598 REV. GEORGE A. SHAW, F.Z.S., ON 
reading his paper that the people so employed resemble the kosher 
butchers of the Jews; but I do not know that such butchers have 
to belong to a certain family. Is that soP Perhaps some one 
can inform us. It seems to me, rather, to come down from the 
most ancient times, when the killing of animals was probably 
always accompanied by sacrifice: whenever an animal was killed, 
its blood was poured out on the ground in sacrifice to God. I 
gather that from several ancient passages in the Scriptures; and I 
think this is in keeping with it. A certain set of people probably 
acted as semi-priests; and they alone killed for all the rest, and 
poured out the blood on their behalf. 
It is very remarkable that these people who came from Arabia 
and professed to worship only the one God should have become 
the manufacturers of idols for the Malagasy; but we heard in a 
paper on the Moslems of Arabia how their worship of the one God 
became blended with the worshipping of holy men, or saints; 
and with many of their ancient pagan customs; how the Wahabis 
determined to put this down and did so for some time; but 
how they have themselves returned to the same kind of 
observances. 
Professor Orcuarp, M.A.—There are some points brought before 
us in the paper which tend to show that some of the customs of 
these curious tribes are of Israelitish origin; for instance, the 
prohibition of marriage with other kinds of people and the chant 
repeated seven times. That seems to convey the idea of number, 
the Israelites regarding seven as a perfect number. Then on the 
eighth day the time of mourning is suspended. We know that 
the Israelites regard the eighth day as the inauguration of a new 
state of things. So in the New Testament it becomes the first 
day —the day of the resurrection. 
I should like to ask Mr. Shaw whether these names for the 
days of the week and days of the month have any translatable 
meaning, or whether they are only mere sounds as far as he is 
aware. 
If they have any meaning it would be interesting to know what 
they are; and, also, with regard to the chant. 
I was much struck with what the author says—‘‘It seems 
strange that these people who, when they first arrived in the 
island, were without doubt Mohammedans and in possession of 
the Koran, should have degenerated into the idol and charm 
