my attention; but I propose to devote the present chapter to some further details before resuming the account of my travelling experiences.
Before it was split up into its present large number of tribes, the Bantu family believed in the existence of a powerful invisible God; and by no people has the conception been so well preserved as by the Marutse, inasmuch as they retain an idea, however indistinct, of an Omnipotent Being who observes every action and disposes of every individual at his own will.
They shrink from pronouncing His name, generally substituting for it the word “molemo,” which has a very comprehensive meaning, as besides signifying God, it is used to denote good and evil spirits, medicines, poisons, charms, and amulets. Their real designation of the unseen Deity is “Nyambe,” and if ever they pronounce it they raise both hands and eyes to the sky, and not unfrequently they use the same gestures without mentioning the name at all. They assume that the Supreme Being resides “mo-chorino,” i.e. in the azure of the heavens, and I have heard them allude to him as “He who lives above,” or simply as “He.” If a man dies a natural death, it is said that Nyambe has called him away, or if any one is killed in battle or by wild beasts, or by the fury of the elements, it is all supposed to have occurred at the bidding of Nyambe. A criminal sentenced to death meets his fate with submission, not doubting that Nyambe is sending the punishment due to his crime, or if any innocent person is condemned, as often happened during Sepopo’s government, both he and his friends will hope to the last that Nyambe will interfere for
