IDOLS OF IMERINA. 301 



ward mnst be killed. The worshippers of the idol took an 

 offering of dark-blue cloth and a silver ring, and money to 

 about the value of about threepence, and were sprinkled with 

 water by the idol-keepers. 



The fourth of these principal idols, that called Manj^- 

 katsiroa {i.e., " Not two sovereigns "), was the tutelar deity of 

 the sovereign, and was kept in a house in the palace-yard at 

 Antaniinarivo. From the native drawing it has a very exact 

 resemblance to a common bottle-gourd, but I believe it was 

 really nothing more than a small bag of sand. This curious 

 god was taken in one hand of the sovereign at her first 

 public appearance after her accession, the idol Eafantaka being 

 lield in the other; and standing upon the sacred stone or 

 rock, she invoked the protection of these two idols for herself 

 and the kingdom. 



Among the other idols of Imerina was one of which a 

 word or two may be said. This was Eanakandriana, which 

 was kept in a cave on the steep side of a lofty rocky ridge, a 

 few miles north-west of the capital. This cave was a kind of 

 Delphi, and was resorted to by those who desired answers to 

 questions they jDut about various benefits they sought for. 

 It is quite true that audible answers were given to such 

 inquiries, but, as might be supposed, it was the voice of a 

 man, and not of a god, which replied. Two brothers were 

 the idol-keepers; and one of them, previously concealed in a 

 cavity in the rocks, gave such answers as he deemed would 

 be acceptable to the votaries. 



Of the other idols, some were believed to be able to pro- 

 tect against hail ; others to bring travellers safely home 

 again ; and others to punish theft. Many were the curious 

 antipathies they were supposed to entertain ; one of the 

 most foolish of these was the dislike to houses with walls 

 made of non-combustible materials, so that until about nine 

 or ten years ago no stone, brick, or earthen building could 

 be erected either in the capital city or the other principal 

 towns of the central province. 



These idols have, however, now all passed away. On 

 the 8th and 9th of September 1869, they were committed to 

 the flames by royal conmiand ; and on the following days the 



