REST DAYS
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REST DAYS
_A Study in Early Law and Morality_
BY
HUTTON WEBSTER, PH.D.
PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
AUTHOR OF “PRIMITIVE SECRET SOCIETIES”
“The study of their own species is doubtless the most interesting
and important that can claim the attention of mankind; and this
science, like all others, it is impossible to improve by abstract
speculation, merely. A regular series of authenticated facts is
what alone can enable us to rise towards a perfect knowledge in
it.”—WILLIAM MARSDEN, _The History of Sumatra_, London, 1811,
Preface.
New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1916
_All rights reserved_
COPYRIGHT, 1916,
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Set up and printed. Published May, 1916.
Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing Co.—Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
To MY WIFE
PREFACE
What perhaps might be described as the first edition of this work
appeared in 1911 in the _University Studies_ of the University of
Nebraska. The title of the original monograph has been retained for
the present volume, in which the same line of argument is followed and
the same conclusions are reached. After a lapse of nearly five years I
have not felt the necessity of modifying, to any essential degree, the
results of the earlier investigation. The book, then, differs from its
predecessor chiefly in providing a more extensive collection of the
relevant data.
Although much has been written on the Jewish Sabbath and the Christian
Sunday, and on the assumed Babylonian prototype of these institutions,
little inquiry has hitherto been made into the rest days so commonly
observed outside the Semitic area in antiquity and later ages. The
principal reason for this neglect of the comparative aspects of the
subject must doubtless be found in the still imperfect appreciation of
the fact that the great institutions of modern civilization have their
roots in the beliefs and customs, and often in the superstitions, of
savage and barbarian society. It will be the task of social anthropology,
by an impressive accumulation of evidence, to make this truth a
commonplace of popular knowledge.
Among the friends and correspondents who have aided me by criticisms
and suggestions I wish particularly to mention Dr. Crawford H. Toy, now
Professor Emeritus in Harvard University, and Dr. Louis H. Gray, now
Assistant Editor of Hastings’s _Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics_.
Mr. G. D. Swezey, Professor of Astronomy in the University of Nebraska,
was good enough to help me in some troublesome details relating to the
calendar. The late Walter Kendall Jewett, formerly University Librarian,
and the kindest and most genial of men, put at my disposal many books
which otherwise would have been difficult of access. To my honoured
colleague, Professor George Elliott Howard, I owe the inspiration,
reaching back to undergraduate days, which comes from association with
one whose devotion to scholarly ideals is matched only by his enthusiasm
for social service. Finally, I must acknowledge my obligation to
Chancellor Samuel Avery, whose interest in the book has made possible its
publication at this time.
HUTTON WEBSTER.
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, February, 1916.
ERRATA
Page 80, note 2, _read_: p. 156; Macrobius, _Satur-_
Page 92, note, _read_: αὖον ἀπὸ χλωροῦ τάμνειν αἴθωνι σιδήρῳ
Transcriber’s Note: The errata have been corrected.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Observance of days of abstinence and quiescence not unknown in the
lower culture, p. 1.—Probable origin of the sabbatarian regulations
in primitive taboos, pp. 1, 2.—_Tabu_ in Polynesia and equivalent
customs in other parts of the world, pp. 2, 3.—Classification of
taboos, p. 4.—Characteristics of taboos, pp. 4, 5.—Their animistic
sanctions, pp. 5, 6.—Reasons for imposing taboos which necessitate
abstinence and quiescence, pp. 6, 7.—Connection of communal taboos
with those observed by individuals, p. 7.
CHAPTER I
TABOOED DAYS AT CRITICAL EPOCHS
The institution of taboo in the Hawaiian Islands, pp. 8,
9.—Observance there of tabooed days, pp. 9, 10.—Likeness between
the Hawaiian Sabbaths and the sabbatarian regulations introduced by
missionaries, p. 10.—Communal taboos imposed when a chief temple
was consecrated, pp. 11-13; at the time of the celebration of the
New Year’s festival, p. 13; and in connection with the taking of
certain fish, p. 14.—The four regular _tabu_ periods in the Hawaiian
month, pp. 14, 15.—Tabooed days observed in the Society Islands,
the Marquesas Islands, and New Zealand, pp. 15-17.—In the Tonga
Islands a period of taboo imposed at the time of the first-fruits’
sacrifice, pp. 18, 19.—Days kept sacred to certain gods in Samoa and
other parts of Polynesia, pp. 19-21.—Tabooed days of the Fijians,
pp. 21-24.—Other instances of communal rest days in Polynesia,
pp. 24, 25.—General significance of the Polynesian evidence, p.
25.—Tabooed days not unknown in New Guinea, p. 26.—Tabooed days in
Borneo, pp. 26, 27.—Those observed by the Kayan of Sarawak and Dutch
Borneo, pp. 27-33; by the Iban or Sea Dyak, pp. 33-35; and by the
Land Dyak, pp. 36, 37.—General significance of the Bornean evidence,
pp. 37-39.—Observance of seasons of communal repose confined to the
Indonesian population of Borneo, pp. 39, 40.—Tabooed days in the
Nicobar Islands, pp. 40, 41; in Bali and Nias, pp. 41-43; in the
Mentawi Islands, pp. 43, 44; in Formosa, p. 44; and in the Philippine
Archipelago, pp. 44-49.—The _genna_ among the Naga tribes of Manipur,
pp. 49-53.—_Genna_ customs among other peoples of Assam, pp.
53-55.—Customs allied to the _genna_ in Burma, pp. 55-58.—Indo-China
probably the centre of diffusion of the _genna_, p. 58.—Resemblance
of communal rest days to the practice of the _couvade_, pp. 58,
59.—Psychological and sociological aspects of these communal
regulations, pp. 59, 60.—Days of abstinence and quiescence mark
crises in the community life, pp. 60, 61.
CHAPTER II
TABOOED DAYS AFTER A DEATH AND ON RELATED OCCASIONS
Prohibition of work and other forms of activity a common regulation
following a death, p. 62.—The animistic explanation of this taboo,
pp. 62, 63.—Belief in the pollution of death, p. 63.—Many instances
of communal taboos imposing abstinence and quiescence to be found
among semi-civilized peoples in various parts of the world: in the
East Indian Archipelago, pp. 63, 64; among the tribes of Borneo, p.
65; in Assam, pp. 65, 66; in India and Tibet, pp. 66, 67; throughout
Africa, pp. 67-70; in Madagascar, p. 70; in North America, especially
among the Eskimo, pp. 70-73; and among some Siberian tribes, pp.
73, 74.—Survivals of such taboos in the funeral observances of
civilized peoples, p. 74.—Similar regulations imposed in connection
with feasts of the dead and ceremonies of demon-expulsion, pp. 74,
75.—The evidence from Africa, pp. 75-78.—Unlucky days observed by
the Athenians in connection with the festivals of the Genesia and
the Anthesteria, pp. 79, 80.—Unlucky days observed by the Romans in
connection with the festivals of the Parentalia and the Lemuria,
pp. 80, 81.—The Hebrew Day of Atonement, pp. 81-83.—The Feast of
Sacrifices in Islam, p. 83.—World-wide diffusion of the custom of
observing tabooed days after a death and on related occasions, p. 84.
CHAPTER III
HOLY DAYS
Characteristics of religious festivals, p. 85.—Festival times often
marked by cessation of labour, pp. 85, 86.—Origin of the conception
of a “holy” day, pp. 86, 87.—Consecration of holy days to particular
divinities, pp. 87, 88.—Connection between tabooed days and holy
days, p. 88.—The taboo element in the festivals observed by Dravidian
peoples of India, pp. 88-90.—The Hebrew Day of First-fruits, pp. 90,
91.—Greek holy days, p. 91.—The Athenian Plynteria, pp. 92, 93.—The
Roman Vestalia, pp. 93, 94.—Ferial days of the Romans as tabooed
days, pp. 94-100.
CHAPTER IV
MARKET DAYS
The observance of periodic rest days confined to agricultural
peoples, pp. 101, 102.—Connection of these days with the institution
of the market, pp. 102, 103.—The evidence for market weeks and market
days in various parts of the world: in New Guinea and Melanesia, pp.
103, 104; in Celebes, Sumatra, Java, and the Malay Peninsula, pp.
104, 105; in Tonkin, Siam, and Assam, pp. 105, 106; throughout the
central parts of Africa, pp. 106-108; among the Congo negroes, pp.
109, 110; and among the Guinea negroes, pp. 110-117.—Origin of the
market week in Africa, pp. 117, 118.—Sabbatarian features of the west
African market day, p. 118.—Market weeks and market days in ancient
Mexico and Peru, pp. 118-120.—The Roman nundinal day, pp. 120-123.
CHAPTER V
LUNAR SUPERSTITIONS AND FESTIVALS
Great importance assigned to the moon by primitive peoples, pp. 124,
125.—The lunar rays often believed to be deleterious to both children
and adults, pp. 125-127.—The moon supposed to cause menstruation and
impregnation, pp. 127-130.—Influence of the moon on the tides, p.
130.—Belief that the moon affects the growth of vegetation, pp. 130,
131.—Doctrine of lunar sympathy, p. 131.—The waxing moon commonly
regarded as favourable, the waning moon as unfavourable, for business
of various sorts, pp. 131-134.—Lunar eclipses sometimes marked by a
general suspension of activity, pp. 134, 135.—The _interlunium_ often
observed by a cessation of labour, pp. 136-140.—Ceremonies performed
at new moon, pp. 140-142.—Seasons of abstinence and restriction at
new moon and full moon, p. 143.—Tabooed days in connection with
the lunar changes found among the Bantu peoples of Africa, pp.
144-148.—Lunar taboos in modern India, pp. 148, 149.—The _upavasatha_
of the Aryans of ancient India, pp. 149-151.—Sabbatarian observance
of lunar days in post-Vedic times, pp. 151-154.—The _posaha_ of
Jainism, pp. 154, 155.—The Buddhist Sabbath, or _uposatha_, pp.
155-158.—Introduction of the _uposatha_ into Ceylon, Burma, Siam,
and Cambodia, pp. 158-162.—The Buddhist Sabbath in Tibet, Mongolia,
China, and Japan, pp. 162-164.—Lunar days observed in Indonesia,
pp. 164, 165.—Lunar festivals of the ancient Iranians, pp. 165,
166.—Lunar festivals in ancient Egypt, pp. 166-169.—The Greek
Noumenia and Dichomenia, pp. 169, 170.—The Roman Kalends, Nones, and
Ides, p. 170.—The _dies postriduani_, pp. 170, 171.—Lunar festivals
in heathen Europe, p. 172.
CHAPTER VI
LUNAR CALENDARS AND THE WEEK
Beginnings of the calendar, p. 173.—The moon as the measure of
time, pp. 173-175.—Popular calendars based on the moon, pp. 175,
176.—The lunar year, pp. 176, 177.—Adjustment of the lunar year to
the solar year, pp. 177, 178.—Calendarizing of the lunation, p.
178.—Commencement of the lunar month, pp. 178, 179.—Phases of the
moon often named and used for time-reckonings, pp. 180-182.—Bipartite
division of the lunation, pp. 182-186.—Shorter divisions of the
lunation, pp. 187, 188.—The decade, pp. 188-192.—The ennead, pp. 192,
193.—The octad, pp. 193, 194.—Six-day weeks, p. 194.—The pentad, pp.
194-196.—The hebdomad, pp. 196, 197.—Diffusion of the hebdomadal
cycle: in Africa, pp. 197-199; in India, pp. 199-201; in southeastern
Asia, p. 201; in China and Japan, pp. 202-204; and in the Malay
Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago, pp. 204, 205.—The Arabic
week and the Mohammedan Sabbath, pp. 205, 206.—Mystic numbers in
general, pp. 206-208.—Seven as a mystic number among semi-civilized
peoples, pp. 208-211.—Symbolism of seven in ancient India, Greece,
and Babylonia, pp. 211-212.—The seven planets and planetary deities
of the Babylonians, pp. 213-215.—The planetary week, pp. 215,
216.—Theories of its origin, pp. 216-218.—Spread of the planetary
week in the Roman Empire, pp. 218, 219.—Adoption of the planetary
designations of the weekdays by the Christians, pp. 220, 221.—Spread
of the planetary week among Romance, Germanic, and Slavic peoples
during the early Middle Ages, pp. 221, 222.
CHAPTER VII
THE BABYLONIAN “EVIL DAYS” AND THE SHABATTUM
The “evil days” of the months of Elul II and Markheshwan, pp.
223, 224.—Possible explanations of the origin of these days, pp.
224, 225.—The Babylonian lunar month, p. 226.—Determination of
the beginning of the month, pp. 226, 227.—Adjustment of septenary
divisions to the lunation, pp. 227, 228.—Association of septenary
divisions with successive phases of the moon, pp. 228, 229.—The
seven-day cycles in Babylonia not true “weeks,” pp. 229, 230.—Special
significance attached to the seventh day, pp. 230, 231.—Taboo in
Babylonia, pp. 231, 232.—Prohibitions observed on the seventh day, p.
232.—Their connection with primitive taboos, pp. 232-234.—How far the
seventh day was marked by a general abstention from labour, pp. 234,
235.—The term _shabattum_, pp. 235, 236.—Various explanations of its
meaning, pp. 236-238.—_Shabattum_ applied to the fifteenth day of the
month, pp. 238, 239.—Festival observance of new moon and full moon by
the Babylonians, pp. 239, 240.—Probable connection of the _shabattum_
with the “evil days,” pp. 240, 241.
CHAPTER VIII
THE HEBREW SABBATH
The Sabbath an ancient institution, pp. 242, 243.—The theory of its
origin in the worship of Saturn untenable, pp. 243, 244.—Connection
of the Sabbath Day with Saturday, pp. 244, 245.—The Sabbath, with
the seven-day week, not borrowed from Egypt or Babylonia, pp. 245,
246.—Importance of the moon to the early Hebrews, pp. 246-248.—The
festival of the new moon, pp. 248, 249.—Observance of the new-moon
day by abstinence from work, pp. 249, 250.—Religious significance
attached to the day of full moon, pp. 250, 251.—The Sabbath
originally the full-moon day, p. 251.—Early association of new moon
and the Sabbath, pp. 251-253.—The term _shabbath_ later applied to
every seventh day of the month, p. 253.—Differences between the
Hebrew seven-day week and the septenary cycle of the Babylonians,
pp. 253, 254.—The Hebrew week probably at first no periodic but
connected with the lunation, pp. 254, 255.—Obsolescence of the
new-moon day as a day of rest, p. 255, 256.—Character of the Sabbath
in pre-Exilic times, p. 256.—Various sabbatarian regulations to be
explained as taboos, pp. 256-262.—Revival in post-Exilic times of the
austere significance attached to the Sabbath, pp. 262, 263.—Strict
observance of the Sabbath rest according to the rules of pharisaic
Judaism, pp. 263, 264.—The Sabbath as a day of gladness and good
cheer, pp. 264-266.—Introduction of the Sabbath into the Roman world,
pp. 266, 267.—The Lord’s Day as observed by the early Christians,
pp. 267, 268.—Their adoption of the pagan designation Sunday, p.
268.—Ecclesiastical recognition of Saturday as a holy day, p.
269.—The Lord’s Day not at first marked by abstinence from labour,
pp. 269, 270.—Beginning of Sunday legislation, pp. 270, 271.
CHAPTER IX
UNLUCKY DAYS
The belief in unlucky days frequently a result of erroneous
association of ideas, pp. 272-274.—The observation of natural
phenomena sometimes accounts for the unlucky character attached
to certain times, pp. 274, 275.—The conception of unluckiness
sometimes deduced from the assumed critical nature of certain
periods, such as epagomenal months and days, p. 276.—The Twelve Days
in ancient India, pp. 276, 277.—European folklore of the Twelve
Days, pp. 277-279.—Unlucky character of the five supplementary
days in the Mexican and Maya calendars, pp. 279-281.—The five
supplementary days among the ancient Egyptians, Persians, and
Armenians, pp. 281-283.—Epagomenal days in the French Republican
calendar, p. 283.—Some unlucky days observed in southeastern
Europe probably derived from the holy days of classical antiquity,
pp. 283-285.—Likeness between tabooed days and the unlucky days
observed in southeastern Asia, pp. 285-288.—The Toda rest days, pp.
288-292.—Rest days of the Siah Posh Kafirs, pp. 293, 294.—Unlucky
days among the Malagasy, pp. 294, 295.—Egyptian calendars of lucky
and unlucky days, pp. 295-297.—A Babylonian calendar, pp. 297,
298.—The Hesiodic calendar, pp. 298, 299.—Unlucky days observed
during the Middle Ages, pp. 299-301.—Decline of the superstition
after the Reformation, p. 301.
CONCLUSION
The observance of tabooed and unlucky days exerts a hampering
influence on social and economic progress, pp. 302, 303.—Non-working
days in Hawaii, in Ashanti, and among the Hopi Indians of Arizona, p.
303.—The numerous religious festivals held in modern China and Korea
and in ancient Egypt and Greece, pp. 303, 304.—Excessive development
of Roman festivals, pp. 304-306.—Holy days in the religious calendar
of Christendom, pp. 306, 307.—Passage of the holy day into the
holiday, pp. 307, 308.
REST DAYS
INTRODUCTION
The custom of refraining from labour on certain occasions is by no means
unknown to peoples in the lower stages of culture. Associated practices
include the discontinuance of public gatherings, the closing of the house
or of the village against all strangers, the extinguishing of lights, and
fasting, either partial or complete. Bright and gay dresses may be laid
aside, bathing and anointing given up, and songs, dances, and loud noises
forbidden. Under these conditions the cessation of labour merges into a
cessation of all the usual activities. The day of rest becomes a day of
abstinence and quiescence.
It might be thought that such observances, especially those which impose
a period of rest, have a rationalistic basis and arise from man’s need
of relaxation and idleness as a relief from daily toil and the harsh
conditions of existence. Yet for the vast proportion of the rest days
observed by primitive peoples it would be rash to assume an origin in
considerations of practical utility. A survey of the evidence to be
submitted indicates that the sabbatarian regulations have arisen chiefly,
if not wholly, as pure superstitions, the product of an all-too-logical
intellect or of a disordered fancy. In the last analysis they are based
primarily on fear, that “fear of things invisible,” which Hobbes,
foreshadowing modern anthropological theories, regarded as “the natural
seed of religion.”[1] They find their clearest expression in the
“taboos,” or prohibitions, first noticed among the natives of the South
Seas, but now known to exist in many other regions of the aboriginal
world.[2]
“Taboo,” from the Polynesian _tabu_, is one of the few words which the
languages of the Pacific have contributed to our English speech. _Tabu_
appears to be, properly, the Tonga term, _tapu_, the word as found in
Samoa, the Marquesas Islands, the Society Islands, and New Zealand, and
_kapu_, the Hawaiian expression.[3] The etymology of _tapu_ is uncertain,
though an attempt has been made to derive it from _ta_, to mark, and
_pu_, an adverb of intensity. The compound _tapu_ would then mean “marked
thoroughly,” and would come to signify “sacred” in a secondary sense,
since sacred things and places were commonly indicated in a particular
manner.[4] The word _tapua’i_ means “to abstain from all work, games,
etc.”[5]—a translation which indicates how intimately the idea of
abstinence was associated with the notion of _tapu_.
In all the Polynesian languages _tapu_ or _tabu_ appears to have been
employed with an adjectival meaning, referring to something holy, sacred,
and inviolable, or to something polluted and accursed. The word, we
learn, did not imply any moral quality, but expressed “a connection
with the gods, or a separation from ordinary purposes, and exclusive
appropriation to persons or things considered sacred; sometimes it means
devoted as by a vow.”[6] In a derivative sense _tabu_ came naturally
to signify “forbidden” or “prohibited”;[7] and this is the most general
meaning of the word in its anglicized form. But in anthropological usage
the term “taboo” refers, not to all negative regulations or prohibitions,
but to those only which are supported by a supernatural sanction and the
violation of which is visited with a supernatural punishment.
The progress of comparative research has shown that conceptions very
similar to the Polynesian _tabu_ have a wide prevalence in the lower
culture and even among peoples of archaic civilization. The Melanesian
_tambu_, though never signifying any inherent holiness or awfulness, does
refer to the sacred and unapproachable character which things may possess
when solemnly cursed in the name of a powerful ghost or spirit.[8] Among
the natives of the Gabun colony of French Equatorial Africa _orunda_
meant, originally, “prohibited from human use.” Under missionary hands
the word developed into its related sense of “sacred to spiritual use,”
and in the Mpongwe Scriptures _orunda_ serves as the translation of
our word “holy.”[9] The Malagasy equivalent of _tabu_ is _fady_, which
means, primarily, “dangerous,” but which has the derivative meanings
_sacré_, “prohibited,” “ill-omened,” “unlucky.”[10] Anthropologically, it
is no far cry from such expressions to the Greek ἅγιος or to the Latin
_sacer_, since each of these terms conveys the twin ideas of sanctity and
pollution.[11]
It is convenient to distinguish between taboos which are artificially
imposed and those which follow inevitably as the consequence of
particular acts or as the outcome of certain situations. Thus, a chief
may set a taboo over the common crops until harvest time, or a private
individual may protect his own property through the use of the same
supernatural machinery: these are prohibitions analogous to the laws of
an advanced society, though supported by sanctions both human and divine.
On the other hand, new-born children with their mothers, strangers,
manslayers, and mourners are frequently subjected to taboos which exist
in the social consciousness rather as well-defined customs of anonymous
origin than as specific ordinances laid down by some superior authority.
In both cases, however, it is legitimate to suppose that a reason has
always existed for the ascription of the _tabu_ character to persons and
things—although an explanation may not now be forthcoming and although
the ideas on which the practice was once based may have become obscure or
meaningless with the lapse of time.
A comparative study of the taboos observed by primitive peoples indicates
that originally things or persons are tabooed because they are considered
dangerous, mysterious, abnormal, uncanny, “awful”—because they are felt
to be potent for weal or woe in the life of man. Primitive psychology,
refining these ideas and applying them to different classes of phenomena,
produces the cognate notions of pollution and sanctity. The corpse is
unclean; the shedder of human blood is likewise unclean; but the chief
or king, who belongs to a superior order of beings, is sacrosanct or
holy. These characteristics are easily regarded as infectious, as capable
of transmission, not alone by physical contact, but also by sight and
mere proximity. It is probably true that, in using such expressions as
“contagion” and “infection,” we are resorting to a refined terminology to
express what must be really simpler in the thought of the savage. Living
in a mental stage where distinctions of cause and effect are not clearly
drawn, where a rigid distinction of the natural and the supernatural can
scarcely be said to exist at all, he finds no difficulty in imagining an
universe in which all things have power, after their kind, a power for
good or a power for ill—in other words, have _mana_. This now-familiar
Melanesian term, like the Algonkin _manitou_, the Iroquoian _orenda_, and
the Siouan _wakanda_, may be said to express early man’s sense of those
ever-present, though vague and impersonal, forces immanent in nature.[12]
At the same time the fact must be recognized that the majority of taboos
are now supported by animistic beliefs of a much more precise character.
The penalty for the infraction of a taboo is generally death or some
physical ailment supposed to be inflicted by the offended spirits or
demons.[13] The Polynesian _atua_, by entering the body of any impious
person, caused disease or “intestinal embarrassment”: the culprit
forthwith swelled up and died. The same demonic beings, if angered,
might visit entire tribes with an epidemic, or send down lightning and
fire from heaven, or bring about the unsuccessful issue of a war.[14]
Among the Kayan and other pagan tribes of Borneo the minor spirits, or
_toh_, play a considerable part in the regulation of conduct. They are
the powers that bring misfortunes upon an entire house or village when
any member of it ignores taboos or otherwise violates tribal customs,
without performing the propitiatory rites demanded by the occasion. “Thus
on them, rather than on the gods, are founded the effective sanctions
of prohibitive rules of conduct.”[15] Among the Akikuyu of British East
Africa, who possess a most elaborate system of taboos, it is a general
belief that any one in the condition of _thahu_ becomes emaciated and ill
or breaks out in eruptions and boils. If the _thahu_ is not removed, the
patient will die. “In many cases this undoubtedly happens by the process
of auto-suggestion, as it never occurs to the Kikuyu mind to be skeptical
in a matter of this kind. It is said that the _thahu_ condition is
caused by the _ngoma_, or spirits of departed ancestors, but the process
does not seem to have been analyzed any further.”[16] The Babylonians,
again, appear to have entertained very definite conceptions of taboo,
and conceptions, equally definite, of the evil spirits which vexed the
soul and body of one who had infringed a _mamit_, or prohibition with a
supernatural penalty.[17] With the progress of religious conceptions the
punishment of the taboo-breaker may come to be regarded as an important
function of the tribal or national god, whose chief concern is the
maintenance of the customary moral rules.
Since persons, objects, and even actions are all liable to infection,
prudence dictates a variety of precautions: the dangerous individual or
thing is removed to a safe distance; or is carefully isolated; or is
subjected to a series of insulating regulations. The entire community
is interested in such proceedings, and on certain occasions may itself
be placed under a rigid quarantine. When this happens, a period of
abstinence and quiescence is regarded as the surest means of avoiding
dangers felt to threaten each and every member of the social group.
Nor will the procedure greatly differ where distinctly animistic ideas
prevail, and when the impending danger is specifically attributed to the
action of spiritual beings or of gods. In the latter case, it is true,
the idea of propitiation becomes increasingly prominent, since it is
often felt to be necessary to appease by various rites and ceremonies the
supernatural powers responsible for the visitation. The two conceptions
of abstinence and propitiation are not, indeed, always sharply
distinguishable in concrete cases, and with advancing culture they tend
to become more and more closely conjoined.
It is highly probable that the origin of some of the communal regulations
is to be sought in the taboos observed by persons at such great and
critical seasons as birth, puberty, marriage, and death.[18] Comparative
studies have indicated how numerous are the prohibitions which attach to
these times of high solemnity and significance; and it is reasonable to
suppose that, with the deepening sense of social solidarity, observances
once confined to the individual alone, or to his immediate connections,
would often pass over into rites performed by the community at large.
Some evidence tending to substantiate this opinion will be presented
incidentally as the investigation proceeds.
CHAPTER I
TABOOED DAYS AT CRITICAL EPOCHS
Our knowledge of taboo within the Polynesian area rests chiefly on the
vague and unsatisfactory accounts by early missionaries, who were unable
to describe much more than its exterior aspects, its origin and inner
significance having quite escaped their consideration. Fundamentally,
the system of taboos formed a religious institution, if religion be
understood in its broadest sense as a recognition of the supernatural.
The Polynesian belief that the violator of a taboo would be punished
by the offended _atua_, or spirits, readily lent itself to priestcraft
and statecraft and so became in the hands of the ruling classes an
_instrumentum regni_, a powerful engine of social and political control.
In Hawaii, where the superstitions in question reached their most
elaborate and grotesque development, communal taboos could be imposed
only by the priests, although this action was often taken at the instance
of the civil authorities. Police officers were even appointed to make
sure that all prohibitions were strictly observed. For every breach of
the rules the death penalty was inflicted, unless the delinquent had some
very powerful friends who themselves were either priests or chiefs.
The range of these Hawaiian taboos, as extended for reasons of state or
religion, was very wide. We are told that idols, temples, the persons and
names of the king and his family, the persons of the priests, and the
houses and clothes of the king and priests were always _tabu_. Certain
much-prized articles of food, besides almost everything offered in
sacrifice, were reserved by taboos for gods and men; hence women, except
in cases of particular indulgence, were restricted from using them.
Sometimes an entire island or district was tabooed and no one was allowed
to approach it.[19]
The institution of taboo also included regulations for the special
observance of certain times and seasons. Their duration was various, and
apparently much longer in remote ages than in the period immediately
preceding the arrival of the missionaries. In Hawaii, before the reign
of Kamehameha II, forty days was the usual length of time. There were
also periods of ten days and of five days, and sometimes of only one
day. Tradition declares, however, that once a taboo was in force for
thirty years and that during this time the men were not allowed to trim
their beards. A tabooed period kept for five years is also mentioned.
Elsewhere in the South Seas less extensive periods prevailed, the longest
known being at Huahine, one of the Society Islands, where a season of
abstinence is said to have lasted for ten or twelve years.[20]
The observance of such taboos varied according as they were common or
strict. When a common season prevailed, the men were required only
to abstain from their usual duties and to attend at the _heiau_, or
temple, where prayers were offered every morning and evening. During a
period strictly tabooed the regulations had a sterner character, and in
consequence a general gloom and silence pervaded the whole district or
island. Every fire and light was extinguished; canoes were not launched;
no person bathed; and no one was to be seen out of doors, save those
whose presence was required at the temple. Even the lower creation felt
the force of the law: “no dog must bark, no pig must grunt, no cock must
crow—or the _tabu_ would be broken, and fail to accomplish the object
designed. On these occasions they tied up the mouths of the dogs and
pigs, and put the fowls under a calabash, or fastened a piece of cloth
over their eyes.”[21] From another account we learn that any one found
in a canoe on a _tabu_ day incurred the death penalty, and that the same
Draconian punishment was meted out to the individual who indulged in
carnal pleasures or made only a noise at such a time.[22]
The sabbatarian regulations introduced by Christian missionaries among
their Hawaiian adherents presented no sharp contrast to the rigours
of the old dispensation. The natives even called Sunday _la tabu_,
“the tabooed day.” No food was cooked on that day, the meals being all
prepared on the previous Saturday; no fires were kindled; and no canoes
were paddled. The people neither fished nor tilled the soil and, if on
a journey, they halted until the sacred day was over.[23] In Tahiti,
also, the Sunday rest was rigidly maintained. On that day no canoes were
launched, and no person was seen abroad except on the road to church or
when returning from divine service. The success of the missionaries in
introducing this strict observance of Sunday was, we learn, “ascribed by
themselves in a great degree to its analogy to the taboo days of heathen
times.”[24]
Communal taboos were observed by the Hawaiian Islanders generally in
connection with important religious ceremonies. Of these, one of the
most elaborate was the consecration of a _luakini_, or chief temple. The
rites, which were often performed just before a war in order to insure
victory, occupied ten or more days. After a solemn purification of the
island or district all the people were summoned to divine service, during
which a priest sprinkled them with holy water, _i.e._, salt water mixed
with a little turmeric, some moss, and a bunch of a sacred fern. “The
next thing in order was to bring down the principal idol, called the
_hakuohia_, from the forest. A great procession was formed, consisting of
the king, the _hakuohia_ priest, and a crowd of attendants carrying idols
and various offerings, and leading a human victim. The tree had been
selected and the axe consecrated the day before. On arriving at the tree,
the priest recited the appropriate _aha_ [prayer] amid dead silence,
after which the king pronounced the _amama_ [spell], and killed the hog
with a single blow. The priest inquired whether any sound of man or beast
or bird or cricket had been heard during the _aha_, and if not, it was a
good omen. The doomed man was then brought forward, and offered to the
god by the king, after which his body was buried at the foot of the tree.
The consecrated hog was baked in an oven on the spot, while the tree was
cut down, trimmed, and covered with _ieie_ vines. After the company had
feasted, a procession was formed with the feather-gods in front, followed
by the chiefs and people with _pala_ fern, _ohia_-branches, etc., and
others carrying the new idol.... The inhabitants remained indoors, for it
was death to meet the procession, and all fires were strictly forbidden.
The images were finally carried to the _heiau_, where they were deposited
with shoutings and beating of drums.”[25] Following this rite came a long
series of services at the _heiau_. The night of the great _aha_ “was
the most solemn and critical of all. The omens were carefully observed,
and prayers were offered in every house for the success of the coming
_aha_, and for auspicious weather, that there might be no wind or rain,
no thunder or lightning, no high surf, and no sound of man or beast to
mar the ceremonies. If the sky was clear and everything favourable,
between midnight and morning the king and high-priest entered the small
house, called _waiea_, to perform the great _aha_ (_hulahula_), while the
congregation sat in front of the _mana_ house, listening and watching
in profound silence. The king stood listening intently and holding a
pig, while the high-priest, clad in white _kapa_, and holding a _lama_
rod wound with _aloa_ (white _kapa_), recited the long prayer. At its
close the king killed the pig with a single blow, and offered it up with
a short prayer to the four great gods. The priests then asked the king
whether the _aha_ was perfect, and whether he had heard the voice of man
or dog or mouse or fowl, or anything else during the prayer. If not, he
tapped the large drum as a signal that it was over, and they both went
out to question the assembly outside. If no one had heard a sound during
the ceremony, the high-priest congratulated the king, and predicted for
him victory and long life. The people then raised loud shouts of _Lele
wale ka aha e!_ which were repeated by all who heard them, and so the
news travelled far and wide.”[26] Such were some of the ceremonies at
the dedication of an important temple.[27]
Communal taboos also marked the celebration by the Hawaiians of the
great _makahiki_, or New Year’s festival, sacred to the god Lono. On the
twenty-third of the month Welehu, which nearly corresponded to November,
Lono’s image was decorated and, when night came on, all the people went
to bathe in the sea. This rite of purification having been accomplished,
men and women donned new clothing in preparation for the festival which
began at sunrise on the morrow. During the four days of its continuance
no fishing, no bathing, no pounding of _kapa_, and no beating of drums
or blowing of conchs was permitted. Land and sky and sea were _tabu_
to Lono, and only feasting and games were allowed. The high-priest was
blindfolded and remained in seclusion. On the fifth day the bandage was
removed from his eyes and canoes were allowed to put to sea. On the
sixth day the _tabu_ season began again and continued for about twenty
days longer. The festivities at length drew to a close, the ornaments of
Lono’s image were packed up and deposited in the temple for use another
year, and all restrictions on fishing and farming were taken off—_noa ka
makahiki_.[28]
In old Hawaii, as in the other Polynesian islands, fishing formed one
of the chief means of livelihood and ranked next to agriculture in
importance. The fishermen, who composed almost a distinct class, observed
many religious rites peculiar to themselves. For instance, a man would
not venture to use a new net or to build and launch a new canoe, without
prayer and sacrifice to his gods. Communal regulations relating to
fishing were imposed twice a year in connection with two sacred fish,
the _aku_, or bonito, and the _opelu_. Each was _tabu_ by turns for six
months. In Hinaiaelee (July) the taboo began on the first night of the
month, at which time no fire might be kindled, and no sound of man or
beast or fowl might break the profound silence. The following morning
the high-priest repaired to the house of Ku-ula, the god of fishermen,
to offer a pig and to recite the great _aha_, as during a dedication.
Meanwhile a man was sent to the woods to gather _pala_ fern. All that day
a solemn rest was observed on shore. Next morning the head fisherman,
wearing a white _malo_, or girdle, took the sacred fern and a new net in
his canoe and put to sea. After prayers to his tutelary deities and to Ku
the fisherman proceeded to cast the net. If he and his crew made a haul
of _opelu_, they paddled joyfully for the shore and presented the fish
to the high-priest, who sent some to the king and placed the rest on the
altar in the temple. Next day the _opelu_ became _noa_, or free to all,
but the _aku_ in its turn was prohibited to human use for six months, and
was not to be eaten on pain of death.[29]
The Hawaiian religious system included a remarkable approximation to
the institution of a weekly Sabbath. In every lunar month there were
four tabu periods, dedicated severally to the four great gods of the
native pantheon. The first was that of Ku, from the third to the sixth
night; the second, that of Hua, at full moon, including the fourteenth
and fifteenth nights; the third, that of Kaloa, on the twenty-fourth and
twenty-fifth nights; and the fourth, that of Kane, on the twenty-seventh
and twenty-eighth nights. During these _tabu_ periods a devout king
generally remained in the _heiau_, busy with prayer and sacrifice. Women
at such times were forbidden to enter canoes, and sexual intercourse was
also prohibited.[30]
The occasions when seasons of communal abstinence and quiescence were
enforced in the Society Islands, the Marquesas Islands, Samoa, and New
Zealand were not always the same as in the Hawaiian group. Divergencies
of custom might well be expected among the widely scattered divisions of
the Polynesian race. But, if such rites as those for the dedication of a
temple or for the observance of four _tabu_ periods in every month were
confined to the Hawaiians, some other ceremonies, notably those connected
with fishing, were much alike throughout the entire Pacific area.
In the Society and the Marquesas islands the bonito fishing in November
or December opened with a ceremony removing the prohibition which
had previously rested on the capture of that fish. A strict taboo of
all activity marked the first day of the proceedings: no one could
approach the seashore, or make a fire, or cook food, or even eat before
the going-down of the sun. The customary employments of the men in
canoe-building and house-building, of the women in the preparation of
cloths, mats, and thread, were abandoned; “in a word, all work was
forbidden; it was a day of silence and of devotion.” Meanwhile the
priests remained in the _marai_, or temple, engaged in prayer; and
their assistants prepared an altar to receive the first-fruits of the
fishing. At nightfall the single canoe which had gone forth to the
fishing returned with the catch of bonito. Several of the largest fish
were placed on the altar, and the others were entirely consumed in a
blazing fire before the altar. The fish caught on this day belonged to
the gods and those on the following day to the high-priest; but on the
third day fishing was opened to all.[31] Among the Maori of New Zealand
the preparations for mackerel fishing included the observance of various
taboos. Every one concerned in making or mending nets, the ground where
the nets were made, and the river, on the banks of which the work went
on, were in a state of sacredness. Nobody might walk over the ground, no
canoe might pass up and down the river, no fire might be made within a
prescribed distance, and no food might be prepared, until the holy season
came to an end.[32] In this instance only fishermen and their assistants
appear to have been subject to the restrictions. The Maori, however,
observed communal taboos in connection with the planting of the _kumara_,
or sweet potato, formerly the most important agricultural product of New
Zealand and the chief reliance of the natives for food. An old chief of
Mokoia Island, Lake Rotorua, has described how, when the time to plant
_kumara_ arrived, the priests went forth to the woods for branches of the
sacred _mapau_ tree. “On that day and the day following, everything was
_tapu_. The people fasted and did no cooking. The waters of the lake were
_tapu_; no canoes were allowed to put out and no fishing was done.” The
priests took the _mapau_ twigs to the stone image of the _kumara_-god
(still kept on the island), and laying them on the idol, prayed for an
abundant harvest. In the evening they went to the gardens and stuck
the branches in the earth. The skull of a tribal chief of _ariki_ rank
was disinterred and placed beside the _mapau_ sticks, in order that
the _mana_, or magical power of the dead chieftain, might guard the
plantation and assist in securing a bountiful harvest.[33]
Still another critical epoch when the Maori subjected themselves to
communal taboos occurred at the beginning of a war. Hostilities having
been decided on, the first thing necessary was to take the auspices
by casting the _niu_. One of the leading priests procured a quantity
of fern-stalks, some of which represented spears, and the remainder,
warriors. The warrior-sticks were stuck in a mat and a fern-stalk
was hurled at each one. If the missile fell on the left side of the
warrior-stick, this was a sign that the person whom it represented would
fall in battle, if on the right side, that he would live. A similar
procedure was enacted with sticks named for enemies, and for the men,
women, and children who were to be left at home. On the completion of the
_niu_ ceremony, the priests lifted the taboo which had rested over the
settlement, a taboo imposing abstinence from food, but not, apparently,
from work.[34]
The sacrifice of first-fruits seems to have formed a regular part of
the religious system of the Polynesian peoples, for we possess specific
references to it among the Hawaiians, the Samoans, the New Zealanders,
the natives of the Society Islands, and those of the Tonga Islands. In
the latter group the ceremony, called _inachi_, generally took place
about October. It was observed with scrupulous care, since the people
believed that to neglect it would bring upon them the vengeance of the
gods. We are fortunate in possessing a detailed description of the
ceremony by an eye-witness of it.[35] According to William Mariner the
word _inachi_ referred to that portion of the fruits of the earth and of
other eatables which was offered to the god in the person of the divine
chief Tooitonga, an allotment made once a year, just before the yam crop
had arrived at maturity. On the day before the ceremony the first-fruits
of the yam season were dug up, ornamented with ribbons, and dyed red,
in preparation for the procession on the morrow. “The sun has scarcely
set when the sound of the conch begins again to echo through the island,
increasing as the night advances. At the _mooa_ [capital] and all the
plantations the voices of men and women are heard singing _Nófo, óooa
tegger gnaoóe, óooa gnaoóe_, ‘Rest thou, doing no work; thou shalt not
work.’[36] This increases till midnight, men generally singing the first
part of the sentence, and the women the last, to produce a more pleasing
effect: it then subsides for three or four hours, and again increases
as the sun rises. Nobody, however, is seen stirring out in the public
roads till about eight o’clock, when the people from all quarters of the
island are seen advancing towards the _mooa_, and canoes from all the
other islands landing their men; so that all the inhabitants of Tonga
seem approaching by sea and land, singing and sounding the conch. At the
_mooa_ itself the universal bustle of preparation is seen and heard; and
the different processions entering from various quarters, of men and
women, all dressed up in new _gnatoos_, ornamented with red ribbons and
wreaths of flowers, and the men armed with spears and clubs, betoken
the importance of the ceremony about to be performed.” The proceedings
consisted in the solemn presentation of the first-fruits to the divine
chief at the grave of his predecessor, and closed with a feast and
dance. Then the people returned to their homes, perfectly assured of the
protection of the gods.
The natives of Samoa possessed a remarkably complex pantheon of household
and village gods, the recipients of prayer and sacrifice, and, in the
case of the village gods, honoured with temples, priests, and annual
festivals. The Samoans had also war-gods, who in character resembled
the other deities, since they were supposed to be incarnate in animals
or embodied in inanimate objects.[37] One of these militant divinities
was the cuttle-fish (_fe’e_), said to have been imported from Fiji. In
one place Fe’e was a general village god whose province was not confined
to war. “The month of May was sacred to his worship. No traveller was
then allowed to pass through the village by the public road; nor was any
canoe allowed in the lagoon off that part of the settlement. There was
great feasting, too, on these occasions, and also games, club exercise,
spear-throwing, wrestling, etc.... In another district three months
were sacred to the worship of Fe’e. During that time any one passing
along the road, or in the lagoon, would be beaten, if not killed, for
insulting the god. For the first month torches and all other lights
were forbidden, as the god was about and did not wish to be seen. White
turbans were also forbidden during the festivities, and confined to war.
At this time, also, all unsightly burdens—such as a log of firewood on
the shoulder—were forbidden, lest it should be considered by the god as
a mockery of his _tentacula_.”[38] Another village god, who rejoiced in
the name of Titi Usi, or Glittering Leaf Girdle, received worship at
the new moon. “At that time all work was suspended for a day or two.
The cocoanut-leaf blinds were kept down, and the people sat still in
their houses. Any one walking in front of the house risked a beating.
After prayer and feasting a man went about and blew a shell-trumpet as
a sign to all that the ceremonies were over, and that the usual routine
of village and family life might be resumed.”[39] The festivals of the
other village deities of Samoa seem not to have been marked by compulsory
cessation of activity.[40]
The observance of regular periods consecrated to the gods has been
noticed in some other parts of Polynesia. At Fakaofo, or Bowditch
Island, in the Union group, the month of May was devoted to the worship
of the great god Tui Tokelau. All work was then laid aside. The people
assembled from the three islands of the group to enjoy feasting and
dancing. They prayed to their divinity for life, health, and a plentiful
supply of fish and cocoanuts.[41] In tiny Manahiki, or Humphrey Island,
the natives had special days for worship, every three or four months. At
such times heaps of food were collected in the place of public assembly,
and the king, who was high-priest as well, prayed for food and life
and health in behalf of his people.[42] We are told, also, that when
the god Ratu-mai-Mbulu visited the Fiji Islands, the inhabitants lived
very quietly for an entire month, lest they should disturb the deity in
his task of making the fruit-trees blossom and bear fruit. During this
Lenten season the natives did not plant or build or sail on the ocean
or go to war. The priests announced the time of the god’s advent and
departure.[43] According to a later account Ratu-mai-Mbulu (Lord from
Hades) was probably a deity of foreign extraction. “Through him the
earth gives her increase. In December he comes forth from Mbulu, and
pours sap into the fruit-trees, and pushes the young yam shoots through
the soil. Throughout that moon it is _tabu_ to beat the drum, to sound
the conch-shell, to dance, to plant, to fight, or to sing at sea, lest
Ratu-mai-Mbulu be disturbed, and quit the earth before his work is
completed. At the end of the month the priest sounds the consecrated
shell; the people raise a great shout, carrying the good news from
village to village; and pleasure and toil are again free to all.”[44]
The descriptions of Polynesian customs by early observers, though
frequently the only accounts we possess, are sometimes very brief and
obscure. These remarks apply to a curious ceremony annually performed by
some Fijian tribes. The time of its celebration was determined by the
appearance of a certain sea-slug, which swarms out in dense shoals from
the coral reefs on a single day of the year, usually in November during
the last quarter of the moon. The arrival of the sea-slugs furnished
the signal for a general feast at those places where they were taken.
Hostilities were suspended between rival communities for four days, and
a taboo was laid to prevent noise or disturbance during this period.
No labour might be done and no person might be seen outside his house.
“In Ovolau the ceremony begins by a man ascending a tree and praying
for fine weather and winds throughout the year. Thereupon a tremendous
clatter, with drumming and shouting, is raised by all the people inside
of the houses for about half an hour, and then a dead quiet ensues for
four days, during which they are feasting on the _mbalolo_. If in any
dwelling a noise is made, as by a child crying, a forfeit (_ori_) is
immediately exacted by the chief.”[45] According to another account the
rule requiring quiescence was so strictly observed that not even a leaf
might be plucked or the offal removed from the houses. During these four
days the men lived in their special club-house (_mbure_), and the women
and children remained shut up in the family abodes. At daylight, on the
expiry of the fourth night, the whole town was in an uproar; and men and
boys scampered about, knocking with sticks at the doors of the dwellings
and crying _Sinariba_. This concluded the ceremony.[46] It would seem
that these accounts refer to a Fijian New Year’s festival, which, like
that of the Hawaiians, was held in November for a period of four days,
and was marked by communal taboos imposing abstinence and quiescence.[47]
The western tribes of Viti Levu, largest of the Fiji Islands, in
traditions, language, and physical type are recognized as distinctly
Melanesian. In former days these tribes possessed a secret association
known as _nanga_, or _mbaki_, which closely resembled the secret
societies so common in the Melanesian Archipelago. It is highly probable,
therefore, that, at least in its known form, the _nanga_ was a late
importation into the island of Viti Levu. Initiation into the _nanga_
was supposed to bring the youth of the tribe into relations with the
ancestral spirits, who were represented, at the time of the ceremonies,
by the elders and by some of the middle-aged men. The sanctuary and lodge
of the association formed the earthly dwelling-place of the spirits; it
was a tabernacle as holy to these Fijians as was the structure in the
Wilderness to the Israelites; there the first-fruits of the yam harvest
were solemnly presented to the ancestors; and there the young men of Viti
Levu were introduced to the mysteries of the tribe. When the _nanga_
enclosure was being raised for the initiatory performances, the people
suspended all other work. Not even food-planting might be done at such a
time. “If any impious person transgressed this law, ‘he would only plant
evil to himself and to his kinsfolk.’”[48] In this instance there was no
attribution of the sacred period to any particular divinity, though all
the ceremonies connected with the _nanga_ were supposed to be directed by
the ancestral spirits.
The scanty records of aboriginal Polynesian society also contain some
passing references to the observance of communal rest days on certain
occasions when the social consciousness had been deeply moved by untoward
and disastrous events. In Futuna, or Erronan, an island which lies
close to the dividing line between Polynesia and Melanesia, the custom
of taboo is said to be very common. “They go so far as to _tapu_ the
day—_e.g._, to interdict all work in order to please the gods, or to
avert the hurricanes.”[49] In Hawaii a _tabu_ period was declared during
the sickness of chiefs.[50] In Samoa the death of a chief of high rank
was followed by the suspension of all work in the settlement for from
ten to thirty days, until the funeral ceremonies were performed. During
this time no stranger might approach the stricken village; a luckless
wayfarer, pushing in by accident, would have been promptly clubbed.[51]
This Samoan regulation, as we shall see, is only a particular instance of
a widespread primitive custom. Communal rest days are still observed in
some parts of Micronesia, as on the island of Yap, one of the Carolines.
Here two aged “wizards,” before whom all important questions come for
decision, have the power of imposing taboos on an entire village. The
periods of seclusion have been known to last for six months. The critical
epochs, when such interdicts are enforced, occur during a time of
drought, famine, or sickness, after a death of a chief or famous man,
and before a fishing expedition.[52] “In short, any great public event
is thus celebrated, and, in fact, there is always a _tabu_ in full
swing somewhere or other, to the great disgust of the traders, who only
see in these enforced holidays an excuse for idling, drunkenness and
debauchery.”[53]
The accounts preserved in the older literature relating to Polynesia thus
make it evident that communal taboos occurred at critical, or especially
important, seasons. The prohibitions were negative in character, required
a period of abstinence sometimes verging upon complete quiescence, and
were closely connected with the aristocratic and theocratic organization
of Polynesian society. At the same time the communal regulations,
artificially created, are to be assimilated to those which rested
upon individuals alone and arose spontaneously as a result of various
circumstances. Every description of aboriginal culture, from Hawaii
to New Zealand, contains numerous references to the network of taboos
which invested private life. All persons dangerously ill, all mothers at
childbirth, together with their infants, all persons who handled a corpse
or assisted at a funeral, were deemed unclean and hence were subjected
to a rigid quarantine, a protective measure necessary for the safety
of the social group. If we assume that the individual taboos represent
the earlier phase of the institution, then the communal taboos may be
regarded as merely an extension to the body politic of these simpler
and more rudimentary customs. The probability of such a transition will
be strengthened by a consideration of the tabooed days found among some
other primitive peoples.
Seasons of communal abstinence are not found in Australia, and only
faint indications of them exist within the Melanesian area, that great
island group which extends from New Guinea to the Fiji Archipelago. In
New Guinea itself a few instances of the custom under consideration have
been noted, all within the British possessions there.[54] Among the
Roro-speaking tribes, inhabiting the strip of coast from Cape Possession
in the west to Kabadi in the east, it is said that an entire village
will mourn for a chief or influential man “by abstaining from fishing,
hunting, and pot-making, and by reducing garden-work to a minimum.” The
period of mourning lasts from six to ten days.[55] In the neighbourhood
of Port Moresby are the Motu and Koita tribes, some of whose customs
were described, many years ago, by a native missionary who long laboured
in New Guinea. Among these tribes, we are told, “fishing work lays the
people under a number of restrictions. There must be no talking; any one
causing another to speak prevents his getting any fish. If the fishermen
are going on a turtle expedition, all must be still throughout the
village. None go about among the houses, or on the public road. All go up
to their houses and sit still. No sound of a voice, or chopping firewood,
or any movement is allowed, until it is supposed that the fishing party
is clear of the lagoon, and out into the deep ocean, and then the
villagers resume their usual occupation.”[56] These taboos in connection
with fishing closely resemble the regulations so common in Polynesia.
The Indonesian inhabitants of Borneo are divided into a large number
of tribes, among which the Kayan, the Sea Dyak, and the Land Dyak are
perhaps the best known. All these peoples till the soil and live in long
communal houses situated on the banks of the rivers. Though now spread
over a wide area in Borneo, the different tribes possess in common
many social and religious customs, notably the cult of omen animals,
together with the observance of numerous taboos which are regularly
enforced at the time of rice (_padi_) planting and harvesting, sometimes
also at mid-harvest.[57] The taboos found among the Kayan on the Baram
River, Sarawak, have been well described by a recent traveller, whose
picturesque narrative deserves an extended notice.[58] “During the days
devoted to search for omens in reference to the sites of the rice-fields,
and also again in reference to the planting, the Kayan refrain from
their usual daily occupations, and neither leave their houses themselves
nor allow strangers to enter. These days of seclusion are termed
_permantong padi_, or _lali padi_, and correspond very closely to taboo
elsewhere.”[59]
The rude agricultural methods of the Kayan start with the preliminary
process of clearing a site in the dense jungle. The work is extremely
tedious and if, after all the heavy labour, the crops should fail or
be destroyed by monkeys, birds, or beetles, the entire household feels
that some act has been committed whereby the displeasure of the spirits
is aroused. Accordingly, before beginning so arduous a task, it is
essential to take omens from the actions of certain birds, mammals, and
reptiles, called _amau_, which are supposed to be in the confidence of
the spirits.[60] A patch of jungle having been tentatively selected,
the work begins with the removal of the dense undergrowth. During this
preliminary stage, while the labour is less heavy than it will be later,
when trees must be felled, the household is not as yet under a taboo.
Each person, nevertheless, keeps a sharp eye for evil omens. Should a
native on the way to the clearing see any one of four ominous animals, a
certain species of snake, a deer, a civet cat, or a rain-bird, the site
will be at once abandoned, regardless of the work already done there.
Wilfully to ignore such a warning “not only compromises the abundance and
quality of the crops, but also the health, or even the life, of the whole
household.”[61]
If no evil omens are observed for three days, the Kayan workers feel
sufficiently encouraged to proceed to the next stage of felling the
heavy timber on the site, which has now been stripped of its underbrush.
Then ensues an elaborate series of auguries. While the various families
making up the household of a communal dwelling remain secluded on the
long veranda, or in their small private rooms, sitting very still all
day and smoking and talking, two hawk-men are off in the forest looking
for a hawk, called _niho_. Three days must be devoted to this search: if
the hawk is seen on the first day, but not on the two days following,
the omen is unfavourable. The people will continue the preparation of
the soil, but they expect poor crops, a result pretty certain to follow
their half-hearted and discouraged labours. On the second day the search
is continued, and if the hawk is seen, the omen is favourable, but not
completely so. If the third day’s search again reveals a hawk, the two
men return at once to the house and spread the good news. Every one
now watches the actions of the hawk. “Should he sail away out of sight
without once flapping his wings all are delighted; it means that the
clearing of the jungle may now continue prosperously, and that neither
attack of enemies nor accident to the workers need be feared. Should the
hawk flap his wings, it follows that some men, in felling the jungle,
will be badly cut by their axes or perhaps crushed under falling trees.
All instantly avert their eyes from the flapping hawk, lest the bird
should recognize them in the fields and select them as victims.”[62]
There now occurs a brief respite of the _lali_ observance, and the people
may leave their houses. But the same formalities must be observed by the
natives while search is made for four other ominous animals. In each case
there is a period of seclusion and abstinence lasting for three days.
These are all the omens that must be consulted before the heavy timber
may be felled, the ground burned over, and the rice planted.
Such are the various taboos which affect the inmates of a communal
house or village, before the crop is started. Other regulations concern
outsiders. From the hour when the real labour of felling the jungle
begins and until the seed-planting is completed, no stranger may enter
house or field. Should a neighbour, by accident or necessity, come
within the tabooed district, he must atone for the trespass by making a
small payment, called _usut_. It consists, ordinarily, of a few beads or
an iron implement. These objects are placed in a basket and hung up in
the rice-field till they rust away or disappear. It is a special duty of
the women to see that this _usut_ is paid.
The _lali_ ordinances of the Kayan are not confined to the time of
seed-planting. Once more, when the crop is all harvested, the house is
closed to strangers. For eight days no one may go away on an expedition
or return to the village from abroad. Another season of restriction
follows during the period when the rice is being stored in the granaries.
“But as soon as this harvesting is over, a general feast is prepared,
and merriment of all sorts makes up for the weariness of the long day’s
work. The women don every stitch of their finery and every bead to their
name; some even assume men’s clothes, and carry shield, spear, and
_parang_. In the evening all join in a long procession round the house;
guests are invited to participate in the festivities, and ‘jest and
youthful jollity’ rule the hour; the brimming cup passes freely, and to
the harmonious strains of the _kaluri_ the women ‘trip it as they go,’ or
leap in war-dances in imitation of the men.” After this festival there
follows yet another period of taboo, ten days in length, when no one is
allowed to do a stroke of any work that resembles the cultivation of
rice: “should any restless creature express a desire for active work, he
is scoffed at and scorned as a spoil-sport and kill-joy.”[63]
These customs of the Kayan of Sarawak are significant as showing how for
a Bornean community the whole period of farming, from the initial task
of selecting a site to the final storing of the rice in the granaries,
is supposed to be subject to supernatural influences. Planting and
harvesting are critical times, when every precaution must be taken to
win the approval, and to thwart the ill will, of the spirits which
affect the tribal life. If we turn, now, to the Kayan on the Mendalam
River in Dutch Borneo, we shall find here also a community of primitive
farmers who depend mainly on the rice crop for subsistence, and by
whom all agricultural operations have been invested with a religious
significance. Without the consent of the spirits no farm work may be
undertaken; without a strict regimen of sacrifices and taboos their aid
cannot be secured for the growth and maturity of the crops. A traveller,
who has described in detail the agricultural rites of the Kayan, tells
us that the sowing festival lasts several weeks and that during this
period certain communal regulations are enforced. On the first day of the
festival every one, save the very old and the very young, must refrain
from bathing; then for eight successive days no work may be done and no
intercourse may be held with neighbouring communities. The custom of
excluding strangers at this time has a purely religious meaning: the
presence of strangers, so the Kayan believe, would frighten or annoy the
spirits and consequently endanger the welfare of the crops.[64] Following
the rites at sowing come those which inaugurate the hoeing of the fields,
and finally the New Year’s festival, eight days in duration, when the
harvest has been safely garnered and the long period of labour and
anxiety is at an end.[65]
But the critical occasions demanding the observance of taboos are not
confined by the Kayan to agricultural occupations. Every important
undertaking may be commenced only when favourable omens have been
vouchsafed by the good spirits, and when the spirits of evil intent have
been pacified by many acts of abstinence. These aborigines, for example,
entertain the belief that house-building, which necessarily involves
the cutting-down of many trees, is a dangerous occupation, because it
arouses the animosity of the tree-spirits. Hence some Kayan villages,
after the erection of a communal house, observe a period of penance for
an entire year. The Ulu-Ayar Dyak on the Mandai River, when they use the
valuable ironwood as timber, feel it necessary, in consequence, to deny
themselves various dainties for three years.[66] To the Kayan on the
Mahakam River in Dutch Borneo, the building of a chiefs house, in which
task all take part by contributing either materials or labour, forms a
matter of great moment. Dr. Nieuwenhuis, who witnessed the ceremonies
on such an occasion, tells us that the regulations enforced begin with
the collection of materials for the new dwelling. Nothing may be done
at full moon, a time when important business is always suspended.[67]
During the search for satisfactory trees and while these are being turned
into piles, planks, and shingles, watch is kept for spirit-warnings as
revealed by the flight and cries of the ominous birds. Work on the house
always terminates at nightfall, when birds are silent. Important stages
in the construction of the house, such as the sinking of the piles and
the placing of the finely carved wooden figureheads at the two ends of
the ridgepole, are signalized by appropriate sacrifices to the spirits.
When a sufficient quantity of shingles has been prepared for covering
the roof, another offering, consisting of a fat pig and two chickens, is
made to the spirits. Then follows a rest period, called _melo_,[68] two
days in length. During this time a strip of rattan is stretched around
the house to indicate that no one may enter it. While the house is being
shingled, any untoward event will interrupt the progress of the work.
For instance, should a man tumble off the roof, it would be necessary to
perform another sacrifice and to declare a _melo_ lasting eight days.
Thus anxiously and seriously does the Kayan conduct himself in all the
crises of his tribal life.[69]
Among the most numerous and powerful of the Bornean tribes are the Iban,
or Sea Dyak, who occupy much of the country between the Baram River in
Sarawak and the Kapuas River in Dutch Borneo. Throughout this extensive
district the Iban use the same language and possess substantially uniform
customs. A Christianized native, who has given to us a remarkably
intimate description of the religious observances of his people, thus
sets forth the omens and incidents which require abstention from work.
“When at night the Iban dreams of insult, anger, or that he has been
bitten by a snake, crushed by a falling tree, waylaid by a ghost, chased
by a crocodile, the following day he rests from all work: to go abroad
or about his work after such dreams would cause him to be wounded, hurt
by falling wood, or shot by an arrow from the evil spirits’ blowpipe.
On the frequent recurrence of such dreams the medicine-man is called
in, who rubs the patient’s body with a charm which makes him invisible
to the evil spirits. This ceremony is called _bedinding_, _i.e._, the
shielding.... To dream of being enveloped by a swarm of bees, of being
overwhelmed by falling earth, that the waist-cloth has rotted away, or of
eating rice from a winnowing-fan, will deter the Iban from going on the
warpath, for they tell of defeat and of being overpowered by the enemy.
“To hear the cry of a bird of evil omen on first waking in the morning,
or on rising up from the morning meal, prevents the Iban from going to
his work on that day.... When the Iban is setting out to his work and has
descended the ladder leading from his house, if the note of a bird of
any kind is heard at the same time as his foot first touches the ground,
he must turn back. The cry of the _kikeh senabong_, gazelle, or deer,
heard on the path, will cause him to give up work for that day. The same
happens if these omens are heard as he enters the field; arrives at the
_pankalan_, _i.e._, ‘resting place’; when commencing his work; whilst
sharpening his chopper, or after the midday meal.
“The news of a death occurring in the neighbourhood or at a distance, the
time of full moon,[70] the performance of ceremonies over the sick by
the medicine-man, a sacrifice to the spirits, are incidents that require
all the villagers to rest from work. Likewise, if some of the villagers
attend a feast in a neighbouring village, those that remain behind must
rest from work lest they should incur the anger of the guardian spirits
of those attending the feast.”[71]
But these are not all the circumstances under which an Iban community
subjects itself to the rule of abstinence. Rice-planting here, as among
the Kayan, necessitates certain rest periods, each of three days’
duration.[72] While a village is under construction, weaving the native
cloth, settling quarrels, and going on the warpath are forbidden; to
break this taboo would cause a death in the village.[73] When rumours
are abroad of cholera, smallpox, or fever, another season of seclusion
is imposed. The entrance to the village is railed off, and no one is
allowed either ingress or egress for three days, during which time all
rest from work. Meanwhile the village elders have prepared an offering
to the evil spirit of the epidemic. This sacrifice, together with a
winnowing-fan on which is the figure of man drawn in chalk, is placed
in a shed near the village. The evil spirit, it is thought, will stop
to observe the chalk-drawing and thus will be led to discover the food
which has been left in the shed. Having satisfied his hunger, he will not
seek to enter the village.[74] The general character of these taboos as
propitiatory rites is further illustrated by some of the customs relating
to agriculture. When the forest land has been fully cleared and left
to dry, sun and wind become of vital consequence to the Iban, for, if
the people are unable to burn the immense mass of timber and brush-wood
in the jungle, famine stares them in the face during the year to come.
“If it pour with rain day after day and week after week, and there is
no promise of continued fine weather, they are apt to imagine that some
impurity has defiled the tribe and that the face of the Great Spirit is
hid from them. So the elders of the people get to work to find it out,
and adjudicate on all cases of incest and bigamy, and purify the earth
with the blood of pigs. Prayers are offered to Betara[75] from one end of
the country to the other; for the space of three days the villages are
tabooed, and all labour is discontinued; the inhabitants remain at home
and strangers are not admitted. But if the weather is warm and dry, the
farms are ready in a very few days for the burning.”[76]
The seasons of communal abstinence found among the Land Dyak, who dwell
in the southwestern part of Sarawak, differ only in minor details from
those of other Bornean tribes. There are three principal occasions when
the Land Dyak subject themselves to _pamali_, or taboo:
“The first, _pamali mati_, is on a house, and on everything in it for
twelve days after the decease of any person belonging to it: during this
time, no one who is not an inhabitant of the dwelling can enter it, nor
are the persons usually residing in it allowed to speak to such, nor can
anything, on any pretence whatever, be removed from it, until the twelve
days of the prohibition be expired: its conclusion is marked by the death
of a fowl or pig, according to the circumstances of the family.
“The _pamali peniakit_ is undertaken by a whole village during any
sickness which prevails generally amongst the members of the tribe; it
is marked by a pig slain, and a feast being made in order to propitiate
the divinity who has sent the malady among them; in its severest form
it is of eight days’ continuance, and during this period everything in
the village is at a standstill, the inhabitants shutting themselves up
from all intercourse with strangers.... The _pamali peniakit_ is also
undertaken by individuals when any member of the family is sick; thus
parents often put themselves under its regulations, fondly hoping that
by denying themselves for a time the pleasures of intercourse with their
fellow creatures, they will prevail upon the malignant spirit, which is
supposed to have shed its withering influence over their offspring, to
restore it to its wonted health and strength.
“The _pamali omar_, or taboo on the farms, occurs immediately after the
whole of the seed is sown: it lasts four days, and during that period,
no person of the tribe enters any of the plantations on any account;
a pig and feast are, according to their practice, also necessary. The
proper observance of these various forms of _pamali_ is probably amongst
the most ancient of their customs, and was practised by their tribes
previously to the introduction of the Hindu religion.”[77] From another
authority we learn that the Land Dyak recognize a variety of incidents,
more or less inimical to the operations of farming, which suffice to
impose taboos. “If the basket in which the paddy is put as it is cut
during harvesting be upset, that farm must rest for a day, and a fowl
must be killed, or all their paddy will go rotten. If a tree falls across
the farm-path, a fowl must be killed on the spot, and the path be disused
for one day, or some one will meet with an accident on it.... At full
moon, and on the third day after it (called _bubuk_), no farm work may
be done, unless it is wished that the paddy should be devoured by blight
and mildew. In some tribes the unlucky days are those of the new and full
moon, and its first and third quarters.”[78]
In the course of an excellent study of the Land Dyak festivals,[79]
Mrs. S. B. Scott argues that they are far more effective as social
observances when accompanied by the various taboos. The change of
occupations heightens the sacredness of the feast, and also enables all
the inhabitants of a village to join in the long, elaborate ritual.
At the same time the closed house prevents intrusion and secures the
presence of every member of the community. Furthermore, the prospect
of feasting, drinking, and general excitement gives an added zest to
the labours of the Dyak farmers. The mid-harvest festival, when this is
celebrated, affords a much needed rest from the heavy work of harvesting;
and the last and greatest of the festivals comes as a natural period
of relaxation after the long strain of toil and frugality is suddenly
relaxed.[80]
That in actual practice the Land Dyak observances have this outcome, it
is impossible to deny. Yet it must be noticed that similar regulations
are in force on other and quite different occasions. As we have just
seen, the Land Dyak place an interdict, twelve days in length, upon a
house in which any one has died; the same event also causes a general
banning of the village for one day only.[81] Childbirth imposes a taboo
of eight days’ duration on a Land Dyak family;[82] in this case the
regulation does not appear to be extended to the community at large.
Sickness is another event which puts a family under the ban;[83] when the
sickness assumes an epidemic form and threatens the general well-being,
the rule of abstinence must be observed by every one in the village. Such
evidence from the Land Dyak customs, confirmed as it is by the facts
relating to the customs of other Bornean tribes, clearly illustrates
the passage of individual taboos, based on gross superstition, into
community ordinances which may sometimes have a real justification in
their social usefulness.
These Bornean regulations disclose a fairly consistent effort to adjust
the length of the communal taboo to the importance of the event which it
commemorates. Thus, house-building imposes a shorter season of abstinence
than does planting or sowing; a single death in the village may require
the cessation of activity by the inhabitants for only one day; but an
epidemic sickness may necessitate a three days’ rest, as among the Iban,
or even eight days’ rest, as among the Land Dyak. The restrictions
themselves appear to be substantially the same in all instances: the
inhabitants “remain in their houses, in order to eat, drink, and sleep;
but their eating must be moderate, and often consists of nothing but rice
and salt.... People under interdict may not bathe, touch fire, or employ
themselves about their ordinary occupations.”[84] To these prohibitions
should be added that of sexual intercourse, a taboo specifically
mentioned for one Bornean tribe, and probably found among others.[85]
The close resemblances, even in details, between the communal taboos
observed in different parts of Borneo must, unquestionably, be attributed
to a long-continued process of diffusion among the various Indonesian
tribes. These taboos have not been found, at any rate have not been
described, among the nomadic hunting tribes, which occupy the interior
parts of Borneo and probably represent an aboriginal population.
Though our knowledge of Bornean ethnography is still very imperfect,
there seems to be no doubt that the present Indonesian inhabitants are
descended from immigrants into the island at no very remote date. We are
justified, therefore, in seeking a foreign source for various elements of
the existing Bornean culture. In particular, the practice of observing
communal taboos, in its rudiments, if not in its completely developed
form, may reasonably be regarded as an importation into Borneo, if
similar customs are found to prevail among other Indonesian peoples.
Between the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal and the northern coast
of Sumatra lies the archipelago of the Nicobars. The inhabitants appear
to be of Indonesian type, but more or less intermixed with Malays and
with the natives of Burma and Siam. In spite of the labours of numerous
missionaries the Nicobarese are said to entertain no conception of a
Supreme Being or of a future state. They have, however, a very lively
belief in evil spirits, which seem to be chiefly the ghosts of the
wicked. These malignant beings, the source of all misfortune and
disease, are propitiated with offerings or driven out by exorcisms. On
such occasions the Nicobarese hold lengthy festivals, some of which
are accompanied by periods of communal abstinence. The native name for
these enforced rest days or holidays is _anoiila_.[86] Every year the
inhabitants of Kar Nicobar observe the ceremony of _kataphang_, at which
time the group of buildings, called the _elpanam_,[87] is cleaned out and
purified to the accompaniment of much singing and dancing. When this
preliminary work is done and the rubbish has been cast into the sea, the
doors of the houses in the _elpanam_ are closed and the people return to
their private abodes in the village. “Silence has now to be observed for
a full month; no fire or light may be seen; no cheroot may be smoked.
Women and children are interdicted from coming to the _elpanam_, and,
if they have to come during the night on urgent affairs (to purchase
things), they have to place a light at the entrance of the _elpanam_ and
then come without noise.... The chief sufferers by this festival are the
Burmans, because the people cannot supply any nuts nor can they work in
making _kopra_, for the reason that they cannot go into the jungle to
fetch nuts nor can they come to the _elpanam_.” The natives believe that
during this time the evil spirits from the jungle visit the _elpanam_.
When the month is up, a great feast is given to the spirits and they are
sent back to the jungle.[88] Another Nicobar festival is that of _kiala_.
The word means, properly, “to take food.” The _kiala_ is celebrated with
much feasting, to which the inhabitants of neighbouring communities come
as guests. At midday a cry of supplication is heard from each building:
“Let our house be enriched with plenty of food. Let us have many eatable
things from other villages. Let there come new women to our villages. Let
us be happy.” Then follow in regular sequence a day of rest—_anoiila_—a
day of pig-hunting in the jungle, a second _anoiila_, and a second day of
pig-hunting. One more rest day ends the festival.[89] The exact meaning
of these observances is difficult to make out.
Very similar customs have been found among the people of Bali, an
island to the east of Java. When the Balinese are confronted by some
real or imaginary danger, such as an epidemic, an earthquake, or a lunar
eclipse, they at once take measures to drive away the evil spirits, or
_buta_, which have caused the ominous event. This praiseworthy object
is supposed to be accomplished partly by verbal commands “go away! go
away!” addressed to the _buta_, partly by means of an unearthly uproar
of shouting and knocking. Then follow two days of absolute silence, the
stillness of the grave. During this period, known as _sepi_, no one
ventures out of doors and no strangers are admitted to the village.
Even the usual domestic work, including cooking, is discontinued. The
interdict against all activity is lifted on the third day, but even
then work in the rice-fields and buying and selling in the market are
forbidden. The evil spirits, it is believed, would like to return at
once to their old haunts, hence they must be led to think that Bali is
not Bali, but some uninhabited island.[90] This period of quiescence is
clearly a means of avoiding contact with the ghostly powers. The reason
given for abstaining from activity—to make the spirits suppose that Bali
is not Bali—may be taken as a naïve effort to explain a custom no longer
understood. The Balinese have also a New Year’s festival, which shows the
influence of Buddhism in the date chosen for its observance, the first
five weeks of the Buddhist year. “At this time the gods are supposed to
dwell on the earth, and the _pitara_ especially return to the bosoms of
their families; hence the constant offerings and the incessant games
and amusements, which are regarded as necessary less for the living
generation than for the _pitara_ and gods sojourning among them; hence
also the cessation from work and the disinclination to intercourse with
foreigners during this period. Trade and foreigners are not agreeable
to the _pitara_, who desire to see the old institutions and usages
faithfully preserved.”[91]
In the island of Nias, lying off the western coast of Sumatra, the
news of an epidemic sickness will cause a quarantine to be established
in every community, not only against the inhabitants of the infected
village, but against all strangers without discrimination. The quarantine
lasts for eight days.[92] Probably this taboo is observed on other
occasions, as seems to be the case with the inhabitants of the Pagi
Islands, which form the southern extension of the Mentawi group.
These islanders are scarcely above the level of culture reached by
Bornean tribes: they live in large communal houses, practise tattooing
assiduously, and worship the evil spirits which manifest their power in
thunder and lightning, earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods. The natives,
at certain times, are said to remain in their villages and to exclude
all strangers. During this period of separation from the world they may
neither give nor receive anything, they must refrain from eating certain
articles of food, and they may not engage in trade.[93] A very competent
observer, who has made a special study of the taboo system in the
Mentawi Islands, describes the seasons of restriction found there under
the name of _punän_. The “great” _punän_ arises from any circumstance
which vitally affects the welfare of a community: when a chief erects
a house for himself, when a village is visited by an epidemic, or when
a cocoanut-palm is overthrown by some _force majeure_. Similarly, the
inauguration of a superior chief or the choice of a priest requires the
imposition of a “great” _punän_. The same propitiatory usage becomes
necessary when a villager has been killed by a crocodile. The “little”
_punän_ relates rather to individuals and to families. Many are the
occasions when it is imposed—at house-building, at the setting-out of a
garden, at boat-making, and when a native leaves his village to settle
elsewhere. The “little” _punän_ is especially obligatory for women during
pregnancy, at birth, and for eight months thereafter. It occurs also as
an accompaniment of marriage, when there is sickness in a family, and
when some member of the household has died. All crises in the communal
and individual life of the Mentawi Islanders are thus kept as periods of
restriction; in some cases, however, these rest days have become to all
intents and purposes festivals and holidays.[94]
The wild and little-known aborigines of Formosa, who are probably of
Indonesian origin, appear to possess similar customs. Of them it is
said, generally, that “great fasts are held after a sickness or when any
of the tribe have been killed. At such times they will be silent, and
will only eat sufficient food to maintain life.”[95] Another traveller
refers to these communal fast days under the native name of _hiang_, and
adds the further fact that at such times strangers are excluded from the
village.[96] A very intelligent observer, describing the superstitions
of the Peiwan, mentions a curious custom according to which “one who has
unpleasant dreams must confine himself to his house for the day.”[97]
This very scanty information will doubtless be supplemented by much more
evidence, when the Formosan tribes have been scientifically studied.
The Philippine Archipelago contains a great number of Indonesian tribes,
among which are the Subanu of Mindanao, a mountain people occupying the
interior portions of the Zamboanga District, where they have taken refuge
from the raids of their hereditary enemies, the Moros and Filipinos.
The Subanu are described as a suspicious and superstitious people
with a pronounced belief in spirits—both good and evil. Ceremonies of
propitiation accompany all important undertakings, such as the clearing
of a new plantation, the building of a house, the beginning of a
journey, hunting, and the harvesting of the crops. Festivals are held to
propitiate these spirits, or to celebrate some event in which an entire
settlement is interested. From the following account it would seem that
the custom of communal abstinence is frequently observed by the Subanu.
“In contending against the difficulties of their settlement life the
Subanu have gradually adopted an effective quarantine service against the
spread of infectious diseases like smallpox, measles, and cholera. Upon
the appearance of the first case among any of the settlement families,
the _timuai_ [communal chief] orders the establishment of the signals
of quarantine, and these are quickly provided. Fences of poles and
split bamboo, or _bejuco_, are erected across the main trails leading
to the houses of the settlement. On these fences are placed, in fixed
positions, carved imitations of war weapons, such as spears, _kampilan_,
_barong_, and _pira_, pointed outward to warn the approaching stranger
or visitor to remain away. It is a notice that death will be visited
upon the person who attempts to enter the settlement while the scourge
of disease prevails.... Near the signal fences are erected light wooden
stands with offerings of various articles of food to appease the wrath
of the gods and cause them to assist in extirpating the disease. Small
sheds are also sometimes erected near the stands, under which guards
may be stationed to prevent the food from being taken by wild animals,
birds, and mischievous persons. But the guards go to sleep and the food
(cooked rice, boiled eggs, fruit, tobacco, betel-nut, cooked chicken,
etc.) disappears, whereupon the guards report that _diuata_ (god) has
accepted the gifts and will drive away the disease. Superstition and good
sense are strangely but effectively mingled in this scheme of practical
and efficacious quarantine; and the Subanu stand alone among all the
tribes and peoples of Mindanao in devising and operating such protective
measures.”[98]
Another Indonesian people of the Philippines are the Bontoc Igorot, a
non-Christian folk dwelling in northern Luzon. They are mountain farmers
and live in towns made up of political divisions, or _ato_, analogous to
the wards of an American city. The business of each _ato_ is conducted
by a council of elders. These Bontoc Igorot observe a sacred rest
day, called _tengao_.[99] It occurs, on an average, about every ten
days during the year, though not with absolute regularity. Three men,
belonging to what might be described as a hereditary priesthood, fix
the time for the _tengao_, as for all other ceremonials of the pueblo.
They then inform the elders of each _ato_, who, in turn, make a public
announcement on the evening preceding the day. “The small boys, however,
are the true ‘criers.’ They make more noise in the evening before the
rest day, crying _Tĕng-aó! whi tĕng-aó!_ (‘Rest day! hurrah! rest day!’)
than I have heard from the pueblo at any other time.” The _tengao_
appears to be marked by the cessation of agricultural work, but not by
abstinence from all activity. “If a person goes to labour in the fields
on a sacred day—not having heard the announcement, or in disregard
of it—he is fined for ‘breaking the Sabbath.’” The lawbreaker has to
surrender firewood or rice or a small chicken to the value of about ten
cents, or the wage of two days. The fines are then expended in buying
chickens and pigs for certain religious ceremonies, known as _patay_.
These rites are performed every new moon for the general well-being of
the pueblo.[100] We are further told that the rest days are selected
in order that “such intimate, important interests as agriculture and
beneficial weather may be given the amount of attention they deserve.
The people have no calendar for succeeding ceremonial observances, so
a priesthood has developed to fix such days at the opportune time when
needed. They are sacred because all petitions are made to Lumawig their
god, a living, spirit, hero, and benefactor.”[101]
There seems to be every reason for supposing that this remarkable
institution of an almost periodic Sabbath is of native origin. The Bontoc
Igorot dwell in a remote and inaccessible region; and they are a fairly
primitive people whose religious ideas have been unaffected by either
Christianity or Mohammedanism. The _tengao_ itself is apparently confined
to this single tribe of northern Luzon. At the same time the sacred
rest day does not stand without relation to the other observances of
the Igorot. Like the Bornean tribes they have a number of agricultural
ceremonies, religious in character, and designed to secure an abundant
harvest. Some of these ceremonies are accompanied by periods of rest.
Every year, on the occasion when _camotes_ are planted, the pueblo priest
kills a chicken or a pig, and petitions Lumawig for so many _camotes_
“that the ground will crack and burst open.” This rite takes place in the
fifth period of the Igorot year, called _baliling_. A similar rite is
performed when black beans are planted. The end of _baliling_ (about the
first of September) is marked by a three days’ rest, known as _kopus_. At
this time one of the priests charged with the performance of the _patay_
rite addresses a short supplication to Lumawig and then solemnly kills
a chicken. It is a critical moment for the people of the pueblo. Should
the gall of the fowl be found white or whitish, this means that disaster
will overtake the community. But a gall with a dark green colour implies
that the spirit enemies of Bontoc are not revengeful and that the pueblo
will enjoy prosperity. Another occasion when the Igorot rests from labour
comes at the _fakil_ ceremony for rain. It occurs four times each year,
on four succeeding days, and is performed by four different priests.
There is the usual sacrifice of a pig by the priest, and each night, just
before this rite takes place, all the people cry _I-tĕng-aó ta-ko nan
fa-kilʹ!_, an expression meaning, “Rest day! We observe the ceremony for
rain!”[102] These and other instances cited by Professor Jenks indicate
clearly that the Igorot festivals are intended to propitiate evil-minded
spirits and to secure material blessings from Lumawig, the supreme
being.[103] The evidence from Borneo and other regions suggests that
here in Luzon the rest accompanying some of the festivals has likewise a
propitiatory character, quite as much as the prayers and sacrifices. The
same interpretation would accordingly apply to the _tengao_, though that
day seems now to be regarded in some degree as a holiday. Furthermore,
the conjecture is plausible that the _tengao_ in its earlier form was not
a periodic but an occasional observance, called forth only by particular
emergencies in the communal life. The present form of this institution
gives evidence of a tendency, doubtless directed by the Igorot
priesthood, to calendarize seasons of taboo at definite and regular
intervals. And the dedication of this “Sabbath” to Lumawig may be only
a natural outcome of the preëminence assigned to that supreme god, who
stands out in such bold relief against the crowd of ancestral spirits,
good and bad, investing the Igorot world.[104]
The foregoing examples suffice to show how numerous are the occasions
on which the natives of Indonesia subject themselves to the rule of
abstinence. Assuming, with modern ethnographers, that the Indonesian
peoples represent an admixture in various proportions of primitive Indian
and southern Mongolian stocks, we need not be surprised to discover
that in certain parts of southeastern Asia, and notably among the
Tibeto-Burman tribes of Assam and Burma, there flourishes a system of
communal regulations strikingly similar to those which have just been
described.
The Naga tribes, who are said to resemble more closely the natives of
the Indian Archipelago than any of the other peoples occupying the hills
of Assam, apply the name _genna_[105] to their system of taboos.[106]
The following description refers particularly to the Naga of Manipur.
Here, as in Borneo, the regular communal taboos are for the most part
connected with the crops. Every stage of the rice cultivation is marked
by a village _genna_, the duration of which varies. Thus, among the Mao
Naga the rice-sowing necessitates a ten days’ _genna_, the transplanting
of the rice calls for only one day of restriction, the beginning of
the harvest for four days, and the harvest home for ten days. At such
times the village gates are shut and neither egress nor ingress is
allowed. “Among all these tribes from the day of the first crop _genna_
to the final harvest home all other forms of industry and activity are
forbidden. All hunting, fishing, tree- and grass-cutting, all weaving,
pot-making, salt-working, games of all kinds, bugling, dancing, all
trades are strictly forbidden—are _genna_—lest the grain in the ear be
lost.”[107]
It is obvious that some of these taboos tend, indirectly, to produce
beneficial effects. The prohibition of all labour, except agricultural,
during the season of rice-planting and harvesting permits the inhabitants
of a village to devote their time and attention solely to the care of
the crops. And the practical result of the taboo against hunting is
to provide a much-needed close season for wild animals, “for these
sportsmen spare not the game.” It is equally obvious, however, that the
regulations in question have had no utilitarian origin. Identical taboos
are imposed on a great variety of other occasions. A rain-compelling
ceremony, when the headman works magic for the benefit of the entire
village, is accompanied by a _genna_. General _genna_ are also proclaimed
after the occurrence of unusual phenomena, such as earthquakes, eclipses
of the sun or moon, and the appearance of comets. These events are
attributed to supernatural activity.[108] The destruction of a village
by fire occasions a general _genna_, sometimes for three days, before
any steps are taken to rebuild the houses. Such an event indicates that
spirits inimical to the people are about and active; consequently the
mere sight of the burning of a neighbouring village is enough to require
the imposition of a _genna_.[109] The outbreak of epidemic sickness
necessitates a _genna_, the purpose of which is clearly prophylactic.
Animal sacrifices of a propitiatory nature are made at such times. Some
of the Mao Naga even hold a regular village _genna_, as a means of
preventing all sickness during the year, while the Kabui Naga observe an
annual _genna_ in order to protect themselves from being hurt by bamboos.
The occurrence of mysterious cases of death requires a _genna_, for the
purpose of separating the living as soon as possible from the dangerous
dead; in the Mao group it is customary to hold a village _genna_ when a
villager dies, irrespective of the immediate cause of his decease.[110]
All the Naga communities hold a _genna_ devoted to the praiseworthy
object of finally laying to rest the ghosts of those who have died
during the preceding year. The rite takes place at the time of cold
weather, after the crops have been reaped. At this annual festival, “they
restore to the living those of their members who have been in jeopardy
of the contagion of death.”[111] Communal _genna_ are also enforced in
connection with the first death in the year of any domestic animals; on
the return to the village of a party of warriors with human heads taken
in a foray; when a python—a serpent closely associated with sickness—is
killed and eaten; during the deliberations of the village council; and
also when a man rashly allows his private or secret name to be mentioned
in public.[112] We may agree with an early writer, who, commenting on
these practices among the Angami Naga, remarks that there is “no end
to the reasons on which a _kennie_ must or may be declared, and as it
consists of a general holiday when no work is done, this Angami Sabbath
appears to be rather a popular institution.”[113]
A survey of these Naga ordinances indicates that here in Assam they
have much the same purpose as in other regions: they are protective
and conciliatory; to a certain extent they are even compelling, in so
far as the observance of the taboos is supposed to prevent the evil
spirits from inflicting further harm. The coercive quality of a _genna_
is also illustrated by the idea that, while the ill effects of an
interruption of a village ceremony are sometimes irremediable, there
are other cases where a repetition of the rite is enough to avert all
disastrous consequences.[114] It is to be observed, furthermore, that
all _genna_ are declared and supervised by the _khullakpa_, the secular
and religious head of the village. He acts in a representative capacity,
whenever a rite is to be performed which requires the whole force of the
community behind it, a force which operates through him. “These village
_genna_,” declares Mr. Hodson, “seem in many cases to be inspired by
the belief that man, _the man_, the _khullakpa_, when fortified by the
whole strength and will of the village, is able to control and constrain
forces which are beyond his control if unaided. He relies on coöperative
strength.”[115]
In addition to the village _genna_ the Naga are subject to numerous
regulations which affect individuals or families only, and do not extend
to the community at large. Household _genna_ are occasioned by such
events as the birth of children or of domesticated animals, the first
hair-cutting and ear-piercing, the naming of children, and finally the
death of domesticated animals in the house. The restrictions apply to
all who are normally inmates of the house, and to any others, such as
midwives, who may be temporarily members of the family. The duration of
these _genna_ varies not only from tribe to tribe but also from village
to village. The Mayang Khong Naga, in particular, have worked out an
elaborate scale for _genna_ following the birth of domestic animals.
“When a cow calves, the _genna_ lasts for five days; when a sow litters,
three days’ _genna_ is necessary; while when a bitch has pups, or a cat
has kittens, two days are ample. A hen hatching out a brood of chickens
brings on a _genna_ of one day.”[116] Such observances may be said to
mark the acme of the Naga taboo system, or, from another point of view,
to reduce it to an absurdity.
The _genna_ custom, which seems to have attained its most complicated
and grotesque development among the Naga, prevails, or in the past has
prevailed, throughout a wide area of Assam. The Hinduised Meithei of
Manipur, whose affinity to the wild hill tribes such as the Naga and Kuki
is admitted, no longer possess the custom itself, though preserving the
memory of it in their word _namungba_, or taboo.[117] General seasons of
restriction seem to be unknown among the Khasi, who inhabit the Khasi
and Jaintia hills, except in a single instance.[118] Their neighbours on
the west, the Garo, a people of Tibeto-Burman stock, have the equivalent
of _genna_ in the word _marang_, conveying the ideas of “unlucky” and
“unlawful.” But the Garo custom itself is scarcely socialized: the taboos
relate to individuals, and in only one case extend to the community at
large. This is the prohibition for any one in a village to labour in the
fields on the day when a child is born. It is believed that should a farm
be visited at such a time the crop would be cursed and blighted.[119]
Another Tibeto-Burman people, the Mikir, who dwell in the Mikir Hills
to the northwest of Manipur, have individual taboos of various kinds
and, in addition, a compulsory village festival called _rongker_. It is
held annually at the beginning of cultivation. At this time the gods
are invoked for good crops, good health, and preservation from tigers.
There is no music or dancing during the festival.[120] The _genna_ exists
among the Mishmi and Abor on the frontiers of northeastern Assam and
Tibet.[121] The Lushei (sometimes called Kuki) of the Lushei Hills to the
south of Manipur have a well-developed system of taboo, here known as
_hrilh_. Persons subject to _hrilh_ “must do no work, except necessary
household tasks, and must not leave a prescribed area.”[122] These
restrictions sometimes affect households only, sometimes entire villages.
They are communally imposed in connection with the sacrifice performed
before a large hunting party starts out, at the harvest festival, when an
epidemic sickness rages, and on other occasions.[123] West of the Lushei
dwell the Tippera and Mro tribes, among whom the communal taboo observed
in consequence of an epidemic goes under the name of _khang_. “The
quarantine is inaugurated and declared with a certain degree of ceremony.
A sacrifice is offered, and the village is encircled with a fresh-spun
white thread. The blood of the animal sacrificed is then sprinkled about
the village, and a general sweeping and cleansing takes place, the houses
and gates being decorated with green boughs. They attach great importance
to the quarantine being kept unbroken. It generally lasts three days,
and during that time no one is allowed to enter or leave the village.
I have known several murders committed, owing to persons persisting in
breaking the _khang_.”[124] The same communal taboo is observed when a
village is being built, and regularly in July, when the rice requires
cultivation.[125] These tribes formerly lived in the Arakan Hills of
Lower Burma, where identical regulations, known as _ya_, are also
enforced.[126]
The _genna_ custom may be traced in various parts of Burma. From the
Naga, Lushei, and other tribes of Assam the ethnical transition is
unbroken to the Chin, who occupy the Chindwin valley and the hills to
the west. Probably these aborigines are not unfamiliar with the _genna_
as a device to avoid a visitation by demonic powers identified with
smallpox, cholera, and other diseases. We are told that once, when
cholera broke out among some Chin on a visit to Rangoon, they spent the
day hiding under the bushes so that the cholera-spirit might not find
them.[127] The Kachin (Chingpaw) on the upper Irawadi River, a people
generally regarded as closely akin to the Chin on the one hand and to
the Karen on the other, recognize six occasions during the year, when
no one is supposed to do any work. The rest days, numbering sixteen
in all, are known collectively as _na na ai_, which may be translated
“ceremonial holiday.” They all occur in connection with agriculture—when
the jungle is fired, before and after seed-planting, while the crop is
ripening, and at harvest—as a means of securing the good will of the
_nat_, or spirits.[128] Similar customs are still observed by some of
the Karen tribes. Of the Tsawku Karen it is said that their religion
consists entirely in attempts to appease various malignant spirits. When
the inhabitants of a village or the members of a household are engaged
in ceremonies of propitiation, “they put up a bow with an arrow ready
fitted to the string, or some other sign to indicate that there is ‘no
admittance,’ or that ‘trespassers will be prosecuted according to law,’
and these insignia are scrupulously respected.”[129] The Sawngtung Karen
forbid any one to leave the village on the day of the birth of a child
in it, and no eggs may be kept in the village while the fields are
being reaped. The Taungthu Karen believe that giving away anything at
all on sowing or planting days means blight for the crop.[130] These
superstitions no doubt represent decadent forms of a once-extensive
_genna_ system among the Karen. The _genna_, again, has been noticed
among the Muhso, or Lalu, a large tribe which has emigrated from China
to the Shan States. The Muhso close their villages against strangers
for five days during an annual festival, which begins on the Chinese
New Year’s Day. Bamboo gateways and symbols are erected along the paths
approaching a settlement, in order to warn possible intruders. If an
outsider persists in entering a village, he is kept a prisoner there till
the festival is over. All his possessions, even his clothes, are taken
away from him and he is returned naked to the world. In explanation of
this conduct the natives say that the spirits, in whose honour the feast
is held, are displeased at the presence of strangers.[131] The Wild Wa, a
head-hunting tribe on the northeastern frontier of the Shan States, are
said to have no regularly recurrent festivals, but hold them as often
as they are confronted by “particular dangers or necessities.”[132] The
Miao (Miao-tse), one of the little-known tribes of southwestern China,
celebrate musical festivals throughout the year. These seem now to be
_fêtes_ pure and simple, though at one time possessing a religious
character. “If asked why they hold these festivals, they say that if they
failed to do so their crops would be bad; and yet they do not profess to
understand how the harvests are influenced by this custom.”[133]
The _genna_, either in vigorous activity or in attenuated survival,
has now been traced throughout a wide area in southeastern Asia, and
particularly among the Tibeto-Burman tribes of Assam and Burma. Modern
ethnographers recognize in the Indo-Chinese an immigrant population,
probably from western China, which for many centuries has been gradually
moving southward along the course of the great rivers emptying into the
Bay of Bengal. The custom of the _genna_ appears to be one of the most
characteristic features of Indo-Chinese culture; its presence, therefore,
throughout this area must be explained as the result of diffusion and
not of independent origination. Furthermore, we have found that in the
various Indonesian islands as far as New Guinea, and especially in
Borneo, customs closely akin to that of the _genna_ also belong to the
native culture. It is likely that the ancestors of the Polynesians passed
through these islands on their way to the Pacific; if this be so, we
can understand why _tabu_ in Polynesia should present so many obvious
resemblances to _lali_ in Borneo and to _genna_ in Assam. The student
whose primary concern is the wanderings of peoples cannot neglect such
evidence of extensive diffusion, showing how for ages cultural elements
have been drifting from the interior of Asia over the Indo-Chinese region
and the Indian Archipelago, and thence into the island world of the
Pacific.
What general conclusions may be drawn from a comparative survey of these
communal taboos in the several areas under consideration? In the first
place it seems clear that the various negative regulations, such as those
imposing idleness, fasting, and continence, closely resemble some of
the pains and penalties to which the savage subjects himself on other
occasions. For instance, the well-known custom of the _couvade_ imposes
on the husband, during the pregnancy of his wife or after the birth of
the child, a number of restrictions, which often include abstention from
various sorts of work, and sometimes from all occupations whatsoever.
The practice of the _couvade_ appears to be an outgrowth of the idea
that under special circumstances the close ties uniting husband and wife
engender a mystic sympathy between them, so that the acts of the one
affect the welfare of the other. Similar ideas underlie the numerous
rules of abstinence observed by hunters, fishers, and warriors when
absent from home, and by the relatives and friends whom they have left
behind.[134] We cannot always fathom the savage logic which has generated
the numberless regulations observed at such critical seasons; but they
would seem to be particular expressions of an ancient doctrine—“In
quietness shall be your strength.”
In the second place it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that, however
vexatious and burdensome may be the restrictions resting on a primitive
community, these are not without a definite psychological value. The
consciousness that all the omens have been duly taken and that all taboos
have been properly observed is itself invigorating; the community goes
forward, henceforth, with renewed strength and confidence to the tasks
which lie before it.[135]
Finally, it may be pointed out how directly these communal regulations
make for social solidarity. Students of early society have long
recognized the fact that the institution of taboo, in its individualistic
aspects, has helped to nurse in man a sense of reverence and a power of
self-restraint greatly needed under primitive conditions. Such beneficial
results are even more manifest in the case of communal taboos. For, when
the restrictions are violated by any one, there is always the feeling
that misfortune will overtake the entire social group, and hence a duty
devolves on each man to see that his neighbour obeys the law. Altruism
becomes a coercive process, and social cohesion is secured by each member
of the group making himself his brother’s keeper. It is desirable to
keep in mind these positive benefits inherent in the taboo system, since
perhaps excessive attention has been directed to its hampering influence
on society.
In the three regions which have been selected for close examination—the
Hawaiian Islands, Borneo, and Assam—it thus appears that there are
certain occasions when the normal current of life is interrupted, and
when what may well be called a crisis presents itself.[136] In general
any time of special significance, inaugurating a new era or marking the
transition from one state to another, any period of storm and stress, any
epoch when untoward events have occurred or are expected to occur, may be
invested with taboos designed to meet the emergency in the communal life
and to ward off the threatened danger or disaster. Periods of abstinence
are imposed because of such unusual, and therefore critical, events as a
conflagration, an epidemic sickness, or an earthquake; after a death; at
the changes of the moon; at the end of the old year and the beginning of
the new year; during a time devoted to the banning of ghosts and demons;
and in connection with such important undertakings as the commencement
of a war, seed-planting, and harvest, and the celebration of a solemn
religious or magical ceremony. The peoples whom we have just studied
have, so to speak, institutionalized their fears, working out thereby a
protective procedure highly complex and elaborate. But the conceptions
which generated the tabooed day in Polynesia, Indonesia, and southeastern
Asia are not local and confined; on the contrary they underlie a wide
range of social phenomena.