which we lived in sin; but we were quite blind, and chained down by
the fetters of Satan; we will serve him no longer, but belong only to
Jesus."
One instance deserves more particular notice, that of a young man
named Angukualak, the son of a most noted sorcerer, Uiverunna. His
parents had instructed him in all the secrets of their art, and his
confession gives at least plausibility to the opinion, that the
influence of Satan is permitted to be sometimes visibly exercised, in
the dark places of the earth, though, while the effects of that
influence are palpable in the perpetration of the grossest vices and
most barbarous cruelty, it is very immaterial whether it assumes a
perceptible form, or merely acts upon the imagination. His own account
to the missionaries, was as follows: "My parents told me, that their
familiar spirit, or Torngak, lived in the water; if I wished to
consult him, I must call upon him, as the spirit of my parents, to
come forth out of the water, and remember this token, that I should
observe, in some part of the house, a vapour ascending, soon after
which, the spirit would appear, and grant what I asked. Some years
ago, when my little brother was very ill, I tried this method for the
first time, and called upon the Torngak, when I really thought I saw
a small vapour arising, and shortly after, the appearance of a man in
a watery habit stood before me. I was filled with horror, my whole
frame shook with fear, and I covered my face with my hands."
His brother recovered, and the impression of this strange occurrence
appears to have been forgotten, when a terrible dream overwhelmed his
mind with anguish and terror. "I thought," to resume his own language,
"I thought I saw a very deep, dark cavern, the descent to which was a
narrow, steep chasm. In this horrible place, I discovered my mother,
my relations, and many others whom I had known, and who had led a very
wicked life upon earth, sitting in great torments, and exhibiting a
dreadful appearance. I was already with my feet slipping down the
chasm; and it seemed as if somebody said to me, 'Unto that dark place
thou must likewise depart!' From that moment I found no rest anywhere,
but having heard that true believers lived at Hopedale, I resolved to
come hither, and with my whole family to be converted to Jesus, that I
may not likewise descend into the place of torment, and be lost for
ever. But alas! I know not how to get released from evil, for I still
feel as if I was bound with the chains of sin."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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