Marufa
belonged to the first class; yet being of their particular mental
development they were possessed of beliefs just as deeply as the most
credulous layman. That the wizard, personally, of his own individual power
could slay an enemy by incantation they did not believe; but that the
spirit of the Banana or of other inanimate objects could do so, they
believed most profoundly. Their creed was a form of pure animism; the
storms, the winds, the lightning, trees, rocks, rivers had separate and
conscious souls; other inanimate objects not included in an arbitrary
list, had unconscious souls, each and every one capable of doing mischief
or of good; hence the essence of religion in the act of imploring the good
offices of the most powerful spirits, or in moments of exasperation of
threatening them with dire punishments. Their hypocrisy lay not in
disbelief but in pretending to the people that their intercession with the
gods was infallible; they knew only too well that the said gods would
seldom incline an ear to the magician.

Of course nearly every doctor had a slightly different dogma, usually
based upon an incorrect deduction from a false premise. One doctor would
place all his confidence in the spirit of the Banana--the most popular
spirit; and another in the spirit of the river, because out of a dozen
times that he had implored aid, five "miracles" at least had been
vouchsafed, therefore, argued he, the spirit of the river is the true and
most powerful god. The arguments of others were equally unsound as they
were dominated by some hidden desire, much as reputable scientists, while
rejecting phenomena accepted by the populace, cling fatuously to a belief
in spooks in order to satisfy a subconscious desire for immortality, fear
of death.

Hence the confusion in the heart of Bakahenzie. To him it appeared that
the spirits had deserted him entirely; to him it seemed that perhaps these
white men had indeed the true "magic," the art of controlling the spirits
to their will. This terror had urged him to the destruction of the white
man, Moonspirit. Now Zalu Zako had mutinied, and being unaware of the
powerful impulse from which Zalu Zako had gotten this sudden strength,
Bakahenzie attributed it to the magic influence of Moonspirit. At any
cost, he argued, must Zalu Zako and the white man be kept apart.

But other pressing points were how to accomplish the slaughter of the
white man, and what he should do now after the at