Before Parting, A Ceremony Had To Be Performed By Katchiba.
His brother
was to be our guide, and he was to receive power to control the elements
as deputy-magician during the journey, lest we should be wetted by the
storms, and the torrents should be so swollen as to be impassable.
With great solemnity Katchiba broke a branch from a tree, upon the
leaves of which he spat in several places. This branch, thus blessed
with holy water, was laid upon the ground, and a fowl was dragged around
it by the chief; and our horses were then operated on precisely in the
same manner as had been enacted at Farajoke. This ceremony completed, he
handed the branch to his brother (our guide), who received it with much
gravity, in addition to a magic whistle of antelope's horn that he
suspended from his neck. All the natives wore whistles similar in
appearance, being simply small horns in which they blew, the sound of
which was considered either to attract or to drive away rain, at the
option of the whistler. No whistle was supposed to be effective unless
it had been blessed by the great magician Katchiba. The ceremony being
over, all commenced whistling with all their might; and taking leave of
Katchiba, with an assurance that we should again return, we started
amidst a din of "toot too too-ing" upon our journey. Having an immense
supply of ammunition at Latooka, I left about 200 lbs. of shot and ball
with Katchiba; therefore my donkeys had but little to carry, and we
travelled easily.
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