The Albert N'yaza . tevery one of his villages was governed by one of his sons;thus the entire government was a family affair. The sonsof course believed in their fathers power of sorcery, andtheir influence as head men of their villages increased theprestige of the parent. Although without an idea of aSupreme Being, the whole country bowed down to is a curious distinction between faith and credulity;—these savages, utterly devoid of belief in a Deity, andwithout a vestige of superstition, believed most devotedlythat the general affairs of life and the control of theelements were in
The Albert N'yaza . tevery one of his villages was governed by one of his sons;thus the entire government was a family affair. The sonsof course believed in their fathers power of sorcery, andtheir influence as head men of their villages increased theprestige of the parent. Although without an idea of aSupreme Being, the whole country bowed down to is a curious distinction between faith and credulity;—these savages, utterly devoid of belief in a Deity, andwithout a vestige of superstition, believed most devotedlythat the general affairs of life and the control of theelements were in the hands of their old chief, and there- 202 THE GREAT MAGICIAN. [Chap. VIII fore they served him—not with a feeling of love, neitherwith a trace of religion, but with that material instinctthat always influences the savage; they propitiated himfor the sake of what they could obtain. It is this almostunconquerable feeling, ever present in the savage mind,that renders his conversion difficult; he will believe in. KATCHJBAS ELDEST SON, nothing, unless he can obtain some specific benefit fromthe object of his belief. Savages can be ruled by two powers— force, and humbug; accordingly, these are the instruments madeuse of by those in authority: where the force is want-ing, humbug is the weapon as a pis aller. Katchibahaving no physical force, adopted cunning, and the blackart controlled the savage minds of his subjects. Strange Chap. VIIL] RECONNAISSANCE TO THE SOUTH. 203 does it appear, that these uncivilized inhabitants of CentralAfrica should, although devoid of religion, believe im-plicitly in sorcery ; giving a power to man superhuman,although acknowledging nothing more than human. Practical and useful magic is all that is esteemed bythe savage, the higher branches would be unappreciated;and spirit-rapping and mediums are reserved for thecivilized (?) of England, who would convert the blacksavages of Africa. Notwithstanding his magic, Katchiba was not a badman: he was re
Size: 1405px × 1779px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, bookpublisherphiladelphiajblipp
