208 UGANDA AND THE EGYPTIAN SOUDAN.

has disappeared the ground is common again. There are also river gods in different parts of the country, to which human sacrifices are sometimes offered.

The former kings of the country appear also to be regarded as demi-gods, and their graves are kept with religious care, and houses are erected over them, which are under the constant supervision of one of the principal chiefs of the country, and where human sacrifices are also occasionally offered.

The "Waganda are extremely superstitious, and have a great belief in charms which are manufactured by their medicine-men. These charms are made of curiously shaped pieces of wood, horns and similar rubbish, and are supposed to ward off disease and to protect the wearer from the bites of venomous snakes, which are very common in Uganda, and much dreaded by the natives. These medicine-men, mandwa, have immense influence over the people, and are consulted by them on all manner of subjects. They profess to be able to foretell events, recover lost or stolen property, and to make rain and wind.

They also practise as regular doctors, using herbs and the roots and bark of various trees, and are tolerably successful. They have two or three remedies for ague, but whether these will be found to be of any real value in the hands of European practitioners remains to be proved.

Foreign religions have so far made but little impression upon the Waganda. Although the