Apart from the case of dreams and a few such private matters, it is not usual for anyone to approach the gods except the chief of the village. He is the recognised high priest who presents prayers and offerings on behalf of all that live in his village. If the chief is from home his wife will act, and if both are absent, his younger brother (mpwao). The natives worship not so much individually as in villages or communities. Their religion is more a public than a private matter. When we went to Blantyre we were accompanied by two small boys that had lived in Quilimane. One night after we were in bed we were startled by a terrible screaming. This was heard by a friend who lived in another house at a short distance from ours, and he came to us judging that we had among us at least a leopard. But the screams were found to have a different cause. The younger boy wished to carry into practice our exhortations about prayer, and for this purpose knelt down on his little mat or bed. The older was more cumbered with much serving, like Martha. He wanted to make his bed tidy, and without ceremony threw the little worshipper off the mat, telling him that it was not proper for him to pray, as he was not a white man (msungu). The rudeness gave rise to fighting and screaming. We mention the incident to show that the bigger boy would hold that he belonged to the village of the white man, and that the white man ought to approach the gods on his behalf. The chief of a village has another title to the priesthood. It is his relatives that are the village gods. Everyone that lives in the village recognises these gods; but if anyone remove to another village he changes his gods. He recognises now the gods of his new chief. One wishing to pray to the god (or gods) of any village naturally desires to have his prayers presented through the village chief, because the latter is nearly related to the village god, and may be expected to be better listened to than a stranger. 8.—VILLAGE GODS. On the subject of the village gods opinions differ. Some say that every one in the village, whether a relative of the chief or not, must worship the forefathers of the chief. Others say that a person not related to the chief must worship his own forefathers, otherwise their spirits will bring trouble upon him. To reconcile these authorities we may mention that nearly every one in the village is related to its chief, or if not related is, in courtesy, considered so. Any person not related to the village chief would be polite enough on all public occasions to recognise the village god: on occasions of private prayer (which are not so numerous as in Christendom) he would approach the spirits of his own forefathers.