THE RELIGION OF THE EGBAS.

BY THE REV. HENRY TOWNSEND.

[The Egbas are the people of Abeokuta, in the Yoruba country, West Africa. Mr. Townsend was the first missionary to them, and laboured among them nearly thirty years.]

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HE Egbas believe in one Supreme Being. They have various names by which he is designated, as Olorun, the Prince of Heaven; Eleda, the Creator; Alagbara, the Powerful One; Oludomare, the Almighty; Oluwa, the Lord; Elemi, the Prince of Life. Other names may be given, but these are the principal. Some of them are used only to designate God, as Olorun, Eleda, Oludomare, Elemi; but Alagbara and Oluwa, especially the latter, are often applied to persons.

The word Olorun is most commonly used. They describe him as being everywhere present, as knowing all things, as seeing all things, as unlimited in power, as good, and as the protector of mankind. In my first journey in their country I put this question to a number of the people, "Do you know God (Olorun)?" "No, but we have heard that white man knows Him; and we have long wished that some one would come and tell us about Him." On another occasion, when leaving a town where we had received hospitality and kind treatment, our host, the chief of the town, conducted us on our way as far as the gate of the town,

and then said, "I

salutations is a word that probably means what we understand by the word "Amen." Sometimes they say, "I thank you." In strongly urging a suit they will often say, "I beg you in the name of God." I do not remember that I ever heard any imprecation of evil in God's name. A very common curse in use among them is, "May the small-pox kill you." I think they are less accustomed to express evil wishes, for should the evil follow the sufferer could claim damages.

All their worship is addressed to idols, or some visible object. I don't know that they ever worship the heavenly bodies or any living creature. In some neighbouring countries various animals are worshipped. I can best show the nature of their worship by quoting

now leave you and commit you to the care of God."

In their salutations in common use among themselves they say, "May God be with you," "May God give you a long life." In the morning the question generally asked is, "Did you awake well?" The reply is, "I am thankful to God," meaning for His watchful care and protection. It is also very common to hear them say, "God bless you." The reply to most of their

a conversation I
had with the king
on this subject.
Pointing to an idol,
Shango, I asked,
"Why do you wor-
ship that image
when you know it
was cut out of a
piece of wood by

a man?" "I know
it was carved by
man. I don't wor
ship it." "But I

have seen you worship it." "I don't worship the image, but the spirit that dwells in it." What does that spirit do for you? "He is my messenger to carry my petitions to God." He therefore believed that the idol had in it a spirit, and that spirit acted as a messenger or advocate with God.

Although the gods are many, and the reputation of one may exceed that of another in public estimation, yet they seem to

be, as regards the belief of the people, of one general type. They appear to differ in office only, for one is said to have power over the bodies of men, another is supposed to influence or direct thunder and lightning, another presides over war, another is believed to possess foreknowledge and wisdom; again, they are supposed to have power in different particular places. Satan (Eshu) is worshipped by traders as the god of money; he is

regarded as evil. A stone may be seen fixed in the ground outside their houses, on which offerings are placed to the devil. The stone is not sacred; it may be stood on or walked over by any one, and I have heard them say that his altar is placed outside the house because he is too bad to be received inside it. Many things are supposed to be inhabited by spirits, as the Iroko tree and the Olumo rock. The wood of the Iroko tree is often used for building purposes and furniture; when the natives use it they make some offering to it to propitiate the Iroko spirit. We used it extensively for building purposes and furniture; at first we were urgently entreated to propitiate the spirit to prevent any evil arising to ourselves by using it, but the use of it was never forbidden.

The worshippers of the various gods are accustomed to wear clothes of a given colour, and to abstain from the use of some

articles of food; the

In

followers of Obbatala wear white clothes and white beads; those of Shango, coloured clothes and coloured beads-red, or yellow and white. Various sacrifices are offered to the gods, such as bullocks, sheep, goats, kids, fowls, pigeons. some parts human beings are offered up. Cases have been known in Abeokuta, but as a rule the people object to it, and do not like to hear of it. Other offerings are made, such as money, clothes, kola nuts, and in some cases self-dedication to the service of the god. Some persons are at times supposed to be possessed by a god, and when possessed go about the streets

cut with a sharp knife, then some one took of the blood and sprinkled it on the idol, and each one dipped a finger in the blood, making a mark with it on his forehead; some of the blood was sent to persons not present to be used in like manner. After this the carcase was flayed, cut up, and distributed, to be cooked and eaten as each one might fancy.

A wall picture may be found in almost every house in Abeokuta, representing their ancestors, having much the appearance of a coat-of-arms. Each has a representation of a human figure

seated on the ground, surrounded by representations of fowls, pigeons, implements of industry, and articles carried about as fans, cows' or horses' tails, the use of which indicates rank. The whole is surmounted by the signs of the Oro worship, and also zigzag lines drawn in a semicircle; two colours are used-red and white. (See the picture opposite.)

The other illustration represents a scene very often witnessed in Abeokuta, that of a number of women and girls going to some well or brook to fetch water for one of their gods. They generally go in large numbers, dressed in their best clothes of the kind or colour, and ornaments, used by worshippers of the god in whose service they are engaged, attended by a number of drummers. The procession sing as they go, in loud and discordant tones, the praises of their god, and are followed by a crowd of sightseers. Often our Church services have been much interrupted by processions of this kind; for, as the heat of the climate compels us to have open doors and shutters whilst at our religious services, their noise on passing in a street hard by drowns the voice of the reader or speaker in the church.

attempting to excite attention by strange antics and wonderworking.

I remember being present at a sacrifice, whether to the ancestral picture or Shango I don't recollect. A large sheep was led in and placed before the object of worship; some leaves of the wild plum-tree were offered to it, which it took and ate freely: this was regarded as denoting that the sacrifice was an acceptable one. Then each one present laid his hands on the sheep, then a bowl was produced for catching the blood, then its throat was

They believe that every one that dies exists in another state; they speak of a good place and a bad place of existence after death; also of an intermediate state of suffering, out of which the souls of the deceased are delivered by rites and offerings performed by their relatives. They also believe in the transmigration of souls. A new-born infant is in some cases thought

STARVATION IN HUDSON'S BAY.

To the Editor of the GLEANER.

MOOSE, July 4, 1881. EAR SIR,-The past winter has been very severe for the Indians living along the coast here, owing to the failure of rabbits, on which they so largely depend. Several have barely escaped starvation, while one man actually perished before he could reach the settlement. His case may be interesting to your readers, as illustrating the Indians' mode of life during the winter, and also the wonderful endurance of which they are capable when real necessity arises.

Solomon Davy, with his wife Amelia and two little children, had been in the habit of hunting in the woods that fringe the shores of Hannah Bay, and last fall went off as usual to remain there during the winter. They were soon joined by Solomon's aged parents, and a younger brother and sister, who made the party eight in all. The old people could do but little, so the support of the whole devolved upon Solomon. For some time they contrived to find a bare living; but about February food became very scarce, and they were even driven to singe the fur from the few skins they had, and use them for food. Meanwhile, they made their way towards the settlement, which, however, was some 50 or 60 miles away, and the old people and children made it impossible to travel fast. At every place they encamped they set snares, and the two or three rabbits they thus obtained formed all their subsistence. But before long, Solomon, the food-gatherer of the party, became so weak from long abstinence that he could not stand, and had to be drawn by his mother on a sled. To make matters worse, the next day Solomon's wife gave birth to a child, which necessitated their remaining awhile stationary. But after two days hunger forced them to move on again towards the settlement, which was now about 18 miles distant. They had, however, only gone a short distance when it was discovered that poor Solomon, who was lying on a sled, had become a corpse, and was already frozen as hard as a stone. This last calamity proved too much for the rest of the party, and they returned, quite broken down, to the tent they had recently left, expecting to remain there and die.

At last Solomon's wife, Amelia, determined to make a desperate effort herself to reach the settlement, the rest remaining where they were. So, taking her child (only two days old) in her arms, and accompanied by her young sister-in-law, she set out for Moose, where they arrived late at Light on the second day, having slept one night in the snow. I myself saw her the next morning; but, knowing her as well as I do, should not have recognised her in the least. Instead of the stout, round-faced young woman of 30, who left us in the fall, I saw what appeared to be a woman of 60-so thin that the outline of her teeth showed plainly through her cheeks, and her skin hung in deep wrinkles all over her face. Her sisterin-law, too, was in much the same state, but the little baby was, strange to say, apparently well and strong. Of course they were at once supplied with food, and men despatched with help to those behind. The latter were found only just alive, and none, except the old woman, able even to stand. It is invariably found that, in cases of starvation here, the women always manifest greater powers of endurance than the men.

The old people had to remain awhile where they were to recover their strength, but have since reached the settlement, and are now as well as before. Poor Solomon's corpse was also brought here for burial. The coffin had to be made nearly a yard deep, as the poor fellow had died and become frozen in almost a sitting posture.

It was indeed a touching sight, about a fortnight afterwards, when poor Amelia, clad in black, and still weak from her recent exposure, brought her little child to the font to be baptized. I may add that poor Solomon was a good man, and one of our most regular and reverent attendants at church.-Yours, &c., J. H. KEEN.

[Bishop Horden, through whom this letter comes, writes:-"This is the second time the woman Amelia, once a bright pupil of our school at Moose, and one who speaks English as well as if born in Eugland, has been brought to the brink of starvation, her former husband having died from disease and starvation combined."]

FIFTY YEARS AGO.

was not so easy to get to a missionary meeting fifty years ago as it is now. An old lady, who is still a hearty supporter of the C.M.S., told a missionary a short time back how, when she was young, she undertook to collect for the Society in her village. The nearest annual meeting was twenty miles off, the deputation the Rev. Edward Bickersteth. Nothing daunted by the distance, she started at five in the morning with one of her sisters, rode on horseback into the county town, Shrewsbury, attended the sermon in the morning and the meeting in the evening, and back twenty miles again the same night. We hope Shropshire will always have collectors as hearty in their work. A. W. POOLE.

CONFERENCE OF CHINESE CHRISTIAN EVANGELISTS AND LAY DELEGATES AT FUH-CHOW. HE Annual Conference of Mission agents and delegates from the various congregations has always been a feature of special interest in the Fuh-Kien Mission. Mr. Stewart's account of the meeting in December last cannot be read without true thankfulness for the grace of God manifested:

Our Annual Conference commenced on December 4th, and lasted eight days; there were about 180 present, half of these being catechists, and the other half representatives from the various congregations. The first two week-days were occupied with examinations, the subjects being Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, the Acts of the Apostles, and the first five of the Thirty-nine Articles. Dividing the catechists into four classes, two of the Native clergy, with Mr. Lloyd and myself, carefully tested their knowledge, and, on the whole we perceived a marked improvement.

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The other week-days were occupied, morning and afternoon, with the discussion of subjects such as Boys', Girls', and Sunday-schools, "Bible Women," "the object for which persecution and trials are sent," the duty of catechists," &c.; and the evenings to prayer meetings, led by men previously selected at our half-yearly gathering. Listening to such men as Ting-Sing-ki, Ngoi Kaik-ki, and good old Tang, who is now with the Saviour he spoke to us about, could not but do every one good. Their deep insight into spiritual things, and the confidence with which they utter them as truths experienced by themselves, is the plainest proof of their being taught by the Holy Spirit.

But talking was not confined to the recognised "pillars" of the Church. Every meeting was thrown open, and, with the exception of the first two days, when the terrors of the examination seemed to have had a dispiriting effect, was kept up with warmth to the end. Some of the younger catechists spoke extremely well, and gave valuable suggestions; occasionally, too, an ordinary Christian would come forward, and though perhaps, in the presence of so august an assembly, there were signs of being unaccustomed to public speaking, still we always gave him a hearty welcome, and were glad to see the laymen take so much interest in their own Church, and to receive the greeting they brought down to the Conference from the congregations they represented. But perhaps the most enjoyable meeting was that at which one after another stood up and told of unmistakable signs that our Blessed Lord was with them.

The Saturday evening preceding the Conference was devoted to the subject of a club already established for assisting the destitute widows and orphans of Christians, and before separating a subscription list was started, and 184 dollars was collected there and then in the room an average of just a dollar a head all round. This was a larger sum than the most sanguine had anticipated.

JUBBULPORE:* THE "MISSION SELDOM

HEARD OF."

To the Editor.

JABALPUR, CENTRAL PROVINCES, INDIA, June 18th, 1881. EAR SIR,-On opening my last GLEANER I could not help feeling conscious of some prickings of conscience when I read the name of Jabalpur among a list of others "seldom heard of." It is no doubt the fault of us, the missionaries, that you have so little to tell of our work here. I immediately packed up and sent you a paper on the Jabalpur Mission, by a Native Christian, which I thought probably you would prefer having in the rough state without any polishing from my hands.

Jabalpur, though seldom heard of by our friends at home, is by no means an insignificant place out here. A population of 60,000, which in ten years has increased by one-third, shows a rate of progress which few towns in India can rival. And I am thankful to say our little Christian community has more than kept pace with the growth of the town, and with God's blessing shows encouraging signs of growth and advancement which give us much hope for the future. Our Christians, beginning from the little Mission colony round the missionaries' house, have spread into all parts of the town, and even into the neighbouring villages. A Native Christian now, from being an object of wonder and reproach, has come to be regarded as part of the settled order of things, and if impossible to be avoided, at least to

* Jubbulpore is the old way of spelling the word, and is the best guide to its pronunciation. Jabalpur is the modern and more strictly correct spelling.