ABSTRACT
An abnormal birth is the most dangerous misfortune that can befall a family in Nyakyusa society, and the ritual to ward off its expected results is the most elaborate, but there are lesser misfortunes also, which may be averted by simpler rituals. The ritual consists in the reconciliation of the living in the presence of the dead and, if the misfortune is serious, a sacrifice of flesh, fish, or fowl. A man who has been bound with ropes, or raided cattle and tethered them, is also believed to be a danger to his kin and descendants, but in a manner somewhat different from the one who has killed another. Sickness caused by sorcery or vengeance magic is believed to spread among kinsmen in much the same way as sickness due to the shedding of blood or binding with ropes, and the ritual performed as a protection against it is very similar to the ritual for 'rotting the ropes'.
