RITES AND SUPERSTITIONS (_continued_)
Agrarian rites--How Me-Sao, King of the Moï, opens the
jar--Rites of initiation and "coming of age."
The Moï being essentially an agricultural people it is not difficult
to believe that a large number of agrarian rites enliven the monotony
of their daily life. We must also remind ourselves that these rites
are generally based on a belief in imitative or sympathetic magic.
They are seldom propitiatory in character.
Thus before each harvest the Mnong plant bulbous or fibrous-rooted
plants in the corners of their rice or maize fields and water them
with spirits. At sowing time they cast some of the leaves of these
plants among the seed in the hope of thus attracting the Spirit of the
grain. The ceremony is completed by sacrificing a pig or chicken, and
the proceedings terminate with a great feast. This method of
celebrating sowing-time with a feast was famous in antiquity. The
sower assumes that by filling his own body with food he can stimulate
the fertility of the grain. The place and time selected is the
largest plantation the sower can find and the season of the new moon,
as if to invite the harvest to coincide with the last quarter. If the
sower is a woman she will let her hair hang loose, in order that the
stalk of the cereal may, by imitation, be as long as possible. At
harvest time she will clothe herself very lightly, and the ball of
rice, in imitation of her slender form, will be small, and accordingly
of better quality.
Reasoning along these lines the savage often believes that the sexual
act during seed-time will have a great influence on the harvest to
come. Sometimes this influence is considered beneficent, and
accordingly the work of sowing is accompanied by the most licentious
orgies. Sometimes, on the contrary, this influence is regarded as
baneful, and chastity is recommended, or even ordered. The famous
ethnologist Frazer considers that to this order of ideas must be
traced the rigid abstinence observed by Catholics during Lent.
Even to-day the Karens believe that illicit love affairs bring a bad
harvest to the guilty parties.
In this connection it is only necessary to observe that ancient
history has much to tell us of lascivious festivals in which the laws
of morality and decency were relaxed almost to the point of extinction
during the sowing-time. The Saturnalia of ancient Rome, taking their
name from Saturn, the god of agriculture, are an example which occurs
readily to the mind, and modern equivalents are to be found in certain
half-pagan, half-religious ceremonies of eastern Europe.
It is also not without a certain significance that all these agrarian
rites, no matter the group which practise them, are celebrated in the
open air and not in a temple, and that their observance is not the
function of a professional priestly class, but the duty of all, from
the highest magnate to the humblest slave.
The Moï preface every religious ceremony with the opening of a jar of
spirits of rice. To omit this prelude would be to invite disaster. In
the dead of night the discordant voice of the tom-tom suddenly breaks
upon the stillness, and, as often as not, its message is one of
invitation to the opening of a jar. We obeyed the summons at first
mainly out of curiosity, but finding the proceedings monotonously
similar, we soon came to take no further interest. One of the
best-known chiefs, Me-Sao, who enjoyed the title of "King of the Moï,"
had a grandiloquent manner on these occasions which is worthy of
record.
His house, or rather conglomeration of huts, was certainly not less
than a hundred yards in length. The stage was thus fully worthy of the
scene to be presented. As the guests arrive, the host invites them to
be seated on a row of stools, very large but so low as to give the
impression of sitting on the ground. A number of attendants
immediately take off the visitors' shoes, anoint their feet with
various oils, after which the guests rest their legs on a low, iron
railing fixed in the ground and worked into a rude pattern. In front
of the audience is a post to which is fixed an enormous jar containing
perhaps twenty-five to thirty litres of spirits of rice. A Moï seated
before the post recites our praises in a drawling voice. Our skill in
the hunting-field, our physical strength, the efficacy of our
medicines form a theme on which the bard lets his fancy play freely.
When he has recounted our individual virtues, another warrior
imprisons our right wrists in a thick copper bracelet, an act
which signifies the conclusion of a compact and an oath of
blood-brotherhood. The great jar is then solemnly decanted after an
invocation to the spirits. The King of the Moï introduces a long
hollow straw into the liquid, draws up a mouthful, and graciously
offers the other end to those whom he deigns to honour with his
friendship. It would be the height of ill-breeding to decline this
mark of friendship, and there is no alternative but submission. One by
one we take a sip from the stalk, which is kept filled from a small
drinking-horn with a hole in the middle to regulate the flow of the
liquid. Those who drink first are the most to be pitied, for the jar
is corked with a mixture of glazed earth and bran, and in spite of the
cup-bearer's skill some of the solid matter always gets into the tube.
By a happy convention there is nothing to prevent the guest from
spitting out his dose, in fact the action is regarded as a high
compliment to the character of the vintage. This ceremony frequently
lasts all night to the accompaniment of selections by the band of
native musicians on enormous gongs. When the distinguished strangers
have been thus honoured the tribesmen, in order of rank, take the tube
in turn, and after them the women also, by which time the liquid has
become perfectly innocuous, thanks to its successive dilutions.
The offer of a jar to a guest of rank is a mark of respect and
allegiance in all these parts. Wherever we went we were always
received by the chiefs with a preliminary greeting of this kind.
Spirits of rice consist of a mixture of paddy and water which is
allowed to ferment for not less than ten days and not more than three
moons. Another favourite offering was that of a white cock flanked by
an odd number of eggs and served on a kind of cane tray, of which the
bottom was sprinkled with a layer of snow-white rice. In exchange for
these courtesies we returned presents of brass needles, and, if our
reception had been particularly cordial, mirrors, which the women
almost tore from our hands. This exchange of presents was the sign of
an alliance and was seldom followed by any act of treachery. We soon
came to realize that we had little to fear from groups who gave and
received these hostages.
Superficial observers often attribute to superstitions certain modern
customs of which the origin is to be sought in moral or legal decrees.
Many of these customs which seem without significance become quite
intelligible when viewed in the light of recent research into the
institutions and ways of life of societies which have long since
disappeared. In the same way our opinion will be sensibly modified by
a close examination of the customs of primitive peoples whose rites
and ceremonies we are apt to attribute too readily to abstract
symbolism.
For example, research into the origin of the practice of circumcision
has brought some authorities to the view that this custom has at some
time been substituted for that of human sacrifice when the victor
offered the body of the vanquished as a gift to the gods. When David
came to Saul to demand the hand of his daughter, the King replied that
the only dowry he required was a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.
In other words, Saul's conditions were the sacrifice of a hundred
of his enemies, and do not seem to be unreasonable under the
circumstances. Again the Dyaks of Borneo are not allowed to take a
wife until they have at least one scalp of their foes to their credit.
Later, by a prolonged process of substitution, circumcision of the
boys and excision of the girls have taken their place as rites which
mark the admission of the young people into the full privileges and
fellowship of the community and signify the passing of childhood.
Most of the groups which practise these rites set apart a special hut
for the accommodation of the boys and girls during the celebration. No
one is allowed to enter, and the novices are subject to a multitude of
disciplinary regulations which are designed to promote physical
courage and endurance, obedience to superiors, and respect for
established tradition. Certain kinds of food are rigorously prohibited
during this period of seclusion, which lasts until the wounds made by
the operation are healed, an event celebrated with great pomp.
These ceremonies are only consistent with the theory that among
certain races circumcision is not a piece of pure symbolism but an act
of physical and social initiation. The candidate for admission to the
full rights of citizenship must be instructed in the duties and
responsibilities of his new status. He must be initiated into the
traditions of his clan. In nearly every case some distinctive feature
of dress or hair, or some tribal mark, such as tattooing, deformation,
or mutilation indicates the critical period. In Rome the young man put
on the toga to indicate his assumption of the rights of manhood.
It must not be imagined that the attainment of puberty in a
physiological sense coincides with admission into full membership of
the tribe. It is possible for these events to be separated by a long
period, though many observers have fallen into error in ignorance of
the fact.
The Catholics regard the first communion as the point at which the
innocence of childhood passes, and manhood, with its burden of
temptation, begins. Accordingly the communicant-to-be is prepared for
this ceremony by a period of initiation, during which he makes a
reverent study of the traditions of his faith and the articles of his
creed.
The Moï, too, celebrate the attainment of puberty by a series of rites
and festivals. The period of seclusion in a special house which no one
may enter points clearly to a belief in the necessity of a period of
initiation, during which the candidate prepares himself for the new
life.
The Moï also exhibit traces of usages regulating the sexual relation
which are of very ancient origin. We have already noticed the
innumerable prohibitions obligatory during pregnancy. The rites to be
observed during the menstrual period, and particularly at the time of
the first menstruation, are no less rigorous and complicated. A woman
must not touch meat at that period, and must be particularly careful
to avoid contact with either of her parents. The girls of the Lolo, a
people on the Chinese frontier, as soon as they have reached a
marriageable age, are subjected to a vegetarian diet and have their
food, from which every particle of meat and fat is carefully excluded,
cooked in special pots.
On the other hand the Moï seem to have no special rites to mark the
menopause.
Similar customs are to be found among most of the races in the Far
East. The Blimyar, a Dravidian people from southern Mirzapore, reserve
a certain part of their houses, under the outer verandah, for the
women during the menstrual period. The Parsees forbid their women to
look on flame. Europe itself is familiar with regulations of the same
type. In the country districts of France the peasants think that the
presence of a woman in the condition in question is enough to turn the
beer, convert the wine into vinegar or even ruin a whipped cream or
mayonnaise! The belief seems to spring, like so many others, from the
long accepted convention that contact with blood is a cause of
impurity.
Another very curious rite is that which ethnologists have agreed to
call "avoidance," which means the prohibition imposed on both parties
to a marriage to touch, in the case of the husband, his mother-in-law,
and, in the case of the wife, her father-in-law. Colonel Diguet of the
Colonial Infantry deposes that this taboo is found also among the
Man-Coc and the Man-Pa-Teng, tribes of mountaineers near Tonkin, whose
customs bear strong resemblances to those of the Moï. Speaking for
myself, I can advance the case no further, for to all my questions on
the subject the natives answered with that obvious reticence which is
the sign of their dislike to be catechized on sexual matters.
Africa and Australia furnish many examples of "avoidance." The
Bovandik of South Australia even have a special language for
conversation between a husband and his wife's mother, or a wife and
her husband's father. In Uganda a son-in-law may not look at his
mother-in-law and not even speak to her except through a partition or
carefully closed door. Madagascar provides examples of the separation
of the sexes. The Mahafaly and the Sakalava build their houses with
two doors, one facing north for the husband and another facing west
for the wife. The woman may eat hot foods but the man may not. On the
other hand, the wife may not sit on the same mat with her husband
during his meals. This practice of eating apart is common throughout
the East. The Moï are no exception, and even carry it to the length of
taking their meals in groups, each group consisting of members of the
same clan or village. We had the most bitter experience of this custom
and its resulting inconvenience during the expedition. It was our
practice as a rule to have the midday meal in the open at any place
where we happened to be at the moment, and the time was naturally
short. But however short the interval, the coolies never failed to
waste the larger part of it in sorting themselves out into clans.
Primitive peoples regard the fertility of their women as a national
asset, and all kinds of rites are celebrated to avert the crowning
disaster of sterility, which is neither more nor less than a public
calamity. The Laotians, who cannot truly be described as primitive,
make family pilgrimages to a temple in which there is a famous statue,
probably of the goddess Kâli. The figure is of a woman of a black race
standing with a linga in her hand. Each day she receives a large
number of visitors, who show their devotion by sprinkling her lips
with cocoa-nut oil in the hope of gaining her favour, and thereby
assuring to themselves a numerous posterity. The walls of the temple
are hung with votive offerings, the nature of which leaves no doubt
as to the character of the requests made to the divinity. In this
connection it may be mentioned that a similar practice obtains in
certain villages of the Italian Tyrol, Bavaria, and Rhenish Prussia,
where the traveller will find the votive offerings, consisting of a
spiked ball, a symbol of the matrix, directed to the same end.
In lands less enlightened, where sculpture is but in its infancy, this
act of devotion is replaced by a ceremony enacted by the Sorcerer. The
Tho, for example, make a small model bridge of bamboo and place it
near the house of the childless family. The bridge is a standing
invitation to the Spirit of Fertility to enter the house and accept
the hospitality of the inmates, rewarding them by granting their
request.
Among other tribes the Sorcerer makes a small figure of the barren
woman and adjures it to submit to the yoke of maternity. It will be
remembered that the rite of _envoûtement_ (casting a spell on a person
by transfixing an image of him) is based on sympathetic magic, so that
it is essential that the operator should possess some portion of the
person on whose behalf the ceremony is performed. A piece of hair,
some nail-parings, or, best of all, some of the menstrual blood, are
most commonly used on these occasions. This rite is practised by
almost all savage tribes, but generally with a view to accomplishing
the destruction of the original of the model rather than obtaining
favours for him.
Among the Moï certain plants which they call "Begand" are endowed with
magical properties, malevolent or otherwise. All these roots belong to
the family of the _Zingiberacae_. Sometimes all that is required of
the sick man is to rub himself with the herb. The spirit which has
caused his illness will then acknowledge the efficacy of the treatment
and withdraw. Sometimes, on the contrary, a single leaf mixed with
food is quite sufficient to cause a mortal disease. When mixed with
tobacco the "Begand" acts either as a love philter or as a means of
procuring an abortion. Among other tribes the species is known as
"Magan," and the Sorcerer alone is allowed to cultivate it, since it
forms one of the principal ingredients in the small figures of friends
or enemies which play so large a part in magical ceremonies. This
rhizome is also reputed to have a powerful effect upon animals, and a
few leaves are invariably placed in traps and nets to ensure a
successful catch.
The missionary Father Durand, who laboured for years among the Moï,
says that the Magan is worshipped as if it were a god, and confirms
the view that it possesses valuable therapeutic properties.
While on this subject it is interesting to recall that all the
research of modern travellers has so far failed to discover the plant
which furnished "Soma" to the Vedic tribes and "Hom" to the Iranians.
If this discovery is ever made it will set at rest any doubts which
may exist as to the original seat of the most ancient religion of the
Indo-Iranian race. The only Soma of which we know anything is that of
the Brahmins, and this, indeed, differs in vital respects from the
sacred beverage celebrated in the Hymns, for, instead of producing
inebriation, it seems to have acted as an emetic. The "Hom" of the
Kirman Parsees, or rather the "Nireng," which is a mixture of "Hom"
and cows' urine, likewise possesses the properties of an emetic. This
is perhaps merely a coincidence of the kind which is frequently
observed among different groups among whom religion is little more
than sorcery.
It has always been my regret that I never had an opportunity of
witnessing the ceremony of _envoûtement_. M. Millet, however, of the
Woods and Forests Department of Indo-China, saw it more than once and
gave me the following graphic account.
A Moï who has some cause of complaint against one of his fellow
tribesmen observes his tracks and follows him until he reaches the
spot where his enemy has relieved himself. He marks the place with a
short bamboo inserted in the ground. A short time after, perhaps, his
enemy falls ill, and then he visits the place at frequent intervals
and either thrusts the bamboo deeper into the ground or else draws it
out, according to his desire to aggravate or diminish the malady.
It may be, of course, a pure coincidence that the illness follows the
ceremony I have related, but it is at least open to conjecture that
the victim hears of what has been done and fear of coming vengeance
unnerves him and produces the evil physical effects he expects.
Everyone knows how human beings, especially highly strung and nervous
human beings, can make themselves ill by anticipating an evil which
they dread.
M. Millet was also responsible for the following account of an
hallucination of which he was the victim, and as he is a gentleman of
unimpeachable veracity, and neither weak nor superstitious, I see no
reason to hesitate in accepting his statements.
"I was stationed at Djiring in Annam and the night in question
was dark and rainy. I was sleeping in a hut of straw which, by
exception in these tiger-stricken regions, was not raised on
piles. About midnight I was awakened by the sound of a prowling
tiger, a sound which left no doubt of its origin. It is quite
impossible to mistake the short 'cop-cop,' the tiger's hunting
signal, as recognizable as that of a motor-horn. I got up,
seized my rifle and prepared for the intruder. The walls of the
hut were made of a network of palm leaves and so flimsy that
the beast could have burst through at a bound. I waited in
silence and in a few seconds heard a noise as of a heavy body
falling, followed by the piercing cry of the victim, a young
fawn, I surmised. The tiger growled and then gave vent to its
feelings of satisfaction in a series of curious mewings. I went
out, and though it was too dark to see more than a yard ahead
of me I made for the spot from which the sound proceeded and
fired point blank. There was an unmistakable sound of a huge
creature springing up and bounding away, then silence.
"At daybreak I searched the neighbourhood for footprints and
traces of the struggle. The ground was of clay and had been
soaked by the rain. It was bound to reveal marks of the
presence of any animal, however light. To my amazement the only
footprints visible were those I had made myself! I repeat that
I could not possibly have mistaken the sounds I had heard, for
I had distinguished even the noise made by a large animal
passing through the bushes.
"The explanation of my Moï attendants to whom I related this
adventure was very simple and plausible. The Spirits were
responsible for the trick played on me!"
Colonel Diguet relates a case of indirect _envoûtement_ which he
observed among the Man.
If a native has a serious complaint against another he commits the
cause of action to paper, or rather the native equivalent of paper,
along with the name of the accused and his village. He then rolls this
up into a ball and thrusts it down the mouth of a goat, which he
afterwards suspends by bands from the branches of a tree. He then
beats the unfortunate creature with a cane, not without many apologies
for the evil treatment which circumstances compel him to mete out. One
by one he recites to the animal the matters of which he complains and
begs it to plead his cause with the Spirits. To ensure a proper zeal
on the part of the advocate he enumerates a series of torments which
await it in the next world should it fail in its mission. He then
departs in the sure and certain hope that his prayers, and especially
his threats, will have the desired effect. The unhappy goat is then
left to die of starvation.
It will be remembered that from the most ancient times the ceremony
which has for its object the expulsion of a disease from an
individual, or the transference of that disease from his body to that
of another, is effected by means of an intermediary, generally a goat,
which has come to be known as the "scapegoat" by reason of the part it
plays on these occasions. He who performs the ceremony is supposed to
have lodged in the body of the animal the evil thing which he wishes
to expel or transfer. The comparison of this practice which, as I have
said, dates from a remote antiquity, with the curious proceedings
among the Man of which Colonel Diguet speaks is thus very striking.
The practice of direct _envoûtement_ is also met with among the Man.
It takes the form of making an image in rice-paper of your enemy and
piercing it with arrows or spears.
Something very similar was practised in the Middle Ages, for there is
hardly a museum of archæology or ethnography which has no show-case of
small figures transfixed with nails, especially in the region of the
heart.
The museum of Tervueren in Belgium is peculiarly rich in specimens of
this kind, most of which were collected by the ethnographical
expedition sent out from England to the Congo in 1907, under the
direction of Mr. E. Torday, of the Anthropological Institute of Great
Britain and Ireland. The method of investigation followed by the
explorers is worthy of note, for the leader, thanks to his unrivalled
knowledge of the dialects, was enabled to dispense with the services
of an interpreter. The information which the natives willingly
supplied as to their rites and superstitions has thus come to us
unadulterated by translation, since it was immediately transmitted to
Mr. T. A. Joyce, the Honorary Secretary of the Institute in England,
who forwarded a series of supplementary questions to Mr. Torday when a
point seemed to require further elucidation. Mr. M. W. Hilton Simpson,
and the artist, Norman H. Hardy, were also members of this mission, of
which the results were such as to deserve special mention.
The expulsion or transference of evil spirits is not always effected
by indirect means such as that of the scapegoat. In the majority of
cases the method followed is the direct one of exorcism. The rites of
exorcism vary greatly according to the beliefs and traditions of the
different tribes. It is generally accompanied by flagellation, which
has for its object to purify the voluntary victim from the stain of
sin. The Spirit which torments him, finding that the repeated blows
make his habitation untenantable, resolves to evacuate the place. It
is plain that this is the true and original purpose of this
chastisement and that the idea of purification by pain only crept in
later.
Like all peoples in an early stage of civilization the Moï attribute
disease and even death not to any natural cause but to the presence of
malevolent spirits, the "Pi." All efforts must then be concentrated on
persuading the harmful intruder to depart, if not by bribes then by
threats. If the illness seems likely to terminate fatally, the
Sorceress is called on to expel the evil spirit by incantations and
sacrifices. This ceremony has many features of note, and I witnessed
it on several occasions in spite of the inveterate reluctance of the
Moï to allow us to take any part in their public life.
The Sorceress is a priestess who enters the house of the dying person
clad only in a full, white loin-cloth. A rough plank serves for an
altar and on it she places a bowl of rice and six small candles, which
she lights. Then to the accompaniment of a series of peculiar writhing
movements she chants a litany, which gets quicker and quicker as the
candles get smaller. Her contortions also become more rapid and
violent and in the end she is seized with a fit of hysterics, which
signifies the frantic struggles of the "Pi" before they yield to the
power of the incantation. All at once her movements cease and she
commences to indicate the hour in which the cure will take place. This
is done after consultation with the Spirits, during which she takes
the rice out of the bowl at the rate of three grains at a time. Then
she takes a mouthful of water, which she returns over the patient's
body in driblets while she presses his stomach as if she were
attempting to squeeze the life out of something. Just as the last of
the candles is on the point of going out she utters a cry of triumph
and holds up a stone of about the size of a nut before the eyes of her
astonished and admiring audience.
The cause of the malady has gone! The "Pi" have departed, leaving this
trophy of victory to the conqueror who seems so exhausted by her
efforts that several gourds of spirits of rice are necessary to
restore her strength.
It sometimes happens that the patient takes a good turn after this
ceremony, either as a reward for faith or else by pure coincidence.
But if the reverse occurs and the patient dies shortly after the
exorcism, the unfortunate result is attributed solely to the parsimony
and ingratitude of the deceased, whose offerings were not deemed
sufficient by the Spirits.
As I have said, the method of exorcism varies with different groups.
For instance, it takes the following form among the Tho of Tonkin. The
priest addresses himself to the Chicken Devil who is in possession of
the patient, first inviting him to take the food which has been
prepared for him and extending the invitation to all the Chicken
Devils of the five cardinal points. (Throughout the Far East the
centre of the earth is regarded as a fifth cardinal point.) He then
throws two coins into a cup of rice and calls on the Male Element and
the Female Element to make the first come up heads and the second
tails. Whether the operation succeeds or not the Sorcerer then lights
several sticks of eagle-wood, pours some spirits of rice into a cup,
and addresses all the Chicken Devils in the following words:
"I beg to inform you that the patient I am about to cure has
been brought to his present condition by the malevolent
intervention of one of your number. I adjure you to command
your brother to leave the place and torment my patient no
longer. Let each of you return to the cardinal point from which
he came; otherwise you shall not partake of the feast which we
have spread for you...."
The Chicken Demons, however, are slow to take the hint, for the
patient's condition shows no sign of improvement. The spokesman
betrays no sign of annoyance at this obstinacy, but his tone changes
from one of studious moderation and politeness to one of command.
He continues:
"I am an intimate friend of the Emperor of Jade and on the best
of terms with Lao-Quan. It is they who speak by my mouth, and
at your peril you refuse to obey the behests of these holy and
powerful persons."
His speech now becomes more rapid and his gestures more agitated.
"I hear the approach of the four sacred animals, the Dragon,
the Unicorn, the Phoenix, and the Tortoise.... I hear the
voices of the fearful Spirits they are bringing to fight you, I
see the armed warriors that escort them.... Fly!... Fly
quickly, lest they slay you for your obstinacy!..."
By this time the speech-maker is quite out of breath and can do no
more than ring his bells, while his companions rouse the whole
neighbourhood with their gongs and tom-toms. This ear-shattering
symphony is intended to imitate the titanic contest which now takes
place between the Chicken Devils and the sacred animals, who finally
rout their enemies and drive them away in confusion.
In Babylon also, exorcism was practised in cases of illness, which was
invariably attributed to the flight of the soul and the possession of
the body by a demon. The first step was to interrogate the patient so
that the priest should know for what reason his soul had abandoned
him. The patient related all his acts and the priest enumerated all
the sins he might have committed. The list of sins is interesting to
anyone familiar with ancient civilizations.
There were the usual transgressions against oneself and one's
neighbour, adultery, murder, theft, injustice, but there were also
sins against the code of commercial morality. To judge by the number
of these last, offences against good faith such as the use of
fraudulent balances and false money were extremely common.
Analogous lists of forbidden sins have been found in some of the
Egyptian tombs.
It is to be noticed that the divinities of primitive groups are
thought to punish only those crimes which touch their own dignity and
worship. They take no account of offences which cause no loss to
themselves. When the group advances along the path of progress we find
that their gods are supposed to be angry at any act which may be
prejudicial to the interests of the whole community. We also find that
their vengeance consists of withdrawing their magic protection from
the delinquent. It seems plain, therefore, that in the earlier period
religion is considered as a thing apart from morals, while in the
later the two conceptions blend and intermingle. This would certainly
support the theory that law has grown up from ancient prohibitions
which in origin were no more than ritual.
The apparatus of the Moï sorcerers and sorceresses is simple and
scanty. No special clothing is worn, consisting as it does of bands of
coarse cloth, perhaps two inches wide, which they strap over their
shoulders and about their loins much like rustic braces. The
mountaineers of Tonkin, whose rites are more complicated, have more
elaborate ceremonies.
Among the Man-Tien, for example, the sorcerer-priests wear a most
remarkable costume when they perform their sacerdotal functions. It
consists of an apron of unbleached cloth, a kind of embroidered
bandolier, and a head-dress resembling the helmet of a French
cuirassier and made of a framework of bamboo covered with a piece of
cloth dyed indigo blue.
The accessories to ritual ceremonies are generally the following:
A short cane of wood with a veneer of red lacquer and prismatic in
shape.
A sword made of coins threaded together in such a way as to cause a
jangle whenever it is moved.
Some seals to resemble those which are found on the books of magic to
demonstrate their authenticity in the next world.
A number of images on cloth or paper with which the Sorcerer adorns
the house of the person who has invited his assistance.
In every place and among all tribes no ceremony takes place without
the harsh discord of incidental music made by gongs, tom-toms and
cymbals.
It would not be fair to leave this topic without paying my tribute to
the extreme fervour and conviction which are displayed by all who take
part in these ceremonies. On the various occasions on which I was a
witness I was always impressed with the fact that a belief based on
faith only is entitled to respect, and I hesitate to regard as mere
superstition anything which seems incomprehensible to me. Even in
Brittany there are many sanctuaries where rites are practised which
have in view the expulsion of evil, and Doctor Hébert has made a
detailed report of an occurrence, one of thousands, which took place
at the celebrated sanctuary of Saint Goulien at the Point du Raz. Here
believers resort in immense numbers in the belief that they can obtain
a cure for neuralgia by having the little bell (which was used by the
saint to summon the catechumens) placed on their heads by the
sacristan, who then rings it furiously. The sound of this bell is
supposed to drive away the malady and restore the patient to health.
If the desired effect is not produced, the failure is attributed to
the pilgrim's want of faith or else to the sins which still hamper his
soul. He must therefore purify himself and entrust his recovery to one
of the innumerable saints whose sanctuaries are scattered throughout
this region. At the worst he has had a pleasant tour in one of the
most curious and interesting parts of France, an event which contains
in itself some elements of a cure.
[Illustration: The Festival of the Dead: Carrying Home the Sacrificial
Buffalo.]
[Illustration: The Festival of the Dead: Poles erected for the
Celebration.]