HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
363 
the origin and honours, the exploits and fame, of their an¬ 
cestors—and thus, by tradition, perpetuate the memory 
of men and actions which must otherwise pass into 
oblivion. 
The king has one particular bullock for himself and his 
family, which is killed soon after sunset, just when the old 
year has expired. The people, however, are not allowed 
to kill theirs until the following morning. It is a custom 
strictly adhered to, that the bullocks killed on this occasion 
should all be good ones; that of the king’s, particularly, 
must be free from all blemish, and of the most perfect sym¬ 
metry. If it is lame, has any sore, has the end of the tail 
cut off, has one of its horns turned up and the other down, 
or if it has a spot on one side without having a similar 
one on the other, it is deemed wholly unfit for the purpose ; 
for in the view of the natives, this bullock is the represen¬ 
tative of all the others, and, before it is killed, is presented 
or dedicated to god by a prayer which the king offers on 
the occasion. The person who kills this bullock must also 
be properly qualified. He must be without any spot or 
blemish on his body, and both his parents must be living, 
otherwise he cannot be allowed to make the sacrifice, as it 
were, in the presence of the deity. 
Towards the close of the day previous to the festival, 
multitudes may have been seen washing their clothes and 
mats at every pond, or brook, or spring in the neighbour¬ 
hood; and during the evening, the people bathe them¬ 
selves and one another. Well would it be, if such a 
practice prevailed once every week, instead of only once 
in the year. 
About this time several of the king’s own bullocks are 
driven into the court-yard, to be subsequently killed and 
distributed as jaka, or annual presents, among his atten- 
