592 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION F. 
fairly howl with it, hut no one must go to his relief, because in doing 
so he will contract the same trouble, and after infinite torture will die 
an awful death, simply writhing in pain and screaming in vain for help. 
If the guilty person will go to a certain tree, pluck three leaves 
and eat them, it will relieve the pain. But who dares to go to the 
tree? That would be conviction itself. With these prophecies 
hanging over the guilty head it is not difficult to imagine how that 
conscience would wrestle with the god of sleep. If he should go to 
pluck the leaves he is at once detected, but if not then come pain and 
rture and death. In either case he would have more strange feelings 
about his stomach than he ever had in his life before. 
As a rule the guilty one is found out before Yassis return ; but 
if not, then some other ruse is tried until he is found. It is a clever 
piece of detective w r ork well carried out, and I have sometimes half 
suspected that Lorenzo Dow was guilty of infringing Yassis patents. 
The natives do not believe that Yct&si without his mask is anything 
more than any other man, but with it he has the power of mbuiri . 
In mental stature these simple people are but little children, and 
to them the mask transforms the wearer into the real, hideous thing 
they see before them. They cannot conceive of the person behind the 
mask remaining what he w r as before, but they do not believe him to 
have been transformed into a god. They fear him as a physical terror, 
but do not attribute any spiritual power to him. 
Even the dogs of the town partake of the fears that seize the 
people, and that inspires them with more if possible. Indeed, Yam 
is grotesque and ugly enough, and would impart terror to the most 
intelligent people with delicate nerves. I have seen ladies quite 
overcome by sights of much less frightful aspect, even after seeing 
them put on. Children always fear masks ; and when a person puts 
one on, it imparts life to it, and it becomes too real to regard with 
indifference. When not worn they do not appear at all the same to 
anyone. It is a common thing in Africa to see one hanging up in a 
tow r n, and the people have no fear of it. They know what it is, and 
for what purpose it is used, but when Yam puts one on it becomes 
m'buiri. 
It is very difficult to draw a sharp line between tear and super- 
stition, but, so far as I have been able to determine, none of these 
tribes regard Yassi or any of his powers as being more than man. 
The°native African does not believe in spirits as we interpret the 
term. They have no conception of the soul without the body, and 
their notions of the dead returning to life are all materialistic. It is 
true that they believe the dead may Tevive, but they do not believe 
that the soul survives the body. . , 
I once asked a man of the O run go tribe what became or man s 
body when the body was dead? He sat for a moment in deep thought, 
then picked up a splinter and lighted it in the fire. After it had 
burned for a moment he blew out the ilame and said, Be man, e 
finish.” , . • i u f 
They are aware that men have died and after a time revived ; due 
they do not know how long such a thing is possible. 
Some of them said to me— “ If a man can die when the sun eaten 
here” (pointing up into the sky, at a point indicating about 10 o clock), 
“ and come back when the sun catch here” (pointing to another place 
