Evening Star Newspaper, November 18, 1930, Page 23

FOUNDIN RN Small Tribe, Previously Un- observed, Prays to Deity by Spitting Toward Sun. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. One of the strangest religious cus- The report was received by the Rev. N. Stam, missionary among the Ba- , & small Negro tribe of South- ‘Wrestlers Pray for Strength. “The wrestler before he attacks an opponent will take up a little soll, put it in his mouth and spit it out toward , because the sun fertilizes the and gives strength to the little seed. Jnllkgmmermyuodglvamm strength to throw his opponent “I once asked a native why he spat toward the sun, because this was to my. mind a sign of disdain, ‘wondered at my ignorance and asked me: ‘Has & | dead man spittle? Is not spittle the sign of life in us? Who gives us life except God? If life comes from Him have we not to acknowled g within from being annoyed by e shades. etimes one of these ancestor souls goes bad and turns on his living de- scendants. When a native has a night- mare, with the terrifying experience of somebody sitting on his chest and try- ing_to choke , he knows that one rted to the e ranks of the bad spirits. The only to do is to dig up the body, burn it and scatter the ashes in a river. The river flows only one way, so the ashes will never return to the kraal. The dead man’s soul is not destroyed, but, with his remains thus scattered, there 18 no inducement to come back to his old home. The poor, evil soul is really in a terrible, fix, according to the Ran- reasoning, with its mortal re- mains 'so scattered by the river that it has no place it can call home. . Superstitions Studied. Father Stam reported an extensive study of superstitions and birth, mar- riage and h customs. One of the direst mhfonunulth.& c:}l:eh; nhn u; a Bun%ln couple h of twins, e parents are considered ac- cursed. cannot leave their hut for two months. If they do, sickness and ‘death will spread over the coun- gzflde wherever they go, crops in the Ids along which they walk will dry up and the well from which the mother dares fetch water will be poisoned. After the two months the curse is women of the community, .led .by all those who. have been the mothers of twins in thé past, force their way into ‘the hut and expel the evil spirits with certain licentious songs and bad that even the father, the only man of the way in most awful thing that can ha to s Bahanga family is to have a ‘who begins to talk or gets its upper incisor teeth too ear! en only the death of the precocious infant before the evil mlk%'.hem can save the father and mother. It is now 1ll to leave the child in the grass to dfe, so in recent years an elaborate system of sacrifices been devised, but the natives look upon it as of doubtful efciency. In this obscure corner of the world Father Stam found some of the same superstitions that afflict Europe and America. If a hen begins to crow like 8 cock, no time can be lost in seeing a witchdoctor, A fox barking outside the kraal at night, like the howling dog of the white races, means death is near for somebody. If a rooster crows at night, it means that some devil has got_into the body of the bird and its neck had better be wrung at once. Marriage, says Father Stam, ' is called Okhutekherana, “to boil for one another.” The ceremony, starting with the purchase of the bride by the groom's father, lasts for days, but its culmination comes when the husband, with all the unmarried boys and girls of the village tching, sits down to eat the first meal prepared by his wife. He holds out his hands and she pours on them water from a calabash shell to wash them. All of a sudden she throws the remaining water in his face. That is her final gesture of ind pendence and a symbolic warning th the husband is not to be altogether the boss in the new household. Wife-Beating May Be Costly. ‘The husband is free to beat his wife as much as he pleases, but she can make it expensive for him, especially if | he cracks her skull or in the struggle tears off any of her clothes. She has only fo run to the next house. By en- tering she brings a curse on this-house- hold which can be removed only by the killing of one of his goats by her husband and dividing it, with appro- priate ceremonies, with the head of the TfiE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, -D. C, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1930.. but to because with the wife, but because e spirits "llbfet him if he doesn’t. Bahanga bables, Father Stam re- ports, efubout as much as bables any- where else and it worrles the parents Just as much as the same performance worries civilised fathers and mothers. ‘They ‘assume that the infant is screaming not because of discomfort, but because it doesn't like the name they have given it. The father con- sults an oracle man. He advises that all the trouble is due to a dead father- who wanted $2.50 to Fredericksburg Account Thanksgiving Holiday Tiekets good going Wednesday, No- vember 26th (beginning 12:10 p. m.), and all day Thursday, November 27th. Good returning to leave destina- tions until midnight, Sunday, No- vember 30th. ‘Tickets good on all regular trains. Children half fare. RICHMOND FREDERICKSBURG & POTOMAC R. R. house where his wife has sought refuge. |’ the child named: after them. They must | the he | be gotten out of the way. man -fuut the middle pole of the hut, plucks out a feather from each wing, and sticks these feathers in the ground sales but for the special person . . . who wants her stockingstolook, tofitand to wear with the nicety characteristic of better things and better people, M Callym Silk Hosiery “YOU JUST KNOW SHE WEARS THEM"™ T H FOR - membran home...at work...in the aute...in the street cars and trains. Stealthy little whisps of wind that strike your heated body and help cause colds, coughs and sore throats. Guard against them....gargle with GLYCO- Thymolinedaily. Protect the delicate of your threat, nose ond mouth. Prescribed by physi- cians for over thirty years. Just say “GLYCO" to your druggist. Kress & Owen Co., New York, N.Y, Dl TNk MOUTH - NOSE broken, Father Stam says, when the ———————— ‘Tomorrow—See Miss Irene French demonstrate the new evening Scantie \ or the 5-in-1 glip Scantie ($12.50), in the Grey Shops, second floor. Red Cross Roll Call Enlist now—all you need is a heart and a dollar, The New M:’ A COMPLETE Store of Fashion 1216-20 F Sireet Not just any dress . . . but the' very best the market affords . - . for by real hard work and con- stant searching, our buyers collected these gowns, made to sell at much higher prices, to pre- sent in this one great event TOMORROW. EVENING DRESSES $25 The daring cut and colorings that youth can wear so well. 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Bag Shop—Street Floor Black Persian Lamb on Black Brown Kolinsky on Black Silvery Kit Fox on Black Black Coats 379.50 Many Are Coats That Were $89.50 to $110 A Fashion That Sparkles Rhinestone Bracelets 33.95 Regularly $5.95 In the smart 3-inch width, flexible links set with the most brilliant * all-white stones. Jewelry—Street Floor Mattresses, like other things, have been vastly improved. The i-ms:aion of the coil spring results in a mattress far more eomfo:;bnfle than those in days gone by. If you were to cut open one of these cushion spring types, you would see first layer after layer of downy felt, and be- neath the felt, resilient springs. Such a mattress yields to every move of :;l nlaepedr. It e{:‘nln.ml curved.d]h ill not develop a sink in middle o and become luoremafomble after a few Cenleme“ meonths of use. 3 Gloves We can make such a mattress out of your 2 % old one at a cost of only $12.50 to $22.50. Just in— For'Women—Coats with beaver, with black fox, with skunk, The work will be done in one day. $92.50 with fitch. Phone for our representative to call. 3' They've just arrived from ZABAN’S France--these exquisite French kid pull-ons with’'a clever slit-side that butfons. Mattress & Box Spring Co. Fashioned to FIT women, misses, small women, larger women Fur as a color accent . . . furs to make you slimmer or heavier . . . belted flares to emphasize your waist . . . or gently wrapped flares to give you slender height . .. cuffs in spiral, muff or flared styles to express even more smartness. But, see them . .. only then will you realize how deftly they are fashioned and how much value they really express. Laugh at Rainy Skies Under One of These Silk Umbrellas $5 Tremendously adequate— despite their ‘smart pat- terns, handles and colors— and absolutely proof against rain. 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