Here again, while the dance does not form the central part of the ceremony, it is evidently an essential part of it, performed in honour of the slain. The interior of the warriors’ club-house was evidently considered a place of safety, hence the retirement into it during the night, the time when the ghosts were most to be feared. The dance which followed next day must be regarded as an act of propitiation; this concerned the veterans. The novices had their special dance, also a propitiatory rite, while the firebrands hurled at their heads in the evening gave the quietus to the ghosts of the men slain by them. Once more, among the Arunta of Central Australia it is likewise the custom to perform a vigorous dance on the return from battle[299]. In this case the dance comprises the whole ceremony, from which one can gather the importance of it in the eyes of these people. It is difficult to say whether the dance here is an act of propitiation or whether it serves to frighten away the ghosts of the slain, who are supposed to follow their slayers; probably, we should say, the former, since the frightening away of ghosts usually takes a different form. As a few examples of many these cases of the dance taking place after the return from victory show that one of its purposes was the propitiation of the ghosts of the slain. We turn now to some other instances in which the dance had a different purpose. An old historian of Madagascar informs us that while the men are at the wars, and until their return, the women and girls cease not day and night to dance, and neither lie down nor take food in their own homes.... They believe that by dancing they impart strength, courage, and good fortune to their husbands; accordingly during such times they give themselves no rest, and this custom they observe very religiously[300]. A similar result is believed to be brought about by dancing, according to Mr Fitzgerald Marriott, among West African tribes. He says that while the Ashantee war was raging he saw a dance performed by women whose husbands had gone as carriers to the war. They were painted white, and wore nothing but a short petticoat. At their head was a shrivelled old sorceress in a very short white petticoat.... All carried white brushes made of buffalo or horse tails, and as they danced they sang, “Our husbands have gone to Ashanteeland; may they sweep their enemies off the face of the earth[301]!”