The Tshi-speaking peoples of the Gold Coast believe that the god Sasabonsum "takes delight in destroying all those who have offended him, even though the offence may have been accidental and unintentional"; whereas, among the same people, it is the custom that even deaths resulting from accidents, not to speak of minor injuries, are compensated for by a sum of money.[74] Miss Kingsley says she is unable, from her own experience, to agree with Mr. Dennett's statement with reference to the Fjort, that ignorance would save the man who had eaten prohibited food. From what she knows, Merolla's story is correct: the man, though he eat in ignorance, dies or suffers severely. "It is true," she adds, "that one of the doctrines of African human law is that the person who offends in ignorance, that is not a culpable ignorance, cannot be punished; but this merciful dictum I have never found in spirit law. Therein if you offend, you suffer; unless you can appease the enraged spirit, neither ignorance nor intoxication is a feasible plea in extenuation."[75] The Omahas believe that to eat of the totem, even in ignorance, would cause sickness, not only to the eater, but also to his wife and children.[76] [Footnote 74: Ellis, _Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast_, pp. 35, 301.] [Footnote 75: Miss Kingsley, in her Introduction to Dennett's _Folklore of the Fjort_, p. xxviii.] [Footnote 76: Frazer, _Totemism_, p. 16.] Speaking of the sacred animals of the ancient Egyptians, Herodotus says, "Should any one kill one of these beasts, if wilfully, death is the punishment; if by accident, he pays such fine as the priests choose to impose. But whoever kills an ibis or a hawk, whether wilfully or by accident, must necessarily be put to death."[77] According to the Chinese penal code, "whoever destroys or damages, whether intentionally or inadvertently, the altars, mounds, or terraces consecrated to the sacred and imperial rites, shall suffer 100 blows, and be perpetually banished to distance {228} of 2000 _lee_."[78] In these cases the punishment inflicted by human hands is obviously a reflection of the supposed anger of superhuman beings. [Footnote 77: Herodotus, ii. 65. _Cf._ Pomponius Mela, 9.] [Footnote 78: _Ta Tsing Leu Lee_, sec. clviii. p. 172.]