BANTU 



586 



BAPTISM 



BANTU, ban too', the name applied to a 

 _-roup of native tribes of Central and 

 South Africa, van ing in many respects physi- 

 cally and racially, but all speaking languages 

 derived from one original tongue. Of all the 

 Bantu B most powerful are the Zulus, 



who regard tin : ifl far superior to all 



in natives, whom they class as 

 "dogs." The Basutos, an offspring of the Zulu 

 nations by emigration and intermarriage with 

 Kaffir tribes, the Matabelr. the Swahili and the 

 mas, are also important branches of the 

 Bantu nations. With the exception of the 

 Hereros, the Bantus are all agriculturists and 

 understand the arts of pottery making, weav- 

 ing and iron smelting. Until recent years, 

 however, their principal occupation was war, 

 only women performing the useful tasks of hus- 

 bandry and cattle raising. 



on the island of Ceylon, which has 350 great 

 trunks and over 3,000 smaller ones. A certain 

 banyan, famed in history, was so huge that 

 7,000 men camped under it. Banyan wood is 

 soft and porous, and from its white, sticky juice 

 bird-lime is sometimes prepared. 



BAPTISM, bap' ti^m, a Christian ceremony 

 or rite by which a person seals his vows to God 

 and the Church. While on earth, Christ com- 

 manded his disciples, "Go and teach all nations, 

 baptizing them in the name of the Father, and 

 of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Before 

 Christ gave this commission to the disciples, 

 John the Baptist had preached repentance, and 

 had baptized many, and Christ came to him 

 to be baptized in the Jordan. 



Baptism was established as a requirement 

 for admission to the Church of Christ from the 

 beginning. On the day of Pentecost, "Peter 



THE BANYAN TREE 



At the left, the largest banyan tree in the world, described in the text ; at the right, a small 

 tree, showing how the larger ones develop. 



BAN'YAN, or BANIAN, a remarkable tree 

 of India, which may in itself reach the size of 

 a grove or small forest. The peculiar feature 

 of this tree is its method of growth. In the 

 first place, it does not usually begin on the 

 ground. Seeds are dropped by birds in the 

 tops of palm trees, where they speedily germi- 

 nate, sending down roots to the soil, and, in 

 \ time, killing the tree on which they grow. 

 XThen, as branches develop, these throw down 

 rapports, which take root as soon as they touch 

 ground, enlarge into trunks and extend 

 branches in their turn, eventually covering a 

 wide, extent of ground. 



As the Hindu word for trader is banian, it 

 is probable that the tn-r- is named because the 

 Hindu merchants frequently spread their goods 

 in the shade of these tree-forests. One of the 

 most famous of the banyan trees is that in the 

 Botanic Garden at Calcutta, with its main trunk 

 of thirty feet circumference and its 230 smaller 

 trunks. The largest banyan tree known is 



said unto them, Repent and be baptized every- 

 one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the 

 remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the 

 gift of the Holy Ghost. Then they that gladly 

 received his word were baptized." Wherever 

 churches were established converts were bap- 

 tized. The baptism of John signified repent- 

 ance for sin; that ordained by Christ, the 

 reception of the Holy Spirit. 



At first all baptism was by immersion, and 

 some denominations, particularly the Baptist, 

 still hold to that mode, but the method of 

 sprinkling or pouring is now in use in most 

 Protestant churches. The ceremony varies in 

 minor particulars in different denominations, 

 but the significance of the rite is the same 

 in all. 



Infant Baptism. The Roman Catholic and 

 Greek Reformed churches baptize infants, as do 

 most of the Protestant denominations. When 

 the infant is baptized he is dedicated to Christ 

 and the Church, but the conditions upon which 



