226 ROYAL ANCESTOR-WORSHIP. 



four corners of the earth to observe this ; therefore observe, 

 Andriamp^titra." 



After some further maledictions and benedictions, the 

 wooden dish containing the above-mentioned tilings is over- 

 turned, and water is poured over the hands of the contracting 

 parties above the dish. 



Boyal Ancestor-worship among the Skhaldiva. — Closely con- 

 nected with this subject are some customs of the Scikaltiva 

 which may be here mentioned. Among the southern divi- 

 sion of this people, the corpse of a king is wrapped in an 

 ox-hide and suspended in the deepest recesses of the neigh- 

 bouring forests. After some months the chiefs meet together 

 and search for the remains, that is to say, one of the vertebrae 

 of the neck, a nail, and a lock of the hair. The remaining 

 portions are interred with much ceremony. They sometimes 

 offer human sacrifices on this occasion ; the bodies of the 

 victims are placed under the royal bier, for a sovereign 

 cannot rest in the earth like his humbler subjects. They 

 enclose the relics in a crocodile's tooth, and then carry them 

 to the sacred house where the relics of former kings are pre- 

 served. 



The possession of these relics constitutes the right to the 

 royal authority. A legitimate heir who should be dispossessed 

 of them would lose all authority over his people ; and a 

 usurper, on the contrary, would ascend the throne without 

 opposition. (See Grandidier, in Bull, de la Soc. de G4og., Avril 

 1872, p. 402.) 



At Mojanga, a principal seaport on the north-west coast, 

 at the mouth of the Bay of Bembatoka, is a sacred house 

 called Zomba, where the relics of the former kings of the 

 northern Sakalava are preserved with religious care. The 

 eastern part of the house is partitioned off from the rest, and 

 inside this portion are suspended four small boxes containing 

 the royal relics. These are a span in length and three inches 

 wide, and contain the hair and finger and toe-nails of the 

 deceased king. A cover or hat of gold is placed on one, the 

 other three having a similar cover of silver. Around them 

 are placed spears, knives, and hatchets. 



On every Friday the Sakalava meet there to sing and pray 



