ABSTRACT
Note.—It was not easy to see an autopsy among the Nyakyusa— one never knew beforehand when such an operation would be held, and since imputations of witchcraft and sorcery are punishable offences, people were often reluctant to perform it when Europeans were there. There was only one European doctor in Rungwe district, and he was a very busy man with a hospital and dispensaries to supervise. All the operations witnessed were performed over twenty-five miles from his headquarters and far off any road. Therefore, we were never able to arrange for a qualified practitioner to be present at a Nyakyusa autopsy, as we wished. The following layman’s accounts, though lacking any anatomical detail, explain the method of procedure, and the Nyakyusa reactions.
