of amulets, and Hans Egede, in his Description of Greenland, notes these
“Amulets or Pomanders” which the natives wore about the neck or arms,
the materials being of the most heterogeneous kind, pieces of old wood,
old fragments of stone, bones of various animals, the bill and claws of
certain birds, and many other objects whose form or associations had
suggested the possession of a magic potency.[634] A similar account of
old Greenland amulets is given by David Crantz, another early author,
who even asserts that some of the amulets were so grotesque that the
natives themselves occasionally laughed at them. In the absence of any
more definite talisman, recourse was sometimes had to the expedient of
binding a leather strap over the forehead or around the arm.[635]
Possibly, however, some talisman was hidden beneath this strap, or else
it may have been designed to serve as a point of support for an amulet
that had been taken off at the time the traveller saw the strap.
Animal amulets, that is to say, amulets for animals, are in use in the
Arctic regions, one class of these being stones that have fallen from a
bird-rock. These the Eskimo attach to their dogs, proceeding upon the
theory that as these pieces of rock in falling from a great height have
traversed the air with tremendous rapidity, they will communicate the
quality of fleetness to the dogs.[636] This transmission of an acquired
quality of the stone to the person wearing it is shown in other
instances, a favorite amulet with the Eskimos being a piece of an old
hearth-stone. This is believed to give strength to the wearer, because
the stone has so long endured the attacks of fire, the strongest and
fiercest element. Such fragments of stone are often worn by Eskimo
women, who wrap them up in pieces of seal-skin, making in this way a
decoration to be worn on the neck.[637]
Not only does the medicine-bag of an Eskimo medicine-man serve to guard
his trusted amulets and talismans, but some of these wonder-doctors
claim to be able to draw within it the soul of a sick child, so as to
keep this soul hidden away from all harm and danger. In fact, the
opinion has been expressed that many personal amulets have owed their
repute to their supposed power as soul-guardians, the owners’ souls
having been transferred to the material body of the amulet, which is
more easily concealed and kept out-of-the way of injury than is the
human body, the tabernacle of the spirit. A trace of this belief has
been found by some in the term _battê ha-nephesh_, used by Isaiah (chap,
iii, ver. 20). These feminine adornments are called “perfume boxes” in
the Revised Version, but the literal meaning is “houses of the soul (or
life).”[638]
The natives of southwestern Australia regard shining stones with so much
veneration that only sorcerers or priests are believed to be worthy to
handle them, and so great is the faith in the innate power of such
objects that any ordinary native does not dare to touch them and cannot
even be bribed so to do. For the preservation of the virtue of these
stones it is considered essential that no woman shall be permitted to
touch them, or even to look upon them. A particular form of talisman is
made by winding lengths of opossum yarn about a fragment of quartz, of
carnelian, of chalcedony, or some other attractive stone, and thus
forming a round ball about the size of a crochet-ball; these are worn
suspended from the girdle. Talismans of this type are very highly prized
for their supposed power to cure diseases, and in case of illness a
tribe which is not provided with one will borrow it from a more
fortunate tribe.[639] White quartz is used by the natives in New South
Wales, Australia, for the manufacture of a charm to cast a spell over an
enemy. This charm is called _muli_, and consists of a fragment of white
quartz to which a piece of opossum-fur has been gummed; it must then be
smeared with the fat of a dead body and placed in a slow-burning fire.
It is confidently believed that the person over whom the spell is cast
wastes slowly away and dies.[640]
Jade carvings of an exceedingly peculiar type are the _hei-tikis_
(neck-ornaments) greatly prized among the Maoris of New Zealand. The
grotesque representation of the human form here realized by the native
carvers, the association of these objects, treasured up as heirlooms,
with the personality of some renowned ancestor, the story that the
special portraiture to be made was sometimes communicated in a dream or
vision, all this induces the belief that in former times, though perhaps
not at the present time, the Maoris looked upon their _hei-tikis_ as
amulets, or possibly even as fetiches.[641]
The Dowager Queen Alexandra is said to greatly value as a talisman a
pendant consisting of a nugget of massive gold surmounted by a figure of
a hunchback, executed in green enamel. The nugget is hollowed out and
opens when a secret spring is touched; within appears a heart-shaped
ornament made of New Zealand jade. The story runs that this jewel was
given to his mother by the late Duke of Clarence, the elder brother of
the present King George V.[642]
The popularity in England of these queer _hei-tiki_ amulets, made from
the _punamu_ or “green-stone” (nephrite) of New Zealand, has been
ascribed by many to the wearing by Queen Alexandra of ornaments made of
New Zealand jade, and to the report that every member of the “All
Blacks,” an almost invincible English foot-ball team, carried some
little trinket made from this material while he was engaged in play. The
popular faith in “lucky jade” was further corroborated by the story that
Lord Rosebery had on his person a jade amulet when his horse Cicero won
the Derby and that Lord Rothschild was wearing such an amulet as his
horse St. Amand carried his colors to victory.[643] When we consider to
how great an extent popular enthusiasm is excited in England by her
great and classic horse-races, we need not hesitate to believe that
these reports did much to render jade amulets generally fashionable.
[Illustration:
HEI-TIKI AMULETS OF NEW ZEALAND
Made of the jade found on the island, the punamu, or “green-stone.”
Illustrates the two types of this “neck-ornament,”
one with the eyes slanted to the left, the other to the right.
]
An old Polynesian legend recounts that jade was brought to New Zealand
from a distant land by a certain Ngahue, who sought by this means to
save the precious material from an enemy who coveted it. He settled at
Arahua, on the west coast of the middle island, and in this region he
found an eternal and safe resting place for his jade, which he valued
above all things.[644] This legend has often been adduced as a proof
that the New Zealand jade was brought from other countries, but as it
proceeds to state that Ngahue made neck and ear ornaments of this
material, there is at least as great probability that we have here the
supposed origin of the _hei-tiki_ ornaments, and that the legend
testifies to the popular belief that the art of making these objects
came to New Zealand from without.
The quasi-magic character of New Zealand jade (nephrite) in the eyes of
Maoris of the olden time is proved by the fact that certain
superstitious restrictions were established in regard to the cutting of
nephrite, one of these being that no woman should be allowed to approach
the jade-cutters while they were engaged in their task. For the drilling
of holes in jade implements or amulets the cord-drill was employed, and
the surface of the object received its polish by rubbing it with a piece
of sandstone, after it had been roughly fashioned, by chipping, to the
desired form. The toughness of jade is such that infinite patience and
long-continued effort must have been necessary to complete any ornament
or implement under these primitive conditions.[645]
A curious and characteristic jade artefact, known as _nbouet_ or
_koindien_, is found among the natives of New Caledonia. This is a more
or less circular disk of jade, with a cutting edge. In most cases this
disk is attached through two perforations to a straight cylindrical
handle, having a slit at the upper extremity into which the jade disk is
introduced. The lower extremity has an ovoid termination, or else it is
set in a cocoanut shell, usually covered with the integument of a
pteropod. Attached are pendants of beautiful marine shells, and
sometimes the cocoanut shell is filled with small pebbles so that it can
be used as a rattle. These _nbouet_ were originally used as cleavers to
cut up the dead bodies for the cannibalistic orgies, and this use seems
to have been thought to impart a kind of talismanic virtue to the
objects, for they eventually became insignia of the chiefs of the native
tribes.[646]
The ornament most highly prized by the natives of New Caledonia is a
necklace of perforated jade beads. One of these necklaces, in the rich
collection of Signor Giglioli, contains 122 jade beads, somewhat larger
than peas; another necklace comprises eight beads alternating with small
shells of the _oliva_, a species of mussel. As a pendant hangs an
_oudip_, or slung-shot, of steatite.[647] Necklaces of this kind are
called _peigha_ by the natives, and the high esteem in which they are
held probably arises from their supposed talismanic powers. The jade
ornaments or artefacts found in the neighboring Loyalty Islands have all
been brought from New Caledonia, and we are told that so great was the
value placed upon them that the natives of the Loyalty Islands often
traded their young girls in exchange for objects made from the greatly
coveted jade.
From a Fijian mission teacher at Goodenough Island comes a tale of a
magic crystal. Many years ago some Europeans embarked in a boat manned
by two Fijians to visit one of the smaller islands of the group. After
they had landed and gone off to explore the island, one of the Fijians
said to the other: “You look after the boat while I take a look around.”
He had not gone far when he saw two strange men, one of whom fled at his
approach; the other he seized, holding on to him fast, although dragged
along for a considerable distance until after scrambling up a hill the
strange man finally loosed himself and disappeared in the hollow of a
tree-trunk. For some time the Fijian lay in a trance, but awakening from
this he found his way back to the boat. In the course of the afternoon
the strange being appeared to him suddenly and told him “to go back to
the tree, where he would find a small stone wrapped up in a piece of
calico.” This he duly sought and found; it proved to be a crystal, like
glass. In the night time the man or spirit again appeared and strictly
enjoined the Fijian not to let anyone see his crystal but told him that
if he wished for anything he only had to look into the stone. The
possession of this treasure earned a wonderful repute for the Fijian as
a medicine-man, as when any sick person sought for help one look into
the stone revealed the proper remedy for the disease. All this time,
however, no one had been allowed to see his crystal, or to suspect the
source of his wisdom. At last his fame reached the ears of some European
doctors, who called him in to help them in their hospital work, and
while he was at the hospital two young men came in and asked him to
prescribe for a sick friend. The Fijian consented, but, unluckily for
him, the men saw him take out his crystal and look into it before
prescribing the treatment. They told this to the doctors and the man was
locked up for two years, his crystal being taken away from him. The
mission teacher who related the story believed that Sir J. Thurston, at
this time governor of the islands, had secured possession of the
confiscated crystal.[648] It is rather difficult to determine in what
proportions truth and fiction are represented in this tale.
The doctrine of sympathy finds an echo among the natives of Melanesia.
In the Banks Islands, for instance, if a native comes across a piece of
coral to which the action of the waves has imparted the form of a loaf
of bread, this will be taken to signify that such a coral has an
affinity with the bread-fruit tree, and the native will bury it under
such a tree in the confident expectation that its fruit-bearing quality
will be enhanced thereby. Chance may perhaps seem to prove the truth of
his belief, and in this case he will permit his neighbors to bury stones
near his own, so that somewhat of its virtue may pass into them.[649]
To have one’s life depend upon the safe preservation of a talisman may
not always be a blessing, as appears in a Kalmuck story. A Khan who
owned such a talisman thought that he had concealed it so effectively
that no one could find it, and hence he did not hesitate to make the
discovery of its hiding-place a crucial test of the skill of a wise man
who came to visit his court. The sage proved equal to the emergency and
found the talisman while its owner was asleep, but was so rejoiced at
the successful accomplishment of the task that he very irreverently
clapped a bladder on the sleeping Khan’s head, who was so much enraged
at the indignity that he ordered the wise man’s immediate execution.
However, the latter quickly made use of the magic power over the Khan’s
life that the possession of the talisman gave him, and cast it down so
violently as to break it. No sooner had this happened than blood spurted
from the Khan’s nostrils and death overtook him.[650]
Agate amulets still find favor in Spain, a number of interesting
examples having recently been acquired in that country by Mr. W. L.
Hildburgh, many of them being offered for sale in small stalls, both in
the capital, Madrid, and in other of the Spanish cities.[651] In a
number of cases these amulets are milky white agates, this hue
recommending their use as lactation amulets. In one specimen, however,
secured in Seville, the agate showed seven concentric white stripes,
probably indicating that it had been used as a charm against the Evil
Eye as well as to favor the secretion of milk.
For the latter purpose, in lieu of agate, white glass beads are often
sold, a dealer in a small stall in Madrid having in his stock a string
of fifty such beads which he sold one by one to the women who had faith
in their efficacy; agate beads of combined grayish, reddish and white
coloration are also to be found.
Quite an ambitious type of these popular amulets is figured by Mr.
Hildburgh (Pl. i, p. 64, fig. 7). This is a triple pendant, with chain
attached for suspension, the upper part being an agate grayish-white and
reddish, probably rendering it at once a lactation amulet and one
serving still another use as a woman’s amulet. The middle of this
pendant was of blue glass banded with other colors, and the terminal was
of black glass, spotted blue, yellow and red; both of these glass
objects are supposed to have served against the Evil Eye. Thus this
particular amulet combined a number of virtues.
Coral is a favorite material for amulets in Spain as in many other
lands, being shaped for this purpose as a “fig-hand” or into some other
of the diverse forms to which a certain symbolic significance has been
given. One amulet of rock-crystal is reported, which may have been taken
from some old reliquary; this was used against the Evil Eye. Amber also,
in its way as generally popular as coral, is freely used in Spain by the
makers of amulets; being generally given the form of beads. The wearing
of these is regarded as very effective in the case of teething children.
For some reason or other, a preference is given to facetted beads, in
spite of the risk that the sharp edges may irritate the sensitive and
delicate skin of an infant.[652]
Some of the “fig-hand” amulets made and sold in Madrid are of jet, the
peculiar hand form being in many cases so highly conventionalized as to
be barely indicated. These are believed to be efficacious not only
against the Evil Eye, as the other amulets of this form, but also for
the preservation of the hair. When worn for this purpose the women of
Madrid are said to carry them upon any part of the person, but those of
Toledo place them in the hair itself, so that the desired effect may be
more immediate.[653]
In southern Russia amulets enjoy high power both among Jews and
Christians. Especially are they valued for the protection of children
and for the cure of their diseases. An imitation wolf’s-tooth, made of
bone, set in a ring, is one of these amulets; however, while such
imitation teeth are used, the natural teeth are greatly preferred. As an
amulet against the Evil Eye the wing-bones of a cock will be used. This
malign influence is held in such awe by the common people that they do
not even dare to use the word “evil” of it and call it “the _good_ eye.”
Carnelian beads purporting to have been brought from Palestine command
what is regarded as a good price, three roubles being paid for a single
one; these are great favorites with the Jews more especially, one of
their supposed virtues being to prevent abortion.[654]
The religious fervor of the Russians is illustrated by the character of
the amulet said to be constantly worn by the Czar as a protection
against the dangers which hourly threaten him. This is a ring in which
is set a piece of the True Cross, the sacred material which was believed
to lend a mighty potency to the famous “Talisman of Charlemagne.” A less
venerable belief is said to render the Czar superstitiously careful to
see that an ancestral watch in his possession is always kept wound up,
for a family legend tells that should this watch ever stop the glory of
the reigning house would pass away.[655]
Of bone amulets there is a great variety. Among those used in the
British Isles may be noted a hammer-shaped type, fashioned out of a
sheep’s bone, worn by Whelby fishermen as protection from drowning;
similarly shaped bone amulets find favor with some London laborers as
preventives of rheumatism. This is the type of Thor’s Hammer, still
popular with the Manxmen. The strange resemblance of the os sacrum of
the rabbit to a fox’s head has recommended its use as a talisman, or
luck-bringer, and a London solicitor is stated to have owned an example
which he had mounted as a gold scarf-pin, the likeness to an animal head
being brought out still more by the insertion of onyx eyes.[656]
The talismanic power of the turquoise is still credited in provincial
England, for in the counties of Hampshire and Sussex it is believed that
when two persons station themselves on opposite banks of a frozen stream
or pond, on a Christmas Day, and each one slides a turquoise to the
other over the ice, both of them will be blessed with good fortune for
the following year and will prosper in all their undertakings. If the
stream or pond were at all wide, the fact of having accomplished this
feat successfully might indeed be taken as proof of considerable
dexterity, and might perhaps indicate that one who could succeed in this
little exploit had a chance of making his way in more important matters.
The natural markings on agate pebbles often present designs having some
special symbolical significance, and could then be looked upon by the
superstitious as amulets of notable power, much exceeding in efficacy
those artificially formed. A strange instance in illustration of this is
an agate pebble picked up not long since on Newport Beach, Rhode Island.
This stone is clearly and definitely marked with the mystic Chinese
monad, a device that is widely known in the United States from its
adoption as a symbol by the Northern Pacific Railroad.
A limestone pebble with peculiar markings is in a private collection in
New York. This somewhat resembles in shape the famous magatama jewel of
the Japanese, and the markings suggest that, like the latter, it may
have had a phallic significance, or at least one connected with the
worship of the reproductive powers. The markings indicate an attempt to
figure an undeveloped being, and possibly the object was intended for
use as an amulet to facilitate parturition.
The prevailing reaction against the purely materialistic beliefs so
generally accepted a score or more of years ago, finds expression in a
marked tendency toward a renewal—in a greatly modified form, of
course—of the old fancies or instinctive ideas touching the virtues of
gems. Thus one modern writer at least was bold enough to suggest not
long since that “the efficacy of charms and precious stones may be
recognized and placed on a scientific basis before many years are
passed.”[657]
[Illustration:
HILT OF JEWELLED SWORD GIVEN BY THE GREEKS OF THE UNITED STATES ON
EASTER DAY, 1913, TO THE CROWN PRINCE OF GREECE, LATER KING
CONSTANTINE XII. See page 373
View from above, showing the splendid star-sapphire, a symbol of
success, set at the apex.
]
The belief in the hidden powers of precious stones was used as the theme
of one of Hoffman’s novels, “Das Fräulein von Scudéry.” Here the hero,
René Cardillac, is represented as a man for whom the possession of
precious stones has become indispensable, and who is happy only when he
can handle them and watch the play of light and color emanating from
them. They exert a kind of hypnotic influence over him, and so intense
and absorbing is his devotion to them that he even resorts to murder
rather than part with one of his darling stones.
In the course of a meeting of the English Folk-Lore Society, one of the
members expressed the opinion that the revival of interest in amulets
and talismans and in all sorts and kinds of “mascots” was largely due to
the articles printed about such things in certain of the daily and
weekly papers. These items, put in a taking way and read with avidity,
more especially by those who were already predisposed to a belief in the
mythical or magical, served to spread these fancies far and wide
throughout the land. The president of the society, Dr. Gaster, in
closing the discussion, said that “from his experience the modern belief
in amulets as aids to luck was genuine and widely spread.”[658]
One of the latest Parisian oracles on mystic subjects, the Baroness
d’Orchamps, says that emeralds should not be worn by women before their
fiftieth year, although men may wear this gem without danger at any age.
Sapphires, on the other hand, may be worn by both sexes at all times,
since they have a potent influence for good luck. Hence speculators, and
indeed all who hope for a favorable turn of Fortune’s wheel, should look
with favor on this stone. As medicinal gems, the ruby and the moonstone
are especially recommended; the former for chronic headaches and the
latter for the manifold forms of nervousness. Lastly, the diamond, if
worn on the left side, wards off evil influences and attracts good
fortune. The unjustly maligned opal is asserted to be robbed of all
power to harm if it be associated with diamonds and rubies.
Many of the members of the French nobility are the owners and wearers of
talismanic ornaments of one kind or another. A powerful combination of
such “life-preservers” is credited to the Duc de Guiche. On his right
hand he wears three curiously chased rings, one on the first finger, the
second on the middle finger, and the third on the “ring-finger.” One of
the rings is set with a sardonyx engraved with the figure of an eagle,
the second ring bears a topaz on which has been graven a falcon, and the
third ring shows a beautiful coral bearing the design of a man holding a
drawn sword in his right hand. Both the stones and the special designs
engraved on each one are in accord with the oldest traditional lore in
regard to talismans, and the stones themselves are those indicated by
the date of the duke’s birth and by his baptismal name. While such an
array of finger rings would hardly appeal to the taste of an American
man, the fashion of wearing an appropriate series of rings has met with
considerable favor among our American mondaines, and certainly has the
merit of lending an individual significance to the rings selected for
wear.[659]
[Illustration:
JEWELLED SWORD GIVEN BY THE GREEKS OF THE UNITED STATES, ON EASTER
DAY, 1913, TO CROWN PRINCE CONSTANTINE, LATER KING CONSTANTINE XII
OF GREECE
Top of scabbard, showing didrachm of Alexander the Great.
]
[Illustration:
JEWELLED SWORD GIVEN BY THE GREEKS OF THE UNITED STATES, ON EASTER
DAY, 1913, TO CROWN PRINCE CONSTANTINE, LATER KING CONSTANTINE XII
OF GREECE
Side view of hilt.
]