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LECTURE IV.
185
ancient men said, "The source of being (Umdabuko) is above, which gives life to men”.... It was said at first, the rain came from the King, and that the sun came from him, and the moon which gives a white light during the night, that men may go and not be injured.
"If lightning struck cattle, the people were not distressed. It used to be said (p. 60): “ The King has slaughtered for himself among his own food. Is it yours? Is it not the King's? He is hungry; he kills for himself." If a village is struck by lightning, and a cow is killed, it is said, “This village will be prosperous." If a man is struck and dies, it is said, " The King has found fault with him."
Another name of the Creator is Itongo, the Spirit, and this is the account given by a native (p. 94):
When he says Itongo, he is not speaking of a man who has died and risen again ; he is speaking of the Up-bearer of the earth, which supports men and cattle. The Up-bearer is the earth by which we live; and there is the Up-bearer of the earth by which we live, and without which we could not be, and by which we are.
Thus we find among a people who were said to be without any religious life, without any idea of a Divine power, that some of the most essential elements of religion are fully developed,-a belief in an invisible God, the Creator of all things, residing in heaven, sending rain and hail and thunder, punishing the wicked, and claiming his sacrifice from among the cattle on a thousand hills. This shows how careful we should be before we accept purely negative evidence on the religion or the absence of all religion
