HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
467 
wring or twist his bowels, tear them into pieces. For 
thou, Raimanamango, art god, who wilt not permit sor¬ 
cerers, that murder people, to live; therefore, if thou 
findest that he is guilty of sorcery, kill him. 
“ Hear, hear, hear, and hearken well, O thou Raimana¬ 
mango ; for the sorcerer is not yonder in the held, nor 
one named by any person, nor one in imagination, nor 
out of town, nor out of sight, nor separated by a partition; 
but behold him, yea, his very self, sitting here opposite 
thee. If thou findest that he has not the root of sorcery, 
nor the trunk of sorcery, nor the branch of sorcery, nor 
the leaves of sorcery; yea, that he has not the root of 
sorcery, neither has fetched it from persons, nor received 
any from the hands of those who brought it, nor had any 
desire to have it from those who delight in dirtying clear 
water; yea, if he has, not at all, the spirit of sorcery 
within him,—let him live quickly, let him live instantly, 
let him live forthwith, let him dance joyfully, let him run 
merrily. Move thou about within him both upwards and 
downwards; rest not quiet, doing nothing with him, but 
make him cool and comfortable, if thou findest that he is 
not guilty of sorcery.” 
The priest, or individual administering the poison, then 
refers to a number of crimes, of which the accused may 
or may not have been guilty, and which he the adminis¬ 
trator can discover, and, consequently, does not, in refer¬ 
ence to them, appeal to the test. The following are 
instances of these :— 
ec Hear, hear, hear, and hearken well, O thou Raimana¬ 
mango. There are many wicked and mischievous per¬ 
sons in the world; some who act mischievously and wick¬ 
edly with regard to cattle, or sheep, or fowls, or houses, 
or furniture, or the staff of life, so as to rob, hurt, or injure 
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