392 
HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
called god. Their ancestors and a deceased sovereign they 
designate in the same manner. Taratasy, or book, they 
call god, from its wonderful capacity of speaking by merely 
looking at it. Velvet is called by the singular epithet— 
son of god. 
Many of the people when asked what is God, will reply? 
a star, the sun, the sky, money, or any thing to which 
they attach notions of glory or mystery. Others have an 
obscure notion of God being a spirit, or rather a multitude 
of spirits, attending upon individual persons, and thus their 
language very often is—every one has his god; the blind 
have a blind god, that makes them unable to see; the rich 
have a rich god, that enriches them; and the prayer offered 
to an idol consists generally of detached and brief sen¬ 
tences, simply entreating the bestowment of riches, bul¬ 
locks, rice, health, or other temporal possessions. 
It becomes a subject of interesting but almost hopeless 
inquiry, To whom do the Malagasy pray, and vow, and offer 
sacrifice? To Andria-manitra, to the Vazimba, and to their 
ancestors. Who sends the rain ? Ramahavaly, one of the 
principal idols. And who withholds it? We do not know; 
perhaps god—perhaps the deceased king. But amidst all 
this confusion, who do the Malagasy believe created them 
and all things, and who sustains and governs all things ? 
The reply is, Andria-manitra; and to any question beyond 
this, the honest reply not unfrequently is—We do not know, 
we don’t think about these things. 
Still more vague and indefinite are the ideas they enter¬ 
tain respecting the human soul and its future existence. 
British agent went to him, and inquired his reasons for doing so. “ Oh, 
said the king, “ we are answering one another—both of us are gods. God 
above is speaking by his thunder and lightning, and I am replying by my 
powder and cannon.” Mr. Hastie pointed out to him the presumption of 
his conduct; and the king ordered the firing to cease. 
