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CHAPTER XIV. 



MALAGASY FOLK-LORE AND POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 



ANIMALS — BIRDS — FABULOUS ANIMALS — TREES AND PLANTS — LUCKY AND 

 UNLUCKY DAYS AND TIMES — OEDEALS — FOLK-LORE OF HOME AND 

 FAMILY LIFE — LUCKY AND UNLUCKY NUMBERS, ACTIONS, ETC. — SICK- 

 NESS AND DEATH — VTITCHCRAFT AND CHARMS. 



The Folk-Lore of the various tribes inhabiting Madagascar has 

 been as yet but slightly studied, and no one has up to the 

 present time made any systematic examination of the curious 

 superstitious beliefs which are found in the island. But as 

 there exists a considerable amount of information on these 

 points scattered through different books — notes of journeys, 

 miscellaneous pamphlets, and magazines published only in 

 Madagascar — which are inaccessible to the general reader, it 

 will perhaps be worth while to collect these together in the 

 present chapter, in the hope that attention may be directed 

 to the subject, and that those who reside in the island may 

 be led to inquire more minutely into the noteworthy facts 

 which still invite research. 



That there is a reason to suspect the existence of much 

 more that is curious in Folk-Zore may be inferred from the 

 fact that within the last three or four years a large number 

 of most interesting Folk-^a^s have been discovered, of the 

 existence of which, for the most part, we who had resided in 

 the country for several years had no suspicion. But as these 

 Folk-Tales are sufficiently important to require a separate 

 chapter to themselves, we shall not refer to them now, but 

 endeavour, by grouping our information under various heads, 

 to show how much there is of interest in the Folk-Lore, 

 properly so called ; while the following chapter will be 

 devoted to the idolatry and religious beliefs and practices of 



