THE ORDEAL ROOT OF GOUMBI. 845 



his neighbour or the king, and he is forced to drink mboundou to establish 

 his innocence. If the man dies, he is declared a witch ; if he survives, he is 

 innocent. This ordeal is much dreaded by the negroes, who often run away 

 from home, and stay away all their lives, rather than submit to it. The 

 doctors have the reputation of being unharmed by the mboundou (and I am 

 bound to admit that Olanga drank it without serious consequences). 

 Nevertheless, it is a deadly and speedy poison. I have seen it administered, 

 and have seen the poor drinker fall down dead, with blood gushing from 

 his mouth, eyes, and nose, in five minutes after taking the dose. 1 was 

 told by a native friend that, sometimes, when the mboundou-drinker is really 

 hated, the dose is strengthened secretly ; and this was the case, I suppose, 

 in those instances where I saw it prove fatal. I have also been assured by 

 negroes that sometimes the veins of the person who drinks it burst open. 



This time I overlooked the whole operation. Several of the native3 

 took the root and scraped it into a bowl : to this a pint of water was poured. 

 In about a minute, fermentation took place. The ebiillition looked very 

 much like that of champagne when poured into a glass. The water then 

 took the reddish colour of the cuticle of the mboundou root. When the fer- 

 mentation subsided, the victim was called by his friends. The drinker is 

 not permitted to be present at the preparation of the mboundou, but he may 

 send two friends to see that all is fair. 



"When he came, he emptied the bowl at a draught. In about five minutes 

 the poison took effect. He began to stagger about ; his eyes became blood- 

 shot ; his limbs twitched convulsively ; his speech grew thick ; and other 

 important symptoms showed themselves, which are considered as a sign 

 that the poison will not be fatal. A frequent and involuntary discharge of 

 the urine is the surest indication that the mboundou will have no fatal effect, 

 as it proved in this case ; otherwise it is generally followed by death. The 

 very words employed by the men when any one drinks the poison, seem to 

 imply what are its usual consequences. This man's whole behaviour wa3 

 that of a drunken man. He began to babble wildly, and now it was sup- 

 posed that the inspiration was upon him. Immediately they began to ask 

 him whether any man was trying to bewitch Quengueza. This question 

 was repeated several times ; at last he said, " Yes, some one was trying to 

 bewitch the king." Then came the query, " Who ?" But by this time the 

 poor fellow was fortunately hopelessly tipsy, and incapable of reasonable 

 speech. He babbled some unintelligible jargon, and presently the palaver 

 was declared over. 



While he was being questioned, about one hundred people sat around 

 with sticks in their hands. These they beat regularly upon the ground, 

 and sung in a monotone, 



" If he is a witch, let the mboundou kill him : 

 If he is not, let the mboundou go out." 



The whole ceremony lasted about half an hour ; and when it was over, 

 the people dispersed, and the person who had drunk the potion, by that 

 time partially recovered, lay down to sleep. 



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