223 
of Edinburgh, Session 1884-85. 
and requests made to them are conveyed to him, and granted, if they 
be accompanied by a sufficiently large present to the magician. The 
spirits are supposed to reside in large trees ; they protect cattle from 
robbers ; and it is a curious fact that, with an exception mentioned 
later on, no For would dream of stealing another man’s cattle, as he 
thinks he would be at once seized upon by the zittan, become in- 
sensible, and so remain until the owner of the cattle arrived on the 
scene. Any one can enlist the services of a zittan to protect his 
house, and more especially his milk-pots, and epilepsy in girls is said 
to be caused by them. The girls are supposed to have interfered 
with the milk-pots, or stolen the milk, in the absence of their mother. 
The same disease is believed to attack them as a result of miscon- 
duct under a tree inhabited by a zittan (see Epilepsy). The brides 
also have a wholesome dread of these trees, for if they pass under 
them without wearing an amulet they will be sterile. 
The old custom of praying to Molu has become almost obsolete, 
and has been replaced to some extent by a few prayers from the 
Koran learnt from the puggees. The practice of regular prayer, how- 
ever, is now limited to the educated classes, and the poor people do 
not pray at all. In the enclosures of the rich there is a small place 
surrounded by stones, and carpeted with sand, set apart for prayer. 
The father prays at one time, the sons at another. The regular 
prayer hours of Islam are unobserved, and bead-telling is only in 
vogue among the puggees, the chiefs, and a few of the rich people. 
Warriors returning from war are not allowed to enter their village 
until they have seen a puggee, and he has offered a prayer. 
No idea appears to prevail of the existence of an evil spirit 
tempting people to do wrong. 
There is a very ancient belief prevalent that some men are 
possessed of the power of transforming themselves into wild beasts, 
e.g ., lions, jackals, hyenas, and that when in this condition they are 
able to traverse immense distances in a remarkably short time. 
They have also the power of divination, can restore lost cattle, tell 
fortunes, and perform various other miraculous feats. They are 
well versed in the medicinal properties of various roots, and the 
knowledge of these is committed to writing. One or two of these 
manuscripts which I saw were very old, but I was unable even to 
procure a copy of any one of them. All these powers are believed 
