where the corpse lay, and at dead of night heard a scratching at the door, followed by a rustling noise close by the body. One of them threw a stone and seemed to hit the unknown thing; and in the morning the talamaur was found with a bruise on her arm, which she confessed was caused by a stone thrown at her whilst she was eating the vitality. Such a woman would feel a morbid delight in the dread which she inspired, and would also be secretly rewarded by some whose covert spite she gratified.”
In his Ashanti Proverbs, “Translated from the Original (The Primitive Ethics of a Savage People),” p. 48, Mr. R. Sutherland Rattray speaks of the Asasabonsam, “a monster of human shape, which living far in the depths of the forest, is only occasionally met by hunters. It sits on tree tops, and its legs dangle down to the ground and have hooks for feet which pick up any one who comes within reach. It has iron teeth. There are female, male, and little sasabonsam.” Mr. Rattray also describes the obayifo, which word is derived from bayi, “sorcery.” This is “a kind of human vampire whose chief delight is to suck the blood of children, whereby the latter pine and die. Men and women possessed of this power and credited with volitant powers, being able to quit their bodies and travel great distances in the night. Besides sucking the blood of their victims, they are supposed to be able to extract the sap and juices of crops. Cases of coco blight are ascribed to the work of the obayifo. These witches are supposed to be very common, and a man never knows but that his friend or even his wife may be one. When prowling at night they are supposed to emit a phosphorescent light. An obayifo in every day life is supposed to be known by having sharp, shifty eyes, that are never at rest, also by showing an undue interest in food, and always talking about it, especially meat, and hanging about when cooking is going on, all of which habits are therefore purposely avoided.”
A striking similarity to the beliefs of the Malay Peninsula is to be traced among the horrible superstitions of ancient Mexico. The Mexican religion presents an extremely complex system with a crowded pantheon and displays a corresponsive ceremonial of the most elaborate nature and exacting service. There existed a certain kind of monachism, and the sacerdotal caste is particularly distinguished by being
