Only senior elders are allowed to go to the actual foot of the tree, and the elders of the four goat grade collect the wood for the ichua fire.
A gourd of honey and one of sugar cane beer are then poured into the ground at the base of the tree and the elders call out: “Twa kuthaitha Engai twa kuhoia mburi twa kuhoia indo chiothi”—“We pray to God, we sacrifice a goat, we offer all things.”
It is curious that they use the word mburi, which really signifies a goat, whilst the Kikuyu use the word mburi in a collective sense, which, in this way, often refers to sheep as well as goats.
The sheep is then suffocated by clasping its muzzle. As soon as it is insensible, but before it is actually dead, its throat is pierced by the sacrificial knife and the blood is collected in the half gourd called kinga, mentioned above. The blood is then poured out at the foot of the sacred tree, cf. [Exodus xxix. 10]: “And thou shalt slay the ram and thou shalt take his blood and sprinkle it round about upon the altar.” The animal can be strangled by any elder present, and it does not appear to be the duty of any particular person to pierce the animal’s throat. It is said that [[44]]the animal is strangled so that its life breath should not escape. A sheep killed for food is also strangled, but an animal which has its throat cut can also be eaten.
Should an ox be killed, it is stabbed at the back of the neck, but an ox is said never to be offered as a sacrifice.
The right half of the carcase is then skinned, that portion being cut away and removed, and the left half wrapped in the skin and placed at the foot of the tree and left there. This is believed to be eaten by a hyæna or wild cat which is moved to do so by the deity.
A fire is then lit at a little distance from the tree and the pieces of meat from it are stuck on skewers, roasted and eaten by the elders. In olden times this fire was always supposed to be kindled from new fire made by friction, but nowadays a firebrand is often brought from a village, or better still from a fire in a garden.
The place at which this sacrificial fire is kindled is called ichua. The meat is laid on the branches of certain sacred trees, viz:
- 1. Muthakwa.
- 2. Nahoroa.
- 3. Muthigio.
- 4. Mugumu.
- 5. Mararia.
which are collectively termed mathinjiro. The skewers used for roasting the meat are called ndara, and must be of muthakwa and muthigio wood. The branches and the skewers have to be burnt in the sacred fire on the same day as that on which the meat is cooked. The burning of these is said to be in the nature of a prayer to Engai, and it is specifically stated that this is not done for fear of anyone using these branches and skewers as fuel as everyone would dread touching them.