CHARMS. 293 



charms round his neck. These are small pieces of wood, 

 some being smeared with animal oil, and others with castor- 

 oil, those belonging to rich people being ornamented with 

 Leads and anointed with fat. Occasionally these charms are 

 tied round their knees, or fastened round the chest ; some 

 are small pieces of wood shaped like a little canoe ; others 

 are lemur's bones, both from the hands and feet ; others are 

 small wooden figures of men ; others are figures of women, or 

 of oxen, with a variety of other small objects. " This lemur's 

 foot," said the people, " we call tdmbkotra, and it is a charm 

 against fatigue ; and the meaning of this little canoe is, that 

 we shall not be upset, and if we swim we shall get across 

 safely." And the little human figures they call a charm for 

 obtaining spoil and getting plenty of slaves ; and the figure 

 of a woman is to aid in obtaining women ; and as to the 

 figure of an ox, they say of it that those who possess it 

 will get abundance of cattle.* There are other charms also 

 called scnnpilahy or bdi-bitsy, that is, charms against a gun. 

 These are pieces of a bullock's horn, from three to five or 

 six inches of the tip ; they are ornamented with tin, or with 

 small beads worked in patterns; the cavity is nearly filled 

 with the ashes of certain trees or plants of supposed magical 

 power, and mixed with fat or bees'-wax ; in this composition 

 are stuck a number of large needles. These bdi-Msy are sup- 

 posed to render the wearer invulnerable, being an unfailing 

 protection against a musket-ball. 



Mr. Eichardson says of these B^ra people : " The charms 

 are very numerous ; " and in addition to the gun-charm just 

 described, " the men wear from two to twenty-nine (the 

 greatest number I counted), others on the head, or slung 

 from the shoulder and across the breast." "They have 

 imbounded confidence in these charms, and will not part 

 with them except on exorbitant terms." " Should you show 

 a man that his charms are useless, he will only agree to the 

 belief that you have a more powerful charm than his own, 

 and which he is prepared to buy at any price." According 

 to the same authority, the B^ra have many prohibited acts 



* Antananarivo Annual, No. ii. p. 63. 



