88 
MADAGASCAR. 
were never idolaters, probably, in the sense in 
which the term is applied to the Hindoos or the 
Chinese. There is an absence throughout the 
land of temples dedicated to idol-worship, or of 
signs and marks of the prevalence of outward 
superstitious observances upon a large scale. 
Their idols, so called, were not images ; they had 
no organised worship, no definite ritual, no 
settled priesthood. There were no pilgrimages, 
penances, self-mortifications, or costly sacrifices. 
There were ten or twelve principal idols held 
in respect by the Hovas and the people of the 
central provinces, and of these, three were re¬ 
garded as chief. One, Kelimalaza, was con¬ 
sidered the guardian of royalty; then came 
Ramahavaly, the benefactor of the sick; and 
Rafantaka, the special protector of the royal 
palaces and family. As to the forms of these 
idols it is difficult to speak, as they were never 
exhibited in public, but when carried out were 
always covered with a red cloth, and it was con¬ 
sidered wrong even for the people to look at 
this. It is believed, however, that some of the 
idols had some rude resemblance to the human 
form. They were of no great size, and were 
kept in boxes of about a foot long, which were 
placed in the houses set apart for the idols. It 
is supposed that one of the gods was an insect of 
some kind, or an imitation of one, and another 
