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sickness, distress, accidents, and the like; but appeals 
are made to Him on all ceremonial occasions, where 
more than ordinary solemnity is requisite. 
In sickness, frequent prayers are offered up, both 
by the sufferer and his friends ; and if it be severe or 
of long continuance, a sacrifice is offered. On such 
occasions, an ox being procured, is brought to the 
spot at sun-set, and a sort of altar being erected, the 
nearest relative of the sick man slays the victim; the 
blood is then sprinkled about the altar, the head is 
placed at the foot of it, and the caul and entrails 
burnt in the fire upon it. During this ceremony, 
the sick man sits near, in a supplicating posture, 
and generally prays with great fervour. The cere¬ 
mony is finished by the sacrificer cutting up the 
ox and distributing it amongst the poor slaves of 
the sick man, reserving, however, the best pieces for 
himself. 
If a person is seized with derangement, they imme¬ 
diately send for an Ombiasse, who is to fetch Under¬ 
standing from the sepulchre (Amounouque) of the 
patient’s forefathers. To this place he repairs by 
night, opens the monument or tomb, and, placing a 
cap over the aperture, invokes the soul of the disor¬ 
dered person’s father or grandfather, and demands 
understanding for his helpless son. The aperture is 
instantly closed, and the conjurer returns to the ma¬ 
niac, declares his success, and places the cap on his 
head; and if he recover, he and his friends are gene¬ 
rally weak enough to ascribe his recovery to the great 
