DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49272#0331
THE WAYAO OF NYASALAND
315
knees and elbows, at intervals swaying their bodies from side to side and clapping their
hands. Kasonga then ordered all to go and bathe, men and women separately. As they
returned from the stream, rain began to fall.
Intercession on behalf of the sick may be made, especially by anyone who is likely to
be accused of causing the illness by witchcraft.1 The man standing with arms outstretched,
downwards and a little in front of his body, the hands supine, takes some water in his
mouth and discharges it in a stream on the ground, (probably as a sign of purification of his
tongue), and then invoking “all the spirits above,” asks that they will intercede to restore
health to the sick man and bear witness to his own innocence of any wish to do the sick man
injury. Ku-pesya is the word meaning to offer sacrifice and prayer.
Harvesting and hunting are occasions when sacrifices may be offered. It was formerly
the custom for the chief to determine the day on which harvesting of millet should begin.
On the day appointed, a big drum was beaten in the village and word passed round; then
everyone would go down to his garden, gather a head of millet, and bring it back to the
village where it was all handed over to the chief’s headwife. After drying and threshing,
a little of the grain was laid at the grave of an old chief by one of the reigning chief’s ad-
visers, the remainder being again distributed to all the people gathered together in the
village meeting-place, who ate it raw. After this ceremony, harvesting began.
In passing through a millet garden, if a child asks his mother to give him some to eat,
she plucks a bunch or two and reverently laying one at the foot of a msoro tree for the
spirits or at the base of some other tree, if she cannot see a msoro, she gives the rest to the
child.
When a hunting expedition makes its first killing, part of the flesh of the animal is laid
at the base of a tree as a thank offering to the spirits and in anticipation of further favors
to be conferred. All such offerings are supposed by the natives to be partaken of by the
spirits, though they are well aware that they do not actually diminish in quantity. There
is an interesting point in this connection: any man who has acted as mbilo (undertaker)
to some well-known man may appropriate these offerings. In the case of the hunting offer-
ing, he will run round the tree, saying, “I am a hyaena, the spirits will not mind me,” and
will then take part of the flesh-offering and eat it.
In the same way, a mbilo may drink from a grave beer-pot after three days, when the
spirits are supposed to have taken what they want.
With the exception of the msoro tree above mentioned (ndima, Chin.), and possibly
another called nsila-nyama (Chin.), which is never used as firewood and which is supposed
to be used by msawi, I do not think there are any sacred trees properly so-called. Miss
Werner supposes that many of the big trees (often a species of Ficus) in villages are sacred.2
The truth is, I believe, simply that a village is made naturally round a big tree which con-
veniently offers its shade for the village meeting place. The spirits of deceased chiefs may
1 Vide supra, p. 297. 2 The natives of British Central Africa, op. cit., p. 62.
315
knees and elbows, at intervals swaying their bodies from side to side and clapping their
hands. Kasonga then ordered all to go and bathe, men and women separately. As they
returned from the stream, rain began to fall.
Intercession on behalf of the sick may be made, especially by anyone who is likely to
be accused of causing the illness by witchcraft.1 The man standing with arms outstretched,
downwards and a little in front of his body, the hands supine, takes some water in his
mouth and discharges it in a stream on the ground, (probably as a sign of purification of his
tongue), and then invoking “all the spirits above,” asks that they will intercede to restore
health to the sick man and bear witness to his own innocence of any wish to do the sick man
injury. Ku-pesya is the word meaning to offer sacrifice and prayer.
Harvesting and hunting are occasions when sacrifices may be offered. It was formerly
the custom for the chief to determine the day on which harvesting of millet should begin.
On the day appointed, a big drum was beaten in the village and word passed round; then
everyone would go down to his garden, gather a head of millet, and bring it back to the
village where it was all handed over to the chief’s headwife. After drying and threshing,
a little of the grain was laid at the grave of an old chief by one of the reigning chief’s ad-
visers, the remainder being again distributed to all the people gathered together in the
village meeting-place, who ate it raw. After this ceremony, harvesting began.
In passing through a millet garden, if a child asks his mother to give him some to eat,
she plucks a bunch or two and reverently laying one at the foot of a msoro tree for the
spirits or at the base of some other tree, if she cannot see a msoro, she gives the rest to the
child.
When a hunting expedition makes its first killing, part of the flesh of the animal is laid
at the base of a tree as a thank offering to the spirits and in anticipation of further favors
to be conferred. All such offerings are supposed by the natives to be partaken of by the
spirits, though they are well aware that they do not actually diminish in quantity. There
is an interesting point in this connection: any man who has acted as mbilo (undertaker)
to some well-known man may appropriate these offerings. In the case of the hunting offer-
ing, he will run round the tree, saying, “I am a hyaena, the spirits will not mind me,” and
will then take part of the flesh-offering and eat it.
In the same way, a mbilo may drink from a grave beer-pot after three days, when the
spirits are supposed to have taken what they want.
With the exception of the msoro tree above mentioned (ndima, Chin.), and possibly
another called nsila-nyama (Chin.), which is never used as firewood and which is supposed
to be used by msawi, I do not think there are any sacred trees properly so-called. Miss
Werner supposes that many of the big trees (often a species of Ficus) in villages are sacred.2
The truth is, I believe, simply that a village is made naturally round a big tree which con-
veniently offers its shade for the village meeting place. The spirits of deceased chiefs may
1 Vide supra, p. 297. 2 The natives of British Central Africa, op. cit., p. 62.