UGANDA JOURNAL.


or priest of the village, who is called Ajwaka. The Abila in the form of a hut is
usually of small dimensions, very seldom reaching a height of three feet. In some
cases, however, it is very large, and this is dependent on the dignity of the man
to whom it is dedicated. A chief, for example, would have a very large one de-
dicated in his honour.
 In a place called Paico there is a village not far distant, that is directly west
of Mount Ato. In that village of the elder Ali, I saw a newly made Abila, about
four feet high and three feet wide, under a tall tree called Oywelo. Encircling it
was a fence composed of little sticks, about three feet in length. Its purpose was
to make sure that the wandering cattle did not do damage to it. I asked the pur-
pose of that particular Abila and was told that it was erected in memory of an
elder who had died some years before. When asked why they had built it so ex-
traordinarily large, they assured me that it was to do honour to that elder who
had had such a powerful influence on all his clan, and who is still very highly
esteemed by his clansmen.
 The quality of the timber to be used for such a building, is not determined.
For instance those people of Patik and of Atyak, and a goodly number from
Payira, use a quality of timber called Olwedo. Neither are they particular as to
the number of small forks of Olwedo that are fixed into the ground to support
the small grass roof of the Abila. Usually, though, the number varies from four
to six.
 In other villages, for example at Pabo, the Abila is not a small hut, but
simply a small table consisting of a smooth stone, and supported all around by
smaller pieces of the same kind of stone. The height is generally about nine
inches. In the centre of the front side there is a tiny aperture, through which
parts of the offering are inserted. (Fig. 1)
 There is yet another form of Abila that one frequently sees, namely a single
 stone. I saw this in two different places, north-west of the village of the old chief
 of Pabo. I made inquiries as to the purpose of the small, square stone at the
 foot of a tree, and the old man who had placed it there said very simply that
 it was the small temple of his ancestors.
 It is worth noting that while in most cases only one small hut or table is
 used as a temple, yet there are some cases in which there are two, three, four
 and even five small tables of stone, ranged according to their size. This may be
 seen in some villages in the neighbourhood of Pagak.
 The Abila as constructed by the people of Payira is in the shape'of a small
 hut. There is another, also, made of but three sticks, whose base is triangular,
 and which is tied at the apex with interwoven grass. At Payira, in a village com-
 prising three families, I noted that one did not have any temple, and those of the
 other two were differently constructed. One of these had two sticks fixed across
 and tied at the top; the other had three sticks but of different wood. Both of
 these Abila were less than sixeen inches in height.
 At Paico, I found that the sticks fixed into the ground were nothing else but
 bamboo canes, split down the middle, and they were nine inches long.