184 THE OX 



in this country. Our forefathers here knew well how it should 

 be used, and they said thus, when they invoked a blessing (at 

 the circumcision) : The ox's horns go to the spoon-maker ; its 

 molar teeth to the mat-maker (for smoothing out the zozoro 

 peel) ; its ears are for making medicine for nettle-rash ; its 

 hump for making ointment ; its rump to the sovereign ; its 

 feet to the oil-maker ; its spleen to the old man ; its liver to the 

 old woman ; its lungs to the son-in-law ; its intestines to those 

 who brought the ropes ; its neck to him who brought the axe ; 

 its haunch to the crier ; its tail to the weaver ; its suet to the 

 soap-maker ; its skin to the drummer ; its head to the speech- 

 maker ; its eyes to be made into beads (used in the divination), 

 and its hoofs to the gun-maker." 



Our next morning's ride brought us to Ambohidehilahy, a 

 large village of a hundred and twenty or a hundred and thirty 

 houses, occupying the northern end of one of the promontories. 



For the first time since we had left Ambohimanga we had a 

 meal in an ordinary house, and could notice the arrangement 

 of a Sihanaka dwelling. I immediately observed that instead 

 of there being one post at each end and at the centre of the 

 house to support the ridge, as in the Imerina houses, this had 

 three at each gable, just as the Betsimisaraka have ; another 

 confirmation, by the way, of my belief, that the Sihanaka are 

 connected with the coast tribes, and have come up from the sea 

 and settled on the margin of the fertile plain. Instead of the 

 one door and window on the west side, as in the Hova houses, 

 the Sihanaka make two doors on that side, with high thres- 

 holds, dividing it into three equal parts, and a low door on the 

 eastern side, coming where the fixed bedstead is placed in 

 Imerina. Here the bedstead was at the south-east instead of 

 the north-east corner ; and the hearth, with its framework 

 above for supporting property of various kinds, at the south- 

 east instead of the mid-west side of the house. 



After dinner we set off over level ground for Manakambahiny, 

 a village nearly south from us, which we could see on a low hill 

 forming the extremity of the high ridge bounding the Mang6ro 

 valley to the west. We found that the small rivers between the 

 parallel ranges of hills spread out into many shallow streams 

 over a wide surface, forming a swamp with luxuriant rushes and 

 vegetation. The wild birds seemed plentiful here. In several 



