| caption: |
scarecrows, shrine of Kipuche |
| text: |
From the hall the path drops down to a stream and the fields were thick with scarecrows. Almost all of them in the form of men. On the way up the spur I was shown 3 stones half hidden in a bamboo clearing. These mark the shrine of Kipuche whom a priest worships on genna days on behalf of two clans, the Semoma and Thevoma of Khonoma. The other clan, the Merhema has similar stones elsewhere. The priest offers a fowl and says 'May the crops flourish. May no sores affect the body.' |
