CHAPTER V. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FIRE-FESTIVALS.

§ 1. On the Fire-festivals in general.

(M289) The foregoing survey of the popular fire-festivals of Europe

suggests some general observations. In the first place we can hardly help

being struck by the resemblance which the ceremonies bear to each other,

at whatever time of the year and in whatever part of Europe they are

celebrated. The custom of kindling great bonfires, leaping over them, and

driving cattle through or round them would seem to have been practically

universal throughout Europe, and the same may be said of the processions

or races with blazing torches round fields, orchards, pastures, or

cattle-stalls. Less widespread are the customs of hurling lighted discs

into the air(796) and trundling a burning wheel down hill;(797) for to

judge by the evidence which I have collected these modes of distributing

the beneficial influence of the fire have been confined in the main to

Central Europe. The ceremonial of the Yule log is distinguished from that

of the other fire-festivals by the privacy and domesticity which

characterize it; but, as we have already seen, this distinction may well

be due simply to the rough weather of midwinter, which is apt not only to

render a public assembly in the open air disagreeable, but also at any

moment to defeat the object of the assembly by extinguishing the

all-important fire under a downpour of rain or a fall of snow. Apart from

these local or seasonal differences, the general resemblance between the

fire-festivals at all times of the year and in all places is tolerably

close. And as the ceremonies themselves resemble each other, so do the

benefits which the people expect to reap from them. Whether applied in the

form of bonfires blazing at fixed points, or of torches carried about from

place to place, or of embers and ashes taken from the smouldering heap of

fuel, the fire is believed to promote the growth of the crops and the

welfare of man and beast, either positively by stimulating them, or

negatively by averting the dangers and calamities which threaten them from

such causes as thunder and lightning, conflagration, blight, mildew,

vermin, sterility, disease, and not least of all witchcraft.

(M290) But we naturally ask, How did it come about that benefits so great

and manifold were supposed to be attained by means so simple? In what way

did people imagine that they could procure so many goods or avoid so many

ills by the application of fire and smoke, of embers and ashes? In short,

what theory underlay and prompted the practice of these customs? For that

the institution of the festivals was the outcome of a definite train of

reasoning may be taken for granted; the view that primitive man acted

first and invented his reasons to suit his actions afterwards, is not

borne out by what we know of his nearest living representatives, the

savage and the peasant. Two different explanations of the fire-festivals

have been given by modern enquirers. On the one hand it has been held that

they are sun-charms or magical ceremonies intended, on the principle of

imitative magic, to ensure a needful supply of sunshine for men, animals,

and plants by kindling fires which mimic on earth the great source of

light and heat in the sky. This was the view of Wilhelm Mannhardt.(798) It

may be called the solar theory. On the other hand it has been maintained

that the ceremonial fires have no necessary reference to the sun but are

simply purificatory in intention, being designed to burn up and destroy

all harmful influences, whether these are conceived in a personal form as

witches, demons, and monsters, or in an impersonal form as a sort of

pervading taint or corruption of the air. This is the view of Dr. Edward

Westermarck(799) and apparently of Professor Eugen Mogk.(800) It may be

called the purificatory theory. Obviously the two theories postulate two

very different conceptions of the fire which plays the principal part in

the rites. On the one view, the fire, like sunshine in our latitude, is a

genial creative power which fosters the growth of plants and the

development of all that makes for health and happiness; on the other view,

the fire is a fierce destructive power which blasts and consumes all the

noxious elements, whether spiritual or material, that menace the life of

men, of animals, and of plants. According to the one theory the fire is a

stimulant, according to the other it is a disinfectant; on the one view

its virtue is positive, on the other it is negative.

(M291) Yet the two explanations, different as they are in the character

which they attribute to the fire, are perhaps not wholly irreconcilable.

If we assume that the fires kindled at these festivals were primarily

intended to imitate the sun’s light and heat, may we not regard the

purificatory and disinfecting qualities, which popular opinion certainly

appears to have ascribed to them, as attributes derived directly from the

purificatory and disinfecting qualities of sunshine? In this way we might

conclude that, while the imitation of sunshine in these ceremonies was

primary and original, the purification attributed to them was secondary

and derivative. Such a conclusion, occupying an intermediate position

between the two opposing theories and recognizing an element of truth in

both of them, was adopted by me in earlier editions of this work;(801) but

in the meantime Dr. Westermarck has argued powerfully in favour of the

purificatory theory alone, and I am bound to say that his arguments carry

great weight, and that on a fuller review of the facts the balance of

evidence seems to me to incline decidedly in his favour. However, the case

is not so clear as to justify us in dismissing the solar theory without

discussion, and accordingly I propose to adduce the considerations which

tell for it before proceeding to notice those which tell against it. A

theory which had the support of so learned and sagacious an investigator

as W. Mannhardt is entitled to a respectful hearing.

§ 2. The Solar Theory of the Fire-festivals.

(M292) In an earlier part of this work we saw that savages resort to

charms for making sunshine,(802) and it would be no wonder if primitive

man in Europe did the same. Indeed, when we consider the cold and cloudy

climate of Europe during a great part of the year, we shall find it

natural that sun-charms should have played a much more prominent part

among the superstitious practices of European peoples than among those of

savages who live nearer the equator and who consequently are apt to get in

the course of nature more sunshine than they want. This view of the

festivals may be supported by various arguments drawn partly from their

dates, partly from the nature of the rites, and partly from the influence

which they are believed to exert upon the weather and on vegetation.

(M293) First, in regard to the dates of the festivals it can be no mere

accident that two of the most important and widely spread of the festivals

are timed to coincide more or less exactly with the summer and winter

solstices, that is, with the two turning-points in the sun’s apparent

course in the sky when he reaches respectively his highest and his lowest

elevation at noon. Indeed with respect to the midwinter celebration of

Christmas we are not left to conjecture; we know from the express

testimony of the ancients that it was instituted by the church to

supersede an old heathen festival of the birth of the sun,(803) which was

apparently conceived to be born again on the shortest day of the year,

after which his light and heat were seen to grow till they attained their

full maturity at midsummer. Therefore it is no very far-fetched conjecture

to suppose that the Yule log, which figures so prominently in the popular

celebration of Christmas, was originally designed to help the labouring

sun of midwinter to rekindle his seemingly expiring light.

(M294) The idea that by lighting a log on earth you can rekindle a fire in

heaven or fan it into a brighter blaze, naturally seems to us absurd; but

to the savage mind it wears a different aspect, and the institution of the

great fire-festivals which we are considering probably dates from a time

when Europe was still sunk in savagery or at most in barbarism. Now it can

be shewn that in order to increase the celestial source of heat at

midwinter savages resort to a practice analogous to that of our Yule log,

if the kindling of the Yule log was originally a magical rite intended to

rekindle the sun. In the southern hemisphere, where the order of the

seasons is the reverse of ours, the rising of Sirius or the Dog Star in

July marks the season of the greatest cold instead of, as with us, the

greatest heat; and just as the civilized ancients ascribed the torrid heat

of midsummer to that brilliant star,(804) so the modern savage of South

Africa attributes to it the piercing cold of midwinter and seeks to

mitigate its rigour by warming up the chilly star with the genial heat of

the sun. How he does so may be best described in his own words as

follows:—(805)

“The Bushmen perceive Canopus, they say to a child: ‘Give me yonder piece

of wood, that I may put the end of it in the fire, that I may point it

burning towards grandmother, for grandmother carries Bushman rice;

grandmother shall make a little warmth for us; for she coldly comes out;

the sun(806) shall warm grandmother’s eye for us.’ Sirius comes out; the

people call out to one another: ‘Sirius comes yonder;’ they say to one

another: ‘Ye must burn a stick for us towards Sirius.’ They say to one

another: ‘Who was it who saw Sirius?’ One man says to the other: ‘Our

brother saw Sirius.’ The other man says to him: ‘I saw Sirius.’ The other

man says to him: ‘I wish thee to burn a stick for us towards Sirius; that

the sun may shining come out for us; that Sirius may not coldly come out.’

The other man (the one who saw Sirius) says to his son: ‘Bring me the

small piece of wood yonder, that I may put the end of it in the fire, that

I may burn it towards grandmother; that grandmother may ascend the sky,

like the other one, Canopus.’ The child brings him the piece of wood, he

(the father) holds the end of it in the fire. He points it burning towards

Sirius; he says that Sirius shall twinkle like Canopus. He sings; he sings

about Canopus, he sings about Sirius; he points to them with fire,(807)

that they may twinkle like each other. He throws fire at them. He covers

himself up entirely (including his head) in his kaross and lies down. He

arises, he sits down; while he does not again lie down; because he feels

that he has worked, putting Sirius into the sun’s warmth; so that Sirius

may warmly come out. The women go out early to seek for Bushman rice; they

walk, sunning their shoulder blades.”(808) What the Bushmen thus do to

temper the cold of midwinter in the southern hemisphere by blowing up the

celestial fires may have been done by our rude forefathers at the

corresponding season in the northern hemisphere.

(M295) Not only the date of some of the festivals but the manner of their

celebration suggests a conscious imitation of the sun. The custom of

rolling a burning wheel down a hill, which is often observed at these

ceremonies, might well pass for an imitation of the sun’s course in the

sky, and the imitation would be especially appropriate on Midsummer Day

when the sun’s annual declension begins. Indeed the custom has been thus

interpreted by some of those who have recorded it.(809) Not less graphic,

it may be said, is the mimicry of his apparent revolution by swinging a

burning tar-barrel round a pole.(810) Again, the common practice of

throwing fiery discs, sometimes expressly said to be shaped like suns,

into the air at the festivals may well be a piece of imitative magic. In

these, as in so many cases, the magic force may be supposed to take effect

through mimicry or sympathy: by imitating the desired result you actually

produce it: by counterfeiting the sun’s progress through the heavens you

really help the luminary to pursue his celestial journey with punctuality

and despatch. The name “fire of heaven,” by which the midsummer fire is

sometimes popularly known,(811) clearly implies a consciousness of a

connexion between the earthly and the heavenly flame.

(M296) Again, the manner in which the fire appears to have been originally

kindled on these occasions has been alleged in support of the view that it

was intended to be a mock-sun. As some scholars have perceived, it is

highly probable that at the periodic festivals in former times fire was

universally obtained by the friction of two pieces of wood.(812) We have

seen that it is still so procured in some places both at the Easter and

the midsummer festivals, and that it is expressly said to have been

formerly so procured at the Beltane celebration both in Scotland and

Wales.(813) But what makes it nearly certain that this was once the

invariable mode of kindling the fire at these periodic festivals is the

analogy of the need-fire, which has almost always been produced by the

friction of wood, and sometimes by the revolution of a wheel. It is a

plausible conjecture that the wheel employed for this purpose represents

the sun,(814) and if the fires at the regularly recurring celebrations

were formerly produced in the same way, it might be regarded as a

confirmation of the view that they were originally sun-charms. In point of

fact there is, as Kuhn has indicated,(815) some evidence to shew that the

midsummer fire was originally thus produced. We have seen that many

Hungarian swine-herds make fire on Midsummer Eve by rotating a wheel round

a wooden axle wrapt in hemp, and that they drive their pigs through the

fire thus made.(816) At Obermedlingen, in Swabia, the “fire of heaven,” as

it was called, was made on St. Vitus’s Day (the fifteenth of June) by

igniting a cart-wheel, which, smeared with pitch and plaited with straw,

was fastened on a pole twelve feet high, the top of the pole being

inserted in the nave of the wheel. This fire was made on the summit of a

mountain, and as the flame ascended, the people uttered a set form of

words, with eyes and arms directed heavenward.(817) Here the fixing of a

wheel on a pole and igniting it suggests that originally the fire was

produced, as in the case of the need-fire, by the revolution of a wheel.

The day on which the ceremony takes place (the fifteenth of June) is near

midsummer; and we have seen that in Masuren fire is, or used to be,

actually made on Midsummer Day by turning a wheel rapidly about an oaken

pole,(818) though it is not said that the new fire so obtained is used to

light a bonfire. However, we must bear in mind that in all such cases the

use of a wheel may be merely a mechanical device to facilitate the

operation of fire-making by increasing the friction; it need not have any

symbolical significance.

(M297) Further, the influence which these fires, whether periodic or

occasional, are supposed to exert on the weather and vegetation may be

cited in support of the view that they are sun-charms, since the effects

ascribed to them resemble those of sunshine. Thus, the French belief that

in a rainy June the lighting of the midsummer bonfires will cause the rain

to cease(819) appears to assume that they can disperse the dark clouds and

make the sun to break out in radiant glory, drying the wet earth and

dripping trees. Similarly the use of the need-fire by Swiss children on

foggy days for the purpose of clearing away the mist(820) may very

naturally be interpreted as a sun-charm. Again, we have seen that in the

Vosges Mountains the people believe that the midsummer fires help to

preserve the fruits of the earth and ensure good crops.(821) In Sweden the

warmth or cold of the coming season is inferred from the direction in

which the flames of the May Day bonfire are blown; if they blow to the

south, it will be warm, if to the north, cold.(822) No doubt at present

the direction of the flames is regarded merely as an augury of the

weather, not as a mode of influencing it. But we may be pretty sure that

this is one of the cases in which magic has dwindled into divination. So

in the Eifel Mountains, when the smoke blows towards the corn-fields, this

is an omen that the harvest will be abundant.(823) But the older view may

have been not merely that the smoke and flames prognosticated, but that

they actually produced an abundant harvest, the heat of the flames acting

like sunshine on the corn. Perhaps it was with this view that people in

the Isle of Man lit fires to windward of their fields in order that the

smoke might blow over them.(824) So in South Africa, about the month of

April, the Matabeles light huge fires to the windward of their gardens,

“their idea being that the smoke, by passing over the crops, will assist

the ripening of them.”(825) Among the Zulus also “medicine is burned on a

fire placed to windward of the garden, the fumigation which the plants in

consequence receive being held to improve the crop.”(826) Again, the idea

of our European peasants that the corn will grow well as far as the blaze

of the bonfire is visible,(827) may be interpreted as a remnant of the

belief in the quickening and fertilizing power of the bonfires. The same

belief, it may be argued, reappears in the notion that embers taken from

the bonfires and inserted in the fields will promote the growth of the

crops,(828) and it may be thought to underlie the customs of sowing

flax-seed in the direction in which the flames blow,(829) of mixing the

ashes of the bonfire with the seed-corn at sowing,(830) of scattering the

ashes by themselves over the field to fertilize it,(831) and of

incorporating a piece of the Yule log in the plough to make the seeds

thrive.(832) The opinion that the flax or hemp will grow as high as the

flames rise or the people leap over them(833) belongs clearly to the same

class of ideas. Again, at Konz, on the banks of the Moselle, if the

blazing wheel which was trundled down the hillside reached the river

without being extinguished, this was hailed as a proof that the vintage

would be abundant. So firmly was this belief held that the successful

performance of the ceremony entitled the villagers to levy a tax upon the

owners of the neighbouring vineyards.(834) Here the unextinguished wheel

might be taken to represent an unclouded sun, which in turn would portend

an abundant vintage. So the waggon-load of white wine which the villagers

received from the vineyards round about might pass for a payment for the

sunshine which they had procured for the grapes. Similarly we saw that in

the Vale of Glamorgan a blazing wheel used to be trundled down hill on

Midsummer Day, and that if the fire were extinguished before the wheel

reached the foot of the hill, the people expected a bad harvest; whereas

if the wheel kept alight all the way down and continued to blaze for a

long time, the farmers looked forward to heavy crops that summer.(835)

Here, again, it is natural to suppose that the rustic mind traced a direct

connexion between the fire of the wheel and the fire of the sun, on which

the crops are dependent.

(M298) But in popular belief the quickening and fertilizing influence of

the bonfires is not limited to the vegetable world; it extends also to

animals. This plainly appears from the Irish custom of driving barren

cattle through the mid-summer fires,(836) from the French belief that the

Yule-log steeped in water helps cows to calve,(837) from the French and

Servian notion that there will be as many chickens, calves, lambs, and

kids as there are sparks struck out of the Yule log,(838) from the French

custom of putting the ashes of the bonfires in the fowls’ nests to make

the hens lay eggs,(839) and from the German practice of mixing the ashes

of the bonfires with the drink of cattle in order to make the animals

thrive.(840) Further, there are clear indications that even human

fecundity is supposed to be promoted by the genial heat of the fires. In

Morocco the people think that childless couples can obtain offspring by

leaping over the midsummer bonfire.(841) It is an Irish belief that a girl

who jumps thrice over the midsummer bonfire will soon marry and become the

mother of many children;(842) in Flanders women leap over the Midsummer

fires to ensure an easy delivery;(843) and in various parts of France they

think that if a girl dances round nine fires she will be sure to marry

within the year.(844) On the other hand, in Lechrain people say that if a

young man and woman, leaping over the midsummer fire together, escape

unsmirched, the young woman will not become a mother within twelve

months:(845) the flames have not touched and fertilized her. In parts of

Switzerland and France the lighting of the Yule log is accompanied by a

prayer that the women may bear children, the she-goats bring forth kids,

and the ewes drop lambs.(846) The rule observed in some places that the

bonfires should be kindled by the person who was last married(847) seems

to belong to the same class of ideas, whether it be that such a person is

supposed to receive from, or to impart to, the fire a generative and

fertilizing influence. The common practice of lovers leaping over the

fires hand in hand may very well have originated in a notion that thereby

their marriage would be blessed with offspring; and the like motive would

explain the custom which obliges couples married within the year to dance

to the light of torches.(848) And the scenes of profligacy which appear to

have marked the midsummer celebration among the Esthonians,(849) as they

once marked the celebration of May Day among ourselves, may have sprung,

not from the mere license of holiday-makers, but from a crude notion that

such orgies were justified, if not required, by some mysterious bond which

linked the life of man to the courses of the heavens at this turning-point

of the year.

(M299) At the festivals which we are considering the custom of kindling

bonfires is commonly associated with a custom of carrying lighted torches

about the fields, the orchards, the pastures, the flocks and the herds;

and we can hardly doubt that the two customs are only two different ways

of attaining the same object, namely, the benefits which are believed to

flow from the fire, whether it be stationary or portable. Accordingly if

we accept the solar theory of the bonfires, we seem bound to apply it also

to the torches; we must suppose that the practice of marching or running

with blazing torches about the country is simply a means of diffusing far

and wide the genial influence of the sunshine, of which these flickering

flames are a feeble imitation. In favour of this view it may be said that

sometimes the torches are carried about the fields for the express purpose

of fertilizing them,(850) and for the same purpose live coals from the

bonfires are sometimes placed in the fields “to prevent blight.”(851) On

the Eve of Twelfth Day in Normandy men, women, and children run wildly

through the fields and orchards with lighted torches, which they wave

about the branches and dash against the trunks of the fruit-trees for the

sake of burning the moss and driving away the moles and field mice. “They

believe that the ceremony fulfils the double object of exorcizing the

vermin whose multiplication would be a real calamity, and of imparting

fecundity to the trees, the fields, and even the cattle”; and they imagine

that the more the ceremony is prolonged, the greater will be the crop of

fruit next autumn.(852) In Bohemia they say that the corn will grow as

high as they fling the blazing besoms into the air.(853) Nor are such

notions confined to Europe. In Corea, a few days before the New Year

festival, the eunuchs of the palace swing burning torches, chanting

invocations the while, and this is supposed to ensure bountiful crops for

the next season.(854) The custom of trundling a burning wheel over the

fields, which used to be observed in Poitou for the express purpose of

fertilizing them,(855) may be thought to embody the same idea in a still

more graphic form; since in this way the mock-sun itself, not merely its

light and heat represented by torches, is made actually to pass over the

ground which is to receive its quickening and kindly influence. Once more,

the custom of carrying lighted brands round cattle(856) is plainly

equivalent to driving the animals through the bonfire; and if the bonfire

is a sun-charm, the torches must be so also.

§ 3. The Purificatory Theory of the Fire-festivals.

(M300) Thus far we have considered what may be said for the theory that at

the European fire-festivals the fire is kindled as a charm to ensure an

abundant supply of sunshine for man and beast, for corn and fruits. It

remains to consider what may be said against this theory and in favour of

the view that in these rites fire is employed not as a creative but as a

cleansing agent, which purifies men, animals, and plants by burning up and

consuming the noxious elements, whether material or spiritual, which

menace all living things with disease and death.

(M301) First, then, it is to be observed that the people who practise the

fire-customs appear never to allege the solar theory in explanation of

them, while on the contrary they do frequently and emphatically put

forward the purificatory theory. This is a strong argument in favour of

the purificatory and against the solar theory; for the popular explanation

of a popular custom is never to be rejected except for grave cause. And in

the present case there seems to be no adequate reason for rejecting it.

The conception of fire as a destructive agent, which can be turned to

account for the consumption of evil things, is so simple and obvious that

it could hardly escape the minds even of the rude peasantry with whom

these festivals originated. On the other hand the conception of fire as an

emanation of the sun, or at all events as linked to it by a bond of

physical sympathy, is far less simple and obvious; and though the use of

fire as a charm to produce sunshine appears to be undeniable,(857)

nevertheless in attempting to explain popular customs we should never have

recourse to a more recondite idea when a simpler one lies to hand and is

supported by the explicit testimony of the people themselves. Now in the

case of the fire-festivals the destructive aspect of fire is one upon

which the people dwell again and again; and it is highly significant that

the great evil against which the fire is directed appears to be

witchcraft. Again and again we are told that the fires are intended to

burn or repel the witches;(858) and the intention is sometimes graphically

expressed by burning an effigy of a witch in the fire.(859) Hence, when we

remember the great hold which the dread of witchcraft has had on the

popular European mind in all ages, we may suspect that the primary

intention of all these fire-festivals was simply to destroy or at all

events get rid of the witches, who were regarded as the causes of nearly

all the misfortunes and calamities that befall men, their cattle, and

their crops.(860)

(M302) This suspicion is confirmed when we examine the evils for which the

bonfires and torches were supposed to provide a remedy. Foremost, perhaps,

among these evils we may reckon the diseases of cattle; and of all the

ills that witches are believed to work there is probably none which is so

constantly insisted on as the harm they do to the herds, particularly by

stealing the milk from the cows.(861) Now it is significant that the

need-fire, which may perhaps be regarded as the parent of the periodic

fire-festivals, is kindled above all as a remedy for a murrain or other

disease of cattle; and the circumstance suggests, what on general grounds

seems probable, that the custom of kindling the need-fire goes back to a

time when the ancestors of the European peoples subsisted chiefly on the

products of their herds, and when agriculture as yet played a subordinate

part in their lives. Witches and wolves are the two great foes still

dreaded by the herdsman in many parts of Europe;(862) and we need not

wonder that he should resort to fire as a powerful means of banning them

both. Among Slavonic peoples it appears that the foes whom the need-fire

is designed to combat are not so much living witches as vampyres and other

evil spirits,(863) and the ceremony, as we saw, aims rather at repelling

these baleful beings than at actually consuming them in the flames. But

for our present purpose these distinctions are immaterial. The important

thing to observe is that among the Slavs the need-fire, which is probably

the original of all the ceremonial fires now under consideration, is not a

sun-charm, but clearly and unmistakably nothing but a means of protecting

man and beast against the attacks of maleficent creatures, whom the

peasant thinks to burn or scare by the heat of the fire, just as he might

burn or scare wild animals.

(M303) Again, the bonfires are often supposed to protect the fields

against hail(864) and the homestead against thunder and lightning.(865)

But both hail and thunderstorms are frequently thought to be caused by

witches;(866) hence the fire which bans the witches necessarily serves at

the same time as a talisman against hail, thunder, and lightning. Further,

brands taken from the bonfires are commonly kept in the houses to guard

them against conflagration;(867) and though this may perhaps be done on

the principle of homoeopathic magic, one fire being thought to act as a

preventive of another, it is also possible that the intention may be to

keep witch-incendiaries at bay. Again, people leap over the bonfires as a

preventive of colic,(868) and look at the flames steadily in order to

preserve their eyes in good health;(869) and both colic and sore eyes are

in Germany, and probably elsewhere, set down to the machinations of

witches.(870) Once more, to leap over the Midsummer fires or to

circumambulate them is thought to prevent a person from feeling pains in

his back at reaping;(871) and in Germany such pains are called

“witch-shots” and ascribed to witchcraft.(872)

(M304) But if the bonfires and torches of the fire-festivals are to be

regarded primarily as weapons directed against witches and wizards, it

becomes probable that the same explanation applies not only to the flaming

discs which are hurled into the air, but also to the burning wheels which

are rolled down hill on these occasions; discs and wheels, we may suppose,

are alike intended to burn the witches who hover invisible in the air or

haunt unseen the fields, the orchards, and the vineyards on the

hillside.(873) Certainly witches are constantly thought to ride through

the air on broomsticks or other equally convenient vehicles; and if they

do so, how can you get at them so effectually as by hurling lighted

missiles, whether discs, torches, or besoms, after them as they flit past

overhead in the gloom? The South Slavonian peasant believes that witches

ride in the dark hail-clouds; so he shoots at the clouds to bring down the

hags, while he curses them, saying, “Curse, curse Herodias, thy mother is

a heathen, damned of God and fettered through the Redeemer’s blood.” Also

he brings out a pot of glowing charcoal on which he has thrown holy oil,

laurel leaves, and wormwood to make a smoke. The fumes are supposed to

ascend to the clouds and stupefy the witches, so that they tumble down to

earth. And in order that they may not fall soft, but may hurt themselves

very much, the yokel hastily brings out a chair and tilts it bottom up so

that the witch in falling may break her legs on the legs of the chair.

Worse than that, he cruelly lays scythes, bill-hooks and other formidable

weapons edge upwards so as to cut and mangle the poor wretches when they

drop plump upon them from the clouds.(874)

(M305) On this view the fertility supposed to follow the application of

fire in the form of bonfires, torches, discs, rolling wheels, and so

forth, is not conceived as resulting directly from an increase of solar

heat which the fire has magically generated; it is merely an indirect

result obtained by freeing the reproductive powers of plants and animals

from the fatal obstruction of witchcraft. And what is true of the

reproduction of plants and animals may hold good also of the fertility of

the human sexes. We have seen that the bonfires are supposed to promote

marriage and to procure offspring for childless couples. This happy effect

need not flow directly from any quickening or fertilizing energy in the

fire; it may follow indirectly from the power of the fire to remove those

obstacles which the spells of witches and wizards notoriously present to

the union of man and wife.(875)

(M306) On the whole, then, the theory of the purificatory virtue of the

ceremonial fires appears more probable and more in accordance with the

evidence than the opposing theory of their connexion with the sun. But

Europe is not the only part of the world where ceremonies of this sort

have been performed; elsewhere the passage through the flames or smoke or

over the glowing embers of a bonfire, which is the central feature of most

of the rites, has been employed as a cure or a preventive of various ills.

We have seen that the midsummer ritual of fire in Morocco is practically

identical with that of our European peasantry; and customs more or less

similar have been observed by many races in various parts of the world. A

consideration of some of them may help us to decide between the

conflicting claims of the two rival theories, which explain the ceremonies

as sun-charms or purifications respectively.

FOOTNOTES

M1 The priest of Aricia and the Golden Bough.

_ 1 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 44.

M2 What was the Golden Bough?

M3 Sacred kings and priests forbidden to touch the ground with their

feet.

2 H. H. Bancroft, _Native Races of the Pacific States_ (London,

1875-1876), ii. 142; Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations

civilisées du Mexique et de l’Amérique-Centrale_ (Paris, 1857-1859),

iii. 29.

_ 3 Manuscrit Ramirez, Histoire de l’origine des Indiens_, publié par

D. Charnay (Paris, 1903), p. 108; J. de Acosta, _The Natural and

Moral History of the Indies_, bk. vii. chap. 22, vol. ii. p. 505 of

E. Grimston’s translation, edited by (Sir) Clements R. Markham

(Hakluyt Society, London, 1880).

_ 4 Memorials of the Empire of Japon in the XVI. and XVII. Centuries_,

edited by T. Rundall (Hakluyt Society, London, 1850), pp. 14, 141;

B. Varenius, _Descriptio regni Japoniae et Siam_ (Cambridge, 1673),

p. 11; Caron, “Account of Japan,” in John Pinkerton’s _Voyages and

Travels_ (London, 1808-1814), vii. 613; Kaempfer, “History of

Japan,” in _id._ vii. 716.

5 W. Ellis, _Polynesian Researches_, Second Edition (London,

1832-1836), iii. 102 _sq._; Captain James Wilson, _Missionary Voyage

to the Southern Pacific Ocean_ (London, 1799), p. 329.

6 A. Bastian, _Der Mensch in der Geschichte_ (Leipsic, 1860), iii. 81.

7 Athenaeus, xii. 8, p. 514 c.

_ 8 The Voiages and Travels of John Struys_ (London, 1684), p. 30.

9 Rev. J. Roscoe, “Further Notes on the Manners and Customs of the

Baganda,” _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxii. (1902)

pp. 62, 67; _id._, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), pp. 154 _sq._

Compare L. Decle, _Three Years in Savage Africa_ (London, 1898), p.

445 note: “Before horses had been introduced into Uganda the king

and his mother never walked, but always went about perched astride

the shoulders of a slave—a most ludicrous sight. In this way they

often travelled hundreds of miles.” The use both of horses and of

chariots by royal personages may often have been intended to prevent

their sacred feet from touching the ground.

10 E. Torday et T. A. Joyce, _Les Bushongo_ (Brussels, 1910), p. 61.

11 Northcote W. Thomas, _Anthropological Report on the Ibo-speaking

Peoples of Nigeria_ (London, 1913), i. 57 _sq._

_ 12 Satapatha Brâhmana_, translated by Julius Eggeling, Part iii.

(Oxford, 1894) pp. 81, 91, 92, 102, 128 _sq._ (_Sacred Books of the

East_, vol. xli.).

M4 Certain persons on certain occasions forbidden to touch the ground

with their feet.

13 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _Quer durch Borneo_ (Leyden, 1904-1907), i. 172.

14 Letter of Missionary Krick, in _Annales de la Propagation de la

Foi_, xxvi. (1854) pp. 86-88.

15 Pechuel-Loesche, “Indiscretes aus Loango,” _Zeitschrift für

Ethnologie_, x. (1878) pp. 29 _sq._

16 Edgar Thurston, _Ethnographic Notes in Southern India_ (Madras,

1906), p. 70.

17 M. C. Schadee, “Het familieleven en familierecht der Dajaks van

Landak en Tajan,” _Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde van

Nederlandsch-Indië_, lxiii. (1910) p. 433.

18 James Adair, _History of the American Indians_ (London, 1775), p.

382; _Narrative of the Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner_

(London, 1830), p. 123. As to the taboos to which warriors are

subject see _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 157 _sqq._

19 Etienne Aymonier, _Notes sur le Laos_ (Saigon, 1885), p. 26.

_ 20 Die gestriegelte Rockenphilosophie_5 (Chemnitz, 1759), pp. 586

_sqq._

M5 Sacred or tabooed persons apparently thought to be charged with a

mysterious virtue like a fluid, which will run to waste or explode

if it touches the ground.

M6 Things as well as persons can be charged with the mysterious quality

of holiness or taboo; and when so charged they must be kept from

contact with the ground.

21 Baldwin Spencer and F. J. Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central

Australia_ (London, 1899), pp. 364, 370 _sqq._, 629; _id._, _Across

Australia_ (London, 1912), ii. 280, 285 _sq._

M7 Festival of the wild mango tree in British New Guinea.

M8 The wild mango tree not allowed to touch the ground.

M9 Final disposition of the wild mango tree.

22 C. G. Seligmann, M.D., _The Melanesians of British New Guinea_

(Cambridge, 1910), pp. 589-599.

M10 The ceremony apparently intended to fertilize the mango trees.

M11 Sacred objects of various sorts not allowed to touch the ground.

23 George Brown, D.D., _Melanesians and Polynesians_ (London, 1910),

pp. 60 _sq._, 64. As to the Duk-duk society, see below, vol. ii. pp.

246 _sq._

24 John Keast Lord, _The Naturalist in Vancouver Island and British

Columbia_ (London, 1866), ii. 237.

25 Edwin James, _Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky

Mountains_ (London, 1823), ii. 47; Rev. J. Owen Dorsey, “Omaha

Sociology,” _Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_

(Washington, 1884), p. 226.

26 James Adair, _History of the American Indians_ (London, 1775), pp.

161-163.

27 (Sir) Henry Babington Smith, in _Folk-lore_, v. (1894) p. 340.

28 Miss C. F. Gordon Cumming, _In the Hebrides_ (London, 1883), p. 211.

29 W. Gregor, “Quelques coutumes du Nord-est du Comté d’Aberdeen,”

_Revue des Traditions populaires_, iii. (1888) p. 485 B. Compare

_Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, i. 158 _sq._

M12 Sacred food not allowed to touch the earth.

30 R. Brough Smyth, _Aborigines of Victoria_ (Melbourne and London,

1878), i. 450.

31 E. Gerard, _The Land beyond the Forest_ (Edinburgh and London,

1888), ii. 7.

32 F. Grabowsky, “Der Distrikt Dusson Timor in Südost-Borneo und seine

Bewohner,” _Das Ausland_, 1884, No. 24, p. 470.

_ 33 Narrative of the Second Arctic Expedition made by Charles F. Hall_,

edited by Prof. J. E. Nourse (Washington, 1879), pp. 110 _sq._

34 See _Taboo and Perils of the Soul_, pp. 207 _sqq._

M13 Magical implements and remedies thought to lose their virtue by

contact with the ground.

35 Walter E. Roth, _Ethnological Studies among the North-West-Central

Queensland Aborigines_ (Brisbane and London, 1897), p. 156, § 265.

The custom of killing a man by pointing a bone or stick at him,

while the sorcerer utters appropriate curses, is common among the

tribes of Central Australia; but amongst them there seems to be no

objection to place the bone or stick on the ground; on the contrary,

an Arunta wizard inserts the bone or stick in the ground while he

invokes death and destruction on his enemy. See Baldwin Spencer and

F. J. Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central Australia_ (London, 1899),

pp. 534 _sqq._; _id._, _Northern Tribes of Central Australia_

(London, 1904), pp. 455 _sqq._

36 Hugh Low, _Sarawak_ (London, 1848), pp. 145 _sq._

37 Pliny, _Naturalis Historia_, xxviii. 33 _sq._

38 Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of

Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 184. As to the superstitions attaching

to stone arrow-heads and axeheads (celts), commonly known as

“thunderbolts,” in the British Islands, see W. W. Skeat,

“Snake-stones and Stone Thunderbolts,” _Folk-lore_, xxiii. (1912)

pp. 60 _sqq._; and as to such superstitions in general, see Chr.

Blinkenberg, _The Thunderweapon in Religion and Folklore_

(Cambridge, 1911).

M14 Serpents’ eggs or Snake Stones.

39 Pliny, _Naturalis Historia_, xxix. 52-54.

40 W. Borlase, _Antiquities, Historical and Monumental, of the County

of Cornwall_ (London, 1769), pp. 142 _sq._; J. Brand, _Popular

Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1882-1883), i. 322; J. G.

Dalyell, _Darker Superstitions of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1834), pp.

140 _sq._; Daniel Wilson, _The Archaeology and Prehistoric Annals of

Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1851), pp. 303 _sqq._; Lieut.-Col. Forbes

Leslie, _The Early Races of Scotland and their Monuments_

(Edinburgh, 1866), i. 75 _sqq._; J. G. Campbell, _Witchcraft and

Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow,

1902), pp. 84-88; Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of

Wales_ (London, 1909), pp. 170 _sq._; J. C. Davies, _Folk-lore of

West and Mid-Wales_ (Aberystwyth, 1911), p. 76. Compare W. W. Skeat,

“Snakestones and Stone Thunderbolts,” _Folk-lore_, xxiii. (1912) pp.

45 _sqq._ The superstition is described as follows by Edward Lhwyd

in a letter quoted by W. Borlase (_op. cit._ p. 142): “In most parts

of Wales, and throughout all Scotland, and in Cornwall, we find it a

common opinion of the vulgar, that about Midsummer-Eve (though in

the time they do not all agree) it is usual for snakes to meet in

companies; and that, by joining heads together, and hissing, a kind

of bubble is formed, which the rest, by continual hissing, blow on

till it passes quite through the body, and then it immediately

hardens, and resembles a glass-ring, which whoever finds (as some

old women and children are persuaded) shall prosper in all his

undertakings. The rings thus generated, are called _Gleineu

Nadroeth_; in English, Snake-stones. They are small glass amulets,

commonly about half as wide as our finger-rings, but much thicker,

of a green colour usually, though sometimes blue, and waved with red

and white.”

M15 Medicinal plants, water, etc., not allowed to touch the earth.

41 Pliny, _Naturalis Historia_, xxiv. 12 and 68, xxv. 171.

42 Marcellus, _De medicamentis_, ed. G. Helmreich (Leipsic, 1889),

preface, p. i.: “_Nec solum veteres medicinae artis auctores Latino

dumtaxat sermone perscriptos ... lectione scrutatus sum, sed etiam

ab agrestibus et plebeis remedia fortuita atque simplicia, quae

experimentis probaverant didici._” As to Marcellus and his work, see

Jacob Grimm, “Ueber Marcellus Burdigalensis,” _Abhandlungen der

königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaft zu Berlin_, 1847, pp. 429-460;

_id._, “Ueber die Marcellischen Formeln,” _ibid._, 1855, pp. 50-68.

43 Marcellus, _De medicamentis_, i. 68.

44 Marcellus, _op. cit._ i. 76.

45 Marcellus, _op. cit._ xxviii. 28 and 71, xxix. 35.

46 Marcellus, _op. cit._ xxix. 51.

47 Edward Westermarck, “Midsummer Customs in Morocco,” _Folk-lore_,

xvi. (1905) pp. 32 _sq._; _id._, _Ceremonies and Beliefs connected

with Agriculture, certain Dates of the Solar Year, and the Weather

in Morocco_ (Helsingfors, 1913), pp. 75 _sq._

48 E. Westermarck, “Midsummer Customs in Morocco,” _Folk-lore_, xvi.

(1905) p. 35; _id._, _Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with

Agriculture, certain Dates of the Solar Year, and the Weather in

Morocco_ (Helsingfors, 1913), pp. 88 _sq._

49 Matthäus Prätorius, _Deliciae Prussicae_, herausgegeben von Dr. W.

Pierson (Berlin, 1871), p. 54.

M16 Sacred persons not allowed to see the sun.

50 H. H. Bancroft, _Native Races of the Pacific States_ (London,

1875-1876), ii. 142; Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations

civilisées du Mexique et de l’Amérique Centrale_ (Paris, 1857-1859),

iii. 29.

51 Kaempfer, “History of Japan,” in J. Pinkerton’s _Voyages and

Travels_, vii. 717; Caron, “Account of Japan,” _ibid._ vii. 613; B.

Varenius, _Descriptio regni Japoniae et Siam_ (Cambridge, 1673), p.

11: “_Radiis solis caput nunquam illustrabatur: in apertum aërem non

procedebat._”

52 A. de Herrera, _General History of the vast Continent and Islands of

America_, trans. by Capt. John Stevens (London, 1725-1726), v. 88.

53 H. Ternaux-Compans, _Essai sur l’ancien Cundinamarca_ (Paris, N.D.),

p. 56; Theodor Waitz, _Anthropologie der Naturvölker_, iv. (Leipsic,

1864) p. 359.

54 Alonzo de Zurita, “Rapport sur les differentes classes de chefs de

la Nouvelle-Espagne,” p. 30, in H. Ternaux-Compans’s _Voyages,

Relations et Mémoires originaux, pour servir à l’Histoire de la

Découverte de l’Amérique_ (Paris, 1840); Th. Waitz, _l.c._; A.

Bastian, _Die Culturländer des alten Amerika_ (Berlin, 1878), ii.

204.

55 Cieza de Leon, _Second Part of the Chronicle of Peru_ (Hakluyt

Society, London, 1883), p. 18.

_ 56 The Grihya Sûtras_, translated by H. Oldenberg, Part ii. (Oxford,

1892) pp. 165, 275 (_Sacred Books of the East_, vol. xxx.).

Umbrellas appear to have been sometimes used in ritual for the

purpose of preventing the sunlight from falling on sacred persons or

things. See W. Caland, _Altindisches Zauberritual_ (Amsterdam,

1900), p. 110 note 12. At an Athenian festival called Scira the

priestess of Athena, the priest of Poseidon, and the priest of the

Sun walked from the Acropolis under the shade of a huge white

umbrella which was borne over their heads by the Eteobutads. See

Harpocration and Suidas, _s.v._ Σκίρον; Scholiast on Aristophanes,

_Eccles._ 18.

M17 Tabooed persons not allowed to see the sun. Certain persons

forbidden to see fire.

57 Mrs. Bishop, _Korea and her Neighbours_ (London, 1898), ii. 248.

58 J. L. van Hasselt, “Eenige aanteekeningen aangaande de bewoners der

N. Westkust van Nieuw Guinea,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-

Land- en Volkenkunde_, xxxi. (1886) p. 587.

59 A. Bastian, _Die Völker des östlichen Asien_, v. (Jena, 1869) p.

366.

60 W. M. Gabb, “On the Indian Tribes and Languages of Costa Rica,”

_Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society held at

Philadelphia_, xiv. (Philadelphia, 1876), p. 510.

61 L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), p. 194.

62 H. H. Bancroft, _Native Races of the Pacific States_, i. 553. See

_Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, p. 182.

M18 The story of Prince Sunless.

63 L. Heuzey, _Le Mont Olympe et l’Acarnanie_ (Paris, 1860), pp. 458

_sq._

M19 Girls at puberty forbidden to touch the ground and to see the sun.

Seclusion of girls at puberty among the A-Kamba. Seclusion of girls

at puberty among the Baganda.

64 Pechuel-Loesche, “Indiscretes aus Loango,” _Zeitschrift für

Ethnologie_, x. (1878) p. 23.

65 Rev. J. Macdonald, “Manners, Customs, Superstitions, and Religions

of South African Tribes,” _Journal of the Anthropological

Institute_, xx. (1891) p. 118.

66 Dudley Kidd, _The Essential Kafir_ (London, 1904), p. 209. The

prohibition to drink milk under such circumstances is also

mentioned, though without the reason for it, by L. Alberti (_De

Kaffers aan de Zuidkust van Afrika_, Amsterdam, 1810, p. 79), George

Thompson (_Travels and Adventures in Southern Africa_, London, 1827,

ii. 354 _sq._), and Mr. Warner (in Col. Maclean’s _Compendium of

Kafir Laws and Customs_, Cape Town, 1866, p. 98). As to the reason

for the prohibition, see below, p. 80.

67 C. W. Hobley, _Ethnology of A-Kamba and other East African Tribes_

(Cambridge, 1910), p. 65.

68 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), p. 80. As to the

interpretation which the Baganda put on the act of jumping or

stepping over a woman, see _id._, pp. 48, 357 note 1. Apparently

some of the Lower Congo people interpret the act similarly. See J.

H. Weeks, “Notes on some Customs of the Lower Congo People,”

_Folk-lore_, xix. (1908) p. 431. Among the Baganda the separation of

children from their parents took place after weaning; girls usually

went to live either with an elder married brother or (if there was

none such) with one of their father’s brothers; boys in like manner

went to live with one of their father’s brothers. See J. Roscoe,

_op. cit._ p. 74. As to the prohibition to touch food with the

hands, see _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 138 _sqq._, 146

_sqq._, etc.

69 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_, p. 80.

70 De la Loubère, _Du royaume de Siam_ (Amsterdam, 1691), i. 203. In

Travancore it is believed that women at puberty and after childbirth

are peculiarly liable to be attacked by demons. See S. Mateer, _The

Land of Charity_ (London, 1871), p. 208.

71 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_, p. 80.

M20 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the tribes of the Tanganyika

plateau.

72 C. Gouldsbury and H. Sheane, _The Great Plateau of Northern Nigeria_

(London, 1911), pp. 158-160.

M21 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the tribes of British Central

Africa.

73 R. Sutherland Rattray, _Some Folk-lore Stories and Songs in

Chinyanja_ (London, 1907), pp. 102-105.

M22 Abstinence from salt associated with a rule of chastity in many

tribes.

74 Rev. H. Cole, “Notes on the Wagogo of German East Africa,” _Journal

of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxii. (1902) pp. 309 _sq._

75 R. Sutherland Rattray, _op. cit._ pp. 191 _sq._

_ 76 The Grihya Sûtras_, translated by H. Oldenberg, Part i. p. 357,

Part ii. p. 267 (_Sacred Books of the East_, vols. xxix., xxx.).

77 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), pp. 393 sq., compare

pp. 396, 398.

78 See _Totemism and Exogamy_, iv. 224 _sqq._

M23 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the tribes about Lake Nyassa and

on the Zambesi.

79 Sir Harry H. Johnston, _British Central Africa_ (London, 1897), p.

411.

80 Oscar Baumann, _Durch Massailand zur Nilquelle_ (Berlin, 1894), p.

178.

81 Lionel Decle, _Three Years in Savage Africa_ (London, 1898), p. 78.

Compare E. Jacottet, _Études sur les Langues du Haut-Zambèze_,

Troisième Partie (Paris, 1901), pp. 174 _sq._ (as to the A-Louyi).

82 E. Béguin, _Les Ma-rotsé_ (Lausanne and Fontaines, 1903), p. 113.

M24 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Thonga of Delagoa Bay.

83 Henri A. Junod, _The Life of a South African Tribe_ (Neuchatel,

1912-1913), i. 178 _sq._

M25 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Caffre tribes of South

Africa.

84 G. McCall Theal, _Kaffir Folk-lore_ (London, 1886), p. 218.

85 L. Alberti, _De Kaffers aan de Zuidkust van Afrika_ (Amsterdam,

1810), pp. 79 _sq._; H. Lichtenstein, _Reisen im südlichen Africa_

(Berlin, 1811-1812), i. 428.

86 Gustav Fritsch, _Die Eingeborenen Süd-Afrika’s_ (Breslau, 1872), p.

112. This statement applies especially to the Ama-Xosa.

87 G. McCall Theal, _Kaffir Folk-lore_, p. 218.

88 Rev. Canon Henry Callaway, _Nursery Tales, Traditions, and Histories

of the Zulus_ (Natal and London, 1868), p. 182, note 20. From one of

the Zulu texts which the author edits and translates (p. 189) we may

infer that during the period of her seclusion a Zulu girl may not

light a fire. Compare above, p. 28.

89 E. Casalis, _The Basutos_ (London, 1861), p. 268.

M26 Seclusion of girls at puberty on the Lower Congo.

90 J. Merolla, “Voyage to Congo,” in J. Pinkerton’s _Voyages and

Travels_ (London, 1808-1814), xvi. 238; Father Campana, “Congo;

Mission Catholique de Landana,” _Les Missions Catholiques_, xxvii.

(1895) p. 161; R. E. Dennett, _At the Back of the Black Man’s Mind_

(London, 1906), pp. 69 _sq._ According to Merolla, it is thought

that if girls did not go through these ceremonies, they would “never

be fit for procreation.” The other consequences supposed to flow

from the omission of the rites are mentioned by Father Campana. From

Mr. Dennett’s account (_op. cit._ pp. 53, 67-71) we gather that

drought and famine are thought to result from the intercourse of a

man with a girl who has not yet passed through the “paint-house,” as

the hut is called where the young women live in seclusion. According

to O. Dapper, the women of Loango paint themselves red on every

recurrence of their monthly sickness; also they tie a cord tightly

round their heads and take care neither to touch their husband’s

food nor to appear before him (_Description de l’Afrique_,

Amsterdam, 1686, p. 326).

M27 Seclusion of girls at puberty in New Ireland.

91 The Rev. G. Brown, quoted by the Rev. B. Danks, “Marriage Customs of

the New Britain Group,” _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_,

xviii. (1889) pp. 284 _sq._; _id._, _Melanesians and Polynesians_

(London, 1910), pp. 105-107. Compare _id._, “Notes on the Duke of

York Group, New Britain, and New Ireland,” _Journal of the Royal

Geographical Society_, xlvii. (1877) pp. 142 _sq._; A. Hahl, “Das

mittlere Neumecklenburg,” _Globus_, xci. (1907) p. 313. Wilfred

Powell’s description of the New Ireland custom is similar

(_Wanderings in a Wild Country_, London, 1883, p. 249). According to

him, the girls wear wreaths of scented herbs round the waist and

neck; an old woman or a little child occupies the lower floor of the

cage; and the confinement lasts only a month. Probably the long

period mentioned by Dr. Brown is that prescribed for chiefs’

daughters. Poor people could not afford to keep their children so

long idle. This distinction is sometimes expressly stated. See

above, p. 30. Among the Goajiras of Colombia rich people keep their

daughters shut up in separate huts at puberty for periods varying

from one to four years, but poor people cannot afford to do so for

more than a fortnight or a month. See F. A. Simons, “An Exploration

of the Goajira Peninsula,” _Proceedings of the Royal Geographical

Society_, N.S., vii. (1885) p. 791. In Fiji, brides who were being

tattooed were kept from the sun (Thomas Williams, _Fiji and the

Fijians_, Second Edition, London, 1860, i. 170). This was perhaps a

modification of the Melanesian custom of secluding girls at puberty.

The reason mentioned by Mr. Williams, “to improve her complexion,”

can hardly have been the original one.

92 Rev. R. H. Rickard, quoted by Dr. George Brown, _Melanesians and

Polynesians_, pp. 107 _sq._ His observations were made in 1892.

93 R. Parkinson, _Dreissig Jahre in der Südsee_ (Stuttgart, 1907), p.

272. The natives told Mr. Parkinson that the confinement of the

girls lasts from twelve to twenty months. The length of it may have

been reduced since Dr. George Brown described the custom in 1876.

M28 Seclusion of girls at puberty in New Guinea, Borneo, Ceram, and Yap.

94 J. Chalmers and W. Wyatt Gill, _Work and Adventure in New Guinea_

(London, 1885), p. 159.

95 H. Zahn and S. Lehner, in R. Neuhauss’s _Deutsch Neu-Guinea_

(Berlin, 1911), iii. 298, 418-420. The customs of the two tribes

seem to be in substantial agreement, and the accounts of them

supplement each other. The description of the Bukaua practice is the

fuller.

96 C. A. L. M. Schwaner, _Borneo, Beschrijving van het stroomgebied van

den Barito_ (Amsterdam, 1853-1854), ii. 77 _sq._; W. F. A.

Zimmermann, _Die Inseln des Indischen und Stillen Meeres_ (Berlin,

1864-1865), ii. 632 _sq._; Otto Finsch, _Neu Guinea und seine

Bewohner_ (Bremen, 1865), pp. 116 _sq._

97 J. G. F. Riedel, _De sluik- en kroesharige rassen tusschen Selebes

en Papua_ (The Hague, 1886), p. 138.

98 A. Senfft, “Ethnographische Beiträge über die Karolineninsel Yap,”

_Petermanns Mitteilungen_, xlix. (1903) p. 53; _id._, “Die

Rechtssitten der Jap-Eingeborenen,” _Globus_, xci. (1907) pp. 142

_sq._

M29 Seclusion of girls at puberty in Mabuiag, Torres Straits.

99 Dr. C. G. Seligmann, in _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_,

xxix. (1899) pp. 212 _sq._; _id._, in _Reports of the Cambridge

Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits_, v. (Cambridge, 1904)

pp. 203 _sq._

M30 Seclusion of girls at puberty in Northern Australia.

100 Dr. C. G. Seligmann, in _Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to

Torres Straits_, v. (Cambridge, 1904) p. 205.

101 L. Crauford, in _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxiv.

(1895) p. 181.

102 Dr. C. G. Seligmann, _op. cit._ v. 206.

103 Walter E. Roth, _North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin No. 5,

Superstition, Magic, and Medicine_ (Brisbane, 1903), pp. 24 _sq._

104 Walter E. Roth, _op. cit._ p. 25.

M31 Seclusion of girls at puberty in the islands of Torres Straits.

105 Dr. C. G. Seligmann, in _Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological

Expedition to Torres Straits_, v. (Cambridge, 1904), p. 205.

106 From notes kindly sent me by Dr. C. G. Seligmann. The practice of

burying a girl at puberty was observed also by some Indian tribes of

California, but apparently rather for the purpose of producing a

sweat than for the sake of concealment. The treatment lasted only

twenty-four hours, during which the patient was removed from the

ground and washed three or four times, to be afterwards reimbedded.

Dancing was kept up the whole time by the women. See H. R.

Schoolcraft, _Indian Tribes of the United States_ (Philadelphia,

1853-1856), v. 215.

107 Dr. C. G. Seligmann, in _Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological

Expedition to Torres Straits_, v. 201 _sq._

M32 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of California.

108 A. L. Kroeber, “The Religion of the Indians of California,”

_University of California Publications in American Archaeology and

Ethnology_, vol. iv. No. 6 (September, 1907), p. 324.

109 Roland B. Dixon, “The Northern Maidu,” _Bulletin of the American

Museum of Natural History_, vol. xvii. Part iii. (May, 1905) pp. 232

_sq._, compare pp. 233-238.

110 Stephen Powers, _Tribes of California_ (Washington, 1877), p. 85

(_Contributions to North American Ethnology_, vol. iii.).

111 Stephen Powers, _op. cit._ p. 235.

M33 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of Washington State.

112 Charles Wilkes, _Narrative of the United States Exploring

Expedition_, New Edition (New York, 1851), iv. 456.

113 Franz Boas, _Chinook Texts_ (Washington, 1894), pp. 246 _sq._ The

account, taken down from the lips of a Chinook Indian, is not

perfectly clear; some of the restrictions were prolonged after the

girl’s second monthly period.

M34 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Nootka Indians of Vancouver

Island.

114 G. M. Sproat, _Scenes and Studies of Savage Life_ (London, 1868),

pp. 93 _sq._

115 Franz Boas, in _Sixth Report on the North-Western Tribes of Canada_,

pp. 40-42 (separate reprint from the _Report of the British

Association for the Advancement of Science_, Leeds meeting, 1890).

The rule not to lie down is observed also during their seclusion at

puberty by Tsimshian girls, who always sit propped up between boxes

and mats; their heads are covered with small mats, and they may not

look at men nor at fresh salmon and olachen. See Franz Boas, in

_Fifth Report on the North-Western Tribes of Canada_, p. 41

(separate reprint from the _Report of the British Association for

the Advancement of Science_, Newcastle-upon-Tyne meeting, 1889); G.

M. Dawson, _Report on the Queen Charlotte Islands, 1878_ (Montreal,

1880), pp. 130 B _sq._ Some divine kings are not allowed to lie

down. See _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, p. 5.

M35 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Haida Indians of the Queen

Charlotte Islands.

116 George M. Dawson, _Report on the Queen Charlotte Islands, 1878_

(Montreal, 1880), p. 130 B; J. R. Swanton, _Contributions to the

Ethnology of the Haida_ (Leyden and New York, 1905), pp. 48-50 (_The

Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum of

Natural History_, New York). Speaking of the customs observed at

Kloo, where the girls had to abstain from salmon for five years, Mr.

Swanton says (p. 49): “When five years had passed, the girl came

out, and could do as she pleased.” This seems to imply that the girl

was secluded in the house for five years. We have seen (above, p.

32) that in New Ireland the girls used sometimes to be secluded for

the same period.

M36 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Tlingit Indians of Alaska.

117 G. H. von Langsdorff, _Reise um die Welt_ (Frankfort, 1812), ii. 114

_sq._; H. J. Holmberg, “Ethnographische Skizzen über die Völker des

Russischen Amerika,” _Acta Societatis Scientiarum Fennicae_, iv.

(Helsingfors, 1856) pp. 319 _sq._; T. de Pauly, _Description

Ethnographique des Peuples de la Russie_ (St. Petersburg, 1862),

_Peuples de l’Amérique Russe_, p. 13; A. Erman, “Ethnographische

Wahrnehmungen und Erfahrungen an den Küsten des Berings-Meeres,”

_Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, ii. (1870) pp. 318 _sq._; H. H.

Bancroft, _Native Races of the Pacific States_ (London, 1875-1876),

i. 110 _sq._; Rev. Sheldon Jackson, “Alaska and its Inhabitants,”

_The American Antiquarian_, ii. (Chicago, 1879-1880) pp. 111 _sq._;

A. Woldt, _Captain Jacobsen’s Reise an der Nordwestküste Americas,

1881-1883_ (Leipsic, 1884), p. 393; Aurel Krause, _Die

Tlinkit-Indianer_ (Jena, 1885), pp. 217 _sq._; W. M. Grant, in

_Journal of American Folk-lore_, i. (1888) p. 169; John R. Swanton,

“Social Conditions, Beliefs, and Linguistic Relationship of the

Tlingit Indians,” _Twenty-sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of

American Ethnology_ (Washington, 1908), p. 428.

M37 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Tsetsaut and Bella Coola

Indians of British Columbia.

118 Franz Boas, in _Tenth Report of the Committee on the North-Western

Tribes of Canada_, p. 45 (separate reprint from the _Report of the

British Association for the Advancement of Science_, Ipswich

meeting, 1895).

119 Franz Boas, in _Fifth Report of the Committee on the North-Western

Tribes of Canada_, p. 42 (separate reprint from the _Report of the

British Association for the Advancement of Science_,

Newcastle-upon-Tyne meeting, 1889); _id._, in _Seventh Report_,

etc., p. 12 (separate reprint from the _Report of the British

Association for the Advancement of Science_, Cardiff meeting, 1891).

M38 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Tinneh Indians of British

Columbia.

120 “Customs of the New Caledonian women belonging to the Nancaushy

Tine, or Stuart’s Lake Indians, Natotin Tine, or Babine’s and

Nantley Tine, or Fraser Lake Tribes,” from information supplied by

Gavin Hamilton, chief factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s service,

who has been for many years among these Indians, both he and his

wife speaking their languages fluently (communicated by Dr. John

Rae), _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, vii. (1878) pp.

206 _sq._

M39 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Tinneh Indians of Alaska.

121 Émile Petitot, _Traditions Indiennes du Canada Nord-ouest_ (Paris,

1886), pp. 257 _sq._

122 Fr. Julius Jetté, S.J., “On the Superstitions of the Ten’a Indians,”

_Anthropos_, vi. (1911) pp. 700-702.

123 Compare _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 70 _sqq._

M40 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Thompson Indians of British

Columbia.

124 James Teit, _The Thompson Indians of British Columbia_, pp. 311-317

(_The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum

of Natural History_, New York, April, 1900). As to the customs

observed among these Indians by the father of a girl at such times

in order not to lose his luck in hunting, see _Spirits of the Corn

and of the Wild_, ii. 268.

M41 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Lillooet Indians of British

Columbia.

125 James Teit, _The Lillooet Indians_ (Leyden and New York, 1906), pp.

263-265 (_The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American

Museum of Natural History_, New York). Compare C. Hill Tout, “Report

on the Ethnology of the Stlatlumh of British Columbia,” _Journal of

the Anthropological Institute_, xxxv. (1905) p. 136.

M42 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Shuswap Indians of British

Columbia.

126 Franz Boas, in _Sixth Report of the Committee on the North-Western

Tribes of Canada_, pp. 89 _sq._ (separate reprint from the _Report

of the British Association for the Advancement of Science_, Leeds

meeting, 1890).

127 James Teit, _The Shuswap_ (Leyden and New York, 1909), pp. 587 _sq._

(_The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum

of Natural History_, New York).

M43 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Delaware and Cheyenne

Indians.

128 G. H. Loskiel, _History of the Mission of the United Brethren among

the Indians of North America_ (London, 1794), Part i. pp. 56 _sq._

129 G. B. Grinnell, “Cheyenne Woman Customs,” _American Anthropologist_,

New Series, iv. (New York, 1902) pp. 13 _sq._ The Cheyennes appear

to have been at first settled on the Mississippi, from which they

were driven westward to the Missouri. See _Handbook of American

Indians north of Mexico_, edited by F. W. Hodge (Washington,

1907-1910), i. 250 _sqq._

M44 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Esquimaux.

130 H. J. Holmberg, “Ueber die Völker des Russischen Amerika,” _Acta

Societatis Scientiarum Fennicae_, iv. (Helsingfors, 1856) pp. 401

_sq._; Ivan Petroff, _Report on the Population, Industries and

Resources of Alaska_, p. 143.

131 E. W. Nelson, “The Eskimo about Bering Strait,” _Eighteenth Annual

Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology_, Part i. (Washington,

1899) p. 291.

M45 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Guaranis, Chiriguanos, and

Lengua Indians of South America.

132 Jose Guevara, “Historia del Paraguay, Rio de la Plata, y Tucuman,”

pp. 16 _sq._, in Pedro de Angelis, _Coleccion de Obras y Documentos

relativos a la Historia antigua y moderna de las Provincias del Rio

de la Plata_, vol. ii. (Buenos-Ayres, 1836); J. F. Lafitau, _Mœurs

des Sauvages Ameriquains_ (Paris, 1724), i. 262 _sq._

133 Father Ignace Chomé, in _Lettres Édifiantes et Curieuses_, Nouvelle

Édition (Paris, 1780-1783), viii. 333. As to the Chiriguanos, see C.

F. Phil. von Martius, _Zur Ethnographie Amerika’s, zumal Brasiliens_

(Leipsic, 1867), pp. 212 _sqq._; Colonel G. E. Church, _Aborigines

of South America_ (London, 1912), pp. 207-227.

134 A. Thouar, _Explorations dans l’Amérique du Sud_ (Paris, 1891), pp.

48 _sq._; G. Kurze, “Sitten und Gebräuche der Lengua-Indianer,”

_Mitteilungen der Geographischen Gesellschaft zu Jena_, xxiii.

(1905) pp. 26 _sq._ The two accounts appear to be identical; but the

former attributes the custom to the Chiriguanos, the latter to the

Lenguas. As the latter account is based on the reports of the Rev.

W. B. Grubb, a missionary who has been settled among the Indians of

the Chaco for many years and is our principal authority on them, I

assume that the ascription of the custom to the Lenguas is correct.

However, in the volume on the Lengua Indians, which has been edited

from Mr. Grubb’s papers (_An Unknown People in an Unknown Land_,

London, 1911), these details as to the seclusion of girls at puberty

are not mentioned, though what seems to be the final ceremony is

described (_op. cit._ pp. 177 _sq._). From the description we learn

that boys dressed in ostrich feathers and wearing masks circle round

the girl with shrill cries, but are repelled by the women.

M46 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Yuracares of Bolivia.

135 Alcide d’Orbigny, _Voyage dans l’Amérique Méridionale_, vol. iii.

1re Partie (Paris and Strasburg, 1844), pp. 205 _sq._

M47 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of the Gran Chaco,

and Brazil.

136 A. Thouar, _Explorations dans l’Amérique du Sud_ (Paris, 1891) pp.

56 _sq._; Father Cardus, quoted in J. Pelleschi’s _Los Indios

Matacos_ (Buenos Ayres, 1897), pp. 47 _sq._

137 A. Thouar, _op. cit._ p. 63.

138 Francis de Castelnau, _Expédition dans les parties centrales de

l’Amérique du Sud_ (Paris, 1850-1851), v. 25.

139 D. Luis de la Cruz, “Descripcion de la Naturaleza de los Terrenos

que se comprenden en los Andes, poseidos por los Peguenches y los

demas espacios hasta el rio de Chadileuba,” p. 62, in Pedro de

Angelis, _Coleccion de Obras y Documentos relativos a la Historia

antigua y moderna de las Provincias del Rio de la Plata_, vol. i.

(Buenos-Ayres, 1836). Apparently the Peguenches are an Indian tribe

of Chili.

140 J. B. von Spix und C. F. Ph. von Martius, _Reise in Brasilien_

(Munich, 1823-1831), iii. 1186, 1187, 1318.

141 André Thevet, _Cosmographie Universelle_ (Paris, 1575), ii. 946 B

[980] _sq._; _id._, _Les Singularitez de la France Antarctique,

autrement nommée Amerique_ (Antwerp, 1558), p. 76; J. F. Lafitau,

_Mœurs des Sauvages Ameriquains_ (Paris, 1724), i. 290 _sqq._,

M48 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of Guiana. Custom of

beating the girls and of causing them to be stung by ants.

142 R. Schomburgk, _Reisen in Britisch Guiana_ (Leipsic, 1847-1848), ii.

315 _sq._; C. F. Ph. von Martius, _Zur Ethnographie Amerika’s, zumal

Brasiliens_ (Leipsic, 1867), p. 644.

143 Labat, _Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais en Guinée, Isles voisines,

et à Cayenne_, iv. 365 _sq._ (Paris, 1730), pp. 17 _sq._ (Amsterdam,

1731).

144 A. Caulin, _Historia Coro-graphica natural y evangelica dela Nueva

Andalucia_ (1779), p. 93. A similar custom, with the omission of the

stinging, is reported of the Tamanaks in the region of the Orinoco.

See F. S. Gilij, _Saggio di Storia Americana_, ii. (Rome, 1781), p.

133.

145 A. R. Wallace, _Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro_,

p. 496 (p. 345 of the Minerva Library edition, London, 1889).

M49 Custom in South America of causing young men to be stung with ants

as an initiatory rite.

_ 146 Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 105 _sqq._; _The Scapegoat_,

pp. 259 _sqq._

147 J. B. von Spix and C. F. Ph. von Martius, _Reise in Brasilien_

(Munich, 1823-1831), iii. 1320.

148 W. Lewis Herndon, _Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon_

(Washington, 1854), pp. 319 _sq._ The scene was described to Mr.

Herndon by a French engineer and architect, M. de Lincourt, who

witnessed it at Manduassu, a village on the Tapajos river. Mr.

Herndon adds: “The _Tocandeira_ ants not only bite, but are also

armed with a sting like the wasp; but the pain felt from it is more

violent. I think it equal to that occasioned by the sting of the

black scorpion.” He gives the name of the Indians as Mahues, but I

assume that they are the same as the Mauhes described by Spix and

Martius.

149 Francis de Castelnau, _Expédition dans les parties centrales de

l’Amérique du Sud_ (Paris, 1850-1851), v. 46.

150 L’Abbé Durand, “Le Rio Negro du Nord et son bassin,” _Bulletin de la

Société de Géographie_ (Paris), vi. Série, iii. (1872) pp. 21 _sq._

The writer says that the candidate has to keep his arms plunged up

to the shoulders in vessels full of ants, “as in a bath of vitriol,”

for hours. He gives the native name of the ant as _issauba_.

151 J. Crevaux, _Voyages dans l’Amérique du Sud_ (Paris, 1883), pp.

245-250.

M50 Custom of causing men and women to be stung with ants to improve

their character and health or to render them invulnerable.

152 H. Coudreau, _Chez nos Indiens: quatre années dans la Guyane

Française_ (Paris, 1895), p. 228. For details as to the different

modes of administering the _maraké_, see _ibid._ pp. 228-235.

153 Father Geronimo Boscana, “Chinigchinich,” in _Life in California by

an American_ [A. Robinson] (New York, 1846), pp. 273 _sq._

154 F. Stuhlmann, _Mit Emin Pascha ins Herz von Afrika_ (Berlin, 1894),

p. 506.

M51 In such cases the beating or stinging was originally a purification;

at a later time it is interpreted as a test of courage and

endurance.

155 As a confirmation of this view it may be pointed out that beating or

scourging is inflicted on inanimate objects expressly for the

purpose indicated in the text. Thus the Indians of Costa Rica hold

that there are two kinds of ceremonial uncleanness, _nya_ and

_bu-ku-rú_. Anything that has been connected with a death is _nya_.

But _bu-ku-rú_ is much more virulent. It can not only make one sick

but kill. “_Bu-ku-rú_ emanates in a variety of ways; arms, utensils,

even houses become affected by it after long disuse, and before they

can be used again must be purified. In the case of portable objects

left undisturbed for a long time, the custom is to beat them with a

stick before touching them. I have seen a woman take a long

walking-stick and beat a basket hanging from the roof of a house by

a cord. On asking what that was for, I was told that the basket

contained her treasures, that she would probably want to take

something out the next day, and that she was driving off the

_bu-ku-rú_. A house long unused must be swept, and then the person

who is purifying it must take a stick and beat not only the movable

objects, but the beds, posts, and in short every accessible part of

the interior. The next day it is fit for occupation. A place not

visited for a long time or reached for the first time is _bu-ku-rú_.

On our return from the ascent of Pico Blanco, nearly all the party

suffered from little calenturas, the result of extraordinary

exposure to wet and cold and of want of food. The Indians said that

the peak was especially _bu-ku-rú_, since nobody had ever been on it

before.” One day Mr. Gabb took down some dusty blow-guns amid cries

of _bu-ku-rú_ from the Indians. Some weeks afterwards a boy died,

and the Indians firmly believed that the _bu-ku-rú_ of the blow-guns

had killed him. “From all the foregoing, it would seem that

_bu-ku-rú_ is a sort of evil spirit that takes possession of the

object, and resents being disturbed; but I have never been able to

learn from the Indians that they consider it so. They seem to think

of it as a property the object acquires. But the worst _bu-ku-rú_ of

all, is that of a young woman in her first pregnancy. She infects

the whole neighbourhood. Persons going from the house where she

lives, carry the infection with them to a distance, and all the

deaths or other serious misfortunes in the vicinity are laid to her

charge. In the old times, when the savage laws and customs were in

full force, it was not an uncommon thing for the husband of such a

woman to pay damages for casualties thus caused by his unfortunate

wife.” See Wm. M. Gabb, “On the Indian Tribes and Languages of Costa

Rica,” _Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society held at

Philadelphia_, xiv. (Philadelphia, 1876) pp. 504 _sq._

M52 This explanation confirmed with reference to the beating of girls at

puberty among the South American Indians. Treatment of a girl at

puberty among the Banivas of the Orinoco. Symptoms of puberty in a

girl regarded as wounds inflicted by a demon.

156 J. Chaffanjon, _L’Orénoque et le Caura_ (Paris, 1889), pp. 213-215.

M53 Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Hindoos, in Southern India.

157 Shib Chunder Bose, _The Hindoos as they are_ (London and Calcutta,

1881), p. 86. Similarly, after a Brahman boy has been invested with

the sacred thread, he is for three days strictly forbidden to see

the sun. He may not eat salt, and he is enjoined to sleep either on

a carpet or a deer’s skin, without a mattress or mosquito curtain

(_ibid._ p. 186). In Bali, boys who have had their teeth filed, as a

preliminary to marriage, are kept shut up in a dark room for three

days (R. Van Eck, “Schetsen van het eiland Bali,” _Tijdschrift voor

Nederlandsch Indië_, N.S., ix. (1880) pp. 428 _sq._).

158 (Sir) H. H. Risley, _Tribes and Castes of Bengal, Ethnographic

Glossary_ (Calcutta, 1891-1892), i. 152.

159 Edgar Thurston, _Castes and Tribes of Southern India_ (Madras,

1909), vii. 63 _sq._

160 Edgar Thurston, _op. cit._ iii. 218.

161 Edgar Thurston, _op. cit._ vi. 157.

162 S. Mateer, _Native Life in Travancore_ (London, 1883), p. 45.

163 Arthur A. Perera, “Glimpses of Singhalese Social Life,” _Indian

Antiquary_, xxxi. (1902) p. 380.

M54 Seclusion of girls at puberty in Cambodia.

164 J. Moura, _Le Royaume du Cambodge_ (Paris, 1883), i. 377.

165 Étienne Aymonier, “Notes sur les coutumes et croyances

superstitieuses des Cambodgiens,” _Cochinchine Française: Excursions

et Reconnaissances_, No. 16 (Saigon, 1883), pp. 193 _sq._ Compare

_id._,_ Notice sur le Cambodge_ (Paris, 1875), p. 50; _id._, _Notes

sur le Laos_ (Saigon, 1885), p. 177.

M55 Traces of the seclusion of girls at puberty in folk-tales. Danish

story of the girl who might not see the sun.

166 Svend Grundtvig, _Dänische Volksmärchen_, übersetzt von A.

Strodtmann, Zweite Sammlung (Leipsic, 1879), pp. 199 _sqq._

M56 Tyrolese story of the girl who might not see the sun.

167 Christian Schneller, _Märchen und Sagen aus Wälschtirol_ (Innsbruck,

1867), No. 22, pp. 51 _sqq._

M57 Modern Greek stories of the maid who might not see the sun.

168 Bernhard Schmidt, _Griechische Märchen, Sagen und Volkslieder_

(Leipsic, 1877), p. 98.

169 J. G. von Hahn, _Griechische und albanesische Märchen_ (Leipsic,

1864), No. 41, vol. i. pp. 245 _sqq._

170 Laura Gonzenbach, _Sicilianische Märchen_ (Leipsic, 1870), No. 28,

vol. i. pp. 177 _sqq._ The incident of the bone occurs in other

folk-tales. A prince or princess is shut up for safety in a tower

and makes his or her escape by scraping a hole in the wall with a

bone which has been accidentally conveyed into the tower; sometimes

it is expressly said that care was taken to let the princess have no

bones with her meat (J. G. von Hahn, _op. cit._ No. 15; L.

Gonzenbach, _op. cit._ Nos. 26, 27; _Der Pentamerone, aus dem

Neapolitanischen übertragen_ von Felix Liebrecht (Breslau, 1846),

No. 23, vol. i. pp. 294 _sqq._). From this we should infer that it

is a rule with savages not to let women handle the bones of animals

during their monthly seclusions. We have already seen the great

respect with which the savage treats the bones of game (_Spirits of

the Corn and of the Wild_, ii. 238 _sqq._, 256 _sqq._); and women in

their courses are specially forbidden to meddle with the hunter or

fisher, as their contact or neighbourhood would spoil his sport (see

below, pp. 77, 78 _sq._, 87, 89 _sqq._). In folk-tales the hero who

uses the bone is sometimes a boy; but the incident might easily be

transferred from a girl to a boy after its real meaning had been

forgotten. Amongst the Tinneh Indians a girl at puberty is forbidden

to break the bones of hares (above, p. 48). On the other hand, she

drinks out of a tube made of a swan’s bone (above, pp. 48, 49), and

the same instrument is used for the same purpose by girls of the

Carrier tribe of Indians (see below, p. 92). We have seen that a

Tlingit (Thlinkeet) girl in the same circumstances used to drink out

of the wing-bone of a white-headed eagle (above, p. 45), and that

among the Nootka and Shuswap tribes girls at puberty are provided

with bones or combs with which to scratch themselves, because they

may not use their fingers for this purpose (above, pp. 44, 53).

M58 The story of Danae and its parallel in a Kirghiz legend.

171 Sophocles, Antigone, 944 _sqq._; Apollodorus, _Bibliotheca_, ii. 4.

1; Horace, _Odes_, iii. 16. 1. _sqq._; Pausanias, ii. 23. 7.

172 W. Radloff, _Proben der Volkslitteratur der türkischen Stämme

Süd-Sibiriens_, iii. (St. Petersburg, 1870) pp. 82 _sq._

M59 Impregnation of women by the sun in legends.

173 H. Ternaux-Compans, _Essai sur l’ancien Cundinamarca_ (Paris, N.D.),

p. 18.

174 George Turner, LL.D., _Samoa, a Hundred Years ago and long before_

(London, 1884), p. 200. For other examples of such tales, see Adolph

Bastian, _Die Voelker des Oestlichen Asien_, i. 416, vi. 25; _Panjab

Notes and Queries_, ii. p. 148, § 797 (June, 1885); A. Pfizmaier,

“Nachrichten von den alten Bewohnern des heutigen Corea,”

_Sitzungsberichte der philosoph. histor. Classe der kaiser. Akademie

der Wissenschaften_ (Vienna), lvii. (1868) pp. 495 _sq._

M60 Traces in marriage customs of the belief that women can be

impregnated by the sun. Belief in the impregnation of women by the

moon.

175 Thomas J. Hutchinson, “On the Chaco and other Indians of South

America,” _Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London_, N.S.

iii. (1865) p. 327. Amongst the Lengua Indians of the Paraguayan

Chaco the marriage feast is now apparently extinct. See W. Barbrooke

Grubb, _An Unknown People in an Unknown Land_ (London, 1911), p.

179.

176 Monier Williams, _Religious Thought and Life in India_ (London,

1883), p. 354.

177 H. Vambery, _Das Türkenvolk_ (Leipsic, 1885), p. 112.

178 Hans Egede, _A Description of Greenland_ (London, 1818), p. 209.

_ 179 Revue des Traditions Populaires_, xv. (1900) p. 471.

M61 The reason for the seclusion of women at puberty is the dread of

menstruous blood.

_ 180 Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 145 _sqq._

M62 Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the aborigines of

Australia.

181 H. E. A. Meyer, “Manners and Customs of the Aborigines of the

Encounter Bay Tribe, South Australia,” _The Native Tribes of South

Australia_ (Adelaide, 1879), p. 186.

182 E. J. Eyre, _Journals of Expeditions of Discovery into Central

Australia_ (London, 1845), ii. 304.

183 E. J. Eyre, _op. cit._ ii. 295.

184 R. Brough Smyth, _The Aborigines of Victoria_ (Melbourne and London,

1878), i. 236.

185 Samuel Gason, in _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxiv.

(1895) p. 171.

186 Baldwin Spencer and F. J. Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central

Australia_ (London, 1899), p. 473; _idem_, _Northern Tribes of

Central Australia_ (London, 1904), p. 615.

187 James Dawson, _Australian Aborigines_ (Melbourne, Sydney, and

Adelaide, 1881), pp. ci. _sq._

M63 Severe penalties inflicted for breaches of the custom of seclusion.

188 Rev. William Ridley, “Report on Australian Languages and

Traditions,” _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, ii. (1873)

p. 268. Compare _id._, _Kamilaroi and other Australian Languages_

(Sydney, 1875), p. 157.

189 A. W. Howitt, _The Native Tribes of South-East Australia_ (London,

1904), pp. 776 _sq._, on the authority of Mr. J. C. Muirhead. The

Wakelbura are in Central Queensland. Compare Captain W. E. Armit,

quoted in _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, ix. (1880) pp.

459 _sq._

M64 Dread and seclusion of menstruous women in the Torres Straits

Islands, New Guinea, Galela, and Sumatra.

_ 190 Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres

Straits_, v. (Cambridge, 1904) pp. 196, 207.

191 Ch. Keysser, “Aus dem Leben der Kaileute,” in R. Neuhauss’s _Deutsch

Neu-Guinea_ (Berlin, 1911), iii. 91.

192 M. J. van Baarda, “Fabelen, Verhalen en Overleveringen der

Galelareezen,” _Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde van

Nederlandsch-Indië_, xlv. (1895) p. 489.

193 J. L. van der Toorn, “Het animisme bij den Minangkabauer der

Padangsche Bovenlanden,” _Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- en

Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië_, xxxix. (1890) p. 66.

M65 Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the tribes of South

Africa, Central and East Africa.

194 W. H. I. Bleek, _A Brief Account of Bushman Folk-lore_ (London,

1875), p. 14; compare _ibid._, p. 10.

195 Rev. James Macdonald, “Manners, Customs, Superstitions and Religions

of South African Tribes,” _Journal of the Anthropological

Institute_, xx. (1891) p. 138; _id._, _Light in Africa_, Second

Edition (London, 1890), p. 221.

196 Dudley Kidd, _The Essential Kafir_ (London, 1904), p. 238; Mr.

Warren’s Notes, in Col. Maclean’s _Compendium of Kafir Laws and

Customs_ (Cape Town, 1866), p. 93; Rev. J. Macdonald, _Light in

Africa_, p. 221; _id._, _Religion and Myth_ (London, 1893), p. 198.

Compare Henri A. Junod, “Les conceptions physiologiques des Bantou

Sud-Africains et leurs tabous,” _Revue d’Ethnographie et de

Sociologie_, i. (1910) p. 139. The danger of death to the cattle

from the blood of women is mentioned only by Mr. Kidd. The part of

the village which is frequented by the cattle, and which accordingly

must be shunned by women, has a special name, _inkundhla_ (Mr.

Warner’s Notes, _l.c._).

197 Rev. J. Roscoe, “The Bahima, a Cow Tribe of Enkole,” _Journal of the

Royal Anthropological Institute_, xxxvii. (1907) p. 106.

198 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), p. 419.

199 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_, p. 96.

200 Rev. J. Roscoe, “Notes on the Manners and Customs of the Baganda,”

_Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxi. (1901) p. 121;

_id._, “Further Notes on the Manners and Customs of the Baganda,”

_Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxii. (1902) p. 39;

_id._, _The Baganda_, p. 352.

201 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_, p. 459.

202 C. W. Hobley, “Further Researches into Kikuyu and Kamba Religious

Beliefs and Customs,” _Journal of the Royal Anthropological

Institute_, xli. (1911) p. 409.

203 Mervyn W. H. Beech, _The Suk, their Language and Folklore_ (Oxford,

1911), p. 11.

204 H. S. Stannus, “Notes on some Tribes of British Central Africa,”

_Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute_, xl. (1910) p. 305;

R. Sutherland Rattray, _Some Folk-lore Stories and Songs in

Chinyanja_ (London, 1907), p. 191. See above, p. 27.

M66 Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the tribes of West

Africa.

205 Jakob Spieth, _Die Ewe-Stämme_ (Berlin, 1906), p. 192.

206 Anton Witte, “Menstruation und Pubertätsfeier der Mädchen in

Kpandugebiet Togo,” _Baessler-Archiv_, i. (1911) p. 279.

M67 Powerful influence ascribed to menstruous blood in Arab legend.

207 Th. Nöldeke, _Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der

Sassaniden, aus der arabischen Chronik des Tabari übersetzt_

(Leyden, 1879), pp. 33-38. I have to thank my friend Professor A. A.

Bevan for pointing out to me this passage. Many ancient cities had

talismans on the preservation of which their safety was believed to

depend. The Palladium of Troy is the most familiar instance. See

Chr. A. Lobeck, _Aglaophamus_ (Königsberg, 1829), pp. 278 _sqq._,

and my note on Pausanias, viii. 47. 5 (vol. iv. pp. 433 _sq._).

M68 Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Jews, in Syria,

India, and Annam.

208 J. Mergel, _Die Medezin der Talmudisten_ (Leipsic and Berlin, 1885),

pp. 15 _sq._

209 Maimonides, quoted by D. Chwolsohn, _Die Ssabier und der Ssabismus_

(St. Petersburg, 1856), ii. 483. According to the editor (p. 735) by

the East Maimonides means India and eastern countries generally.

210 L’abbé Béchara Chémali, “Naissance et premier âge au Liban,”

_Anthropos_, v. (1910) p. 735.

211 Eijūb Abēla, “Beiträge zur Kenntniss abergläubischer Gebräuche in

Syrien,” _Zeitschrift des deutschen Palaestina-Vereins_, vii. (1884)

p. 111.

212 J. Chalmers, “Toaripi,” _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_,

xxvii. (1898) p. 328.

213 W. Crooke, _Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and

Oudh_ (Calcutta, 1896), ii. 87.

214 W. Crooke, _in North Indian Notes and Queries_, i. p. 67, § 467

(July, 1891).

215 L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer, _The Cochin Tribes and Castes_, i.

(Madras, 1909) pp. 201-203. As to the seclusion of menstruous women

among the Hindoos, see also Sonnerat, _Voyage aux Indes Orientales

et à la Chine_ (Paris, 1782), i. 31; J. A. Dubois, _Mœurs,

Institutions et Cérémonies des Peuples de l’Inde_ (Paris, 1825), i.

245 _sq._ Nair women in Malabar seclude themselves for three days at

menstruation and prepare their food in separate pots and pans. See

Duarte Barbosa, _Description of the Coasts of East Africa and

Malabar in the beginning of the Sixteenth Century_ (Hakluyt Society,

London, 1866), pp. 132 _sq._

216 G. Hoffman, _Auszüge aus Syrischen Akten persisischer Martyrer

übersetzt_ (Leipsic, 1880), p. 99. This passage was pointed out to

me by my friend Professor A. A. Bevan.

217 J. B. Tavernier, _Voyages en Turquie, en Perse, et aux Indes_ (The

Hague, 1718), i. 488.

218 Paul Giran, _Magie et Religion Annamites_ (Paris, 1912), pp. 107

_sq._, 112.

M69 Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Indians of South

and Central America.

219 Joseph Gumilla, _Histoire Naturelle, Civile, et Géographique de

l’Orenoque_ (Avignon, 1758), i. 249.

220 Dr. Louis Plassard, “Les Guaraunos et le delta de l’Orénoque,”

_Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_ (Paris), v. Série, xv. (1868)

p. 584.

221 J. Crevaux, _Voyages dans l’Amérique du Sud_ (Paris, 1883), p. 526.

As to the customs observed at menstruation by Indian women in South

America, see further A. d’Orbigny, _L’Homme Americain_ (Paris,

1839), i. 237.

222 Chas. N. Bell, “The Mosquito Territory,” _Journal of the Royal

Geographical Society_, xxxii. (1862) p. 254.

223 H. Pittier de Fabrega, “Die Sprache der Bribri-Indianer in Costa

Rica,” _Sitzungsberichte der philosophischen-historischen Classe der

Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften_ (Vienna), cxxxviii. (1898)

pp. 19 _sq._

M70 Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Indians of North

America.

224 Gabriel Sagard, _Le Grand Voyage du Pays des Hurons_, Nouvelle

Édition (Paris, 1865), p. 54 (original edition, Paris, 1632); J. F.

Lafitau, _Mœurs des Sauvages Ameriquains_ (Paris, 1724), i. 262;

Charlevoix, _Histoire de la Nouvelle France_ (Paris, 1744), v. 423

sq.; Captain Jonathan Carver, _Travels through the Interior Parts of

North America_, Third Edition (London, 1781), pp. 236 _sq._;

Captains Lewis and Clark, _Expedition to the Sources of the

Missouri_, etc. (London, 1905), iii. 90 (original edition, 1814);

Rev. Jedidiah Morse, _Report to the Secretary of War of the United

States on Indian Affairs_ (New Haven, 1822), pp. 136 _sq._; _Annales

de l’Association de la Propagation de la Foi_, iv. (Paris and Lyons,

1830) pp. 483, 494 _sq._; George Catlin, _Letters and Notes on the

Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians_,

Fourth Edition (London, 1844), ii. 233; H. R. Schoolcraft, _Indian

Tribes of the United States_ (Philadelphia, 1853-1856), v. 70; A. L.

Kroeber, “The Religion of the Indians of California,” _University of

California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology_, vol.

iv. No. 6 (Berkeley, September, 1907), pp. 323 _sq._; Frank G.

Speck, _Ethnology of the Yuchi Indians_ (Philadelphia, 1909), p. 96.

Among the Hurons of Canada women at their periods did not retire

from the house or village, but they ate from small dishes apart from

the rest of the family at these times (Gabriel Sagard, _l.c._).

M71 Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Creek, Choctaw,

Omaha, and Cheyenne Indians.

225 James Adair, _History of the American Indians_ (London, 1775), pp.

123 _sq._

226 Bossu, _Nouveaux Voyages aux Indes occidentales_ (Paris, 1768), ii.

105.

227 Edwin James, _Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky

Mountains_ (London, 1823), i. 214.

228 William H. Keating, _Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St.

Peter’s River_ (London, 1825), i. 132.

229 G. B. Grinnell, “Cheyenne Woman Customs,” _American Anthropologist_,

New Series, iv. (New York, 1902) p. 14.

M72 Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Indians of British

Columbia.

230 C. Hill Tout, “Ethnological Report on the Stseelis and Skaulits

Tribes of the Halokmelem Division of the Salish of British

Columbia,” _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxiv. (1904)

p. 320.

231 James Teit, _The Thompson Indians of British Columbia_, pp. 326

_sq._ (_The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American

Museum of Natural History_, New York, April, 1900).

M73 Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Chippeway Indians.

232 Samuel Hearne, _Journey from Prince of Wales’s Fort in Hudson’s Bay

to the Northern Ocean_ (London, 1795), pp. 314 _sq._; Alex.

Mackenzie, _Voyages through the Continent of North America_ (London,

1801), p. cxxiii.; E. Petitot, _Monographie des Dènè-Dindjié_

(Paris, 1876), pp. 75 _sq._

233 C. Leemius, _De Lapponibus Finmarchiae eorumque lingua vita et

religione pristina_ (Copenhagen, 1767), p. 494.

234 E. W. Nelson, “The Eskimo about Bering Strait,” _Eighteenth Annual

Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology_, Part i. (Washington,

1899) p. 440.

M74 Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Tinneh or Déné

Indians. Customs and beliefs of the Carrier Indians in regard to

menstruous women.

235 The Carriers are a tribe of Déné or Tinneh Indians who get their

name from a custom observed among them by widows, who carry, or

rather used to carry, the charred bones of their dead husbands about

with them in bundles.

M75 Seclusion of Carrier girls at puberty.

236 Hence we may conjecture that the similar ornaments worn by Mabuiag

girls in similar circumstances are also amulets. See above, p. 36.

Among the aborigines of the Upper Yarra river in Victoria, a girl at

puberty used to have cords tied very tightly round several parts of

her body. The cords were worn for several days, causing the whole

body to swell very much and inflicting great pain. The girl might

not remove them till she was clean. See R. Brough Smyth, _Aborigines

of Victoria_ (Melbourne and London, 1878), i. 65. Perhaps the cords

were intended to arrest the flow of blood.

M76 Seclusion of Carrier women at their monthly periods. Reasons for the

seclusion of menstruous women among the Indians.

237 Rev. Father A.G. Morice, “The Western Dénés, their Manners and

Customs,” _Proceedings of the Canadian Institute_, Toronto, Third

Series, vii. (1888-89) pp. 162-164. The writer has repeated the

substance of this account in a later work, _Au pays de l’Ours Noir:

chez les sauvages de la Colombie Britannique_ (Paris and Lyons,

1897), pp. 72 _sq._

238 A. G. Morice, “Notes, Archaeological, Industrial, and Sociological,

on the Western Dénés,” _Transactions of the Canadian Institute_, iv.

(1892-93) pp. 106 _sq._ Compare Rev. Father Julius Jetté, “On the

Superstitions of the Ten’a Indians,” _Anthropos_, vi. (1911) pp. 703

_sq._, who tells us that Tinneh women at these times may not lift

their own nets, may not step over other people’s nets, and may not

pass in a boat or canoe near a place where nets are being set.

239 A. G. Morice, in _Transactions of the Canadian Institute_, iv.

(1892-93) pp. 107, 110.

240 James Teit, _The Thompson Indians of British Columbia_, p. 327 (_The

Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum of

Natural History_, New York, April 1900).

241 See above, p. 53.

M77 Similar rules of seclusion enjoined on menstruous women in ancient

Hindoo, Persian, and Hebrew codes.

_ 242 Laws of Manu_, translated by G. Bühler (Oxford, 1886), ch. iv. 41

sq., p. 135 (_Sacred Books of the East_, vol. xxv.).

_ 243 The Zend-Avesta_, translated by J. Darmesteter, i. (Oxford, 1880)

p. xcii. (_Sacred Books of the East_, vol. iv.). See _id._, pp. 9,

181-185, _Fargard_, i. 18 and 19, xvi. 1-18.

M78 Superstitions as to menstruous women in ancient and modern Europe.

244 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ vii. 64 _sq._, xxviii. 77 _sqq._ Compare

_Geoponica_, xii. 20. 5 and 25. 2; Columella, _De re rustica_, xi.

357 _sqq._