morals, when the gospel was first preached among them. From this it appears plain, that nothing but the gospel can cure our spiritual infirmities. We shall conclude the present article with the following passage from a sermon of the late Dr. Coneybear, bishop of Bristol : "It hath been related already (says his lordship) that sin was brought into the world by our first parents, from whence there is derived down to us, a depraved and corrupted nature. Hence both our intellectual and moral powers, have been greatly impaired, and as, in many instances, we know not what we ought to do; in others, when ignorance may not be pleaded, there is a remarkable backwardness, and even perversness of the will. These evils must be remedied in some degree; otherwise no advantage can be made of the pardon which God, for Christ's sake, offers. For it is unreasonable to expect this should extend to any but those who embrace it by a religious return to God." Sermon I. vol. 1. page 22. The Religion of the Natives of South Cafraria. MR. Kolbens, a Dutch gentleman, who resided some years at the Cape of Good Hope, and visited many of the African kingdoms, is of opinion that there is a manifest conformity between the Cafres and the Jews. In order to support his argument, he enumerates several customs practised alike by both. The Cafres make abundance of oblations, and regulate the time of their festivals by the full and new moon's. They have no conversation with their wives during particular seasons, and always use purification. They frequently make use of unleavened bread, and abstain from all sorts of salt meat. They practise the ceremony of circumcision, or something similar to it, and they eat nothing that is strangled, nor any fish without scales, They never admit women into their councils, and are allowed to give their wives a bill of divorce, even on the slightest pretence. He observes several other rites and ceremonies similar to those of the Jews, such as giving the names of animals, hills, mountains, rivers, trees, fruits, herbs, and, indeed every thing in nature to their children, instead of the names of their parents or relations. But all these arguments made use of by this Dutchman to establish his favourite system, have no weight at all, as will appear when we consider the following things. Their using unleavened No. 21. bread, has no conformity to any custom practised by the Jews, because these Africans never knew how to make bread till they were taught to do so by the Europeans. With respect to their divorcing their wives, it will appear to the reader, from several of the former parts of this work, that many other Heathens do the same, and circumcision is common in al almost one half of the known world. But he imputes them in common with other authors, that they starve their relations to death when they are past their labour, which is contrary to every thing in the law of Moses. He says they are expert at the chace, but in that he should have compared them with the Hottentots, rather than the Jews. We agree with this author, that there is no improbability, that these idolatrous Africans were descended from the Phoenicians, who went from the south of Asia, in ancient times, and carried along. with them their own rites and ceremonies. However, be these things as they will, we shall now proceed to give an account of the principles and ceremonies of their religion. They have some faint notion of the universal deluge, for they have a tradition transmited down from father to son, informing them, that their ancestors, issuing out of a door or window, established themselves on this spot of the earth, which they now inhabit, and instructed their children in the art of agriculture. They also add that their parent's names were Noh and Hingnou, and both these may relate to Noah and his wife, for his wife's name is not mentioned in scripture. All our travellers are very contardictory in their accounts of the religion of these people, because they are divided into clans, tribes, and hordes, and all these have different notions. However, from all these accounts, we see no difficulty of collecting the truth, because several reputable writers have enquired into them, and we cannot see any reason to doubt their veracity, espccially as these accounts have been approved of by the Royal Society. They adore one supreme being, tho' their notions concerning him are very dark and confused: They kill several cows and sheep in honour of their idol, and make voluntary oblations of their flesh and milk, as grateful acknowledgments of all his mercies from time to time; for they imagine that he alone sends them rain, sun-shine, and all the returns of the seasons. They seem to have little or no idea of a future state, and yet they have many good qualities which should secure them from the contempt usually thrown out upon them. They are, in many respects, honest and charitable to one another 6 F another. They look upon theft and idolatry as capital crimes; and such as are found guilty of them, are immediately put to death. But notwithstanding this, every man has free liberty to marry as many women as he can maintain, altho' few of them indulge themselves with any more than three. A German missionary and a Protestant, asked one of these Cafres concerning his belief of the deity, and received the following sensible answer :-" Let him that cannot believe there is a God, survey the heavens, the earth, and every object round about him, and then let him deny the existence of a Supreme Being if he can.' We have some reason to believe, that the zealous missionary dressed up the Cafre's words, and therefore it is best to consider them in the middle latitude, especially as the Jesuits have represented them as downright Atheists. It is certain, that the Dutch have the best opportunities of being acquainted with these Cafres, or Hottentots, because no other Europeans have any settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. For many miles up the country, the Dutch have Protestant churches established, and as their ministers are men of sense and gravity, we ought at least to pay some regard to the accounts they have given us. Kolben says, that they call the invisible God Gounia Ticquoa, a term that means the captain of the gods. They are far from being uniform in their religious rites and ceremonies, on account of their being divided into so many clans, or hordes, which they call cralles. The truth is, there is no con. stancy in any of the notions entertained by the Barbarians throughout the whole world. All is ignorance and confusion, and we seek in vain for a guide to direct us; which circumstance alone should more and more endcar to us Divine Revelation. The Cafres, or Hottentots, who reside all round the Cape, pay their adoration to the moon, by dancing to her honour when she changes, or when she is at the full. This religious ceremony lasts all night, and is performed with abundance of noise, hurry, and confusion. They shout, clap their hands, direct their eyes upwards, with abundance of seeming devotion, and then they mutter some words which none can understand but themselves. Sometimes they run into vaults, where they clap their hands and repeat several ejaculations. All this is performed during the night, while the moon is in her splendor; and they frequently prostrate themselves on the ground, then rise up again, and gazing at the moon, with loud acclamations, make the following address to her:-"We thy servants salute thee. Give us store of milk and honey; increase our flocks and herds, and we will worship thee." During this ceremony, they mark their foreheads with red paint, a practice common among the savages in America. It appears, that like some of the rest of the Pagan Africans, they worship a being, who, according to their imaginations, can neither do them any good nor any evil. And what is still more remarkable, they worship another being inferior to this, whom they believe can do them much injury, unless his anger is appeased. This being they imagine frequently appears to them under the most tremendous form, somewhat resembling the ancient satyrs of the Greeks; and when they are asked how they can believe in such absurdities, so inconsistent with the Divine attributes; their answer is to the following im port:-"We follow the traditions of our ancestors, whose first parents having sinned against the grand captain, they fell into such a neglect of his worship, that they knew nothing of him, nor how to make their addresses to him.' This may serve to shew, that however ignorant they may be in other respects, yet in this dark tradition they have some faint notion of the fall of man, which indeed is acknowledged by all the world, except some letter learned men among ourselves. They pay also a religious adoration to a kind of May-bug. At the sight of this insect, for, according to their notion, it always portends some good to the family, and obliterates all the sins of those who belong to it, they sing and dance to its honour, and strew all round about it, and indeed about the whole house, the powder of a certain plant, which they call Buchu, and the herb Spiræa. At the same time, they sacrifice two sheep to this diminutive deity. This ceremony is distinguished by a term that signifies regeneration. If this insect should fortunately crawl upon any one the family, is it a strong indication, that such person is become a new creature; he is looked upon as a venerable saint; two sheep are sacrificed for his service; an ox is slaughtered to his honour, and he is dressed with the intrails of the beast. The Omentum is first well powdered with Buchu, and then clapped reeking hot about his neck. This collar he must wear night and day, till it rots off; or at least till another May-bug relieves him, by settling upon some other regenerated person belonging to the house. As to the flesh of the ox so sacrificed, the men regale themselves with it as soon as it is dressed; but the women, who are present at the entertainment, are allowed to touch nothing but the broth. If, on the other hand, this sacred insect settles on a women, these Hottentots immediately canonize her: In that case, the women regale on the flesh of the ox, which is sacrificed and dressed in honour honour to the female saints, and the men have no right or title to any thing but the broth. They take all the care imaginable to prevent the Europeans from hurting this their favourite insect. All the misfortunes that attend it, inevitably draws down so may calamities on themselves and their cattle. They have several solitary places which they look upon as, sacred; more especially their hillocks, and little spots of ground adjacent to their rivers, which are, as they imagine, and as our German author expresses it, the abodes of some particular saints; but we have good grounds to surmise, that they think the souls of their departed ancestors reside in these holy habitations; and, in all probability, there is some conformity between this notion of theirs, and that of the ancient idolators, who established the mansions of their Nymphs, Fauns, and Sylvans, near fountains, rivers, hills, and forests. But be that as it will, the Hottentots never travel over such holy ground, without performing some act of devotion as they go along; which principally consists in cutting a few comical capers and singing to themselves some extravagant eulogium of the sacred inhabitant. If they look on him as a more venerable saint than ordinary, their religious ceremonies are more solemn and of longer duration. In that case, they stop to clap their hands and hum over their divine airs with more attention and a better grace. In short, such as see through this rude and unpolished deportment, in which the difference between our conduct, and that of these savage nations, principally consists, must acknowledge, that both act in a manner upon the same principles. sufficient at all times to support the credit and reputation of their faculty. We proceed now to the Furi, who is the spiritual physician of these Hottentots, and whose function is also elective; he is inspector general of their manners, customs, and religious ceremonies. Whether he has the same dexterity and address as his countrymen the physicians, or not, or the artifice and quackery of the Boias, and all such as officiate as priests amongst the savages, we are at a loss to determine; but in all probability, how unpolished soever these Furis may appear to travellers, they have their manner of insinuation as well as others of their profession. The fees of these physicians, both civil and spiritual, consist in the presents which are made them; sometimes of a lamb, and sometimes of a sheep; and the dignity of both functions entitles them to a free participation of all the public entertainments of the cralle: We shall now amuse our readers with a short account of their manner of initiation, and admission into their civil society, which is far more whimsical and extravagant than any hitherto mentioned. The Hottentots cut out the left testicle of all their malechildren as soon as they are nine or ten years old at farthest. farthest. For which reason father Tachard, speaking of these people, calls them a kind of Half Eunuchs. They are not, however, indispensably obliged to fix this operation to the age before men-. tioned; since some persons more advanced in years are thus castrated; but none under eight. The introduction to this ceremony is their tying the arms and legs of the patient very fast; and moreover, they kneel upon his breast, that they may command him at pleasure and at the same time prevent him from seeing an operation which amongst us would be submitted to with the utmost reluctance, and, in all probability, be looked upon as a diminution of our manhood. Every cralle has its peculiar captain, priest, and physician: Of these latter there are sometimes two; and sometimes also the women turn doctors, and prescribe to their neighbours. The physician is elected by the elders of the cralle. His office or employment is not hereditary; for when he dies, The operator having thus secured his patient, they proceed to the choice of another; and in case takes out his lancet, makes the proper incision, takes there be no person duly qualified for that important away the testicle proposed, and artfully conveys a post in their own cralle, they make a farther enquiry little ball of the same size, composed of sheeps fat for some able and experienced person to fill that va- and the powder of Buchu, into the wound, and then cancy. This honourable employment is conferred closes it up. This Lythotomist is always one of the by the Hottentots upon none but sober, discreet spiritual directors before-mentioned, and master of men; men of an advanced age, at least near fifty; the ceremonies in their respective cralles. As a prefor otherwise the people will not confide in their liminary of this operation, some of the Hottentots care, or regard their prescriptions. These physi-kill a sheep for the entertainment of the company at cians, we are informed, have very few patients that die under their hands; but if such a misfortune should attend them, they have a reason always ready at hand for such a miscarriage. The patient, say they, was indisputably bewitched; a circumstance the close of the ceremony, One circumstance we had like to have forgot, which is very material, and ought not to be omitted. The patient immediately after the operation, is very plentifully anointed all over his body; and to complete the initiation, the reve reud rend doctor honours him with a plentiful profusion of of his urine; and then leaves him extended at his full length upon the ground. But as soon as the tormenting pain he has been put to, begins to abate, he must crawl, as well and as soon as he is able, to a little hut erected for that purpose, where he is ordered to continue for three or four days together. The entertainment provided on this occasion for the assembly, is a sheep as before-mentioned; but both the person initiated, and the women then present, are obliged to abstain from tasting the least morsel of it. The reason which some give, though without the least foundation, for the observance of this ridiculous custom is this, that the Hottentots become thereby more sprightly and active, and better qualified for the chase. On the contrary, there are the traces of religion conspicuous in this practice. The sheep that is killed and eaten, exclusive of the women, is manifestly a kind of sacrifice. The time generally fixed upon for this operation, is when the person to be initiated attains the age of maturity; and the peculiar care which the women take, not to have any familiar conversation with such as have not undergone it, is a strong argument likewise, in our opinion, that there is a kind of religious mystery in this operation. There is another reason, pleasant enough, given for the observance of this practice, viz. that the women are thereby secured from having twins. But be that as it will, we are credibly informed, that no young fellow must presume to marry till he has thus parted with one of his precious stones. Another custom which is very singular, is the reception of a youth, who has attained the age of maturity, into their civil society. No young person is permitted, till after this ceremony is complied with, to keep company with those who are already admitted members or indulged so far as to eat even with his own father; and he who neglects to procure his admission, when he comes of age, exposes himself to the contempt and ridicule of all his countrymen. For the solemnization of this ceremony, one of the elders of the cralle convenes a general assembly, who form themselves into a circle. Every member supports his body upon his knees, in such a manner, as that his posteriors may not rest upon the ground. The youth who is to be admitted does not enter as yet into the august assembly, but plants himself at a modest distance in the same attitude with the rest. The principal or elder, opens with a short harangue, which turns directly on the business of the day; after which he asks the consent of the whole assembly for the admission of the young man. Upon their general approbation, he advances towards the youth, and very gravely does that to him which Rancune did to the merchant, with more spleen but less formality. However, before such aspersion, he acquaints him, in as comprehensive terms as may be, that from henceforth his actions ought to speak the man; and that he is now no longer under his mother's eye, and that he must take care by his prudent deportment to merit the honour he has obtained, of being entered a member of their assembly. During the whole time of this aspersion, the young man, who receives it with all the testimonies of the profoundest veneration, bathes his body all over with the holy water sprinkled upon him. The ceremony concludes with the celebrant's hearty congratulations of the young man, in the name of the cralle, and his friendly wishes for the prolongation of his life, and the increase of his family. After that they are regaled with a whole sheep at the expence of their new member, who, uotwithstanding, is not permitted to tast a morsel till the whole assembly have first eaten what they think convenient, When one Hottentot insults another, and treats him with approbrious and abusive language, he robs him, according to their notion, of his honour. The party injuring, therefore, must take care to redeem his credit, by presenting his companions with a fat sheep for an entertainment; who partake of it at his expence, but allow him the fat to anoint his body with, and the guts for his decoration. Should he refuse to make this peace offering, which doubtless is looked upon as a purification, the party insulting would be abandoned, and become the object of universal contempt. From hence it is plain, that the point of honour is quite another thing with the Cafres than what it is with us, tho' it all tends indeed to the same end, with this difference only, that the Hottentots are so wise, as not to cut one another's sthroats to gratify their resentment. When they have defeated their enemies, or destroyed a considerable number of wild beasts; when they are recovered from tedious fits of sickness, or escaped some imminent danger, they solemnize a festival, after their country fashion, on account of their good success. The first ceremonious act on these occasions is the erection of a hut in the middle of the cralle, which, as it denotes, in their opinion, the regeneration or purification of the builders, the materials ought to be all perfectly new, and never made use of in any previous fabric whatsoever. The foundation is always laid before sun-rise. The women, and such youths as have not been admitted amongst the men, cut down the boughs and branches of trees, and and collect a large variety of flowers for the decoration of their new hut; and then they kill a lamb or a sheep for their public entertainment. Who can tell, but that this ceremony we are now speaking of, is much the same thing as our dedication of a church? And it is very probable, that the erection of this hut is equal to our acquittal of a solemn vow` for the foundation of a chapel. They observe the same ceremony at their settlement in any new habitation; but before they remove from their old places of abode, they offer up the customary sacrifice, or make the usual oblation. Should their be a murrain among their cattle, they employ themselves in sacrifices for three days together, to avert the judgment; and if after such solemn acts of devotion the contagious distemper does not cease, or at least visibly abate, they generally decamp, and remove their cralle to some other place, in hopes to find more healthful pasture grounds, which they sanctify, however, before they enter upon them, in the manner before described. Moreover, they make their cattle pass thro' the fire, by way of a purification, which they receive, as they pretend, by tradition from their ancestors; which, in their opinion, is a sufficient justification of their conduct. A Hottentot, who was a man of better sense than the generality of them are, assured the author from whom we extract this account, that it is a charm or preservative against wild dogs, which would otherwise devour their flocks, and prove more destructive and injurious to them than even the tigers or the lions. Before such purification as aforesaid, the women are obliged to drain their cows as dry as possible, and give the milk to the men to drink, without presuming so much as to taste one drop of it themselves. These barbarous illiterate people are of opinion, like the rest of their neighbours, that the living are daily exposed to the misfortune of being charmed, and the dead of being raised by magical incantations; and every transaction which surpasses their weak comprehensions, is looked upon by them as the result of sorcery and fascination: The most regular effects of nature they ascribe to the irresistible force of magic, and can by no arguments, how cogent soever, be prevailed upon to swerve from their established notions on any new emergency. But why should we so loudly inveigh against the perversness and obstinacy of a people, who have for so may ages been deprived of all the advantages of a liberal education, when we have flagrant instances much nearer home, of persons who are confirmed in as great stupidity, and are infinitely more inexcusable? A managed horse, that had been No. 21. taught a few surprising pranks, was condemned to die for his too profound learning not many years ago, as an impious practioner of the black-art, by that supreme judge of the Roman faith, the court of Inquisition. The Greek Testament also was looked upon by those very judges, whose ignorance was their only plea, as an infamous magical dissertation. The Cafres ascribe all their distempers to the spells or charms of their enemies, and by consequence, such physicians as they apply themselves to for relief, must be adepts, as it were, in magic. Nay, the patient's cure consists in nothing more, than a stronger inchantment to repel a weaker; and for the generality, however, they try the effect of purification, before they enter upon such supernatural expedients; and their first operation, therefore, is the sacrifice of a fat weather; after that, the doctor very gravely examines the omentum of the victim, strews the powder of Bucha very plentifully over it, and then hangs it reeking hot about the neck of his patient, with this formal declaration; You are inchanted, it is true, but I will engage you shall be well again in a short time; for the charm you lie under is but weak, and will easily be dissolved. The patient is ordered to wear this collar, till it rots off his neck; but if this prescription proves ineffectual, the physician enters on a new scheme, exerts all the skill he is master of another way, and has recourse to the secret virtue of a variety of simples, or medicinal herbs, which he collects in some ren te and unfrequented places. From their magical practices, and their confirmed notion of spirits, we may rationally conclude, that they entertain some confused idea of the immortality of the soul, a future state, and the resurrection of the dead. For, in short, it seems impossible, that they should have any conception of the dead returning to life, without believing that souls are immortal. Yet, if the Hottentots have any notion of a future state, it is very imperfect and obscure; since one of them was so impertinent, or rather ignorant, as to ask a traveller, If there were any cows, oxen, and sheep in Paradise. But as to the resurrection, according to our notion of that doctine, there are not the least footsteps of it to be discerned in any of their dissertations. A few rambling expressions dropped accidentally, or borrowed from the Christians, and collected and refined by travellers, are not sufficient to fix and determine the sentiments of any barbarous nation. It is very remarkable, that if we regard with a tention, the arguments which the greatest part of the idolators of Africa, India, &c. make use of, we 6 G find, |