of Edinburgh, Session 1884 - 85 . 221 
rank than their fellows. The puggees appear to he sincere in their 
beliefs ; they do not practise austerities or live secluded lives. They 
may marry, and have as many wives as they please. They do not as 
a rule do manual work themselves, their time being chiefly occupied 
in teaching, writing amulettes or charms, in attending the councils 
of the chiefs, and officiating at the various religious ceremonies. 
They do not pray so continuously as their Arab compeers, nor do 
they spend so much time in telling their beads. They advise the 
chiefs in points of law, and act themselves as judges, most matters 
being submitted to them for decision, but in cases where the penalty 
of death or mutilation is passed, the chief’s consent is necessary 
before the sentence can be carried out. The puggee’s wives and 
daughters are the only women who are taught a smattering of reading ; 
even these women do not pray, but it is said that they will go to 
Jouel if they lead exemplary lives. 
There appears to be no idolatry in Darfur, and the various powers 
of nature are not associated in any manner with various gods. The 
Fors used to believe that they alone worshipped a God at all, and 
this idea still lingers, especially in the west and among the very 
ignorant. The one God Molu, who lives in the sky, is believed in 
and worshipped. He is regarded as the Creator of men, and as 
Supreme Ruler of the world. Prosperity and adversity alike are 
believed to be the result of his ordaining; and when evil happens or 
death occurs the people console themselves and each other by saying 
that they could not help it, and that Molu willed it. The wind 
is thought to be Molu’s breath, and it is considered very wrong to 
swear at it, even though it should unroof their huts or damage their 
corn fields. The thunder is supposed to be Molu speaking to some 
one, and is feared in consequence. They attach considerable im- 
portance to the rainbow, believing that Molu causes it to ascend 
from the water to the sky in order to prevent men thinking that 
there is no God, and to warn them that if they do not behave them- 
selves they will be burnt up in Uddu with fire like the red of the 
rainbow. It seems to be rather a difficult thing to get to Jouel, 
otherwise heaven; most of the people seem rather to expect to go to 
the other place, and if they do so they will never leave it until the fire 
ends their existence ; the length of time that this occupies depends 
upon the life they have led on earth. They believe that the puggees 
