266 SUPERSTITIOUS CUSTOM. 



occasional plunge in a river, they never wash them- 

 selves, and consequently their bodies are covered 

 with vermin. On a fine day their karosses are 

 spread out in the sun, and as their tormentors 

 creep forth they are doomed to destruction. It often 

 happens that one Caffer performs for another the kind 

 office of collecting these insects, in which case he 

 preserves the entomological specimens, carefully de- 

 livering them to the person to whom they originally 

 appertained, supposing, according to their theory, 

 that as they derived their support from the blood of 

 the man from whom they were taken, should they 

 be killed by another, the blood of his neighbour 

 would be in his possession, thus placing in his hands 

 the power of some superhuman influence. For the 

 same reason when a man is bled, an operation to 

 which they have frequent recourse, or requires his 

 hair to be cut, he carefully buries what is taken from 

 him in some secret spot, and the same superstition 

 prevails even to the paring of his nails. 



The Amaponda Gaffers have three professions — 

 that of the " Amaqira," or witch-doctor ; of the 

 " Abanisi-bamvula," or rain-maker; and of the 

 " Agika," or doctor of medicine, which may be 

 considered the most valuable of the three. The 

 " Agika" is acquainted with many valuable roots, 

 which are used both internally and as embrocations. 

 Dr. Morgan remarks, in a paper recently read at 

 the South African Institution, Cape of Good Hope, 



