458 Wanderings in Eastern Africa, 
of days upon his plantations ; — a fifty per cent, tax 
upon all the ivory obtained in the country; the 
confiscated property of criminals and others ; the 
blackmail levied upon traders and visitors ; the trade 
he does with merchants and the neighbouring tribes ; 
and the results of his freebooting expeditions ; enough 
altogether to make him a very wealthy man. 
As with all other East African peoples, superstition 
takes the place of religion, though there may be some 
difference in the details of that superstition. The 
Wachaga have some notion of a Divine Being, whom 
they call Erua, or Eruva (which, by-the-bye, sounds 
like the Hebrew Jehovah), but the word also stands, 
for the sun, and they certainly pay greater attention 
to the mganga than to the unknown being they call 
Erua." A form of infanticide prevails among them ; 
at least, twins are murdered. Prognostications, as has 
been seen, are made upon the appearance of the flesh 
and muscular twitching of slaughtered animals ; great 
confidence is placed in rain-doctors, sacrifices and 
magic preparation of herbs, etc., to prevent calamities ; 
and friendships are formed by the Kiskong'o cere- 
mony, which consists in taking the skin from the 
head of a goat, making a slit in it, and putting it 
upon the middle finger in the form of a ring. 
Social life in Chaga is pretty much as it is elsewhere 
in Africa, and marriage is the same, namely, by 
purchase. The wasoro (soldiers), however, are often 
so poor that they have not the means to obtain wives, 
and they are provided by Mandara. He can, of course, 
obtain as many wives as he needs simply by a word 
of command, and his harem is consequently often 
overstocked. Of many he speedily becomes weary, 
