great deal of trouble. The 

 man in question, who was, by the way, a Christian convert, also ap- 

 peared to protest against the action of the village elders. He said that 

 he was very sorry that he was a were-leopard ; he did not want to be 

 one, and it was not his fault, but seeing that he was one, he supposed 

 that his leopard body must kill to eat, and if it did not both the leop- 

 ard and himself would die. He said that if he were tied up the 

 leopard would certainly be killed and he would die. To tie him up 

 and hunt the leopard was, he said, sheer murder. In the end I gave 

 leave to the elders to tie the man up and hunt the leopard, but told 

 them that if the man died as a result of their killing the leopard 

 whoever had speared the leopard would, of course, be tried, and, no 

 doubt, hanged for murder, and the elders committed for abetment 

 of the same. On this the elders unanimously refused to take ad- 

 vantage of my permission to tie up the man. I was sorry for this, 

 though I had foreseen it, as it would have been an interesting experi- 

 ment. 



My information as to were-leopards was obtained directly either 



from were-leopards themselves or their relatives, friends, and chiefs. 



Unfortunately I have not so far succeeded in seeing a man actually 



at the moment of possession. I have had the marks of wounds shown 



101257—22 35 



