River Worship

There appears to be more than one ! case of riverworsbip, and there are supposed to be numerous cases of the kind in África. In the Ashantee country there is the Chamascian river, or Rio San Juan, called by the negroes Bossumpra, which they worship as a god, as the word Bossum signifies. In the west of our own country the Dakotas are said 'io worship a god of the waters under Ihe name of Unktahe. There is the tvell known worship of the holy G-anges in India in the form of Ganga, a godfless. Of the great rivers of India none can compare in sanctity with the Ganges orMother Ganga, as she is affectionately called by devout Hindoos. From her source in the Hi malayas to her mouth in the bay of Bengal, every foot of her course is holy ground, and many of the other sacred rivers of India I borrow their 6anctity from a supposed underground connection with her waters. Ganga herself is described as the daughter of the Himalayas, who is i suaded after infinite solicitation to ehed her purifying stream upon the earth. At the present day, the six years' I pilgrimage from the source to the mouth and back again is performed by many. To bathe in the Ganges, especially at great stated festivals, willwash away the stain of sin, and those who have thus purified themselves carry back bottles of the sacred water to their ' less favored relativos. To exclaim ' "Ganga! Ganga!" at the distance of 100 leagues will atone for sins coramitted dtiring three previoiis lives. In British courts of justice in India, the water of the Ganges is used for administering oaths to Hindoos. The tribes of Neilgherry hills worship rivers under the name of Gangamma. In fact, the ("iivinity of water is recognized by all the peoples of