298 IDOLS. 



generally, and of this a few particulars may not be without 

 interest. 



When Europeans first went up to the interior province of 

 Imerina in the early years of the present century, they found 

 a number of idols held in veneration by the people, in addi- 

 tion to the household idols or sampy common to every house, 

 and those held in special veneration in different villages and 

 districts. Of these idols, some fifteen or sixteen in number, 

 four were especially famous, and were regarded as the pro- 

 tectors of the kingdom and the sovereign. These four were, 

 however, nothing more than charms, some of them, if not all, 

 having, according to tradition, been brought from distant parts 

 of the island, and seem, through some accidental circum- 

 stance, to have acquired fame for their supposed supernatural 

 powers. 



First in rank and estimation was the idol Bakelimalaza {i.e., 

 " Little (yet) renowned "). This was especially the protector 

 of the kingdom, and was supposed to make the sovereign 

 invincible, to protect from crocodiles, from sorcery, and from 

 fire. 



From a drawing given to me by a native friend whose 

 family was the hereditary guardian and keeper of one of these 

 chief idols, it appears that Bakelimalaza consisted simply of 

 three small pieces of the wood of some sacred tree, wrapped 

 round with white silk. It was kept at a large village called 

 Ambdhimanambola, distant about six miles east of the capital ; 

 and it, like the other chief idols, had a house appropriated to 

 it. The office of idol-keeper was hereditary, and was one 

 both of honour and profit, those who held it having several 

 privileges belonging to no other subjects, such as the right of 

 carrying a scarlet umbrella, the badge of the royal family, 

 and in some cases of being not subject to the punishment of 

 death for any offence. The principal idols were usually kept 

 in a box, and were occasionally anointed with castor-oil and 

 other unguents, a ceremony having apparently some religious 

 significance. At none of these idol-houses, however, was there 

 any regular worship, but they were visited by those people 

 who desired to obtain certain benefits, offerings of money or 

 of fowls, sheep, and other animals being brought to the idol- 



