In Afric’s Forest and Jungle 
The people have learned to keep these animals 
shut up during a serious thunderstorm, for when 
thus taken, they are to be offered at once in sacri¬ 
fice to Shango. In the dread of his attributes, 
the next in importance is Oro. During my two 
years residence in Abeokuta, the town was fre¬ 
quently given to Oro, and on these occasions 
malefactors were punished and political matters 
of importance were transacted. The voice of 
Oro was frequently heard in the streets after 
dark. It began in a low moan, then rose to a 
kind of scream and then sank into a moan. This 
noise was made by whirling a flat stick, but it 
was a capital crime for any one to intimate as 
much. It was a capital crime, also, for any 
woman to remain on the streets after the voice 
of Oro was heard at any time. 
Another inferior deity is Efa. He is the god of 
secrets and is represented by a dove standing on 
a wooden plate on the margin of which is carved 
a single eye. All devotees of that god carry six¬ 
teen consecrated palm-nuts. The priest takes 
these nuts and puts them into a wooden urn. 
He then takes a number at random and scatters 
them at random on a board covered with wood 
dust and marked into small squares. From the 
position that the palm-nuts take on the board, 
88 
