SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY OP ABERDEEN. 15 



When we speak of native charms and " medicine " for charm 

 and medicine are synonyms in the native tongue we enter on a new 

 region of native thought. The charm consists of small pieces of wood 

 worn on a string tied round the affected part, or the ashes of plants or 

 bones of animals or hair tied up in small packages and worn about the 

 person. What the power of these charms consist in I have never got 

 any native to give me any theory of his own. They are " just medi- 

 cine," and that is enough for him. Taking into consideration analo- 

 gous beliefs of the natives of other parts of Africa, I think I am justified 

 in holding that these charms are simply degraded forms of the com- 

 mon fetich of native belief. A fetich is some material object which is 

 possessed of miraculous powers because of its being the abode of some 

 spirit which gives it vitality and power. Now these Yao charms and 

 medicines would appear to be just the fetich of the West African with- 

 out the faith in the inherent spirit. The Yao clings to his faith in the 

 miraculous powers of the contents of these horns and amulets, but is 

 utterly unable to assign any reason why such material objects should 

 produce such results. 



On this subject the Mang'anja and Anguru hold beliefs similar to 

 the Yaos, but among the Angoni we find a firm belief that material 

 objects may be taken possession of by the spirits of the dead. Thus 

 an ox or goat or fowl or even a doll or basket or piece of cloth may 

 become the abode of the spirit of some departed chief or relative, and 

 this object is consequently cherished and made the medium of com- 

 munication with the spirit inhabiting it. It thus becomes a fetich or 

 charm and would appear to be the original type of which the Yao 

 charm or medicine is the degraded materialism. 



As we enter further into his beliefs in the region of spirit, we 

 find that the Yao stands entirely alone among his neighbours in the 

 nature of his faith in the unseen world. Briefly put, his creed is as 

 follows : 



Every human being has a spirit or soul. This spirit inhabits the 

 body but may leave it during sleep and visit other individuals or 

 scenes, and thus produce the phenomena of dreams. At death the 



