people who say they have seen it, but few compared with those to testify to the existence of the songòmby.[1]
4.—The Kinòly. This creature is said to be human. When any one dies who turns into a kindly he is buried by the relatives, until the intestines and the skin of the stomach all decay, and when that is the case they open up the tomb so that the kindly may go out; so it goes out. Their eyes are red and their nails long, but they are no longer like the living; yet the whole body, except the portions already mentioned, is like that of a human being. They are said to be constantly thieving, and when any one leaves out cooked rice or other food, they take it. Sometimes they also steal rice in the husk, but it is said they can hardly carry any burden; and a story is told of some one who saw two kinòly stealing rice, and hid himself to observe their procedure. They filled with rice some vessel they carried, and the male one carried the burden, putting it on his shoulder; but as soon as it rested there he cried, "I'm killed; my shoulder!" Then said the female, "There's no carrying it; where is it? I'll carry it." Then she carried it on her head (that is their custom when both husband and wife die); but as soon as it was placed there she called out, "I'm killed; my head!" Another story is told of a person suddenly meeting a kinòly one day and, seeing the redness of its eyes and length of its nails, said, "How is it your eyes are so red?" It replied, "God passed by them." Then he asked again, "How is it your nails are so long?" It replied, "That I may tear out your liver" (or inside), upon which it tore the man. In the Bétsiléo province people say that there are kinòly up to the present time, and this not long ago, but quite recently. Among the inhabitants there are many who believe in the reappearance of these bowelless people; but they think it a cause of lamentation, both to the person himself and also to his relations, to become a kindly.
5.—The Dòna or Pily.[2] This animal is one of the fiercest creatures;
- ↑ It is commonly said that those who even see the tòkan-dìa are immediately struck dead or senseless.
- ↑ Pily is the name of a serpent. This account is, I think, hardly correctly put under the heading of superstitious beliefs; excepting two or three points it is rather a piece of natural history observation, for there is no question at all about the existence in the western and warmer parts of Madagascar of one or more species of boa. These examples of the widely-spread tropical pythons belong to a peculiar genus, Sanzinia; hanging from the branches of the trees these serpents are said to pounce suddenly on their victims, and, enveloping them in their folds, speedily squeeze them to death. They are even said to kill oxen, and occasionally man.
