Native Superstitions and Beliefs. 225 



reason one has often to see men in agony and, because of 

 the senseless beliefs of the people, be unable to alleviate 

 pain. 



A person never dies from a purely natural cause in the 

 opinion of the natives. Some enemy has cast a spell on 

 the deceased and caused his or her death. Even if an able- 

 bodied, sound man be killed by an elephant or buffalo, 

 some person has caused the accident. 



It will take a very long time for the missionary teachers 

 to eradicate these superstitions and beliefs, so it can easily 

 be seen that as long as the minds of the natives are full of 

 such fantastical ideas, their intellects are quite unable to 

 assimilate the truths of the Christian religion. What we 

 look on as fancy and superstition, they consider well- 

 grounded facts, and it will take many years of sound 

 education to cause their enlightenment. Without any 

 desire to be considered sacrilegious, I consider the Bible 

 an unsuitable book for them, as many of its stories are too 

 much akin to their own beliefs. The miracles described in 

 that book are only extra nourishment for their minds in the 

 shape of the supernatural. 



A native is quite unable to " read between the lines," 

 and he always looks at bare facts, and anything that 

 happens to be on paper can seem nothing but the truth 

 to him. 



As many natives are notorious liars, and some are 

 dishonest, it would be better to teach them to try and be 

 truthful and honest, and also to stop practising senseless 

 cruelty on human beings and animals. 



Before they ever saw a white man they had a belief in 

 a supreme being who was able to influence men for good 

 or bad, and they call this being " Mlungo" (God). 



If it rains too hard or too little, this is the work of 

 Mlungo. If a man dies, the Mlungo has made another man 

 kill him, and so on. Therefore, they are not altogether 

 Pagans. 



Contact with the more highly developed kind of civilisa- 

 tion cannot be said to benefit the natives ; indeed, it does 



Q 



