gination was calculated to produce, he honestly mistook his
own thick-coming fancies for a revelation from the gods. A chief, who
had formerly been a prophet of the god Oro, assured the missionaries
"that although he sometimes feigned his fits of inspiration, to deceive
the credulous multitude, yet, at other times, they came upon him
involuntarily and irresistibly. Something seemed to rush through his
whole frame, and overpower his spirit, in a manner which he could not
describe. Then he frothed at the mouth, gnashed his teeth, and distorted
his limbs with such violence that it required five or six strong men to
hold him. At these times his words were deemed oracles, and whatever he
advised respecting state affairs, or other matters, was implicitly
observed by king and chiefs."[161] Thus on the ravings of these crazy
fanatics or deliberate impostors often hung the issues of life or death,
of war or peace.[162] It appears to have been especially the priests of
Oro who laid claim to inspiration and contrived to shape the destinies
of their country through the powerful sway which they exercised over the
mind of the king. In their fits of fanatical frenzy, while they
delivered their oracles, they insisted on the sovereign's implicit
compliance with their mandates, denouncing the most dreadful judgments
on him if he should prove refractory.[163]

[160] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 373 _sq._

[161] D. Tyerman and G. Bennet, _op. cit._ i. 124.

[162] D. Tyerman and G. Bennet, _op. cit._ i. 114 _sq._

[163] D. Tyerman and G. Bennet, _op. cit._ i. 121.

Apart from the priests there was a class of men whose business it was to
preserve and hand down to their successors the lists of the gods, the
liturgical prayers, and the sacred traditions. As these liturgies and
legends were often very lengthy and couched in a metaphorical and
obscure language, a prodigious memory and long practice were
indispensable for their preservation and transmission among a people to
whom the art of writing was unknown. Since the slightest mistake in the
recitation of a liturgy was deemed the worst of omens and necessitated
the suspension of the religious service, however costly and important
the service might be, the sacred recorders, as we may call them, were
obliged, for the sake of their credit, to practise continually the
recitation of the prayers, legends, and traditions of which they were
the depositories. To aid them in their task t