A LEGEND OF THE CREATION. 93 



above/"' both of whom had tails. They produced a son and 

 two daughters, who married. One daughter bore a loathsome 

 beast, the chameleon {waisselikotto) ; the other a giant, the 

 moon. Both children grew up, but soon disputes arose between 

 them, for the chameleon was wicked and spiteful, and at last 

 " the great Magician " took the moon up to the place whence 

 it still looks down upon the earth. But, to keep in remem- 

 brance its earthlv origin, it becomes larg-e and brilliant, and 

 then decreases, as though about to die, jet does not die, but 

 in two days passes round the horizon from east to west, and 

 appears again, tired from its journey and therefore small, in the 

 western sky. But the sun was angry with the new rival, and 

 burnt it so that the marks are still visible on its face. The 

 chameleon and its progeny peopled the earth, the tails were 

 lost, and the originally pale colour of the skin soon became dark 

 under the glowing sun. At the present time the heavenly 

 spheres are inhabited by people with tails, who have many 

 herds. The stars are watchmen which " the great Magician " 

 (Kyavdnhya or Kcigra) posts during the night. The sun is 

 inhabited by giants. 



The belief in magic and amulets, as well as in the possibility 

 of making people ill, or even compassing their death by means 

 of charms and incantations, is widely diffused in Unyoro and 

 Uganda. Naturally no trace is to be found of the idea of a 

 future life. In both countries the women are buried in the 

 court of the house they have occupied to the right-hand side 

 of the door, the men to the left of it. The graves are horizontal, 

 and three to four feet deep. The corpse lies on the right 

 side, as is usual in sleep. The "Wanyoro, however, who live 

 on the Albert Lake, bury their dead, men or women, in the 

 middle of the courtyard, and erect above the grave a miniature 

 hut, in which tobacco, pipes, bananas, vuuenge, &c, are de- 

 posited. Young children are everywhere buried in the garden 

 which adjoins each house. 



There is a singular belief that certain men leave their huts 

 at night, and kill travellers in order to eat their flesh or 

 employ it in various magic arts. They retain the human 

 form on their night excursions, but owing to magic power 

 they cannot be caught. Spears and bullets do not touch 



