so IV. JULY, 1913— JANUARY, 1914 
Besides the fear of poison there is also their dread of 
the supernatural power for evil which one man can exert 
over another, for the natives here believe that there 
are means of acquiring such powers. Whoever has 
the right fetish can do anything ; he will always be 
successful when hunting, and he can bring bad luck, 
sickness, and death on any one whom he wishes to 
injure. Europeans will never be able to understand 
how terrible is the life of the poor creatures who pass 
their days in continual fear of the fetishes which can 
be used against them. Only those who have seen 
this misery at close quarters will understand that it is 
a simple human duty to bring to these primitive 
peoples a new view of the world which can free them 
from these torturing superstitions. In this matter the 
greatest sceptic, did he find himself out here, would 
prove a real helper of mission work. 
What is fetishism ? It is something born of the 
fears of primitive man. Primitive man wants to 
possess some charm to protect him from the evil spirits 
in nature and from those of the dead, as well as from 
the power for evil of his fellow men, and this protecting 
power he attributes to certain objects which he carries 
about with him. He does not worship his fetish, but 
regards it as a little bit of property which cannot but 
be of service to him through its supernatural powers. 
What makes a fetish ? That which is unknown is 
supposed to have magical power. A fetish is composed 
of a number of little objects which fill a small bag, a 
buffalo horn, or a box ; the things most commonly 
used are red feathers, small parcels of red earth, 
leopard’s claws and teeth, and . . . bells from Europe ! 
Bells of an old-fashioned shape which date from the 
