. The Baganda . posed to convey thepowers of the god by being poured into the fetich, in additionto having their own healing properties. Under ordinarycircumstances the mere possession of the fetich was enoughto ward off evil from the house and to ensure blessing ; hencethey were kept in numbers in a special place in each house,and had drink placed daily before them by the owners fetiches were made of wood, or of clay mixed withother substances in a manner known to the medicine-menonly. These latter fetiches were moulded into differentshapes, and each kind was known to the people by
. The Baganda . posed to convey thepowers of the god by being poured into the fetich, in additionto having their own healing properties. Under ordinarycircumstances the mere possession of the fetich was enoughto ward off evil from the house and to ensure blessing ; hencethey were kept in numbers in a special place in each house,and had drink placed daily before them by the owners fetiches were made of wood, or of clay mixed withother substances in a manner known to the medicine-menonly. These latter fetiches were moulded into differentshapes, and each kind was known to the people by its shapeand size ; some of them were kidney-shaped, others werecrescents, while others were large discs with a hole in thecentre. The warrior had his fetich, and the huntsman had his also,each with special powers. Even the thief was armed withhis fetich, to enable him to enter undetected the housewhich he wished to rob; this fetich was round with a holethrough it. By blowing through the hole in the fetich, the. FIG. 45.—FETICHES. CH. IX RELIGION 281 thief thought that he would be able to enter the house with-out waking the inmates, or that, should they be disturbed, hewould only need to sit or to stand upon the fetich, and hewould become invisible to the inmates. Other fetiches weredevised especially for the use of a wife, in order to keep herhusband safe upon his journeys, or to protect him in battle, orto give him success in the chase. The belief in ghosts, both malevolent and benevolent, was Ghosts,firmly held by all classes, from the highest to the in another form was a reality to them, and alllooked forward to livinsf and movincf in the next state. The
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidbaganda00joh, bookyear1911
