HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
403 
term of similar import with the well-known Tabu of the 
South Sea Islands. Every idol has its own particular 
Fady. The things prohibited by Rakelimalaza are, guns, 
gunpowder, pigs, onions, sifotra (a shell-fish resembling a 
snail), sitry (a small animal resembling the young croco¬ 
dile), striped or spotted robes, anything of a black colour, 
goats, horses, meat distributed at funerals or at the tan- 
gena, and cats and owls. Its keepers are forbidden to enter 
any house where there is a corpse; and in crossing a river 
they are not permitted to say, “ Carry me,” otherwise they 
place themselves in danger of being seized by the croco¬ 
diles ; and in war they must not talk, or they are in danger 
of being shot. 
As every idol has its own list of prohibited articles, so 
each idol has its own specific sphere of operation in pro¬ 
moting the welfare of its individual worshippers, or of the 
nation at large. The benefits conferred by Rakelimalaza 
are, rendering the sovereign invincible, and universally 
victorious; preventing the crocodiles from seizing a person 
when crossing a river; protecting against the mamosavy, 
sorcerers; and extinguishing fires, by means of his worship¬ 
pers merely putting their cloth over their heads. 
Although not strictly connected with a description of 
this idol, it may not be out of place to record here an inci¬ 
dent which happened some time ago to one of its keepers. 
A school had been established at the village by the Mission¬ 
aries, and amongst the scholars was the son of the idol’s 
guardian. The youth having learned that he alone was the 
true God who had created the heavens and the earth, 
plainly told his father that that was not God which was 
taken care of by others, but he who took care of all. The 
father was very angry, and asked his son if he did not know 
that Rakelimalaza was god ? The boy declined urging the 
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