After thus partaking of the
sanctified fruits, a man is himself sanctified for the whole year,
and may immediately get in his crops. It is believed that if any man
were to partake of the new fruits before the festival, he would die;
if he were detected, he would be put to death, or at least all his
cattle would be taken from him. The holiness of the new fruits is
well marked by the rule that they must be cooked in a special pot
which is used only for this purpose, and on a new fire kindled by a
magician through the friction of two sticks which are called
"husband and wife."
Among the Bechuanas it is a rule that before they partake of the new
crops they must purify themselves. The purification takes place at
the commencement of the new year on a day in January which is fixed
by the chief. It begins in the great kraal of the tribe, where all
the adult males assemble. Each of them takes in his hand leaves of a
gourd called by the natives _lerotse_ (described as something
between a pumpkin and a vegetable marrow); and having crushed the
leaves he anoints with the expressed juice his big toes and his
navel; many people indeed apply the juice to all the joints of their
body, but the better-informed say that this is a vulgar departure
from ancient custom.
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