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diff --git a/old/12261.txt b/old/12261.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ae20a33 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12261.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16101 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Balder The Beautiful, Vol. I., by Sir James George Frazer + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Balder The Beautiful, Vol. I. + A Study In Magic And Religion: The Golden Bough, Part VII., The + Fire-Festivals Of Europe And The Doctrine Of The External Soul + + +Author: Sir James George Frazer + +Release Date: May 4, 2004 [EBook #12261] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BALDER THE BEAUTIFUL, VOL. I. *** + + + + +Produced by Million Book Project, papeters, David King, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + +A STUDY IN MAGIC AND RELIGION + +_THIRD EDITION_ + +PART VII + +BALDER THE BEAUTIFUL + +VOL. I + +BALDER +THE BEAUTIFUL + +THE FIRE-FESTIVALS OF EUROPE +AND THE DOCTRINE OF THE EXTERNAL SOUL + +J.G. FRAZER, D.C.L., LL.D., Litt.D. + +FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE +PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL. + +IN TWO VOLUMES +VOL. I + +1913 + + + + +PREFACE + + +In this concluding part of _The Golden Bough_ I have discussed the +problem which gives its title to the whole work. If I am right, the +Golden Bough over which the King of the Wood, Diana's priest at Aricia, +kept watch and ward was no other than a branch of mistletoe growing on +an oak within the sacred grove; and as the plucking of the bough was a +necessary prelude to the slaughter of the priest, I have been led to +institute a parallel between the King of the Wood at Nemi and the Norse +god Balder, who was worshipped in a sacred grove beside the beautiful +Sogne fiord of Norway and was said to have perished by a stroke of +mistletoe, which alone of all things on earth or in heaven could wound +him. On the theory here suggested both Balder and the King of the Wood +personified in a sense the sacred oak of our Aryan forefathers, and both +had deposited their lives or souls for safety in the parasite which +sometimes, though rarely, is found growing on an oak and by the very +rarity of its appearance excites the wonder and stimulates the devotion +of ignorant men. Though I am now less than ever disposed to lay weight +on the analogy between the Italian priest and the Norse god, I have +allowed it to stand because it furnishes me with a pretext for +discussing not only the general question of the external soul in popular +superstition, but also the fire-festivals of Europe, since fire played a +part both in the myth of Balder and in the ritual of the Arician grove. +Thus Balder the Beautiful in my hands is little more than a +stalking-horse to carry two heavy pack-loads of facts. And what is true +of Balder applies equally to the priest of Nemi himself, the nominal +hero of the long tragedy of human folly and suffering which has unrolled +itself before the readers of these volumes, and on which the curtain is +now about to fall. He, too, for all the quaint garb he wears and the +gravity with which he stalks across the stage, is merely a puppet, and +it is time to unmask him before laying him up in the box. + +To drop metaphor, while nominally investigating a particular problem of +ancient mythology, I have really been discussing questions of more +general interest which concern the gradual evolution of human thought +from savagery to civilization. The enquiry is beset with difficulties of +many kinds, for the record of man's mental development is even more +imperfect than the record of his physical development, and it is harder +to read, not only by reason of the incomparably more subtle and complex +nature of the subject, but because the reader's eyes are apt to be +dimmed by thick mists of passion and prejudice, which cloud in a far +less degree the fields of comparative anatomy and geology. My +contribution to the history of the human mind consists of little more +than a rough and purely provisional classification of facts gathered +almost entirely from printed sources. If there is one general conclusion +which seems to emerge from the mass of particulars, I venture to think +that it is the essential similarity in the working of the less developed +human mind among all races, which corresponds to the essential +similarity in their bodily frame revealed by comparative anatomy. But +while this general mental similarity may, I believe, be taken as +established, we must always be on our guard against tracing to it a +multitude of particular resemblances which may be and often are due to +simple diffusion, since nothing is more certain than that the various +races of men have borrowed from each other many of their arts and +crafts, their ideas, customs, and institutions. To sift out the elements +of culture which a race has independently evolved and to distinguish +them accurately from those which it has derived from other races is a +task of extreme difficulty and delicacy, which promises to occupy +students of man for a long time to come; indeed so complex are the facts +and so imperfect in most cases is the historical record that it may be +doubted whether in regard to many of the lower races we shall ever +arrive at more than probable conjectures. + +Since the last edition of _The Golden Bough_ was published some thirteen +years ago, I have seen reason to change my views on several matters +discussed in this concluding part of the work, and though I have called +attention to these changes in the text, it may be well for the sake of +clearness to recapitulate them here. + +In the first place, the arguments of Dr. Edward Westermarck have +satisfied me that the solar theory of the European fire-festivals, which +I accepted from W. Mannhardt, is very slightly, if at all, supported by +the evidence and is probably erroneous. The true explanation of the +festivals I now believe to be the one advocated by Dr. Westermarck +himself, namely that they are purificatory in intention, the fire being +designed not, as I formerly held, to reinforce the sun's light and heat +by sympathetic magic, but merely to burn or repel the noxious things, +whether conceived as material or spiritual, which threaten the life of +man, of animals, and of plants. This aspect of the fire-festivals had +not wholly escaped me in former editions; I pointed it out explicitly, +but, biassed perhaps by the great authority of Mannhardt, I treated it +as secondary and subordinate instead of primary and dominant. Out of +deference to Mannhardt, for whose work I entertain the highest respect, +and because the evidence for the purificatory theory of the fires is +perhaps not quite conclusive, I have in this edition repeated and even +reinforced the arguments for the solar theory of the festivals, so that +the reader may see for himself what can be said on both sides of the +question and may draw his own conclusion; but for my part I cannot but +think that the arguments for the purificatory theory far outweigh the +arguments for the solar theory. Dr. Westermarck based his criticisms +largely on his own observations of the Mohammedan fire-festivals of +Morocco, which present a remarkable resemblance to those of Christian +Europe, though there seems no reason to assume that herein Africa has +borrowed from Europe or Europe from Africa. So far as Europe is +concerned, the evidence tends strongly to shew that the grand evil which +the festivals aimed at combating was witchcraft, and that they were +conceived to attain their end by actually burning the witches, whether +visible or invisible, in the flames. If that was so, the wide prevalence +and the immense popularity of the fire-festivals provides us with a +measure for estimating the extent of the hold which the belief in +witchcraft had on the European mind before the rise of Christianity or +rather of rationalism; for Christianity, both Catholic and Protestant, +accepted the old belief and enforced it in the old way by the faggot and +the stake. It was not until human reason at last awoke after the long +slumber of the Middle Ages that this dreadful obsession gradually passed +away like a dark cloud from the intellectual horizon of Europe. + +Yet we should deceive ourselves if we imagined that the belief in +witchcraft is even now dead in the mass of the people; on the contrary +there is ample evidence to show that it only hibernates under the +chilling influence of rationalism, and that it would start into active +life if that influence were ever seriously relaxed. The truth seems to +be that to this day the peasant remains a pagan and savage at heart; his +civilization is merely a thin veneer which the hard knocks of life soon +abrade, exposing the solid core of paganism and savagery below. The +danger created by a bottomless layer of ignorance and superstition under +the crust of civilized society is lessened, not only by the natural +torpidity and inertia of the bucolic mind, but also by the progressive +decrease of the rural as compared with the urban population in modern +states; for I believe it will be found that the artisans who congregate +in towns are far less retentive of primitive modes of thought than their +rustic brethren. In every age cities have been the centres and as it +were the lighthouses from which ideas radiate into the surrounding +darkness, kindled by the friction of mind with mind in the crowded +haunts of men; and it is natural that at these beacons of intellectual +light all should partake in some measure of the general illumination. No +doubt the mental ferment and unrest of great cities have their dark as +well as their bright side; but among the evils to be apprehended from +them the chances of a pagan revival need hardly be reckoned. + +Another point on which I have changed my mind is the nature of the great +Aryan god whom the Romans called Jupiter and the Greeks Zeus. Whereas I +formerly argued that he was primarily a personification of the sacred +oak and only in the second place a personification of the thundering +sky, I now invert the order of his divine functions and believe that he +was a sky-god before he came to be associated with the oak. In fact, I +revert to the traditional view of Jupiter, recant my heresy, and am +gathered like a lost sheep into the fold of mythological orthodoxy. The +good shepherd who has brought me back is my friend Mr. W. Warde Fowler. +He has removed the stone over which I stumbled in the wilderness by +explaining in a simple and natural way how a god of the thundering sky +might easily come to be afterwards associated with the oak. The +explanation turns on the great frequency with which, as statistics +prove, the oak is struck by lightning beyond any other tree of the wood +in Europe. To our rude forefathers, who dwelt in the gloomy depths of +the primaeval forest, it might well seem that the riven and blackened +oaks must indeed be favourites of the sky-god, who so often descended on +them from the murky cloud in a flash of lightning and a crash of +thunder. + +This change of view as to the great Aryan god necessarily affects my +interpretation of the King of the Wood, the priest of Diana at Aricia, +if I may take that discarded puppet out of the box again for a moment. +On my theory the priest represented Jupiter in the flesh, and +accordingly, if Jupiter was primarily a sky-god, his priest cannot have +been a mere incarnation of the sacred oak, but must, like the deity +whose commission he bore, have been invested in the imagination of his +worshippers with the power of overcasting the heaven with clouds and +eliciting storms of thunder and rain from the celestial vault. The +attribution of weather-making powers to kings or priests is very common +in primitive society, and is indeed one of the principal levers by which +such personages raise themselves to a position of superiority above +their fellows. There is therefore no improbability in the supposition +that as a representative of Jupiter the priest of Diana enjoyed this +reputation, though positive evidence of it appears to be lacking. + +Lastly, in the present edition I have shewn some grounds for thinking +that the Golden Bough itself, or in common parlance the mistletoe on the +oak, was supposed to have dropped from the sky upon the tree in a flash +of lightning and therefore to contain within itself the seed of +celestial fire, a sort of smouldering thunderbolt. This view of the +priest and of the bough which he guarded at the peril of his life has +the advantage of accounting for the importance which the sanctuary at +Nemi acquired and the treasure which it amassed through the offerings of +the faithful; for the shrine would seem to have been to ancient what +Loreto has been to modern Italy, a place of pilgrimage, where princes +and nobles as well as commoners poured wealth into the coffers of Diana +in her green recess among the Alban hills, just as in modern times kings +and queens vied with each other in enriching the black Virgin who from +her Holy House on the hillside at Loreto looks out on the blue Adriatic +and the purple Apennines. Such pious prodigality becomes more +intelligible if the greatest of the gods was indeed believed to dwell in +human shape with his wife among the woods of Nemi. + +These are the principal points on which I have altered my opinion since +the last edition of my book was published. The mere admission of such +changes may suffice to indicate the doubt and uncertainty which attend +enquiries of this nature. The whole fabric of ancient mythology is so +foreign to our modern ways of thought, and the evidence concerning it is +for the most part so fragmentary, obscure, and conflicting that in our +attempts to piece together and interpret it we can hardly hope to reach +conclusions that will completely satisfy either ourselves or others. In +this as in other branches of study it is the fate of theories to be +washed away like children's castles of sand by the rising tide of +knowledge, and I am not so presumptuous as to expect or desire for mine +an exemption from the common lot. I hold them all very lightly and have +used them chiefly as convenient pegs on which to hang my collections of +facts. For I believe that, while theories are transitory, a record of +facts has a permanent value, and that as a chronicle of ancient customs +and beliefs my book may retain its utility when my theories are as +obsolete as the customs and beliefs themselves deserve to be. + +I cannot dismiss without some natural regret a task which has occupied +and amused me at intervals for many years. But the regret is tempered by +thankfulness and hope. I am thankful that I have been able to conclude +at least one chapter of the work I projected a long time ago. I am +hopeful that I may not now be taking a final leave of my indulgent +readers, but that, as I am sensible of little abatement in my bodily +strength and of none in my ardour for study, they will bear with me yet +a while if I should attempt to entertain them with fresh subjects of +laughter and tears drawn from the comedy and the tragedy of man's +endless quest after happiness and truth. + +J.G. FRAZER. + +CAMBRIDGE, 17_th October_ 1913. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +PREFACE, Pp. v-xii + +CHAPTER I.--BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH, Pp. 1-21 + +Sec. 1. _Not to touch the Earth_, pp. 1-18.--The priest of Aricia and the +Golden Bough, 1 _sq._; sacred kings and priests forbidden to touch the +ground with their feet, 2-4; certain persons on certain occasions +forbidden to touch the ground with their feet, 4-6; sacred persons +apparently thought to be charged with a mysterious virtue which will run +to waste or explode by contact with the ground, 6 _sq._; things as well +as persons charged with the mysterious virtue of holiness or taboo and +therefore kept from contact with the ground, 7; festival of the wild +mango, which is not allowed to touch the earth, 7-11; other sacred +objects kept from contact with the ground, 11 _sq._; sacred food not +allowed to touch the earth, 13 _sq._; magical implements and remedies +thought to lose their virtue by contact with the ground, 14 _sq._; +serpents' eggs or snake stones, 15 _sq._; medicinal plants, water, etc., +not allowed to touch the earth, 17 _sq._ + +Sec. 2. _Not to see the Sun_, pp. 18-21.--Sacred persons not allowed to see +the sun, 18-20; tabooed persons not allowed to see the sun, 20; certain +persons forbidden to see fire, 20 _sq._; the story of Prince Sunless, +21. + +CHAPTER II.--THE SECLUSION OF GIRLS AT PUBERTY, Pp. 22-100 + +Sec. 1. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty in Africa_, pp. 22-32.--Girls at +puberty forbidden to touch the ground and see the sun, 22; seclusion of +girls at puberty among the Zulus and kindred tribes, 22; among the +A-Kamba of British East Africa, 23; among the Baganda of Central Africa, +23 _sq._; among the tribes of the Tanganyika plateau, 24 _sq._; among +the tribes of British Central Africa, 25 _sq._; abstinence from salt +associated with a rule of chastity in many tribes, 26-28; seclusion of +girls at puberty among the tribes about Lake Nyassa and on the Zambesi, +28 _sq._; among the Thonga of Delagoa Bay, 29 _sq._; among the Caffre +tribes of South Africa, 30 _sq._; among the Bavili of the Lower Congo, +31 _sq._ + +Sec. 2. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty in New Ireland, New Guinea, and +Indonesia_, pp. 32-36.--Seclusion of girls at puberty in New Ireland, +32-34; in New Guinea, Borneo, Ceram, and the Caroline Islands, 35 _sq._ + +Sec. 3. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty in the Torres Straits Islands and +Northern Australia_, pp. 36-41.--Seclusion of girls at puberty in +Mabuiag, Torres Straits, 36 _sq._; in Northern Australia, 37-39; in the +islands of Torres Straits, 39-41. + +Sec. 4. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty among the Indians of North America_, +pp. 41-55.--Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of +California, 41-43; among the Indians of Washington State, 43; among the +Nootka Indians of Vancouver Island, 43 _sq._; among the Haida Indians of +the Queen Charlotte Islands, 44 _sq._; among the Tlingit Indians of +Alaska, 45 _sq._; among the Tsetsaut and Bella Coola Indians of British +Columbia, 46 _sq._; among the Tinneh Indians of British Columbia, 47 +_sq._; among the Tinneh Indians of Alaska, 48 _sq._; among the Thompson +Indians of British Columbia, 49-52; among the Lillooet Indians of +British Columbia, 52 _sq._; among the Shuswap Indians of British +Columbia, 53 _sq._; among the Delaware and Cheyenne Indians, 54 _sq._; +among the Esquimaux, 55 _sq._ + +Sec. 5. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty among the Indians of South America_, +pp. 56-68.--Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Guaranis, +Chiriguanos, and Lengua Indians, 56 _sq._; among the Yuracares of +Bolivia, 57 _sq._; among the Indians of the Gran Chaco, 58 _sq._; among +the Indians of Brazil, 59 _sq._; among the Indians of Guiana, 60 _sq._; +beating the girls and stinging them with ants, 61; stinging young men +with ants and wasps as an initiatory rite, 61-63; stinging men and women +with ants to improve their character or health or to render them +invulnerable, 63 _sq._; in such cases the beating or stinging was +originally a purification, not a test of courage and endurance, 65 +_sq._; this explanation confirmed by the beating of girls among the +Banivas of the Orinoco to rid them of a demon, 66-68; symptoms of +puberty in a girl regarded as wounds inflicted on her by a demon, 68. + +Sec. 6. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty in India and Cambodia_, pp. +68-70.--Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Hindoos, 68; in Southern +India, 68-70; in Cambodia, 70. + +Sec. 7. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty in Folk-tales_, pp. 70-76.--Danish +story of the girl who might not see the sun, 70-72; Tyrolese story of +the girl who might not see the sun, 72; modern Greek stories of the maid +who might not see the sun, 72 _sq._; ancient Greek story of Danae and +its parallel in a Kirghiz legend, 73 _sq._; impregnation of women by the +sun in legends, 74 _sq._; traces in marriage customs of the belief that +women can be impregnated by the sun, 75; belief in the impregnation of +women by the moon, 75 _sq._ + +Sec. 8. _Reasons for the Seclusion of Girls at Puberty_, pp. 76-100.--The +reason for the seclusion of girls at puberty is the dread of menstruous +blood, 76; dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the aborigines +of Australia, 76-78; in Torres Straits Islands, New Guinea, Galela, and +Sumatra, 78 _sq._; among the tribes of South Africa, 79 _sq._; among the +tribes of Central and East Africa, 80-82; among the tribes of West +Africa, 82; powerful influence ascribed to menstruous blood in Arab +legend, 82 _sq._; dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Jews +and in Syria, 83 _sq._; in India, 84 _sq._; in Annam, 85; among the +Indians of Central and South America, 85 _sq._; among the Indians of +North America, 87-94; among the Creek, Choctaw, Omaha and Cheyenne +Indians, 88 _sq._; among the Indians of British Columbia, 89 _sq._; +among the Chippeway Indians, 90 _sq._; among the Tinneh or Dene Indians, +91; among the Carrier Indians, 91-94; similar rules of seclusion +enjoined on menstruous women in ancient Hindoo, Persian, and Hebrew +codes, 94-96; superstitions as to menstruous women in ancient and modern +Europe, 96 _sq._; the intention of secluding menstruous women is to +neutralize the dangerous influences which are thought to emanate from +them in that condition, 97; suspension between heaven and earth, 97; the +same explanation applies to the similar rules of seclusion observed by +divine kings and priests, 97-99; stories of immortality attained by +suspension between heaven and earth, 99 _sq._ + +CHAPTER III.--THE MYTH OF BALDER, Pp. 101-105 + +How Balder, the good and beautiful god, was done to death by a stroke of +mistletoe, 101 _sq._; story of Balder in the older _Edda_, 102 _sq._; +story of Balder as told by Saxo Grammaticus, 103; Balder worshipped in +Norway, 104; legendary death of Balder resembles the legendary death of +Isfendiyar in the epic of Firdusi, 104 _sq._; the myth of Balder perhaps +acted as a magical ceremony; the two main incidents of the myth, namely +the pulling of the mistletoe and the burning of the god, have perhaps +their counterpart in popular ritual, 105. + +CHAPTER IV.--THE FIRE FESTIVALS OF EUROPE, Pp. 106-327 + +Sec. 1. _The Lenten Fires_, pp. 106-120.--European custom of kindling +bonfires on certain days of the year, dancing round them, leaping over +them, and burning effigies in the flames, 106; seasons of the year at +which the bonfires are lit, 106 _sq._; bonfires on the first Sunday in +Lent in the Belgian Ardennes, 107 _sq._; in the French department of the +Ardennes, 109 _sq._; in Franche-Comte, 110 _sq._; in Auvergne, 111-113; +French custom of carrying lighted torches (_brandons_) about the +orchards and fields to fertilize them on the first Sunday of Lent, +113-115; bonfires on the first Sunday of Lent in Germany and Austria, +115 _sq._; "burning the witch," 116; burning discs thrown into the air, +116 _sq._; burning wheels rolled down hill, 117 _sq._; bonfires on the +first Sunday in Lent in Switzerland, 118 _sq._; burning discs thrown +into the air, 119; connexion of these fires with the custom of "carrying +out Death," 119 _sq._ + +Sec. 2. _The Easter Fires_, 120-146.--Custom in Catholic countries of +kindling a holy new fire on Easter Saturday, marvellous properties +ascribed to the embers of the fire, 121; effigy of Judas burnt in the +fire, 121; Easter fires in Bavaria and the Abruzzi, 122; water as well +as fire consecrated at Easter in Italy, Bohemia, and Germany, 122-124; +new fire at Easter in Carinthia, 124; Thomas Kirchmeyer's account of the +consecration of fire and water by the Catholic Church at Easter, 124 +_sq._; the new fire on Easter Saturday at Florence, 126 _sq._; the new +fire and the burning of Judas on Easter Saturday in Mexico and South +America, 127 _sq._; the new fire on Easter Saturday in the Church of the +Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, 128-130; the new fire and the burning of +Judas on Easter Saturday in Greece, 130 _sq._; the new fire at Candlemas +in Armenia, 131; the new fire and the burning of Judas at Easter are +probably relics of paganism, 131 _sq._; new fire at the summer solstice +among the Incas of Peru, 132; new fire among the Indians of Mexico and +New Mexico, the Iroquois, and the Esquimaux, 132-134; new fire in Wadai, +among the Swahili, and in other parts of Africa, 134-136; new fires +among the Todas and Nagas of India, 136; new fire in China and Japan, +137 _sq._; new fire in ancient Greece and Rome, 138; new fire at +Hallowe'en among the old Celts of Ireland, 139; new fire on the first of +September among the Russian peasants, 139; the rite of the new fire +probably common to many peoples of the Mediterranean area before the +rise of Christianity, 139 _sq._; the pagan character of the Easter fire +manifest from the superstitions associated with it, such as the belief +that the fire fertilizes the fields and protects houses from +conflagration and sickness, 140 _sq._; the Easter fires in Muensterland, +Oldenburg, the Harz Mountains, and the Altmark, 141-143; Easter fires +and the burning of Judas or the Easter Man in Bavaria, 143 _sq._; Easter +fires and "thunder poles" in Baden, 145; Easter fires in Holland and +Sweden, 145 _sq._; the burning of Judas in Bohemia, 146. + +Sec. 3. _The Beltane Fires_, pp. 146-160.--The Beltane fires on the first +of May in the Highlands of Scotland, 146-154; John Ramsay of Ochtertyre, +his description of the Beltane fires and cakes and the Beltane carline, +146-149; Beltane fires and cakes in Perthshire, 150-153; Beltane fires +in the north-east of Scotland to burn the witches, 153 _sq._; Beltane +fires and cakes in the Hebrides, 154; Beltane fires and cakes in Wales, +155-157; in the Isle of Man to burn the witches, 157; in +Nottinghamshire, 157; in Ireland, 157-159; fires on the Eve of May Day +in Sweden, 159; in Austria and Saxony to burn the witches, 159 _sq._ + +Sec. 4. _The Midsummer Fires_, pp. 160-219.--The great season for +fire-festivals in Europe is Midsummer Eve or Midsummer Day, which the +church has dedicated to St. John the Baptist, 160 _sq._; the bonfires, +the torches, and the burning wheels of the festival, 161; Thomas +Kirchmeyer's description of the Midsummer festival, 162 _sq._; the +Midsummer fires in Germany, 163-171; burning wheel rolled down hill at +Konz on the Moselle, 163 _sq._; Midsummer fires in Bavaria, 164-166; in +Swabia, 166 _sq._; in Baden, 167-169; in Alsace, Lorraine, the Eifel, +the Harz district, and Thuringia, 169; Midsummer fires kindled by the +friction of wood, 169 _sq._; driving away the witches and demons, 170; +Midsummer fires in Silesia, scaring away the witches, 170 _sq._; +Midsummer fires in Denmark and Norway, keeping off the witches, 171; +Midsummer fires in Sweden, 172; Midsummer fires in Switzerland and +Austria, 172 _sq._; in Bohemia, 173-175; in Moravia, Austrian Silesia, +and the district of Cracow, 175; among the Slavs of Russia, 176; in +Prussia and Lithuania as a protection against witchcraft, thunder, hail, +and cattle disease, 176 _sq._; in Masuren the fire is kindled by the +revolution of a wheel, 177; Midsummer fires among the Letts of Russia, +177 _sq._; among the South Slavs, 178; among the Magyars, 178 _sq._; +among the Esthonians, 179 _sq._; among the Finns and Cheremiss of +Russia, 180 _sq._; in France, 181-194; Bossuet on the Midsummer +festival, 182; the Midsummer fires in Brittany, 183-185; in Normandy, +the Brotherhood of the Green Wolf at Jumieges, 185 _sq._; Midsummer +fires in Picardy, 187 _sq._; in Beauce and Perche, 188; the fires a +protection against witchcraft, 188; the Midsummer fires in the Ardennes, +the Vosges, and the Jura, 188 _sq._; in Franche-Comte, 189; in Berry and +other parts of Central France, 189 _sq._; in Poitou, 190 _sq._; in the +departments of Vienne and Deux-Sevres and in the provinces of Saintonge +and Aunis, 191 _sq._; in Southern France, 192 _sq._; Midsummer festival +of fire and water in Provence, 193 _sq._; Midsummer fires in Belgium, +194-196; in England, 196-200; Stow's description of the Midsummer fires +in London, 196 _sq._; John Aubrey on the Midsummer fires, 197; Midsummer +fires in Cumberland, Northumberland, and Yorkshire, 197 _sq._; in +Herefordshire, Somersetshire, Devonshire, and Cornwall, 199 _sq._; in +Wales and the Isle of Man, 200 _sq._; in Ireland, 201-205; holy wells +resorted to on Midsummer Eve in Ireland, 205 _sq._; Midsummer fires in +Scotland, 206 _sq._; Midsummer fires and divination in Spain and the +Azores, 208 _sq._; Midsummer fires in Corsica and Sardinia, 209; in the +Abruzzi, 209 _sq._; in Sicily, 210; in Malta, 210 _sq._; in Greece and +the Greek islands, 211 _sq._; in Macedonia and Albania, 212; in South +America, 212 _sq._; among the Mohammedans of Morocco and Algeria, +213-216; the Midsummer festival in North Africa comprises rites of water +as well as fire, 216; similar festival of fire and water at New Year in +North Africa, 217 _sq._; the duplication of the festival probably due to +a conflict between the solar calendar of the Romans and the lunar +calendar of the Arabs, 218 _sg._; the Midsummer festival in Morocco +apparently of Berber origin, 219. + +Sec. 5. _The Autumn Fires_, pp. 220-222.--Festivals of fire in August, 220; +"living fire" made by the friction of wood, 220; feast of the Nativity +of the Virgin on the eighth of September at Capri and Naples, 220-222. + +Sec. 6. _The Halloween Fires_, pp. 222-246.--While the Midsummer festival +implies observation of the solstices, the Celts appear to have divided +their year, without regard to the solstices, by the times when they +drove their cattle to and from the summer pasture on the first of May +and the last of October (Hallowe'en), 222-224; the two great Celtic +festivals of Beltane (May Day) and Hallowe'en (the last of October), +224; Hallowe'en seems to have marked the beginning of the Celtic year, +224 _sq._; it was a season of divination and a festival of the dead, 225 +_sq._; fairies and hobgoblins let loose at Hallowe'en, 226-228; +divination in Celtic countries at Hallowe'en, 228 _sq._; Hallowe'en +bonfires in the Highlands of Scotland, 229-232; Hallowe'en fires in +Buchan to burn the witches, 232 _sq._; processions with torches at +Hallowe'en in the Braemar Highlands, 233 _sq._; divination at Hallowe'en +in the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland, 234-239; Hallowe'en fires in +Wales, omens drawn from stones cast into the fires, 239 _sq._; +divination at Hallowe'en in Wales, 240 _sq._; divination at Hallowe'en +in Ireland, 241-243; Hallowe'en fires and divination in the Isle of Man, +243 _sq._; Hallowe'en fires and divination in Lancashire, 244 _sq._; +marching with lighted candles to keep off the witches, 245; divination +at Hallowe'en in Northumberland, 245; Hallowe'en fires in France, 245 +_sq._ + +Sec. 7. _The Midwinter Fires_, pp. 246-269.--Christmas the continuation of +an old heathen festival of the sun, 246; the Yule log the Midwinter +counterpart of the Midsummer bonfire, 247; the Yule log in Germany, +247-249; in Switzerland, 249; in Belgium, 249; in France, 249-255; +French superstitions as to the Yule log, 250; the Yule log at Marseilles +and in Perigord, 250 _sq._; in Berry, 251 _sq._; in Normandy and +Brittany, 252 _sq._; in the Ardennes, 253 _sq._; in the Vosges, 254; in +Franche-Comte, 254 _sq._; the Yule log and Yule candle in England, +255-258; the Yule log in the north of England and Yorkshire, 256 _sq._; +in Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, Shropshire, and Herefordshire, 257 _sq._; +in Wales, 258; in Servia, 258-262; among the Servians of Slavonia, 262 +_sq._; among the Servians of Dalmatia, Herzegovina, and Montenegro, 263 +_sq._; in Albania, 264; belief that the Yule log protects against fire +and lightning, 264 _sq._; public fire-festivals at Midwinter, 265-269; +Christmas bonfire at Schweina in Thuringia, 265 _sq._; Christmas +bonfires in Normandy, 266; bonfires on St. Thomas's Day in the Isle of +Man, 266; the "Burning of the Clavie" at Burghead on the last day of +December, 266-268; Christmas procession with burning tar-barrels at +Lerwick, 268 _sq._ + +Sec. 8. _The Need-fire_, pp. 269-300.--Need-fire kindled not at fixed +periods but on occasions of distress and calamity, 269; the need-fire in +the Middle Ages and down to the end of the sixteenth century, 270 _sq._; +mode of kindling the need-fire by the friction of wood, 271 _sq_.; the +need-fire in Central Germany, particularly about Hildesheim, 272 _sq._; +the need-fire in the Mark, 273; in Mecklenburg, 274 _sq._; in Hanover, +275 _sq._; in the Harz Mountains, 276 _sq._; in Brunswick, 277 _sq._; in +Silesia and Bohemia, 278 _sq._; in Switzerland, 279 _sq._; in Sweden and +Norway, 280; among the Slavonic peoples, 281-286; in Russia and Poland, +281 _sq._; in Slavonia, 282; in Servia, 282-284; in Bulgaria, 284-286; +in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 286; in England, 286-289; in Yorkshire, +286-288; in Northumberland, 288 _sq._; in Scotland, 289-297; Martin's +account of it in the Highlands, 289; the need-fire in Mull, 289 _sq._; +in Caithness, 290-292; W. Grant Stewart's account of the need-fire, 292 +_sq._; Alexander Carmichael's account, 293-295; the need-fire in +Aberdeenshire, 296; in Perthshire, 296 _sq._; in Ireland, 297; the use +of need-fire a relic of the time when all fires were similarly kindled +by the friction of wood, 297 _sq._; the belief that need-fire cannot +kindle if any other fire remains alight in the neighbourhood, 298 _sq._; +the need-fire among the Iroquois of North America, 299 _sq._ + +Sec. 9. _The Sacrifice of an Animal to stay a Cattle-plague_, pp. +300-327.--The burnt sacrifice of a calf in England and Wales, 300 _sq._; +burnt sacrifices of animals in Scotland, 301 _sq._; calf burnt in order +to break a spell which has been cast on the herd, 302 _sq._; mode in +which the burning of a bewitched animal is supposed to break the spell, +303-305; in burning the bewitched animal you burn the witch herself, +305; practice of burning cattle and sheep as sacrifices in the Isle of +Man, 305-307; by burning a bewitched animal you compel the witch to +appear, 307; magic sympathy between the witch and the bewitched animal, +308; similar sympathy between a were-wolf and his or her human shape, +wounds inflicted on the animal are felt by the man or woman, 308; +were-wolves in Europe, 308-310; in China, 310 _sq._; among the Toradjas +of Central Celebes, 311-313 _sq._; in the Egyptian Sudan, 313 _sq._; the +were-wolf story in Petronius, 313 _sq._; witches like were-wolves can +temporarily transform themselves into animals, and wounds inflicted on +the transformed animals appear on the persons of the witches, 315 _sq._; +instances of such transformations and wounds in Scotland, England, +Ireland, France, and Germany, 316-321; hence the reason for burning +bewitched animals is either to burn the witch herself or at all events +to compel her to appear, 321 _sq._; the like reason for burning +bewitched things, 322 _sq._; similarly by burning alive a person whose +likeness a witch has assumed you compel the witch to disclose herself, +323; woman burnt alive as a witch in Ireland at the end of the +nineteenth century, 323 _sq._; bewitched animals sometimes buried alive +instead of being burned, 324-326; calves killed and buried to save the +rest of the herd, 326 _sq_. + +CHAPTER V.--THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FIRE-FESTIVALS, Pp. 328-346 + +Sec. 1. _On the Fire-festivals in general_ pp. 328-331.--General +resemblance of the fire-festivals to each other, 328 _sq._; two +explanations of the festivals suggested, one by W. Mannhardt that they +are sun-charms, the other by Dr. E. Westermarck that they are +purificatory, 329 _sq._; the two explanations perhaps not mutually +exclusive, 330 _sq._ + +Sec. 2. _The Solar Theory of the Fire-festivals_, pp. 331-341.--Theory that +the fire-festivals are charms to ensure a supply of sunshine, 331; +coincidence of two of the festivals with the solstices, 331 _sq._; +attempt of the Bushmen to warm up the fire of Sirius in midwinter by +kindling sticks, 332 _sq._; the burning wheels and discs of the +fire-festivals may be direct imitations of the sun, 334; the wheel which +is sometimes used to kindle the fire by friction may also be an +imitation of the sun, 334-336; the influence which the bonfires are +supposed to exert on the weather and vegetation may be thought to be due +to an increase of solar heat produced by the fires, 336-338; the effect +which the bonfires are supposed to have in fertilizing cattle and women +may also be attributed to an increase of solar heat produced by the +fires, 338 _sq._; the carrying of lighted torches about the country at +the festivals may be explained as an attempt to diffuse the sun's heat, +339-341. + +Sec. 3. _The Purificatory Theory of the Fire-festivals_, pp. +341-346.--Theory that the fires at the festivals are purificatory, being +intended to burn up all harmful things, 341; the purificatory or +destructive effect of the fires is often alleged by the people who light +them, and there is no reason to reject this explanation, 341 _sq._; the +great evil against which the fire at the festivals appears to be +directed is witchcraft, 342; among the evils for which the +fire-festivals are deemed remedies the foremost is cattle-disease, and +cattle-disease is often supposed to be an effect of witchcraft, 343 +_sq._; again, the bonfires are thought to avert hail, thunder, +lightning, and various maladies, all of which are attributed to the +maleficent arts of witches, 344 _sq._; the burning wheels rolled down +hill and the burning discs thrown into the air may be intended to burn +the invisible witches, 345 _sq._; on this view the fertility supposed to +follow the use of fire results indirectly from breaking the spells of +witches, 346; on the whole the theory of the purificatory or destructive +intention of the fire-festivals seems the more probable, 346. + +[Transcriber's Note: The brief descriptions often found enclosed in +square brackets are "sidenotes", which appeared in the original book in +the margins of the paragraph following the "sidenote." Footnotes were +originally at the bottoms of the printed pages.] + + + + +CHAPTER I + +BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH + + +Sec. 1. _Not to touch the Earth_ + + +[The priest of Aricia and the Golden Bough] + +We have travelled far since we turned our backs on Nemi and set forth in +quest of the secret of the Golden Bough. With the present volume we +enter on the last stage of our long journey. The reader who has had the +patience to follow the enquiry thus far may remember that at the outset +two questions were proposed for answer: Why had the priest of Aricia to +slay his predecessor? And why, before doing so, had he to pluck the +Golden Bough?[1] Of these two questions the first has now been answered. +The priest of Aricia, if I am right, was one of those sacred kings or +human divinities on whose life the welfare of the community and even the +course of nature in general are believed to be intimately dependent. It +does not appear that the subjects or worshippers of such a spiritual +potentate form to themselves any very clear notion of the exact +relationship in which they stand to him; probably their ideas on the +point are vague and fluctuating, and we should err if we attempted to +define the relationship with logical precision. All that the people +know, or rather imagine, is that somehow they themselves, their cattle, +and their crops are mysteriously bound up with their divine king, so +that according as he is well or ill the community is healthy or sickly, +the flocks and herds thrive or languish with disease, and the fields +yield an abundant or a scanty harvest. The worst evil which they can +conceive of is the natural death of their ruler, whether he succumb to +sickness or old age, for in the opinion of his followers such a death +would entail the most disastrous consequences on themselves and their +possessions; fatal epidemics would sweep away man and beast, the earth +would refuse her increase, nay the very frame of nature itself might be +dissolved. To guard against these catastrophes it is necessary to put +the king to death while he is still in the full bloom of his divine +manhood, in order that his sacred life, transmitted in unabated force to +his successor, may renew its youth, and thus by successive transmissions +through a perpetual line of vigorous incarnations may remain eternally +fresh and young, a pledge and security that men and animals shall in +like manner renew their youth by a perpetual succession of generations, +and that seedtime and harvest, and summer and winter, and rain and +sunshine shall never fail. That, if my conjecture is right, was why the +priest of Aricia, the King of the Wood at Nemi, had regularly to perish +by the sword of his successor. + +[What was the Golden Bough?] + +But we have still to ask, What was the Golden Bough? and why had each +candidate for the Arician priesthood to pluck it before he could slay +the priest? These questions I will now try to answer. + +[Sacred kings and priests forbidden to touch the ground with their +feet.] + +It will be well to begin by noticing two of those rules or taboos by +which, as we have seen, the life of divine kings or priests is +regulated. The first of the rules to which I desire to call the reader's +attention is that the divine personage may not touch the ground with his +foot. This rule was observed by the supreme pontiff of the Zapotecs in +Mexico; he profaned his sanctity if he so much as touched the ground +with his foot.[2] Montezuma, emperor of Mexico, never set foot on the +ground; he was always carried on the shoulders of noblemen, and if he +lighted anywhere they laid rich tapestry for him to walk upon.[3] For +the Mikado of Japan to touch the ground with his foot was a shameful +degradation; indeed, in the sixteenth century, it was enough to deprive +him of his office. Outside his palace he was carried on men's shoulders; +within it he walked on exquisitely wrought mats.[4] The king and queen +of Tahiti might not touch the ground anywhere but within their +hereditary domains; for the ground on which they trod became sacred. In +travelling from place to place they were carried on the shoulders of +sacred men. They were always accompanied by several pairs of these +sanctified attendants; and when it became necessary to change their +bearers, the king and queen vaulted on to the shoulders of their new +bearers without letting their feet touch the ground.[5] It was an evil +omen if the king of Dosuma touched the ground, and he had to perform an +expiatory ceremony.[6] Within his palace the king of Persia walked on +carpets on which no one else might tread; outside of it he was never +seen on foot but only in a chariot or on horseback.[7] In old days the +king of Siam never set foot upon the earth, but was carried on a throne +of gold from place to place.[8] Formerly neither the kings of Uganda, +nor their mothers, nor their queens might walk on foot outside of the +spacious enclosures in which they lived. Whenever they went forth they +were carried on the shoulders of men of the Buffalo clan, several of +whom accompanied any of these royal personages on a journey and took it +in turn to bear the burden. The king sat astride the bearer's neck with +a leg over each shoulder and his feet tucked under the bearer's arms. +When one of these royal carriers grew tired he shot the king on to the +shoulders of a second man without allowing the royal feet to touch the +ground. In this way they went at a great pace and travelled long +distances in a day, when the king was on a journey. The bearers had a +special hut in the king's enclosure in order to be at hand the moment +they were wanted.[9] Among the Bakuba or rather Bushongo, a nation in +the southern region of the Congo, down to a few years ago persons of the +royal blood were forbidden to touch the ground; they must sit on a hide, +a chair, or the back of a slave, who crouched on hands and feet; their +feet rested on the feet of others. When they travelled they were carried +on the backs of men; but the king journeyed in a litter supported on +shafts.[10] Among the Ibo people about Awka, in Southern Nigeria, the +priest of the Earth has to observe many taboos; for example, he may not +see a corpse, and if he meets one on the road he must hide his eyes with +his wristlet. He must abstain from many foods, such as eggs, birds of +all sorts, mutton, dog, bush-buck, and so forth. He may neither wear nor +touch a mask, and no masked man may enter his house. If a dog enters his +house, it is killed and thrown out. As priest of the Earth he may not +sit on the bare ground, nor eat things that have fallen on the ground, +nor may earth be thrown at him.[11] According to ancient Brahmanic +ritual a king at his inauguration trod on a tiger's skin and a golden +plate; he was shod with shoes of boar's skin, and so long as he lived +thereafter he might not stand on the earth with his bare feet.[12] + +[Certain persons on certain occasions forbidden to touch the ground with +their feet.] + +But besides persons who are permanently sacred or tabooed and are +therefore permanently forbidden to touch the ground with their feet, +there are others who enjoy the character of sanctity or taboo only on +certain occasions, and to whom accordingly the prohibition in question +only applies at the definite seasons during which they exhale the odour +of sanctity. Thus among the Kayans or Bahaus of Central Borneo, while +the priestesses are engaged in the performance of certain rites they may +not step on the ground, and boards are laid for them to tread on.[13] At +a funeral ceremony observed by night among the Michemis, a Tibetan tribe +near the northern frontier of Assam, a priest fantastically bedecked +with tiger's teeth, many-coloured plumes, bells, and shells, executed a +wild dance for the purpose of exorcising the evil spirits; then all +fires were extinguished and a new light was struck by a man suspended by +his feet from a beam in the ceiling; "he did not touch the ground," we +are told, "in order to indicate that the light came from heaven."[14] +Again, newly born infants are strongly tabooed; accordingly in Loango +they are not allowed to touch the earth.[15] Among the Iluvans of +Malabar the bridegroom on his wedding-day is bathed by seven young men +and then carried or walks on planks from the bathing-place to the +marriage booth; he may not touch the ground with his feet.[16] With the +Dyaks of Landak and Tajan, two districts of Dutch Borneo, it is a custom +that for a certain time after marriage neither bride nor bridegroom may +tread on the earth.[17] Warriors, again, on the war-path are surrounded, +so to say, by an atmosphere of taboo; hence some Indians of North +America might not sit on the bare ground the whole time they were out on +a warlike expedition.[18] In Laos the hunting of elephants gives rise to +many taboos; one of them is that the chief hunter may not touch the +earth with his foot. Accordingly, when he alights from his elephant, the +others spread a carpet of leaves for him to step upon.[19] German +wiseacres recommended that when witches were led to the block or the +stake, they should not be allowed to touch the bare earth, and a reason +suggested for the rule was that if they touched the earth they might +make themselves invisible and so escape. The sagacious author of _The +Striped-petticoat Philosophy_ in the eighteenth century ridicules the +idea as mere silly talk. He admits, indeed, that the women were conveyed +to the place of execution in carts; but he denies that there is any deep +significance in the cart, and he is prepared to maintain this view by a +chemical analysis of the timber of which the cart was built. To clinch +his argument he appeals to plain matter of fact and his own personal +experience. Not a single instance, he assures us with apparent +satisfaction, can be produced of a witch who escaped the axe or the fire +in this fashion. "I have myself," says he, "in my youth seen divers +witches burned, some at Arnstadt, some at Ilmenau, some at Schwenda, a +noble village between Arnstadt and Ilmenau, and some of them were +pardoned and beheaded before being burned. They were laid on the earth +in the place of execution and beheaded like any other poor sinner; +whereas if they could have escaped by touching the earth, not one of +them would have failed to do so."[20] + +[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.] + +Apparently holiness, magical virtue, taboo, or whatever we may call that +mysterious quality which is supposed to pervade sacred or tabooed +persons, is conceived by the primitive philosopher as a physical +substance or fluid, with which the sacred man is charged just as a +Leyden jar is charged with electricity; and exactly as the electricity +in the jar can be discharged by contact with a good conductor, so the +holiness or magical virtue in the man can be discharged and drained away +by contact with the earth, which on this theory serves as an excellent +conductor for the magical fluid. Hence in order to preserve the charge +from running to waste, the sacred or tabooed personage must be carefully +prevented from touching the ground; in electrical language he must be +insulated, if he is not to be emptied of the precious substance or fluid +with which he, as a vial, is filled to the brim. And in many cases +apparently the insulation of the tabooed person is recommended as a +precaution not merely for his own sake but for the sake of others; for +since the virtue of holiness or taboo is, so to say, a powerful +explosive which the smallest touch may detonate, it is necessary in the +interest of the general safety to keep it within narrow bounds, lest +breaking out it should blast, blight, and destroy whatever it comes into +contact with. + +[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.] + +But things as well as persons are often charged with the mysterious +quality of holiness or taboo; hence it frequently becomes necessary for +similar reasons to guard them also from coming into contact with the +ground, lest they should in like manner be drained of their valuable +properties and be reduced to mere commonplace material objects, empty +husks from which the good grain has been eliminated. Thus, for example, +the most sacred object of the Arunta tribe in Central Australia is, or +rather used to be, a pole about twenty feet high, which is completely +smeared with human blood, crowned with an imitation of a human head, and +set up on the ground where the final initiatory ceremonies of young men +are performed. A young gum-tree is chosen to form the pole, and it must +be cut down and transported in such a way that it does not touch the +earth till it is erected in its place on the holy ground. Apparently the +pole represents some famous ancestor of the olden time.[21] + +[Festival of the wild manog tree in British New Guinea.] + +Again, at a great dancing festival celebrated by the natives of Bartle +Bay, in British New Guinea, a wild mango tree plays a prominent part. +The tree must be self-sown, that is, really wild and so young that it +has never flowered. It is chosen in the jungle some five or six weeks +before the festival, and a circle is cleared round its trunk. From that +time the master of the ceremonies and some eight to twenty other men, +who have aided him in choosing the tree and in clearing the jungle, +become strictly holy or tabooed. They sleep by themselves in a house +into which no one else may intrude: they may not wash or drink water, +nor even allow it accidentally to touch their bodies: they are forbidden +to eat boiled food and the fruit of mango trees: they may drink only the +milk of a young coco-nut which has been baked, and they may eat certain +fruits and vegetables, such as paw-paws (_Carica papaya_) and +sugar-cane, but only on condition that they have been baked. All refuse +of their food is kept in baskets in their sleeping-house and may not be +removed from it till the festival is over. At the time when the men +begin to observe these rules of abstinence, some six to ten women, +members of the same clan as the master of the ceremonies, enter on a +like period of mortification, avoiding the company of the other sex, and +refraining from water, all boiled food, and the fruit of the mango tree. +These fasting men and women are the principal dancers at the festival. +The dancing takes place on a special platform in a temporary village +which has been erected for the purpose. When the platform is about to be +set up, the fasting men rub the stepping posts and then suck their hands +for the purpose of extracting the ghost of any dead man that might +chance to be in the post and might be injured by the weight of the +platform pressing down on him. Having carefully extracted these poor +souls, the men carry them away tenderly and set them free in the forest +or the long grass. + +[The wild mango tree not allowed to touch the ground.] + +On the day before the festival one of the fasting men cuts down the +chosen mango tree in the jungle with a stone adze, which is never +afterwards put to any other use; an iron tool may not be used for the +purpose, though iron tools are now common enough in the district. In +cutting down the mango they place nets on the ground to catch any leaves +or twigs that might fall from the tree as it is being felled and they +surround the trunk with new mats to receive the chips which fly out +under the adze of the woodman; for the chips may not drop on the earth. +Once the tree is down, it is carried to the centre of the temporary +village, the greatest care being taken to prevent it from coming into +contact with the ground. But when it is brought into the village, the +houses are connected with the top of the mango by means of long vines +decorated with the streamers. In the afternoon the fasting men and women +begin to dance, the men bedizened with gay feathers, armlets, streamers, +and anklets, the women flaunting in parti-coloured petticoats and sprigs +of croton leaves, which wave from their waistbands as they dance. The +dancing stops at sundown, and when the full moon rises over the shoulder +of the eastern hill (for the date of the festival seems to be determined +with reference to the time of the moon), two chiefs mount the gables of +two houses on the eastern side of the square, and, their dusky figures +standing sharply out against the moonlight, pray to the evil spirits to +go away and not to hurt the people. Next morning pigs are killed by +being speared as slowly as possible in order that they may squeal loud +and long; for the people believe that the mango trees hear the +squealing, and are pleased at the sound, and bear plenty of fruit, +whereas if they heard no squeals they would bear no fruit. However, the +trees have to content themselves with the squeals; the flesh of the pigs +is eaten by the people. This ends the festival. + +[Final disposition of the wild mango tree.] + +Next day the mango is taken down from the platform, wrapt in new mats, +and carried by the fasting men to their sleeping house, where it is hung +from the roof. But after an interval, it may be of many months, the tree +is brought forth again. As to the reason for its reappearance in public +opinions are divided; but some say that the tree itself orders the +master of the ceremonies to bring it forth, appearing to him in his +dreams and saying, "Let me smell the smoking fat of pigs. So will your +pigs be healthy and your crops will grow." Be that as it may, out it +comes, conducted by the fasting men in their dancing costume; and with +it come in the solemn procession all the pots, spoons, cups and so forth +used by the fasting men during their period of holiness or taboo, also +all the refuse of their food which has been collected for months, and +all the fallen leaves and chips of the mango in their bundles of mats. +These holy relics are carried in front and the mango tree itself brings +up the rear of the procession. While these sacred objects are being +handed out of the house, the men who are present rush up, wipe off the +hallowed dust which has accumulated on them, and smear it over their own +bodies, no doubt in order to steep themselves in their blessed +influence. Thus the tree is carried as before to the centre of the +temporary village, care being again taken not to let it touch the +ground. Then one of the fasting men takes from a basket a number of +young green mangoes, cuts them in pieces, and places them with his own +hands in the mouths of his fellows, the other fasting men, who chew the +pieces small and turning round spit the morsels in the direction of the +setting sun, in order that "the sun should carry the mango bits over the +whole country and everyone should know." A portion of the mango tree is +then broken off and in the evening it is burnt along with the bundles of +leaves, chips, and refuse of food, which have been stored up. What +remains of the tree is taken to the house of the master of the +ceremonies and hung over the fire-place; it will be brought out again at +intervals and burned bit by bit, till all is consumed, whereupon a new +mango will be cut down and treated in like manner. The ashes of the holy +fire on each occasion are gathered by the people and preserved in the +house of the master of the ceremonies.[22] + +[The ceremony apparently intended to fertilize the mango trees.] + +The meaning of these ceremonies is not explained by the authorities who +describe them; but we may conjecture that they are intended to fertilize +the mango trees and cause them to bear a good crop of fruit. The central +feature of the whole ritual is a wild mango tree, so young that it has +never flowered: the men who cut it down, carry it into the village, and +dance at the festival, are forbidden to eat mangoes: pigs are killed in +order that their dying squeals may move the mango trees to bear fruit: +at the end of the ceremonies pieces of young green mangoes are solemnly +placed in the mouths of the fasting men and are by them spurted out +towards the setting sun in order that the luminary may carry the +fragments to every part of the country; and finally when after a longer +or shorter interval the tree is wholly consumed, its place is supplied +by another. All these circumstances are explained simply and naturally +by the supposition that the young mango tree is taken as a +representative of mangoes generally, that the dances are intended to +quicken it, and that it is preserved, like a May-pole of old in England, +as a sort of general fund of vegetable life, till the fund being +exhausted by the destruction of the tree it is renewed by the +importation of a fresh young tree from the forest. We can therefore +understand why, as a storehouse of vital energy, the tree should be +carefully kept from contact with the ground, lest the pent-up and +concentrated energy should escape and dribbling away into the earth be +dissipated to no purpose. + +[Sacred objects of various sorts not allowed to touch the ground.] + +To take other instances of what we may call the conservation of energy +in magic or religion by insulating sacred bodies from the ground, the +natives of New Britain have a secret society called the Duk-duk, the +members of which masquerade in petticoats of leaves and tall headdresses +of wickerwork shaped like candle extinguishers, which descend to the +shoulders of the wearers, completely concealing their faces. Thus +disguised they dance about to the awe and terror, real or assumed, of +the women and uninitiated, who take, or pretend to take, them for +spirits. When lads are being initiated into the secrets of this august +society, the adepts cut down some very large and heavy bamboos, one for +each lad, and the novices carry them, carefully wrapt up in leaves, to +the sacred ground, where they arrive very tired and weary, for they may +not let the bamboos touch the ground nor the sun shine on them. Outside +the fence of the enclosure every lad deposits his bamboo on a couple of +forked sticks and covers it up with nut leaves.[23] Among the Carrier +Indians of North-Western America, who burned their dead, the ashes of a +chief used to be placed in a box and set on the top of a pole beside his +hut: the box was never allowed to touch the ground.[24] In the Omaha +tribe of North American Indians the sacred clam shell of the Elk clan +was wrapt up from sight in a mat, placed on a stand, and never suffered +to come in contact with the earth.[25] The Cherokees and kindred Indian +tribes of the United States used to have certain sacred boxes or arks, +which they regularly took with them to war. Such a holy ark consisted of +a square wooden box, which contained "certain consecrated vessels made +by beloved superannuated women, and of such various antiquated forms, as +would have puzzled Adam to have given significant names to each." The +leader of a war party and his attendant bore the ark by turns, but they +never set it on the ground nor would they themselves sit on the bare +earth while they were carrying it against the enemy. Where stones were +plentiful they rested the ark on them; but where no stones were to be +found, they deposited it on short logs. "The Indian ark is deemed so +sacred and dangerous to be touched, either by their own sanctified +warriors, or the spoiling enemy, that they durst not touch it upon any +account. It is not to be meddled with by any, except the war chieftain +and his waiter, under the penalty of incurring great evil. Nor would the +most inveterate enemy touch it in the woods, for the very same reason." +After their return home they used to hang the ark on the leader's +red-painted war pole.[26] At Sipi, near Simla, in Northern India, an +annual fair is held, at which men purchase wives. A square box with a +domed top figures prominently at the fair. It is fixed on two poles to +be carried on men's shoulders, and long heavily-plaited petticoats hang +from it nearly to the ground. Three sides of the box are adorned with +the head and shoulders of a female figure and the fourth side with a +black yak's tail. Four men bear the poles, each carrying an axe in his +right hand. They dance round, with a swinging rhythmical step, to the +music of drums and a pipe. The dance goes on for hours and is thought to +avert ill-luck from the fair. It is said that the box is brought to +Simla from a place sixty miles off by relays of men, who may not stop +nor set the box on the ground the whole way.[27] In Scotland, when water +was carried from sacred wells to sick people, the water-vessel might not +touch the earth.[28] In some parts of Aberdeenshire the last bunch of +standing corn, which is commonly viewed as very sacred, being the last +refuge of the corn-spirit retreating before the reapers, is not suffered +to touch the ground; the master or "gueedman" sits down and receives +each handful of corn as it is cut on his lap.[29] + +[Sacred food not allowed to touch the earth.] + +Again, sacred food may not under certain circumstances be brought into +contact with the earth. Some of the aborigines of Victoria used to +regard the fat of the emu as sacred, believing that it had once been the +fat of the black man. In taking it from the bird or giving it to another +they handled it reverently. Any one who threw away the fat or flesh of +the emu was held accursed. "The late Mr. Thomas observed on one +occasion, at Nerre-nerre-Warreen, a remarkable exhibition of the effects +of this superstition. An aboriginal child--one attending the +school--having eaten some part of the flesh of an emu, threw away the +skin. The skin fell to the ground, and this being observed by his +parents, they showed by their gestures every token of horror. They +looked upon their child as one utterly lost. His desecration of the bird +was regarded as a sin for which there was no atonement."[30] The +Roumanians of Transylvania believe that "every fresh-baked loaf of +wheaten bread is sacred, and should a piece inadvertently fall to the +ground, it is hastily picked up, carefully wiped and kissed, and if +soiled, thrown into the fire--partly as an offering to the dead, and +partly because it were a heavy sin to throw away or tread upon any +particle of it."[31] At certain festivals in south-eastern Borneo the +food which is consumed in the common house may not touch the ground; +hence, a little before the festivals take place, foot-bridges made of +thin poles are constructed from the private dwellings to the common +house.[32] When Hall was living with the Esquimaux and grew tired of +eating walrus, one of the women brought the head and neck of a reindeer +for him to eat. This venison had to be completely wrapt up before it was +brought into the house, and once in the house it could only be placed on +the platform which served as a bed. "To have placed it on the floor or +on the platform behind the fire-lamp, among the walrus, musk-ox, and +polar-bear meat which occupy a goodly portion of both of these places, +would have horrified the whole town, as, according to the actual belief +of the Innuits, not another walrus could be secured this year, and there +would ever be trouble in catching any more."[33] But in this case the +real scruple appears to have been felt not so much at placing the +venison on the ground as at bringing it into contact with walrus +meat.[34] + +[Magical implements and remedies thought to lose their virtue by contact +with the ground.] + +Sometimes magical implements and remedies are supposed to lose their +virtue by contact with the ground, the volatile essence with which they +are impregnated being no doubt drained off into the earth. Thus in the +Boulia district of Queensland the magical bone, which the native +sorcerer points at his victim as a means of killing him, is never by any +chance allowed to touch the earth.[35] The wives of rajahs in Macassar, +a district of southern Celebes, pride themselves on their luxuriant +tresses and are at great pains to oil and preserve them. Should the hair +begin to grow thin, the lady resorts to many devices to stay the ravages +of time; among other things she applies to her locks a fat extracted +from crocodiles and venomous snakes. The unguent is believed to be very +efficacious, but during its application the woman's feet may not come +into contact with the ground, or all the benefit of the nostrum would be +lost.[36] Some people in antiquity believed that a woman in hard labour +would be delivered if a spear, which had been wrenched from a man's body +without touching the ground, were thrown over the house where the +sufferer lay. Again, according to certain ancient writers, arrows which +had been extracted from a body without coming into contact with the +earth and laid under sleepers, acted as a love-charm.[37] Among the +peasantry of the north-east of Scotland the prehistoric weapons called +celts went by the name of "thunderbolts" and were coveted as the sure +bringers of success, always provided that they were not allowed to fall +to the ground.[38] + +[Serpents eggs or Snake Stones.] + +In ancient Gaul certain glass or paste beads attained great celebrity as +amulets under the name of serpents' eggs; it was believed that serpents, +coiling together in a wriggling, writhing mass, generated them from +their slaver and shot them into the air from their hissing jaws. If a +man was bold and dexterous enough to catch one of these eggs in his +cloak before it touched the ground, he rode off on horseback with it at +full speed, pursued by the whole pack of serpents, till he was saved by +the interposition of a river, which the snakes could not pass. The proof +of the egg being genuine was that if it were thrown into a stream it +would float up against the current, even though it were hooped in gold. +The Druids held these beads in high esteem; according to them, the +precious objects could only be obtained on a certain day of the moon, +and the peculiar virtue that resided in them was to secure success in +law suits and free access to kings. Pliny knew of a Gaulish knight who +was executed by the emperor Claudius for wearing one of these +amulets.[39] Under the name of Snake Stones (_glain neidr_) or Adder +Stones the beads are still known in those parts of our own country where +the Celtic population has lingered, with its immemorial superstitions, +down to the present or recent times; and the old story of the origin of +the beads from the slaver of serpents was believed by the modern +peasantry of Cornwall, Wales, and Scotland as by the Druids of ancient +Gaul. In Cornwall the time when the serpents united to fashion the beads +was commonly said to be at or about Midsummer Eve; in Wales it was +usually thought to be spring, especially the Eve of May Day, and even +within recent years persons in the Principality have affirmed that they +witnessed the great vernal congress of the snakes and saw the magic +stone in the midst of the froth. The Welsh peasants believe the beads to +possess medicinal virtues of many sorts and to be particularly +efficacious for all maladies of the eyes. In Wales and Ireland the beads +sometimes went by the name of the Magician's or Druid's Glass (_Gleini +na Droedh_ and _Glaine nan Druidhe_). Specimens of them may be seen in +museums; some have been found in British barrows. They are of glass of +various colours, green, blue, pink, red, brown, and so forth, some plain +and some ribbed. Some are streaked with brilliant hues. The beads are +perforated, and in the Highlands of Scotland the hole is explained by +saying that when the bead has just been conflated by the serpents +jointly, one of the reptiles sticks his tail through the still viscous +glass. An Englishman who visited Scotland in 1699 found many of these +beads in use throughout the country. They were hung from children's +necks to protect them from whooping cough and other ailments. Snake +Stones were, moreover, a charm to ensure prosperity in general and to +repel evil spirits. When one of these priceless treasures was not on +active service, the owner kept it in an iron box to guard it against +fairies, who, as is well known, cannot abide iron.[40] + +[Medicinal plants, water, are not allowed to touch the earth.] + +Pliny mentions several medicinal plants, which, if they were to retain +their healing virtue, ought not to be allowed to touch the earth.[41] +The curious medical treatise of Marcellus, a native of Bordeaux in the +fourth century of our era, abounds with prescriptions of this sort; and +we can well believe the writer when he assures us that he borrowed many +of his quaint remedies from the lips of common folk and peasants rather +than from the books of the learned.[42] Thus he tells us that certain +white stones found in the stomachs of young swallows assuage the most +persistent headache, always provided that their virtue be not impaired +by contact with the ground.[43] Another of his cures for the same malady +is a wreath of fleabane placed on the head, but it must not touch the +earth.[44] On the same condition a decoction of the root of elecampane +in wine kills worms; a fern, found growing on a tree, relieves the +stomach-ache; and the pastern-bone of a hare is an infallible remedy for +colic, provided, first, it be found in the dung of a wolf, second, that +it docs not touch the ground, and, third, that it is not touched by a +woman.[45] Another cure for colic is effected by certain hocus-pocus +with a scrap of wool from the forehead of a first-born lamb, if only the +lamb, instead of being allowed to fall to the ground, has been caught by +hand as it dropped from its dam.[46] In Andjra, a district of Morocco, +the people attribute many magical virtues to rain-water which has fallen +on the twenty-seventh day of April, Old Style; accordingly they collect +it and use it for a variety of purposes. Mixed with tar and sprinkled on +the door-posts it prevents snakes and scorpions from entering the house: +sprinkled on heaps of threshed corn it protects them from the evil eye: +mixed with an egg, henna, and seeds of cress it is an invaluable +medicine for sick cows: poured over a plate, on which a passage of the +Koran has been written, it strengthens the memory of schoolboys who +drink it; and if you mix it with cowdung and red earth and paint rings +with the mixture round the trunks of your fig-trees at sunset on +Midsummer Day, you may depend on it that the trees will bear an +excellent crop and will not shed their fruit untimely on the ground. But +in order to preserve these remarkable properties it is absolutely +essential that the water should on no account be allowed to touch the +ground; some say too that it should not be exposed to the sun nor +breathed upon by anybody.[47] Again, the Moors ascribe great magical +efficacy to what they call "the sultan of the oleander," which is a +stalk of oleander with a cluster of four pairs of leaves springing from +it. They think that the magical virtue is greatest if the stalk has been +cut immediately before midsummer. But when the plant is brought into the +house, the branches may not touch the ground, lest they should lose +their marvellous qualities.[48] In the olden days, before a Lithuanian +or Prussian farmer went forth to plough for the first time in spring, he +called in a wizard to perform a certain ceremony for the good of the +crops. The sage seized a mug of beer with his teeth, quaffed the liquor, +and then tossed the mug over his head. This signified that the corn in +that year should grow taller than a man. But the mug might not fall to +the ground; it had to be caught by somebody stationed at the wizard's +back, for if it fell to the ground the consequence naturally would be +that the corn also would be laid low on the earth.[49] + + +Sec. 2. _Not to see the Sun_ + + +[Sacred persons not allowed to see the sun.] + +The second rule to be here noted is that the sun may not shine upon the +divine person. This rule was observed both by the Mikado and by the +pontiff of the Zapotecs. The latter "was looked upon as a god whom the +earth was not worthy to hold, nor the sun to shine upon."[50] The +Japanese would not allow that the Mikado should expose his sacred person +to the open air, and the sun was not thought worthy to shine on his +head.[51] The Indians of Granada, in South America, "kept those who were +to be rulers or commanders, whether men or women, locked up for several +years when they were children, some of them seven years, and this so +close that they were not to see the sun, for if they should happen to +see it they forfeited their lordship, eating certain sorts of food +appointed; and those who were their keepers at certain times went into +their retreat or prison and scourged them severely."[52] Thus, for +example, the heir to the throne of Bogota, who was not the son but the +sister's son of the king, had to undergo a rigorous training from his +infancy: he lived in complete retirement in a temple, where he might not +see the sun nor eat salt nor converse with a woman: he was surrounded by +guards who observed his conduct and noted all his actions: if he broke a +single one of the rules laid down for him, he was deemed infamous and +forfeited all his rights to the throne.[53] So, too, the heir to the +kingdom of Sogamoso, before succeeding to the crown, had to fast for +seven years in the temple, being shut up in the dark and not allowed to +see the sun or light.[54] The prince who was to become Inca of Peru had +to fast for a month without seeing light.[55] On the day when a Brahman +student of the Veda took a bath, to signify that the time of his +studentship was at an end, he entered a cow-shed before sunrise, hung +over the door a skin with the hair inside, and sat there; on that day +the sun should not shine upon him.[56] + +[Tabooed persons not allowed to see the sun; certain persons forbidden +to see fire.] + +Again, women after childbirth and their offspring are more or less +tabooed all the world over; hence in Corea the rays of the sun are +rigidly excluded from both mother and child for a period of twenty-one +or a hundred days, according to their rank, after the birth has taken +place.[57] Among some of the tribes on the north-west coast of New +Guinea a woman may not leave the house for months after childbirth. When +she does go out, she must cover her head with a hood or mat; for if the +sun were to shine upon her, it is thought that one of her male relations +would die.[58] Again, mourners are everywhere taboo; accordingly in +mourning the Ainos of Japan wear peculiar caps in order that the sun may +not shine upon their heads.[59] During a solemn fast of three days the +Indians of Costa Rica eat no salt, speak as little as possible, light no +fires, and stay strictly indoors, or if they go out during the day they +carefully cover themselves from the light of the sun, believing that +exposure to the sun's rays would turn them black.[60] On Yule Night it +has been customary in parts of Sweden from time immemorial to go on +pilgrimage, whereby people learn many secret things and know what is to +happen in the coming year. As a preparation for this pilgrimage, "some +secrete themselves for three days previously in a dark cellar, so as to +be shut out altogether from the light of heaven. Others retire at an +early hour of the preceding morning to some out-of-the-way place, such +as a hay-loft, where they bury themselves in the hay, that they may +neither see nor hear any living creature; and here they remain, in +silence and fasting, until after sundown; whilst there are those who +think it sufficient if they rigidly abstain from food on the day before +commencing their wanderings. During this period of probation a man ought +not to see fire, but should this have happened, he must strike a light +with flint and steel, whereby the evil that would otherwise have ensued +will be obviated."[61] During the sixteen days that a Pima Indian is +undergoing purification for killing an Apache he may not see a blazing +fire.[62] + +[The story of Prince Sunless.] + +Acarnanian peasants tell of a handsome prince called Sunless, who would +die if he saw the sun. So he lived in an underground palace on the site +of the ancient Oeniadae, but at night he came forth and crossed the +river to visit a famous enchantress who dwelt in a castle on the further +bank. She was loth to part with him every night long before the sun was +up, and as he turned a deaf ear to all her entreaties to linger, she hit +upon the device of cutting the throats of all the cocks in the +neighbourhood. So the prince, whose ear had learned to expect the shrill +clarion of the birds as the signal of the growing light, tarried too +long, and hardly had he reached the ford when the sun rose over the +Aetolian mountains, and its fatal beams fell on him before he could +regain his dark abode.[63] + + +Notes: + +[1] _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 44. + +[2] H.H. Bancroft, _Native Races of the Pacific States_ (London, +1875-1876), ii. 142; Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations +civilisees du Mexique et de l'Amerique-Centrale_ (Paris, 1857-1859), +iii. 29. + +[3] _Manuscrit Ramirez, Histoire de l'origine des Indiens_, publie 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 Brahmana_, translated by Julius Eggeling, Part iii. +(Oxford, 1894) pp. 81, 91, 92, 102, 128 _sq. (Sacred Books of the East_, +vol. xli.). + +[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 fuer +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-Indie_, 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 gestritgelte Rockenphilosophie_*[5] (Chemnitz, 1759), pp. 586 +_sqq._ + +[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._ + +[22] C.G. Seligmann, M.D., _The Melanesians of British New Guinea_ +(Cambridge, 1910), pp. 589-599. + +[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 Comte d'Aberdeen," +_Revue des Traditions populaires_, iii. (1888) p. 485 B. Compare +_Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, i. 158 _sq._ + +[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 Suedost-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._ + +[35] Walter E. Roth, _Ethnological Studies among the North-West-Central +Queensland Aborigines_ (Brisbane and London, 1897), p. 156, Sec. 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 arrowheads and axeheads (celts), commonly known as "thunderbolts," +in the British Islands, see W.W. Skeat, "Snakestones and Stone +Thunderbolts," _Folklore_, xxiii. (1912) pp. 60 _sqq._; and as to such +superstitions in general, see Chr. Blinkenberg, _The Thunderweapon in +Religion and Folklore_ (Cambridge, 1911). + +[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." + +[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 +koniglichen 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," _Folklore_, +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] Matthaeus Praetorius, _Deliciae Prussicae_, herausgegeben von Dr. W. +Pierson (Berlin, 1871), p. 54. + +[50] H.H. Bancroft, _Native Races of the Pacific States_ (London, +1875-1876), ii. 142; Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations +civilisees du Mexique et de l'Amerique 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 acrem 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 Naturvoelker_ 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 Memoires originaux, pour servir a l'Histoire de la Decouvertede +l'Amerique_ (Paris, 1840); Th. Waitz, _l.c._; A. Bastian, _Die +Culturlaender 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 Sutras_, 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._ [Greek: Skiron]; +Scholiast on Aristophanes, _Eccles._ 18. + +[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-Landen +Volkenkunde_, xxxi. (1886) p. 587. + +[59] A. Bastian, _Die Voelker des oestlichen 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. + +[63] L. Heuzey, _Le Mont Olympe et l'Acarnanie_ (Paris, 1860), pp. 458 +_sq._ + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE SECLUSION OF GIRLS AT PUBERTY + + +Sec. 1. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty in Africa_ + + +[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.] + +Now it is remarkable that the foregoing two rules--not to touch the +ground and not to see the sun--are observed either separately or +conjointly by girls at puberty in many parts of the world. Thus amongst +the negroes of Loango girls at puberty are confined in separate huts, +and they may not touch the ground with any part of their bare body.[64] +Among the Zulus and kindred tribes of South Africa, when the first signs +of puberty shew themselves "while a girl is walking, gathering wood, or +working in the field, she runs to the river and hides herself among the +reeds for the day, so as not to be seen by men. She covers her head +carefully with her blanket that the sun may not shine on it and shrivel +her up into a withered skeleton, as would result from exposure to the +sun's beams. After dark she returns to her home and is secluded" in a +hut for some time.[65] During her seclusion, which lasts for about a +fortnight, neither she nor the girls who wait upon her may drink any +milk, lest the cattle should die. And should she be overtaken by the +first flow while she is in the fields, she must, after hiding in the +bush, scrupulously avoid all pathways in returning home.[66] A reason +for this avoidance is assigned by the A-Kamba of British East Africa, +whose girls under similar circumstances observe the same rule. "A girl's +first menstruation is a very critical period of her life according to +A-Kamba beliefs. If this condition appears when she is away from the +village, say at work in the fields, she returns at once to her village, +but is careful to walk through the grass and not on a path, for if she +followed a path and a stranger accidentally trod on a spot of blood and +then cohabited with a member of the opposite sex before the girl was +better again, it is believed that she would never bear a child." She +remains at home till the symptoms have ceased, and during this time she +may be fed by none but her mother. When the flux is over, her father and +mother are bound to cohabit with each other, else it is believed that +the girl would be barren all her life.[67] Similarly, among the Baganda, +when a girl menstruated for the first time she was secluded and not +allowed to handle food; and at the end of her seclusion the kinsman with +whom she was staying (for among the Baganda young people did not reside +with their parents) was obliged to jump over his wife, which with the +Baganda is regarded as equivalent to having intercourse with her. Should +the girl happen to be living near her parents at the moment when she +attained to puberty, she was expected on her recovery to inform them of +the fact, whereupon her father jumped over her mother. Were this custom +omitted, the Baganda, like the A-Kamba, thought that the girl would +never have children or that they would die in infancy.[68] Thus the +pretence of sexual intercourse between the parents or other relatives of +the girl was a magical ceremony to ensure her fertility. It is +significant that among the Baganda the first menstruation was often +called a marriage, and the girl was spoken of as a bride.[69] These +terms so applied point to a belief like that of the Siamese, that a +girl's first menstruation results from her defloration by one of a host +of aerial spirits, and that the wound thus inflicted is repeated +afterwards every month by the same ghostly agency.[70] For a like +reason, probably, the Baganda imagine that a woman who does not +menstruate exerts a malign influence on gardens and makes them +barren[71] if she works in them. For not being herself fertilized by a +spirit, how can she fertilize the garden? + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the tribes of the Tanganyika +plateau.] + +Among the Amambwe, Winamwanga, Alungu, and other tribes of the great +plateau to the west of Lake Tanganyika, "when a young girl knows that +she has attained puberty, she forthwith leaves her mother's hut, and +hides herself in the long grass near the village, covering her face with +a cloth and weeping bitterly. Towards sunset one of the older +women--who, as directress of the ceremonies, is called _nachimbusa_-- +follows her, places a cooking-pot by the cross-roads, and boils therein +a concoction of various herbs, with which she anoints the neophyte. At +nightfall the girl is carried on the old woman's back to her mother's +hut. When the customary period of a few days has elapsed, she is allowed +to cook again, after first whitewashing the floor of the hut. But, by +the following month, the preparations for her initiation are complete. +The novice must remain in her hut throughout the whole period of +initiation, and is carefully guarded by the old women, who accompany her +whenever she leaves her quarters, veiling her head with a native cloth. +The ceremonies last for at least one month." During this period of +seclusion, drumming and songs are kept up within the mother's hut by the +village women, and no male, except, it is said, the father of twins, is +allowed to enter. The directress of the rites and the older women +instruct the young girl as to the elementary facts of life, the duties +of marriage, and the rules of conduct, decorum, and hospitality to be +observed by a married woman. Amongst other things the damsel must submit +to a series of tests such as leaping over fences, thrusting her head +into a collar made of thorns, and so on. The lessons which she receives +are illustrated by mud figures of animals and of the common objects of +domestic life. Moreover, the directress of studies embellishes the walls +of the hut with rude pictures, each with its special significance and +song, which must be understood and learned by the girl.[72] In the +foregoing account the rule that a damsel at puberty may neither see the +sun nor touch the ground seems implied by the statement that on the +first discovery of her condition she hides in long grass and is carried +home after sunset on the back of an old woman. + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the tribes of British Central +Africa.] + +Among the Nyanja-speaking tribes of Central Angoniland, in British +Central Africa, when a young girl finds that she has become a woman, she +stands silent by the pathway leading to the village, her face wrapt in +her calico. An old woman, finding her there, takes her off to a stream +to bathe; after that the girl is secluded for six days in the old +woman's hut. She eats her porridge out of an old basket and her relish, +in which no salt is put, from a potsherd. The basket is afterwards +thrown away. On the seventh day the aged matrons gather together, go +with the girl to a stream, and throw her into the water. In returning +they sing songs, and the old woman, who directs the proceedings, carries +the maiden on her back. Then they spread a mat and fetch her husband and +set the two down on the mat and shave his head. When it is dark, the old +women escort the girl to her husband's hut. There the _ndiwo_ relish is +cooking on the fire. During the night the woman rises and puts some salt +in the pot. Next morning, before dawn, while all is dark and the +villagers have not yet opened their doors, the young married woman goes +off and gives some of the relish to her mother and to the old woman who +was mistress of the ceremony. This relish she sets down at the doors of +their houses and goes away. And in the morning, when the sun has risen +and all is light in the village, the two women open their doors, and +there they find the relish with the salt in it; and they take of it and +rub it on their feet and under their arm-pits; and if there are little +children in the house, they eat of it. And if the young wife has a +kinsman who is absent from the village, some of the relish is put on a +splinter of bamboo and kept against his return, that when he comes he, +too, may rub his feet with it. But if the woman finds that her husband +is impotent, she does not rise betimes and go out in the dark to lay the +relish at the doors of her mother and the old woman. And in the morning, +when the sun is up and all the village is light, the old women open +their doors, and see no relish there, and they know what has happened, +and so they go wilily to work. For they persuade the husband to consult +the diviner that he may discover how to cure his impotence; and while he +is closeted with the wizard, they fetch another man, who finishes the +ceremony with the young wife, in order that the relish may be given out +and that people may rub their feet with it. But if it happens that when +a girl comes to maturity she is not yet betrothed to any man, and +therefore has no husband to go to, the matrons tell her that she must go +to a lover instead. And this is the custom which they call _chigango_. +So in the evening she takes her cooking pot and relish and hies away to +the quarters of the young bachelors, and they very civilly sleep +somewhere else that night. And in the morning the girl goes back to the +_kuka_ hut.[73] + +[Abstinence from salt associated with a rule of chastity in many +tribes.] + +From the foregoing account it appears that among these tribes no sooner +has a girl attained to womanhood than she is expected and indeed +required to give proof of her newly acquired powers by cohabiting with a +man, whether her husband or another. And the abstinence from salt during +the girl's seclusion is all the more remarkable because as soon as the +seclusion is over she has to use salt for a particular purpose, to which +the people evidently attach very great importance, since in the event of +her husband proving impotent she is even compelled, apparently, to +commit adultery in order that the salted relish may be given out as +usual. In this connexion it deserves to be noted that among the Wagogo +of German East Africa women at their monthly periods may not sleep with +their husbands and may not put salt in food.[74] A similar rule is +observed by the Nyanja-speaking tribes of Central Angoniland, with whose +puberty customs we are here concerned. Among them, we are told, "some +superstition exists with regard to the use of salt. A woman during her +monthly sickness must on no account put salt into any food she is +cooking, lest she give her husband or children a disease called _tsempo_ +(_chitsoko soko_) but calls a child to put it in, or, as the song goes, +'_Natira nichere ni bondo chifukwa n'kupanda mwana_' and pours in the +salt by placing it on her knee, because there is no child handy. Should +a party of villagers have gone to make salt, all sexual intercourse is +forbidden among the people of the village, until the people who have +gone to make the salt (from grass) return. When they do come back, they +must make their entry into the village at night, and no one must see +them. Then one of the elders of the village sleeps with his wife. She +then cooks some relish, into which she puts some of the salt. This +relish is handed round to the people who went to make the salt, who rub +it on their feet and under their armpits."[75] Hence it would seem that +in the mind of these people abstinence from salt is somehow associated +with the idea of chastity. The same association meets us in the customs +of many peoples in various parts of the world. For example, ancient +Hindoo ritual prescribed that for three nights after a husband had +brought his bride home, the two should sleep on the ground, remain +chaste, and eat no salt.[76] Among the Baganda, when a man was making a +net, he had to refrain from eating salt and meat and from living with +his wife; these restrictions he observed until the net took its first +catch of fish. Similarly, so long as a fisherman's nets or traps were in +the water, he must live apart from his wife, and neither he nor she nor +their children might eat salt or meat.[77] Evidence of the same sort +could be multiplied,[78] but without going into it further we may say +that for some reason which is not obvious to us primitive man connects +salt with the intercourse of the sexes and therefore forbids the use of +that condiment in a variety of circumstances in which he deems +continence necessary or desirable. As there is nothing which the savage +regards as a greater bar between the sexes than the state of +menstruation, he naturally prohibits the use of salt to women and girls +at their monthly periods. + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the tribes about Lake Nyassa and on +the Zambesi.] + +With the Awa-nkonde, a tribe at the northern end of Lake Nyassa, it is a +rule that after her first menstruation a girl must be kept apart, with a +few companions of her own sex, in a darkened house. The floor is covered +with dry banana leaves, but no fire may be lit in the house, which is +called "the house of the Awasungu," that is, "of maidens who have no +hearts."[79] When a girl reaches puberty, the Wafiomi of Eastern Africa +hold a festival at which they make a noise with a peculiar kind of +rattle. After that the girl remains for a year in the large common hut +(_tembe_), where she occupies a special compartment screened off from +the men's quarters. She may not cut her hair or touch food, but is fed +by other women. At night, however, she quits the hut and dances with +young men.[80] Among the Barotse or Marotse of the upper Zambesi, "when +a girl arrives at the age of puberty she is sent into the fields, where +a hut is constructed far from the village. There, with two or three +companions, she spends a month, returning home late and starting before +dawn in order not to be seen by the men. The women of the village visit +her, bringing food and honey, and singing and dancing to amuse her. At +the end of a month her husband comes and fetches her. It is only after +this ceremony that women have the right to smear themselves with +ochre."[81] We may suspect that the chief reason why the girl during her +seclusion may visit her home only by night is a fear, not so much lest +she should be seen by men, as that she might be seen by the sun. Among +the Wafiomi, as we have just learned, the young woman in similar +circumstances is even free to dance with men, provided always that the +dance is danced at night. The ceremonies among the Barotse or Marotse +are somewhat more elaborate for a girl of the royal family. She is shut +up for three months in a place which is kept secret from the public; +only the women of her family know where it is. There she sits alone in +the darkness of the hut, waited on by female slaves, who are strictly +forbidden to speak and may communicate with her and with each other only +by signs. During all this time, though she does nothing, she eats much, +and when at last she comes forth, her appearance is quite changed, so +fat has she grown. She is then led by night to the river and bathed in +presence of all the women of the village. Next day she flaunts before +the public in her gayest attire, her head bedecked with ornaments and +her face mottled with red paint. So everybody knows what has +happened.[82] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Thonga on Delagoa Bay.] + +Among the northern clans of the Thonga tribe, in South-Eastern Africa, +about Delagoa Bay, when a girl thinks that the time of her nubility is +near, she chooses an adoptive mother, perhaps in a neighbouring village. +When the symptoms appear, she flies away from her own village and +repairs to that of her adopted mother "to weep near her." After that she +is secluded with several other girls in the same condition for a month. +They are shut up in a hut, and whenever they come outside they must wear +a dirty greasy cloth over their faces as a veil. Every morning they are +led to a pool and plunged in the water up to their necks. Initiated +girls or women accompany them, singing obscene songs and driving away +with sticks any man who meets them; for no man may see a girl during +this time of seclusion. If he saw her, it is said that he would be +struck blind. On their return from the river, the girls are again +imprisoned in the hut, where they remain wet and shivering, for they may +not go near the fire to warm themselves. During their seclusion they +listen to lascivious songs sung by grown women and are instructed in +sexual matters. At the end of the month the adoptive mother brings the +girl home to her true mother and presents her with a pot of beer.[83] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Caffre tribes of South Africa.] + +Among the Caffre tribes of South Africa the period of a girl's seclusion +at puberty varies with the rank of her father. If he is a rich man, it +may last twelve days; if he is a chief, it may last twenty-four +days.[84] And when it is over, the girl rubs herself over with red +earth, and strews finely powdered red earth on the ground, before she +leaves the hut where she has been shut up. Finally, though she was +forbidden to drink milk all the days of her separation, she washes out +her mouth with milk, and is from that moment regarded as a full-grown +woman.[85] Afterwards, in the dusk of the evening, she carries away all +the objects with which she came into contact in the hut during her +seclusion and buries them secretly in a sequestered spot.[86] When the +girl is a chief's daughter the ceremonies at her liberation from the hut +are more elaborate than usual. She is led forth from the hut by a son of +her father's councillor, who, wearing the wings of a blue crane, the +badge of bravery, on his head, escorts her to the cattle kraal, where +cows are slaughtered and dancing takes place. Large skins full of milk +are sent to the spot from neighbouring villages; and after the dances +are over the girl drinks milk for the first time since the day she +entered into retreat. But the first mouthful is drunk by the girl's aunt +or other female relative who had charge of her during her seclusion; and +a little of it is poured on the fire-place.[87] Amongst the Zulus, when +the girl was a princess royal, the end of her time of separation was +celebrated by a sort of saturnalia: law and order were for the time +being in abeyance: every man, woman, and child might appropriate any +article of property: the king abstained from interfering; and if during +this reign of misrule he was robbed of anything he valued he could only +recover it by paying a fine.[88] Among the Basutos, when girls at +puberty are bathed as usual by the matrons in a river, they are hidden +separately in the turns and bends of the stream, and told to cover their +heads, as they will be visited by a large serpent. Their limbs are then +plastered with clay, little masks of straw are put on their faces, and +thus arrayed they daily follow each other in procession, singing +melancholy airs, to the fields, there to learn the labours of husbandry +in which a great part of their adult life will be passed.[89] We may +suppose, though we are not told, that the straw masks which they wear in +these processions are intended to hide their faces from the gaze of men +and the rays of the sun. + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty in the Lower Congo.] + +Among the tribes in the lower valley of the Congo, such as the Bavili, +when a girl arrives at puberty, she has to pass two or three months in +seclusion in a small hut built for the purpose. The hair of her head is +shaved off, and every day the whole of her body is smeared with a red +paint (_takulla_) made from a powdered wood mixed with water. Some of +her companions reside in the hut with her and prepare the paint for her +use. A woman is appointed to take charge of the hut and to keep off +intruders. At the end of her confinement she is taken to water by the +women of her family and bathed; the paint is rubbed off her body, her +arms and legs are loaded with brass rings, and she is led in solemn +procession under an umbrella to her husband's house. If these ceremonies +were not performed, the people believe that the girl would be barren or +would give birth to monsters, that the rain would cease to fall, the +earth to bear fruit, and the fishing to be successful.[90] Such serious +importance do these savages ascribe to the performance of rites which to +us seem so childish. + + +Sec. 2. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty in New Ireland, New Guinea, and +Indonesia_ + + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty in New Ireland.] + +In New Ireland girls are confined for four or five years in small cages, +being kept in the dark and not allowed to set foot on the ground. The +custom has been thus described by an eye-witness. "I heard from a +teacher about some strange custom connected with some of the young girls +here, so I asked the chief to take me to the house where they were. The +house was about twenty-five feet in length, and stood in a reed and +bamboo enclosure, across the entrance to which a bundle of dried grass +was suspended to show that it was strictly '_tabu_.' Inside the house +were three conical structures about seven or eight feet in height, and +about ten or twelve feet in circumference at the bottom, and for about +four feet from the ground, at which point they tapered off to a point at +the top. These cages were made of the broad leaves of the pandanus-tree, +sewn quite close together so that no light and little or no air could +enter. On one side of each is an opening which is closed by a double +door of plaited cocoa-nut tree and pandanus-tree leaves. About three +feet from the ground there is a stage of bamboos which forms the floor. +In each of these cages we were told there was a young woman confined, +each of whom had to remain for at least four or five years, without ever +being allowed to go outside the house. I could scarcely credit the story +when I heard it; the whole thing seemed too horrible to be true. I spoke +to the chief, and told him that I wished to see the inside of the cages, +and also to see the girls that I might make them a present of a few +beads. He told me that it was '_tabu_,' forbidden for any men but their +own relations to look at them; but I suppose the promised beads acted as +an inducement, and so he sent away for some old lady who had charge, and +who alone is allowed to open the doors. While we were waiting we could +hear the girls talking to the chief in a querulous way as if objecting +to something or expressing their fears. The old woman came at length and +certainly she did not seem a very pleasant jailor or guardian; nor did +she seem to favour the request of the chief to allow us to see the +girls, as she regarded us with anything but pleasant looks. However, she +had to undo the door when the chief told her to do so, and then the +girls peeped out at us, and, when told to do so, they held out their +hands for the beads. I, however, purposely sat at some distance away and +merely held out the beads to them, as I wished to draw them quite +outside, that I might inspect the inside of the cages. This desire of +mine gave rise to another difficulty, as these girls were not allowed to +put their feet to the ground all the time they were confined in these +places. However, they wished to get the beads, and so the old lady had +to go outside and collect a lot of pieces of wood and bamboo, which she +placed on the ground, and then going to one of the girls, she helped her +down and held her hand as she stepped from one piece of wood to another +until she came near enough to get the beads I held out to her. I then +went to inspect the inside of the cage out of which she had come, but +could scarcely put my head inside of it, the atmosphere was so hot and +stifling. It was clean and contained nothing but a few short lengths of +bamboo for holding water. There was only room for the girl to sit or lie +down in a crouched position on the bamboo platform, and when the doors +are shut it must be nearly or quite dark inside. The girls are never +allowed to come out except once a day to bathe in a dish or wooden bowl +placed close to each cage. They say that they perspire profusely. They +are placed in these stifling cages when quite young, and must remain +there until they are young women, when they are taken out and have each +a great marriage feast provided for them. One of them was about fourteen +or fifteen years old, and the chief told us that she had been there for +five years, but would soon be taken out now. The other two were about +eight and ten years old, and they have to stay there for several years +longer."[91] A more recent observer has described the custom as it is +observed on the western coast of New Ireland. He says: "A _buck_ is the +name of a little house, not larger than an ordinary hen-coop, in which a +little girl is shut up, sometimes for weeks only, and at other times for +months.... Briefly stated, the custom is this. Girls, on attaining +puberty or betrothal, are enclosed in one of these little coops for a +considerable time. They must remain there night and day. We saw two of +these girls in two coops; the girls were not more than ten years old, +still they were lying in a doubled-up position, as their little houses +would not admit of them lying in any other way. These two coops were +inside a large house; but the chief, in consideration of a present of a +couple of tomahawks, ordered the ends to be torn out of the house to +admit the light, so that we might photograph the _buck_. The occupant +was allowed to put her face through an opening to be photographed, in +consideration of another present."[92] As a consequence of their long +enforced idleness in the shade the girls grow fat and their dusky +complexion bleaches to a more pallid hue. Both their corpulence and +their pallor are regarded as beauties.[93] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty in New Guinea, Borneo, Ceram and Yap.] + +In Kabadi, a district of British New Guinea, "daughters of chiefs, when +they are about twelve or thirteen years of age, are kept indoors for two +or three years, never being allowed, under any pretence, to descend from +the house, and the house is so shaded that the sun cannot shine on +them."[94] Among the Yabim and Bukaua, two neighbouring and kindred +tribes on the coast of German New Guinea, a girl at puberty is secluded +for some five or six weeks in an inner part of the house; but she may +not sit on the floor, lest her uncleanness should cleave to it, so a log +of wood is placed for her to squat on. Moreover, she may not touch the +ground with her feet; hence if she is obliged to quit the house for a +short time, she is muffled up in mats and walks on two halves of a +coconut shell, which are fastened like sandals to her feet by creeping +plants. During her seclusion she is in charge of her aunts or other +female relatives. At the end of the time she bathes, her person is +loaded with ornaments, her face is grotesquely painted with red stripes +on a white ground, and thus adorned she is brought forth in public to be +admired by everybody. She is now marriageable.[95] Among the Ot Danoms +of Borneo girls at the age of eight or ten years are shut up in a little +room or cell of the house, and cut off from all intercourse with the +world for a long time. The cell, like the rest of the house, is raised +on piles above the ground, and is lit by a single small window opening +on a lonely place, so that the girl is in almost total darkness. She may +not leave the room on any pretext whatever, not even for the most +necessary purposes. None of her family may see her all the time she is +shut up, but a single slave woman is appointed to wait on her. During +her lonely confinement, which often lasts seven years, the girl occupies +herself in weaving mats or with other handiwork. Her bodily growth is +stunted by the long want of exercise, and when, on attaining womanhood, +she is brought out, her complexion is pale and wax-like. She is now +shewn the sun, the earth, the water, the trees, and the flowers, as if +she were newly born. Then a great feast is made, a slave is killed, and +the girl is smeared with his blood.[96] In Ceram girls at puberty were +formerly shut up by themselves in a hut which was kept dark.[97] In Yap, +one of the Caroline Islands, should a girl be overtaken by her first +menstruation on the public road, she may not sit down on the earth, but +must beg for a coco-nut shell to put under her. She is shut up for +several days in a small hut at a distance from her parents' house, and +afterwards she is bound to sleep for a hundred days in one of the +special houses which are provided for the use of menstruous women.[98] + + +Sec. 3. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty in the Torres Straits Islands and +Northern Australia_ + + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty in Mabuiag, Torres Straits.] + +In the island of Mabuiag, Torres Straits, when the signs of puberty +appear on a girl, a circle of bushes is made in a dark corner of the +house. Here, decked with shoulder-belts, armlets, leglets just below the +knees, and anklets, wearing a chaplet on her head, and shell ornaments +in her ears, on her chest, and on her back, she squats in the midst of +the bushes, which are piled so high round about her that only her head +is visible. In this state of seclusion she must remain for three months. +All this time the sun may not shine upon her, but at night she is +allowed to slip out of the hut, and the bushes that hedge her in are +then changed. She may not feed herself or handle food, but is fed by one +or two old women, her maternal aunts, who are especially appointed to +look after her. One of these women cooks food for her at a special fire +in the forest. The girl is forbidden to eat turtle or turtle eggs during +the season when the turtles are breeding; but no vegetable food is +refused her. No man, not even her own father, may come into the house +while her seclusion lasts; for if her father saw her at this time he +would certainly have bad luck in his fishing, and would probably smash +his canoe the very next time he went out in it. At the end of the three +months she is carried down to a fresh-water creek by her attendants, +hanging on to their shoulders in such a way that her feet do not touch +the ground, while the women of the tribe form a ring round her, and thus +escort her to the beach. Arrived at the shore, she is stripped of her +ornaments, and the bearers stagger with her into the creek, where they +immerse her, and all the other women join in splashing water over both +the girl and her bearers. When they come out of the water one of the two +attendants makes a heap of grass for her charge to squat upon. The other +runs to the reef, catches a small crab, tears off its claws, and hastens +back with them to the creek. Here in the meantime a fire has been +kindled, and the claws are roasted at it. The girl is then fed by her +attendants with the roasted claws. After that she is freshly decorated, +and the whole party marches back to the village in a single rank, the +girl walking in the centre between her two old aunts, who hold her by +the wrists. The husbands of her aunts now receive her and lead her into +the house of one of them, where all partake of food, and the girl is +allowed once more to feed herself in the usual manner. A dance follows, +in which the girl takes a prominent part, dancing between the husbands +of the two aunts who had charge of her in her retirement.[99] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty in Northern Australia.] + +Among the Yaraikanna tribe of Cape York Peninsula, in Northern +Queensland, a girl at puberty is said to live by herself for a month or +six weeks; no man may see her, though any woman may. She stays in a hut +or shelter specially made for her, on the floor of which she lies +supine. She may not see the sun, and towards sunset she must keep her +eyes shut until the sun has gone down, otherwise it is thought that her +nose will be diseased. During her seclusion she may eat nothing that +lives in salt water, or a snake would kill her. An old woman waits upon +her and supplies her with roots, yams, and water.[100] Some tribes are +wont to bury their girls at such seasons more or less deeply in the +ground, perhaps in order to hide them from the light of the sun. Thus +the Larrakeeyah tribe in the northern territory of South Australia used +to cover a girl up with dirt for three days at her first monthly +period.[101] In similar circumstances the Otati tribe, on the east coast +of the Cape York Peninsula, make an excavation in the ground, where the +girl squats. A bower is then built over the hole, and sand is thrown on +the young woman till she is covered up to the hips. In this condition +she remains for the first day, but comes out at night. So long as the +period lasts, she stays in the bower during the day-time, but is not +again covered with sand. Afterwards her body is painted red and white +from the head to the hips, and she returns to the camp, where she squats +first on the right side, then on the left side, and then on the lap of +her future husband, who has been previously selected for her.[102] Among +the natives of the Pennefather River, in the Cape York Peninsula, +Queensland, when a girl menstruates for the first time, her mother takes +her away from the camp to some secluded spot, where she digs a circular +hole in the sandy soil under the shade of a tree. In this hole the girl +squats with crossed legs and is covered with sand from the waist +downwards. A digging-stick is planted firmly in the sand on each side of +her, and the place is surrounded by a fence of bushes except in front, +where her mother kindles a fire. Here the girl stays all day, sitting +with her arms crossed and the palms of her hands resting on the sand. +She may not move her arms except to take food from her mother or to +scratch herself; and in scratching herself she may not touch herself +with her own hands, but must use for the purpose a splinter of wood, +which, when it is not in use, is stuck in her hair. She may speak to +nobody but her mother; indeed nobody else would think of coming near +her. At evening she lays hold of the two digging-sticks and by their +help frees herself from the superincumbent weight of sand and returns to +the camp. Next morning she is again buried in the sand under the shade +of the tree and remains there again till evening. This she does daily +for five days. On her return at evening on the fifth day her mother +decorates her with a waist-band, a forehead-band, and a necklet of +pearl-shell, ties green parrot feathers round her arms and wrists and +across her chest, and smears her body, back and front, from the waist +upwards with blotches of red, white, and yellow paint. She has in like +manner to be buried in the sand at her second and third menstruations, +but at the fourth she is allowed to remain in camp, only signifying her +condition by wearing a basket of empty shells on her back.[103] Among +the Kia blacks of the Prosperine River, on the east coast of Queensland, +a girl at puberty has to sit or lie down in a shallow pit away from the +camp; a rough hut of bushes is erected over her to protect her from the +inclemency of the weather. There she stays for about a week, waited on +by her mother and sister, the only persons to whom she may speak. She is +allowed to drink water, but may not touch it with her hands; and she may +scratch herself a little with a mussel-shell. This seclusion is repeated +at her second and third monthly periods, but when the third is over she +is brought to her husband bedecked with savage finery. Eagle-hawk or +cockatoo feathers are stuck in her hair: a shell hangs over her +forehead: grass bugles encircle her neck and an apron of opossum skin +her waist: strings are tied to her arms and wrists; and her whole body +is mottled with patterns drawn in red, white, and yellow pigments and +charcoal.[104] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty in the islands of Torres Straits.] + +Among the Uiyumkwi tribe in Red Island the girl lies at full length in a +shallow trench dug in the foreshore, and sand is lightly thrown over her +legs and body up to the breasts, which appear not to be covered. A rough +shelter of boughs is then built over her, and thus she remains lying for +a few hours. Then she and her attendant go into the bush and look for +food, which they cook at a fire close to the shelter. They sleep under +the boughs, the girl remaining secluded from the camp but apparently not +being again buried. At the end of the symptoms she stands over hot +stones and water is poured over her, till, trickling from her body on +the stones, it is converted into steam and envelops her in a cloud of +vapour. Then she is painted with red and white stripes and returns to +the camp. If her future husband has already been chosen, she goes to him +and they eat some food together, which the girl has previously brought +from the bush.[105] In Prince of Wales Island, Torres Strait, the +treatment of the patient is similar, but lasts for about two months. +During the day she lies covered up with sand in a shallow hole on the +beach, over which a hut is built. At night she may get out of the hole, +but she may not leave the hut. Her paternal aunt looks after her, and +both of them must abstain from eating turtle, dugong, and the heads of +fish. Were they to eat the heads of fish no more fish would be caught. +During the time of the girl's seclusion, the aunt who waits upon her has +the right to enter any house and take from it anything she likes without +payment, provided she does so before the sun rises. When the time of her +retirement has come to an end, the girl bathes in the sea while the +morning star is rising, and after performing various other ceremonies is +readmitted to society.[106] In Saibai, another island of Torres Straits, +at her first monthly sickness a girl lives secluded in the forest for +about a fortnight, during which no man may see her; even the women who +have spoken to her in the forest must wash in salt water before they +speak to a man. Two girls wait upon and feed the damsel, putting the +food into her mouth, for she is not allowed to touch it with her own +hands. Nor may she eat dugong and turtle. At the end of a fortnight the +girl and her attendants bathe in salt water while the tide is running +out. Afterwards they are clean, may again speak to men without ceremony, +and move freely about the village. In Yam and Tutu a girl at puberty +retires for a month to the forest, where no man nor even her own mother +may look upon her. She is waited on by women who stand to her in a +certain relationship (_mowai_), apparently her paternal aunts. She is +blackened all over with charcoal and wears a long petticoat reaching +below her knees. During her seclusion the married women of the village +often assemble in the forest and dance, and the girl's aunts relieve the +tedium of the proceedings by thrashing her from time to time as a useful +preparation for matrimony. At the end of a month the whole party go into +the sea, and the charcoal is washed off the girl. After that she is +decorated, her body blackened again, her hair reddened with ochre, and +in the evening she is brought back to her father's house, where she is +received with weeping and lamentation because she has been so long +away.[107] + + +Sec. 4. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty among the Indians of North America_ + + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of California] + +Among the Indians of California a girl at her first menstruation "was +thought to be possessed of a particular degree of supernatural power, +and this was not always regarded as entirely defiling or malevolent. +Often, however, there was a strong feeling of the power of evil inherent +in her condition. Not only was she secluded from her family and the +community, but an attempt was made to seclude the world from her. One of +the injunctions most strongly laid upon her was not to look about her. +She kept her head bowed and was forbidden to see the world and the sun. +Some tribes covered her with a blanket. Many of the customs in this +connection resembled those of the North Pacific Coast most strongly, +such as the prohibition to the girl to touch or scratch her head with +her hand, a special implement being furnished her for the purpose. +Sometimes she could eat only when fed and in other cases fasted +altogether. Some form of public ceremony, often accompanied by a dance +and sometimes by a form of ordeal for the girl, was practised nearly +everywhere. Such ceremonies were well developed in Southern California, +where a number of actions symbolical of the girl's maturity and +subsequent life were performed."[108] Thus among the Maidu Indians of +California a girl at puberty remained shut up in a small separate hut. +For five days she might not eat flesh or fish nor feed herself, but was +fed by her mother or other old woman. She had a basket, plate, and cup +for her own use, and a stick with which to scratch her head, for she +might not scratch it with her fingers. At the end of five days she took +a warm bath and, while she still remained in the hut and plied the +scratching-stick on her head, was privileged to feed herself with her +own hands. After five days more she bathed in the river, after which her +parents gave a great feast in her honour. At the feast the girl was +dressed in her best, and anybody might ask her parents for anything he +pleased, and they had to give it, even if it was the hand of their +daughter in marriage. During the period of her seclusion in the hut the +girl was allowed to go by night to her parents' house and listen to +songs sung by her friends and relations, who assembled for the purpose. +Among the songs were some that related to the different roots and seeds +which in these tribes it is the business of women to gather for food. +While the singers sang, she sat by herself in a corner of the house +muffled up completely in mats and skins; no man or boy might come near +her.[109] Among the Hupa, another Indian tribe of California, when a +girl had reached maturity her male relatives danced all night for nine +successive nights, while the girl remained apart, eating no meat and +blindfolded. But on the tenth night she entered the house and took part +in the last dance.[110] Among the Wintun, another Californian tribe, a +girl at puberty was banished from the camp and lived alone in a distant +booth, fasting rigidly from animal food; it was death to any person to +touch or even approach her.[111] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of Washington State.] + +In the interior of Washington State, about Colville, "the customs of the +Indians, in relation to the treatment of females, are singular. On the +first appearance of the menses, they are furnished with provisions, and +sent into the woods, to remain concealed for two days; for they have a +superstition, that if a man should be seen or met with during that time, +death will be the consequence. At the end of the second day, the woman +is permitted to return to the lodge, when she is placed in a hut just +large enough for her to lie in at full length, in which she is compelled +to remain for twenty days, cut off from all communication with her +friends, and is obliged to hide her face at the appearance of a man. +Provisions are supplied her daily. After this, she is required to +perform repeated ablutions, before she can resume her place in the +family. At every return, the women go into seclusion for two or more +days."[112] Among the Chinook Indians who inhabited the coast of +Washington State, from Shoalwater Bay as far as Grey's Harbour, when a +chief's daughter attained to puberty, she was hidden for five days from +the view of the people; she might not look at them nor at the sky, nor +might she pick berries. It was believed that if she were to look at the +sky, the weather would be bad; that if she picked berries, it would +rain; and that when she hung her towel of cedar-bark on a spruce-tree, +the tree withered up at once. She went out of the house by a separate +door and bathed in a creek far from the village. She fasted for some +days, and for many days more she might not eat fresh food.[113] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Nootka Indians of Vancouver +Island.] + +Amongst the Aht or Nootka Indians of Vancouver Island, when girls reach +puberty they are placed in a sort of gallery in the house "and are there +surrounded completely with mats, so that neither the sun nor any fire +can be seen. In this cage they remain for several days. Water is given +them, but no food. The longer a girl remains in this retirement the +greater honour is it to the parents; but she is disgraced for life if it +is known that she has seen fire or the sun during this initiatory +ordeal."[114] Pictures of the mythical thunder-bird are painted on the +screens behind which she hides. During her seclusion she may neither +move nor lie down, but must always sit in a squatting posture. She may +not touch her hair with her hands, but is allowed to scratch her head +with a comb or a piece of bone provided for the purpose. To scratch her +body is also forbidden, as it is believed that every scratch would leave +a scar. For eight months after reaching maturity she may not eat any +fresh food, particularly salmon; moreover, she must eat by herself, and +use a cup and dish of her own.[115] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Haida Indians of the Queen +Charlotte Islands.] + +Among the Haida Indians of the Queen Charlotte Islands girls at puberty +were secluded behind screens in the house for about twenty days. In some +parts of the islands separate fires were provided for the girls, and +they went out and in by a separate door at the back of the house. If a +girl at such a time was obliged to go out by the front door, all the +weapons, gambling-sticks, medicine, and other articles had to be removed +from the house till her return, for otherwise it was thought that they +would be unlucky; and if there was a good hunter in the house, he also +had to go out at the same time on pain of losing his good luck if he +remained. During several months or even half a year the girl was bound +to wear a peculiar cloak or hood made of cedar-bark, nearly conical in +shape and reaching down below the breast, but open before the face. +After the twenty days were over the girl took a bath; none of the water +might be spilled, it had all to be taken back to the woods, else the +girl would not live long. On the west coast of the islands the damsel +might eat nothing but black cod for four years; for the people believed +that other kinds of fish would become scarce if she partook of them. At +Kloo the young woman at such times was forbidden to look at the sea, and +for forty days she might not gaze at the fire; for a whole year she +might not walk on the beach below high-water mark, because then the tide +would come in, covering part of the food supply, and there would be bad +weather. For five years she might not eat salmon, or the fish would be +scarce; and when her family went to a salmon-creek, she landed from the +canoe at the mouth of the creek and came to the smoke-house from behind; +for were she to see a salmon leap, all the salmon might leave the creek. +Among the Haidas of Masset it was believed that if the girl looked at +the sky, the weather would be bad, and that if she stepped over a +salmon-creek, all the salmon would disappear.[116] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Tlingit Indians of Alaska.] + +Amongst the Tlingit (Thlinkeet) or Kolosh Indians of Alaska, when a girl +shewed signs of womanhood she used to be confined to a little hut or +cage, which was completely blocked up with the exception of a small +air-hole. In this dark and filthy abode she had to remain a year, +without fire, exercise, or associates. Only her mother and a female +slave might supply her with nourishment. Her food was put in at the +little window; she had to drink out of the wing-bone of a white-headed +eagle. The time of her seclusion was afterwards reduced in some places +to six or three months or even less. She had to wear a sort of hat with +long flaps, that her gaze might not pollute the sky; for she was thought +unfit for the sun to shine upon, and it was imagined that her look would +destroy the luck of a hunter, fisher, or gambler, turn things to stone, +and do other mischief. At the end of her confinement her old clothes +were burnt, new ones were made, and a feast was given, at which a slit +was cut in her under lip parallel to the mouth, and a piece of wood or +shell was inserted to keep the aperture open.[117] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Tsetsaut and Bella Coola +Indians of British Columbia.] + +In the Tsetsaut tribe of British Columbia a girl at puberty wears a +large hat of skin which comes down over her face and screens it from the +sun. It is believed that if she were to expose her face to the sun or to +the sky, rain would fall. The hat protects her face also against the +fire, which ought not to strike her skin; to shield her hands she wears +mittens. In her mouth she carries the tooth of an animal to prevent her +own teeth from becoming hollow. For a whole year she may not see blood +unless her face is blackened; otherwise she would grow blind. For two +years she wears the hat and lives in a hut by herself, although she is +allowed to see other people. At the end of two years a man takes the hat +from her head and throws it away.[118] In the Bilqula or Bella Coola +tribe of British Columbia, when a girl attains puberty she must stay in +the shed which serves as her bedroom, where she has a separate +fireplace. She is not allowed to descend to the main part of the house, +and may not sit by the fire of the family. For four days she is bound to +remain motionless in a sitting posture. She fasts during the day, but is +allowed a little food and drink very early in the morning. After the +four days' seclusion she may leave her room, but only through a separate +opening cut in the floor, for the houses are raised on piles. She may +not yet come into the chief room. In leaving the house she wears a large +hat which protects her face against the rays of the sun. It is believed +that if the sun were to shine on her face her eyes would suffer. She may +pick berries on the hills, but may not come near the river or sea for a +whole year. Were she to eat fresh salmon she would lose her senses, or +her mouth would be changed into a long beak.[119] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Tinneh Indians of British +Columbia.] + +Among the Tinneh Indians about Stuart Lake, Babine Lake, and Fraser Lake +in British Columbia "girls verging on maturity, that is when their +breasts begin to form, take swans' feathers mixed with human hair and +plait bands, which they tie round their wrists and ankles to secure long +life. At this time they are careful that the dishes out of which they +eat, are used by no other person, and wholly devoted to their own use; +during this period they eat nothing but dog fish, and starvation _only_ +will drive them to eat either fresh fish or meat. When their first +periodical sickness comes on, they are fed by their mothers or nearest +female relation by _themselves_, and on no account will they touch their +food with their own hands. They are at this time also careful not to +touch their heads with their hands, and keep a small stick to scratch +their heads with. They remain outside the lodge, all the time they are +in this state, in a hut made for the purpose. During all this period +they wear a skull-cap made of skin to fit very tight; this is never +taken off until their first monthly sickness ceases; they also wear a +strip of black paint about one inch wide across their eyes, and wear a +fringe of shells, bones, etc., hanging down from their foreheads to +below their eyes; and this is never taken off till the second monthly +period arrives and ceases, when the nearest male relative makes a feast; +after which she is considered a fully matured woman; but she has to +refrain from eating anything fresh for one year after her first monthly +sickness; she may however eat partridge, but it must be cooked in the +crop of the bird to render it harmless. I would have thought it +impossible to perform this feat had I not seen it done. The crop is +blown out, and a small bent willow put round the mouth; it is then +filled with water, and the meat being first minced up, put in also, then +put on the fire and boiled till cooked. Their reason for hanging fringes +before their eyes, is to hinder any bad medicine man from harming them +during this critical period: they are very careful not to drink whilst +facing a medicine man, and do so only when their backs are turned to +him. All these habits are left off when the girl is a recognised woman, +with the exception of their going out of the lodge and remaining in a +hut, every time their periodical sickness comes on. This is a rigidly +observed law with both single and married women."[120] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Tinneh Indians of Alaska.] + +Among the Hareskin Tinneh a girl at puberty was secluded for five days +in a hut made specially for the purpose; she might only drink out of a +tube made from a swan's bone, and for a month she might not break a +hare's bones, nor taste blood, nor eat the heart or fat of animals, nor +birds' eggs.[121] Among the Tinneh Indians of the middle Yukon valley, +in Alaska, the period of the girl's seclusion lasts exactly a lunar +month; for the day of the moon on which the symptoms first occur is +noted, and she is sequestered until the same day of the next moon. If +the season is winter, a corner of the house is curtained off for her use +by a blanket or a sheet of canvas; if it is summer, a small tent is +erected for her near the common one. Here she lives and sleeps. She +wears a long robe and a large hood, which she must pull down over her +eyes whenever she leaves the hut, and she must keep it down till she +returns. She may not speak to a man nor see his face, much less touch +his clothes or anything that belongs to him; for if she did so, though +no harm would come to her, he would grow unmanly. She has her own dishes +for eating out of and may use no other; at Kaltag she must suck the +water through a swan's bone without applying her lips to the cup. She +may eat no fresh meat or fish except the flesh of the porcupine. She may +not undress, but sleeps with all her clothes on, even her mittens. In +her socks she wears, next to the skin, the horny soles cut from the feet +of a porcupine, in order that for the rest of her life her shoes may +never wear out. Round her waist she wears a cord to which are tied the +heads of femurs of a porcupine; because of all animals known to the +Tinneh the porcupine suffers least in parturition, it simply drops its +young and continues to walk or skip about as if nothing had happened. +Hence it is easy to see that a girl who wears these portions of a +porcupine about her waist, will be delivered just as easily as the +animal. To make quite sure of this, if anybody happens to kill a +porcupine big with young while the girl is undergoing her period of +separation, the foetus is given to her, and she lets it slide down +between her shirt and her body so as to fall on the ground like an +infant.[122] Here the imitation of childbirth is a piece of homoeopathic +or imitative magic designed to facilitate the effect which it +simulates.[123] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Thompson Indians of British +Columbia.] + +Among the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, when a girl attained +puberty, she was at once separated from all the people. A conical hut of +fir branches and bark was erected at some little distance from the other +houses, and in it the girl had to squat on her heels during the day. +Often a deep circular hole was dug in the hut and the girl squatted in +the hole, with her head projecting above the surface of the ground. She +might quit the hut for various purposes in the early morning, but had +always to be back at sunrise. On the first appearance of the symptoms +her face was painted red all over, and the paint was renewed every +morning during her term of seclusion. A heavy blanket swathed her body +from top to toe, and during the first four days she wore a conical cap +made of small fir branches, which reached below the breast but left an +opening for the face. In her hair was fastened an implement made of +deer-bone with which she scratched herself. For the first four days she +might neither wash nor eat, but a little water was given her in a +birch-bark cup painted red, and she sucked up the liquid through a tube +made out of the leg of a crane, a swan, or a goose, for her lips might +not touch the surface of the water. After the four days she was allowed, +during the rest of the period of isolation, to eat, to wash, to lie +down, to comb her hair, and to drink of streams and springs. But in +drinking at these sources she had still to use her tube, otherwise the +spring would dry up. While her seclusion lasted she performed by night +various ceremonies, which were supposed to exert a beneficial influence +on her future life. For example, she ran as fast as she could, praying +at the same time to the Earth or Nature that she might be fleet of foot +and tireless of limb. She dug trenches, in order that in after life she +might be able to dig well and to work hard. These and other ceremonies +she repeated for four nights or mornings in succession, four times each +morning, and each time she supplicated the Dawn of the Day. Among the +Lower Thompson Indians she carried a staff for one night; and when the +day was breaking she leaned the staff against the stump of a tree and +prayed to the Dawn that she might be blessed with a good husband, who +was symbolized by the staff. She also wandered some nights to lonely +parts of the mountains, where she would dance, imploring the spirits to +pity and protect her during her future life; then, the dance and prayer +over, she would lie down on the spot and fall asleep. Again, she carried +four stones in her bosom to a spring, where she spat upon the stones and +threw them one after the other into the water, praying that all disease +might leave her, as these stones did. Also she ran four times in the +early morning with two small stones in her bosom; and as she ran the +stones slipped down between her bare body and her clothes and fell to +the ground. At the same time she prayed to the Dawn that when she should +be with child, she might be delivered as easily as she was delivered of +these stones. But whatever exercises she performed or prayers she +offered on the lonely mountains during the hours of darkness or while +the morning light was growing in the east, she must always be back in +her little hut before the sun rose. There she often passed the tedious +hours away picking the needles, one by one, from the cones on two large +branches of fir, which hung from the roof of her hut on purpose to +provide her with occupation. And as she picked she prayed to the +fir-branch that she might never be lazy, but always quick and active at +work. During her seclusion, too, she had to make miniatures of all the +articles that Indian women make, or used to make, such as baskets, mats, +ropes, and thread. This she did in order that afterwards she might be +able to make the real things properly. Four large fir-branches also were +placed in front of the hut, so that when she went out or in, she had to +step over them. The branches were renewed every morning and the old ones +thrown away into the water, while the girl prayed, "May I never bewitch +any man, nor my fellow-women! May it never happen!" The first four times +that she went out and in, she prayed to the fir-branches, saying, "If +ever I step into trouble or difficulties or step unknowingly inside the +magical spell of some person, may you help me, O Fir-branches, with your +power!" Every day she painted her face afresh, and she wore strings of +parts of deer-hoofs round her ankles and knees, and tied to her +waistband on either side, which rattled when she walked or ran. Even the +shape of the hut in which she lived was adapted to her future rather +than to her present needs and wishes. If she wished to be tall, the hut +was tall; if she wished to be short, it was low, sometimes so low that +there was not room in it for her to stand erect, and she would lay the +palm of her hand on the top of her head and pray to the Dawn that she +might grow no taller. Her seclusion lasted four months. The Indians say +that long ago it extended over a year, and that fourteen days elapsed +before the girl was permitted to wash for the first time. The dress +which she wore during her time of separation was afterwards taken to the +top of a hill and burned, and the rest of her clothes were hung up on +trees.[124] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Lillooet Indians of British +Columbia.] + +Among the Lillooet Indians of British Columbia, neighbours of the +Thompsons, the customs observed by girls at puberty were similar. The +damsels were secluded for a period of not less than one year nor more +than four years, according to their own inclination and the wishes of +their parents. Among the Upper Lillooets the hut in which the girl +lodged was made of bushy fir-trees set up like a conical tent, the inner +branches being lopped off, while the outer branches were closely +interwoven and padded to form a roof. Every month or half-month the hut +was shifted to another site or a new one erected. By day the girl sat in +the hut; for the first month she squatted in a hole dug in the middle of +it; and she passed the time making miniature baskets of birch-bark and +other things, praying that she might be able to make the real things +well in after years. At the dusk of the evening she left the hut and +wandered about all night, but she returned before the sun rose. Before +she quitted the hut at nightfall to roam abroad, she painted her face +red and put on a mask of fir-branches, and in her hand, as she walked, +she carried a basket-rattle to frighten ghosts and guard herself from +evil. Among the Lower Lillooets, the girl's mask was often made of +goat-skin, covering her head, neck, shoulders and breast, and leaving +only a narrow opening from the brow to the chin. During the nocturnal +hours she performed many ceremonies. Thus she put two smooth stones in +her bosom and ran, and as they fell down between her body and her +clothes, she prayed, saying, "May I always have easy child-births!" Now +one of these stones represented her future child and the other +represented the afterbirth. Also she dug trenches, praying that in the +years to come she might be strong and tireless in digging roots; she +picked leaves and needles from the fir-trees, praying that her fingers +might be nimble in picking berries; and she tore sheets of birch-bark +into shreds, dropping the shreds as she walked and asking that her hands +might never tire and that she might make neat and fine work of +birch-bark. Moreover, she ran and walked much that she might be light of +foot. And every evening, when the shadows were falling, and every +morning, when the day was breaking, she prayed to the Dusk of the +Evening or to the Dawn of Day, saying, "O Dawn of Day!" or "O Dusk," as +it might be, "may I be able to dig roots fast and easily, and may I +always find plenty!" All her prayers were addressed to the Dusk of the +Evening or the Dawn of Day. She supplicated both, asking for long life, +health, wealth, and happiness.[125] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Shuswap Indians of British +Columbia.] + +Among the Shuswap Indians of British Columbia, who are neighbours of the +Thompsons and Lillooets, "a girl on reaching maturity has to go through +a great number of ceremonies. She must leave the village and live alone +in a small hut on the mountains. She cooks her own food, and must not +eat anything that bleeds. She is forbidden to touch her head, for which +purpose she uses a comb with three points. Neither is she allowed to +scratch her body, except with a painted deer-bone. She wears the bone +and the comb suspended from her belt. She drinks out of a painted cup of +birch-bark, and neither more nor less than the quantity it holds. Every +night she walks about her hut, and plants willow twigs, which she has +painted, and to the ends of which she has attached pieces of cloth, into +the ground. It is believed that thus she will become rich in later life. +In order to become strong she should climb trees and try to break off +their points. She plays with _lehal_ sticks that her future husbands +might have good luck when gambling."[126] During the day the girl stays +in her hut and occupies herself in making miniature bags, mats, and +baskets, in sewing and embroidery, in manufacturing thread, twine, and +so forth; in short she makes a beginning of all kinds of woman's work, +in order that she may be a good housewife in after life. By night she +roams the mountains and practises running, climbing, carrying burdens, +and digging trenches, so that she may be expert at digging roots. If she +has wandered far and daylight overtakes her, she hides herself behind a +veil of fir branches; for no one, except her instructor or nearest +relatives, should see her face during her period of seclusion. She wore +a large robe painted red on the breast and sides, and her hair was done +up in a knot at each ear.[127] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Delaware and Cheyenne Indians.] + +Ceremonies of the same general type were probably observed by girls at +puberty among all the Indian tribes of North America. But the record of +them is far less full for the Central and Eastern tribes, perhaps +because the settlers who first came into contact with the Red Man in +these regions were too busy fighting him to find leisure, even if they +had the desire, to study his manners and customs. However, among the +Delaware Indians, a tribe in the extreme east of the continent, we read +that "when a Delaware girl has her first monthly period, she must +withdraw into a hut at some distance from the village. Her head is +wrapped up for twelve days, so that she can see nobody, and she must +submit to frequent vomits and fasting, and abstain from all labor. After +this she is washed and new clothed, but confined to a solitary life for +two months, at the close of which she is declared marriageable."[128] +Again, among the Cheyennes, an Indian tribe of the Missouri valley, a +girl at her first menstruation is painted red all over her body and +secluded in a special little lodge for four days. However, she may +remain in her father's lodge provided that there are no charms +("medicine"), no sacred bundle, and no shield in it, or that these and +all other objects invested with a sacred character have been removed. +For four days she may not eat boiled meat; the flesh of which she +partakes must be roasted over coals. Young men will not eat from the +dish nor drink from the pot, which has been used by her; because they +believe that were they to do so they would be wounded in the next fight. +She may not handle nor even touch any weapon of war or any sacred +object. If the camp moves, she may not ride a horse, but is mounted on a +mare.[129] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Esquimaux.] + +Among the Esquimaux also, in the extreme north of the continent, who +belong to an entirely different race from the Indians, the attainment of +puberty in the female sex is, or used to be, the occasion of similar +observances. Thus among the Koniags, an Esquimau people of Alaska, a +girl at puberty was placed in a small hut in which she had to remain on +her hands and knees for six months; then the hut was enlarged a little +so as to allow her to straighten her back, but in this posture she had +to remain for six months more. All this time she was regarded as an +unclean being with whom no one might hold intercourse. At the end of the +year she was received back by her parents and a great feast held.[130] +Again, among the Malemut, and southward from the lower Yukon and +adjacent districts, when a girl reaches the age of puberty she is +considered unclean for forty days and must therefore live by herself in +a corner of the house with her face to the wall, always keeping her hood +over her head and her hair hanging dishevelled over her eyes. But if it +is summer, she commonly lives in a rough shelter outside the house. She +may not go out by day, and only once at night, when every one else is +asleep. At the end of the period she bathes and is clothed in new +garments, whereupon she may be taken in marriage. During her seclusion +she is supposed to be enveloped in a peculiar atmosphere of such a sort +that were a young man to come near enough for it to touch him, it would +render him visible to every animal he might hunt, so that his luck as a +hunter would be gone.[131] + + +Sec. 5. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty among the Indians of South America_ + + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Guaranis, Chiriguanos, and +Lengua Indians of South America.] + +When symptoms of puberty appeared on a girl for the first time, the +Guaranis of Southern Brazil, on the borders of Paraguay, used to sew her +up in her hammock, leaving only a small opening in it to allow her to +breathe. In this condition, wrapt up and shrouded like a corpse, she was +kept for two or three days or so long as the symptoms lasted, and during +this time she had to observe a most rigorous fast. After that she was +entrusted to a matron, who cut the girl's hair and enjoined her to +abstain most strictly from eating flesh of any kind until her hair +should be grown long enough to hide her ears. Meanwhile the diviners +drew omens of her future character from the various birds or animals +that flew past or crossed her path. If they saw a parrot, they would say +she was a chatterbox; if an owl, she was lazy and useless for domestic +labours, and so on.[132] In similar circumstances the Chiriguanos of +southeastern Bolivia hoisted the girl in her hammock to the roof, where +she stayed for a month: the second month the hammock was let half-way +down from the roof; and in the third month old women, armed with sticks, +entered the hut and ran about striking everything they met, saying they +were hunting the snake that had wounded the girl.[133] The Lengua +Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco under similar circumstances hang the +girl in her hammock from the roof of the house, but they leave her there +only three days and nights, during which they give her nothing to eat +but a little Paraguay tea or boiled maize. Only her mother or +grandmother has access to her; nobody else approaches or speaks to her. +If she is obliged to leave the hammock for a little, her friends take +great care to prevent her from touching the _Boyrusu_, which is an +imaginary serpent that would swallow her up. She must also be very +careful not to set foot on the droppings of fowls or animals, else she +would suffer from sores on the throat and breast. On the third day they +let her down from the hammock, cut her hair, and make her sit in a +corner of the room with her face turned to the wall. She may speak to +nobody, and must abstain from flesh and fish. These rigorous observances +she must practise for nearly a year. Many girls die or are injured for +life in consequence of the hardships they endure at this time. Their +only occupations during their seclusion are spinning and weaving.[134] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Yuracares of Bolivia.] + +Among the Yuracares, an Indian tribe of Bolivia, at the eastern foot of +the Andes, when a girl perceives the signs of puberty, she informs her +parents. The mother weeps and the father constructs a little hut of palm +leaves near the house. In this cabin he shuts up his daughter so that +she cannot see the light, and there she remains fasting rigorously for +four days. Meantime the mother, assisted by the women of the +neighbourhood, has brewed a large quantity of the native intoxicant +called _chicha_, and poured it into wooden troughs and palm leaves. On +the morning of the fourth day, three hours before the dawn, the girl's +father, having arrayed himself in his savage finery, summons all his +neighbours with loud cries. The damsel is seated on a stone, and every +guest in turn cuts off a lock of her hair, and running away hides it in +the hollow trunk of a tree in the depths of the forest. When they have +all done so and seated themselves again gravely in the circle, the girl +offers to each of them a calabash full of very strong _chicha_. Before +the wassailing begins, the various fathers perform a curious operation +on the arms of their sons, who are seated beside them. The operator +takes a very sharp bone of an ape, rubs it with a pungent spice, and +then pinching up the skin of his son's arm he pierces it with the bone +through and through, as a surgeon might introduce a seton. This +operation he repeats till the young man's arm is riddled with holes at +regular intervals from the shoulder to the wrist. Almost all who take +part in the festival are covered with these wounds, which the Indians +call _culucute_. Having thus prepared themselves to spend a happy day, +they drink, play on flutes, sing and dance till evening. Rain, thunder, +and lightning, should they befall, have no effect in damping the general +enjoyment or preventing its continuance till after the sun has set. The +motive for perforating the arms of the young men is to make them skilful +hunters; at each perforation the sufferer is cheered by the promise of +another sort of game or fish which the surgical operation will +infallibly procure for him. The same operation is performed on the arms +and legs of the girls, in order that they may be brave and strong; even +the dogs are operated on with the intention of making them run down the +game better. For five or six months afterwards the damsel must cover her +head with bark and refrain from speaking to men. The Yuracares think +that if they did not submit a young girl to this severe ordeal, her +children would afterwards perish by accidents of various kinds, such as +the sting of a serpent, the bite of a jaguar, the fall of a tree, the +wound of an arrow, or what not.[135] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of the Gran Chaco.] + +Among the Matacos or Mataguayos, an Indian tribe of the Gran Chaco, a +girl at puberty has to remain in seclusion for some time. She lies +covered up with branches or other things in a corner of the hut, seeing +no one and speaking to no one, and during this time she may eat neither +flesh nor fish. Meantime a man beats a drum in front of the house.[136] +Similarly among the Tobas, another Indian tribe of the same region, when +a chief's daughter has just attained to womanhood, she is shut up for +two or three days in the house, all the men of the tribe scour the +country to bring in game and fish for a feast, and a Mataco Indian is +engaged to drum, sing, and dance in front of the house without +cessation, day and night, till the festival is over. As the merrymaking +lasts for two or three weeks, the exhaustion of the musician at the end +of it may be readily conceived. Meat and drink are supplied to him on +the spot where he pays his laborious court to the Muses. The proceedings +wind up with a saturnalia and a drunken debauch.[137] Among the Yaguas, +an Indian tribe of the Upper Amazon, a girl at puberty is shut up for +three months in a lonely hut in the forest, where her mother brings her +food daily.[138] When a girl of the Peguenches tribe perceives in +herself the first signs of womanhood, she is secluded by her mother in a +corner of the hut screened off with blankets, and is warned not to lift +up her eyes on any man. Next day, very early in the morning and again +after sunset, she is taken out by two women and made to run till she is +tired; in the interval she is again secluded in her corner. On the +following day she lays three packets of wool beside the path near the +house to signify that she is now a woman.[139] Among the Passes, Mauhes, +and other tribes of Brazil the young woman in similar circumstances is +hung in her hammock from the roof and has to fast there for a month or +as long as she can hold out.[140] One of the early settlers in Brazil, +about the middle of the sixteenth century, has described the severe +ordeal which damsels at puberty had to undergo among the Indians on the +south-east coast of that country, near what is now Rio de Janeiro. When +a girl had reached this critical period of life, her hair was burned or +shaved off close to the head. Then she was placed on a flat stone and +cut with the tooth of an animal from the shoulders all down the back, +till she ran with blood. Next the ashes of a wild gourd were rubbed into +the wounds; the girl was bound hand and foot, and hung in a hammock, +being enveloped in it so closely that no one could see her. Here she had +to stay for three days without eating or drinking. When the three days +were over, she stepped out of the hammock upon the flat stone, for her +feet might not touch the ground. If she had a call of nature, a female +relation took the girl on her back and carried her out, taking with her +a live coal to prevent evil influences from entering the girl's body. +Being replaced in her hammock, she was now allowed to get some flour, +boiled roots, and water, but might not taste salt or flesh. Thus she +continued to the end of the first monthly period, at the expiry of which +she was gashed on the breast and belly as well as all down the back. +During the second month she still stayed in her hammock, but her rule of +abstinence was less rigid, and she was allowed to spin. The third month +she was blackened with a certain pigment and began to go about as +usual.[141] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of Guiana; custom of +beating the girls and of causing them to be stung by ants.] + +Amongst the Macusis of British Guiana, when a girl shews the first signs +of puberty, she is hung in a hammock at the highest point of the hut. +For the first few days she may not leave the hammock by day, but at +night she must come down, light a fire, and spend the night beside it, +else she would break out in sores on her neck, throat, and other parts +of her body. So long as the symptoms are at their height, she must fast +rigorously. When they have abated, she may come down and take up her +abode in a little compartment that is made for her in the darkest corner +of the hut. In the morning she may cook her food, but it must be at a +separate fire and in a vessel of her own. After about ten days the +magician comes and undoes the spell by muttering charms and breathing on +her and on the more valuable of the things with which she has come in +contact. The pots and drinking-vessels which she used are broken and the +fragments buried. After her first bath, the girl must submit to be +beaten by her mother with thin rods without uttering a cry. At the end +of the second period she is again beaten, but not afterwards. She is now +"clean," and can mix again with people.[142] Other Indians of Guiana, +after keeping the girl in her hammock at the top of the hut for a month, +expose her to certain large ants, whose bite is very painful.[143] +Sometimes, in addition to being stung with ants, the sufferer has to +fast day and night so long as she remains slung up on high in her +hammock, so that when she comes down she is reduced to a skeleton. The +intention of stinging her with ants is said to be to make her strong to +bear the burden of maternity.[144] Amongst the Uaupes of Brazil a girl +at puberty is secluded in the house for a month, and allowed only a +small quantity of bread and water. Then she is taken out into the midst +of her relations and friends, each of whom gives her four or five blows +with pieces of _sipo_ (an elastic climber), till she falls senseless or +dead. If she recovers, the operation is repeated four times at intervals +of six hours, and it is considered an offence to the parents not to +strike hard. Meantime, pots of meats and fish have been made ready; the +_sipos_ are dipped into them and then given to the girl to lick, who is +now considered a marriageable woman.[145] + +[Custom in South America of causing young men to be stung with ants as +an initiatory rite.] + +The custom of stinging the girl at such times with ants or beating her +with rods is intended, we may be sure, not as a punishment or a test of +endurance, but as a purification, the object being to drive away the +malignant influences with which a girl in this condition is believed to +be beset and enveloped. Examples of purification, by beating, by +incisions in the flesh, and by stinging with ants, have already come +before us.[146] In some Indian tribes of Brazil and Guiana young men do +not rank as warriors and may not marry till they have passed through a +terrible ordeal, which consists in being stung by swarms of venomous +ants whose bite is like fire. Thus among the Mauhes on the Tapajos +river, a southern tributary of the Amazon, boys of eight to ten years +are obliged to thrust their arms into sleeves stuffed with great +ferocious ants, which the Indians call _tocandeira_ (_Cryptocerus +atratus_, F.). When the young victim shrieks with pain, an excited mob +of men dances round him, shouting and encouraging him till he falls +exhausted to the ground. He is then committed to the care of old women, +who treat his fearfully swollen arms with fresh juice of the manioc; and +on his recovery he has to shew his strength and skill in bending a bow. +This cruel ordeal is commonly repeated again and again, till the lad has +reached his fourteenth year and can bear the agony without betraying any +sign of emotion. Then he is a man and can marry. A lad's age is reckoned +by the number of times he has passed through the ordeal.[147] An +eye-witness has described how a young Mauhe hero bore the torture with +an endurance more than Spartan, dancing and singing, with his arms cased +in the terrible mittens, before every cabin of the great common house, +till pallid, staggering, and with chattering teeth he triumphantly laid +the gloves before the old chief and received the congratulations of the +men and the caresses of the women; then breaking away from his friends +and admirers he threw himself into the river and remained in its cool +soothing water till nightfall.[148] Similarly among the Ticunas of the +Upper Amazon, on the border of Peru, the young man who would take his +place among the warriors must plunge his arm into a sort of basket full +of venomous ants and keep it there for several minutes without uttering +a cry. He generally falls backwards and sometimes succumbs to the fever +which ensues; hence as soon as the ordeal is over the women are prodigal +of their attentions to him, and rub the swollen arm with a particular +kind of herb.[149] Ordeals of this sort appear to be in vogue among the +Indians of the Rio Negro as well as of the Amazon.[150] Among the +Rucuyennes, a tribe of Indians in the north of Brazil, on the borders of +Guiana, young men who are candidates for marriage must submit to be +stung all over their persons not only with ants but with wasps, which +are applied to their naked bodies in curious instruments of trellis-work +shaped like fantastic quadrupeds or birds. The patient invariably falls +down in a swoon and is carried like dead to his hammock, where he is +tightly lashed with cords. As they come to themselves, they writhe in +agony, so that their hammocks rock violently to and fro, causing the hut +to shake as if it were about to collapse. This dreadful ordeal is called +by the Indians a _marake_.[151] + +[Custom of causing men and women to be stung with ants to improve their +character and health or to render them invulnerable.] + +The same ordeal, under the same name, is also practised by the Wayanas, +an Indian tribe of French Guiana, but with them, we are told, it is no +longer deemed an indispensable preliminary to marriage; "it is rather a +sort of national medicine administered chiefly to the youth of both +sexes." Applied to men, the _marake_, as it is called, "sharpens them, +prevents them from being heavy and lazy, makes them active, brisk, +industrious, imparts strength, and helps them to shoot well with the +bow; without it the Indians would always be slack and rather sickly, +would always have a little fever, and would lie perpetually in their +hammocks. As for the women, the _marake_ keeps them from going to sleep, +renders them active, alert, brisk, gives them strength and a liking for +work, makes them good housekeepers, good workers at the stockade, good +makers of _cachiri_. Every one undergoes the _marake_ at least twice in +his life, sometimes thrice, and oftener if he likes. It may be had from +the age of about eight years and upward, and no one thinks it odd that a +man of forty should voluntarily submit to it."[152] Similarly the +Indians of St. Juan Capistrano in California used to be branded on some +part of their bodies, generally on the right arm, but sometimes on the +leg also, not as a proof of manly fortitude, but because they believed +that the custom "added greater strength to the nerves, and gave a better +pulse for the management of the bow." Afterwards "they were whipped with +nettles, and covered with ants, that they might become robust, and the +infliction was always performed in summer, during the months of July and +August, when the nettle was in its most fiery state. They gathered small +bunches, which they fastened together, and the poor deluded Indian was +chastised, by inflicting blows with them upon his naked limbs, until +unable to walk; and then he was carried to the nest of the nearest and +most furious species of ants, and laid down among them, while some of +his friends, with sticks, kept annoying the insects to make them still +more violent. What torments did they not undergo! What pain! What +hellish inflictions! Yet their faith gave them power to endure all +without a murmur, and they remained as if dead. Having undergone these +dreadful ordeals, they were considered as invulnerable, and believed +that the arrows of their enemies could no longer harm them."[153] Among +the Alur, a tribe inhabiting the south-western region of the upper Nile, +to bury a man in an ant-hill and leave him there for a while is the +regular treatment for insanity.[154] + +[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.] + +In like manner it is probable that beating or scourging as a religious +or ceremonial rite was originally a mode of purification. It was meant +to wipe off and drive away a dangerous contagion, whether personified as +demoniacal or not, which was supposed to be adhering physically, though +invisibly, to the body of the sufferer.[155] The pain inflicted on the +person beaten was no more the object of the beating than it is of a +surgical operation with us; it was a necessary accident, that was all. +In later times such customs were interpreted otherwise, and the pain, +from being an accident, became the prime object of the ceremony, which +was now regarded either as a test of endurance imposed upon persons at +critical epochs of life, or as a mortification of the flesh well +pleasing to the god. But asceticism, under any shape or form, is never +primitive. The savage, it is true, in certain circumstances will +voluntarily subject himself to pains and privations which appear to us +wholly needless; but he never acts thus unless he believes that some +solid temporal advantage is to be gained by so doing. Pain for the sake +of pain, whether as a moral discipline in this life or as a means of +winning a glorious immortality hereafter, is not an object which he sets +himself deliberately to pursue. + +[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.] + +If this view is correct, we can understand why so many Indian tribes of +South America compel the youth of both sexes to submit to these painful +and sometimes fatal ordeals. They imagine that in this way they rid the +young folk of certain evils inherent in youth, especially at the +critical age of puberty; and when they picture to themselves the evils +in a personal form as dangerous spirits or demons, the ceremony of their +expulsion may in the strict sense be termed an exorcism. This certainly +appears to be the interpretation which the Banivas of the Orinoco put +upon the cruel scourgings which they inflict on girls at puberty. At her +first menstruation a Baniva girl must pass several days and nights in +her hammock, almost motionless and getting nothing to eat and drink but +water and a little manioc. While she lies there, the suitors for her +hand apply to her father, and he who can afford to give most for her or +can prove himself the best man, is promised the damsel in marriage. The +fast over, some old men enter the hut, bandage the girl's eyes, cover +her head with a bonnet of which the fringes fall on her shoulders, and +then lead her forth and tie her to a post set up in an open place. The +head of the post is carved in the shape of a grotesque face. None but +the old men may witness what follows. Were a woman caught peeping and +prying, it would go ill with her; she would be marked out for the +vengeance of the demon, who would make her expiate her crime at the very +next moon by madness or death. Every participant in the ceremony comes +armed with a scourge of cords or of fish skins; some of them reinforce +the virtue of the instrument by tying little sharp stones to the end of +the thongs. Then, to the dismal and deafening notes of shell-trumpets +blown by two or three supernumeraries, the men circle round and round +the post, every one applying his scourge as he passes to the girl's +back, till it streams with blood. At last the musicians, winding +tremendous blasts on their trumpets against the demon, advance and touch +the post in which he is supposed to be incorporate. Then the blows cease +to descend; the girl is untied, often in a fainting state, and carried +away to have her wounds washed and simples applied to them. The youngest +of the executioners, or rather of the exorcists, hastens to inform her +betrothed husband of the happy issue of the exorcism. "The spirit," he +says, "had cast thy beloved into a sleep as deep almost as that of +death. But we have rescued her from his attacks, and laid her down in +such and such a place. Go seek her." Then going from house to house +through the village he cries to the inmates, "Come, let us burn the +demon who would have taken possession of such and such a girl, our +friend." The bridegroom at once carries his wounded and suffering bride +to his own house; and all the people gather round the post for the +pleasure of burning it and the demon together. A great pile of firewood +has meanwhile been heaped up about it, and the women run round the pyre +cursing in shrill voices the wicked spirit who has wrought all this +evil. The men join in with hoarser cries and animate themselves for the +business in hand by deep draughts of an intoxicant which has been +provided for the occasion by the parents-in-law. Soon the bridegroom, +having committed the bride to the care of his mother, appears on the +scene brandishing a lighted torch. He addresses the demon with bitter +mockery and reproaches; informs him that the fair creature on whom he, +the demon, had nefarious designs, is now his, the bridegroom's, blooming +spouse; and shaking his torch at the grinning head on the post, he +screams out, "This is how the victims of thy persecution take vengeance +on thee!" With these words he puts a light to the pyre. At once the +drums strike up, the trumpets blare, and men, women, and children begin +to dance. In two long rows they dance, the men on one side, the women on +the other, advancing till they almost touch and then retiring again. +After that the two rows join hands, and forming a huge circle trip it +round and round the blaze, till the post with its grotesque face is +consumed in the flames and nothing of the pyre remains but a heap of red +and glowing embers. "The evil spirit has been destroyed. Thus delivered +from her persecutor, the young wife will be free from sickness, will not +die in childbed, and will bear many children to her husband."[156] From +this account it appears that the Banivas attribute the symptoms of +puberty in girls to the wounds inflicted on them by an amorous devil, +who, however, can be not only exorcised but burnt to ashes at the stake. + + +Sec. 6. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty in India and Cambodia_ + + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty among the Hindoos; seclusion of girls at +puberty in Southern India.] + +When a Hindoo maiden reaches maturity she is kept in a dark room for +four days, and is forbidden to see the sun. She is regarded as unclean; +no one may touch her. Her diet is restricted to boiled rice, milk, +sugar, curd, and tamarind without salt. On the morning of the fifth day +she goes to a neighbouring tank, accompanied by five women whose +husbands are alive. Smeared with turmeric water, they all bathe and +return home, throwing away the mat and other things that were in the +room.[157] The Rarhi Brahmans of Bengal compel a girl at puberty to live +alone, and do not allow her to see the face of any male. For three days +she remains shut up in a dark room, and has to undergo certain penances. +Fish, flesh, and sweetmeats are forbidden her; she must live upon rice +and ghee.[158] Among the Tiyans of Malabar a girl is thought to be +polluted for four days from the beginning of her first menstruation. +During this time she must keep to the north side of the house, where she +sleeps on a grass mat of a particular kind, in a room festooned with +garlands of young coco-nut leaves. Another girl keeps her company and +sleeps with her, but she may not touch any other person, tree or plant. +Further, she may not see the sky, and woe betide her if she catches +sight of a crow or a cat! Her diet must be strictly vegetarian, without +salt, tamarinds, or chillies. She is armed against evil spirits by a +knife, which is placed on the mat or carried on her person.[159] Among +the Kappiliyans of Madura and Tinnevelly a girl at her first monthly +period remains under pollution for thirteen days, either in a corner of +the house, which is screened off for her use by her maternal uncle, or +in a temporary hut, which is erected by the same relative on the common +land of the village. On the thirteenth day she bathes in a tank, and, on +entering the house, steps over a pestle and a cake. Near the entrance +some food is placed and a dog is allowed to partake of it; but his +enjoyment is marred by suffering, for while he eats he receives a sound +thrashing, and the louder he howls the better, for the larger will be +the family to which the young woman will give birth; should there be no +howls, there will be no children. The temporary hut in which the girl +passed the days of her seclusion is burnt down, and the pots which she +used are smashed to shivers.[160] Similarly among the Parivarams of +Madura, when a girl attains to puberty she is kept for sixteen days in a +hut, which is guarded at night by her relations; and when her +sequestration is over the hut is burnt down and the pots she used are +broken into very small pieces, because they think that if rain-water +gathered in any of them, the girl would be childless.[161] The Pulayars +of Travancore build a special hut in the jungle for the use of a girl at +puberty; there she remains for seven days. No one else may enter the +hut, not even her mother. Women stand a little way off and lay down food +for her. At the end of the time she is brought home, clad in a new or +clean cloth, and friends are treated to betel-nut, toddy, and +arack.[162] Among the Singhalese a girl at her first menstruation is +confined to a room, where she may neither see nor be seen by any male. +After being thus secluded for two weeks she is taken out, with her face +covered, and is bathed by women at the back of the house. Near the +bathing-place are kept branches of any milk-bearing tree, usually of the +_jak_-tree. In some cases, while the time of purification or uncleanness +lasts, the maiden stays in a separate hut, which is afterwards burnt +down.[163] + +[Seclusion of girls at puberty in Cambodia.] + +In Cambodia a girl at puberty is put to bed under a mosquito curtain, +where she should stay a hundred days. Usually, however, four, five, ten, +or twenty days are thought enough; and even this, in a hot climate and +under the close meshes of the curtain, is sufficiently trying.[164] +According to another account, a Cambodian maiden at puberty is said to +"enter into the shade." During her retirement, which, according to the +rank and position of her family, may last any time from a few days to +several years, she has to observe a number of rules, such as not to be +seen by a strange man, not to eat flesh or fish, and so on. She goes +nowhere, not even to the pagoda. But this state of seclusion is +discontinued during eclipses; at such times she goes forth and pays her +devotions to the monster who is supposed to cause eclipses by catching +the heavenly bodies between his teeth.[165] This permission to break her +rule of retirement and appear abroad during an eclipse seems to shew how +literally the injunction is interpreted which forbids maidens entering +on womanhood to look upon the sun. + + +Sec. 7. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty in Folk-tales_ + + +[Traces of the seclusion of girls at puberty in folk-tales. Danish story +of the girl who might not see the sun.] + +A superstition so widely diffused as this might be expected to leave +traces in legends and folk-tales. And it has done so. In a Danish story +we read of a princess who was fated to be carried off by a warlock if +ever the sun shone on her before she had passed her thirtieth year; so +the king her father kept her shut up in the palace, and had all the +windows on the east, south, and west sides blocked up, lest a sunbeam +should fall on his darling child, and he should thus lose her for ever. +Only at evening, when the sun was down, might she walk for a little in +the beautiful garden of the castle. In time a prince came a-wooing, +followed by a train of gorgeous knights and squires on horses all ablaze +with gold and silver. The king said the prince might have his daughter +to wife on condition that he would not carry her away to his home till +she was thirty years old but would live with her in the castle, where +the windows looked out only to the north. The prince agreed, so married +they were. The bride was only fifteen, and fifteen more long weary years +must pass before she might step out of the gloomy donjon, breathe the +fresh air, and see the sun. But she and her gallant young bridegroom +loved each other and they were happy. Often they sat hand in hand at the +window looking out to the north and talked of what they would do when +they were free. Still it was a little dull to look out always at the +same window and to see nothing but the castle woods, and the distant +hills, and the clouds drifting silently over them. Well, one day it +happened that all the people in the castle had gone away to a +neighbouring castle to witness a tournament and other gaieties, and the +two young folks were left as usual all alone at the window looking out +to the north. They sat silent for a time gazing away to the hills. It +was a grey sad day, the sky was overcast, and the weather seemed to draw +to rain. At last the prince said, "There will be no sunshine to-day. +What if we were to drive over and join the rest at the tournament?" His +young wife gladly consented, for she longed to see more of the world +than those eternal green woods and those eternal blue hills, which were +all she ever saw from the window. So the horses were put into the coach, +and it rattled up to the door, and in they got and away they drove. At +first all went well. The clouds hung low over the woods, the wind sighed +in the trees, a drearier day you could hardly imagine. So they joined +the rest at the other castle and took their seats to watch the jousting +in the lists. So intent were they in watching the gay spectacle of the +prancing steeds, the fluttering pennons, and the glittering armour of +the knights, that they failed to mark the change, the fatal change, in +the weather. For the wind was rising and had begun to disperse the +clouds, and suddenly the sun broke through, and the glory of it fell +like an aureole on the young wife, and at once she vanished away. No +sooner did her husband miss her from his side than he, too, mysteriously +disappeared. The tournament broke up in confusion, the bereft father +hastened home, and shut himself up in the dark castle from which the +light of life had departed. The green woods and the blue hills could +still be seen from the window that looked to the north, but the young +faces that had gazed out of it so wistfully were gone, as it seemed, for +ever.[166] + +[Tyrolese story of the girl who might not see the sun.] + +A Tyrolese story tells how it was the doom of a lovely maiden with +golden hair to be transported into the belly of a whale if ever a +sunbeam fell on her. Hearing of the fame of her beauty the king of the +country sent for her to be his bride, and her brother drove the fair +damsel to the palace in a carefully closed coach, himself sitting on the +box and handling the reins. On the way they overtook two hideous +witches, who pretended they were weary and begged for a lift in the +coach. At first the brother refused to take them in, but his +tender-hearted sister entreated him to have compassion on the two poor +footsore women; for you may easily imagine that she was not acquainted +with their true character. So down he got rather surlily from the box, +opened the coach door, and in the two witches stepped, laughing in their +sleeves. But no sooner had the brother mounted the box and whipped up +the horses, than one of the two wicked witches bored a hole in the +closed coach. A sunbeam at once shot through the hole and fell on the +fair damsel. So she vanished from the coach and was spirited away into +the belly of a whale in the neighbouring sea. You can imagine the +consternation of the king, when the coach door opened and instead of his +blooming bride out bounced two hideous hags![167] + +[Modern Greek stories of the maid who might not see the sun.] + +In a modern Greek folk-tale the Fates predict that in her fifteenth year +a princess must be careful not to let the sun shine on her, for if this +were to happen she would be turned into a lizard.[168] In another modern +Greek tale the Sun bestows a daughter upon a childless woman on +condition of taking the child back to himself when she is twelve years +old. So, when the child was twelve, the mother closed the doors and +windows, and stopped up all the chinks and crannies, to prevent the Sun +from coming to fetch away her daughter. But she forgot to stop up the +key-hole, and a sunbeam streamed through it and carried off the +girl.[169] In a Sicilian story a seer foretells that a king will have a +daughter who, in her fourteenth year, will conceive a child by the Sun. +So, when the child was born, the king shut her up in a lonely tower +which had no window, lest a sunbeam should fall on her. When she was +nearly fourteen years old, it happened that her parents sent her a piece +of roasted kid, in which she found a sharp bone. With this bone she +scraped a hole in the wall, and a sunbeam shot through the hole and got +her with child.[170] + +[The story of Danae and its parallel in a Kirghiz legend.] + +The old Greek story of Danae, who was confined by her father in a +subterranean chamber or a brazen tower, but impregnated by Zeus, who +reached her in the shape of a shower of gold,[171] perhaps belongs to +the same class of tales. It has its counterpart in the legend which the +Kirghiz of Siberia tell of their ancestry. A certain Khan had a fair +daughter, whom he kept in a dark iron house, that no man might see her. +An old woman tended her; and when the girl was grown to maidenhood she +asked the old woman, "Where do you go so often?" "My child," said the +old dame, "there is a bright world. In that bright world your father and +mother live, and all sorts of people live there. That is where I go." +The maiden said, "Good mother, I will tell nobody, but shew me that +bright world." So the old woman took the girl out of the iron house. But +when she saw the bright world, the girl tottered and fainted; and the +eye of God fell upon her, and she conceived. Her angry father put her in +a golden chest and sent her floating away (fairy gold can float in +fairyland) over the wide sea.[172] The shower of gold in the Greek +story, and the eye of God in the Kirghiz legend, probably stand for +sunlight and the sun. + +[Impregnation of women by the sun in legends.] + +The idea that women may be impregnated by the sun is not uncommon in +legends. Thus, for example, among the Indians of Guacheta in Colombia, +it is said, a report once ran that the sun would impregnate one of their +maidens, who should bear a child and yet remain a virgin. The chief had +two daughters, and was very desirous that one of them should conceive in +this miraculous manner. So every day he made them climb a hill to the +east of his house in order to be touched by the first beams of the +rising sun. His wishes were fulfilled, for one of the damsels conceived +and after nine months gave birth to an emerald. So she wrapped it in +cotton and placed it in her bosom, and in a few days it turned into a +child, who received the name of Garanchacha and was universally +recognized as a son of the sun.[173] Again, the Samoans tell of a woman +named Mangamangai, who became pregnant by looking at the rising sun. Her +son grew up and was named "Child of the Sun." At his marriage he applied +to his mother for a dowry, but she bade him apply to his father, the +sun, and told him how to go to him. So one morning he took a long vine +and made a noose in it; then climbing up a tree he threw the noose over +the sun and caught him fast. Thus arrested in his progress, the luminary +asked him what he wanted, and being told by the young man that he wanted +a present for his bride, the sun obligingly packed up a store of +blessings in a basket, with which the youth descended to the earth.[174] + +[Traces in marriage customs of the belief that women can be impregnated +by the sun.] + +Even in the marriage customs of various races we may perhaps detect +traces of this belief that women can be impregnated by the sun. Thus +amongst the Chaco Indians of South America a newly married couple used +to sleep the first night on a mare's or bullock's skin with their heads +towards the west, "for the marriage is not considered ratified till the +rising sun shines on their feet the succeeding morning."[175] At old +Hindoo marriages the first ceremony was the "Impregnation-rite" +(_Garbh[=a]dh[=a]na_); during the previous day the bride was made to +look towards the sun or to be in some way exposed to its rays.[176] +Amongst the Turks of Siberia it was formerly the custom on the morning +after the marriage to lead the young couple out of the hut to greet the +rising sun. The same custom is said to be still practised in Iran and +Central Asia under a belief that the beams of the rising sun are the +surest means of impregnating the new bride.[177] + +[Belief in the impregnation of women by the moon.] + +And as some people think that women may be gotten with child by the sun, +so others imagine that they can conceive by the moon. According to the +Greenlanders the moon is a young man, and he "now and then comes down to +give their wives a visit and caress them; for which reason no woman dare +sleep lying upon her back, without she first spits upon her fingers and +rubs her belly with it. For the same reason the young maids are afraid +to stare long at the moon, imagining they may get a child by the +bargain."[178] Similarly Breton peasants are reported to believe that +women or girls who expose their persons to the moonlight may be +impregnated by it and give birth to monsters.[179] + + +Sec. 8. _Reasons for the Seclusion of Girls at Puberty_ + + +[The reason for the seclusion of women at puberty is the dread of +menstruous blood.] + +The motive for the restraints so commonly imposed on girls at puberty is +the deeply engrained dread which primitive man universally entertains of +menstruous blood. He fears it at all times but especially on its first +appearance; hence the restrictions under which women lie at their first +menstruation are usually more stringent than those which they have to +observe at any subsequent recurrence of the mysterious flow. Some +evidence of the fear and of the customs based on it has been cited in an +earlier part of this work;[180] but as the terror, for it is nothing +less, which the phenomenon periodically strikes into the mind of the +savage has deeply influenced his life and institutions, it may be well +to illustrate the subject with some further examples. + +[Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the aborigines of +Australia.] + +Thus in the Encounter Bay tribe of South Australia there is, or used to +be, a "superstition which obliges a woman to separate herself from the +camp at the time of her monthly illness, when, if a young man or boy +should approach, she calls out, and he immediately makes a circuit to +avoid her. If she is neglectful upon this point, she exposes herself to +scolding, and sometimes to severe beating by her husband or nearest +relation, because the boys are told from their infancy, that if they see +the blood they will early become grey-headed, and their strength will +fail prematurely."[181] And of the South Australian aborigines in +general we read that there is a "custom requiring all boys and +uninitiated young men to sleep at some distance from the huts of the +adults, and to remove altogether away in the morning as soon as daylight +dawns, and the natives begin to move about. This is to prevent their +seeing the women, some of whom may be menstruating; and if looked upon +by the young males, it is supposed that dire results will follow."[182] +And amongst these tribes women in their courses "are not allowed to eat +fish of any kind, or to go near the water at all; it being one of their +superstitions, that if a female, in that state, goes near the water, no +success can be expected by the men in fishing."[183] Similarly, among +the natives of the Murray River, menstruous women "were not allowed to +go near water for fear of frightening the fish. They were also not +allowed to eat them, for the same reason. A woman during such periods +would never cross the river in a canoe, or even fetch water for the +camp. It was sufficient for her to say _Thama_, to ensure her husband +getting the water himself."[184] The Dieri of Central Australia believe +that if women at these times were to eat fish or bathe in a river, the +fish would all die and the water would dry up. In this tribe a mark made +with red ochre round a woman's mouth indicates that she has her courses; +no one would offer fish to such a woman.[185] The Arunta of Central +Australia forbid menstruous women to gather the _irriakura_ bulbs, which +form a staple article of diet for both men and women. They believe that +were a woman to break this rule, the supply of bulbs would fail.[186] +Among the aborigines of Victoria the wife at her monthly periods had to +sleep on the opposite side of the fire from her husband; she might +partake of nobody's food, and nobody would partake of hers, for people +thought that if they ate or drank anything that had been touched by a +woman in her courses, it would make them weak or ill. Unmarried girls +and widows at such times had to paint their heads and the upper parts of +their bodies red,[187] no doubt as a danger signal. + +[Severe penalties inflicted for breaches of the custom of seclusion.] + +In some Australian tribes the seclusion of menstruous women was even +more rigid, and was enforced by severer penalties than a scolding or a +beating. Thus with regard to certain tribes of New South Wales and +Southern Queensland we are told that "during the monthly illness, the +woman is not allowed to touch anything that men use, or even to walk on +a path that any man frequents, on pain of death."[188] Again, "there is +a regulation relating to camps in the Wakelbura tribe which forbids the +women coming into the encampment by the same path as the men. Any +violation of this rule would in a large camp be punished with death. The +reason for this is the dread with which they regard the menstrual period +of women. During such a time, a woman is kept entirely away from the +camp, half a mile at least. A woman in such a condition has boughs of +some tree of her totem tied round her loins, and is constantly watched +and guarded, for it is thought that should any male be so unfortunate as +to see a woman in such a condition, he would die. If such a woman were +to let herself be seen by a man, she would probably be put to death. +When the woman has recovered, she is painted red and white, her head +covered with feathers, and returns to the camp."[189] + +[Dread and seclusion of menstruous women in the Torres Straits Islands, +New Guinea, Galela, and Sumatra.] + +In Muralug, one of the Torres Straits Islands, a menstruous woman may +not eat anything that lives in the sea, else the natives believe that +the fisheries would fail. Again, in Mabuiag, another of these islands, +women who have their courses on them may not eat turtle flesh nor turtle +eggs, probably for a similar reason. And during the season when the +turtles are pairing the restrictions laid on such a woman are much +severer. She may not even enter a house in which there is turtle flesh, +nor approach a fire on which the flesh is cooking; she may not go near +the sea and she should not walk on the beach below high-water mark. Nay, +the infection extends to her husband, who may not himself harpoon or +otherwise take an active part in catching turtle; however, he is +permitted to form one of the crew on a turtling expedition, provided he +takes the precaution of rubbing his armpits with certain leaves, to +which no doubt a disinfectant virtue is ascribed.[190] Among the Kai of +German New Guinea women at their monthly sickness must live in little +huts built for them in the forest; they may not enter the cultivated +fields, for if they did go to them, and the pigs were to taste of the +blood, it would inspire the animals with an irresistible desire to go +likewise into the fields, where they would commit great depredations on +the growing crops. Hence the issue from women at these times is +carefully buried to prevent the pigs from getting at it. And conversely, +if the pigs often break into the fields, the blame is laid on the women +who by the neglect of these elementary precautions have put temptation +in the way of the swine.[191] In Galela, to the west of New Guinea, +women at their monthly periods may not enter a tobacco-field, or the +plants would be attacked by disease.[192] The Minangkabauers of Sumatra +are persuaded that if a woman in her unclean state were to go near a +rice-field, the crop would be spoiled.[193] + +[Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the tribes of South +Africa.] + +The Bushmen of South Africa think that, by a glance of a girl's eye at +the time when she ought to be kept in strict retirement, men become +fixed in whatever position they happen to occupy, with whatever they +were holding in their hands, and are changed into trees that talk.[194] +Cattle-rearing tribes of South Africa hold that their cattle would die +if the milk were drunk by a menstruous woman;[195] and they fear the +same disaster if a drop of her blood were to fall on the ground and the +oxen were to pass over it. To prevent such a calamity women in general, +not menstruous women only, are forbidden to enter the cattle enclosure; +and more than that, they may not use the ordinary paths in entering the +village or in passing from one hut to another. They are obliged to make +circuitous tracks at the back of the huts in order to avoid the ground +in the middle of the village where the cattle stand or lie down. These +women's tracks may be seen at every Caffre village.[196] + +[Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the tribes of Central and +East Africa.] + +Similarly among the Bahima, a cattle-breeding tribe of Ankole, in +Central Africa, no menstruous woman may drink milk, lest by so doing she +should injure the cows; and she may not lie on her husband's bed, no +doubt lest she should injure him. Indeed she is forbidden to lie on a +bed at all and must sleep on the ground. Her diet is restricted to +vegetables and beer.[197] Among the Baganda, in like manner, no +menstruous woman might drink milk or come into contact with any +milk-vessel;[198] and she might not touch anything that belonged to her +husband, nor sit on his mat, nor cook his food. If she touched anything +of his at such a time it was deemed equivalent to wishing him dead or to +actually working magic for his destruction.[199] Were she to handle any +article of his, he would surely fall ill; were she to handle his +weapons, he would certainly be killed in the next battle. Even a woman +who did not menstruate was believed by the Baganda to be a source of +danger to her husband, indeed capable of killing him. Hence, before he +went to war, he used to wound her slightly with his spear so as to draw +blood; this was thought to ensure his safe return.[200] Apparently the +notion was that if the wife did not lose blood in one way or another, +her husband would be bled in war to make up for her deficiency; so by +way of guarding against this undesirable event, he took care to relieve +her of a little superfluous blood before he repaired to the field of +honour. Further, the Baganda would not suffer a menstruous woman to +visit a well; if she did so, they feared that the water would dry up, +and that she herself would fall sick and die, unless she confessed her +fault and the medicine-man made atonement for her.[201] Among the +Akikuyu of British East Africa, if a new hut is built in a village and +the wife chances to menstruate in it on the day she lights the first +fire there, the hut must be broken down and demolished the very next +day. The woman may on no account sleep a second night in it; there is a +curse (_thahu_) both on her and on it.[202] In the Suk tribe of British +East Africa warriors may not eat anything that has been touched by +menstruous women. If they did so, it is believed that they would lose +their virility; "in the rain they will shiver and in the heat they will +faint." Suk men and women take their meals apart, because the men fear +that one or more of the women may be menstruating.[203] The Anyanja of +British Central Africa, at the southern end of Lake Nyassa, think that a +man who should sleep with a woman in her courses would fall sick and +die, unless some remedy were applied in time. And with them it is a rule +that at such times a woman should not put any salt into the food she is +cooking, otherwise the people who partook of the food salted by her +would suffer from a certain disease called _tsempo_; hence to obviate +the danger she calls a child to put the salt into the dish.[204] + +[Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the tribes of West +Africa.] + +Among the Hos, a tribe of Ewe negroes of Togoland in West Africa, so +long as a wife has her monthly sickness she may not cook for her +husband, nor lie on his bed, nor sit on his stool; an infraction of +these rules would assuredly, it is believed, cause her husband to die. +If her husband is a priest, or a magician, or a chief, she may not pass +the days of her uncleanness in the house, but must go elsewhere till she +is clean.[205] Among the Ewe negroes of this region each village has its +huts where women who have their courses on them must spend their time +secluded from intercourse with other people. Sometimes these huts stand +by themselves in public places; sometimes they are mere shelters built +either at the back or front of the ordinary dwelling-houses. A woman is +punishable if she does not pass the time of her monthly sickness in one +of these huts or shelters provided for her use. Thus, if she shews +herself in her own house or even in the yard of the house, she may be +fined a sheep, which is killed, its flesh divided among the people, and +its blood poured on the image of the chief god as a sin-offering to +expiate her offence. She is also forbidden to go to the place where the +villagers draw water, and if she breaks the rule, she must give a goat +to be killed; its flesh is distributed, and its blood, diluted with +water and mixed with herbs, is sprinkled on the watering-place and on +the paths leading to it. Were any woman to disregard these salutary +precautions, the chief fetish-man in the village would fall sick and +die, which would be an irreparable loss to society.[206] + +[Powerful influence ascribed to menstruous blood in Arab legend.] + +The miraculous virtue ascribed to menstruous blood is well illustrated +in a story told by the Arab chronicler Tabari. He relates how Sapor, +king of Persia, besieged the strong city of Atrae, in the desert of +Mesopotamia, for several years without being able to take it. But the +king of the city, whose name was Daizan, had a daughter, and when it was +with her after the manner of women she went forth from the city and +dwelt for a time in the suburb, for such was the custom of the place. +Now it fell out that, while she tarried there, Sapor saw her and loved +her, and she loved him; for he was a handsome man and she a lovely maid. +And she said to him, "What will you give me if I shew you how you may +destroy the walls of this city and slay my father?" And he said to her, +"I will give you what you will, and I will exalt you above my other +wives, and will set you nearer to me than them all." Then she said to +him, "Take a greenish dove with a ring about its neck, and write +something on its foot with the menstruous blood of a blue-eyed maid; +then let the bird loose, and it will perch on the walls of the city, and +they will fall down." For that, says the Arab historian, was the +talisman of the city, which could not be destroyed in any other way. And +Sapor did as she bade him, and the city fell down in a heap, and he +stormed it and slew Daizan on the spot.[207] + +[Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Jews and in Syria.] + +According to the Talmud, if a woman at the beginning of her period +passes between two men, she thereby kills one of them; if she passes +between them towards the end of her period, she only causes them to +quarrel violently.[208] Maimonides tells us that down to his time it was +a common custom in the East to keep women at their periods in a separate +house and to burn everything on which they had trodden; a man who spoke +with such a woman or who was merely exposed to the same wind that blew +over her, became thereby unclean.[209] Peasants of the Lebanon think +that menstruous women are the cause of many misfortunes; their shadow +causes flowers to wither and trees to perish, it even arrests the +movements of serpents; if one of them mounts a horse, the animal might +die or at least be disabled for a long time.[210] In Syria to this day a +woman who has her courses on her may neither salt nor pickle, for the +people think that whatever she pickled or salted would not keep.[211] +The Toaripi of New Guinea, doubtless for a similar reason, will not +allow women at such times to cook.[212] + +[Dread and seclusion of menstruous women in India.] + +The Bhuiyars, a Dravidian tribe of South Mirzapur, are said to feel an +intense dread of menstrual pollution. Every house has two doors, one of +which is used only by women in this condition. During her impurity the +wife is fed by her husband apart from the rest of the family, and +whenever she has to quit the house she is obliged to creep out on her +hands and knees in order not to defile the thatch by her touch.[213] The +Kharwars, another aboriginal tribe of the same district, keep their +women at such seasons in the outer verandah of the house for eight days, +and will not let them enter the kitchen or the cowhouse; during this +time the unclean woman may not cook nor even touch the cooking vessels. +When the eight days are over, she bathes, washes her clothes, and +returns to family life.[214] Hindoo women seclude themselves at their +monthly periods and observe a number of rules, such as not to drink +milk, not to milk cows, not to touch fire, not to lie on a high bed, not +to walk on common paths, not to cross the track of animals, not to walk +by the side of flowering plants, and not to observe the heavenly +bodies.[215] The motive for these restrictions is not mentioned, but +probably it is a dread of the baleful influence which is supposed to +emanate from women at these times. The Parsees, who reverence fire, will +not suffer menstruous women to see it or even to look on a lighted +taper;[216] during their infirmity the women retire from their houses to +little lodges in the country, whither victuals are brought to them +daily; at the end of their seclusion they bathe and send a kid, a fowl, +or a pigeon to the priest as an offering.[217] In Annam a woman at her +monthly periods is deemed a centre of impurity, and contact with her is +avoided. She is subject to all sorts of restrictions which she must +observe herself and which others must observe towards her. She may not +touch any food which is to be preserved by salting, whether it be fish, +flesh, or vegetables; for were she to touch it the food would putrefy. +She may not enter any sacred place, she may not be present at any +religious ceremony. The linen which she wears at such times must be +washed by herself at sunrise, never at night. On reaching puberty girls +may not touch flowers or the fruits of certain trees, for touched by +them the flowers would fade and the fruits fall to the ground. "It is on +account of their reputation for impurity that the women generally live +isolated. In every house they have an apartment reserved for them, and +they never eat at the same table as the men. For the same reason they +are excluded from all religious ceremonies. They may only be present at +family ceremonies, but without ever officiating in them."[218] + +[Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Indians of South and +Central America.] + +The Guayquiries of the Orinoco think that when a woman has her courses, +everything upon which she steps will die, and that if a man treads on +the place where she has passed, his legs will immediately swell up.[219] +Among the Guaraunos of the same great river, women at their periods are +regarded as unclean and kept apart in special huts, where all that they +need is brought to them.[220] In like manner among the Piapocos, an +Indian tribe on the Guayabero, a tributary of the Orinoco, a menstruous +woman is secluded from her family every month for four or five days. She +passes the time in a special hut, whither her husband brings her food; +and at the end of the time she takes a bath and resumes her usual +occupations.[221] So among the Indians of the Mosquito territory in +Central America, when a woman is in her courses, she must quit the +village for seven or eight days. A small hut is built for her in the +wood, and at night some of the village girls go and sleep with her to +keep her company. Or if the nights are dark and jaguars are known to be +prowling in the neighbourhood, her husband will take his gun or bow and +sleep in a hammock near her. She may neither handle nor cook food; all +is prepared and carried to her. When the sickness is over, she bathes in +the river, puts on clean clothes, and returns to her household +duties.[222] Among the Bri-bri Indians of Costa Rica a girl at her first +menstruation retires to a hut built for the purpose in the forest, and +there she must stay till she has been purified by a medicine-man, who +breathes on her and places various objects, such as feathers, the beaks +of birds, the teeth of beasts, and so forth, upon her body. A married +woman at her periods remains in the house with her husband, but she is +reckoned unclean (_bukuru_) and must avoid all intimate relations with +him. She uses for plates only banana leaves, which, when she has done +with them, she throws away in a sequestered spot; for should a cow find +and eat them, the animal would waste away and perish. Also she drinks +only out of a special vessel, because any person who should afterwards +drink out of the same vessel would infallibly pine away and die.[223] + +[Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Indians of North +America.] + +Among most tribes of North American Indians the custom was that women in +their courses retired from the camp or the village and lived during the +time of their uncleanness in special huts or shelters which were +appropriated to their use. There they dwelt apart, eating and sleeping +by themselves, warming themselves at their own fires, and strictly +abstaining from all communications with men, who shunned them just as if +they were stricken with the plague. No article of furniture used in +these menstrual huts might be used in any other, not even the flint and +steel with which in the old days the fires were kindled. No one would +borrow a light from a woman in her seclusion. If a white man in his +ignorance asked to light his pipe at her fire, she would refuse to grant +the request, telling him that it would make his nose bleed and his head +ache, and that he would fall sick in consequence. If an Indian's wooden +pipe cracked, his friends would think that he had either lit it at one +of these polluted fires or had held some converse with a woman during +her retirement, which was esteemed a most disgraceful and wicked thing +to do. Decent men would not approach within a certain distance of a +woman at such times, and if they had to convey anything to her they +would stand some forty or fifty paces off and throw it to her. +Everything which was touched by her hands during this period was deemed +ceremonially unclean. Indeed her touch was thought to convey such +pollution that if she chanced to lay a finger on a chief's lodge or his +gun or anything else belonging to him, it would be instantly destroyed. +If she crossed the path of a hunter or a warrior, his luck for that day +at least would be gone. Were she not thus secluded, it was supposed that +the men would be attacked by diseases of various kinds, which would +prove mortal. In some tribes a woman who infringed the rules of +separation might have to answer with her life for any misfortunes that +might happen to individuals or to the tribe in consequence, as it was +supposed, of her criminal negligence. When she quitted her tent or hut +to go into retirement, the fire in it was extinguished and the ashes +thrown away outside of the village, and a new fire was kindled, as if +the old one had been defiled by her presence. At the end of their +seclusion the women bathed in running streams and returned to their +usual occupations.[224] + +[Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Creek, Choctaw, +Omaha, and Cheyenne Indians.] + +Thus, to take examples, the Creek and kindred Indians of the United +States compelled women at menstruation to live in separate huts at some +distance from the village. There the women had to stay, at the risk of +being surprised and cut off by enemies. It was thought "a most horrid +and dangerous pollution" to go near the women at such times; and the +danger extended to enemies who, if they slew the women, had to cleanse +themselves from the pollution by means of certain sacred herbs and +roots.[225] Similarly, the Choctaw women had to quit their huts during +their monthly periods, and might not return till after they had been +purified. While their uncleanness lasted they had to prepare their own +food. The men believed that if they were to approach a menstruous woman, +they would fall ill, and that some mishap would overtake them when they +went to the wars.[226] When an Omaha woman has her courses on her, she +retires from the family to a little shelter of bark or grass, supported +by sticks, where she kindles a fire and cooks her victuals alone. Her +seclusion lasts four days. During this time she may not approach or +touch a horse, for the Indians believe that such contamination would +impoverish or weaken the animal.[227] Among the Potawatomis the women at +their monthly periods "are not allowed to associate with the rest of the +nation; they are completely laid aside, and are not permitted to touch +any article of furniture or food which the men have occasion to use. If +the Indians be stationary at the time, the women are placed outside of +the camp; if on a march, they are not allowed to follow the trail, but +must take a different path and keep at a distance from the main +body."[228] Among the Cheyennes menstruous women slept in special +lodges; the men believed that if they slept with their wives at such +times, they would probably be wounded in their next battle. A man who +owned a shield had very particularly to be on his guard against women in +their courses. He might not go into a lodge where one of them happened +to be, nor even into a lodge where one of them had been, until a +ceremony of purification had been performed. Sweet grass and juniper +were burnt in the tent, and the pegs were pulled up and the covering +thrown back, as if the tent were about to be struck. After this pretence +of decamping from the polluted spot the owner of the shield might enter +the tent.[229] + +[Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Indians of British +Columbia.] + +The Stseelis Indians of British Columbia imagined that if a menstruous +woman were to step over a bundle of arrows, the arrows would thereby be +rendered useless and might even cause the death of their owner; and +similarly that if she passed in front of a hunter who carried a gun, the +weapon would never shoot straight again. Neither her husband nor her +father would dream of going out to hunt while she was in this state; and +even if he had wished to do so, the other hunters would not go with him. +Hence to keep them out of harm's way, the women, both married and +unmarried, were secluded at these times for four days in shelters.[230] +Among the Thompson Indians of British Columbia every woman had to +isolate herself from the rest of the people during every recurring +period of menstruation, and had to live some little way off in a small +brush or bark lodge made for the purpose. At these times she was +considered unclean, must use cooking and eating utensils of her own, and +was supplied with food by some other woman. If she smoked out of a pipe +other than her own, that pipe would ever afterwards be hot to smoke. If +she crossed in front of a gun, that gun would thenceforth be useless for +the war or the chase, unless indeed the owner promptly washed the weapon +in "medecine" or struck the woman with it once on each principal part of +her body. If a man ate or had any intercourse with a menstruous woman, +nay if he merely wore clothes or mocassins made or patched by her, he +would have bad luck in hunting and the bears would attack him fiercely. +Before being admitted again among the people, she had to change all her +clothes and wash several times in clear water. The clothes worn during +her isolation were hung on a tree, to be used next time, or to be +washed. For one day after coming back among the people she did not cook +food. Were a man to eat food cooked by a woman at such times, he would +have incapacitated himself for hunting and exposed himself to sickness +or death.[231] + +[Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Chippeway Indians.] + +Among the Chippeways and other Indians of the Hudson Bay Territory, +menstruous women are excluded from the camp, and take up their abode in +huts of branches. They wear long hoods, which effectually conceal the +head and breast. They may not touch the household furniture nor any +objects used by men; for their touch "is supposed to defile them, so +that their subsequent use would be followed by certain mischief or +misfortune," such as disease or death. They must drink out of a swan's +bone. They may not walk on the common paths nor cross the tracks of +animals. They "are never permitted to walk on the ice of rivers or +lakes, or near the part where the men are hunting beaver, or where a +fishing-net is set, for fear of averting their success. They are also +prohibited at those times from partaking of the head of any animal, and +even from walking in or crossing the track where the head of a deer, +moose, beaver, and many other animals have lately been carried, either +on a sledge or on the back. To be guilty of a violation of this custom +is considered as of the greatest importance; because they firmly believe +that it would be a means of preventing the hunter from having an equal +success in his future excursions."[232] So the Lapps forbid women at +menstruation to walk on that part of the shore where the fishers are in +the habit of setting out their fish;[233] and the Esquimaux of Bering +Strait believe that if hunters were to come near women in their courses +they would catch no game.[234] + +[Dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Tinneh or Dene +Indians; customs and beliefs of the Carrier Indians in regard to +menstruous women.] + +But the beliefs and superstitions of this sort that prevail among the +western tribes of the great Dene or Tinneh stock, to which the +Chippeways belong, have been so well described by an experienced +missionary, that I will give his description in his own words. Prominent +among the ceremonial rites of these Indians, he says, "are the +observances peculiar to the fair sex, and many of them are remarkably +analogous to those practised by the Hebrew women, so much so that, were +it not savouring of profanity, the ordinances of the Dene ritual code +might be termed a new edition 'revised and considerably augmented' of +the Mosaic ceremonial law. Among the Carriers,[235] as soon as a girl +has experienced the first flow of the menses which in the female +constitution are a natural discharge, her father believed himself under +the obligation of atoning for her supposedly sinful condition by a small +impromptu distribution of clothes among the natives. This periodical +state of women was considered as one of legal impurity fateful both to +the man who happened to have any intercourse, however indirect, with +her, and to the woman herself who failed in scrupulously observing all +the rites prescribed by ancient usage for persons in her condition. + +[Seclusion of Carrier girls at puberty.] + +"Upon entering into that stage of her life, the maiden was immediately +sequestered from company, even that of her parents, and compelled to +dwell in a small branch hut by herself away from beaten paths and the +gaze of passers-by. As she was supposed to exercise malefic influence on +any man who might inadvertently glance at her, she had to wear a sort of +head-dress combining in itself the purposes of a veil, a bonnet, and a +mantlet. It was made of tanned skin, its forepart was shaped like a long +fringe completely hiding from view the face and breasts; then it formed +on the head a close-fitting cap or bonnet, and finally fell in a broad +band almost to the heels. This head-dress was made and publicly placed +on her head by a paternal aunt, who received at once some present from +the girl's father. When, three or four years later, the period of +sequestration ceased, only this same aunt had the right to take off her +niece's ceremonial head-dress. Furthermore, the girl's fingers, wrists, +and legs at the ankles and immediately below the knees, were encircled +with ornamental rings and bracelets of sinew intended as a protection +against the malign influences she was supposed to be possessed +with.[236] To a belt girding her waist were suspended two bone +implements called respectively _Tsoenkuz_ (bone tube) and _Tsiltsoet_ +(head scratcher). The former was a hollowed swan bone to drink with, any +other mode of drinking being unlawful to her. The latter was fork-like +and was called into requisition whenever she wanted to scratch her +head--immediate contact of the fingers with the head being reputed +injurious to her health. While thus secluded, she was called _asta_, +that is 'interred alive' in Carrier, and she had to submit to a rigorous +fast and abstinence. Her only allowed food consisted of dried fish +boiled in a small bark vessel which nobody else must touch, and she had +to abstain especially from meat of any kind, as well as fresh fish. Nor +was this all she had to endure; even her contact, however remote, with +these two articles of diet was so dreaded that she could not cross the +public paths or trails, or the tracks of animals. Whenever absolute +necessity constrained her to go beyond such spots, she had to be packed +or carried over them lest she should contaminate the game or meat which +had passed that way, or had been brought over these paths; and also for +the sake of self-preservation against tabooed, and consequently to her, +deleterious food. In the same way she was never allowed to wade in +streams or lakes, for fear of causing death to the fish. + +"It was also a prescription of the ancient ritual code for females +during this primary condition to eat as little as possible, and to +remain lying down, especially in course of each monthly flow, not only +as a natural consequence of the prolonged fast and resulting weakness; +but chiefly as an exhibition of a becoming penitential spirit which was +believed to be rewarded by long life and continual good health in after +years. + +[Seclusion of Carrier women at their monthly periods; reasons for the +seclusion of menstruous women among the Indians.] + +"These mortifications or seclusion did not last less than three or four +years. Useless to say that during all that time marriage could not be +thought of, since the girl could not so much as be seen by men. When +married, the same sequestration was practised relatively to husband and +fellow-villagers--without the particular head-dress and rings spoken +of--on the occasion of every recurring menstruation. Sometimes it was +protracted as long as ten days at a time, especially during the first +years of cohabitation. Even when she returned to her mate, she was not +permitted to sleep with him on the first nor frequently on the second +night, but would choose a distant corner of the lodge to spread her +blanket, as if afraid to defile him with her dread uncleanness."[237] +Elsewhere the same writer tells us that most of the devices to which +these Indians used to resort for the sake of ensuring success in the +chase "were based on their regard for continence and their excessive +repugnance for, and dread of, menstruating women."[238] But the strict +observances imposed on Tinneh or Dene women at such times were designed +at the same time to protect the women themselves from the evil +consequences of their dangerous condition. Thus it was thought that +women in their courses could not partake of the head, heart, or hind +part of an animal that had been caught in a snare without exposing +themselves to a premature death through a kind of rabies. They might not +cut or carve salmon, because to do so would seriously endanger their +health, and especially would enfeeble their arms for life. And they had +to abstain from cutting up the grebes which are caught by the Carriers +in great numbers every spring, because otherwise the blood with which +these fowls abound would occasion haemorrhage or an unnaturally +prolonged flux in the transgressor.[239] Similarly Indian women of the +Thompson tribe abstained from venison and the flesh of other large game +during menstruation, lest the animals should be displeased and the +menstrual flow increased.[240] For a similar reason, probably, Shuswap +girls during their seclusion at puberty are forbidden to eat anything +that bleeds.[241] The same principle may perhaps partly explain the +rule, of which we have had some examples, that women at such times +should refrain from fish and flesh, and restrict themselves to a +vegetable diet. + +[Similar rules of seclusion enjoined on menstruous women in ancient +Hindoo, Persian, and Hebrew codes.] + +The philosophic student of human nature will observe, or learn, without +surprise that ideas thus deeply ingrained in the savage mind reappear at +a more advanced stage of society in those elaborate codes which have +been drawn up for the guidance of certain peoples by lawgivers who claim +to have derived the rules they inculcate from the direct inspiration of +the deity. However we may explain it, the resemblance which exists +between the earliest official utterances of the deity and the ideas of +savages is unquestionably close and remarkable; whether it be, as some +suppose, that God communed face to face with man in those early days, +or, as others maintain, that man mistook his wild and wandering thoughts +for a revelation from heaven. Be that as it may, certain it is that the +natural uncleanness of woman at her monthly periods is a conception +which has occurred, or been revealed, with singular unanimity to several +ancient legislators. The Hindoo lawgiver Manu, who professed to have +received his institutes from the creator Brahman, informs us that the +wisdom, the energy, the strength, the sight, and the vitality of a man +who approaches a woman in her courses will utterly perish; whereas, if +he avoids her, his wisdom, energy, strength, sight, and vitality will +all increase.[242] The Persian lawgiver Zoroaster, who, if we can take +his word for it, derived his code from the mouth of the supreme being +Ahura Mazda, devoted special attention to the subject. According to him, +the menstrous flow, at least in its abnormal manifestations, is a work +of Ahriman, or the devil. Therefore, so long as it lasts, a woman "is +unclean and possessed of the demon; she must be kept confined, apart +from the faithful whom her touch would defile, and from the fire which +her very look would injure; she is not allowed to eat as much as she +wishes, as the strength she might acquire would accrue to the fiends. +Her food is not given her from hand to hand, but is passed to her from a +distance, in a long leaden spoon."[243] The Hebrew lawgiver Moses, whose +divine legation is as little open to question as that of Manu and +Zoroaster, treats the subject at still greater length; but I must leave +to the reader the task of comparing the inspired ordinances on this head +with the merely human regulations of the Carrier Indians which they so +closely resemble. + +[Superstitions as to menstruous women in ancient and modern Europe.] + +Amongst the civilized nations of Europe the superstitions which cluster +round this mysterious aspect of woman's nature are not less extravagant +than those which prevail among savages. In the oldest existing +cyclopaedia--the _Natural History_ of Pliny--the list of dangers +apprehended from menstruation is longer than any furnished by mere +barbarians. According to Pliny, the touch of a menstruous woman turned +wine to vinegar, blighted crops, killed seedlings, blasted gardens, +brought down the fruit from trees, dimmed mirrors, blunted razors, +rusted iron and brass (especially at the waning of the moon), killed +bees, or at least drove them from their hives, caused mares to miscarry, +and so forth.[244] Similarly, in various parts of Europe, it is still +believed that if a woman in her courses enters a brewery the beer will +turn sour; if she touches beer, wine, vinegar, or milk, it will go bad; +if she makes jam, it will not keep; if she mounts a mare, it will +miscarry; if she touches buds, they will wither; if she climbs a cherry +tree, it will die.[245] In Brunswick people think that if a menstruous +woman assists at the killing of a pig, the pork will putrefy.[246] In +the Greek island of Calymnos a woman at such times may not go to the +well to draw water, nor cross a running stream, nor enter the sea. Her +presence in a boat is said to raise storms.[247] + +[The intention of secluding menstruous women is to neutralize the +dangerous influences which are thought to emanate from them in that +condition; suspension between heaven and earth.] + +Thus the object of secluding women at menstruation is to neutralize the +dangerous influences which are supposed to emanate from them at such +times. That the danger is believed to be especially great at the first +menstruation appears from the unusual precautions taken to isolate girls +at this crisis. Two of these precautions have been illustrated above, +namely, the rules that the girl may not touch the ground nor see the +sun. The general effect of these rules is to keep her suspended, so to +say, between heaven and earth. Whether enveloped in her hammock and +slung up to the roof, as in South America, or raised above the ground in +a dark and narrow cage, as in New Ireland, she may be considered to be +out of the way of doing mischief, since, being shut off both from the +earth and from the sun, she can poison neither of these great sources of +life by her deadly contagion. In short, she is rendered harmless by +being, in electrical language, insulated. But the precautions thus taken +to isolate or insulate the girl are dictated by a regard for her own +safety as well as for the safety of others. For it is thought that she +herself would suffer if she were to neglect the prescribed regimen. Thus +Zulu girls, as we have seen, believe that they would shrivel to +skeletons if the sun were to shine on them at puberty, and in some +Brazilian tribes the young women think that a transgression of the rules +would entail sores on the neck and throat. In short, the girl is viewed +as charged with a powerful force which, if not kept within bounds, may +prove destructive both to herself and to all with whom she comes in +contact. To repress this force within the limits necessary for the +safety of all concerned is the object of the taboos in question. + +[The same explanation applies to the similar rules of seclusion observed +by divine kings and priests; suspension between heaven and earth.] + +The same explanation applies to the observance of the same rules by +divine kings and priests. The uncleanness, as it is called, of girls at +puberty and the sanctity of holy men do not, to the primitive mind, +differ materially from each other. They are only different +manifestations of the same mysterious energy which, like energy in +general, is in itself neither good nor bad, but becomes beneficent or +maleficent according to its application.[248] Accordingly, if, like +girls at puberty, divine personages may neither touch the ground nor see +the sun, the reason is, on the one hand, a fear lest their divinity +might, at contact with earth or heaven, discharge itself with fatal +violence on either; and, on the other hand, an apprehension that the +divine being, thus drained of his ethereal virtue, might thereby be +incapacitated for the future performance of those magical functions, +upon the proper discharge of which the safety of the people and even of +the world is believed to hang. Thus the rules in question fall under the +head of the taboos which we examined in the second part of this +work;[249] they are intended to preserve the life of the divine person +and with it the life of his subjects and worshippers. Nowhere, it is +thought, can his precious yet dangerous life be at once so safe and so +harmless as when it is neither in heaven nor in earth, but, as far as +possible, suspended between the two.[250] + +[Stories of immortality attained by suspension between heaven and +earth.] + +In legends and folk-tales, which reflect the ideas of earlier ages, we +find this suspension between heaven and earth attributed to beings who +have been endowed with the coveted yet burdensome gift of immortality. +The wizened remains of the deathless Sibyl are said to have been +preserved in a jar or urn which hung in a temple of Apollo at Cumae; and +when a group of merry children, tired, perhaps, of playing in the sunny +streets, sought the shade of the temple and amused themselves by +gathering underneath the familiar jar and calling out, "Sibyl, what do +you wish?" a hollow voice, like an echo, used to answer from the urn, "I +wish to die."[251] A story, taken down from the lips of a German peasant +at Thomsdorf, relates that once upon a time there was a girl in London +who wished to live for ever, so they say: + +"_London, London is a fine town. +A maiden prayed to live for ever._" + +And still she lives and hangs in a basket in a church, and every St. +John's Day, about the hour of noon, she eats a roll of bread.[252] +Another German story tells of a lady who resided at Danzig and was so +rich and so blest with all that life can give that she wished to live +always. So when she came to her latter end, she did not really die but +only looked like dead, and very soon they found her in a hollow of a +pillar in the church, half standing and half sitting, motionless. She +stirred never a limb, but they saw quite plainly that she was alive, and +she sits there down to this blessed day. Every New Year's Day the +sacristan comes and puts a morsel of the holy bread in her mouth, and +that is all she has to live on. Long, long has she rued her fatal wish +who set this transient life above the eternal joys of heaven.[253] A +third German story tells of a noble damsel who cherished the same +foolish wish for immortality. So they put her in a basket and hung her +up in a church, and there she hangs and never dies, though many a year +has come and gone since they put her there. But every year on a certain +day they give her a roll, and she eats it and cries out, "For ever! for +ever! for ever!" And when she has so cried she falls silent again till +the same time next year, and so it will go on for ever and for +ever.[254] A fourth story, taken down near Oldenburg in Holstein, tells +of a jolly dame that ate and drank and lived right merrily and had all +that heart could desire, and she wished to live always. For the first +hundred years all went well, but after that she began to shrink and +shrivel up, till at last she could neither walk nor stand nor eat nor +drink. But die she could not. At first they fed her as if she were a +little child, but when she grew smaller and smaller they put her in a +glass bottle and hung her up in the church. And there she still hangs, +in the church of St. Mary, at Luebeck. She is as small as a mouse, but +once a year she stirs.[255] + +Notes: + +[64] Pechuel-Loesche, "Indiscretes aus Loango," _Zeitschrift fuer +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 Kaffersaan 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 Loubere, _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. + +[72] C. Gouldsbury and H. Sheane, _The Great Plateau of Northern +Nigeria_ (London, 1911), pp. 158-160. + +[73] R. Sutherland Rattray, _Some Folk-lore, Stories and Songs in +Chinyanja_ (London, 1907), pp. 102-105. + +[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 Sutras_, 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._ + +[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, _Etudes sur les Langues du Haut-Zambeze_, Troisieme +Partie (Paris, 1901), pp. 174 _sq._ (as to the A-Louyi). + +[82] E. Beguin, _Les Ma-rotse_ (Lausanne and Fontaines, 1903), p. 113. + +[83] Henri A. Junod, _The Life of a South African Tribe_ (Neuchatel, +1912-1913), i. 178 _sq._ + +[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 suedlichen Africa_ +(Berlin, 1811-1812), i. 428. + +[86] Gustav Fritsch, _Die Eingeborenen Sued-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. + +[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). + +[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 Suedsee_ (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. + +[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 New-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 Beitraege ueber die Karolineninsel Yap," +_Petermanns Mitteilungen_, xlix. (1903) p. 53; _id._, "Die Rechtssitten +der Jap-Eingeborenen," _Globus_, xci. (1907) pp. 142 _sq._. + +[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._ + +[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. + +[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._ + +[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. + +[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. + +[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. + +[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. + +[117] G.H. von Langsdorff, _Reise um die Welt_ (Frankfort, 1812), ii. +114 _sq._; H.J. Holmberg, "Ethnographische Skizzen ueber die Voelker 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'Amerique Russe_, p. 13; A. Erman, "Ethnographische +Wahrnehmungen und Erfahrungen an den Kuesten des Berings-Meeres," +_Zeitschrift fuer 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 Nordwestkiiste 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. + +[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). + +[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._ + +[121] Emile Petitot, _Traditions Indiennes du Canada Nord-ouest_ (Paris, +1886), pp. 257 _sq._ + +[122] Fr. Julius Jette, 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._ + +[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. + +[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. + +[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). + +[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_. + +[130] H.J. Holmberg, "Ueber die Voelker 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. + +[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, _Moeurs des +Sauvages Ameriquains_ (Paris, 1724), i. 262 _sq._ + +[133] Father Ignace Chome, in _Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses_, +Nouvelle Edition (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'Amerique du Sud_ (Paris, 1891), +pp. 48 _sq._; G. Kurze, "Sitten und Gebraeuche 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. + +[135] Alcide d'Orbigny, _Voyage dans l'Amerique Meridionale_ vol. iii. +1to Partie (Paris and Strasburg, 1844), pp. 205 _sq_. + +[136] A. Thouar, _Explorations dans l'Amerique 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, _Expedition dans les parties centrales de +l'Amerique 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] Andre Thevet, _Cosmographie Universelle_ (Paris, 1575), ii. 946 B +[980] _sq._; _id., Les Singularites de la France Antarctique, autrement +nommee Amerique_ (Antwerp, 1558), p. 76; J.F. Lafitau, _Moeurs des +Sauvages Ameriquains_ (Paris, 1724), i. 290 _sqq_. + +[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 Guinee, Isles +voisines, et a 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). + +[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, _Expedition dans les parties centrals de +l'Amerique du Sud_ (Paris, 1850-1851), v. 46. + +[150] L'Abbe Durand, "Le Rio Negro du Nord et son bassin," _Bulletin de +la Societe de Geographie_ (Paris), vi. Serie, 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'Amerique du Sud_ (Paris, 1883), pp. +245-250. + +[152] H. Coudreau, _Chez nos Indiens: quatre annees dans la Guyane +Francaise_ (Paris, 1895), p. 228. For details as to the different modes +of administering the _marake_ 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. + +[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-ru_. Anything +that has been connected with a death is _nya_. But _bu-ku-ru_ is much +more virulent. It can not only make one sick but kill. "_Bu-ku-ru_ +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-ru_. 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-ru_. 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-ru_ since nobody had ever been on it before." One day Mr. Gabb +took down some dusty blow-guns amid cries of _bu-ku-ru_ from the +Indians. Some weeks afterwards a boy died, and the Indians firmly +believed that the _bu-ku-ru_ of the blow-guns had killed him. "From all +the foregoing, it would seem that _bu-ku-ru_ 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-ru_ 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._ + +[156] J. Chaffanjon, _L'Orenoque et le Caura_ (Paris, 1889), pp. +213-215. + +[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 Indie_, 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. + +[164] J. Moura, _Le Royaume du Cambodge_ (Paris, 1883), i. 377. + +[165] Etienne Aymonier, "Notes sur les coutumes et croyances +superstitieuses des Cambodgiens," _Cochinchine Francaise: 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. + +[166] Svend Grundtvig, _Daenische Volks-maerchen_, uebersetzt von A. +Strodtmann, Zweite Sammlung (Leipsic, 1879), pp. 199 _sqq._ + +[167] Christian Schneller, _Maerchen und Sagen aus Waelschtirol_ +(Innsbruck, 1867), No. 22, pp. 51 _sqq._ + +[168] Bernbard Schmidt, _Griechische Maerchen, Sagen und Volkslieder_ +(Leipsic, 1877), p. 98. + +[169] J.G. von Hahn, _Griechische und albanesische Maerchen_ (Leipsic, +1864), No. 41, vol. i. pp. 245 _sqq._ + +[170] Laura Gonzenbach, _Sicilianische Maerchen_ (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 uebertragen_ 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). + +[171] Sophocles, _Antigone_, 944 _sqq._; Apollodorus, _Bibliotheca_, ii. +4. I; Horace, _Odes_, iii. 16. I _sqq._; Pausanias, ii. 23. 7. + +[172] W. Radloff, _Proben der Volks-litteratur der tuerkischen Staemme +Sued-Siberiens,_ iii. (St. Petersburg, 1870) pp. 82 _sq._ + +[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, Sec. 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._ + +[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 Tuerkenvolk_ (Leipsic, 1885), p. 112. + +[178] Hans Egede, _A Description of Greenland_ (London, 1818), p. 209. + +[179] _Revue des Traditions Populaires_, xv. (1900) p. 471. + +[180] _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 145 _sqq._ + +[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._ + +[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._ + +[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-Landen Volkenkinde van +Nederlandsch-Indie_, 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-Indie_, xxxix. (1890) p. 66. + +[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. + +[205] Jakob Spieth, _Die Ewe-Staemme_ (Berlin, 1906), p. 192. + +[206] Anton Witte, "Menstruation und Pubertaetsfeier der Maedchen in +Kpandugebiet Togo," _Baessler-Archiv_, i. (1911) p. 279. + +[207] Th. Noeldeke, _Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der +Sassaniden, aus der arabischen Chronik des Tabari uebersetzt_ (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_ (Koenigsberg, 1829), pp. 278 _sqq._, and my note on +Pausanias, viii. 47. 5 (vol. iv. pp. 433 _sq._). + +[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'abbe Bechara Chemali, "Naissance et premier age au Liban," +_Anthropos_, v. (1910) p. 735. + +[211] Eijub Abela, "Beitraege zur Kenntniss aberglaeubischer Gebraeuche 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 +Qudh_ (Calcutta, 1896), ii. 87. + +[214] W. Crooke, in _North Indian Notes and Queries_, i. p. 67, Sec. 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 Orientates et a +la Chine_ (Paris, 1782), i. 31; J.A. Dubois, _Moeurs, Institutions et +Ceremonies 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, _Auszuege aus Syrischen Akten persisischer Martyrer +uebersetzt_ (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. + +[219] Joseph Gumilla, _Histoire Naturelle, Civile, et Geographique de +l'Orenoque_ (Avignon, 1758), i. 249. + +[220] Dr. Louis Plassard, "Les Guaraunos et le delta de l'Orenoque," +_Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie_ (Paris), v. Serie, xv. (1868) p. +584. + +[221] J. Crevaux, _Voyages dans l'Amerique 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," _Sitztungsberichte der philosophischen-historischen Classe der +Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften_ (Vienna), cxxxviii. (1898) pp. +19 _sq._ + +[224] Gabriel Sagard, _Le Grand Voyage du Pays des Hurons_, Nouvelle +Edition (Paris, 1865), p. 54 (original edition, Paris, 1632); J.F. +Lafitau, _Moeurs 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 Publication 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._). + +[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. + +[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). + +[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, _Monographic des Dene-Dindjie_ (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. + +[235] The Carriers are a tribe of Dene 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. + +[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. + +[237] Rev. Father A.G. Morice, "The Western Denes, 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 Colombia Britannique_ (Paris and Lyons, 1897), pp. 72 +_sq._ + +[238] A.G. Morice, "Notes, Archaeological, Industrial, and Sociological, +on the Western Denes," _Transactions of the Canadian Institute_, iv. +(1892-93) pp. 106 _sq._ Compare Rev. Father Julius Jette, "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. + +[242] _Laws of Manu_, translated by G. Buhler (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. + +[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._ + +[245] August Schleicher, _Volkstuemliches aus Sonnenberg_ (Weimar, 1858), +p. 134; B. Souche, _Croyances, Presages et Traditions diverses_ (Niort, +1880), p. 11; A. Meyrac, _Traditions, Coutumes Legendes et Contes des +Ardennes_ (Charleville, 1890), p. 171; V. Fossel, _Volksmedicin und +medicinischer Aberglaube in Steiermark[2]_ (Graz, 1886), p. 124. A +correspondent, who withholds her name, writes to me that in a Suffolk +village, where she used to live some twenty or thirty years ago, "every +one pickled their own beef, and it was held that if the pickling were +performed by a woman during her menstrual period the meat would not +keep. If the cook were incapacitated at the time when the pickling was +due, another woman was sent for out of the village rather than risk what +was considered a certainty." Another correspondent informs me that in +some of the dales in the north of Yorkshire a similar belief prevailed +down to recent years with regard to the salting of pork. Another +correspondent writes to me: "The prohibition that a menstruating woman +must not touch meat that is intended for keeping appears to be common +all over the country; at least I have met with it as a confirmed and +active custom in widely separated parts of England.... It is in regard +to the salting of meat for bacon that the prohibition is most usual, +because that is the commonest process; but it exists in regard to any +meat food that is required to be kept." + +[246] R. Andree, _Braunschweiger Volkskunde_ (Brunswick, 1896), p. 291. + +[247] W.R. Paton, in _Folk-lore_, i. (1890) p. 524. + +[248] The Greeks and Romans thought that a field was completely +protected against insects if a menstruous woman walked round it with +bare feet and streaming hair (Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xvii. 266, xxviii. 78; +Columella, _De re rustica_, x. 358 _sq._, xi. 3. 64; Palladius, _De re +rustica_, i. 35. 3; _Geoponica_, xii. 8. 5 _sq._; Aelian, _Nat. Anim._ +vi. 36). A similar preventive is employed for the same purpose by North +American Indians and European peasants. See H.R. Schoolcraft, _Indian +Tribes of the United States_ (Philadelphia, 1853-1856), v. 70; F.J. +Wiedemann, _Aus dem inneren und auessern Leben der Ehsten_ (St. +Petersburg, 1876), p. 484. Compare J. Haltrich, _Zur Volkskunde der +Siebenbuerger Sachsen_ (Vienna, 1885), p. 280; Adolph Heinrich, +_Agrarische Sitten und Gebraeuche unter den Sachsen Siebenbuergens_ +(Hermannstadt, 1880), p. 14; J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] iii. +468; G. Lammert, _Volksmedizin und medizinischer Aberglaube aus Bayern_ +(Wuerzburg, 1869), p. 147. Among the Western Denes it is believed that +one or two transverse lines tattooed on the arms or legs of a young man +by a pubescent girl are a specific against premature weakness of these +limbs. See A.G. Morice, "Notes, Archaeological, Industrial, and +Sociological, on the Western Denes," _Transactions of the Canadian +Institute_, iv. (1892-93) p. 182. The Thompson Indians of British +Columbia thought that the Dawn of Day could and would cure hernia if +only an adolescent girl prayed to it to do so. Just before daybreak the +girl would put some charcoal in her mouth, chew it fine, and spit it out +four times on the diseased place. Then she prayed: "O Day-dawn! thy +child relies on me to obtain healing from thee, who art mystery. Remove +thou the swelling of thy child. Pity thou him, Day-Dawn!" See James +Teit, _The Thompson Indians of British Columbia_, pp. 345 _sq._ (_The +Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum of Natural +History_, New York, April, 1900). To cure the painful and dangerous +wound inflicted by a ray-fish, the Indians of the Gran Chaco smoke the +wounded limb and then cause a woman in her courses to sit astride of it. +See G. Pelleschi, _Eight Months on the Gran Chaco of the Argentine +Republic_ (London, 1886), p. 106. An ancient Hindoo method of securing +prosperity was to swallow a portion of the menstruous fluid. See W. +Caland, _Altindisches Zauberritual_ (Amsterdam, 1900), pp. 57 _sq._ To +preserve a new cow from the evil eye Scottish Highlanders used to +sprinkle menstruous blood on the animal; and at certain seasons of the +year, especially at Beltane (the first of May) and Lammas (the first of +August) it was their custom to sprinkle the same potent liquid on the +doorposts and houses all round to guard them from harm. The fluid was +applied by means of a wisp of straw, and the person who discharged this +salutary office went round the house in the direction of the sun. See +J.G. Campbell, _Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ +(Glasgow, 1900), p. 248. These are examples of the beneficent +application of the menstruous energy. + +[249] _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 1 _sqq._ + +[250] For a similar reason, perhaps, ancient Hindoo ritual prescribed +that when the hair of a child's head was shorn in the third year, the +clippings should be buried in a cow-stable, or near an _udumbara_ tree, +or in a clump of _darbha_ grass, with the words, "Where Pushan, +Brihaspati, Savitri, Soma, Agni dwell, they have in many ways searched +where they should deposit it, between heaven and earth, the waters and +heaven." See _The Grihya-Sutras_, translated by H. Oldenberg, Part ii. +(Oxford, 1892) p. 218 (_Sacred Books of the East_, vol. xxx.). + +[251] Petronius, _Sat._ 48; Pausanias, x. 12: 8; Justin Martyr, _Cohort +ad Graecos_, 37, p. 34 c (ed. 1742). According to another account, the +remains of the Sibyl were enclosed in an iron cage which hung from a +pillar in an ancient temple of Hercules at Argyrus (Ampelius, _Liber +Memorialis_, viii. 16). + +[252] A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, _Nord-deutsche Sagen, Maerchen und +Gebraeuche_ (Leipsic, 1848), p. 70, No. 72. i. This and the following +German parallels to the story of the Sibyl's wish were first indicated +by Dr. M.R. James (_Classical Review_, vi. (1892) p. 74). I have already +given the stories at length in a note on Pausanias, x. 12. 8 (vol. v. +pp. 292 _sq._). + +[253] A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, _op. cit._ pp. 70 _sq._, No. 72. 2. + +[254] A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, _op. cit._ p. 71, No. 72. 3. + +[255] Karl Muellenhoff, _Sagen, Maerchen und Lieder der Herzogthuemer +Holstein und Lauenburg_ (Kiel, 1845), pp. 158 _sg._, No. 217. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE MYTH OF BALDER + + +[How Balder, the good and beautiful god, was done to death by a stroke +of the mistletoe.] + +A deity whose life might in a sense be said to be neither in heaven nor +on earth but between the two, was the Norse Balder, the good and +beautiful god, the son of the great god Odin, and himself the wisest, +mildest, best beloved of all the immortals. The story of his death, as +it is told in the younger or prose _Edda_, runs thus. Once on a time +Balder dreamed heavy dreams which seemed to forebode his death. +Thereupon the gods held a council and resolved to make him secure +against every danger. So the goddess Frigg took an oath from fire and +water, iron and all metals, stones and earth, from trees, sicknesses and +poisons, and from all four-footed beasts, birds, and creeping things, +that they would not hurt Balder. When this was done Balder was deemed +invulnerable; so the gods amused themselves by setting him in their +midst, while some shot at him, others hewed at him, and others threw +stones at him. But whatever they did, nothing could hurt him; and at +this they were all glad. Only Loki, the mischief-maker, was displeased, +and he went in the guise of an old woman to Frigg, who told him that the +weapons of the gods could not wound Balder, since she had made them all +swear not to hurt him. Then Loki asked, "Have all things sworn to spare +Balder?" She answered, "East of Walhalla grows a plant called mistletoe; +it seemed to me too young to swear." So Loki went and pulled the +mistletoe and took it to the assembly of the gods. There he found the +blind god Hother standing at the outside of the circle. Loki asked him, +"Why do you not shoot at Balder?" Hother answered, "Because I do not see +where he stands; besides I have no weapon." Then said Loki, "Do like the +rest and shew Balder honour, as they all do. I will shew you where he +stands, and do you shoot at him with this twig." Hother took the +mistletoe and threw it at Balder, as Loki directed him. The mistletoe +struck Balder and pierced him through and through, and he fell down +dead. And that was the greatest misfortune that ever befell gods and +men. For a while the gods stood speechless, then they lifted up their +voices and wept bitterly. They took Balder's body and brought it to the +sea-shore. There stood Balder's ship; it was called Ringhorn, and was +the hugest of all ships. The gods wished to launch the ship and to burn +Balder's body on it, but the ship would not stir. So they sent for a +giantess called Hyrrockin. She came riding on a wolf and gave the ship +such a push that fire flashed from the rollers and all the earth shook. +Then Balder's body was taken and placed on the funeral pile upon his +ship. When his wife Nanna saw that, her heart burst for sorrow and she +died. So she was laid on the funeral pile with her husband, and fire was +put to it. Balder's horse, too, with all its trappings, was burned on +the pile.[256] + +[Tale of Balder in the older _Edda_.] + +In the older or poetic _Edda_ the tragic tale of Balder is hinted at +rather than told at length. Among the visions which the Norse Sibyl sees +and describes in the weird prophecy known as the _Voluspa_ is one of the +fatal mistletoe. "I behold," says she, "Fate looming for Balder, Woden's +son, the bloody victim. There stands the Mistletoe slender and delicate, +blooming high above the ground. Out of this shoot, so slender to look +on, there shall grow a harmful fateful shaft. Hod shall shoot it, but +Frigga in Fen-hall shall weep over the woe of Wal-hall."[257] Yet +looking far into the future the Sibyl sees a brighter vision of a new +heaven and a new earth, where the fields unsown shall yield their +increase and all sorrows shall be healed; then Balder will come back to +dwell in Odin's mansions of bliss, in a hall brighter than the sun, +shingled with gold, where the righteous shall live in joy for ever +more.[258] + +[The story of Balder as related by Saxo Grammaticus.] + +Writing about the end of the twelfth century, the old Danish historian +Saxo Grammaticus tells the story of Balder in a form which professes to +be historical. According to him, Balder and Hother were rival suitors +for the hand of Nanna, daughter of Gewar, King of Norway. Now Balder was +a demigod and common steel could not wound his sacred body. The two +rivals encountered each other in a terrific battle, and though Odin and +Thor and the rest of the gods fought for Balder, yet was he defeated and +fled away, and Hother married the princess. Nevertheless Balder took +heart of grace and again met Hother in a stricken field. But he fared +even worse than before; for Hother dealt him a deadly wound with a magic +sword, which he had received from Miming, the Satyr of the woods; and +after lingering three days in pain Balder died of his hurt and was +buried with royal honours in a barrow.[259] + +[Balder worshipped in Norway.] + +Whether he was a real or merely a mythical personage, Balder was +worshipped in Norway. On one of the bays of the beautiful Sogne Fiord, +which penetrates far into the depths of the solemn Norwegian mountains, +with their sombre pine-forests and their lofty cascades dissolving into +spray before they reach the dark water of the fiord far below, Balder +had a great sanctuary. It was called Balder's Grove. A palisade enclosed +the hallowed ground, and within it stood a spacious temple with the +images of many gods, but none of them was worshipped with such devotion +as Balder. So great was the awe with which the heathen regarded the +place that no man might harm another there, nor steal his cattle, nor +defile himself with women. But women cared for the images of the gods in +the temple; they warmed them at the fire, anointed them with oil, and +dried them with cloths.[260] + +[The legendary death of Balder resembles the legendary death of the +Persian hero Isfendiyar in the epic of Firdusi.] + +It might be rash to affirm that the romantic figure of Balder was +nothing but a creation of the mythical fancy, a radiant phantom conjured +up as by a wizard's wand to glitter for a time against the gloomy +background of the stern Norwegian landscape. It may be so; yet it is +also possible that the myth was founded on the tradition of a hero, +popular and beloved in his lifetime, who long survived in the memory of +the people, gathering more and more of the marvellous about him as he +passed from generation to generation of story-tellers. At all events it +is worth while to observe that a somewhat similar story is told of +another national hero, who may well have been a real man. In his great +poem, _The Epic of Kings_, which is founded on Persian traditions, the +poet Firdusi tells us that in the combat between Rustem and Isfendiyar +the arrows of the former did no harm to his adversary, "because Zerdusht +had charmed his body against all dangers, so that it was like unto +brass." But Simurgh, the bird of God, shewed Rustem the way he should +follow in order to vanquish his redoubtable foe. He rode after her, and +they halted not till they came to the sea-shore. There she led him into +a garden, where grew a tamarisk, tall and strong, and the roots thereof +were in the ground, but the branches pierced even unto the sky. Then the +bird of God bade Rustem break from the tree a branch that was long and +slender, and fashion it into an arrow, and she said, "Only through his +eyes can Isfendiyar be wounded. If, therefore, thou wouldst slay him, +direct this arrow unto his forehead, and verily it shall not miss its +aim." Rustem did as he was bid; and when next he fought with Isfendiyar, +he shot the arrow at him, and it pierced his eye, and he died. Great was +the mourning for Isfendiyar. For the space of one year men ceased not to +lament for him, and for many years they shed bitter tears for that +arrow, and they said, "The glory of Iran hath been laid low."[261] + +[The myth of Balder was perhaps acted as a magical ceremony. The two +chief incidents of the myth, namely the pulling of the mistletoe and the +death and burning of the god, have perhaps their counterparts in popular +ritual.] + +Whatever may be thought of an historical kernel underlying a mythical +husk in the legend of Balder, the details of the story suggest that it +belongs to that class of myths which have been dramatized in ritual, or, +to put it otherwise, which have been performed as magical ceremonies for +the sake of producing those natural effects which they describe in +figurative language. A myth is never so graphic and precise in its +details as when it is, so to speak, the book of the words which are +spoken and acted by the performers of the sacred rite. That the Norse +story of Balder was a myth of this sort will become probable if we can +prove that ceremonies resembling the incidents in the tale have been +performed by Norsemen and other European peoples. Now the main incidents +in the tale are two--first, the pulling of the mistletoe, and second, +the death and burning of the god; and both of them may perhaps be found +to have had their counterparts in yearly rites observed, whether +separately or conjointly, by people in various parts of Europe. These +rites will be described and discussed in the following chapters. We +shall begin with the annual festivals of fire and shall reserve the +pulling of the mistletoe for consideration later on. + +Notes: + +[256] _Die Edda_, uebersetzt von K. Simrock*[8] (Stuttgart, 1882), pp. +286-288. Compare pp. 8, 34, 264. Balder's story is told in a professedly +historical form by the old Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in his +third book. See below, p. 103. In English the story is told at length by +Professor (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_ (London and Edinburgh, +1888), pp. 529 _sqq._ It is elaborately discussed by Professor F. +Knuffmann in a learned monograph, _Balder, Mythus und Sage_ (Strasburg, +1902). + +[257] Gudbrand Vigfusson and F. York Powell, _Corpus Poeticum Boreale_, +i. (Oxford, 1883) p. 197. Compare _Edda Rhythmica seu Antiquior, vulgo +Saemundina dicta_, Pars iii. (Copenhagen, 1828) pp. 39 _sq._; _Die +Edda_, uebersetzt von K. Simrock*[8] (Stuttgart, 1882), p. 8; K. +Muellenhoff, _Deutsche Altertumskunde_, v. Zweite Abteilung (Berlin, +1891), pp. 78 _sq._; Fr. Kauffmann, _Balder, Mythus und Sage_, pp. 20 +_sq._ In this passage the words translated "bloody victim" (_blaupom +tivor_) and "fate looming" (_orlog folgen_) are somewhat uncertain and +have been variously interpreted. The word _tivor_, usually understood to +mean "god," seems to be found nowhere else. Professor H.M. Chadwick has +kindly furnished me with the following literal translation of the +passage: "I saw (or 'have seen') held in safe keeping the life of +Balder, the bloody god, Othin's son. High above the fields (i.e. the +surface of the earth) grew a mistletoe, slender and very beautiful. From +a shaft (or 'stem') which appeared slender, came a dangerous +sorrow-bringing missile (i.e. the shaft became a ... missile); Hodr +proceeded to shoot. Soon was a brother of Balder born. He, Othin's son, +proceeded to do battle when one day old. He did not wash his hands or +comb his head before he brought Balder's antagonist on to the pyre. But +Frigg in Fen-salir (i.e. the Fen-abode) lamented the trouble of +Val-holl." In translating the words _orlog folgen_ "held in safe keeping +the life" Professor Chadwick follows Professor F. Kauffmann's rendering +("_das Leben verwahrt_"); but he writes to me that he is not quite +confident about it, as the word _orlog_ usually means "fate" rather than +"life." Several sentences translated by Professor Chadwick ("Soon was a +brother of Balder born ... he brought Balder's antagonist on the pyre") +are omitted by some editors and translators of the _Edda_. + +[258] G. Vigfusson and F. York Powell, _Corpus Poeticum Boreale_, i. 200 +_sq._; _Edda Rhythmica seu Antiquior, vulgo Saemundina dicta_, Pars iii. +pp. 51-54; _Die Edda_, uebersetzt von K. Simrock,*[8] p. 10 _sq._; K. +Muellenhoff, _Deutsche Altertumskunde_, v. Zweite Abteilung, pp. 84 _sq._ + +[259] Saxo Grammaticus, _Historia Danica_, ed. P.E. Mueller (Copenhagen, +1839-1858), _lib._ iii. vol. i. pp. 110 _sqq._; _The First Nine Books of +the Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus_, translated by Oliver Elton +(London, 1894), pp. 83-93. + +[260] _Fridthjofs Saga, aus dem Alt-islaendischen_, von J.C. Poestion, +(Vienna, 1879), pp. 3 _sq._, 14-17, 45-52. + +[261] _The Epic of Kings, Stories retold from Firdusi_, by Helen Zimmern +(London, 1883), pp. 325-331. The parallel between Balder and Isfendiyar +was pointed out in the "Lexicon Mythologicum" appended to the _Edda +Rhythmifa seu Antiquior, vulgo Saemundina dicta_, Pars iii. (Copenhagen, +1828) p. 513 note, with a reference to _Schah Namech, verdeutscht von +Goerres_, ii. 324, 327 _sq._ It is briefly mentioned by Dr. P. Wagler, +_Die Eiche in alter und neuer Zeit_, ii. Teil (Berlin, 1891), p. 40. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE FIRE-FESTIVALS OF EUROPE + + +Sec. 1. _The Lenten Fires_ + + +[European custom of kindling bonfires on certain days of the year, +dancing round them and leaping over them. Effigies are sometimes burnt +in the fires.] + +All over Europe the peasants have been accustomed from time immemorial +to kindle bonfires on certain days of the year, and to dance round or +leap over them. Customs of this kind can be traced back on historical +evidence to the Middle Ages,[262] and their analogy to similar customs +observed in antiquity goes with strong internal evidence to prove that +their origin must be sought in a period long prior to the spread of +Christianity. Indeed the earliest proof of their observance in Northern +Europe is furnished by the attempts made by Christian synods in the +eighth century to put them down as heathenish rites.[263] Not uncommonly +effigies are burned in these fires, or a pretence is made of burning a +living person in them; and there are grounds for believing that +anciently human beings were actually burned on these occasions. A +general survey of the customs in question will bring out the traces of +human sacrifice, and will serve at the same time to throw light on their +meaning.[264] + +[Seasons of the year at which the bonfires are lit.] + +The seasons of the year when these bonfires are most commonly lit are +spring and midsummer; but in some places they are kindled also at the +end of autumn or during the course of the winter, particularly on Hallow +E'en (the thirty-first of October), Christmas Day, and the Eve of +Twelfth Day. We shall consider them in the order in which they occur in +the calendar year. The earliest of them is the winter festival of the +Eve of Twelfth Day (the fifth of January); but as it has been already +described in an earlier part of this work[265] we shall pass it over +here and begin with the fire-festivals of spring, which usually fall on +the first Sunday of Lent (_Quadragesima_ or _Invocavit_),[266] Easter +Eve, and May Day. + +[Custom of kindling bonfires on the first Sunday in Lent in the Belgian +Ardennes.] + +The custom of kindling bonfires on the first Sunday in Lent has +prevailed in Belgium, the north of France, and many parts of Germany. +Thus in the Belgian Ardennes for a week or a fortnight before the "day +of the great fire," as it is called, children go about from farm to farm +collecting fuel. At Grand Halleux any one who refuses their request is +pursued next day by the children, who try to blacken his face with the +ashes of the extinct fire. When the day has come, they cut down bushes, +especially juniper and broom, and in the evening great bonfires blaze on +all the heights. It is a common saying that seven bonfires should be +seen if the village is to be safe from conflagrations. If the Meuse +happens to be frozen hard at the time, bonfires are lit also on the ice. +At Grand Halleux they set up a pole called _makral_ or "the witch," in +the midst of the pile, and the fire is kindled by the man who was last +married in the village. In the neighbourhood of Morlanwelz a straw man +is burnt in the fire. Young people and children dance and sing round the +bonfires, and leap over the embers to secure good crops or a happy +marriage within the year, or as a means of guarding themselves against +colic. In Brabant on the same Sunday, down to the beginning of the +nineteenth century, women and men disguised in female attire used to go +with burning torches to the fields, where they danced and sang comic +songs for the purpose, as they alleged, of driving away "the wicked +sower," who is mentioned in the Gospel for the day. At Maeseyck and in +many villages of Limburg, on the evening of the day children run through +the streets carrying lighted torches; then they kindle little fires of +straw in the fields and dance round them. At Ensival old folks tell +young folks that they will have as many Easter eggs as they see bonfires +on this day.[267] At Paturages, in the province of Hainaut, down to +about 1840 the custom was observed under the name of _Escouvion_ or +_Scouvion_. Every year on the first Sunday of Lent, which was called the +Day of the Little Scouvion, young folks and children used to run with +lighted torches through the gardens and orchards. As they ran they cried +at the pitch of their voices, + +"_Bear apples, bear pears +And cherries all black + To Scouvion!_" + +At these words the torch-bearer whirled his blazing brand and hurled it +among the branches of the apple-trees, the pear-trees, and the +cherry-trees. The next Sunday was called the Day of the Great Scouvion, +and the same race with lighted torches among the trees of the orchards +was repeated in the afternoon till darkness fell. The same custom was +observed on the same two days at Wasmes.[268] In the neighbourhood of +Liege, where the Lenten fires were put down by the police about the +middle of the nineteenth century, girls thought that by leaping over the +fires without being smirched they made sure of a happy marriage. +Elsewhere in order to get a good husband it was necessary to see seven +of the bonfires from one spot. In Famenne, a district of Namur, men and +cattle who traversed the Lenten fires were thought to be safe from +sickness and witchcraft. Anybody who saw seven such fires at once had +nothing to fear from sorcerers. An old saying ran, that if you do not +light "the great fire," God will light it for you; which seems to imply +that the kindling of the bonfires was deemed a protection against +conflagrations throughout the year.[269] + +[Bonfires on the first Sunday of Lent in the French department of the +Ardennes.] + +In the French department of the Ardennes the whole village used to dance +and sing round the bonfires which were lighted on the first Sunday in +Lent. Here, too, it was the person last married, sometimes a man and +sometimes a woman, who put the match to the fire. The custom is still +kept up very commonly in the district. Cats used to be burnt in the fire +or roasted to death by being held over it; and while they were burning +the shepherds drove their flocks through the smoke and flames as a sure +means of guarding them against sickness and witchcraft. In some communes +it was believed that the livelier the dance round the fire, the better +would be the crops that year.[270] In the Vosges Mountains it is still +customary to light great fires on the heights and around the villages on +the first Sunday in Lent; and at Rupt and elsewhere the right of +kindling them belongs to the person who was last married. Round the +fires the people dance and sing merrily till the flames have died out. +Then the master of the fire, as they call the man who kindled it, +invites all who contributed to the erection of the pile to follow him to +the nearest tavern, where they partake of good cheer. At Dommartin they +say that, if you would have the hemp tall, it is absolutely necessary +that the women should be tipsy on the evening of this day.[271] At +Epinal in the Vosges, on the first Sunday in Lent, bonfires used to be +kindled at various places both in the town and on the banks of the +Moselle. They consisted of pyramids of sticks and faggots, which had +been collected some days earlier by young folks going from door to door. +When the flames blazed up, the names of various couples, whether young +or old, handsome or ugly, rich or poor, were called out, and the persons +thus linked in mock marriage were forced, whether they liked it or not, +to march arm in arm round the fire amid the laughter and jests of the +crowd. The festivity lasted till the fire died out, and then the +spectators dispersed through the streets, stopping under the windows of +the houses and proclaiming the names of the _fechenots_ and +_fechenottes_ or Valentines whom the popular voice had assigned to each +other. These couples had to exchange presents; the mock bridegroom gave +his mock bride something for her toilet, while she in turn presented him +with a cockade of coloured ribbon. Next Sunday, if the weather allowed +it, all the couples, arrayed in their best attire and attended by their +relations, repaired to the wood of Saint Antony, where they mounted a +famous stone called the _danserosse_ or _danseresse_. Here they found +cakes and refreshments of all sorts, and danced to the music of a couple +of fiddlers. The evening bell, ringing the Angelus, gave the signal to +depart. As soon as its solemn chime was heard, every one quitted the +forest and returned home. The exchange of presents between the +Valentines went by the name of ransom or redemption (_rachat_), because +it was supposed to redeem the couple from the flames of the bonfire. Any +pair who failed thus to ransom themselves were not suffered to share the +merrymaking at the great stone in the forest; and a pretence was made of +burning them in small fires kindled before their own doors.[272] + +[Bonfires on the First Sunday of Lent in Franche-Comte.] + +In the French province of Franche-Comte, to the west of the Jura +Mountains, the first Sunday of Lent is known as the Sunday of the +Firebrands (_Brandons_), on account of the fires which it is customary +to kindle on that day. On the Saturday or the Sunday the village lads +harness themselves to a cart and drag it about the streets, stopping at +the doors of the houses where there are girls and begging for a faggot. +When they have got enough, they cart the fuel to a spot at some little +distance from the village, pile it up, and set it on fire. All the +people of the parish come out to see the bonfire. In some villages, when +the bells have rung the Angelus, the signal for the observance is given +by cries of, "To the fire! to the fire!" Lads, lasses, and children +dance round the blaze, and when the flames have died down they vie with +each other in leaping over the red embers. He or she who does so without +singeing his or her garments will be married within the year. Young folk +also carry lighted torches about the streets or the fields, and when +they pass an orchard they cry out, "More fruit than leaves!" Down to +recent years at Laviron, in the department of Doubs, it was the young +married couples of the year who had charge of the bonfires. In the midst +of the bonfire a pole was planted with a wooden figure of a cock +fastened to the top. Then there were races, and the winner received the +cock as a prize.[273] + +[Bonfires on the first Sunday of Lent in Auvergne; the Granno invoked at +these bonfires may be the old Celtic god Grannus, who was identified +with Apollo.] + +In Auvergne fires are everywhere kindled on the evening of the first +Sunday in Lent. Every village, every hamlet, even every ward, every +isolated farm has its bonfire or _figo_, as it is called, which blazes +up as the shades of night are falling. The fires may be seen flaring on +the heights and in the plains; the people dance and sing round about +them and leap through the flames. Then they proceed to the ceremony of +the _Grannas-mias_. A _granno-mio_[274] is a torch of straw fastened to +the top of a pole. When the pyre is half consumed, the bystanders kindle +the torches at the expiring flames and carry them into the neighbouring +orchards, fields, and gardens, wherever there are fruit-trees. As they +march they sing at the top of their voices, + +"_Granno, mo mio, +Granno, mon pouere, +Granno, mo mouere!_" + +that is, "Grannus my friend, Grannus my father, Grannus my mother." Then +they pass the burning torches under the branches of every tree, singing, + +"_Brando, brandounci +Tsaque brantso, in plan panei!_" + +that is, "Firebrand burn; every branch a basketful!" In some villages +the people also run across the sown fields and shake the ashes of the +torches on the ground; also they put some of the ashes in the fowls' +nests, in order that the hens may lay plenty of eggs throughout the +year. When all these ceremonies have been performed, everybody goes home +and feasts; the special dishes of the evening are fritters and +pancakes.[275] Here the application of the fire to the fruit-trees, to +the sown fields, and to the nests of the poultry is clearly a charm +intended to ensure fertility; and the Granno to whom the invocations are +addressed, and who gives his name to the torches, may possibly be, as +Dr. Pommerol suggests,[276] no other than the ancient Celtic god +Grannus, whom the Romans identified with Apollo, and whose worship is +attested by inscriptions found not only in France but in Scotland and on +the Danube.[277] If the name Grannus is derived, as the learned tell us, +from a root meaning "to glow, burn, shine,"[278] the deity who bore the +name and was identified with Apollo may well have been a sun-god; and in +that case the prayers addressed to him by the peasants of the Auvergne, +while they wave the blazing, crackling torches about the fruit-trees, +would be eminently appropriate. For who could ripen the fruit so well as +the sun-god? and what better process could be devised to draw the +blossoms from the bare boughs than the application to them of that +genial warmth which is ultimately derived from the solar beams? Thus the +fire-festival of the first Sunday in Lent, as it is observed in +Auvergne, may be interpreted very naturally and simply as a religious or +rather perhaps magical ceremony designed to procure a due supply of the +sun's heat for plants and animals. At the same time we should remember +that the employment of fire in this and kindred ceremonies may have been +designed originally, not so much to stimulate growth and reproduction, +as to burn and destroy all agencies, whether in the shape of vermin, +witches, or what not, which threatened or were supposed to threaten the +growth of the crops and the multiplication of animals. It is often +difficult to decide between these two different interpretations of the +use of fire in agricultural rites. In any case the fire-festival of +Auvergne on the first Sunday in Lent may date from Druidical times. + +[French custom of carrying lighted torches (_brandons_) about the +orchards and fields to fertilize them on the first Sunday of Lent.] + +The custom of carrying lighted torches of straw (_brandons_) about the +orchards and fields to fertilize them on the first Sunday of Lent seems +to have been common in France, whether it was accompanied with the +practice of kindling bonfires or not. Thus in the province of Picardy +"on the first Sunday of Lent people carried torches through the fields, +exorcising the field-mice, the darnel, and the smut. They imagined that +they did much good to the gardens and caused the onions to grow large. +Children ran about the fields, torch in hand, to make the land more +fertile. All that was done habitually in Picardy, and the ceremony of +the torches is not entirely forgotten, especially in the villages on +both sides the Somme as far as Saint-Valery."[279] "A very agreeable +spectacle, said the curate of l'Etoile, is to survey from the portal of +the church, situated almost on the top of the mountain, the vast plains +of Vimeux all illuminated by these wandering fires. The same pastime is +observed at Poix, at Conty, and in all the villages round about."[280] +Again, in the district of Beauce a festival of torches (_brandons_ or +_brandelons_) used to be held both on the first and on the second Sunday +in Lent; the first was called "the Great Torches" and the second "the +Little Torches." The torches were, as usual, bundles of straw wrapt +round poles. In the evening the village lads carried the burning brands +through the country, running about in disorder and singing, + + "_Torches burn +At these vines, at this wheat_; + _Torches burn +For the maidens that shall wed_!" + +From time to time the bearers would stand still and smite the earth all +together with the blazing straw of the torches, while they cried, "A +sheaf of a peck and a half!" (_Gearbe a boissiaux_). If two torchbearers +happened to meet each other on their rounds, they performed the same +ceremony and uttered the same words. When the straw was burnt out, the +poles were collected and a great bonfire made of them. Lads and lasses +danced round the flames, and the lads leaped over them. Afterwards it +was customary to eat a special sort of hasty-pudding made of wheaten +flour. These usages were still in vogue at the beginning of the +nineteenth century, but they have now almost disappeared. The peasants +believed that by carrying lighted torches through the fields they +protected the crops from field-mice, darnel, and smut.[281] "At Dijon, +in Burgundy, it is the custom upon the first Sunday in Lent to make +large fires in the streets, whence it is called Firebrand Sunday. This +practice originated in the processions formerly made on that day by the +peasants with lighted torches of straw, to drive away, as they called +it, the bad air from the earth."[282] In some parts of France, while the +people scoured the country with burning brands on the first Sunday in +Lent, they warned the fruit-trees that if they did not take heed and +bear fruit they would surely be cut down and cast into the fire.[283] On +the same day peasants in the department of Loiret used to run about the +sowed fields with burning torches in their hands, while they adjured the +field-mice to quit the wheat on pain of having their whiskers +burned.[284] In the department of Ain the great fires of straw and +faggots which are kindled in the fields at this time are or were +supposed to destroy the nests of the caterpillars.[285] At Verges, a +lonely village surrounded by forests between the Jura and the Combe +d'Ain, the torches used at this season were kindled in a peculiar +manner. The young people climbed to the top of a mountain, where they +placed three nests of straw in three trees. These nests being then set +on fire, torches made of dry lime-wood were lighted at them, and the +merry troop descended the mountain to their flickering light, and went +to every house in the village, demanding roasted peas and obliging all +couples who had been married within the year to dance.[286] In Berry, a +district of central France, it appears that bonfires are not lighted on +this day, but when the sun has set the whole population of the villages, +armed with blazing torches of straw, disperse over the country and scour +the fields, the vineyards, and the orchards. Seen from afar, the +multitude of moving lights, twinkling in the darkness, appear like +will-o'-the-wisps chasing each other across the plains, along the +hillsides, and down the valleys. While the men wave their flambeaus +about the branches of the fruit-trees, the women and children tie bands +of wheaten-straw round the tree-trunks. The effect of the ceremony is +supposed to be to avert the various plagues from which the fruits of the +earth are apt to suffer; and the bands of straw fastened round the stems +of the trees are believed to render them fruitful.[287] In the peninsula +of La Manche the Norman peasants used to spend almost the whole night of +the first Sunday in Lent rushing about the country with lighted torches +for the purpose, as they supposed, of driving away the moles and +field-mice; fires were also kindled on some of the dolmens.[288] + +[Bonfires on the first Sunday in Lent in Germany and Austria; burning +the witch; burning discs thrown into the air; burning wheels rolled down +hill; bonfires on the first Sunday in Lent in Switzerland.] + +In Germany, Austria, and Switzerland at the same season similar customs +have prevailed. Thus in the Eifel Mountains, Rhenish Prussia, on the +first Sunday in Lent young people used to collect straw and brushwood +from house to house. These they carried to an eminence and piled up +round a tall, slim beech-tree, to which a piece of wood was fastened at +right angles to form a cross. The structure was known as the "hut" or +"castle." Fire was set to it and the young people marched round the +blazing "castle" bareheaded, each carrying a lighted torch and praying +aloud. Sometimes a straw-man was burned in the "hut." People observed +the direction in which the smoke blew from the fire. If it blew towards +the corn-fields, it was a sign that the harvest would be abundant. On +the same day, in some parts of the Eifel, a great wheel was made of +straw and dragged by three horses to the top of a hill. Thither the +village boys marched at nightfall, set fire to the wheel, and sent it +rolling down the slope. Two lads followed it with levers to set it in +motion again, in case it should anywhere meet with a check. At +Oberstattfeld the wheel had to be provided by the young man who was last +married.[289] About Echternach in Luxemburg the same ceremony is called +"burning the witch"; while it is going on, the older men ascend the +heights and observe what wind is blowing, for that is the wind which +will prevail the whole year.[290] At Voralberg in the Tyrol, on the +first Sunday in Lent, a slender young fir-tree is surrounded with a pile +of straw and firewood. To the top of the tree is fastened a human figure +called the "witch," made of old clothes and stuffed with gunpowder. At +night the whole is set on fire and boys and girls dance round it, +swinging torches and singing rhymes in which the words "corn in the +winnowing-basket, the plough in the earth" may be distinguished.[291] In +Swabia on the first Sunday in Lent a figure called the "witch" or the +"old wife" or "winter's grandmother" is made up of clothes and fastened +to a pole. This is stuck in the middle of a pile of wood, to which fire +is applied. While the "witch" is burning, the young people throw blazing +discs into the air. The discs are thin round pieces of wood, a few +inches in diameter, with notched edges to imitate the rays of the sun or +stars. They have a hole in the middle, by which they are attached to the +end of a wand. Before the disc is thrown it is set on fire, the wand is +swung to and fro, and the impetus thus communicated to the disc is +augmented by dashing the rod sharply against a sloping board. The +burning disc is thus thrown off, and mounting high into the air, +describes a long fiery curve before it reaches the ground. A single lad +may fling up forty or fifty of these discs, one after the other. The +object is to throw them as high as possible. The wand by which they are +hurled must, at least in some parts of Swabia, be of hazel. Sometimes +the lads also leap over the fire brandishing lighted torches of +pine-wood. The charred embers of the burned "witch" and discs are taken +home and planted in the flaxfields the same night, in the belief that +they will keep vermin from the fields.[292] At Wangen, near Molsheim in +Baden, a like custom is observed on the first Sunday in Lent. The young +people kindle a bonfire on the crest of the mountain above the village; +and the burning discs which they hurl into the air are said to present +in the darkness the aspect of a continual shower of falling stars. When +the supply of discs is exhausted and the bonfire begins to burn low, the +boys light torches and run with them at full speed down one or other of +the three steep and winding paths that descend the mountain-side to the +village. Bumps, bruises, and scratches are often the result of their +efforts to outstrip each other in the headlong race.[293] In the Rhoen +Mountains, situated on the borders of Hesse and Bavaria, the people used +to march to the top of a hill or eminence on the first Sunday in Lent. +Children and lads carried torches, brooms daubed with tar, and poles +swathed in straw. A wheel, wrapt in combustibles, was kindled and rolled +down the hill; and the young people rushed about the fields with their +burning torches and brooms, till at last they flung them in a heap, and +standing round them, struck up a hymn or a popular song. The object of +running about the fields with the blazing torches was to "drive away the +wicked sower." Or it was done in honour of the Virgin, that she might +preserve the fruits of the earth throughout the year and bless +them.[294] In neighbouring villages of Hesse, between the Rhoen and the +Vogel Mountains, it is thought that wherever the burning wheels roll, +the fields will be safe from hail and storm.[295] At Konz on the +Moselle, on the Thursday before the first Sunday in Lent, the two guilds +of the butchers and the weavers used to repair to the Marxberg and there +set up an oak-tree with a wheel fastened to it. On the following Sunday +the people ascended the hill, cut down the oak, set fire to the wheel, +and sent both oak and wheel rolling down the hillside, while a guard of +butchers, mounted on horses, fired at the flaming wheel in its descent. +If the wheel rolled down into the Moselle, the butchers were rewarded +with a waggon-load of wine by the archbishop of Treves.[296] + +[Burning discs thrown into the air.] + +In Switzerland, also, it is or used to be customary to kindle bonfires +on high places on the evening of the first Sunday in Lent, and the day +is therefore popularly known as Spark Sunday. The custom prevailed, for +example, throughout the canton of Lucerne. Boys went about from house to +house begging for wood and straw, then piled the fuel on a conspicuous +mountain or hill round about a pole, which bore a straw effigy called +"the witch." At nightfall the pile was set on fire, and the young folks +danced wildly round it, some of them cracking whips or ringing bells; +and when the fire burned low enough, they leaped over it. This was +called "burning the witch." In some parts of the canton also they used +to wrap old wheels in straw and thorns, put a light to them, and send +them rolling and blazing down hill. The same custom of rolling lighted +wheels down hill is attested by old authorities for the cantons of +Aargau and Bale. The more bonfires could be seen sparkling and flaring +in the darkness, the more fruitful was the year expected to be; and the +higher the dancers leaped beside or over the fire, the higher, it was +thought, would grow the flax. In the district of Freiburg and at Birseck +in the district of Bale it was the last married man or woman who must +kindle the bonfire. While the bonfires blazed up, it was customary in +some parts of Switzerland to propel burning discs of wood through the +air by means of the same simple machinery which is used for the purpose +in Swabia. Each lad tried to send his disc fizzing and flaring through +the darkness as far as possible, and in discharging it he mentioned the +name of the person to whose honour it was dedicated. But in Praettigau +the words uttered in launching the fiery discs referred to the abundance +which was apparently expected to follow the performance of the ceremony. +Among them were, "Grease in the pan, corn in the fan, and the plough in +the earth!"[297] + +[Connexion of these bonfires with the custom of "carrying out Death;" +effigies burnt on Shrove Tuesday.] + +It seems hardly possible to separate from these bonfires, kindled on the +first Sunday in Lent, the fires in which, about the same season, the +effigy called Death is burned as part of the ceremony of "carrying out +Death." We have seen that at Spachendorf, in Austrian Silesia, on the +morning of Rupert's Day (Shrove Tuesday?), a straw-man, dressed in a fur +coat and a fur cap, is laid in a hole outside the village and there +burned, and that while it is blazing every one seeks to snatch a +fragment of it, which he fastens to a branch of the highest tree in his +garden or buries in his field, believing that this will make the crops +to grow better. The ceremony is known as the "burying of Death."[298] +Even when the straw-man is not designated as Death, the meaning of the +observance is probably the same; for the name Death, as I have tried to +shew, does not express the original intention of the ceremony. At Cobern +in the Eifel Mountains the lads make up a straw-man on Shrove Tuesday. +The effigy is formally tried and accused of having perpetrated all the +thefts that have been committed in the neighbourhood throughout the +year. Being condemned to death, the straw-man is led through the +village, shot, and burned upon a pyre. They dance round the blazing +pile, and the last bride must leap over it.[299] In Oldenburg on the +evening of Shrove Tuesday people used to make long bundles of straw, +which they set on fire, and then ran about the fields waving them, +shrieking, and singing wild songs. Finally they burned a straw-man on +the field.[300] In the district of Duesseldorf the straw-man burned on +Shrove Tuesday was made of an unthreshed sheaf of corn.[301] On the +first Monday after the spring equinox the urchins of Zurich drag a +straw-man on a little cart through the streets, while at the same time +the girls carry about a May-tree. When vespers ring, the straw-man is +burned.[302] In the district of Aachen on Ash Wednesday a man used to be +encased in peas-straw and taken to an appointed place. Here he slipped +quietly out of his straw casing, which was then burned, the children +thinking that it was the man who was being burned.[303] In the Val di +Ledro (Tyrol) on the last day of the Carnival a figure is made up of +straw and brushwood and then burned. The figure is called the Old Woman, +and the ceremony "burning the Old Woman."[304] + + +Sec. 2. _The Easter Fires_ + + +[Fire-festivals on Easter Eve. Custom in Catholic countries of kindling +a holy new fire at the church on Easter Saturday; marvellous properties +ascribed to the embers of the fire; the burning of Judas.] + +Another occasion on which these fire-festivals are held is Easter Eve, +the Saturday before Easter Sunday. On that day it has been customary in +Catholic countries to extinguish all the lights in the churches, and +then to make a new fire, sometimes with flint and steel, sometimes with +a burning-glass. At this fire is lit the great Paschal or Easter candle, +which is then used to rekindle all the extinguished lights in the +church. In many parts of Germany a bonfire is also kindled, by means of +the new fire, on some open space near the church. It is consecrated, and +the people bring sticks of oak, walnut, and beech, which they char in +the fire, and then take home with them. Some of these charred sticks are +thereupon burned at home in a newly-kindled fire, with a prayer that God +will preserve the homestead from fire, lightning, and hail. Thus every +house receives "new fire." Some of the sticks are kept throughout the +year and laid on the hearth-fire during heavy thunder-storms to prevent +the house from being struck by lightning, or they are inserted in the +roof with the like intention. Others are placed in the fields, gardens, +and meadows, with a prayer that God will keep them from blight and hail. +Such fields and gardens are thought to thrive more than others; the corn +and the plants that grow in them are not beaten down by hail, nor +devoured by mice, vermin, and beetles; no witch harms them, and the ears +of corn stand close and full. The charred sticks are also applied to the +plough. The ashes of the Easter bonfire, together with the ashes of the +consecrated palm-branches, are mixed with the seed at sowing. A wooden +figure called Judas is sometimes burned in the consecrated bonfire, and +even where this custom has been abolished the bonfire itself in some +places goes by the name of "the burning of Judas."[305] + +[Easter fires in Bavaria and the Abruzzi.] + +In the Hollertau, Bavaria, the young men used to light their lanterns at +the newly-kindled Easter candle in the church and then race to the +bonfire; he who reached it first set fire to the pile, and next day, +Easter Sunday, was rewarded at the church-door by the housewives, who +presented him with red eggs. Great was the jubilation while the effigy +of the traitor was being consumed in the flames. The ashes were +carefully collected and thrown away at sunrise in running water.[306] In +many parts of the Abruzzi, also, pious people kindle their fires on +Easter Saturday with a brand brought from the sacred new fire in the +church. When the brand has thus served to bless the fire on the domestic +hearth, it is extinguished, and the remainder is preserved, partly in a +cranny of the outer wall of the house, partly on a tree to which it is +tied. This is done for the purpose of guarding the homestead against +injury by storms. At Campo di Giove the people say that if you can get a +piece of one of the three holy candles which the priest lights from the +new fire, you should allow a few drops of the wax to fall into the crown +of your hat; for after that, if it should thunder and lighten, you have +nothing to do but to clap the hat on your head, and no flash of +lightning can possibly strike you.[307] + +[Water as well as fire consecrated in the Abruzzi on Easter Saturday; +water consecrated in Calabria on Easter Saturday; water and fire +consecrated on Easter Saturday among the Germans of Bohemia; Easter +rites of fire and water at Hildesheim.] + +Further, it deserves to be noted that in the Abruzzi water as well as +fire is, as it were, renewed and consecrated on Easter Saturday. Most +people fetch holy water on that day from the churches, and every member +of the family drinks a little of it, believing that it has power to +protect him or her against witchcraft, fever, and stomach-aches of all +sorts. And when the church bells ring again after their enforced +silence, the water is sprinkled about the house, and especially under +the beds, with the help of a palm-branch. Some of this blessed water is +also kept in the house for use in great emergencies, when there is no +time to fetch a priest; thus it may be employed to baptize a newborn +infant gasping for life or to sprinkle a sick man in the last agony; +such a sprinkling is reckoned equal to priestly absolution.[308] In +Calabria the customs with regard to the new water, as it is called, on +Easter Saturday are similar; it is poured into a new vessel, adorned +with ribbons and flowers, is blessed by the priest, and is tasted by +every one of the household, beginning with the parents. And when the air +vibrates with the glad music of the church bells announcing the +resurrection, the people sprinkle the holy water about the houses, +bidding in a loud voice all evil things to go forth and all good things +to come in. At the same time, to emphasize the exorcism, they knock on +doors, window-shutters, chests, and other domestic articles of +furniture. At Cetraro people who suffer from diseases of the skin bathe +in the sea at this propitious moment; at Pietro in Guarano they plunge +into the river on the night of Easter Saturday before Easter Sunday +dawns, and while they bathe they utter never a word. Moreover, the +Calabrians keep the "new water" as a sacred thing. They believe that it +serves as a protection against witchcraft if it is sprinkled on a fire +or a lamp, when the wood crackles or the wick sputters; for they regard +it as a bad omen when the fire talks, as they say.[309] Among the +Germans of Western Bohemia, also, water as well as fire is consecrated +by the priest in front of the church on Easter Saturday. People bring +jugs full of water to the church and set them beside the holy fire; +afterwards they use the water to sprinkle on the palm-branches which are +stuck in the fields. Charred sticks of the Judas fire, as it is +popularly called, are supposed to possess a magical and healing virtue; +hence the people take them home with them, and even scuffle with each +other for the still glowing embers in order to carry them, still +glimmering, to their houses and so obtain "the light" or "the holy +light."[310] At Hildesheim, also, and the neighbouring villages of +central Germany rites both of fire and water are or were till lately +observed at Easter. Thus on Easter night many people fetch water from +the Innerste river and keep it carefully, believing it to be a remedy +for many sorts of ailments both of man and beast. In the villages on the +Leine river servant men and maids used to go silently on Easter night +between the hours of eleven and twelve and silently draw water in +buckets from the river; they mixed the water with the fodder and the +drink of the cattle to make the animals thrive, and they imagined that +to wash in it was good for human beings. Many were also of opinion that +at the same mystic hour the water turned to wine as far as the crowing +of a cock could be heard, and in this belief they laid themselves flat +on their stomachs and kept their tongues in the water till the +miraculous change occurred, when they took a great gulp of the +transformed water. At Hildesheim, too, and the neighbouring villages +fires used to blaze on all the heights on Easter Eve; and embers taken +from the bonfires were dipped in the cattle troughs to benefit the +beasts and were kept in the houses to avert lightning.[311] + +[New fire at Easter in Carinthia; consecration of fire and water by the +Catholic Church at Easter.] + +In the Lesachthal, Carinthia, all the fires in the houses used to be +extinguished on Easter Saturday, and rekindled with a fresh fire brought +from the churchyard, where the priest had lit it by the friction of +flint and steel and had bestowed his blessing on it.[312] Such customs +were probably widespread. In a Latin poem of the sixteenth century, +written by a certain Thomas Kirchmeyer and translated into English by +Barnabe Googe, we read:-- + +"_On Easter Eve the fire all is quencht in every place, +And fresh againe from out the flint is fetcht with solemne grace: +The priest doth halow this against great daungers many one, +A brande whereof doth every man with greedie mind take home, +That when the fearefull storme appeares, or tempest black arise, +By lighting this he safe may be from stroke of hurtful skies: +A taper great, the Paschall namde, with musicke then they blesse, +And franckensence herein they pricke, for greater holynesse: +This burneth night and day as signe of Christ that conquerde hell, +As if so be this foolish toye suffiseth this to tell. +Then doth the Bishop or the Priest, the water halow straight, +That for their baptisme is reservde: for now no more of waight +Is that they usde the yeare before, nor can they any more, +Yong children christen with the same, as they have done before. +With wondrous pompe and furniture, amid the Church they go, +With candles, crosses, banners, Chrisme, and oyle appoynted tho: +Nine times about the font they marche, and on the saintes doe call, +Then still at length they stande, and straight the Priest begins withall, +And thrise the water doth he touche, and crosses thereon make, +Here bigge and barbrous wordes he speakes, to make the devill quake: +And holsome waters conjureth, and foolishly doth dresse, +Supposing holyar that to make, which God before did blesse: +And after this his candle than, he thrusteth in the floode, +And thrise he breathes thereon with breath, that stinkes of former foode: +And making here an ende, his Chrisme he poureth thereupon, +The people staring hereat stande, amazed every one; +Beleeving that great powre is given to this water here, +By gaping of these learned men, and such like trifling gere. +Therefore in vessels brought they draw, and home they carie some, +Against the grieves that to themselves, or to their beastes may come. +Then Clappers ceasse, and belles are set againe at libertee, +And herewithall the hungrie times of fasting ended bee."_[313] + +It is said that formerly all the fires in Rome were lighted afresh from +the holy fire kindled in St. Peter's on Easter Saturday.[314] + +[The new fire on Easter Saturday at Florence.] + +In Florence the ceremony of kindling the new fire on Easter Eve is +peculiar. The holy flame is elicited from certain flints which are said +to have been brought by a member of the Pazzi family from the Holy Land. +They are kept in the church of the Holy Apostles on the Piazza del +Limbo, and on the morning of Easter Saturday the prior strikes fire from +them and lights a candle from the new flame. The burning candle is then +carried in solemn procession by the clergy and members of the +municipality to the high altar in the cathedral. A vast crowd has +meanwhile assembled in the cathedral and the neighbouring square to +witness the ceremony; amongst the spectators are many peasants drawn +from the surrounding country, for it is commonly believed that on the +success or failure of the ceremony depends the fate of the crops for the +year. Outside the door of the cathedral stands a festal car drawn by two +fine white oxen with gilded horns. The body of the car is loaded with a +pyramid of squibs and crackers and is connected by a wire with a pillar +set up in front of the high altar. The wire extends down the middle of +the nave at a height of about six feet from the ground. Beneath it a +clear passage is left, the spectators being ranged on either side and +crowding the vast interior from wall to wall. When all is ready, High +Mass is celebrated, and precisely at noon, when the first words of the +_Gloria_ are being chanted, the sacred fire is applied to the pillar, +which like the car is wreathed with fireworks. A moment more and a fiery +dove comes flying down the nave, with a hissing sound and a sputter of +sparks, between the two hedges of eager spectators. If all goes well, +the bird pursues its course along the wire and out at the door, and in +another moment a prolonged series of fizzes, pops and bangs announces to +the excited crowd in the cathedral that the fireworks on the car are +going off. Great is the joy accordingly, especially among the bumpkins, +who are now sure of an abundant harvest. But if, as sometimes happens, +the dove stops short in its career and fizzles out, revealing itself as +a stuffed bird with a packet of squibs tied to its tail, great is the +consternation, and deep the curses that issue from between the set teeth +of the clodhoppers, who now give up the harvest for lost. Formerly the +unskilful mechanician who was responsible for the failure would have +been clapped into gaol; but nowadays he is thought sufficiently punished +by the storm of public indignation and the loss of his pay. The disaster +is announced by placards posted about the streets in the evening; and +next morning the newspapers are full of gloomy prognostications.[315] + +[The new fire and burning of Judas on Easter Saturday in Mexico.] + +Some of these customs have been transported by the Catholic Church to +the New World. Thus in Mexico the new fire is struck from a flint early +in the morning of Easter Saturday, and a candle which has been lighted +at the sacred flame is carried through the church by a deacon shouting +"_Lumen Christi_." Meantime the whole city, we are informed, has been +converted into a vast place of execution. Ropes stretch across the +streets from house to house, and from every house dangles an effigy of +Judas, made of paper pulp. Scores or hundreds of them may adorn a single +street. They are of all shapes and sizes, grotesque in form and garbed +in strange attire, stuffed with gunpowder, squibs and crackers, +sometimes, too, with meat, bread, soap, candy, and clothing, for which +the crowd will scramble and scuffle while the effigies are burning. +There they hang grim, black, and sullen in the strong sunshine, greeted +with a roar of execration by the pious mob. A peal of bells from the +cathedral tower on the stroke of noon gives the signal for the +execution. At the sound a frenzy seizes the crowd. They throw themselves +furiously on the figures of the detested traitor, cut them down, hurl +them with curses into the fire, and fight and struggle with each other +in their efforts to tear the effigies to tatters and appropriate their +contents. Smoke, stink, sputter of crackers, oaths, curses, yells are +now the order of the day. But the traitor does not perish unavenged. For +the anatomy of his frame has been cunningly contrived so as in burning +to discharge volleys of squibs into his assailants; and the wounds and +burns with which their piety is rewarded form a feature of the morning's +entertainment. The English Jockey Club in Mexico used to improve on this +popular pastime by suspending huge figures of Judas, stuffed with copper +coins, from ropes in front of their clubhouse. These were ignited at the +proper moment and lowered within reach of the expectant rabble, and it +was the privilege of members of the club, seated in the balcony, to +watch the grimaces and to hear the shrieks of the victims, as they +stamped and capered about with the hot coppers sticking to their hands, +divided in their minds between an acute sense of pain and a thirst for +filthy lucre.[316] + +[The burning of Judas at Easter in South America.] + +Scenes of the same sort, though on a less ambitious scale, are witnessed +among the Catholics of South America on the same day. In Brazil the +mourning for the death of Christ ceases at noon on Easter Saturday and +gives place to an extravagant burst of joy at his resurrection. Shots +are fired everywhere, and effigies of Judas are hung on trees or dragged +about the streets, to be finally burned or otherwise destroyed.[317] In +the Indian villages scattered among the wild valleys of the Peruvian +Andes figures of the traitor, made of pasteboard and stuffed with squibs +and crackers, are hanged on gibbets before the door of the church on +Easter Saturday. Fire is set to them, and while they crackle and +explode, the Indians dance and shout for joy at the destruction of their +hated enemy.[318] Similarly at Rio Hacha, in Colombia, Judas is +represented during Holy Week by life-sized effigies, and the people fire +at them as if they were discharging a sacred duty.[319] + +[The new fire on Easter Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at +Jerusalem.] + +But usages of this sort are not confined to the Latin Church; they are +common to the Greek Church also. Every year on the Saturday before +Easter Sunday a new fire is miraculously kindled at the Holy Sepulchre +in Jerusalem. It descends from heaven and ignites the candles which the +patriarch holds in his hands, while with closed eyes he wrestles in +prayer all alone in the chapel of the Angel. The worshippers meanwhile +wait anxiously in the body of the church, and great are their transports +of joy when at one of the windows of the chapel, which had been all dark +a minute before, there suddenly appears the hand of an angel, or of the +patriarch, holding a lighted taper. This is the sacred new fire; it is +passed out to the expectant believers, and the desperate struggle which +ensues among them to get a share of its blessed influence is only +terminated by the intervention of the Turkish soldiery, who restore +peace and order by hustling the whole multitude impartially out of the +church. In days gone by many lives were often lost in these holy +scrimmages. For example, in the year 1834, the famous Ibrahim Pasha +witnessed the frantic scene from one of the galleries, and, being moved +with compassion at the sight, descended with a few guards into the arena +in the chimerical hope of restoring peace and order among the contending +Christians. He contrived to force his way into the midst of the dense +crowd, but there the heat and pressure were so great that he fainted +away; a body of soldiers, seeing his danger, charged straight into the +throng and carried him out of it in their arms, trampling under foot the +dying and dead in their passage. Nearly two hundred people were killed +that day in the church. The fortunate survivors on these occasions who +succeeded in obtaining a portion of the coveted fire applied it freely +to their faces, their beards, and their garments. The theory was that +the fire, being miraculous, could only bless and not burn them; but the +practical results of the experiment were often disappointing, for while +the blessings were more or less dubious, there could be no doubt +whatever about the burns.[320] The history of the miracle has been +carefully investigated by a Jesuit father. The conclusions at which he +arrives are that the miracle was a miracle indeed so long as the +Catholics had the management of it; but that since it fell into the +hands of the heretics it has been nothing but a barefaced trick and +imposture.[321] Many people will be disposed to agree with the latter +conclusion who might hesitate to accept the former. + +[The new fire and the burning of Judas on Easter Saturday in Greece.] + +At Athens the new fire is kindled in the cathedral at midnight on Holy +Saturday. A dense crowd with unlit candles in their hands fills the +square in front of the cathedral; the king, the archbishop, and the +highest dignitaries of the church, arrayed in their gorgeous robes, +occupy a platform; and at the exact moment of the resurrection the bells +ring out, and the whole square bursts as by magic into a blaze of light. +Theoretically all the candles are lit from the sacred new fire in the +cathedral, but practically it may be suspected that the matches which +bear the name of Lucifer have some share in the sudden +illumination.[322] Effigies of Judas used to be burned at Athens on +Easter Saturday, but the custom has been forbidden by the Government. +However, firing goes on more or less continuously all over the city both +on Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, and the cartridges used on this +occasion are not always blank. The shots are aimed at Judas, but +sometimes they miss him and hit other people. Outside of Athens the +practice of burning Judas in effigy still survives in some places. For +example, in Cos a straw image of the traitor is made on Easter Day, and +after being hung up and shot at it is burned.[323] A similar custom +appears to prevail at Thebes;[324] it used to be observed by the +Macedonian peasantry, and it is still kept up at Therapia, a fashionable +summer resort of Constantinople.[325] + +[The new fire at Candlemas in Armenia.] + +In the Armenian Church the sacred new fire is kindled not at Easter but +at Candlemas, that is, on the second of February, or on the eve of that +festival. The materials of the bonfire are piled in an open space near a +church, and they are generally ignited by young couples who have been +married within the year. However, it is the bishop or his vicar who +lights the candles with which fire is set to the pile. All young married +pairs are expected to range themselves about the fire and to dance round +it. Young men leap over the flames, but girls and women content +themselves with going round them, while they pray to be preserved from +the itch and other skin-diseases. When the ceremony is over, the people +eagerly pick up charred sticks or ashes of the fire and preserve them or +scatter them on the four corners of the roof, in the cattle-stall, in +the garden, and on the pastures; for these holy sticks and ashes protect +men and cattle against disease, and fruit-trees against worms and +caterpillars. Omens, too, are drawn from the direction in which the wind +blows the flames and the smoke: if it carries them eastward, there is +hope of a good harvest; but if it inclines them westward, the people +fear that the crops will fail.[326] + +[The new fire and the burning of Judas at Easter are probably relics of +paganism.] + +In spite of the thin cloak of Christianity thrown over these customs by +representing the new fire as an emblem of Christ and the figure burned +in it as an effigy of Judas, we can hardly doubt that both practices are +of pagan origin. Neither of them has the authority of Christ or of his +disciples; but both of them have abundant analogies in popular custom +and superstition. Some instances of the practice of annually +extinguishing fires and relighting them from a new and sacred flame have +already come before us;[327] but a few examples may here be cited for +the sake of illustrating the wide diffusion of a custom which has found +its way into the ritual both of the Eastern and of the Western Church. + +[The new fire at the summer solstice among the Incas of Peru; +the new fire among the Indians of Mexico and New Mexico; the new fire +among the Esquimaux.] + +The Incas of Peru celebrated a festival called Raymi, a word which their +native historian Garcilasso de la Vega tells us was equivalent to our +Easter. It was held in honour of the sun at the solstice in June. For +three days before the festival the people fasted, men did not sleep with +their wives, and no fires were lighted in Cuzco, the capital. The sacred +new fire was obtained direct from the sun by concentrating his beams on +a highly polished concave plate and reflecting them on a little cotton +wool. With this holy fire the sheep and lambs offered to the sun were +consumed, and the flesh of such as were to be eaten at the festival was +roasted. Portions of the new fire were also conveyed to the temple of +the sun and to the convent of the sacred virgins, where they were kept +burning all the year, and it was an ill omen if the holy flame went +out.[328] At a festival held in the last month of the old Mexican year +all the fires both in the temples and in the houses were extinguished, +and the priest kindled a new fire by rubbing two sticks against each +other before the image of the fire-god.[329] The Zuni Indians of New +Mexico kindle a new fire by the friction of wood both at the winter and +the summer solstice. At the winter solstice the chosen fire-maker +collects a faggot of cedar-wood from every house in the village, and +each person, as he hands the wood to the fire-maker, prays that the +crops may be good in the coming year. For several days before the new +fire is kindled, no ashes or sweepings may be removed from the houses +and no artificial light may appear outside of them, not even a burning +cigarette or the flash of firearms. The Indians believe that no rain +will fall on the fields of the man outside whose house a light has been +seen at this season. The signal for kindling the new fire is given by +the rising of the Morning Star. The flame is produced by twirling an +upright stick between the hands on a horizontal stick laid on the floor +of a sacred chamber, the sparks being caught by a tinder of cedar-dust. +It is forbidden to blow up the smouldering tinder with the breath, for +that would offend the gods. After the fire has thus been ceremonially +kindled, the women and girls of all the families in the village clean +out their houses. They carry the sweepings and ashes in baskets or bowls +to the fields and leave them there. To the sweepings the woman says: "I +now deposit you as sweepings, but in one year you will return to me as +corn." And to the ashes she says: "I now deposit you as ashes, but in +one year you will return to me as meal." At the summer solstice the +sacred fire which has been procured by the friction of wood is used to +kindle the grass and trees, that there may be a great cloud of smoke, +while bull-roarers are swung and prayers offered that the Rain-makers up +aloft will water the earth.[330] From this account we see how intimately +the kindling of a new fire at the two turning-points of the sun's course +is associated in the minds of these Indians with the fertility of the +land, particularly with the growth of the corn. The rolling smoke is +apparently an imitation of rain-clouds designed, on the principle of +homoeopathic magic, to draw showers from the blue sky. Once a year the +Iroquois priesthood supplied the people with a new fire. As a +preparation for the annual rite the fires in all the huts were +extinguished and the ashes scattered about. Then the priest, wearing the +insignia of his office, went from hut to hut relighting the fires by +means of a flint.[331] Among the Esquimaux with whom C.F. Hall resided, +it was the custom that at a certain time, which answered to our New +Year's Day, two men went about from house to house blowing out every +light in the village. One of the men was dressed to represent a woman. +Afterwards the lights were rekindled from a fresh fire. An Esquimau +woman being asked what all this meant, replied, "New sun--new +light."[332] Among the Esquimaux of Iglulik, when the sun first rises +above the horizon after the long night of the Arctic winter, the +children who have watched for his reappearance run into the houses and +blow out the lamps. Then they receive from their mothers presents of +pieces of wick.[333] + +[The new fire in Wadai, among the Swahili, and in other parts of +Africa.] + +In the Sudanese kingdom of Wadai all the fires in the villages are put +out and the ashes removed from the houses on the day which precedes the +New Year festival. At the beginning of the new year a new fire is lit by +the friction of wood in the great straw hut where the village elders +lounge away the sultry hours together; and every man takes thence a +burning brand with which he rekindles the fire on his domestic +hearth.[334] In the Bahr-el-Ghazal province of the Egyptian Sudan the +people extinguish their old fires at the Arab New Year and bring in new +fire. On the same occasion they beat the walls of their huts, the grass +thatches, and the walls of their enclosures in order to drive away the +devil or evil spirits. The beating of the walls and roofs is accompanied +by the firing of guns, the shouting of men, and the shriller cries of +the women.[335] Thus these people combine an annual expulsion of demons +with an annual lighting of a new fire. Among the Swahili of East Africa +the greatest festival is that of the New Year, which falls in the second +half of August. At a given moment all the fires are extinguished with +water and afterwards relit by the friction of two dry pieces of wood. +The ashes of the old fires are carried out and deposited at cross-roads. +All the people get up very early in the morning and bathe in the sea or +some other water, praying to be kept in good health and to live that +they may bathe again next year. Sham-fights form part of the amusements +of the day; sometimes they pass into grim reality. Indeed the day was +formerly one of general license; every man did that which was good in +his own eyes. No awkward questions were asked about any crimes committed +on this occasion, so some people improved the shining hour by knocking a +few poor devils on the head. Shooting still goes on during the whole +day, and at night the proceedings generally wind up with a great +dance.[336] The King of Benametapa, as the early Portuguese traders +called him, in East Africa used to send commissioners annually to every +town in his dominions; on the arrival of one of these officers the +inhabitants of each town had to put out all their fires and to receive a +new fire from him. Failure to comply with this custom was treated as +rebellion.[337] Some tribes of British Central Africa carefully +extinguish the fires on the hearths at the beginning of the hoeing +season and at harvest; the fires are afterwards rekindled by friction, +and the people indulge in dances of various kinds.[338] + +[The new fire among the Todas of Southern India and among the Nagas of +North-Eastern India.] + +The Todas of the Neilgheny Hills, in Southern India, annually kindle a +sacred new fire by the friction of wood in the month which begins with +the October moon. The ceremony is performed by two holy dairymen at the +foot of a high hill. When they have lighted the fire by rubbing two dry +sticks together, and it begins to burn well, they stand a little way off +and pray, saying, "May the young grass flower! May honey flourish! May +fruit ripen!" The purpose of the ceremony is to make the grass and honey +plentiful. In ancient times the Todas lived largely on wild fruits, and +then the rite of the new fire was very important. Now that they subsist +chiefly on the milk of their buffaloes, the ceremony has lost much of +its old significance.[339] When the Nagas of North-Eastern India have +felled the timber and cut down the scrub in those patches of jungle +which they propose to cultivate, they put out all the fires in the +village and light a new fire by rubbing two dry pieces of wood together. +Then having kindled torches at it they proceed with them to the jungle +and ignite the felled timber and brushwood. The flesh of a cow or +buffalo is also roasted on the new fire and furnishes a sacrificial +meal.[340] Near the small town of Kahma in Burma, between Prome and +Thayetmyo, certain gases escape from a hollow in the ground and burn +with a steady flame during the dry season of the year. The people regard +the flame as the forge of a spectral smith who here carried on his +business after death had removed him from his old smithy in the village. +Once a year all the household fires in Kahma are extinguished and then +lighted afresh from the ghostly flame.[341] + +[The new fire in China and Japan.] + +In China every year, about the beginning of April, certain officials, +called _Sz'hueen_, used of old to go about the country armed with wooden +clappers. Their business was to summon the people and command them to +put out every fire. This was the beginning of a season called +_Han-shih-tsieh_, or "eating cold food." For three days all household +fires remained extinct as a preparation for the solemn renewal of the +fire, which took place on the fifth or sixth day of April, being the +hundred and fifth day after the winter solstice. The ceremony was +performed with great pomp by the same officials, who procured the new +fire from heaven by reflecting the sun's rays either from a metal mirror +or from a crystal on dry moss. Fire thus obtained is called by the +Chinese heavenly fire, and its use is enjoined in sacrifices; whereas +fire elicited by the friction of wood is termed by them earthly fire, +and its use is prescribed for cooking and other domestic purposes. When +once the new fire had thus been drawn from the sun, all the people were +free to rekindle their domestic hearths; and, as a Chinese distich has +it-- + +"_At the festival of the cold food there are a thousand white stalks + among the flowers; +On the day Tsing-ming, at sunrise, you may see the smoke of ten +thousand houses_." + +According to a Chinese philosopher, the reason for thus renewing fire +periodically is that the vital principle grows weaker and weaker in old +fire, whereas in new fire it is young and vigorous. This annual renewal +of fire was a ceremony of very great antiquity in China, since it is +known to have been observed in the time of the first dynasty, about two +thousand years before Christ. Under the Tcheou dynasty a change in the +calendar led to shifting the fire-festival from spring to the summer +solstice, but afterwards it was brought back to its original date. +Although the custom appears to have long fallen into disuse, the +barbarous inhabitants of Hainan, an island to the south of China, still +call a year "a fire," as if in memory of the time when the years were +reckoned by the annually recurring ceremony of rekindling the sacred +fire.[342] "A Japanese book written two centuries ago informs us that +sticks resembling the wands used for offerings at the purification +ceremony were part shaven and set up in bundles at the four corners of +the Gion shrine on the last day of the year. The priests, after prayers +were recited, broke up the bundles and set fire to the sticks, which the +people then carried home to light their household fires with for the New +Year. The object of this ceremony was to avert pestilence."[343] + +[The new fire in ancient Greece and Rome.] + +In classical antiquity the Greek island of Lemnos was devoted to the +worship of the smith-god Hephaestus, who was said to have fallen on it +when Zeus hurled him from heaven.[344] Once a year every fire in the +island was extinguished and remained extinct for nine days, during which +sacrifices were offered to the dead and to the infernal powers. New fire +was brought in a ship from the sacred isle of Delos, and with it the +fires in the houses and the workshops were relit. The people said that +with the new fire they made a new beginning of life. If the ship that +bore the sacred flame arrived too soon, it might not put in to shore, +but had to cruise in the offing till the nine days were expired.[345] At +Rome the sacred fire in the temple of Vesta was kindled anew every year +on the first of March, which used to be the beginning of the Roman +year;[346] the task of lighting it was entrusted to the Vestal Virgins, +and they performed it by drilling a hole in a board of lucky wood till +the flame was elicited by friction. The new fire thus produced was +carried into the temple of Vesta by one of the virgins in a bronze +sieve.[347] + +[The new fire at Hallow E'en among the old Celts of Ireland; the new +fire on September 1st among the Russian peasants.] + +Among the Celts of Ireland a new fire was annually kindled on Hallowe'en +or the Eve of Samhain, as they called it, the last day of October, from +which the Irish new year began; and all the hearths throughout the +country are said to have been relighted from the fresh fire. The place +where this holy flame was lit bore the name of Tlachtga or Tlactga; it +has been identified with a rath or native fort on the Hill of Ward near +Athboy in the county of Meath. "It was there," says the old Irish +historian, Geoffrey Keating, "that the Festival of the Fire of Tlactga +was ordered to be held, and it was thither that the Druids of Ireland +were wont to repair and to assemble, in solemn meeting, on the eve of +Samhain, for the purpose of making a sacrifice to all the gods. It was +in that fire at Tlactga, that their sacrifice was burnt; and it was made +obligatory, under pain of punishment, to extinguish all the fires of +Ireland, on that eve; and the men of Ireland were allowed to kindle no +other fire but that one; and for each of the other fires, which were all +to be lighted from it, the king of Munster was to receive a tax of a +_sgreball_, that is, of three pence, because the land, upon which +Tlactga was built, belongs to the portion of Meath which had been taken +from Munster."[348] In the villages near Moscow at the present time the +peasants put out all their fires on the eve of the first of September, +and next morning at sunrise a wise man or a wise woman rekindles them +with the help of muttered incantations and spells.[349] + +[Thus the ceremony of the new fire in the Eastern and Western Church is +probably a relic of an old heathen rite.] + +Instances of such practices might doubtless be multiplied, but the +foregoing examples may suffice to render it probable that the +ecclesiastical ceremony of lighting a sacred new fire on Easter Saturday +had originally nothing to do with Christianity, but is merely one case +of a world-wide custom which the Church has seen fit to incorporate in +its ritual. It might be supposed that in the Western Church the custom +was merely a survival of the old Roman usage of renewing the fire on the +first of March, were it not that the observance by the Eastern Church of +the custom on the same day seems to point back to a still older period +when the ceremony of lighting a new fire in spring, perhaps at the +vernal equinox, was common to many peoples of the Mediterranean area. We +may conjecture that wherever such a ceremony has been observed, it +originally marked the beginning of a new year, as it did in ancient Rome +and Ireland, and as it still does in the Sudanese kingdom of Wadai and +among the Swahili of Eastern Africa. + +[The pagan character of the Easter fire appears from the superstitions +associated with it, such as the belief that the fire fertilizes the +fields and protects houses from conflagration and sickness.] + +The essentially pagan character of the Easter fire festival appears +plainly both from the mode in which it is celebrated by the peasants and +from the superstitious beliefs which they associate with it. All over +northern and central Germany, from Altmark and Anhalt on the east, +through Brunswick, Hanover, Oldenburg, the Harz district, and Hesse to +Westphalia the Easter bonfires still blaze simultaneously on the +hill-tops. As many as forty may sometimes be counted within sight at +once. Long before Easter the young people have been busy collecting +firewood; every farmer contributes, and tar-barrels, petroleum cases, +and so forth go to swell the pile. Neighbouring villages vie with each +other as to which shall send up the greatest blaze. The fires are always +kindled, year after year, on the same hill, which accordingly often +takes the name of Easter Mountain. It is a fine spectacle to watch from +some eminence the bonfires flaring up one after another on the +neighbouring heights. As far as their light reaches, so far, in the +belief of the peasants, the fields will be fruitful, and the houses on +which they shine will be safe from conflagration or sickness. At +Volkmarsen and other places in Hesse the people used to observe which +way the wind blew the flames, and then they sowed flax seed in that +direction, confident that it would grow well. Brands taken from the +bonfires preserve houses from being struck by lightning; and the ashes +increase the fertility of the fields, protect them from mice, and mixed +with the drinking-water of cattle make the animals thrive and ensure +them against plague. As the flames die down, young and old leap over +them, and cattle are sometimes driven through the smouldering embers. In +some places tar-barrels or wheels wrapt in straw used to be set on fire, +and then sent rolling down the hillside. In others the boys light +torches and wisps of straw at the bonfires and rush about brandishing +them in their hands. Where the people are divided between Protestantism +and Catholicism, as in Hildesheim, it has been observed that among +Protestants the Easter bonfires are generally left to the boys, while in +Catholic districts they are cared for by grown-up persons, and here the +whole population will gather round the blazing pile and join in singing +choral hymns, which echo far and wide in the stillness of night.[350] + +[The Easter fires in Muensterland, Oldenburg, the Harz Mountains and the +Altmark.] + +In Muensterland these Easter fires are always kindled upon certain +definite hills, which are hence known as Easter or Paschal Mountains. +The whole community assembles about the fire. Fathers of families form +an inner circle round it. An outer circle is composed of the young men +and maidens, who, singing Easter hymns, march round and round the fire +in the direction of the sun, till the blaze dies down. Then the girls +jump over the fire in a line, one after the other, each supported by two +young men who hold her hands and run beside her. When the fire has +burned out, the whole assembly marches in solemn procession to the +church, singing hymns. They go thrice round the church, and then break +up. In the twilight boys with blazing bundles of straw run over the +fields to make them fruitful.[351] At Delmenhorst, in Oldenburg, it used +to be the custom to cut down two trees, plant them in the ground side by +side, and pile twelve tar-barrels, one above the other, against each of +the trees. Brushwood was then heaped about the trees, and on the evening +of Easter Saturday the boys, after rushing about with blazing beanpoles +in their hands, set fire to the whole. At the end of the ceremony the +urchins tried to blacken each other and the clothes of grown-up +people.[352] In Schaumburg the Easter bonfires may be seen blazing on +all the mountains around for miles. They are made with a tar-barrel +fastened to a pine-tree, which is wrapt in straw. The people dance +singing round them.[353] In the Harz Mountains the fire is commonly made +by piling brushwood about a tree and setting it on fire. At Osterode +every one tries to snatch a brand from the bonfire and runs about with +it; the better it burns, the more lucky it is. In Grund there are +torch-races.[354] In the Altmark the Easter bonfires are composed of +tar-barrels, bee-hives, and so forth, piled round a pole. The young folk +dance round the fire; and when it has died out, the old folk come and +collect the ashes, which they preserve as a remedy for the ailments of +bees. It is also believed that as far as the blaze of the bonfire is +visible, the corn will grow well throughout the year, and no +conflagration will break out.[355] At Braunroede, in the Harz Mountains, +it was the custom to burn squirrels in the Easter bonfire.[356] In the +Altmark, bones were burned in it.[357] + +[The Easter fires in Bavaria; the burning of Judas; burning the Easter +Man.] + +Further south the Easter fires are, or used to be, lit in many districts +of Bavaria. Thus on Easter Monday in some parts of Middle Franken the +schoolboys collect all the old worn-out besoms they can lay hands on, +and march with them in a long procession to a neighbouring height. When +the first chime of the evening bell comes up from the dale they set fire +to the brooms, and run along the ridges waving them, so that seen from +below the hills appear to be crested with a twinkling and moving chain +of fire.[358] In some parts of Upper Bavaria at Easter burning arrows or +discs of wood were shot from hill-tops high into the air, as in the +Swabian and Swiss customs already described.[359] At Oberau, instead of +the discs, an old cart-wheel was sometimes wrapt in straw, ignited, and +sent rolling and blazing down the mountain. The lads who hurled the +discs received painted Easter eggs from the girls.[360] Near Forchheim, +in Upper Franken, a straw-man called the Judas used to be burned in the +churchyards on Easter Saturday. The whole village contributed wood to +the pyre on which he perished, and the charred sticks were afterwards +kept and planted in the fields on Walpurgis Day (the first of May) to +preserve the wheat from blight and mildew.[361] About a hundred years +ago or more the custom at Althenneberg, in Upper Bavaria, used to be as +follows. On the afternoon of Easter Saturday the lads collected wood, +which they piled in a cornfield, while in the middle of the pile they +set up a tall wooden cross all swathed in straw. After the evening +service they lighted their lanterns at the consecrated candle in the +church, and ran with them at full speed to the pyre, each striving to +get there first. The first to arrive set fire to the heap. No woman or +girl might come near the bonfire, but they were allowed to watch it from +a distance. As the flames rose the men and lads rejoiced and made merry, +shouting, "We are burning the Judas!" Two of them had to watch the +glowing embers the whole night long, lest people should come and steal +them. Next morning at sunrise they carefully collected the ashes, and +threw them into the running water of the Roeten brook. The man who had +been the first to reach the pyre and to kindle it was rewarded on Easter +Sunday by the women, who gave him coloured eggs at the church door. +Well-to-do women gave him two; poorer women gave him only one. The +object of the whole ceremony was to keep off the hail. About a century +ago the Judas fire, as it was called, was put down by the police.[362] +At Giggenhausen and Aufkirchen, two other villages of Upper Bavaria, a +similar custom prevailed, yet with some interesting differences. Here +the ceremony, which took place between nine and ten at night on Easter +Saturday, was called "burning the Easter Man." On a height about a mile +from the village the young fellows set up a tall cross enveloped in +straw, so that it looked like a man with his arms stretched out. This +was the Easter Man. No lad under eighteen years of age might take part +in the ceremony. One of the young men stationed himself beside the +Easter Man, holding in his hand a consecrated taper which he had brought +from the church and lighted. The rest stood at equal intervals in a +great circle round the cross. At a given signal they raced thrice round +the circle, and then at a second signal ran straight at the cross and at +the lad with the lighted taper beside it; the one who reached the goal +first had the right of setting fire to the Easter Man. Great was the +jubilation while he was burning. When he had been consumed in the +flames, three lads were chosen from among the rest, and each of the +three drew a circle on the ground with a stick thrice round the ashes. +Then they all left the spot. On Easter Monday the villagers gathered the +ashes and strewed them on their fields; also they planted in the fields +palm-branches which had been consecrated on Palm Sunday, and sticks +which had been charred and hallowed on Good Friday, all for the purpose +of protecting their fields against showers of hail. The custom of +burning an Easter Man made of straw on Easter Saturday was observed also +at Abensberg, in Lower Bavaria.[363] In some parts of Swabia the Easter +fires might not be kindled with iron or steel or flint, but only by the +friction of wood.[364] + +[The Easter fires in Baden; "Thunder poles."] + +In Baden bonfires are still kindled in the churchyards on Easter +Saturday, and ecclesiastical refuse of various sorts, such as +candle-ends, old surplices, and the wool used by the priest in the +application of extreme unction, is consumed in the flames. At Zoznegg +down to about 1850 the fire was lighted by the priest by means of a +flint which had never been used before. People bring sticks, especially +oaken sticks, char them in the fire, and then carry them home and keep +them in the house as a preservative against lightning. At Zoznegg these +oaken sticks were sword-shaped, each about an ell and a half long, and +they went by the name of "weather or thunder poles" (_Wetterpfaehle_). +When a thunderstorm threatened to break out, one of the sticks was put +into a small fire, in order that the hallowed smoke, ascending to the +clouds, might ward off the lightning from the house and the hail from +the fields and gardens. At Schoellbronn the oaken sticks, which are thus +charred in the Easter bonfire and kept in the house as a protective +against thunder and lightning, are three in number, perhaps with an +allusion to the Trinity; they are brought every Easter to be consecrated +afresh in the bonfire, till they are quite burnt away. In the lake +district of Baden it is also customary to burn one of these holy sticks +in the fire when a heavy thunderstorm is raging.[365] Hence it seems +that the ancient association of the oak with the thunder[366] persists +in the minds of German peasants to the present day. + +[Easter fires in Holland and Sweden; the burning of Judas in Bohemia.] + +Thus the custom of the Easter fires appears to have prevailed all over +central and western Germany from north to south. We find it also in +Holland, where the fires were kindled on the highest eminences, and the +people danced round them and leaped through the flames or over the +glowing embers. Here too, as so often in Germany, the materials for the +bonfire were collected by the young folk from door to door.[367] In many +parts of Sweden firearms are, as at Athens, discharged in all directions +on Easter eve, and huge bonfires are lighted on hills and eminences. +Some people think that the intention is to keep off the Troll and other +evil spirits who are especially active at this season.[368] When the +afternoon service on Good Friday is over, German children in Bohemia +drive Judas out of the church by running about the sacred edifice and +even the streets shaking rattles and clappers. Next day, on Easter +Saturday, the remains of the holy oil are burnt before the church door +in a fire which must be kindled with flint and steel. This fire is +called "the burning of Judas," but in spite of its evil name a +beneficent virtue is ascribed to it, for the people scuffle for the +cinders, which they put in the roofs of their houses as a safeguard +against fire and lightning.[369] + + +Sec. 3. _The Beltane Fires_ + + +[The Beltane fires on the first of May in the Highlands of Scotland; +description of the Beltane fires by John Ramsay of Ochtertyre in the +eighteenth century.] + +In the central Highlands of Scotland bonfires, known as the Beltane +fires, were formerly kindled with great ceremony on the first of May, +and the traces of human sacrifices at them were particularly clear and +unequivocal. The custom of lighting the bonfires lasted in various +places far into the eighteenth century, and the descriptions of the +ceremony by writers of that period present such a curious and +interesting picture of ancient heathendom surviving in our own country +that I will reproduce them in the words of their authors. The fullest of +the descriptions, so far as I know, is the one bequeathed to us by John +Ramsay, laird of Ochtertyre, near Crieff, the patron of Burns and the +friend of Sir Walter Scott. From his voluminous manuscripts, written in +the last quarter of the eighteenth century, a selection was published in +the latter part of the nineteenth century. The following account of +Beltane is extracted from a chapter dealing with Highland superstitions. +Ramsay says: "But the most considerable of the Druidical festivals is +that of Beltane, or May-day, which was lately observed in some parts of +the Highlands with extraordinary ceremonies. Of later years it is +chiefly attended to by young people, persons advanced in years +considering it as inconsistent with their gravity to give it any +countenance. Yet a number of circumstances relative to it may be +collected from tradition, or the conversation of very old people, who +witnessed this feast in their youth, when the ancient rites were better +observed. + +[Need-fire.] + +"This festival is called in Gaelic _Beal-tene_--i.e., the fire of +Bel.... Like the other public worship of the Druids, the Beltane feast +seems to have been performed on hills or eminences. They thought it +degrading to him whose temple is the universe, to suppose that he would +dwell in any house made with hands. Their sacrifices were therefore +offered in the open air, frequently upon the tops of hills, where they +were presented with the grandest views of nature, and were nearest the +seat of warmth and order. And, according to tradition, such was the +manner of celebrating this festival in the Highlands within the last +hundred years. But since the decline of superstition, it has been +celebrated by the people of each hamlet on some hill or rising ground +around which their cattle were pasturing. Thither the young folks +repaired in the morning, and cut a trench, on the summit of which a seat +of turf was formed for the company. And in the middle a pile of wood or +other fuel was placed, which of old they kindled with _tein-eigin_-- +i.e., forced-fire or _need-fire_. Although, for many years past, they +have been contented with common fire, yet we shall now describe the +process, because it will hereafter appear that recourse is still had to +the _tein-eigin_ upon extraordinary emergencies. + +[Need-fire kindled by the friction of oak wood.] + +"The night before, all the fires in the country were carefully +extinguished, and next morning the materials for exciting this sacred +fire were prepared. The most primitive method seems to be that which was +used in the islands of Skye, Mull, and Tiree. A well-seasoned plank of +oak was procured, in the midst of which a hole was bored. A wimble of +the same timber was then applied, the end of which they fitted to the +hole. But in some parts of the mainland the machinery was different. +They used a frame of green wood, of a square form, in the centre of +which was an axle-tree. In some places three times three persons, in +others three times nine, were required for turning round by turns the +axle-tree or wimble. If any of them had been guilty of murder, adultery, +theft, or other atrocious crime, it was imagined either that the fire +would not kindle, or that it would be devoid of its usual virtue. So +soon as any sparks were emitted by means of the violent friction, they +applied a species of agaric which grows on old birch-trees, and is very +combustible. This fire had the appearance of being immediately derived +from heaven, and manifold were the virtues ascribed to it. They esteemed +it a preservative against witchcraft, and a sovereign remedy against +malignant diseases, both in the human species and in cattle; and by it +the strongest poisons were supposed to have their nature changed. + +[The Beltane cake and the Beltane carline (_cailleach_).] + +"After kindling the bonfire with the _tein-eigin_ the company prepared +their victuals. And as soon as they had finished their meal, they amused +themselves a while in singing and dancing round the fire. Towards the +close of the entertainment, the person who officiated as master of the +feast produced a large cake baked with eggs and scalloped round the +edge, called _am bonnach beal-tine--i.e._ the Beltane cake. It was +divided into a number of pieces, and distributed in great form to the +company. There was one particular piece which whoever got was called +_cailleach beal-tine--i.e._, the Beltane _carline_, a term of great +reproach. Upon his being known, part of the company laid hold of him and +made a show of putting him into the fire; but the majority interposing, +he was rescued. And in some places they laid him flat on the ground, +making as if they would quarter him. Afterwards, he was pelted with +egg-shells, and retained the odious appellation during the whole year. +And while the feast was fresh in people's memory, they affected to speak +of the _cailleach beal-tine_ as dead. + +"This festival was longest observed in the interior Highlands, for +towards the west coast the traces of it are faintest. In Glenorchy and +Lorne, a large cake is made on that day, which they consume in the +house; and in Mull it has a large hole in the middle, through which each +of the cows in the fold is milked. In Tiree it is of a triangular form. +The more elderly people remember when this festival was celebrated +without-doors with some solemnity in both these islands. There are at +present no vestiges of it in Skye or the Long Island, the inhabitants of +which have substituted the _connach Micheil_ or St. Michael's cake. It +is made at Michaelmas with milk and oatmeal, and some eggs are sprinkled +on its surface. Part of it is sent to the neighbours. + +"It is probable that at the original Beltane festival there were two +fires kindled near one another. When any person is in a critical +dilemma, pressed on each side by unsurmountable difficulties, the +Highlanders have a proverb, _The e' eada anda theine bealtuin_--i.e., he +is between the two Beltane fires. There are in several parts small round +hills, which, it is like, owe their present names to such solemn uses. +One of the highest and most central in Icolmkil is called +_Cnoch-nan-ainneal_--i.e., the hill of the fires. There is another of +the same name near the kirk of Balquhidder; and at Killin there is a +round green eminence which seems to have been raised by art. It is +called _Tom-nan-ainneal_--i.e., the eminence of the fires. Around it +there are the remains of a circular wall about two feet high. On the top +a stone stands upon end. According to the tradition of the inhabitants, +it was a place of Druidical worship; and it was afterwards pitched on as +the most venerable spot for holding courts of justice for the country of +Breadalbane. The earth of this eminence is still thought to be possessed +of some healing virtue, for when cattle are observed to be diseased some +of it is sent for, which is rubbed on the part affected."[370] + +[Local differences in the Beltane cakes; evidence of two fires at +Beltane; Beltane pies and cakes in the parish of Callander.] + +In the parish of Callander, a beautiful district of western Perthshire, +the Beltane custom was still in vogue towards the end of the eighteenth +century. It has been described as follows by the parish minister of the +time: "Upon the first day of May, which is called _Beltan_, or +_Bal-tein_ day, all the boys in a township or hamlet, meet in the moors. +They cut a table in the green sod, of a round figure, by casting a +trench in the ground, of such circumference as to hold the whole +company. They kindle a fire, and dress a repast of eggs and milk in the +consistence of a custard. They knead a cake of oatmeal, which is toasted +at the embers against a stone. After the custard is eaten up, they +divide the cake into so many portions, as similar as possible to one +another in size and shape, as there are persons in the company. They +daub one of these portions all over with charcoal, until it be perfectly +black. They put all the bits of the cake into a bonnet. Every one, +blindfold, draws out a portion. He who holds the bonnet, is entitled to +the last bit. Whoever draws the black bit, is the _devoted_ person who +is to be sacrificed to _Baal_[371] whose favour they mean to implore, in +rendering the year productive of the sustenance of man and beast. There +is little doubt of these inhuman sacrifices having been once offered in +this country, as well as in the east, although they now pass from the +act of sacrificing, and only compel the _devoted_ person to leap three +times through the flames; with which the ceremonies of this festival are +closed."[372] + +[Pennant's description of the Beltane fires and cakes in Perthshire.] + +Thomas Pennant, who travelled in Perthshire in the year 1769, tells us +that "on the first of May, the herdsmen of every village hold their +Bel-tien, a rural sacrifice. They cut a square trench on the ground, +leaving the turf in the middle; on that they make a fire of wood, on +which they dress a large caudle of eggs, butter, oatmeal and milk; and +bring besides the ingredients of the caudle, plenty of beer and whisky; +for each of the company must contribute something. The rites begin with +spilling some of the caudle on the ground, by way of libation: on that +every one takes a cake of oatmeal, upon which are raised nine square +knobs, each dedicated to some particular being, the supposed preserver +of their flocks and herds, or to some particular animal, the real +destroyer of them: each person then turns his face to the fire, breaks +off a knob, and flinging it over his shoulders, says, 'This I give to +thee, preserve thou my horses; this to thee, preserve thou my sheep; and +so on,' After that, they use the-same ceremony to the noxious animals: +'This I give to thee, O fox! spare thou my lambs; this to thee, O hooded +crow! this to thee, O eagle!' When the ceremony is over, they dine on +the caudle; and after the feast is finished, what is left is hid by two +persons deputed for that purpose; but on the next Sunday they +re-assemble, and finish the reliques of the first entertainment"[373] + +[Beltane cakes and fires in the parishes of Logierait and Kirkmichael; +omens drawn from the cakes.] + +Another writer of the eighteenth century has described the Beltane +festival as it was held in the parish of Logierait in Perthshire. He +says: "On the first of May, O.S., a festival called _Beltan_ is annually +held here. It is chiefly celebrated by the cow-herds, who assemble by +scores in the fields, to dress a dinner for themselves, of boiled milk +and eggs. These dishes they eat with a sort of cakes baked for the +occasion, and having small lumps in the form of _nipples_, raised all +over the surface."[374] In this last account no mention is made of +bonfires, but they were probably lighted, for a contemporary writer +informs us that in the parish of Kirkmichael, which adjoins the parish +of Logierait on the east, the custom of lighting a fire in the fields +and baking a consecrated cake on the first of May was not quite obsolete +in his time.[375] We may conjecture that the cake with knobs was +formerly used for the purpose of determining who should be the "Beltane +carline" or victim doomed to the flames. A trace of this custom +survived, perhaps, in the custom of baking oatmeal cakes of a special +kind and rolling them down hill about noon on the first of May; for it +was thought that the person whose cake broke as it rolled would die or +be unfortunate within the year. These cakes, or bannocks as we call them +in Scotland, were baked in the usual way, but they were washed over with +a thin batter composed of whipped egg, milk or cream, and a little +oatmeal. This custom appears to have prevailed at or near Kingussie in +Inverness-shire. At Achterneed, near Strathpeffer in Ross-shire, the +Beltane bannocks were called _tcharnican_ or hand-cakes, because they +were kneaded entirely in the hand, and not on a board or table like +common cakes; and after being baked they might not be placed anywhere +but in the hands of the children who were to eat them.[376] + +[Beltane fires in the north-east of Scotland to burn the witches; the +Beltane cake.] + +In the north-east of Scotland the Beltane fires were still kindled in +the latter half of the eighteenth century; the herdsmen of several farms +used to gather dry wood, kindle it, and dance three times "southways" +about the burning pile.[377] But in this region, according to a later +authority, the Beltane fires were lit not on the first but on the second +of May, Old Style. They were called bone-fires. The people believed that +on that evening and night the witches were abroad and busy casting +spells on cattle and stealing cows' milk. To counteract their +machinations, pieces of rowan-tree and woodbine, but especially of +rowan-tree, were placed over the doors of the cow-houses, and fires were +kindled by every farmer and cottar. Old thatch, straw, furze, or broom +was piled in a heap and set on fire a little after sunset. While some of +the bystanders kept tossing the blazing mass, others hoisted portions of +it on pitchforks or poles and ran hither and thither, holding them as +high as they could. Meantime the young people danced round the fire or +ran through the smoke shouting, "Fire! blaze and burn the witches; fire! +fire! burn the witches." In some districts a large round cake of oat or +barley meal was rolled through the ashes. When all the fuel was +consumed, the people scattered the ashes far and wide, and till the +night grew quite dark they continued to run through them, crying, "Fire! +burn the witches."[378] + +[Beltane cakes and fires in the Hebrides.] + +In the Hebrides "the Beltane bannock is smaller than that made at St. +Michael's, but is made in the same way; it is no longer made in Uist, +but Father Allan remembers seeing his grandmother make one about +twenty-five years ago. There was also a cheese made, generally on the +first of May, which was kept to the next Beltane as a sort of charm +against the bewitching of milk-produce. The Beltane customs seem to have +been the same as elsewhere. Every fire was put out and a large one lit +on the top of the hill, and the cattle driven round it sunwards +(_dessil_), to keep off murrain all the year. Each man would take home +fire wherewith to kindle his own."[379] + +[Beltane fires and cakes in Wales.] + +In Wales also the custom of lighting Beltane fires at the beginning of +May used to be observed, but the day on which they were kindled varied +from the Eve of May Day to the third of May. The flame was sometimes +elicited by the friction of two pieces of oak, as appears from the +following description. "The fire was done in this way. Nine men would +turn their pockets inside out, and see that every piece of money and all +metals were off their persons. Then the men went into the nearest woods, +and collected sticks of nine different kinds of trees. These were +carried to the spot where the fire had to be built. There a circle was +cut in the sod, and the sticks were set crosswise. All around the circle +the people stood and watched the proceedings. One of the men would then +take two bits of oak, and rub them together until a flame was kindled. +This was applied to the sticks, and soon a large fire was made. +Sometimes two fires were set up side by side. These fires, whether one +or two, were called _coelcerth_ or bonfire. Round cakes of oatmeal and +brown meal were split in four, and placed in a small flour-bag, and +everybody present had to pick out a portion. The last bit in the bag +fell to the lot of the bag-holder. Each person who chanced to pick up a +piece of brown-meal cake was compelled to leap three times over the +flames, or to run thrice between the two fires, by which means the +people thought they were sure of a plentiful harvest. Shouts and screams +of those who had to face the ordeal could be heard ever so far, and +those who chanced to pick the oatmeal portions sang and danced and +clapped their hands in approval, as the holders of the brown bits leaped +three times over the flames, or ran three times between the two fires. +As a rule, no danger attended these curious celebrations, but +occasionally somebody's clothes caught fire, which was quickly put out. +The greatest fire of the year was the eve of May, or May first, second, +or third. The Midsummer Eve fire was more for the harvest. Very often a +fire was built on the eve of November. The high ground near the Castle +Ditches at Llantwit Major, in the Vale of Glamorgan, was a familiar spot +for the Beltane on May third and on Midsummer Eve.... Sometimes the +Beltane fire was lighted by the flames produced by stone instead of wood +friction. Charred logs and faggots used in the May Beltane were +carefully preserved, and from them the next fire was lighted. May fires +were always started with old faggots of the previous year, and midsummer +from those of the last summer. It was unlucky to build a midsummer fire +from May faggots. People carried the ashes left after these fires to +their homes, and a charred brand was not only effectual against +pestilence, but magical in its use. A few of the ashes placed in a +person's shoes protected the wearer from any great sorrow or woe."[380] + +[Welsh belief that passage over or between the fires ensured good +crops.] + +From the foregoing account we learn that bonfires were kindled in Wales +on Midsummer Eve and Hallowe'en (the thirty-first of October), as well +as at the beginning of May, but that the Beltane fires in May were +deemed the most important. To the Midsummer Eve and Hallowe'en fires we +shall return presently. The belief of the people that by leaping thrice +over the bonfires or running thrice between them they ensured a +plentiful harvest is worthy of note. The mode in which this result was +supposed to be brought about is indicated by another writer on Welsh +folk-lore, according to whom it used to be held that "the bonfires +lighted in May or Midsummer protected the lands from sorcery, so that +good crops would follow. The ashes were also considered valuable as +charms."[381] Hence it appears that the heat of the fires was thought to +fertilize the fields, not directly by quickening the seeds in the +ground, but indirectly by counteracting the baleful influence of +witchcraft or perhaps by burning up the persons of the witches. + +[Beltane fires in the Isle of Man to burn the witches; Beltane fires in +Nottinghamshire.] + +"The Druidical anniversary of Beil or Baal is still celebrated in the +Isle of Man. On the first of May, 1837, the Baal fires were, as usual on +that day, so numerous as to give the island the appearance of a general +conflagration."[382] By May Day in Manx folk-lore is meant May Day Old +Style, or _Shenn Laa Boaldyn_, as it is called in Manx. The day was one +on which the power of elves and witches was particularly dreaded, and +the people resorted to many precautions in order to protect themselves +against these mischievous beings. Hence at daybreak they set fire to the +ling or gorse, for the purpose of burning out the witches, who are wont +to lurk in the form of hares.[383] On the Hemlock Stone, a natural +pillar of sandstone standing on Stapleford Hill in Nottinghamshire, a +fire used to be solemnly kindled every year on Beltane Eve. The custom +seems to have survived down to the beginning of the nineteenth century; +old people could remember and describe the ceremony long after it had +fallen into desuetude.[384] + +[Beltane fires in Ireland.] + +The Beltane fires appear to have been kindled also in Ireland, for +Cormac, "or somebody in his name, says that _belltaine_, May-day, was so +called from the 'lucky fire,' or the 'two fires,' which the druids of +Erin used to make on that day with great incantations; and cattle, he +adds, used to be brought to those fires, or to be driven between them, +as a safeguard against the diseases of the year."[385] Again, a very +ancient Irish poem, enumerating the May Day celebrations, mentions among +them a bonfire on a hill (_tendal ar cnuc_); and another old authority +says that these fires were kindled in the name of the idol-god Bel.[386] +From an old life of St. Patrick we learn that on a day in spring the +heathen of Ireland were wont to extinguish all their fires until a new +fire was kindled with solemn ceremony in the king's house at Tara. In +the year in which St. Patrick landed in Ireland it chanced that the +night of the extinguished fires coincided with the Eve of Easter; and +the saint, ignorant of this pagan superstition, resolved to celebrate +his first Easter in Ireland after the true Christian fashion by lighting +the holy Paschal fire on the hill of Slane, which rises high above the +left bank of the Boyne, about twelve miles from the mouth of the river. +So that night, looking from his palace at Tara across the darkened +landscape, the king of Tara saw the solitary fire flaring on the top of +the hill of Slane, and in consternation he asked his wise men what that +light meant. They warned him of the danger that it betokened for the +ancient faith of Erin.[387] In spite of the difference of date between +Easter and Beltane, we may suspect that the new fire annually kindled +with solemn ceremony about Easter in the king of Ireland's palace at +Tara was no other than the Beltane fire. We have seen that in the +Highlands of Scotland down to modern times it was customary to +extinguish all fires in the neighbourhood before proceeding to kindle +the sacred flame.[388] The Irish historian Geoffrey Keating, who wrote +in the first part of the seventeenth century, tells us that the men of +Ireland held a great fair every year in the month of May at Uisnech +(_Ushnagh_) in the county of Meath, "and at it they were wont to +exchange their goods and their wares and their jewels. At it, they were, +also, wont to make a sacrifice to the Arch-God that they adored, whose +name was Bel (_bayl_). It was, likewise, their usage to light two fires +to Bel, in every district of Ireland, at this season, and to drive a +pair of each kind of cattle that the district contained, between those +two fires, as a preservative to guard them against all the diseases of +that year. It is from that fire, thus made in honour of Bel, that the +day [the first of May] on which the noble feast of the apostles, Philip +and James, is held, has been called Beltaini, or Bealtaine +(_Bayltinnie_); for Beltaini is the same as Beil-teine, i.e. Teine Bheil +(_Tinnie Vayl_) or Bel's Fire."[389] The custom of driving cattle +through or between fires on May Day or the eve of May Day persisted in +Ireland down to a time within living memory. Thus Sir John Rhys was +informed by a Manxman that an Irish cattle-dealer of his acquaintance +used to drive his cattle through fire on May Day so as to singe them a +little, since he believed that it would preserve them from harm. When +the Manxman was asked where the dealer came from, he answered, "From the +mountains over there," pointing to the Mourne Mountains then looming +faintly in the mists on the western horizon.[390] + +[Fires on the Eve of May Day in Sweden; fires on the Eve of May Day in +Austria and Saxony for the purpose of burning the witches.] + +The first of May is a great popular festival in the more midland and +southern parts of Sweden. On the eve of the festival, huge bonfires, +which should be lighted by striking two flints together, blaze on all +the hills and knolls. Every large hamlet has its own fire, round which +the young people dance in a ring. The old folk notice whether the flames +incline to the north or to the south. In the former case, the spring +will be cold and backward; in the latter, it will be mild and +genial.[391] Similarly, in Bohemia, on the eve of May Day, young people +kindle fires on hills and eminences, at crossways, and in pastures, and +dance round them. They leap over the glowing embers or even through the +flames. The ceremony is called "burning the witches." In some places an +effigy representing a witch used to be burnt in the bonfire.[392] We +have to remember that the eve of May Day is the notorious Walpurgis +Night, when the witches are everywhere speeding unseen through the air +on their hellish errands. On this witching night children in Voigtland +also light bonfires on the heights and leap over them. Moreover, they +wave burning brooms or toss them into the air. So far as the light of +the bonfire reaches, so far will a blessing rest on the fields. The +kindling of the fires on Walpurgis Night is called "driving away the +witches."[393] The custom of kindling fires on the eve of May Day +(Walpurgis Night) for the purpose of burning the witches is, or used to +be, widespread in the Tyrol, Moravia, Saxony and Silesia.[394] + + +Sec. 4. _The Midsummer Fires_ + + +[The great season for fire-festivals in Europe is the summer solstice, +Midsummer Eve or Midsummer Day, which the church has dedicated to St. +John the Baptist; the bonfires, the torches, and the burning wheels of +the festival.] + +But the season at which these fire-festivals have been mostly generally +held all over Europe is the summer solstice, that is Midsummer Eve (the +twenty-third of June) or Midsummer Day (the twenty-fourth of June). A +faint tinge of Christianity has been given to them by naming Midsummer +Day after St. John the Baptist, but we cannot doubt that the celebration +dates from a time long before the beginning of our era. The summer +solstice, or Midsummer Day, is the great turning-point in the sun's +career, when, after climbing higher and higher day by day in the sky, +the luminary stops and thenceforth retraces his steps down the heavenly +road. Such a moment could not but be regarded with anxiety by primitive +man so soon as he began to observe and ponder the courses of the great +lights across the celestial vault; and having still to learn his own +powerlessness in face of the vast cyclic changes of nature, he may have +fancied that he could help the sun in his seeming decline--could prop +his failing steps and rekindle the sinking flame of the red lamp in his +feeble hand. In some such thoughts as these the midsummer festivals of +our European peasantry may perhaps have taken their rise. Whatever their +origin, they have prevailed all over this quarter of the globe, from +Ireland on the west to Russia on the east, and from Norway and Sweden on +the north to Spain and Greece on the south.[395] According to a mediaeval +writer, the three great features of the midsummer celebration were the +bonfires, the procession with torches round the fields, and the custom +of rolling a wheel. He tells us that boys burned bones and filth of +various kinds to make a foul smoke, and that the smoke drove away +certain noxious dragons which at this time, excited by the summer heat, +copulated in the air and poisoned the wells and rivers by dropping their +seed into them; and he explains the custom of trundling a wheel to mean +that the sun, having now reached the highest point in the ecliptic, +begins thenceforward to descend.[396] + +[T. Kirchmeyer's description of the Midsummer Festival.] + +A good general account of the midsummer customs, together with some of +the reasons popularly alleged for observing them, is given by Thomas +Kirchmeyer, a writer of the sixteenth century, in his poem _The Popish +Kingdome_:-- + +"_Then doth the joyfull feast of John the Baptist take his turne, +When bonfiers great with loftie flame, in every towne doe burne; +And yong men round about with maides, doe daunce in every streete, +With garlands wrought of Motherwort, or else with Vervain sweete, +And many other flowres faire, with Violets in their handes, +Whereas they all do fondly thinke, that whosoever standes, +And thorow the flowres beholds the flame, his eyes shall feele no paine. +When thus till night they daunced have, they through the fire amaine +With striving mindes doe runne, and all their hearbes they cast therin, +And then with wordes devout and prayers, they solemnely begin, +Desiring God that all their illes may there consumed bee, +Whereby they thinke through all that yeare from Agues to be free. +Some others get a rotten wheele, all worne and cast aside, +Which covered round about with strawe, and tow, they closely hide: +And caryed to some mountaines top, being all with fire light, +They hurle it downe with violence, when darke appeares the night: +Resembling much the Sunne, that from the heavens downe should fal, +A straunge and monstrous sight it seemes, and fearfull to them all; +But they suppose their mischiefes all are likewise throwne to hell, +And that from harmes and daungers now, in safetie here they dwell_."[397] + +From these general descriptions, which to some extent still hold good, +or did so till lately, we see that the main features of the midsummer +fire-festival resemble those which we have found to characterize the +vernal festivals of fire. The similarity of the two sets of ceremonies +will plainly appear from the following examples. + +[The Midsummer fires in Germany; the celebration at Konz on the Moselle: +the rolling of a burning wheel down hill.] + +A writer of the first half of the sixteenth century informs us that in +almost every village and town of Germany public bonfires were kindled on +the Eve of St. John, and young and old, of both sexes, gathered about +them and passed the time in dancing and singing. People on this occasion +wore chaplets of mugwort and vervain, and they looked at the fire +through bunches of larkspur which they held in their hands, believing +that this would preserve their eyes in a healthy state throughout the +year. As each departed, he threw the mugwort and vervain into the fire, +saying, "May all my ill-luck depart and be burnt up with these."[398] At +Lower Konz, a village prettily situated on a hillside overlooking the +Moselle, in the midst of a wood of walnut-trees and fruit-trees, the +midsummer festival used to be celebrated as follows. A quantity of straw +was collected on the top of the steep Stromberg Hill. Every inhabitant, +or at least every householder, had to contribute his share of straw to +the pile; a recusant was looked at askance, and if in the course of the +year he happened to break a leg or lose a child, there was not a gossip +in the village but knew the reason why. At nightfall the whole male +population, men and boys, mustered on the top of the hill; the women and +girls were not allowed to join them, but had to take up their position +at a certain spring half-way down the slope. On the summit stood a huge +wheel completely encased in some of the straw which had been jointly +contributed by the villagers; the rest of the straw was made into +torches. From each side of the wheel the axle-tree projected about three +feet, thus furnishing handles to the lads who were to guide it in its +descent. The mayor of the neighbouring town of Sierck, who always +received a basket of cherries for his services, gave the signal; a +lighted torch was applied to the wheel, and as it burst into flame, two +young fellows, strong-limbed and swift of foot, seized the handles and +began running with it down the slope. A great shout went up. Every man +and boy waved a blazing torch in the air, and took care to keep it +alight so long as the wheel was trundling down the hill. Some of them +followed the fiery wheel, and watched with amusement the shifts to which +its guides were put in steering it round the hollows and over the broken +ground on the mountainside. The great object of the young men who guided +the wheel was to plunge it blazing into the water of the Moselle; but +they rarely succeeded in their efforts, for the vineyards which cover +the greater part of the declivity impeded their progress, and the wheel +was often burned out before it reached the river. As it rolled past the +women and girls at the spring, they raised cries of joy which were +answered by the men on the top of the mountain; and the shouts were +echoed by the inhabitants of neighbouring villages who watched the +spectacle from their hills on the opposite bank of the Moselle. If the +fiery wheel was successfully conveyed to the bank of the river and +extinguished in the water, the people looked for an abundant vintage +that year, and the inhabitants of Konz had the right to exact a +waggon-load of white wine from the surrounding vineyards. On the other +hand, they believed that, if they neglected to perform the ceremony, the +cattle would be attacked by giddiness and convulsions and would dance in +their stalls.[399] + +[The Midsummer fires in Bavaria; Cattle driven through the fire; the new +fire; omens of the harvest drawn from the fires; burning discs thrown +into the air.] + +Down at least to the middle of the nineteenth century the midsummer +fires used to blaze all over Upper Bavaria. They were kindled especially +on the mountains, but also far and wide in the lowlands, and we are told +that in the darkness and stillness of night the moving groups, lit up by +the flickering glow of the flames, presented an impressive spectacle. In +some places the people shewed their sense of the sanctity of the fires +by using for fuel the trees past which the gay procession had defiled, +with fluttering banners, on Corpus Christi Day. In others the children +collected the firewood from door to door on the eve of the festival, +singing their request for fuel at every house in doggerel verse. Cattle +were driven through the fire to cure the sick animals and to guard such +as were sound against plague and harm of every kind throughout the year. +Many a householder on that day put out the fire on the domestic hearth +and rekindled it by means of a brand taken from the midsummer bonfire. +The people judged of the height to which the flax would grow in the year +by the height to which the flames of the bonfire rose; and whoever +leaped over the burning pile was sure not to suffer from backache in +reaping the corn at harvest. But it was especially the practice for +lovers to spring over the fire hand in hand, and the way in which each +couple made the leap was the subject of many a jest and many a +superstition. In one district the custom of kindling the bonfires was +combined with that of lighting wooden discs and hurling them in the air +after the manner which prevails at some of the spring festivals.[400] In +many parts of Bavaria it was believed that the flax would grow as high +as the young people leaped over the fire.[401] In others the old folk +used to plant three charred sticks from the bonfire in the fields, +believing that this would make the flax grow tall.[402] Elsewhere an +extinguished brand was put in the roof of the house to protect it +against fire. In the towns about Wuerzburg the bonfires used to be +kindled in the market-places, and the young people who jumped over them +wore garlands of flowers, especially of mugwort and vervain, and carried +sprigs of larkspur in their hands. They thought that such as looked at +the fire holding a bit of larkspur before their face would be troubled +by no malady of the eyes throughout the year.[403] Further, it was +customary at Wuerzburg, in the sixteenth century, for the bishop's +followers to throw burning discs of wood into the air from a mountain +which overhangs the town. The discs were discharged by means of flexible +rods, and in their flight through the darkness presented the appearance +of fiery dragons.[404] + +[The Midsummer fires in Swabia; omens drawn from the leaps over the +fires; burning wheels rolled down hill; burning the Angel-Man at +Rottenburg.] + +In the valley of the Lech, which divides Upper Bavaria from Swabia, the +midsummer customs and beliefs are, or used to be, very similar. Bonfires +are kindled on the mountains on Midsummer Day; and besides the bonfire a +tall beam, thickly wrapt in straw and surmounted by a cross-piece, is +burned in many places. Round this cross as it burns the lads dance with +loud shouts; and when the flames have subsided, the young people leap +over the fire in pairs, a young man and a young woman together. If they +escape unsmirched, the man will not suffer from fever, and the girl will +not become a mother within the year. Further, it is believed that the +flax will grow that year as high as they leap over the fire; and that if +a charred billet be taken from the fire and stuck in a flax-field it +will promote the growth of the flax.[405] Similarly in Swabia, lads and +lasses, hand in hand, leap over the midsummer bonfire, praying that the +hemp may grow three ells high, and they set fire to wheels of straw and +send them rolling down the hill. Among the places where burning wheels +were thus bowled down hill at Midsummer were the Hohenstaufen mountains +in Wurtemberg and the Frauenberg near Gerhausen.[406] At Deffingen, in +Swabia, as the people sprang over the midsummer bonfire they cried out, +"Flax, flax! may the flax this year grow seven ells high!"[407] At +Rottenburg in Swabia, down to the year 1807 or 1808, the festival was +marked by some special features. About mid-day troops of boys went about +the town begging for firewood at the houses. In each troop there were +three leaders, one of whom carried a dagger, a second a paper banner, +and a third a white plate covered with a white cloth. These three +entered each house and recited verses, in which they expressed an +intention of roasting Martin Luther and sending him to the devil; and +for this meritorious service they expected to be paid, the contributions +being received in the cloth-covered plate. In the evening they counted +up their money and proceeded to "behead the Angel-man." For this +ceremony an open space was chosen, sometimes in the middle of the town. +Here a stake was thrust into the ground and straw wrapt about it, so as +to make a rude effigy of human form with arms, head, and face. Every boy +brought a handful of nosegays and fastened them to the straw-man, who +was thus enveloped in flowers. Fuel was heaped about the stake and set +on fire. When the Angel-man, as the straw-effigy was called, blazed up, +all the boys of the neighbourhood, who had gathered expectantly around, +fell upon him with their wooden swords and hewed him to pieces. As soon +as he had vanished in smoke and flame, the lads leaped backward and +forward over the glowing embers, and later in the evening they feasted +on the proceeds of their collection.[408] Here the Angel-man burnt in +the fire appears to be identified with Martin Luther, to whom, as we +have seen, allusion was made during the house-to-house visitation. The +identification was probably modern, for we may assume that the custom of +burning an effigy in the Midsummer bonfire is far older than the time of +Luther. + +[The Midsummer fires in Baden; omens drawn from leaps over the fires; +burning discs thrown into the air; Midsummer fires in Alsace, Lorraine, +the Eifel, the Harz districts and Thuringia; burning barrel swung round +a pole.] + +In Baden the children used to collect fuel from house to house for the +Midsummer bonfire on St. John's Day; and lads and lasses leaped over the +fire in couples. Here, as elsewhere, a close connexion was traced +between these bonfires and the harvest. In some places it was thought +that those who leaped over the fires would not suffer from backache at +reaping. Sometimes, as the young folk sprang over the flames, they +cried, "Grow, that the hemp may be three ells high!" This notion that +the hemp or the corn would grow as high as the flames blazed or as the +people jumped over them, seems to have been widespread in Baden. It was +held that the parents of the young people who bounded highest over the +fire would have the most abundant harvest; and on the other hand, if a +man contributed nothing to the bonfire, it was imagined that there would +be no blessing on his crops, and that his hemp in particular would never +grow.[409] In the neighbourhood of Buehl and Achern the St. John's fires +were kindled on the tops of hills; only the unmarried lads of the +village brought the fuel, and only the unmarried young men and women +sprang through the flames. But most of the villagers, old and young, +gathered round the bonfires, leaving a clear space for the leapers to +take their run. One of the bystanders would call out the names of a pair +of sweethearts; on which the two would step out from the throng, take +each other by the hand, and leap high and lightly through the swirling +smoke and flames, while the spectators watched them critically and drew +omens of their married life from the height to which each of them +bounded. Such an invitation to jump together over the bonfire was +regarded as tantamount to a public betrothal.[410] Near Offenburg, in +the Black Forest, on Midsummer Day the village boys used to collect +faggots and straw on some steep and conspicuous height, and they spent +some time in making circular wooden discs by slicing the trunk of a +pine-tree across. When darkness had fallen, they kindled the bonfire, +and then, as it blazed up, they lighted the discs at it, and, after +swinging them to and fro at the end of a stout and supple hazel-wand, +they hurled them one after the other, whizzing and flaming, into the +air, where they described great arcs of fire, to fall at length, like +shooting-stars, at the foot of the mountain.[411] In many parts of +Alsace and Lorraine the midsummer fires still blaze annually or did so +not very many years ago.[412] At Speicher in the Eifel, a district which +lies on the middle Rhine, to the west of Coblentz, a bonfire used to be +kindled in front of the village on St. John's Day, and all the young +people had to jump over it. Those who failed to do so were not allowed +to join the rest in begging for eggs from house to house. Where no eggs +were given, they drove a wedge into the keyhole of the door. On this day +children in the Eifel used also to gather flowers in the fields, weave +them into garlands, and throw the garlands on the roofs or hang them on +the doors of the houses. So long as the flowers remained there, they +were supposed to guard the house from fire and lightning.[413] In the +southern Harz district and in Thuringia the Midsummer or St. John's +fires used to be commonly lighted down to about the middle of the +nineteenth century, and the custom has probably not died out. At +Edersleben, near Sangerhausen, a high pole was planted in the ground and +a tar-barrel was hung from it by a chain which reached to the ground. +The barrel was then set on fire and swung round the pole amid shouts of +joy.[414] + +[Midsummer fires kindled by the friction of wood in Germany and +Switzerland; driving away demons and witches.] + +According to one account, German tradition required that the midsummer +fire should be lighted, not from a common hearth, but by the friction of +two sorts of wood, namely oak and fir.[415] In some old farm-houses of +the Surenthal and Winenthal, in Switzerland, a couple of holes or a +whole row of them may be seen facing each other in the door-posts of the +barn or stable. Sometimes the holes are smooth and round; sometimes they +are deeply burnt and blackened. The explanation of them is this. About +midsummer, but especially on Midsummer Day, two such holes are bored +opposite each other, into which the extremities of a strong pole are +fixed. The holes are then stuffed with tow steeped in resin and oil; a +rope is looped round the pole, and two young men, who must be brothers +or must have the same baptismal name, and must be of the same age, pull +the ends of the rope backwards and forwards so as to make the pole +revolve rapidly, till smoke and sparks issue from the two holes in the +door-posts. The sparks are caught and blown up with tinder, and this is +the new and pure fire, the appearance of which is greeted with cries of +joy. Heaps of combustible materials are now ignited with the new fire, +and blazing bundles are placed on boards and sent floating down the +brook. The boys light torches at the new fire and run to fumigate the +pastures. This is believed to drive away all the demons and witches that +molest the cattle. Finally the torches are thrown in a heap on the +meadow and allowed to burn out. On their way back the boys strew the +ashes over the fields, which is supposed to make them fertile. If a +farmer has taken possession of a new house, or if servants have changed +masters, the boys fumigate the new abode and are rewarded by the farmer +with a supper.[416] + +[Midsummer fires in Silesia; scaring away the witches.] + +In Silesia, from the south-eastern part of the Sudeten range and +north-westward as far as Lausitz, the mountains are ablaze with bonfires +on Midsummer Eve; and from the valleys and the plains round about +Leobschuetz, Neustadt, Zuelz, Oels, and other places answering fires +twinkle through the deepening gloom. While they are smouldering and +sending forth volumes of smoke across the fields, young men kindle +broom-stumps, soaked in pitch, at the bonfires and then, brandishing the +stumps, which emit showers of sparks, they chase one another or dance +with the girls round the burning pile. Shots, too, are fired, and shouts +raised. The fire, the smoke, the shots, and the shouts are all intended +to scare away the witches, who are let loose on this witching day, and +who would certainly work harm to the crops and the cattle, if they were +not deterred by these salutary measures. Mere contact with the fire +brings all sorts of blessings. Hence when the bonfire is burning low, +the lads leap over it, and the higher they bound, the better is the luck +in store for them. He who surpasses his fellows is the hero of the day +and is much admired by the village girls. It is also thought to be very +good for the eyes to stare steadily at the bonfire without blinking; +moreover he who does so will not drowse and fall asleep betimes in the +long winter evenings. On Midsummer Eve the windows and doors of houses +in Silesia are crowned with flowers, especially with the blue +cornflowers and the bright corn-cockles; in some villages long strings +of garlands and nosegays are stretched across the streets. The people +believe that on that night St. John comes down from heaven to bless the +flowers and to keep all evil things from house and home.[417] + +[The Midsummer fires in Denmark and Norway; keeping off the witches; the +Midsummer fires in Sweden.] + +In Denmark and Norway also Midsummer fires were kindled on St. John's +Eve on roads, open spaces, and hills. People in Norway thought that the +fires banished sickness from among the cattle.[418] Even yet the fires +are said to be lighted all over Norway on the night of June the +twenty-third, Midsummer Eve, Old Style. As many as fifty or sixty +bonfires may often be counted burning on the hills round Bergen. +Sometimes fuel is piled on rafts, ignited, and allowed to drift blazing +across the fiords in the darkness of night. The fires are thought to be +kindled in order to keep off the witches, who are said to be flying from +all parts that night to the Blocksberg, where the big witch lives.[419] +In Sweden the Eve of St. John (St. Hans) is the most joyous night of the +whole year. Throughout some parts of the country, especially in the +provinces of Bohus and Scania and in districts bordering on Norway, it +is celebrated by the frequent discharge of firearms and by huge +bonfires, formerly called Balder's Balefires (_Balder's Balar_), which +are kindled at dusk on hills and eminences and throw a glare of light +over the surrounding landscape. The people dance round the fires and +leap over or through them. In parts of Norrland on St. John's Eve the +bonfires are lit at the cross-roads. The fuel consists of nine different +sorts of wood, and the spectators cast into the flames a kind of +toad-stool (_Baeran_) in order to counteract the power of the Trolls and +other evil spirits, who are believed to be abroad that night; for at +that mystic season the mountains open and from their cavernous depths +the uncanny crew pours forth to dance and disport themselves for a time. +The peasants believe that should any of the Trolls be in the vicinity +they will shew themselves; and if an animal, for example a he or she +goat, happens to be seen near the blazing, crackling pile, the peasants +are firmly persuaded that it is no other than the Evil One in +person.[420] Further, it deserves to be remarked that in Sweden St. +John's Eve is a festival of water as well as of fire; for certain holy +springs are then supposed to be endowed with wonderful medicinal +virtues, and many sick people resort to them for the healing of their +infirmities.[421] + +[The Midsummer fires in Switzerland and Austria; effigies burnt in the +fires; burning wheels rolled down hill.] + +In Switzerland on Midsummer Eve fires are, or used to be, kindled on +high places in the cantons of Bern, Neuchatel, Valais, and Geneva.[422] +In Austria the midsummer customs and superstitions resemble those of +Germany. Thus in some parts of the Tyrol bonfires are kindled and +burning discs hurled into the air.[423] In the lower valley of the Inn a +taterdemalian effigy is carted about the village on Midsummer Day and +then burned. He is called the _Lotter_, which has been corrupted into +Luther. At Ambras, one of the villages where Martin Luther is thus +burned in effigy, they say that if you go through the village between +eleven and twelve on St. John's Night and wash yourself in three wells, +you will see all who are to die in the following year.[424] At Gratz on +St. John's Eve (the twenty-third of June) the common people used to make +a puppet called the _Tatermann_, which they dragged to the bleaching +ground, and pelted with burning besoms till it took fire.[425] At +Reutte, in the Tyrol, people believed that the flax would grow as high +as they leaped over the midsummer bonfire, and they took pieces of +charred wood from the fire and stuck them in their flax-fields the same +night, leaving them there till the flax harvest had been got in.[426] In +Lower Austria fires are lit in the fields, commonly in front of a cross, +and the people dance and sing round them and throw flowers into the +flames. Before each handful of flowers is tossed into the fire, a set +speech is made; then the dance is resumed and the dancers sing in chorus +the last words of the speech. At evening bonfires are kindled on the +heights, and the boys caper round them, brandishing lighted torches +drenched in pitch. Whoever jumps thrice across the fire will not suffer +from fever within the year. Cart-wheels are often smeared with pitch, +ignited, and sent rolling and blazing down the hillsides.[427] + +[Midsummer fires in Bohemia; wreaths thrown across the fire; uses made +of the singed wreaths; burning wheels rolled down hill; embers of the +fire stuck in fields, gardens, and houses as a talisman against +lightning and conflagration; use of mugwort; cattle protected against +witchcraft.] + +All over Bohemia bonfires still burn on Midsummer Eve. In the afternoon +boys go about with handcarts from house to house collecting fuel, such +as sticks, brushwood, old besoms, and so forth. They make their request +at each house in rhyming verses, threatening with evil consequences the +curmudgeons who refuse them a dole. Sometimes the young men fell a tall +straight fir in the woods and set it up on a height, where the girls +deck it with nosegays, wreaths of leaves, and red ribbons. Then +brushwood is piled about it, and at nightfall the whole is set on fire. +While the flames break out, the young men climb the tree and fetch down +the wreaths which the girls had placed on it. After that, lads and +lasses stand on opposite sides of the fire and look at one another +through the wreaths to see whether they will be true to each other and +marry within the year. Also the girls throw the wreaths across the +flames to the men, and woe to the awkward swain who fails to catch the +wreath thrown him by his sweetheart. When the blaze has died down, each +couple takes hands, and leaps thrice across the fire. He or she who does +so will be free from ague throughout the year, and the flax will grow as +high as the young folks leap. A girl who sees nine bonfires on Midsummer +Eve will marry before the year is out. The singed wreaths are carried +home and carefully preserved throughout the year. During thunderstorms a +bit of the wreath is burned on the hearth with a prayer; some of it is +given to kine that are sick or calving, and some of it serves to +fumigate house and cattle-stall, that man and beast may keep hale and +well. Sometimes an old cartwheel is smeared with resin, ignited, and +sent rolling down the hill. Often the boys collect all the worn-out +besoms they can get hold of, dip them in pitch, and having set them on +fire wave them about or throw them high into the air. Or they rush down +the hillside in troops, brandishing the flaming brooms and shouting, +only however to return to the bonfire on the summit when the brooms have +burnt out. The stumps of the brooms and embers from the fire are +preserved and stuck in cabbage gardens to protect the cabbages from +caterpillars and gnats. Some people insert charred sticks and ashes from +the bonfire in their sown fields and meadows, in their gardens and the +roofs of their houses, as a talisman against lightning and foul weather; +or they fancy that the ashes placed in the roof will prevent any fire +from breaking out in the house. In some districts they crown or gird +themselves with mugwort while the midsummer fire is burning, for this is +supposed to be a protection against ghosts, witches, and sickness; in +particular, a wreath of mugwort is a sure preventive of sore eyes. +Sometimes the girls look at the bonfires through garlands of wild +flowers, praying the fire to strengthen their eyes and eyelids. She who +does this thrice will have no sore eyes all that year. In some parts of +Bohemia they used to drive the cows through the midsummer fire to guard +them against witchcraft.[428] + +[The Midsummer fires in Moravia, Austrian Silesia, and the district of +Cracow; fire kindled by the friction of wood.] + +The Germans of Moravia in like manner still light bonfires on open +grounds and high places on Midsummer Eve; and they kindle besoms in the +flames and then stick the charred stumps in the cabbage-fields as a +powerful protection against caterpillars. On the same mystic evening +Moravian girls gather flowers of nine sorts and lay them under their +pillow when they go to sleep; then they dream every one of him who is to +be her partner for life. For in Moravia maidens in their beds as well as +poets by haunted streams have their Midsummer Night's dreams.[429] In +Austrian Silesia the custom also prevails of lighting great bonfires on +hilltops on Midsummer Eve, and here too the boys swing blazing besoms or +hurl them high in the air, while they shout and leap and dance wildly. +Next morning every door is decked with flowers and birchen +saplings.[430] In the district of Cracow, especially towards the +Carpathian Mountains, great fires are kindled by the peasants in the +fields or on the heights at nightfall on Midsummer Eve, which among them +goes by the name of Kupalo's Night. The fire must be kindled by the +friction of two sticks. The young people dance round or leap over it; +and a band of sturdy fellows run a race with lighted torches, the winner +being rewarded with a peacock's feather, which he keeps throughout the +year as a distinction. Cattle also are driven round the fire in the +belief that this is a charm against pestilence and disease of every +sort.[431] + +[The Midsummer fires among the Slavs of Russia; cattle protected against +witchcraft; the fires lighted by the friction of wood.] + +The name of Kupalo's Night, applied in this part of Galicia to Midsummer +Eve, reminds us that we have now passed from German to Slavonic ground; +even in Bohemia the midsummer celebration is common to Slavs and +Germans. We have already seen that in Russia the summer solstice or Eve +of St. John is celebrated by young men and maidens, who jump over a +bonfire in couples carrying a straw effigy of Kupalo in their arms.[432] +In some parts of Russia an image of Kupalo is burnt or thrown into a +stream on St. John's Night.[433] Again, in some districts of Russia the +young folk wear garlands of flowers and girdles of holy herbs when they +spring through the smoke or flames; and sometimes they drive the cattle +also through the fire in order to protect the animals against wizards +and witches, who are then ravenous after milk.[434] In Little Russia a +stake is driven into the ground on St. John's Night, wrapt in straw, and +set on fire. As the flames rise the peasant women throw birchen boughs +into them, saying, "May my flax be as tall as this bough!"[435] In +Ruthenia the bonfires are lighted by a flame procured by the friction of +wood. While the elders of the party are engaged in thus "churning" the +fire, the rest maintain a respectful silence; but when the flame bursts +from the wood, they break forth into joyous songs. As soon as the +bonfires are kindled, the young people take hands and leap in pairs +through the smoke, if not through the flames; and after that the cattle +in their turn are driven through the fire.[436] + +[The Midsummer fires in Prussia and Lithuania thought to protect against +witchcraft, thunder, hail, and cattle disease; the fire kindled by the +friction of wood.] + +In many parts of Prussia and Lithuania great fires are kindled on +Midsummer Eve. All the heights are ablaze with them, as far as the eye +can see. The fires are supposed to be a protection against witchcraft, +thunder, hail, and cattle disease, especially if next morning the cattle +are driven over the places where the fires burned. Above all, the +bonfires ensure the farmer against the arts of witches, who try to steal +the milk from his cows by charms and spells. That is why next morning +you may see the young fellows who lit the bonfire going from house to +house and receiving jugfuls of milk. And for the same reason they stick +burs and mugwort on the gate or the hedge through which the cows go to +pasture, because that is supposed to be a preservative against +witchcraft.[437] In Masuren, a district of Eastern Prussia inhabited by +a branch of the Polish family, it is the custom on the evening of +Midsummer Day to put out all the fires in the village. Then an oaken +stake is driven into the ground and a wheel is fixed on it as on an +axle. This wheel the villagers, working by relays, cause to revolve with +great rapidity till fire is produced by friction. Every one takes home a +lighted brand from the new fire and with it rekindles the fire on the +domestic hearth.[438] In the sixteenth century Martin of Urzedow, a +Polish priest, denounced the heathen practices of the women who on St. +John's Eve (Midsummer Eve) kindled fires by the friction of wood, +danced, and sang songs in honour of the devil.[439] + +[The Midsummer fires among the Letts of Russia; Midsummer Day in ancient +Rome.] + +Among the Letts who inhabit the Baltic provinces of Russia the most +joyful festival of the year is held on Midsummer Day. The people drink +and dance and sing and adorn themselves and their houses with flowers +and branches. Chopped boughs of fir are strewn about the rooms, and +leaves are stuck in the roofs. In every farm-yard a birch tree is set +up, and every person of the name of John who enters the farm that day +must break off a twig from the tree and hang up on its branches in +return a small present for the family. When the serene twilight of the +summer night has veiled the landscape, bonfires gleam on all the hills, +and wild shouts of "Ligho! Ligho!" echo from the woods and fields. In +Riga the day is a festival of flowers. From all the neighbourhood the +peasants stream into the city laden with flowers and garlands. A market +of flowers is held in an open square and on the chief bridge over the +river; here wreaths of immortelles, which grow wild in the meadows and +woods, are sold in great profusion and deck the houses of Riga for long +afterwards. Roses, too, are now at the prime of their beauty, and masses +of them adorn the flower-stalls. Till far into the night gay crowds +parade the streets to music or float on the river in gondolas decked +with flowers.[440] So long ago in ancient Rome barges crowned with +flowers and crowded with revellers used to float down the Tiber on +Midsummer Day, the twenty-fourth of June,[441] and no doubt the strains +of music were wafted as sweetly across the water to listeners on the +banks as they still are to the throngs of merrymakers at Riga. + +[The Midsummer fires among the South Slavs.] + +Bonfires are commonly kindled by the South Slavonian peasantry on +Midsummer Eve, and lads and lasses dance and shout round them in the +usual way. The very names of St. John's Day (_Ivanje_) and the St. +John's fires (_kries_) are said to act like electric sparks on the +hearts and minds of these swains, kindling a thousand wild, merry, and +happy fancies and ideas in their rustic breasts. At Kamenagora in +Croatia the herdsmen throw nine three-year old vines into the bonfire, +and when these burst into flames the young men who are candidates for +matrimony jump through the blaze. He who succeeds in leaping over the +fire without singeing himself will be married within the year. At +Vidovec in Croatia parties of two girls and one lad unite to kindle a +Midsummer bonfire and to leap through the flames; he or she who leaps +furthest will soonest wed. Afterwards lads and lasses dance in separate +rings, but the ring of lads bumps up against the ring of girls and +breaks it, and the girl who has to let go her neighbour's hand will +forsake her true love hereafter.[442] In Servia on Midsummer Eve +herdsmen light torches of birch bark and march round the sheepfolds and +cattle-stalls; then they climb the hills and there allow the torches to +burn out.[443] + +[The Midsummer fires among the Magyars of Hungary.] + +Among the Magyars in Hungary the midsummer fire-festival is marked by +the same features that meet us in so many parts of Europe. On Midsummer +Eve in many places it is customary to kindle bonfires on heights and to +leap over them, and from the manner in which the young people leap the +bystanders predict whether they will marry soon. At Nograd-Ludany the +young men and women, each carrying a truss of straw, repair to a meadow, +where they pile the straw in seven or twelve heaps and set it on fire. +Then they go round the fire singing, and hold a bunch of iron-wort in +the smoke, while they say, "No boil on my body, no sprain in my foot!" +This holding of the flowers over the flames is regarded, we are told, as +equally important with the practice of walking through the fire barefoot +and stamping it out. On this day also many Hungarian swineherds make +fire by rotating a wheel round a wooden axle wrapt in hemp, and through +the fire thus made they drive their pigs to preserve them from +sickness.[444] In villages on the Danube, where the population is a +cross between Magyar and German, the young men and maidens go to the +high banks of the river on Midsummer Eve; and while the girls post +themselves low down the slope, the lads on the height above set fire to +little wooden wheels and, after swinging them to and fro at the end of a +wand, send them whirling through the air to fall into the Danube. As he +does so, each lad sings out the name of his sweetheart, and she listens +well pleased down below.[445] + +[The Midsummer fires among the Esthonians; the Midsummer fires in +Oesel.] + +The Esthonians of Russia, who, like the Magyars, belong to the great +Turanian family of mankind, also celebrate the summer solstice in the +usual way. On the Eve of St. John all the people of a farm, a village, +or an estate, walk solemnly in procession, the girls decked with +flowers, the men with leaves and carrying bundles of straw under their +arms. The lads carry lighted torches or flaming hoops steeped in tar at +the top of long poles. Thus they go singing to the cattle-sheds, the +granaries, and so forth, and afterwards march thrice round the +dwelling-house. Finally, preceded by the shrill music of the bagpipes +and shawms, they repair to a neighbouring hill, where the materials of a +bonfire have been collected. Tar-barrels filled with combustibles are +hung on poles, or the trunk of a felled tree has been set up with a +great mass of juniper piled about it in the form of a pyramid. When a +light has been set to the pile, old and young gather about it and pass +the time merrily with song and music till break of day. Every one who +comes brings fresh fuel for the fire, and they say, "Now we all gather +together, where St. John's fire burns. He who comes not to St. John's +fire will have his barley full of thistles, and his oats full of weeds." +Three logs are thrown into the fire with special ceremony; in throwing +the first they say, "Gold of pleasure (a plant with yellow flowers) into +the fire!" in throwing the second they say, "Weeds to the unploughed +land!" but in throwing the third they cry, "Flax on my field!" The fire +is said to keep the witches from the cattle.[446] According to others, +it ensures that for the whole year the milk shall be "as pure as silver +and as the stars in the sky, and the butter as yellow as the sun and the +fire and the gold."[447] In the Esthonian island of Oesel, while they +throw fuel into the midsummer fire, they call out, "Weeds to the fire, +flax to the field," or they fling three billets into the flames, saying, +"Flax grow long!" And they take charred sticks from the bonfire home +with them and keep them to make the cattle thrive. In some parts of the +island the bonfire is formed by piling brushwood and other combustibles +round a tree, at the top of which a flag flies. Whoever succeeds in +knocking down the flag with a pole before it begins to burn will have +good luck. Formerly the festivities lasted till daybreak, and ended in +scenes of debauchery which looked doubly hideous by the growing light of +a summer morning.[448] + +[The Midsummer fires among the Finns and Cheremiss of Russia.] + +Still farther north, among a people of the same Turanian stock, we learn +from an eye-witness that Midsummer Night used to witness a sort of +witches' sabbath on the top of every hill in Finland. The bonfire was +made by setting up four tall birches in a square and piling the +intermediate space with fuel. Round the roaring flames the people sang +and drank and gambolled in the usual way.[449] Farther east, in the +valley of the Volga, the Cheremiss celebrate about midsummer a festival +which Haxthausen regarded as identical with the midsummer ceremonies of +the rest of Europe. A sacred tree in the forest, generally a tall and +solitary oak, marks the scene of the solemnity. All the males assemble +there, but no woman may be present. A heathen priest lights seven fires +in a row from north-west to south-east; cattle are sacrificed and their +blood poured in the fires, each of which is dedicated to a separate +deity. Afterwards the holy tree is illumined by lighted candles placed +on its branches; the people fall on their knees and with faces bowed to +the earth pray that God would be pleased to bless them, their children, +their cattle, and their bees, grant them success in trade, in travel, +and in the chase, enable them to pay the Czar's taxes, and so +forth.[450] + +[The Midsummer fires in France; Bossuet on the Midsummer festival.] + +When we pass from the east to the west of Europe we still find the +summer solstice celebrated with rites of the same general character. +Down to about the middle of the nineteenth century the custom of +lighting bonfires at midsummer prevailed so commonly in France that +there was hardly a town or a village, we are told, where they were not +kindled.[451] Though the pagan origin of the custom may be regarded as +certain, the Catholic Church threw a Christian cloak over it by boldly +declaring that the bonfires were lit in token of the general rejoicing +at the birth of the Baptist, who opportunely came into the world at the +solstice of summer, just as his greater successor did at the solstice of +winter; so that the whole year might be said to revolve on the golden +hinges of these two great birthdays.[452] Writing in the seventeenth +century Bishop Bossuet expressly affirms this edifying theory of the +Midsummer bonfires, and he tells his catechumens that the Church herself +participated in the illumination, since in several dioceses, including +his own diocese of Meaux, a number of parishes kindled what were called +ecclesiastical fires for the purpose of banishing the superstitions +practised at the purely mundane bonfires. These superstitions, he goes +on to say, consisted in dancing round the fire, playing, feasting, +singing ribald songs, throwing herbs across the fire, gathering herbs at +noon or while fasting, carrying them on the person, preserving them +throughout the year, keeping brands or cinders of the fire, and other +similar practices.[453] However excellent the intentions of the +ecclesiastical authorities may have been, they failed of effecting their +purpose; for the superstitions as well as the bonfires survived in +France far into the nineteenth century, if indeed they are extinct even +now at the beginning of the twentieth. Writing in the latter part of the +nineteenth century Mr. Ch. Cuissard tells us that he himself witnessed +in Touraine and Poitou the superstitious practices which he describes as +follows: "The most credulous examine the ways in which the flame burns +and draw good or bad omens accordingly. Others, after leaping through +the flames crosswise, pass their little children through them thrice, +fully persuaded that the little ones will then be able to walk at once. +In some places the shepherds make their sheep tread the embers of the +extinct fire in order to preserve them from the foot-rot. Here you may +see about midnight an old woman grubbing among the cinders of the pyre +to find the hair of the Holy Virgin or Saint John, which she deems an +infallible specific against fever. There, another woman is busy plucking +the roots of the herbs which have been burned on the surface of the +ground; she intends to eat them, imagining that they are an infallible +preservative against cancer. Elsewhere a girl wears on her neck a flower +which the touch of St. John's fire has turned for her into a talisman, +and she is sure to marry within the year. Shots are fired at the tree +planted in the midst of the fire to drive away the demons who might +purpose to send sicknesses about the country. Seats are set round about +the bonfire, in order that the souls of dead relations may come and +enjoy themselves for a little with the living."[454] + +[The Midsummer fires in Brittany; uses made of the charred sticks and +flowers.] + +In Brittany, apparently, the custom of the Midsummer bonfires is kept up +to this day. Thus in Lower Brittany every town and every village still +lights its _tantad_ or bonfire on St. John's Night. When the flames have +died down, the whole assembly kneels round about the bonfire and an old +man prays aloud. Then they all rise and march thrice round the fire; at +the third turn they stop and every one picks up a pebble and throws it +on the burning pile. After that they disperse.[455] In Finistere the +bonfires of St. John's Day are kindled by preference in an open space +near a chapel of St. John; but if there is no such chapel, they are +lighted in the square facing the parish church and in some districts at +cross-roads. Everybody brings fuel for the fire, it may be a faggot, a +log, a branch, or an armful of gorse. When the vespers are over, the +parish priest sets a light to the pile. All heads are bared, prayers +recited, and hymns sung. Then the dancing begins. The young folk skip +round the blazing pile and leap over it, when the flames have died down. +If anybody makes a false step and falls or rolls in the hot embers, he +or she is greeted with hoots and retires abashed from the circle of +dancers. Brands are carried home from the bonfire to protect the houses +against lightning, conflagrations, and certain maladies and spells. The +precious talisman is carefully kept in a cupboard till St. John's Day of +the following year.[456] At Quimper, and in the district of Leon, chairs +used to be placed round the midsummer bonfire, that the souls of the +dead might sit on them and warm themselves at the blaze.[457] At Brest +on this day thousands of people used to assemble on the ramparts towards +evening and brandish lighted torches, which they swung in circles or +flung by hundreds into the air. The closing of the town gates put an end +to the spectacle, and the lights might be seen dispersing in all +directions like wandering will-o'-the-wisps.[458] In Upper Brittany the +materials for the midsummer bonfires, which generally consist of bundles +of furze and heath, are furnished by voluntary contributions, and piled +on the tops of hills round poles, each of which is surmounted by a +nosegay or a crown. This nosegay or crown is generally provided by a man +named John or a woman named Jean, and it is always a John or a Jean who +puts a light to the bonfire. While the fire is blazing the people dance +and sing round it, and when the flames have subsided they leap over the +glowing embers. Charred sticks from the bonfire are thrown into wells to +improve the water, and they are also taken home as a protection against +thunder.[459] To make them thoroughly effective, however, against +thunder and lightning you should keep them near your bed, between a bit +of a Twelfth Night cake and a sprig of boxwood which has been blessed on +Palm Sunday.[460] Flowers from the nosegay or crown which overhung the +fire are accounted charms against disease and pain, both bodily and +spiritual; hence girls hang them at their breast by a thread of scarlet +wool. In many parishes of Brittany the priest used to go in procession +with the crucifix and kindle the bonfire with his own hands; and farmers +were wont to drive their flocks and herds through the fire in order to +preserve them from sickness till midsummer of the following year. Also +it was believed that every girl who danced round nine of the bonfires +would marry within the year.[461] + +[The Midsummer fires in Normandy; the fires as a protection against +witchcraft; the Brotherhood of the Green Wolf at Jumieges; pretence of +throwing the Green Wolf into the fire.] + +In Normandy the midsummer fires have now almost disappeared, at least in +the district known as the Bocage, but they used to shine on every hill. +They were commonly made by piling brushwood, broom, and ferns about a +tall tree, which was decorated with a crown of moss and sometimes with +flowers. While they burned, people danced and sang round them, and young +folk leaped over the flames or the glowing ashes. In the valley of the +Orne the custom was to kindle the bonfire just at the moment when the +sun was about to dip below the horizon; and the peasants drove their +cattle through the fires to protect them against witchcraft, especially +against the spells of witches and wizards who attempted to steal the +milk and butter.[462] At Jumieges in Normandy, down to the first half of +the nineteenth century, the midsummer festival was marked by certain +singular features which bore the stamp of a very high antiquity. Every +year, on the twenty-third of June, the Eve of St. John, the Brotherhood +of the Green Wolf chose a new chief or master, who had always to be +taken from the hamlet of Conihout. On being elected, the new head of the +brotherhood assumed the title of the Green Wolf, and donned a peculiar +costume consisting of a long green mantle and a very tall green hat of a +conical shape and without a brim. Thus arrayed he stalked solemnly at +the head of the brothers, chanting the hymn of St. John, the crucifix +and holy banner leading the way, to a place called Chouquet. Here the +procession was met by the priest, precentors, and choir, who conducted +the brotherhood to the parish church. After hearing mass the company +adjourned to the house of the Green Wolf, where a simple repast, such as +is required by the church on fast-days, was served up to them. Then they +danced before the door till it was time to light the bonfire. Night +being come, the fire was kindled to the sound of hand-bells by a young +man and a young woman, both decked with flowers. As the flames rose, the +_Te Deum_ was sung, and a villager thundered out a parody in the Norman +dialect of the hymn _ut queant laxis_. Meantime the Green Wolf and his +brothers, with their hoods down on their shoulders and holding each +other by the hand, ran round the fire after the man who had been chosen +to be the Green Wolf of the following year. Though only the first and +the last man of the chain had a hand free, their business was to +surround and seize thrice the future Green Wolf, who in his efforts to +escape belaboured the brothers with a long wand which he carried. When +at last they succeeded in catching him they carried him to the burning +pile and made as if they would throw him on it. This ceremony over, they +returned to the house of the Green Wolf, where a supper, still of the +most meagre fare, was set before them. Up till midnight a sort of +religious solemnity prevailed. No unbecoming word might fall from the +lips of any of the company, and a censor, armed with a hand-bell, was +appointed to mark and punish instantly any infraction of the rule. But +at the stroke of twelve all this was changed. Constraint gave way to +license; pious hymns were replaced by Bacchanalian ditties, and the +shrill quavering notes of the village fiddle hardly rose above the roar +of voices that went up from the merry brotherhood of the Green Wolf. +Next day, the twenty-fourth of June or Midsummer Day, was celebrated by +the same personages with the same noisy gaiety. One of the ceremonies +consisted in parading, to the sound of musketry, an enormous loaf of +consecrated bread, which, rising in tiers, was surmounted by a pyramid +of verdure adorned with ribbons. After that the holy handbells, +deposited on the step of the altar, were entrusted as insignia of office +to the man who was to be the Green Wolf next year.[463] + +[The Midsummer fires in Picardy.] + +In the canton of Breteuil in Picardy (department of Oise) the priest +used to kindle the midsummer bonfire, and the people marched thrice +round it in procession. Some of them took ashes of the fire home with +them to protect the houses against lightning.[464] The custom is, or was +down to recent years, similar at Vorges, near Laon. An enormous pyre, +some fifty or sixty feet high, supported in the middle by a tall pole, +is constructed every year on the twenty-third of June, the Eve of St. +John. It stands at one end of the village, and all the inhabitants +contribute fuel to it: a cart goes round the village in the morning, by +order of the mayor, collecting combustibles from house to house: no one +would dream of refusing to comply with the customary obligation. In the +evening, after a service in honour of St. John has been performed in the +church, the clergy, the mayor, the municipal authorities, the rural +police, and the fire-brigade march in procession to the bonfire, +accompanied by the inhabitants and a crowd of idlers drawn by curiosity +from the neighbouring villages. After addressing the throng in a sermon, +to which they pay little heed, the parish priest sprinkles the pyre with +holy water, and taking a lighted torch from the hand of an assistant +sets fire to the pile. The enormous blaze, flaring up against the dark +sky of the summer night, is seen for many miles around, particularly +from the hill of Laon. When it has died down into a huge heap of glowing +embers and grey ashes, every one carries home a charred stick or some +cinders; and the fire-brigade, playing their hose on what remains, +extinguishes the smouldering fire. The people preserve the charred +sticks and cinders throughout the year, believing that these relics of +St John's bonfire have power to guard them from lightning and from +contagious diseases.[465] At Chateau-Thierry, a town of the department +of Aisne, between Paris and Reims, the custom of lighting bonfires and +dancing round them at the midsummer festival of St. John lasted down to +about 1850; the fires were kindled especially when June had been rainy, +and the people thought that the lighting of the bonfires would cause the +rain to cease.[466] + +[The Midsummer fires in Beauce and Perche; the fires as a protection +against witchcraft.] + +In Beauce and Perche, two neighbouring districts of France to the +south-west of Paris, the midsummer bonfires have nearly or wholly +disappeared, but formerly they were commonly kindled and went by the +name of the "fires of St. John." The site of the bonfire was either the +village square or beside the cross in the cemetery. Here a great pile of +faggots, brushwood, and grass was accumulated about a huge branch, which +bore at the top a crown of fresh flowers. The priest blessed the bonfire +and the people danced round it. When it blazed and crackled, the +bystanders thrust their heads into the puffs of smoke, in the belief +that it would preserve them from a multitude of ills; and when the fire +was burnt out, they rushed upon the charred embers and ashes and carried +them home, imagining that they had a secret virtue to guard their houses +from being struck by lightning or consumed by fire. Some of the Perche +farmers in the old days, not content with the public bonfire, used to +light little private bonfires in their farmyards and make all their +cattle pass through the smoke and flames for the purpose of protecting +them against witchcraft or disease.[467] + +[The Midsummer fires in the Ardennes, the Vosges, and the Jura; the +Midsummer fires in Franche-Comte; the Midsummer fires in Berry and other +parts of Central France.] + +In the department of the Ardennes every one was wont to contribute his +faggot to the midsummer bonfire, and the clergy marched at the head of +the procession to kindle it. Failure to light the fires would, in the +popular belief, have exposed the fields to the greatest danger. At Revin +the young folk, besides dancing round the fire to the strains of the +village fiddler, threw garlands of flowers across the flames to each +other.[468] In the Vosges it is still customary to kindle bonfires upon +the hill-tops on Midsummer Eve; the people believe that the fires help +to preserve the fruits of the earth and ensure good crops.[469] In the +Jura Mountains the midsummer bonfires went by the name of _ba_ or +_beau_. They were lit on the most conspicuous points of the +landscape.[470] Near St. Jean, in the Jura, it appears that at this +season young people still repair to the cross-roads and heights, and +there wave burning torches so as to present the appearance of fiery +wheels in the darkness.[471] In Franche-Comte, the province of France +which lies immediately to the west of the Jura mountains, the fires of +St. John still shone on the saint's day in several villages down to +recent years. They were generally lit on high ground and the young folks +of both sexes sang and danced round them, and sprang over the dying +flames.[472] In Bresse bonfires used to be kindled on Midsummer Eve (the +twenty-third of June) and the people danced about them in a circle. +Devout persons, particularly old women, circumambulated the fires +fourteen times, telling their beads and mumbling seven _Paters_ and +seven _Aves_ in the hope that thereby they would feel no pains in their +backs when they stooped over the sickle in the harvest field.[473] In +Berry, a district of Central France, the midsummer fire was lit on the +Eve of St. John and went by the name of the _jonee, joannee_, or +_jouannee_. Every family according to its means contributed faggots, +which were piled round a pole on the highest ground in the +neighbourhood. In the hamlets the office of kindling the fire devolved +on the oldest man, but in the towns it was the priest or the mayor who +discharged the duty. Here, as in Brittany, people supposed that a girl +who had danced round nine of the midsummer bonfires would marry within +the year. To leap several times over the fire was regarded as a sort of +purification which kept off sickness and brought good luck to the +leaper. Hence the nimble youth bounded through the smoke and flames, and +when the fire had somewhat abated parents jumped across it with their +children in their arms in order that the little ones might also partake +of its beneficent influence. Embers from the extinct bonfire were taken +home, and after being dipped in holy water were kept as a talisman +against all kinds of misfortune, but especially against lightning.[474] +The same virtue was ascribed to the ashes and charred sticks of the +midsummer bonfire in Perigord, where everybody contributed his share of +fuel to the pile and the whole was crowned with flowers, especially with +roses and lilies.[475] On the borders of the departments of Creuse and +Correze, in Central France, the fires of St. John used to be lit on the +Eve of the saint's day (the twenty-third of June); the custom seems to +have survived till towards the end of the nineteenth century. Men, +women, and children assembled round the fires, and the young people +jumped over them. Children were brought by their parents or elder +brothers into contact with the flames in the belief that this would save +them from fever. Older people girded themselves with stalks of rye taken +from a neighbouring field, because they fancied that by so doing they +would not grow weary in reaping the corn at harvest.[476] + +[The Midsummer fires in Poitou.] + +Bonfires were lit in almost all the hamlets of Poitou on the Eve of St. +John. People marched round them thrice, carrying a branch of walnut in +their hand. Shepherdesses and children passed sprigs of mullein +(_verbascum_) and nuts across the flames; the nuts were supposed to cure +toothache, and the mullein to protect the cattle from sickness and +sorcery. When the fire died down people took some of the ashes home with +them, either to keep them in the house as a preservative against thunder +or to scatter them on the fields for the purpose of destroying +corn-cockles and darnel. Stones were also placed round the fire, and it +was believed that the first to lift one of these stones next morning +would find under it the hair of St. John.[477] In Poitou also it used to +be customary on the Eve of St. John to trundle a blazing wheel wrapt in +straw over the fields to fertilize them.[478] This last custom is said +to be now extinct,[479] but it is still usual, or was so down to recent +years, in Poitou to kindle fires on this day at cross-roads or on the +heights. The oldest or youngest person present sets a light to the pile, +which consists of broom, gorse, and heath. A bright and crackling blaze +shoots up, but soon dies down, and over it the young folk leap. They +also throw stones into it, picking the stone according to the size of +the turnips that they wish to have that year. It is said that "the good +Virgin" comes and sits on the prettiest of the stones, and next morning +they see there her beautiful golden tresses. At Lussac, in Poitou, the +lighting of the midsummer bonfire is still an affair of some ceremony. A +pyramid of faggots is piled round a tree or tall pole on the ground +where the fair is held; the priest goes in procession to the spot and +kindles the pile. When prayers have been said and the clergy have +withdrawn, the people continue to march round the fire, telling their +beads, but it is not till the flames have begun to die down that the +youth jump over them. A brand from the midsummer bonfire is supposed to +be a preservative against thunder.[480] + +[The Midsummer fires in the departments of Vienne and Deux-Sevres and in +the provinces of Saintonge and Aunis.] + +In the department of Vienne the bonfire was kindled by the oldest man, +and before the dance round the flames began it was the custom to pass +across them a great bunch of mullein (_bouillon blanc_) and a branch of +walnut, which next morning before sunrise were fastened over the door of +the chief cattle-shed.[481] A similar custom prevailed in the +neighbouring department of Deux-Sevres; but here it was the priest who +kindled the bonfire, and old men used to put embers of the fire in their +wooden shoes as a preservative against many evils.[482] In some towns +and villages of Saintonge and Aunis, provinces of Western France now +mostly comprised in the department of Charente Inferieure, the fires of +St. John are still kindled on Midsummer Eve, but the custom is neither +so common nor carried out with so much pomp and ceremony as formerly. +Great quantities of wood used to be piled on an open space round about a +huge post or a tree stripped of its leaves and branches. Every one took +care to contribute a faggot to the pile, and the whole population +marched to the spot in procession with the crucifix at their head and +the priest bringing up the rear. The squire, or other person of high +degree, put the torch to the pyre, and the priest blessed it. In the +southern and eastern parts of Saintonge children and cattle were passed +through the smoke of the bonfires to preserve them from contagious +diseases, and when the fire had gone out the people scuffled for the +charred fragments of the great post, which they regarded as talismans +against thunder. Next morning, on Midsummer Day, every shepherdess in +the neighbourhood was up very early, for the first to drive her sheep +over the blackened cinders and ashes of the great bonfire was sure to +have the best flock all that year. Where the shepherds shrunk from +driving their flocks through the smoke and flames of the bonfire they +contented themselves with marking the hinder-quarters of the animals +with a broom which had been blackened in the ashes.[483] + +[The Midsummer fires in Southern France; Midsummer festival of fire and +water in Provence; bathing in the sea at Midsummer; temporary Midsummer +kings at Aix and Marseilles.] + +In the mountainous part of Comminges, a province of Southern France, now +comprised in the department of Haute Garonne, the midsummer fire is made +by splitting open the trunk of a tall tree, stuffing the crevice with +shavings, and igniting the whole. A garland of flowers is fastened to +the top of the tree, and at the moment when the fire is lighted the man +who was last married has to climb up a ladder and bring the flowers +down. In the flat parts of the same district the materials of the +midsummer bonfires consist of fuel piled in the usual way; but they must +be put together by men who have been married since the last midsummer +festival, and each of these benedicts is obliged to lay a wreath of +flowers on the top of the pile.[484] At the entrance of the valley of +Aran young people set up on the banks of the Garonne a tree covered with +ribbons and garlands; at the end of a year the withered tree and faded +flowers furnish excellent fuel. So on the Eve of St. John the villagers +assemble, and an old man or a child kindles the fire which is to consume +tree and garlands together. While the blaze lasts the people sing and +dance; and the burnt tree is then replaced by another which will suffer +the same fate after the lapse of a year.[485] In some districts of the +French Pyrenees it is deemed necessary to leap nine times over the +midsummer fire if you would be assured of prosperity.[486] A traveller +in Southern France at the beginning of the nineteenth century tells us +that "the Eve of St. John is also a day of joy for the Provencals. They +light great fires and the young folk leap over them. At Aix they shower +squibs and crackers on the passers-by, which has often had disagreeable +consequences. At Marseilles they drench each other with scented water, +which is poured from the windows or squirted from little syringes; the +roughest jest is to souse passers-by with clean water, which gives rise +to loud bursts of laughter."[487] At Draguignan, in the department of +Var, fires used to be lit in every street on the Eve of St. John, and +the people roasted pods of garlic at them; the pods were afterwards +distributed to every family. Another diversion of the evening was to +pour cans of water from the houses on the heads of people in the +streets.[488] In Provence the midsummer fires are still popular. +Children go from door to door begging for fuel, and they are seldom sent +empty away. Formerly the priest, the mayor, and the aldermen used to +walk in procession to the bonfire, and even deigned to light it; after +which the assembly marched thrice round the burning pile, while the +church bells pealed and rockets fizzed and sputtered in the air. Dancing +began later, and the bystanders threw water on each other. At Ciotat, +while the fire was blazing, the young people plunged into the sea and +splashed each other vigorously. At Vitrolles they bathed in a pond in +order that they might not suffer from fever during the year, and at +Saintes-Maries they watered the horses to protect them from the +itch.[489] At Aix a nominal king, chosen from among the youth for his +skill in shooting at a popinjay, presided over the festival. He selected +his own officers, and escorted by a brilliant train marched to the +bonfire, kindled it, and was the first to dance round it. Next day he +distributed largesse to his followers. His reign lasted a year, during +which he enjoyed certain privileges. He was allowed to attend the mass +celebrated by the commander of the Knights of St. John on St. John's +Day: the right of hunting was accorded to him; and soldiers might not be +quartered in his house. At Marseilles also on this day one of the guilds +chose a king of the _badache_ or double axe; but it does not appear that +he kindled the bonfire, which is said to have been lighted with great +ceremony by the prefet and other authorities.[490] + +[The Midsummer fires in Belgium; bonfires on St. Peter's Day in Brabant; +the King and Queen of the Roses; effigies burnt in the Midsummer fires.] + +In Belgium the custom of kindling the midsummer bonfires has long +disappeared from the great cities, but it is still kept up in rural +districts and small towns of Brabant, Flanders, and Limburg. People leap +across the fires to protect themselves against fever, and in eastern +Flanders women perform similar leaps for the purpose of ensuring an easy +delivery. At Termonde young people go from door to door collecting fuel +for the fires and reciting verses, in which they beg the inmates to give +them "wood of St. John" and to keep some wood for St. Peter's Day (the +twenty-ninth of June); for in Belgium the Eve of St. Peter's Day is +celebrated by bonfires and dances exactly like those which commemorate +St. John's Eve. The ashes of the St. John's fires are deemed by Belgian +peasants an excellent remedy for consumption, if you take a spoonful or +two of them, moistened with water, day by day. People also burn vervain +in the fires, and they say that in the ashes of the plant you may find, +if you look for it, the "Fool's Stone."[491] In many parts of Brabant +St. Peter's bonfire used to be much larger than that of his rival St. +John. When it had burned out, both sexes engaged in a game of ball, and +the winner became the King of Summer or of the Ball and had the right to +choose his Queen. Sometimes the winner was a woman, and it was then her +privilege to select her royal mate. This pastime was well known at +Louvain and it continued to be practised at Grammont and Mespelaer down +to the second half of the nineteenth century. At Mespelaer, which is a +village near Termonde, a huge pile of eglantine, reeds, and straw was +collected in a marshy meadow for the bonfire; and next evening after +vespers the young folk who had lit it assembled at the "Good Life" +tavern to play the game. The winner was crowned with a wreath of roses, +and the rest danced and sang in a ring about him. At Grammont, while the +bonfire was lit and the dances round it took place on St. Peter's Eve, +the festival of the "Crown of Roses" was deferred till the following +Sunday. The young folk arranged among themselves beforehand who should +be King and Queen of the Roses: the rosy wreaths were hung on cords +across the street: the dancers danced below them, and at a given moment +the wreaths fell on the heads of the chosen King and Queen, who had to +entertain their fellows at a feast. According to some people the fires +of St. Peter, like those of St. John, were lighted in order to drive +away dragons.[492] In French Flanders down to 1789 a straw figure +representing a man was always burned in the midsummer bonfire, and the +figure of a woman was burned on St. Peter's Day.[493] In Belgium people +jump over the midsummer bonfires as a preventive of colic, and they keep +the ashes at home to hinder fire from breaking out.[494] + +[The Midsummer fires in England; Stow's description of the Midsummer +fires in London; the Midsummer fires at Eton.] + +The custom of lighting bonfires at midsummer has been observed in many +parts of our own country. "On the Vigil of Saint John the Baptist, +commonly called Midsummer Eve, it was usual in most country places, and +also in towns and cities, for the inhabitants, both old and young, and +of both sexes, to meet together, and make merry by the side of a large +fire made in the middle of the street, or in some open and convenient +place, over which the young men frequently leaped by way of frolic, and +also exercised themselves with various sports and pastimes, more +especially with running, wrestling, and dancing. These diversions they +continued till midnight, and sometimes till cock-crowing."[495] In the +streets of London the midsummer fires were lighted in the time of Queen +Elizabeth down to the end of the sixteenth century, as we learn from +Stow's description, which runs thus: "In the months of June and July, on +the vigils of festival days, and on the same festival days in the +evenings after the sun setting, there were usually made bonfires in the +streets, every man bestowing wood or labour towards them; the wealthier +sort also, before their doors near to the said bonfires, would set out +tables on the vigils furnished with sweet bread and good drink, and on +the festival days with meats and drinks plentifully, whereunto they +would invite their neighbours and passengers also to sit and be merry +with them in great familiarity, praising God for His benefits bestowed +on them. These were called bonfires as well of good amity amongst +neighbours that being before at controversy, were there, by the labour +of others, reconciled, and made of bitter enemies loving friends; and +also for the virtue that a great fire hath to purge the infection of the +air. On the vigil of St. John the Baptist, and on St. Peter and Paul the +Apostles, every man's door being shadowed with green birch, long fennel, +St John's wort, orpin, white lilies, and such like, garnished upon with +garlands of beautiful flowers, had also lamps of glass, with oil burning +in them all the night; some hung out branches of iron curiously wrought, +containing hundreds of lamps alight at once, which made a goodly show, +namely, in New Fish Street, Thames Street, etc."[496] In the sixteenth +century the Eton boys used to kindle a bonfire on the east side of the +church both on St John's Day and on St. Peter's Day.[497] Writing in the +second half of the seventeenth century, the antiquary John Aubrey tells +us that bonfires were still kindled in many places on St. John's Night, +but that the civil wars had thrown many of these old customs out of +fashion. Wars, he adds, extinguish superstition as well as religion and +laws, and there is nothing like gunpowder for putting phantoms to +flight.[498] + +[The Midsummer fires in the north of England; the Midsummer fires in +Northumberland.] + +In the north of England these fires used to be lit in the open streets. +Young and old gathered round them, and while the young leaped over the +fires and engaged in games, their elders looked on and probably +remembered with regret the days when they used to foot it as nimbly. +Sometimes the fires were kindled on the tops of high hills. The people +also carried firebrands about the fields.[499] The custom of kindling +bonfires on Midsummer Eve prevailed all over Cumberland down to the +second half of the eighteenth century.[500] In Northumberland the custom +seems to have lasted into the first quarter of the nineteenth century; +the fires were lit in the villages and on the tops of high hills, and +the people sported and danced round them.[501] Moreover, the villagers +used to run with burning brands round their fields and to snatch ashes +from a neighbour's fire, saying as they did so, "We have the flower (or +flour) of the wake."[502] At Sandhill bonfires were kindled on the Eve +of St. Peter as well as on Midsummer Eve; the custom is attested for the +year 1575, when it was described as ancient.[503] We are told that "on +Midsummer's eve, reckoned according to the old style, it was formerly +the custom of the inhabitants, young and old, not only of Whalton, but +of most of the adjacent villages, to collect a large cartload of whins +and other combustible materials, which was dragged by them with great +rejoicing (a fiddler being seated on the top of the cart) into the +village and erected into a pile. The people from the surrounding country +assembled towards evening, when it was set on fire; and whilst the young +danced around it, the elders looked on smoking their pipes and drinking +their beer, until it was consumed. There can be little doubt that this +curious old custom dates from a very remote antiquity." In a law-suit, +which was tried in 1878, the rector of Whalton gave evidence of the +constant use of the village green for the ceremony since 1843. "The +bonfire," he said, "was lighted a little to the north-east of the well +at Whalton, and partly on the footpath, and people danced round it and +jumped through it. That was never interrupted." The Rev. G.R. Hall, +writing in 1879, says that "the fire festivals or bonfires of the summer +solstice at the Old Midsummer until recently were commemorated on +Christenburg Crags and elsewhere by leaping through and dancing round +the fires, as those who have been present have told me."[504] Down to +the early part of the nineteenth century bonfires called Beal-fires used +to be lit on Midsummer Eve all over the wolds in the East Riding of +Yorkshire.[505] + +[The Midsummer fires in Herefordshire, Somersetshire, Devonshire, and +Cornwall; the Cornish fires on Midsummer Eve and St. Peter's Eve.] + +In Herefordshire and Somersetshire the peasants used to make fires in +the fields on Midsummer Eve "to bless the apples."[506] In Devonshire +the custom of leaping over the midsummer fires was also observed.[507] +"In Cornwall, the festival fires, called bonfires, are kindled on the +Eves of St. John Baptist and St. Peter's day; and Midsummer is thence, +in the Cornish tongue, called _Goluan_, which signifies both light and +rejoicing. At these fires the Cornish attend with lighted torches, +tarred and pitched at the end, and make their perambulations round their +fires, going from village to village and carrying their torches before +them; this is certainly the remains of Druid superstition; for, _Faces +praeferre_, to carry lighted torches was reckoned a kind of gentilism, +and as such particularly prohibited by the Gallick Councils."[508] At +Penzance and elsewhere in the county the people danced and sang about +the bonfires on Midsummer Eve. On Whiteborough, a large tumulus near +Launceston, a huge bonfire used to be kindled on Midsummer Eve; a tall +summer pole with a large bush at the top was fixed in the centre of the +bonfire.[509] The Cornish fires at this season appear to have been +commonly lit on high and conspicuous hills, such as Tregonan, Godolphin, +Carnwarth, and Cam Brea. When it grew dusk on Midsummer Eve, old men +would hobble away to some height whence they counted the fires and drew +a presage from their number.[510] "It is the immemorial usage in +Penzance, and the neighbouring towns and villages, to kindle bonfires +and torches on Midsummer-eve; and on Midsummer-day to hold a fair on +Penzance quay, where the country folks assemble from the adjoining +parishes in great numbers to make excursions on the water. St. Peter's +Eve (the twenty-eighth of June) is distinguished by a similar display of +bonfires and torches, although the 'quay-fair' on St. Peter's-day (the +twenty-ninth of June), has been discontinued upwards of forty years. On +these eves a line of tar-barrels, relieved occasionally by large +bonfires, is seen in the centre of each of the principal streets in +Penzance. On either side of this line young men and women pass up and +down, swinging round their heads heavy torches made of large pieces of +folded canvas steeped in tar, and nailed to the ends of sticks between +three and four feet long; the flames of some of these almost equal those +of the tar-barrels. Rows of lighted candles, also, when the air is calm, +are fixed outside the windows or along the sides of the streets. In St. +Just, and other mining parishes, the young miners, mimicking their +fathers' employments, bore rows of holes in the rocks, load them with +gunpowder, and explode them in rapid succession by trains of the same +substance. As the holes are not deep enough to split the rocks, the same +little batteries serve for many years. On these nights, Mount's Bay has +a most animating appearance, although not equal to what was annually +witnessed at the beginning of the present century, when the whole coast, +from the Land's End to the Lizard, wherever a town or a village existed, +was lighted up with these stationary or moving fires. In the early part +of the evening, children may be seen wearing wreaths of flowers--a +custom in all probability originating from the ancient use of these +ornaments when they danced around the fires. At the close of the +fireworks in Penzance, a great number of persons of both sexes, chiefly +from the neighbourhood of the quay, used always, until within the last +few years, to join hand in hand, forming a long string, and run through +the streets, playing 'thread the needle,' heedless of the fireworks +showered upon them, and oftentimes leaping over the yet glowing embers. +I have on these occasions seen boys following one another, jumping +through flames higher than themselves."[511] + +[The Midsummer fires in Wales and the Isle of Man; burning wheel rolled +down hill.] + +In Wales the midsummer fires were kindled on St. John's Eve and on St. +John's Day. Three or nine different kinds of wood and charred faggots +carefully preserved from the last midsummer were deemed necessary to +build the bonfire, which was generally done on rising ground. Various +herbs were thrown into the blaze; and girls with bunches of three or +nine different kinds of flowers would take the hands of boys, who wore +flowers in their buttonholes and hats, and together the young couples +would leap over the fires. On the same two midsummer days roses and +wreaths of flowers were hung over the doors and windows. "Describing a +midsummer fire, an old inhabitant, born in 1809, remembered being taken +to different hills in the Vale of Glamorgan to see festivities in which +people from all parts of the district participated. She was at that time +about fourteen, and old enough to retain a vivid recollection of the +circumstances. People conveyed trusses of straw to the top of the hill, +where men and youths waited for the contributions. Women and girls were +stationed at the bottom of the hill. Then a large cart-wheel was thickly +swathed with straw, and not an inch of wood was left in sight. A pole +was inserted through the centre of the wheel, so that long ends extended +about a yard on each side. If any straw remained, it was made up into +torches at the top of tall sticks. At a given signal the wheel was +lighted, and sent rolling downhill. If this fire-wheel went out before +it reached the bottom of the hill, a very poor harvest was promised. If +it kept lighted all the way down, and continued blazing for a long time, +the harvest would be exceptionally abundant. Loud cheers and shouts +accompanied the progress of the wheel."[512] At Darowen in Wales small +bonfires were kindled on Midsummer Eve.[513] On the same day people in +the Isle of Man were wont to light fires to the windward of every field, +so that the smoke might pass over the corn; and they folded their cattle +and carried blazing furze or gorse round them several times.[514] + +[The Midsummer fires in Ireland; passage of people and cattle through +the fires; cattle driven through the fire; ashes used to fertilize the +fields; the White Horse at the Midsummer fire.] + +A writer of the last quarter of the seventeenth century tells us that in +Ireland, "on the Eves of St. John Baptist and St. Peter, they always +have in every town a bonfire, late in the evenings, and carry about +bundles of reeds fast tied and fired; these being dry, will last long, +and flame better than a torch, and be a pleasing divertive prospect to +the distant beholder; a stranger would go near to imagine the whole +country was on fire."[515] Another writer says of the South of Ireland: +"On Midsummer's Eve, every eminence, near which is a habitation, blazes +with bonfires; and round these they carry numerous torches, shouting and +dancing, which affords a beautiful sight."[516] An author who described +Ireland in the first quarter of the eighteenth century says: "On the +vigil of St. John the Baptist's Nativity, they make bonfires, and run +along the streets and fields with wisps of straw blazing on long poles +to purify the air, which they think infectious, by believing all the +devils, spirits, ghosts, and hobgoblins fly abroad this night to hurt +mankind."[517] Another writer states that he witnessed the festival in +Ireland in 1782: "At the house where I was entertained, it was told me, +that we should see, at midnight, the most singular sight in Ireland, +which was the lighting of fires in honour of the sun. Accordingly, +exactly at midnight, the fires began to appear; and taking the advantage +of going up to the leads of the house, which had a widely extended view, +I saw on a radius of thirty miles, all around, the fires burning on +every eminence which the country afforded. I had a farther satisfaction +in learning, from undoubted authority, that the people danced round the +fires, and at the close went through these fires, and made their sons +and daughters, together with their cattle, pass through the fire; and +the whole was conducted with religious solemnity."[518] That the custom +prevailed in full force as late as 1867 appears from a notice in a +newspaper of that date, which runs thus: "The old pagan fire-worship +still survives in Ireland, though nominally in honour of St. John. On +Sunday night bonfires were observed throughout nearly every county in +the province of Leinster. In Kilkenny, fires blazed on every hillside at +intervals of about a mile. There were very many in the Queen's County, +also in Kildare and Wexford. The effect in the rich sunset appeared to +travellers very grand. The people assemble, and dance round the fires, +the children jump through the flames, and in former times live coals +were carried into the corn-fields to prevent blight."[519] In County +Leitrim on St. John's Eve, which is called Bonfire Day, fires are still +lighted after dusk on the hills and along the sides of the roads.[520] +All over Kerry the same thing continues to be done, though not so +commonly as of old. Small fires were made across the road, and to drive +through them brought luck for the year. Cattle were also driven through +the fires. On Lettermore Island, in South Connemara, some of the ashes +from the midsummer bonfire are thrown on the fields to fertilize +them.[521] One writer informs us that in Munster and Connaught a bone +must always be burned in the fire; for otherwise the people believe that +the fire will bring no luck. He adds that in many places sterile beasts +and human beings are passed through the fire, and that as a boy he +himself jumped through the fire "for luck."[522] An eye-witness has +described as follows a remarkable ceremony observed in Ireland on +Midsummer Eve: "When the fire burned for some hours, and got low, an +indispensable part of the ceremony commenced. Every one present of the +peasantry passed through it, and several children were thrown across the +sparkling embers; while a wooden frame, of some eight feet long, with a +horse's head fixed to one end, and a large white sheet thrown over it +concealing the wood and the man on whose head it was carried, made its +appearance. This was greeted with loud shouts of 'The white horse!' and +having been safely carried by the skill of its bearer several times +through the fire with a bold leap, it pursued the people, who ran +screaming and laughing in every direction. I asked what the horse was +meant for, and was told that it represented 'all cattle.'"[523] + +[Lady Wilde's account of the Midsummer fires in Ireland.] + +Lady Wilde's account of the midsummer festival in Ireland is picturesque +and probably correct in substance, although she does not cite her +authorities. As it contains some interesting features which are not +noticed by the other writers on Ireland whom I have consulted, I will +quote the greater part of it in full. "In ancient times," she says, "the +sacred fire was lighted with great ceremony on Midsummer Eve; and on +that night all the people of the adjacent country kept fixed watch on +the western promontory of Howth, and the moment the first flash was seen +from that spot the fact of ignition was announced with wild cries and +cheers repeated from village to village, when all the local fires began +to blaze, and Ireland was circled by a cordon of flame rising up from +every hill. Then the dance and song began round every fire, and the wild +hurrahs filled the air with the most frantic revelry. Many of these +ancient customs are still continued, and the fires are still lighted on +St. John's Eve on every hill in Ireland. When the fire has burned down +to a red glow the young men strip to the waist and leap over or through +the flames; this is done backwards and forwards several times, and he +who braves the greatest blaze is considered the victor over the powers +of evil, and is greeted with tremendous applause. When the fire burns +still lower, the young girls leap the flame, and those who leap clean +over three times back and forward will be certain of a speedy marriage +and good luck in after-life, with many children. The married women then +walk through the lines of the burning embers; and when the fire is +nearly burnt and trampled down, the yearling cattle are driven through +the hot ashes, and their back is singed with a lighted hazel twig. These +rods are kept safely afterwards, being considered of immense power to +drive the cattle to and from the watering places. As the fire diminishes +the shouting grows fainter, and the song and the dance commence; while +professional story-tellers narrate tales of fairy-land, or of the good +old times long ago, when the kings and princes of Ireland dwelt amongst +their own people, and there was food to eat and wine to drink for all +comers to the feast at the king's house. When the crowd at length +separate, every one carries home a brand from the fire, and great virtue +is attached to the lighted _brone_ which is safely carried to the house +without breaking or falling to the ground. Many contests also arise +amongst the young men; for whoever enters his house first with the +sacred fire brings the good luck of the year with him."[524] + +[Holy water resorted to on Midsummer Eve in Ireland.] + +In Ireland, as elsewhere, water was also apparently thought to acquire a +certain mystical virtue at midsummer. "At Stoole, near Downpatrick, +there is a ceremony commencing at twelve o'clock at night on Midsummer +Eve. Its sacred mount is consecrated to St. Patrick; the plain contains +three wells, to which the most extraordinary virtues are attributed. +Here and there are heaps of stones, around some of which appear great +numbers of people, running with as much speed as possible; around others +crowds of worshippers kneel with bare legs and feet as an indispensable +part of the penance. The men, without coats, with handkerchiefs on their +heads instead of hats, having gone seven times round each heap, kiss the +ground, cross themselves, and proceed to the hill; here they ascend, on +their bare knees, by a path so steep and rugged that it would be +difficult to walk up. Many hold their hands clasped at the back of their +necks, and several carry large stones on their heads. Having repeated +this ceremony seven times, they go to what is called St. Patrick's +Chair, which are two great flat stones fixed upright in the hill; here +they cross and bless themselves as they step in between these stones, +and, while repeating prayers, an old man, seated for the purpose, turns +them round on their feet three times, for which he is paid; the devotee +then goes to conclude his penance at a pile of stones, named the Altar. +While this busy scene is continued by the multitude, the wells and +streams issuing from them are thronged by crowds of halt, maimed, and +blind, pressing to wash away their infirmities with water consecrated by +their patron saint, and so powerful is the impression of its efficacy on +their minds, that many of those who go to be healed, and who are not +totally blind, or altogether crippled, really believe for a time that +they are by means of its miraculous virtues perfectly restored."[525] + +[The Midsummer fires in Scotland; fires on St. Peter's Day (the +twenty-ninth of June).] + +In Scotland the traces of midsummer fires are few. We are told by a +writer of the eighteenth century that "the midsummer-even fire, a relict +of Druidism," was kindled in some parts of the county of Perth.[526] +Another writer of the same period, describing what he calls the +Druidical festivals of the Highlanders, says that "the least +considerable of them is that of midsummer. In the Highlands of +Perthshire there are some vestiges of it. The cowherd goes three times +round the fold, according to the course of the sun, with a burning torch +in his hand. They imagined this rite had a tendency to purify their +herds and flocks, and to prevent diseases. At their return the landlady +makes an entertainment for the cowherd and his associates."[527] In the +northeast of Scotland, down to the latter half of the eighteenth +century, farmers used to go round their lands with burning torches about +the middle of June.[528] On the hill of Cairnshee, in the parish of +Durris, Kincardineshire, the herdsmen of the country round about +annually kindle a bonfire at sunset on Midsummer Day (the twenty-fourth +of June); the men or lads collect the fuel and push each other through +the smoke and flames. The custom is kept up through the benefaction of a +certain Alexander Hogg, a native of the parish, who died about 1790 and +left a small sum for the maintenance of a midsummer bonfire on the spot, +because as a boy he had herded cattle on the hill. We may conjecture +that in doing so he merely provided for the continuance of an old custom +which he himself had observed in the same place in his youth.[529] At +the village of Tarbolton in Ayrshire a bonfire has been annually kindled +from time immemorial on the evening of the first Monday after the +eleventh of June. A noted cattle-market was formerly held at the fair on +the following day. The bonfire is still lit at the gloaming by the lads +and lasses of the village on a high mound or hillock just outside of the +village. Fuel for it is collected by the lads from door to door. The +youth dance round the fire and leap over the fringes of it. The many +cattle-drovers who used to assemble for the fair were wont to gather +round the blazing pile, smoke their pipes, and listen to the young folk +singing in chorus on the hillock. Afterwards they wrapped themselves in +their plaids and slept round the bonfire, which was intended to last all +night.[530] Thomas Moresin of Aberdeen, a writer of the sixteenth +century, says that on St. Peter's Day, which is the twenty-ninth of +June, the Scotch ran about at night with lighted torches on mountains +and high grounds, "as Ceres did when she roamed the whole earth in +search of Proserpine";[531] and towards the end of the eighteenth +century the parish minister of Loudoun, a district of Ayrshire whose +"bonny woods and braes" have been sung by Burns, wrote that "the custom +still remains amongst the herds and young people to kindle fires in the +high grounds in honour of Beltan. _Beltan_, which in Gaelic signifies +_Baal_, or _Bel's-fire_, was antiently the time of this solemnity. It is +now kept on St. Peter's day."[532] + +[The Midsummer fires in Spain and the Azores; divination on Midsummer +Eve in the Azores; the Midsummer fires in Corsica and Sardinia.] + +All over Spain great bonfires called _lumes_ are still lit on Midsummer +Eve. They are kept up all night, and the children leap over them in a +certain rhythmical way which is said to resemble the ancient dances. On +the coast, people at this season plunge into the sea; in the inland +districts the villagers go and roll naked in the dew of the meadows, +which is supposed to be a sovereign preservative against diseases of the +skin. On this evening, too, girls who would pry into the future put a +vessel of water on the sill outside their window; and when the clocks +strike twelve, they break an egg in the water and see, or fancy they +see, in the shapes assumed by the pulp, as it blends with the liquid, +the likeness of future bridegrooms, castles, coffins, and so forth. But +generally, as might perhaps have been anticipated, the obliging egg +exhibits the features of a bridegroom.[533] In the Azores, also, +bonfires are lit on Midsummer Eve (St. John's Eve), and boys jump over +them for luck. On that night St. John himself is supposed to appear in +person and bless all the seas and waters, driving out the devils and +demons who had been disporting themselves in them ever since the second +day of November; that is why in the interval between the second of +November and the twenty-third of June nobody will bathe in the sea or in +a hot spring. On Midsummer Eve, too, you can always see the devil, if +you will go into a garden at midnight. He is invariably found standing +near a mustard-plant. His reason for adopting this posture has not been +ascertained; perhaps in the chilly air of the upper world he is +attracted by the genial warmth of the mustard. Various forms of +divination are practised by people in the Azores on Midsummer Eve. Thus +a new-laid egg is broken into a glass of water, and the shapes which it +assumes foreshadow the fate of the person concerned. Again, seven +saucers are placed in a row, filled respectively with water, earth, +ashes, keys, a thimble, money, and grass, which things signify travel, +death, widowhood, housekeeping, spinsterhood, riches, and farming. A +blindfolded person touches one or other of the saucers with a wand and +so discovers his or her fate. Again, three broad beans are taken; one is +left in its skin, one is half peeled, and the third is peeled outright. +The three denote respectively riches, competence, and poverty. They are +hidden and searched for; and he who finds one of them knows accordingly +whether he will be rich, moderately well-off, or poor. Again, girls take +slips of paper and write the names of young men twice over on them. +These they fold up and crumple and place one set under their pillows and +the other set in a saucer full of water. In the morning they draw one +slip of paper from under their pillow, and see whether one in the water +has opened out. If the names on the two slips are the same, it is the +name of her future husband. Young men do the same with girls' names. +Once more, if a girl rises at sunrise, goes out into the street, and +asks the first passer-by his Christian name, that will be her husband's +name.[534] Some of these modes of divination resemble those which are or +used to be practised in Scotland at Hallowe'en.[535] In Corsica on the +Eve of St. John the people set fire to the trunk of a tree or to a whole +tree, and the young men and maidens dance round the blaze, which is +called _fucaraia_.[536] We have seen that at Ozieri, in Sardinia, a +great bonfire is kindled on St. John's Eve, and that the young people +dance round it.[537] + +[The Midsummer fires in the Abruzzi; bathing on Midsummer Eve in the +Abruzzi; the Midsummer fires in Sicily; the witches at Midsummer.] + +Passing to Italy, we find that the midsummer fires are still lighted on +St. John's Eve in many parts of the Abruzzi. They are commonest in the +territory which was inhabited in antiquity by the Vestini; they are +rarer in the land of the ancient Marsi, and they disappear entirely in +the lower valley of the Sangro. For the most part, the fires are fed +with straw and dry grass, and are kindled in the fields near the +villages or on high ground. As they blaze up, the people dance round or +over them. In leaping across the flames the boys cry out, "St. John, +preserve my thighs and legs!" Formerly it used to be common to light the +bonfires also in the towns in front of churches of St. John, and the +remains of the sacred fire were carried home by the people; but this +custom has mostly fallen into disuse. However, at Celano the practice is +still kept up of taking brands and ashes from the bonfires to the +houses, although the fires are no longer kindled in front of the +churches, but merely in the streets.[538] In the Abruzzi water also is +supposed to acquire certain marvellous and beneficent properties on St. +John's Night. Hence many people bathe or at least wash their faces and +hands in the sea or a river at that season, especially at the moment of +sunrise. Such a bath is said to be an excellent cure for diseases of the +skin. At Castiglione a Casauria the people, after washing in the river +or in springs, gird their waists and wreath their brows with sprigs of +briony in order to keep them from aches and pains.[539] In various parts +of Sicily, also, fires are kindled on Midsummer Eve (St. John's Eve), +the twenty-third of June. On the Madonie mountains, in the north of the +island, the herdsmen kindle them at intervals, so that the crests of the +mountains are seen ablaze in the darkness for many miles. About +Acireale, on the east coast of the island, the bonfires are lit by boys, +who jump over them. At Chiaromonte the witches that night acquire +extraordinary powers; hence everybody then puts a broom outside of his +house, because a broom is an excellent protective against +witchcraft.[540] At Orvieto the midsummer fires were specially excepted +from the prohibition directed against bonfires in general.[541] + +[The Midsummer fires in Malta ] + +In Malta also the people celebrate Midsummer Eve (St. John's Eve) "by +kindling great fires in the public streets, and giving their children +dolls to carry in their arms on this day, in order to make good the +prophecy respecting the Baptist, _Multi in nativitate ejus gaudebunt_. +Days and even weeks before this festival, groups of children are seen +going out into the country fields to gather straw, twigs, and all sorts +of other combustibles, which they store up for St. John's Eve. On the +night of the twenty-third of June, the day before the festival of the +Saint, great fires are kindled in the streets, squares, and market +places of the towns and villages of the Island, and as fire after fire +blazes out of the darkness of that summer night, the effect is +singularly striking. These fires are sometimes kept up for hours, being +continually fed by the scores of bystanders, who take great delight in +throwing amidst the flames some old rickety piece of furniture which +they consider as lumber in their houses. Lots of happy and reckless +children, and very often men, are seen merrily leaping in succession +over and through the crackling flames. At the time of the Order of St. +John of Jerusalem, the Grand Master himself, soon after the _Angelus_, +used to leave his palace, accompanied by the Grand Prior, the Bishop, +and two bailiffs, to set fire to some pitch barrels which were placed +for the occasion in the square facing the sacred Hospital. Great crowds +used to assemble here in order to assist at this ceremony. The setting +ablaze of the five casks, and later on of the eight casks, by the Grand +Master, was a signal for the others to kindle their fires in the +different parts of the town."[542] + +[The Midsummer fires in Greece; the Midsummer fires in Macedonia and +Albania.] + +In Greece, the custom of kindling fires on St. John's Eve and jumping +over them is said to be still universal. One reason assigned for it is a +wish to escape from the fleas.[543] According to another account, the +women cry out, as they leap over the fire, "I leave my sins behind +me."[544] In Lesbos the fires on St. John's Eve are usually lighted by +threes, and the people spring thrice over them, each with a stone on his +head, saying, "I jump the hare's fire, my head a stone!" On the morning +of St. John's Day those who dwell near the coast go to bathe in the sea. +As they go they gird themselves with osiers, and when they are in the +water they let the osiers float away, saying, "Let my maladies go away!" +Then they look for what is called "the hairy stone," which possesses the +remarkable property not only of keeping moths from clothes but even of +multiplying the clothes in the chest where it is laid up, and the more +hairs on the stone the more will the clothes multiply in the chest.[545] +In Calymnos the midsummer fire is supposed to ensure abundance in the +coming year as well as deliverance from fleas. The people dance round +the fires singing, with stones on their heads, and then jump over the +blaze or the glowing embers. When the fire is burning low, they throw +the stones into it; and when it is nearly out, they make crosses on +their legs and then go straightway and bathe in the sea.[546] In Cos the +lads and lasses dance round the bonfires on St. John's Eve. Each of the +lads binds a black stone on his head, signifying that he wishes to +become as strong as the stone. Also they make the sign of the cross on +their feet and legs and jump over the fire.[547] On Midsummer Eve the +Greeks of Macedonia light fires after supper in front of their gates. +The garlands, now faded, which were hung over the doors on May Day, are +taken down and cast into the flames, after which the young folk leap +over the blaze, fully persuaded that St. John's fire will not burn +them.[548] In Albania fires of dry herbage are, or used to be, lit +everywhere on St. John's Eve; young and old leap over them, for such a +leap is thought to be good for the health.[549] + +[The Midsummer fires in America.] + +From the Old World the midsummer fires have been carried across the +Atlantic to America. In Brazil people jump over the fires of St. John, +and at this season they can take hot coals in their mouths without +burning themselves.[550] In Bolivia on the Eve of St. John it is usual +to see bonfires lighted on the hills and even in the streets of the +capital La Paz. As the city stands at the bottom of an immense ravine, +and the Indians of the neighbourhood take a pride in kindling bonfires +on heights which might seem inaccessible, the scene is very striking +when the darkness of night is suddenly and simultaneously lit up by +hundreds of fires, which cast a glare on surrounding objects, producing +an effect at once weird and picturesque.[551] + +[The Midsummer fires among the Mohammedans of Morocco and Algeria.] + +The custom of kindling bonfires on Midsummer Day or on Midsummer Eve is +widely spread among the Mohammedan peoples of North Africa, particularly +in Morocco and Algeria; it is common both to the Berbers and to many of +the Arabs or Arabic-speaking tribes. In these countries Midsummer Day +(the twenty-fourth of June, Old Style) is called [Arabic: _l'ansara_]. +The fires are lit in the courtyards, at cross-roads, in the fields, and +sometimes on the threshing-floors. Plants which in burning give out a +thick smoke and an aromatic smell are much sought after for fuel on +these occasions; among the plants used for the purpose are giant-fennel, +thyme, rue, chervil-seed, camomile, geranium, and penny-royal. People +expose themselves, and especially their children, to the smoke, and +drive it towards the orchards and the crops. Also they leap across the +fires; in some places everybody ought to repeat the leap seven times. +Moreover they take burning brands from the fires and carry them through +the houses in order to fumigate them. They pass things through the fire, +and bring the sick into contact with it, while they utter prayers for +their recovery. The ashes of the bonfires are also reputed to possess +beneficial properties; hence in some places people rub their hair or +their bodies with them.[552] For example, the Andjra mountaineers of +Morocco kindle large fires in open places of their villages on Midsummer +Day. Men, women, and children jump over the flames or the glowing +embers, believing that by so doing they rid themselves of all misfortune +which may be clinging to them; they imagine, also, that such leaps cure +the sick and procure offspring for childless couples. Moreover, they +burn straw, together with some marjoram and alum, in the fold where the +cattle, sheep, and goats are penned for the night; the smoke, in their +opinion, will make the animals thrive. On Midsummer Day the Arabs of the +Mnasara tribe make fires outside their tents, near their animals, on +their fields, and in their gardens. Large quantities of penny-royal are +burned in these fires, and over some of them the people leap thrice to +and fro. Sometimes small fires are also kindled inside the tents. They +say that the smoke confers blessings on everything with which it comes +into contact. At Salee, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, persons who +suffer from diseased eyes rub them with the ashes of the midsummer fire; +and in Casablanca and Azemmur the people hold their faces over the fire, +because the smoke is thought to be good for the eyes. The Arab tribe +Ulad Bu Aziz, in the Dukkala province of Morocco, kindle midsummer +bonfires, not for themselves and their cattle, but only for crops and +fruit; nobody likes to reap his crops before Midsummer Day, because if +he did they would lose the benefit of the blessed influence which flows +from the smoke of the bonfires. Again, the Beni Mgild, a Berber tribe of +Morocco, light fires of straw on Midsummer Eve and leap thrice over them +to and fro. They let some of the smoke pass underneath their clothes, +and married women hold their breasts over the fire, in order that their +children may be strong. Moreover, they paint their eyes and lips with +some black powder, in which ashes of the bonfire are mixed. And in order +that their horses may also benefit by the fires, they dip the right +forelegs of the animals in the smoke and flames or in the hot embers, +and they rub ashes on the foreheads and between the nostrils of the +horses. Berbers of the Rif province, in northern Morocco, similarly make +great use of fires at midsummer for the good of themselves, their +cattle, and their fruit-trees. They jump over the bonfires in the belief +that this will preserve them in good health, and they light fires under +fruit-trees to keep the fruit from falling untimely. And they imagine +that by rubbing a paste of the ashes on their hair they prevent the hair +from falling off their heads.[553] + +[Beneficial effect ascribed to the smoke of the fires; ill luck supposed +to be burnt in the Midsummer fires; the Midsummer festival in North +Africa comprises rites concerned with water as well as with fire; the +Midsummer festival in North Africa is probably older than +Mohammedanism.] + +In all these Moroccan customs, we are told, the beneficial effect is +attributed wholly to the smoke, which is supposed to be endued with a +magical quality that removes misfortune from men, animals, fruit-trees, +and crops. But in some parts of Morocco people at midsummer kindle fires +of a different sort, not for the sake of fumigation, but in order to +burn up misfortune in the flames. Thus on Midsummer Eve the Berber tribe +of the Beni Mgild burn three sheaves of unthreshed wheat or barley, "one +for the children, one for the crops, and one for the animals." On the +same occasion they burn the tent of a widow who has never given birth to +a child; by so doing they think to rid the village of ill luck. It is +said that at midsummer the Zemmur burn a tent, which belongs to somebody +who was killed in war during a feast; or if there is no such person in +the village, the schoolmaster's tent is burned instead. Among the +Arabic-speaking Beni Ahsen it is customary for those who live near the +river Sbu to make a little hut of straw at midsummer, set it on fire, +and let it float down the river. Similarly the inhabitants of Salee burn +a straw hut on the river which flows past their town.[554] + +Further it deserves to be noticed that in Northern Africa, as in +Southern Europe, the midsummer festival comprises rites concerned with +water as well as with fire. For example, among the Beni-Snous the women +light a fire in an oven, throw perfumes into it, and circumambulate a +tank, which they also incense after a fashion. In many places on the +coast, as in the province of Oran and particularly in the north of +Morocco, everybody goes and bathes in the sea at midsummer; and in many +towns of the interior, such as Fez, Mequinez, and especially Merrakech, +people throw water over each other on this day; and where water is +scarce, earth is used instead, according to the Mohammedan principle +which permits ablutions to be performed with earth or sand when water +cannot be spared for the purpose.[555] People of the Andjra district in +Morocco not only bathe themselves in the sea or in rivers at midsummer, +they also bathe their animals, their horses, mules, donkeys, cattle, +sheep, and goats; for they think that on that day water possesses a +blessed virtue (_baraka_), which removes sickness and misfortune. In +Aglu, again, men, women, and children bathe in the sea or springs or +rivers at midsummer, alleging that by so doing they protect themselves +against disease for the whole year. Among the Berbers of the Rif +district the custom of bathing on this day is commonly observed, and +animals share the ablutions.[556] + +[Some Mohammedans of North Africa kindle fires and observe water +ceremonies at their movable New Year; water ceremonies at New Year in +Morocco; the rites of fire and water at Midsummer and New Year in +Morocco seem to be identical in character; the duplication of the +festival is probably due to a conflict between the solar calendar of the +Romans and the lunar calendar of the Arabs.] + +The celebration of a midsummer festival by Mohammedan peoples is +particularly remarkable, because the Mohammedan calendar, being purely +lunar and uncorrected by intercalation, necessarily takes no note of +festivals which occupy fixed points in the solar year; all strictly +Mohammedan feasts, being pinned to the moon, slide gradually with that +luminary through the whole period of the earth's revolution about the +sun. This fact of itself seems to prove that among the Mohammedan +peoples of Northern Africa, as among the Christian peoples of Europe, +the midsummer festival is quite independent of the religion which the +people publicly profess, and is a relic of a far older paganism. There +are, indeed, independent grounds for thinking that the Arabs enjoyed the +advantage of a comparatively well-regulated solar year before the +prophet of God saddled them with the absurdity and inconvenience of a +purely lunar calendar.[557] Be that as it may, it is notable that some +Mohammedan people of North Africa kindle fires and bathe in water at the +movable New Year of their lunar calendar instead of at the fixed +Midsummer of the solar year; while others again practise these +observances at both seasons. New Year's Day, on which the rites are +celebrated, is called _Ashur_; it is the tenth day of Moharram, the +first month of the Mohammedan calendar. On that day bonfires are kindled +in Tunis and also at Merrakech and among some tribes of the +neighbourhood.[558] At Demnat, in the Great Atlas mountains, people +kindle a large bonfire on New Year's Eve and leap to and fro over the +flames, uttering words which imply that by these leaps they think to +purify themselves from all kinds of evil. At Aglu, in the province of +Sus, the fire is lighted at three different points by an unmarried girl, +and when it has died down the young men leap over the glowing embers, +saying, "We shook on you, O Lady Ashur, fleas, and lice, and the +illnesses of the heart, as also those of the bones; we shall pass +through you again next year and the following years with safety and +health." Both at Aglu and Glawi, in the Great Atlas, smaller fires are +also kindled, over which the animals are driven. At Demnat girls who +wish to marry wash themselves in water which has been boiled over the +New Year fire; and in Dukkala people use the ashes of that fire to rub +sore eyes with. New Year fires appear to be commonly kindled among the +Berbers who inhabit the western portion of the Great Atlas, and also +among the Arabic-speaking tribes of the plains; but Dr. Westermarck +found no traces of such fires among the Arabic-speaking mountaineers of +Northern Morocco and the Berbers of the Rif province. Further, it should +be observed that water ceremonies like those which are practised at +Midsummer are very commonly observed in Morocco at the New Year, that +is, on the tenth day of the first month. On the morning of that day +(_Ashur_) all water or, according to some people, only spring water is +endowed with a magical virtue (_baraka_), especially before sunrise. +Hence at that time the people bathe and pour water over each other; in +some places they also sprinkle their animals, tents, or rooms. In +Dukkala some of the New Year water is preserved at home till New Year's +Day (_Ashur_) of next year; some of it is kept to be used as medicine, +some of it is poured on the place where the corn is threshed, and some +is used to water the money which is to be buried in the ground; for the +people think that the earth-spirits will not be able to steal the buried +treasures which have thus been sanctified with the holy water.[559] + +[The Midsummer festival in Morocco seems to be of Berber origin.] + +Thus the rites of fire and water which are observed in Morocco at +Midsummer and New Year appear to be identical in character and +intention, and it seems certain that the duplication of the rites is due +to a conflict between two calendars, namely the old Julian calendar of +the Romans, which was based on the sun, and the newer Mohammedan +calendar of the Arabs, which is based on the moon. For not only was the +Julian calendar in use throughout the whole of Northern Africa under the +Roman Empire; to this day it is everywhere employed among Mohammedans +for the regulation of agriculture and all the affairs of daily life; its +practical convenience has made it indispensable, and the lunar calendar +of orthodox Mohammedanism is scarcely used except for purposes of +chronology. Even the old Latin names of the months are known and +employed, in slightly disguised forms, throughout the whole Moslem +world; and little calendars of the Julian year circulate in manuscript +among Mohammedans, permitting them to combine the practical advantages +of pagan science with a nominal adherence to orthodox absurdity.[560] +Thus the heathen origin of the midsummer festival is too palpable to +escape the attention of good Mohammedans, who accordingly frown upon the +midsummer bonfires as pagan superstitions, precisely as similar +observances in Europe have often been denounced by orthodox +Christianity. Indeed, many religious people in Morocco entirely +disapprove of the whole of the midsummer ceremonies, maintaining that +they are all bad; and a conscientious schoolmaster will even refuse his +pupils a holiday at midsummer, though the boys sometimes offer him a +bribe if he will sacrifice his scruples to his avarice.[561] As the +midsummer customs appear to flourish among all the Berbers of Morocco +but to be unknown among the pure Arabs who have not been affected by +Berber influence, it seems reasonable to infer with Dr. Westermarck that +the midsummer festival has belonged from time immemorial to the Berber +race, and that so far as it is now observed by the Arabs of Morocco, it +has been learned by them from the Berbers, the old indigenous +inhabitants of the country. Dr. Westermarck may also be right in holding +that, in spite of the close similarity which obtains between the +midsummer festival of Europe and the midsummer festival of North Africa, +the latter is not a copy of the former, but that both have been handed +down independently from a time beyond the purview of history, when such +ceremonies were common to the Mediterranean race.[562] + + +Sec. 5. _The Autumn Fires_ + + +[Festivals of fire in August; Russian feast of Florus and Laurus on +August 18th; "Living fire" made by the friction of wood.] + +In the months which elapse between midsummer and the setting in of +winter the European festivals of fire appear to be few and unimportant. +On the evening of the first day of August, which is the Festival of the +Cross, bonfires are commonly lit in Macedonia and boys jump over them, +shouting, "Dig up! bury!" but whom or what they wish to dig up or bury +they do not know.[563] The Russians hold the feast of two martyrs, +Florus and Laurus, on the eighteenth day of August, Old Style. "On this +day the Russians lead their horses round the church of their village, +beside which on the foregoing evening they dig a hole with two mouths. +Each horse has a bridle made of the bark of the linden-tree. The horses +go through this hole one after the other, opposite to one of the mouths +of which the priest stands with a sprinkler in his hand, with which he +sprinkles them. As soon as the horses have passed by their bridles are +taken off, and they are made to go between two fires that they kindle, +called by the Russians _Givoy Agon_, that is to say, living fires, of +which I shall give an account. I shall before remark, that the Russian +peasantry throw the bridles of their horses into one of these fires to +be consumed. This is the manner of their lighting these _givoy agon_, or +living fires. Some men hold the ends of a stick made of the plane-tree, +very dry, and about a fathom long. This stick they hold firmly over one +of birch, perfectly dry, and rub with violence and quickly against the +former; the birch, which is somewhat softer than the plane, in a short +time inflames, and serves them to light both the fires I have +described."[564] + +[Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin on the eighth of September at Capri +and Naples.] + +The Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin on the eighth day of September +is celebrated at Naples and Capri with fireworks, bonfires, and +assassinations. On this subject my friend Professor A. E. Housman, who +witnessed the celebration in different years at both places, has kindly +furnished me with the following particulars: "In 1906 I was in the +island of Capri on September the eighth, the feast of the Nativity of +the Virgin. The anniversary was duly solemnised by fire-works at nine or +ten in the evening, which I suppose were municipal; but just after +sundown the boys outside the villages were making small fires of +brushwood on waste bits of ground by the wayside. Very pretty it looked, +with the flames blowing about in the twilight; but what took my +attention was the listlessness of the boys and their lack of interest in +the proceeding. A single lad, the youngest, would be raking the fire +together and keeping it alight, but the rest stood lounging about and +looking in every other direction, with the air of discharging +mechanically a traditional office from which all zest had evaporated." +"The pious orgy at Naples on September the eighth went through the +following phases when I witnessed it in 1897. It began at eight in the +evening with an illumination of the facade of Santa Maria Piedigrotta +and with the whole population walking about blowing penny trumpets. +After four hours of this I went to bed at midnight, and was lulled to +sleep by barrel-organs, which supersede the trumpets about that hour. At +four in the morning I was waked by detonations as if the British fleet +were bombarding the city, caused, I was afterwards told, by dynamite +rockets. The only step possible beyond this is assassination, which +accordingly takes place about peep of day: I forget now the number of +the slain, but I think the average is eight or ten, and I know that in +honour of my presence they murdered a few more than usual." + +[The Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin may have replaced a pagan +festival; the coincidence of the Midsummer festival with the summer +solstice implies that the founders of the festival regulated their +calendar by observation of the sun.] + +It is no doubt possible that these illuminations and fireworks, like the +assassinations, are merely the natural and spontaneous expressions of +that overflowing joy with which the thought of the birth of the Virgin +must fill every pious heart; but when we remember how often the Church +has skilfully decanted the new wine of Christianity into the old bottles +of heathendom, we may be allowed to conjecture that the ecclesiastical +authorities adroitly timed the Nativity of the Virgin so as to coincide +with an old pagan festival of that day, in which fire, noise, and +uproar, if not broken heads and bloodshed, were conspicuous features. +The penny trumpets blown on this occasion recall the like melodious +instruments which figure so largely in the celebration of Befana (the +Eve of Epiphany) at Rome.[565] + + +Sec. 6. _The Hallowe'en Fires_ + + +[On the other hand the Celts divided their year, not by the solstices, +but by the beginning of summer (the first of May) and the beginning of +winter (the first of November).] + +From the foregoing survey we may infer that among the heathen +forefathers of the European peoples the most popular and widespread +fire-festival of the year was the great celebration of Midsummer Eve or +Midsummer Day. The coincidence of the festival with the summer solstice +can hardly be accidental. Rather we must suppose that our pagan +ancestors purposely timed the ceremony of fire on earth to coincide with +the arrival of the sun at the highest point of his course in the sky. If +that was so, it follows that the old founders of the midsummer rites had +observed the solstices or turning-points of the sun's apparent path in +the sky, and that they accordingly regulated their festal calendar to +some extent by astronomical considerations. + +[The division seems to have been neither astronomical nor agricultural +but pastoral, being determined by the times when cattle are driven to +and from their summer pasture.] + +But while this may be regarded as fairly certain for what we may call +the aborigines throughout a large part of the continent, it appears not +to have been true of the Celtic peoples who inhabited the Land's End of +Europe, the islands and promontories that stretch out into the Atlantic +ocean on the North-West. The principal fire-festivals of the Celts, +which have survived, though in a restricted area and with diminished +pomp, to modern times and even to our own day, were seemingly timed +without any reference to the position of the sun in the heaven. They +were two in number, and fell at an interval of six months, one being +celebrated on the eve of May Day and the other on Allhallow Even or +Hallowe'en, as it is now commonly called, that is, on the thirty-first +of October, the day preceding All Saints' or Allhallows' Day. These +dates coincide with none of the four great hinges on which the solar +year revolves, to wit, the solstices and the equinoxes. Nor do they +agree with the principal seasons of the agricultural year, the sowing in +spring and the reaping in autumn. For when May Day comes, the seed has +long been committed to the earth; and when November opens, the harvest +has long been reaped and garnered, the fields lie bare, the fruit-trees +are stripped, and even the yellow leaves are fast fluttering to the +ground. Yet the first of May and the first of November mark +turning-points of the year in Europe; the one ushers in the genial heat +and the rich vegetation of summer, the other heralds, if it does not +share, the cold and barrenness of winter. Now these particular points of +the year, as has been well pointed out by a learned and ingenious +writer,[566] while they are of comparatively little moment to the +European husbandman, do deeply concern the European herdsman; for it is +on the approach of summer that he drives his cattle out into the open to +crop the fresh grass, and it is on the approach of winter that he leads +them back to the safety and shelter of the stall. Accordingly it seems +not improbable that the Celtic bisection of the year into two halves at +the beginning of May and the beginning of November dates from a time +when the Celts were mainly a pastoral people, dependent for their +subsistence on their herds, and when accordingly the great epochs of the +year for them were the days on which the cattle went forth from the +homestead in early summer and returned to it again in early winter.[567] +Even in Central Europe, remote from the region now occupied by the +Celts, a similar bisection of the year may be clearly traced in the +great popularity, on the one hand, of May Day and its Eve (Walpurgis +Night), and, on the other hand, of the Feast of All Souls at the +beginning of November, which under a thin Christian cloak conceals an +ancient pagan festival of the dead.[568] Hence we may conjecture that +everywhere throughout Europe the celestial division of the year +according to the solstices was preceded by what we may call a +terrestrial division of the year according to the beginning of summer +and the beginning of winter. + +[The two great Celtic festivals, Beltane and Hallowe'en.] + +Be that as it may, the two great Celtic festivals of May Day and the +first of November or, to be more accurate, the Eves of these two days, +closely resemble each other in the manner of their celebration and in +the superstitions associated with them, and alike, by the antique +character impressed upon both, betray a remote and purely pagan origin. +The festival of May Day or Beltane, as the Celts called it, which +ushered in summer, has already been described;[569] it remains to give +some account of the corresponding festival of Hallowe'en, which +announced the arrival of winter. + +[Hallowe'en (the evening of October 31st) seems to have marked the +beginning of the Celtic year; the many forms of divination resorted to +at Hallowe'en are appropriate to the beginning of a New Year; Hallowe'en +also a festival of the dead.] + +Of the two feasts Hallowe'en was perhaps of old the more important, +since the Celts would seem to have dated the beginning of the year from +it rather than from Beltane. In the Isle of Man, one of the fortresses +in which the Celtic language and lore longest held out against the siege +of the Saxon invaders, the first of November, Old Style, has been +regarded as New Year's day down to recent times. Thus Manx mummers used +to go round on Hallowe'en (Old Style), singing, in the Manx language, a +sort of Hogmanay song which began "To-night is New Year's Night, +_Hog-unnaa_!"[570] One of Sir John Rhys's Manx informants, an old man of +sixty-seven, "had been a farm servant from the age of sixteen till he +was twenty-six to the same man, near Regaby, in the parish of Andreas, +and he remembers his master and a near neighbour of his discussing the +term New Year's Day as applied to the first of November, and explaining +to the younger men that it had always been so in old times. In fact, it +seemed to him natural enough, as all tenure of land ends at that time, +and as all servant men begin their service then."[571] In ancient +Ireland, as we saw, a new fire used to be kindled every year on +Hallowe'en or the Eve of Samhain, and from this sacred flame all the +fires in Ireland were rekindled.[572] Such a custom points strongly to +Samhain or All Saints' Day (the first of November) as New Year's Day; +since the annual kindling of a new fire takes place most naturally at +the beginning of the year, in order that the blessed influence of the +fresh fire may last throughout the whole period of twelve months. +Another confirmation of the view that the Celts dated their year from +the first of November is furnished by the manifold modes of divination +which, as we shall see presently, were commonly resorted to by Celtic +peoples on Hallowe'en for the purpose of ascertaining their destiny, +especially their fortune in the coming year; for when could these +devices for prying into the future be more reasonably put in practice +than at the beginning of the year? As a season of omens and auguries +Hallowe'en seems to have far surpassed Beltane in the imagination of the +Celts; from which we may with some probability infer that they reckoned +their year from Hallowe'en rather than Beltane. Another circumstance of +great moment which points to the same conclusion is the association of +the dead with Hallowe'en. Not only among the Celts but throughout +Europe, Hallowe'en, the night which marks the transition from autumn to +winter, seems to have been of old the time of year when the souls of the +departed were supposed to revisit their old homes in order to warm +themselves by the fire and to comfort themselves with the good cheer +provided for them in the kitchen or the parlour by their affectionate +kinsfolk.[573] It was, perhaps, a natural thought that the approach of +winter should drive the poor shivering hungry ghosts from the bare +fields and the leafless woodlands to the shelter of the cottage with its +familiar fireside.[574] Did not the lowing kine then troop back from the +summer pastures in the forests and on the hills to be fed and cared for +in the stalls, while the bleak winds whistled among the swaying boughs +and the snow drifts deepened in the hollows? and could the good-man and +the good-wife deny to the spirits of their dead the welcome which they +gave to the cows? + +[Fairies and Hobgoblins let loose at Hallowe'en.] + +But it is not only the souls of the departed who are supposed to be +hovering unseen on the day "when autumn to winter resigns the pale +year." Witches then speed on their errands of mischief, some sweeping +through the air on besoms, others galloping along the roads on +tabby-cats, which for that evening are turned into coal-black +steeds.[575] The fairies, too, are all let loose, and hobgoblins of +every sort roam freely about In South Uist and Eriskay there is a +saying:-- + +"_Hallowe'en will come, will come, +Witchcraft [or divination] will be set agoing, +Fairies will be at full speed, +Running in every pass. +Avoid the road, children, children_."[576] + +[Dancing with the fairies at Hallowe'en.] + +In Cardiganshire on November Eve a bogie sits on every stile.[577] On +that night in Ireland all the fairy hills are thrown wide open and the +fairies swarm forth; any man who is bold enough may then peep into the +open green hills and see the treasures hidden in them. Worse than that, +the cave of Cruachan in Connaught, known as "the Hell-gate of Ireland," +is unbarred on Samhain Eve or Hallowe'en, and a host of horrible fiends +and goblins used to rush forth, particularly a flock of copper-red +birds, which blighted crops and killed animals by their poisonous +breath.[578] The Scotch Highlanders have a special name _Samhanach_ +(derived from _Samhain_, "All-hallows") for the dreadful bogies that go +about that night stealing babies and committing other atrocities.[579] +And though the fairies are a kindlier folk, it is dangerous to see even +them at their revels on Hallowe'en. A melancholy case of this sort is +reported from the Ferintosh district of the Highlands, though others say +that it happened at the Slope of Big Stones in Harris. Two young men +were coming home after nightfall on Hallowe'en, each with a jar of +whisky on his back, when they saw, as they thought, a house all lit up +by the roadside, from which proceeded the sounds of music and dancing. +In reality it was not a house at all but a fairy knoll, and it was the +fairies who were jigging it about there so merrily. But one of the young +men was deceived and stepping into the house joined in the dance, +without even stopping to put down the jar of whisky. His companion was +wiser; he had a shrewd suspicion that the place was not what it seemed, +and on entering he took the precaution of sticking a needle in the door. +That disarmed the power of the fairies, and he got away safely. Well, +that day twelve months he came back to the spot and what should he see +but his poor friend still dancing away with the jar of whisky on his +back? A weary man was he, as you may well believe, but he begged to be +allowed to finish the reel which he was in the act of executing, and +when they took him out into the open air, there was nothing of him left +but skin and bones.[580] Again, the wicked fairies are apt to carry off +men's wives with them to fairyland; but the lost spouses can be +recovered within a year and a day when the procession of the fairies is +defiling past on Hallowe'en, always provided that the mortals did not +partake of elfin food while they were in elfinland.[581] + +[Guleesh and the revels of the fairies at Hallowe'en.] + +Sometimes valuable information may be obtained from the fairies on +Hallowe'en. There was a young man named Guleesh in the County of Mayo. +Near his house was a _rath_ or old fort with a fine grass bank running +round it. One Hallowe'en, when the darkness was falling, Guleesh went to +the rath and stood on a gray old flag. The night was calm and still; +there was not a breath of wind stirring, nor a sound to be heard except +the hum of the insects flitting past, or the whistle of the plovers, or +the hoarse scream of the wild geese as they winged their way far +overhead. Above the white fog the moon rose like a knob of fire in the +east, and a thousand thousand stars were twinkling in the sky. There was +a little frost in the air, the grass was white and crisp and crackled +under foot. Guleesh expected to see the fairies, but they did not come. +Hour after hour wore away, and he was just bethinking him of going home +to bed, when his ear caught a sound far off coming towards him, and he +knew what it was in a moment. The sound grew louder and louder; at first +it was like the beating of waves on a stony shore, then it was like the +roar of a waterfall, at last it was like a mighty rushing wind in the +tops of the trees, then the storm burst upon the rath, and sure enough +the fairies were in it. The rout went by so suddenly that Guleesh lost +his breath; but he came to himself and listened. The fairies were now +gathered within the grassy bank of the rath, and a fine uproar they +made. But Guleesh listened with all his ears, and he heard one fairy +saying to another that a magic herb grew by Guleesh's own door, and that +Guleesh had nothing to do but pluck it and boil it and give it to his +sweetheart, the daughter of the King of France, and she would be well, +for just then she was lying very ill. Guleesh took the hint, and +everything went as the fairy had said. And he married the daughter of +the King of France; and they had never a cark nor a care, a sickness nor +a sorrow, a mishap nor a misfortune to the day of their death.[582] + +[Divination resorted to in Celtic countries at Hallowe'en.] + +In all Celtic countries Hallowe'en seems to have been the great season +of the year for prying into the future; all kinds of divination were put +in practice that night. We read that Dathi, a king of Ireland in the +fifth century, happening to be at the Druids' Hill (_Cnoc-nan-druad_) in +the county of Sligo one Hallowe'en, ordered his druid to forecast for +him the future from that day till the next Hallowe'en should come round. +The druid passed the night on the top of the hill, and next morning made +a prediction to the king which came true.[583] In Wales Hallowe'en was +the weirdest of all the _Teir Nos Ysbrydion_, or Three Spirit Nights, +when the wind, "blowing over the feet of the corpses," bore sighs to the +houses of those who were to die within the year. People thought that if +on that night they went out to a cross-road and listened to the wind, +they would learn all the most important things that would befall them +during the next twelve months.[584] In Wales, too, not so long ago women +used to congregate in the parish churches on the night of Hallowe'en and +read their fate from the flame of the candle which each of them held in +her hand; also they heard the names or saw the coffins of the +parishioners who would die within the year, and many were the sad scenes +to which these gloomy visions gave rise.[585] And in the Highlands of +Scotland anybody who pleased could hear proclaimed aloud the names of +parishioners doomed to perish within the next twelve months, if he would +only take a three-legged stool and go and sit on it at three +cross-roads, while the church clock was striking twelve at midnight on +Hallowe'en. It was even in his power to save the destined victims from +their doom by taking with him articles of wearing apparel and throwing +them away, one by one, as each name was called out by the mysterious +voice.[586] + +[Hallowe'en bonfires in the Highlands of Scotland; John Ramsay's account +of the Hallowe'en bonfires; divination from stones at the fire; +Hallowe'en fires in the parishes of Callander and Logierait.] + +But while a glamour of mystery and awe has always clung to Hallowe'en in +the minds of the Celtic peasantry, the popular celebration of the +festival has been, at least in modern times, by no means of a +prevailingly gloomy cast; on the contrary it has been attended by +picturesque features and merry pastimes, which rendered it the gayest +night of all the year. Amongst the things which in the Highlands of +Scotland contributed to invest the festival with a romantic beauty were +the bonfires which used to blaze at frequent intervals on the heights. +"On the last day of autumn children gathered ferns, tar-barrels, the +long thin stalks called _gainisg_, and everything suitable for a +bonfire. These were placed in a heap on some eminence near the house, +and in the evening set fire to. The fires were called _Samhnagan_. There +was one for each house, and it was an object of ambition who should have +the biggest. Whole districts were brilliant with bonfires, and their +glare across a Highland loch, and from many eminences, formed an +exceedingly picturesque scene."[587] Like the Beltane fires on the first +of May, the Hallowe'en bonfires seem to have been kindled most commonly +in the Perthshire Highlands. Travelling in the parish of Moulin, near +Pitlochrie, in the year 1772, the Englishman Thomas Pennant writes that +"Hallow Eve is also kept sacred: as soon as it is dark, a person sets +fire to a bush of broom fastened round a pole, and, attended with a +crowd, runs about the village. He then flings it down, heaps great +quantity of combustible matters on it, and makes a great bonfire. A +whole tract is thus illuminated at the same time, and makes a fine +appearance."[588] The custom has been described more fully by a +Scotchman of the eighteenth century, John Ramsay of Ochtertyre. On the +evening of Hallowe'en "the young people of every hamlet assembled upon +some eminence near the houses. There they made a bonfire of ferns or +other fuel, cut the same day, which from the feast was called _Samh-nag_ +or _Savnag_, a fire of rest and pleasure. Around it was placed a circle +of stones, one for each person of the families to whom they belonged. +And when it grew dark the bonfire was kindled, at which a loud shout was +set up. Then each person taking a torch of ferns or sticks in his hand, +ran round the fire exulting; and sometimes they went into the adjacent +fields, where, if there was another company, they visited the bonfire, +taunting the others if inferior in any respect to themselves. After the +fire was burned out they returned home, where a feast was prepared, and +the remainder of the evening was spent in mirth and diversions of +various kinds. Next morning they repaired betimes to the bonfire, where +the situation of the stones was examined with much attention. If any of +them were misplaced, or if the print of a foot could be discerned near +any particular stone, it was imagined that the person for whom it was +set would not live out the year. Of late years this is less attended to, +but about the beginning of the present century it was regarded as a sure +prediction. The Hallowe'en fire is still kept up in some parts of the +Low country; but on the western coast and in the Isles it is never +kindled, though the night is spent in merriment and +entertainments."[589] In the Perthshire parish of Callander, which +includes the now famous pass of the Trossachs opening out on the winding +and wooded shores of the lovely Loch Katrine, the Hallowe'en bonfires +were still kindled down to near the end of the eighteenth century. When +the fire had died down, the ashes were carefully collected in the form +of a circle, and a stone was put in, near the circumference, for every +person of the several families interested in the bonfire. Next morning, +if any of these stones was found to be displaced or injured, the people +made sure that the person represented by it was _fey_ or devoted, and +that he could not live twelve months from that day.[590] In the parish +of Logierait, which covers the beautiful valley of the Tummel, one of +the fairest regions of all Scotland, the Hallowe'en fire was somewhat +different. Faggots of heath, broom, and the dressings of flax were +kindled and carried on poles by men, who ran with them round the +villages, attended by a crowd. As soon as one faggot was burnt out, a +fresh one was lighted and fastened to the pole. Numbers of these blazing +faggots were often carried about together, and when the night happened +to be dark, they formed a splendid illumination.[591] + +[Hallowe'en fires on Loch Tay; Hallowe'en fires at Balquhidder.] + +Nor did the Hallowe'en fires die out in Perthshire with the end of the +eighteenth century. Journeying from Dunkeld to Aberfeldy on Hallowe'en +in the first half of the nineteenth century, Sheriff Barclay counted +thirty fires blazing on the hill tops, and saw the figures of the people +dancing like phantoms round the flames.[592] Again, "in 1860, I was +residing near the head of Loch Tay during the season of the Hallowe'en +feast. For several days before Hallowe'en, boys and youths collected +wood and conveyed it to the most prominent places on the hill sides in +their neighbourhood. Some of the heaps were as large as a corn-stack or +hayrick. After dark on Hallowe'en, these heaps were kindled, and for +several hours both sides of Loch Tay were illuminated as far as the eye +could see. I was told by old men that at the beginning of this century +men as well as boys took part in getting up the bonfires, and that, when +the fire was ablaze, all joined hands and danced round the fire, and +made a great noise; but that, as these gatherings generally ended in +drunkenness and rough and dangerous fun, the ministers set their faces +against the observance, and were seconded in their efforts by the more +intelligent and well-behaved in the community; and so the practice was +discontinued by adults and relegated to school boys."[593] At +Balquhidder down to the latter part of the nineteenth century each +household kindled its bonfire at Hallowe'en, but the custom was chiefly +observed by children. The fires were lighted on any high knoll near the +house; there was no dancing round them.[594] + +[Hallowe'en fires in Buchan to burn the witches; processions with +torches at Hallowe'en in the Braemar Highlands.] + +Hallowe'en fires were also lighted in some districts of the north-east +of Scotland, such as Buchan. Villagers and farmers alike must have their +fire. In the villages the boys went from house to house and begged a +peat from each householder, usually with the words, "Ge's a peat t' burn +the witches." In some villages the lads collected the peats in a cart, +some of them drawing it along and the others receiving the peats and +loading them on the cart. Along with the peats they accumulated straw, +furze, potato haulm, everything that would burn quickly, and when they +had got enough they piled it all in a heap and set it on fire. Then each +of the youths, one after another, laid himself down on the ground as +near to the fire as he could without being scorched, and thus lying +allowed the smoke to roll over him. The others ran through the smoke and +jumped over their prostrate comrade. When the heap was burned down, they +scattered the ashes. Each one took a share in this part of the ceremony, +giving a kick first with the right foot and then with the left; and each +vied with the other who should scatter the most. After that some of them +still continued to run through the scattered ashes and to pelt each +other with the half-burned peats. At each farm a spot as high as +possible, not too near the steading, was chosen for the fire, and the +proceedings were much the same as at the village bonfire. The lads of +one farm, when their own fire was burned down and the ashes scattered, +sometimes went to a neighbouring fire and helped to kick the ashes +about.[595] Referring to this part of Scotland, a writer at the end of +the eighteenth century observes that "the Hallow-even fire, another +relict of druidism, was kindled in Buchan. Various magic ceremonies were +then celebrated to counteract the influence of witches and demons, and +to prognosticate to the young their success or disappointment in the +matrimonial lottery. These being devoutly finished, the hallow fire was +kindled, and guarded by the male part of the family. Societies were +formed, either by pique or humour, to scatter certain fires, and the +attack and defence were often conducted with art and with fury."[596] +Down to about the middle of the nineteenth century "the Braemar +Highlanders made the circuit of their fields with lighted torches at +Hallowe'en to ensure their fertility in the coming year. At that date +the custom was as follows: Every member of the family (in those days +households were larger than they are now) was provided with a bundle of +fir 'can'les' with which to go the round. The father and mother stood at +the hearth and lit the splints in the peat fire, which they passed to +the children and servants, who trooped out one after the other, and +proceeded to tread the bounds of their little property, going slowly +round at equal distances apart, and invariably with the sun. To go +'withershins' seems to have been reserved for cursing and +excommunication. When the fields had thus been circumambulated the +remaining spills were thrown together in a heap and allowed to burn +out."[597] + +[Divination at Hallow-e'en in the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland; +the stolen kail; sowing hemp seed; the winnowing basket; the wet shirt; +the thrown shoe.] + +In the Highlands of Scotland, as the evening of Hallowe'en wore on, +young people gathered in one of the houses and resorted to an almost +endless variety of games, or rather forms of divination, for the purpose +of ascertaining the future fate of each member of the company. Were they +to marry or remain single, was the marriage to take place that year or +never, who was to be married first, what sort of husband or wife she or +he was to get, the name, the trade, the colour of the hair, the amount +of property of the future spouse--these were questions that were eagerly +canvassed and the answers to them furnished never-failing +entertainment.[598] Nor were these modes of divination at Hallowe'en +confined to the Highlands, where the bonfires were kindled; they were +practised with equal faith and in practically the same forms in the +Lowlands, as we learn, for example, from Burns's poem _Hallowe'en_, +which describes the auguries drawn from a variety of omens by the +Ayrshire peasantry. These Lowlanders of Saxon descent may well have +inherited the rites from the Celts who preceded them in the possession +of the south country. A common practice at Hallowe'en was to go out +stealthily to a neighbour's kailyard and there, with shut eyes, to pull +up the first kail stock that came to hand. It was necessary that the +plants should be stolen without the knowledge or consent of their owner; +otherwise they were quite useless for the purpose of divination. +Strictly speaking, too, the neighbour upon whose garden the raid was +made should be unmarried, whether a bachelor or a spinster. The stolen +kail was taken home and examined, and according to its height, shape, +and features would be the height, shape, and features of the future +husband or wife. The taste of the _custock_, that is, the heart of the +stem, was an infallible indication of his or her temper; and a clod of +earth adhering to the root signified, in proportion to its size, the +amount of property which he or she would bring to the common stock. Then +the kail-stock or _runt_, as it was called in Ayrshire, was placed over +the lintel of the door; and the baptismal name of the young man or woman +who first entered the door after the kail was in position would be the +baptismal name of the husband or wife.[599] Again, young women sowed +hemp seed over nine ridges of ploughed land, saying, "I sow hemp seed, +and he who is to be my husband, let him come and harrow it." On looking +back over her left shoulder the girl would see the figure of her future +mate behind her in the darkness. In the north-east of Scotland lint seed +was used instead of hemp seed and answered the purpose quite as +well.[600] Again, a mode of ascertaining your future husband or wife was +this. Take a clue of blue yarn and go to a lime-kiln. Throw the clue +into the kiln, but keep one end of the thread in your hand and wind it +on to another clue. As you come near the end somebody or something will +hold the other end tight in the kiln. Then you call out, "Who holds?" +giving the thread at the same time a gentle pull. Some one or something +will thereupon pull the other end of the thread, and a voice will +mention the name of your future husband or wife.[601] Another way is +this. Go to the barn alone and secretly. Be sure to open both doors and +if possible take them off their hinges; for if the being who is about to +appear should catch you in the barn and clap the doors to on you, he or +she might do you a mischief. Having done this, take the sieve or +winnowing-basket, which in Lowland Scotch is called a _wecht_ or +_waicht_, and go through the action of winnowing corn. Repeat it thrice, +and at the third time the apparition of your future husband or wife will +pass through the barn, entering at the windy door and passing out at the +other.[602] Or this. Go to a southward running stream, where the lands +of three lairds meet, or to a ford where the dead and living have +crossed. Dip the left sleeve of your shirt in the water. Then go home, +take off the shirt, hang it up before a fire to dry, and go to bed, +taking care that the bed stands so that you can see your shirt hanging +before the fire. Keep awake, and at midnight you will see the form of +your future spouse come into the room and turn the other side of the +sleeve to the fire to dry it.[603] A Highland form of divination at +Hallowe'en is to take a shoe by the tip and throw it over the house, +then observe the direction in which the toe points as it lies on the +ground on the other side; for in that direction you are destined to go +before long. If the shoe should fall sole uppermost, it is very unlucky +for you.[604] + +[The white of eggs in water; the names on the chimney piece; the nuts in +the fire; the milk and meal; the apples in the water; the three plates.] + +These ways of prying into the future are practised outside of the house; +others are observed in the kitchen or the parlour before the cheerful +blaze of the fire. Thus the white of eggs, dropped in a glass of pure +water, indicates by certain marks how many children a person will have. +The impatience and clamour of the children, eager to ascertain the exact +number of their future progeny, often induced the housewife to perform +this ceremony for them by daylight; and the kindly mother, standing with +her face to the window, dropping the white of an egg into a crystal +glass of clean water, and surrounded by a group of children intently +watching her proceedings, made up a pretty picture.[605] When the fun of +the evening had fairly commenced, the names of eligible or likely +matches were written on the chimney-piece, and the young man who wished +to try his fortune was led up blindfolded to the list. Whatever name he +put his finger on would prove that of his future wife.[606] Again, two +nuts, representing a lad and a lass whose names were announced to the +company, were put side by side in the fire. If they burned quietly +together, the pair would be man and wife, and from the length of time +they burned and the brightness of the flame the length and happiness of +the married life of the two were augured. But if instead of burning +together one of the nuts leaped away from the other, then there would be +no marriage, and the blame would rest with the person whose nut had thus +started away by itself.[607] Again, a dish of milk and meal (in Gaelic +_fuarag_, in Lowland Scotch _crowdie_) or of beat potatoes was made and +a ring was hidden in it. Spoons were served out to the company, who +supped the contents of the dish hastily with them, and the one who got +the ring would be the first to be married.[608] Again, apples and a +silver sixpence were put in a tub of water; the apples naturally floated +on the top and the sixpence sank to the bottom. Whoever could lift an +apple or the sixpence from the water with his mouth, without using his +teeth, was counted very lucky and got the prize to himself.[609] Again, +three plates or basins were placed on the hearth. One was filled with +clean water, another with dirty water, and the third was empty. The +enquirer was blindfolded, knelt in front of the hearth, and groped about +till he put his finger in one of them. If he lighted on the plate with +the clean water, he would wed a maid; if on the plate with the dirty +water, he would marry a widow; and if on the empty plate, he would +remain a bachelor. For a girl the answer of the oracle was analogous; +she would marry a bachelor, a widower, or nobody according to the plate +into which she chanced to dip her finger. But to make sure, the +operation had to be repeated thrice, the position of the plates being +changed each time. If the enquirer put his or her finger into the same +plate thrice or even twice, it was quite conclusive.[610] + +[The sliced apple; the white of egg in water; the salt cake or salt +herring.] + +These forms of divination in the house were practised by the company in +a body; but the following had to be performed by the person alone. You +took an apple and stood with it in your hand in front of a +looking-glass. Then you sliced the apple, stuck each slice on the point +of the knife, and held it over your left shoulder, while you looked into +the glass and combed your hair. The spectre of your future husband would +then appear in the mirror stretching forth his hand to take the slices +of the apple over your shoulder. Some say that the number of slices +should be nine, that you should eat the first eight yourself, and only +throw the ninth over your left shoulder for your husband; also that at +each slice you should say, "In the name of the Father and the Son."[611] +Again, take an egg, prick it with a pin, and let the white drop into a +wine-glass nearly full of water. Take some of this in your mouth and go +out for a walk. The first name you hear called out aloud will be that of +your future husband or wife. An old woman told a lady that she had tried +this mode of divination in her youth, that the name of Archibald "came +up as it were from the very ground," and that Archibald sure enough was +the name of her husband.[612] In South Uist and Eriskay, two of the +outer Hebrides, a salt cake called _Bonnach Salainn_ is eaten at +Hallowe'en to induce dreams that will reveal the future. It is baked of +common meal with a great deal of salt. After eating it you may not drink +water nor utter a word, not even to say your prayers. A salt herring, +eaten bones and all in three bites, is equally efficacious, always +provided that you drink no water and hold your tongue.[613] + +[Hallowe'en fires in Wales; omens drawn from stones thrown into the +fire; divination by stones in the ashes.] + +In the northern part of Wales it used to be customary for every family +to make a great bonfire called _Coel Coeth_ on Hallowe'en. The fire was +kindled on the most conspicuous spot near the house; and when it had +nearly gone out everyone threw into the ashes a white stone, which he +had first marked. Then having said their prayers round the fire, they +went to bed. Next morning, as soon as they were up, they came to search +out the stones, and if any one of them was found to be missing, they had +a notion that the person who threw it would die before he saw another +Hallowe'en.[614] A writer on Wales at the beginning of the nineteenth +century says that "the autumnal fire is still kindled in North Wales, +being on the eve of the first day of November, and is attended by many +ceremonies; such as running through the fire and smoke, each casting a +stone into the fire, and all running off at the conclusion to escape +from the black short-tailed sow; then supping upon parsnips, nuts, and +apples; catching up an apple suspended by a string with the mouth alone, +and the same by an apple in a tub of water: each throwing a nut into the +fire; and those that burn bright, betoken prosperity to the owners +through the following year, but those that burn black and crackle, +denote misfortune. On the following morning the stones are searched for +in the fire, and if any be missing, they betide ill to those who threw +them in."[615] According to Sir John Rhys, the habit of celebrating +Hallowe'en by lighting bonfires on the hills is perhaps not yet extinct +in Wales, and men still living can remember how the people who assisted +at the bonfires would wait till the last spark was out and then would +suddenly take to their heels, shouting at the top of their voices, "The +cropped black sow seize the hindmost!" The saying, as Sir John Rhys +justly remarks, implies that originally one of the company became a +victim in dead earnest. Down to the present time the saying is current +in Carnarvonshire, where allusions to the cutty black sow are still +occasionally made to frighten children.[616] We can now understand why +in Lower Brittany every person throws a pebble into the midsummer +bonfire.[617] Doubtless there, as in Wales and the Highlands of +Scotland,[618] omens of life and death have at one time or other been +drawn from the position and state of the pebbles on the morning of All +Saints' Day. The custom, thus found among three separate branches of the +Celtic stock, probably dates from a period before their dispersion, or +at least from a time when alien races had not yet driven home the wedges +of separation between them. + +[Divination as to love and marriage at Hallowe'en in Wales.] + +In Wales, as in Scotland, Hallowe'en was also the great season for +forecasting the future in respect of love and marriage, and some of the +forms of divination employed for this purpose resembled those which were +in use among the Scotch peasantry. Two girls, for example, would make a +little ladder of yarn, without breaking it from the ball, and having +done so they would throw it out of the window. Then one of the girls, +holding the ball in her hand, would wind the yarn back, repeating a +rhyme in Welsh. This she did thrice, and as she wound the yarn she would +see her future husband climbing up the little ladder. Again, three bowls +or basins were placed on a table. One of them contained clean water, one +dirty water, and one was empty. The girls of the household, and +sometimes the boys too, then eagerly tried their fortunes. They were +blindfolded, led up to the table, and dipped their hands into a bowl. If +they happened to dip into the clean water, they would marry maidens or +bachelors; if into the dirty water, they would be widowers or widows; if +into the empty bowl, they would live unmarried. Again, if a girl, +walking backwards, would place a knife among the leeks on Hallowe'en, +she would see her future husband come and pick up the knife and throw it +into the middle of the garden.[619] + +[Divination at Hallowe'en in Ireland.] + +In Ireland the Hallowe'en bonfires would seem to have died out, but the +Hallowe'en divination has survived. Writing towards the end of the +eighteenth century, General Vallancey tells us that on Hallowe'en or the +vigil of Saman, as he calls it, "the peasants in Ireland assemble with +sticks and clubs (the emblems of laceration) going from house to house, +collecting money, bread-cake, butter, cheese, eggs, etc., etc., for the +feast, repeating verses in honour of the solemnity, demanding +preparations for the festival, in the name of St. Columb Kill, desiring +them to lay aside the fatted calf, and to bring forth the black sheep. +The good women are employed in making the griddle cake and candles; +these last are sent from house to house in the vicinity, and are lighted +up on the (Saman) next day, before which they pray, or are supposed to +pray, for the departed souls of the donor. Every house abounds in the +best viands they can afford: apples and nuts are devoured in abundance: +the nut-shells are burnt, and from the ashes many strange things are +foretold: cabbages are torn up by the root: hemp seed is sown by the +maidens, and they believe, that if they look back, they will see the +apparition of the man intended for their future spouse: they hang a +smock before the fire, on the close of the feast, and sit up all night, +concealed in a corner of the room, convinced that his apparition will +come down the chimney and turn the smock: they throw a ball of yarn out +of the window, and wind it on the reel within, convinced, that if they +repeat the _Pater Noster_ backwards, and look at the ball of yarn +without, they will then also see his _sith_ or apparition: they dip for +apples in a tub of water, and endeavour to bring one up in the mouth: +they suspend a cord with a cross-stick, with apples at one point, and +candles lighted at the other, and endeavour to catch the apple, while it +is in a circular motion, in the mouth. These, and many other +superstitious ceremonies, the remains of Druidism, are observed on this +holiday, which will never be eradicated, while the name of _Saman_ is +permitted to remain."[620] + +[Divination at Hallow-e'en in Queen's County; divination at Hallow-e'en +in County Leitrim; divination at Hallowe'en in County Roscommon.] + +In Queen's County, Ireland, down to the latter part of the nineteenth +century children practised various of these rites of divination on +Hallowe'en. Girls went out into the garden blindfold and pulled up +cabbages: if the cabbage was well grown, the girl would have a handsome +husband, but if it had a crooked stalk, the future spouse would be a +stingy old man. Nuts, again, were placed in pairs on the bar of the +fire, and from their behaviour omens were drawn of the fate in love and +marriage of the couple whom they represented. Lead, also, was melted and +allowed to drop into a tub of cold water, and from the shapes which it +assumed in the water predictions were made to the children of their +future destiny. Again, apples were bobbed for in a tub of water and +brought up with the teeth; or a stick was hung from a hook with an apple +at one end and a candle at the other, and the stick being made to +revolve you made a bite at the apple and sometimes got a mouthful of +candle instead.[621] In County Leitrim, also, down to near the end of +the nineteenth century various forms of divination were practised at +Hallowe'en. Girls ascertained the character of their future husbands by +the help of cabbages just as in Queen's County. Again, if a girl found a +branch of a briar-thorn which had bent over and grown into the ground so +as to form a loop, she would creep through the loop thrice late in the +evening in the devil's name, then cut the briar and put it under her +pillow, all without speaking a word. Then she would lay her head on the +pillow and dream of the man she was to marry. Boys, also, would dream in +like manner of love and marriage at Hallowe'en, if only they would +gather ten leaves of ivy without speaking, throw away one, and put the +other nine under their pillow. Again, divination was practised by means +of a cake called _barm-breac_, in which a nut and a ring were baked. +Whoever got the ring would be married first; whoever got the nut would +marry a widow or a widower; but if the nut were an empty shell, he or +she would remain unwed. Again, a girl would take a clue of worsted, go +to a lime kiln in the gloaming, and throw the clew into the kiln in the +devil's name, while she held fast the other end of the thread. Then she +would rewind the thread and ask, "Who holds my clue?" and the name of +her future husband would come up from the depth of the kiln. Another way +was to take a rake, go to a rick and walk round it nine times, saying, +"I rake this rick in the devil's name." At the ninth time the wraith of +your destined partner for life would come and take the rake out of your +hand. Once more, before the company separated for the night, they would +rake the ashes smooth on the hearth, and search them next morning for +tracks, from which they judged whether anybody should come to the house, +or leave it, or die in it before another year was out.[622] In County +Roscommon, which borders on County Leitrim, a cake is made in nearly +every house on Hallowe'en, and a ring, a coin, a sloe, and a chip of +wood are put into it. Whoever gets the coin will be rich; whoever gets +the ring will be married first; whoever gets the chip of wood, which +stands for a coffin, will die first; and whoever gets the sloe will live +longest, because the fairies blight the sloes in the hedges on +Hallowe'en, so that the sloe in the cake will be the last of the year. +Again, on the same mystic evening girls take nine grains of oats in +their mouths, and going out without speaking walk about till they hear a +man's name pronounced; it will be the name of their future husband. In +County Roscommon, too, on Hallowe'en there is the usual dipping in water +for apples or sixpences, and the usual bites at a revolving apple and +tallow candle.[623] + +[Hallowe'en fires in the Isle of Man; divination at Hallowe'en in the +Isle of Man.] + +In the Isle of Man also, another Celtic country, Hallow-e'en was +celebrated down to modern times by the kindling of fires, accompanied +with all the usual ceremonies designed to prevent the baneful influence +of fairies and witches. Bands of young men perambulated the island by +night, and at the door of every dwelling-house they struck up a Manx +rhyme, beginning + +"_Noght oie howney hop-dy-naw_," + +that is to say, "This is Hollantide Eve." For Hollantide is the Manx way +of expressing the old English _All hallowen tide_, that is, All Saints' +Day, the first of November. But as the people reckon this festival +according to the Old Style, Hollantide in the Isle of Man is our twelfth +of November. The native Manx name for the day is _Sauin_ or _Laa +Houney_. Potatoes, parsnips and fish, pounded up together and mixed with +butter, formed the proper evening meal (_mrastyr_) on Hallowe'en in the +Isle of Man.[624] Here, too, as in Scotland forms of divination are +practised by some people on this important evening. For example, the +housewife fills a thimble full of salt for each member of the family and +each guest; the contents of the thimblefuls are emptied out in as many +neat little piles on a plate, and left there over night. Next morning +the piles are examined, and if any of them has fallen down, he or she +whom it represents will die within the year. Again, the women carefully +sweep out the ashes from under the fireplace and flatten them down +neatly on the open hearth. If they find next morning a footprint turned +towards the door, it signifies a death in the family within the year; +but if the footprint is turned in the opposite direction, it bodes a +marriage. Again, divination by eavesdropping is practised in the Isle of +Man in much the same way as in Scotland. You go out with your mouth full +of water and your hands full of salt and listen at a neighbour's door, +and the first name you hear will be the name of your husband. Again, +Manx maids bandage their eyes and grope about the room till they dip +their hands in vessels full of clean or dirty water, and so on; and from +the thing they touch they draw corresponding omens. But some people in +the Isle of Man observe these auguries, not on Hallowe'en or Hollantide +Eve, as they call it, which was the old Manx New Year's Eve, but on the +modern New Year's Eve, that is, on the thirty-first of December. The +change no doubt marks a transition from the ancient to the modern mode +of dating the beginning of the year.[625] + +[Hallowe'en fires and divination in Lancashire; candles lighted to keep +off the witches; divination at Hallowe'en in Northumberland; Hallowe'en +fires in France.] + +In Lancashire, also, some traces of the old Celtic celebration of +Hallowe'en have been reported in modern times. It is said that "fires +are still lighted in Lancashire, on Hallowe'en, under the name of +Beltains or Teanlas; and even such cakes as the Jews are said to have +made in honour of the Queen of Heaven, are yet to be found at this +season amongst the inhabitants of the banks of the Ribble.... Both the +fires and the cakes, however, are now connected with superstitious +notions respecting Purgatory, etc."[626] On Hallowe'en, too, the +Lancashire maiden "strews the ashes which are to take the form of one or +more letters of her lover's name; she throws hemp-seed over her shoulder +and timidly glances to see who follows her."[627] Again, witches in +Lancashire used to gather on Hallowe'en at the Malkin Tower, a ruined +and desolate farm-house in the forest of Pendle. They assembled for no +good purpose; but you could keep the infernal rout at bay by carrying a +lighted candle about the fells from eleven to twelve o'clock at night. +The witches tried to blow out the candle, and if they succeeded, so much +the worse for you; but if the flame burned steadily till the clocks had +struck midnight, you were safe. Some people performed the ceremony by +deputy; and parties went about from house to house in the evening +collecting candles, one for each inmate, and offering their services to +_late_ or _leet_ the witches, as the phrase ran. This custom was +practised at Longridge Fell in the early part of the nineteenth +century.[628] In Northumberland on Hallowe'en omens of marriage were +drawn from nuts thrown into the fire; and the sports of ducking for +apples and biting at a revolving apple and lighted candle were also +practised on that evening.[629] The equivalent of the Hallowe'en +bonfires is reported also from France. We are told that in the +department of Deux-Sevres, which forms part of the old province of +Poitou, young people used to assemble in the fields on All Saints' Day +(the first of November) and kindle great fires of ferns, thorns, leaves, +and stubble, at which they roasted chestnuts. They also danced round the +fires and indulged in noisy pastimes.[630] + + +Sec. 7. _The Midwinter Fires_ + + +[A Midwinter festival of fire; Christmas the continuation of an old +heathen festival of the sun.] + +If the heathen of ancient Europe celebrated, as we have good reason to +believe, the season of Midsummer with a great festival of fire, of which +the traces have survived in many places down to our own time, it is +natural to suppose that they should have observed with similar rites the +corresponding season of Midwinter; for Midsummer and Midwinter, or, in +more technical language, the summer solstice and the winter solstice, +are the two great turning-points in the sun's apparent course through +the sky, and from the standpoint of primitive man nothing might seem +more appropriate than to kindle fires on earth at the two moments when +the fire and heat of the great luminary in heaven begin to wane or to +wax. In this way the savage philosopher, to whose meditations on the +nature of things we owe many ancient customs and ceremonies, might +easily imagine that he helped the labouring sun to relight his dying +lamp, or at all events to blow up the flame into a brighter blaze. +Certain it is that the winter solstice, which the ancients erroneously +assigned to the twenty-fifth of December, was celebrated in antiquity as +the Birthday of the Sun, and that festal lights or fires were kindled on +this joyful occasion. Our Christmas festival is nothing but a +continuation under a Christian name of this old solar festivity; for the +ecclesiastical authorities saw fit, about the end of the third or the +beginning of the fourth century, arbitrarily to transfer the nativity of +Christ from the sixth of January to the twenty-fifth of December, for +the purpose of diverting to their Lord the worship which the heathen had +hitherto paid on that day to the sun.[631] + +[The Yule log is the Midwinter counterpart of the Midsummer bonfire.] + +In modern Christendom the ancient fire-festival of the winter solstice +appears to survive, or to have survived down to recent years, in the old +custom of the Yule log, clog, or block, as it was variously called in +England.[632] The custom was widespread in Europe, but seems to have +flourished especially in England, France, and among the South Slavs; at +least the fullest accounts of the custom come from these quarters. That +the Yule log was only the winter counterpart of the Midsummer bonfire, +kindled within doors instead of in the open air on account of the cold +and inclement weather of the season, was pointed out long ago by our +English antiquary John Brand;[633] and the view is supported by the many +quaint superstitions attaching to the Yule log, superstitions which have +no apparent connexion with Christianity but carry their heathen origin +plainly stamped upon them. But while the two solstitial celebrations +were both festivals of fire, the necessity or desirability of holding +the winter celebration within doors lent it the character of a private +or domestic festivity, which contrasts strongly with the publicity of +the summer celebration, at which the people gathered on some open space +or conspicuous height, kindled a huge bonfire in common, and danced and +made merry round it together. + +[The Yule log in Germany; the Yule log in Switzerland.] + +Among the Germans the custom of the Yule log is known to have been +observed in the eleventh century; for in the year 1184 the parish priest +of Ahlen, in Muensterland, spoke of "bringing a tree to kindle the festal +fire at the Lord's Nativity."[634] Down to about the middle of the +nineteenth century the old rite was kept up in some parts of central +Germany, as we learn from an account of it given by a contemporary +writer. After mentioning the custom of feeding the cattle and shaking +the fruit-trees on Christmas night, to make them bear fruit, he goes on +as follows: "Other customs pointing back to the far-off times of +heathendom may still be met with among the old-fashioned peasants of the +mountain regions. Such is in the valleys of the Sieg and Lahn the +practice of laying a new log as a foundation of the hearth. A heavy +block of oak-wood, generally a stump grubbed up from the ground, is +fitted either into the floor of the hearth, or into a niche made for the +purpose in the wall under the hook on which the kettle hangs. When the +fire on the hearth glows, this block of wood glows too, but it is so +placed that it is hardly reduced to ashes within a year. When the new +foundation is laid, the remains of the old block are carefully taken +out, ground to powder, and strewed over the fields during the Twelve +Nights. This, so people fancied, promotes the fruitfulness of the year's +crops."[635] In some parts of the Eifel Mountains, to the west of +Coblentz, a log of wood called the _Christbrand_ used to be placed on +the hearth on Christmas Eve; and the charred remains of it on Twelfth +Night were put in the corn-bin to keep the mice from devouring the +corn.[636] At Weidenhausen and Girkshausen, in Westphalia, the practice +was to withdraw the Yule log (_Christbrand_) from the fire so soon as it +was slightly charred; it was then kept carefully to be replaced on the +fire whenever a thunder-storm broke, because the people believed that +lightning would not strike a house in which the Yule log was +smouldering.[637] In some villages near Berleburg in Westphalia the old +custom was to tie up the Yule log in the last sheaf cut at harvest.[638] +On Christmas Eve the peasantry of the Oberland, in Meiningen, a province +of Central Germany, used to put a great block of wood called the +_Christklots_ on the fire before they went to bed; it should burn all +night, and the charred remains were believed to guard the house for the +whole year against the risk of fire, burglary, and other +misfortunes.[639] The Yule log seems to be known only in the +French-speaking parts of Switzerland, where it goes by the usual French +name of _Buche de Noel_. In the Jura mountains of the canton of Bern, +while the log is burning on the hearth the people sing a blessing over +it as follows:-- + +"_May the log burn! +May all good come in! +May the women have children +And the sheep lambs! +White bread for every one +And the vat full of wine_!" + +The embers of the Yule log were kept carefully, for they were believed +to be a protection against lightning.[640] + +[The Yule log in Belgium.] + +"The Christmas fires, which were formerly lit everywhere in the Low +Countries, have fallen into disuse. But in Flanders a great log of wood, +called the _kersavondblok_ and usually cut from the roots of a fir or a +beech, is still put on the fire; all the lights in the house are +extinguished, and the whole family gathers round the log to spend part +of the night in singing, in telling stories, especially about ghosts, +were-wolves, and so on, and also in drinking gin. At Grammont and in the +neighbourhood of that town, where the Yule log is called _Kersmismot_, +it is customary to set fire to the remainder of the gin at the moment +when the log is reduced to ashes. Elsewhere a piece of the log is kept +and put under the bed to protect the house against thunder and +lightning. The charcoal of the log which burned during Christmas Night, +if pounded up and mixed with water, is a cure for consumption. In the +country of Limburg the log burns several nights, and the pounded +charcoal is kept as a preventive (so they say), of toothache."[641] + +[The Yule log in France.] + +In several provinces of France, and particularly in Provence, the custom +of the Yule log or _trefoir_, as it was called in many places, was long +observed. A French writer of the seventeenth century tells us that on +Christmas Eve the log was prepared, and when the whole family had +assembled in the kitchen or parlour of the house, they went and brought +it in, walking in procession and singing Provencal verses to the +following effect:-- + +"_Let the log rejoice, +To-morrow is the day of bread; +Let all good enter here; +Let the women bear children; +Let the she-goats bring forth kids; +Let the ewes drop lambs; +Let there be much wheat and flour, +And the vat full of wine_." + +Then the log was blessed by the smallest and youngest child of the +house, who poured a glass of wine over it saying, _In nomine patris_, +etc.; after which the log was set on the fire. The charcoal of the burnt +wood was kept the whole year, and used as an ingredient in several +remedies.[642] + +[French superstitions as to the Yule log.] + +Amongst the superstitions denounced by the same writer is "the belief +that a log called the _trefoir_ or Christmas brand, which you put on the +fire for the first time on Christmas Eve and continue to put on the fire +for a little while every day till Twelfth Night, can, if kept under the +bed, protect the house for a whole year from fire and thunder; that it +can prevent the inmates from having chilblains on their heels in winter; +that it can cure the cattle of many maladies; that if a piece of it be +steeped in the water which cows drink it helps them to calve; and lastly +that if the ashes of the log be strewn on the fields it can save the +wheat from mildew."[643] + +[The Yule log at Marseilles and in Perigord; virtues ascribed to the +charcoal and ashes of the burnt log; the Yule log in Berry.] + +In Marseilles the Yule log used to be a great block of oak, which went +by the name of _calendeau_ or _calignau_; it was sprinkled with wine and +oil, and the head of the house kindled it himself.[644] "The Yule log +plays a great part at the festival of the winter solstice in Perigord. +The countryman thinks that it is best made of plum-tree, cherry, or oak, +and that the larger it is the better. If it burns well, it is a good +omen, the blessing of heaven rests upon it. The charcoal and ashes, +which are collected very carefully, are excellent for healing swollen +glands; the part of the trunk which has not been burnt in the fire is +used by ploughmen to make the wedge (_tecoin ou cale_) for their plough, +because they allege that it causes the seeds to thrive better; and the +women keep pieces of it till Twelfth Night for the sake of their +chickens. Nevertheless if you sit down on the log, you become subject to +boils, and to cure yourself of them you must pass nine times under a +bramble branch which happens to be rooted in the ground at both ends. +The charcoal heals sheep of a disease called the _goumon_; and the +ashes, carefully wrapt up in white linen, preserve the whole household +from accidents. Some people think that they will have as many chickens +as there are sparks that fly out of the brands of the log when they +shake them; and others place the extinct brands under the bed to drive +away vermin. In Vienne, on Christmas Eve, when supper is over, the +master of the house has a great log--the Christmas brand--brought in, +and then, surrounded by all the spectators gathered in profound silence, +he sprinkles salt and water on the log. It is then put on the fire to +burn during the three festivals; but they carefully preserve a piece to +be kindled every time that it thunders."[645] In Berry, a district of +Central France, the Yule log was called the _cosse de Nau_, the last +word being an abbreviation of the usual French word for Christmas +(Noel). It consisted of an enormous tree-trunk, so heavy that the united +strength of several men was needed to carry it in and place it on the +hearth, where it served to feed the fire during the three days of the +Christmas festivity. Strictly speaking, it should be the trunk of an old +oak-tree which had never been lopped and had been felled at midnight. It +was placed on the hearth at the moment when the tinkle of the bell +announced the elevation of the host at the midnight mass; and the head +of the family, after sprinkling it with holy water, set it on fire. The +remains of the log were preserved till the same day next year. They were +kept under the bed of the master of the house; and whenever thunder was +heard, one of the family would take a piece of the log and throw it on +the fire, which was believed to guard the family against lightning. In +the Middle Ages, we are told, several fiefs were granted on condition +that the vassal should bring in person a Yule log every year for the +hearth of his liege lord.[646] + +[The Yule log in Normandy and Brittany.] + +Similar customs and beliefs survived till recent years in some of the +remote country villages of the picturesque district known as the Bocage +of Normandy. There it was the grandfather or other oldest man of the +family who chose the Yule log in good time and had it ready for +Christmas Eve. Then he placed it on the hearth at the moment when the +church bell began to ring for the evening service. Kneeling reverently +at the hearth with the members of his family in a like attitude of +devotion, the old man recited three _Pater Nosters_ and three _Aves_, +and invoked the blessing of heaven on the log and on the cottage. Then +at the sound of the bell which proclaimed the sacrament of the mass, or, +if the church was too far off to allow the tinkle of the bell to be +heard, at the moment when they judged that the priest was elevating the +host before the high altar, the patriarch sprinkled the burning log with +holy water, blessed it in the name of the Father and of the Son and of +the Holy Ghost, and drew it out of the fire. The charred log was then +carefully kept till the following Christmas as a precious relic which +would guard the house against the levin bolt, evil spirits, sorcerers, +and every misfortune that might befall in the course of the year.[647] +In the department of Orne "the Yule-log is called _trefouet_; holy water +is poured on it; it should last the three days of the festival, and the +remains of it are kept to be put on the fire when it thunders. This +brand is a protection both against thunder and against sorcerers."[648] +In Upper Brittany, also, the Yule log is thought to be a safeguard +against thunder and lightning. It is sprinkled with holy water on +Christmas morning and allowed to burn till evening. If a piece of it is +thrown into the well, it will ensure a supply of good water.[649] + +[The Yule log in the Ardennes.] + +"In almost all the families of the Ardennes," we are told, "at the +present day they never fail to put the Yule log on the fireplace, but +formerly it was the object of a superstitious worship which is now +obsolete. The charred remains of it, placed under the pillow or under +the house, preserved the house from storms, and before it was burned the +Virgin used to come and sit on it, invisible, swaddling the infant +Jesus. At Nouzon, twenty years ago, the traditional log was brought into +the kitchen on Christmas Eve, and the grandmother, with a sprig of box +in her hand, sprinkled the log with holy water as soon as the clock +struck the first stroke of midnight. As she did so she chanted, + +'_When Christmas comes, +Every one should rejoice, +For it is a New Covenant_.' + +"Following the grandmother and joining in the song, the children and the +rest of the family marched thrice round the log, which was as fine a log +as could be got."[650] We can now, perhaps, understand why in Perigord +people who sat on the Yule log suffered from boils,[651] and why in +Lorraine young folks used to be warned that if they sat on it they would +have the scab.[652] The reason probably was that the Virgin and child +were supposed to be seated, invisible, upon the log and to resent the +indignity of contact with mortal children. + +[The Yule log in the Vosges; the Yule log in Franche-Comte and +Burgundy.] + +On Christmas Eve the mountaineers of Rupt, in the Vosges, also never +fail to put on the hearth the largest log which the hearth can hold; +they call it _la galeuche de Noe_, that is, the Yule log. Next morning +they rake the ashes for any charred fragments and keep them as valuable +talismans to guard them against the stroke of lightning. At Vagney and +other places near it in the Vosges it used to be customary on the same +evening to grease the hinges and the latches of the doors, that no harsh +grating sound should break the slumbers of the infant Christ. In the +Vosges Mountains, too, as indeed in many other places, cattle acquired +the gift of speech on Christmas Eve and conversed with each other in the +language of Christians. Their conversation was, indeed, most +instructive; for the future, it seems, had no secret worth mentioning +for them. Yet few people cared to be caught eavesdropping at the byre; +wise folk contented themselves with setting a good store of fodder in +the manger, then shut the door, and left the animals to their +ruminations. A farmer of Vecoux once hid in a corner of the byre to +overhear the edifying talk of the beasts. But it did him little good; +for one ox said to another ox, "What shall we do to-morrow?" and the +other replied, "We shall carry our master to the churchyard." Sure +enough the farmer died that very night and was buried next morning.[653] +In Franche-Comte, the province of France to the west of the Jura +mountains, if the Yule log is really to protect a house against thunder +and lightning, it is essential that it should burn during the midnight +mass, and that the flame should not go out before the divine service is +concluded. Otherwise the log is quite useless for the purpose.[654] In +Burgundy the log which is placed on the fire on Christmas Eve is called +the _suche_. While it is burning, the father of the family, assisted by +his wife and children, sings Christmas carols; and when he has finished, +he tells the smallest children to go into a corner of the room and pray +God that the log may give them sweeties. The prayer is invariably +answered.[655] + +[The Yule log and the Yule candle in England.] + +In England the customs and beliefs concerning the Yule log, clog, or +block, as it was variously called, used to be similar. On the night of +Christmas Eve, says the antiquary John Brand, "our ancestors were wont +to light up candles of an uncommon size, called Christmas Candles, and +lay a log of wood upon the fire, called a Yule-clog or Christmas-block, +to illuminate the house, and, as it were, to turn night into day. This +custom is, in some measure, still kept up in the North of England. In +the buttery of St. John's College, Oxford, an ancient candle-socket of +stone still remains ornamented with the figure of the Holy Lamb. It was +formerly used to burn the Christmas Candle in, on the high table at +supper, during the twelve nights of that festival."[656] "A tall mould +candle, called a Yule candle, is lighted and set on the table; these +candles are presented by the chandlers and grocers to their customers. +The Yule-log is bought of the carpenters' lads. It would be unlucky to +light either of them before the time, or to stir the fire or candle +during the supper; the candle must not be snuffed, neither must any one +stir from the table till supper is ended. In these suppers it is +considered unlucky to have an odd number at table. A fragment of the log +is occasionally saved, and put under a bed, to remain till next +Christmas: it secures the house from fire; a small piece of it thrown +into a fire occurring at the house of a neighbour, will quell the raging +flame. A piece of the candle should likewise be kept to ensure good +luck."[657] In the seventeenth century, as we learn from some verses of +Herrick, the English custom was to light the Yule log with a fragment of +its predecessor, which had been kept throughout the year for the +purpose; where it was so kept, the fiend could do no mischief.[658] +Indeed the practice of preserving a piece of the Yule-log of one year to +light that of the next was observed by at least one family at Cheadle in +Staffordshire down to the latter part of the nineteenth century.[659] + +[The Yule-log in Yorkshire; the Yule log in Lincolnshire; the Yule log +in Warwickshire, Shropshire, and Herefordshire; the Yule log in Wales.] + +In the North of England farm-servants used to lay by a large knotty +block of wood for the Christmas fire, and so long as the block lasted +they were entitled by custom to ale at their meals. The log was as large +as the hearth could hold.[660] At Belford, in Northumberland, "the lord +of the manor sends round to every house, on the afternoon of Christmas +Eve, the Yule Logs--four or five large logs--to be burnt on Christmas +Eve and Day. This old custom has always, I am told, been kept up +here."[661] The custom of burning the Yule log at Christmas used to be +observed in Wensleydale and other parts of Yorkshire, and prudent +housewives carefully preserved pieces of the log throughout the year. At +Whitby the portions so kept were stowed away under the bed till next +Christmas, when they were burnt with the new log; in the interval they +were believed to protect the house from conflagration, and if one of +them were thrown into the fire, it would quell a raging storm.[662] The +practice and the belief were similar at Filey on the coast of Yorkshire, +where besides the Yule log a tall Yule candle was lit on the same +evening.[663] In the West Riding, while the log blazed cheerfully, the +people quaffed their ale and sang, "Yule! Yule! a pack of new cards and +a Christmas stool!"[664] At Clee, in Lincolnshire, "when Christmas Eve +has come the Yule cake is duly cut and the Yule log lit, and I know of +some even middle-class houses where the new log must always rest upon +and be lighted by the old one, a small portion of which has been +carefully stored away to preserve a continuity of light and heat."[665] +At the village of Wootton Wawen in Warwickshire, down to 1759 at least, +the Yule-block, as it was called, was drawn into the house by a horse on +Christmas Eve "as a foundation for the fire on Christmas Day, and +according to the superstition of those times for the twelve days +following, as the said block was not to be entirely reduced to ashes +till that time had passed by."[666] As late as 1830, or thereabout, the +scene of lighting the hearth-fire on Christmas Eve, to continue burning +throughout the Christmas season, might have been witnessed in the +secluded and beautiful hill-country of West Shropshire, from Chirbury +and Worthen to Pulverbatch and Pontesbury. The Christmas brand or brund, +as they called it, was a great trunk of seasoned oak, holly, yew, or +crab-tree, drawn by horses to the farm-house door and thence rolled by +means of rollers and levers to the back of the wide open hearth, where +the fire was made up in front of it. The embers were raked up to it +every night, and it was carefully tended, that it might not go out +during the whole Christmas season. All those days no light might be +struck, given, or borrowed. Such was the custom at Worthen in the early +part of the nineteenth century.[667] In Herefordshire the Christmas +feast "lasted for twelve days, and no work was done. All houses were, +and are now, decorated with sprigs of holly and ivy, which must not be +brought in until Christmas Eve. A Yule log, as large as the open hearth +could accommodate, was brought into the kitchen of each farmhouse, and +smaller ones were used in the cottages. W---- P---- said he had seen a +tree drawn into the kitchen at Kingstone Grange years ago by two cart +horses; when it had been consumed a small portion was carefully kept to +be used for lighting next year's log. 'Mother always kept it very +carefully; she said it was lucky, and kept the house from fire and from +lightning.' It seems to have been the general practice to light it on +Christmas Eve."[668] "In many parts of Wales it is still customary to +keep part of the Yule-log until the following Christmas Eve 'for luck.' +It is then put into the fireplace and burnt, but before it is consumed +the new log is put on, and thus 'the old fire and the new' burn +together. In some families this is done from force of habit, and they +cannot now tell why they do it; but in the past the observance of this +custom was to keep witches away, and doubtless was a survival of +fire-worship."[669] + +[The Yule log in Servia; the cutting of the oak tree to form the Yule +log.] + +But nowhere, apparently, in Europe is the old heathen ritual of the Yule +log preserved to the present day more perfectly than in Servia. At early +dawn on Christmas Eve (_Badnyi Dan_) every peasant house sends two of +its strongest young men to the nearest forest to cut down a young oak +tree and bring it home. There, after offering up a short prayer or +crossing themselves thrice, they throw a handful of wheat on the chosen +oak and greet it with the words, "Happy _Badnyi_ day to you!" Then they +cut it down, taking care that it shall fall towards the east at the +moment when the sun's orb appears over the rim of the eastern horizon. +Should the tree fall towards the west, it would be the worst possible +omen for the house and its inmates in the ensuing year; and it is also +an evil omen if the tree should be caught and stopped in its fall by +another tree. It is important to keep and carry home the first chip from +the fallen oak. The trunk is sawn into two or three logs, one of them +rather longer than the others. A flat, unleavened cake of the purest +wheaten flour is brought out of the house and broken on the larger of +the logs by a woman. The logs are left for the present to stand outside, +leaning on one of the walls of the house. Each of them is called a Yule +log (_badnyak_). + +[Prayers to Colleda.] + +Meanwhile the children and young people go from house to house singing +special songs called _Colleda_ because of an old pagan divinity Colleda, +who is invoked in every line. In one of them she is spoken of as "a +beautiful little maid"; in another she is implored to make the cows +yield milk abundantly. The day is spent in busy preparations. The women +bake little cakes of a special sort in the shape of lambs, pigs, and +chickens; the men make ready a pig for roasting, for in every Servian +house roast pig is the principal dish at Christmas. A bundle of straw, +tied with a rope, is brought into the courtyard and left to stand there +near the Yule logs. + +[The bringing in of the Yule log.] + +At the moment when the sun is setting all the members of the family +assemble in the central hall (the great family kitchen) of the principal +house. The mother of the family (or the wife of the chief of the +Zadrooga)[670] gives a pair of woollen gloves to one of the young men, +who goes out and presently returns carrying in his gloved hands the +largest of the logs. The mother receives him at the threshold, throwing +at him a handful of wheat, in which the first chip of the oak tree cut +in the early morning for the Yule log has been kept all day. Entering +the central hall with the Yule log the young man greets all present with +the words: "Good evening, and may you have a happy Christmas!" and they +all answer in chorus, "May God and the happy and holy Christmas help +thee!" In some parts of Servia the chief of the family, holding a glass +of red wine in his hand, greets the Yule log as if it were a living +person, and drinks to its health. After that, another glass of red wine +is poured on the log. Then the oldest male member of the family, +assisted by the young man who brought in the log, places it on the +burning fire so that the thicker end of the log protrudes for about a +foot from the hearth. In some places this end is smeared with honey. + +[The ceremony with the straw; the Yule candle.] + +Next the mother of the family brings in the bundle of straw which was +left standing outside. All the young children arrange themselves behind +her in a row. She then walks slowly round the hall and the adjoining +rooms, throwing handfuls of straw on the floor and imitating the +cackling of a hen, while all the children follow her peeping with their +lips as if they were chickens cheeping and waddling after the mother +bird. When the floor is well strewn with straw, the father or the eldest +member of the family throws a few walnuts in every corner of the hall, +pronouncing the words: "In the name of God the Father, and the Son, and +the Holy Ghost, Amen!" A large pot, or a small wooden box, filled with +wheat is placed high in the east corner of the hall, and a tall candle +of yellow wax is stuck in the middle of the wheat. Then the father of +the family reverently lights the candle and prays God to bless the +family with health and happiness, the fields with a good harvest, the +beehives with plenty of honey, the cattle and sheep with young, and the +cows with abundant milk and rich cream. After that they all sit down to +supper, squatting on the floor, for the use of chairs and tables is +forbidden on this occasion. + +[The roast Pig; the drawing of the water.] + +By four o'clock next morning (Christmas Day) the whole village is astir; +indeed most people do not sleep at all that night. It is deemed most +important to keep the Yule log burning brightly all night long. Very +early, too, the pig is laid on the fire to roast, and at the same moment +one of the family goes out into the yard and fires a pistol or gun; and +when the roast pig is removed from the fire the shot is repeated. Hence +for several hours in the early morning of Christmas Day such a popping +and banging of firearms goes on that a stranger might think a stubborn +skirmish was in progress. Just before the sun rises a girl goes and +draws water at the village spring or at the brook. Before she fills her +vessels, she wishes the water a happy Christmas and throws a handful of +wheat into it. The first cupfuls of water she brings home are used to +bake a special Christmas cake (_chesnitsa_), of which all the members +partake at dinner, and portions are kept for absent relatives. A small +silver coin is baked in the cake, and he or she who gets it will be +lucky during the year. + +[The Christmas visiter (_polaznik_).] + +All the family gathered round the blazing Yule log now anxiously expect +the arrival of the special Christmas visiter, who bears the title of +_polaznik_. He is usually a young boy of a friendly family. No other +person, not even the priest or the mayor of the village, would be +allowed to set foot in the house before the arrival of this important +personage. Therefore he ought to come, and generally does come, very +early in the morning. He carries a woollen glove full of wheat, and when +the door is opened at his knock he throws handfuls of wheat on the +family gathered round the hearth, greeting them with the words, "Christ +is born!" They all answer, "He is born indeed," and the hostess flings a +handful of wheat over the Christmas visiter, who moreover casts some of +his wheat into the corners of the hall as well as upon the people. Then +he walks straight to the hearth, takes a shovel and strikes the burning +log so that a cloud of sparks flies up the chimney, while he says, "May +you have this year so many oxen, so many horses, so many sheep, so many +pigs, so many beehives full of honey, so much good luck, prosperity, +progress, and happiness!" Having uttered these good wishes, he embraces +and kisses his host. Then he turns again to the hearth, and after +crossing himself falls on his knees and kisses the projecting part of +the Yule log. On rising to his feet he places a coin on the log as his +gift. Meanwhile a low wooden chair has been brought in by a woman, and +the visiter is led to it to take his seat. But just as he is about to do +so, the chair is jerked away from under him by a male member of the +family and he measures his length on the floor. By this fall he is +supposed to fix into the ground all the good wishes which he has uttered +that morning. The hostess thereupon wraps him in a thick blanket, and he +sits quietly muffled in it for a few minutes; the thick blanket in which +he is swathed is believed, on the principles of homoeopathic magic, to +ensure that the cows will give thick cream next year. While he sits thus +enriching the milk of the dairy, the lads who are to herd the sheep in +the coming year go to the hearth and kneeling down before it kiss each +other across the projecting end of the Yule log. By this demonstration +of affection they are thought to seal the love of the ewes for their +lambs.[671] + +[The Yule log among the Servians of Slavonia; the Christmas visiter +(_polazenik_).] + +The ritual of the Yule log is observed in a similar form by the Servians +who inhabit the southern provinces of Austria. Thus in Syrmia, a +district of Slavonia which borders on Servia, the head of the house +sends out one or two young men on Christmas Eve to cut the Yule log in +the nearest forest. On being brought in, the log is not mixed with the +ordinary fuel but placed by itself, generally leaning against a +fruit-tree till the evening shadows begin to fall. When a man carries it +into the kitchen and lays it on the fire, the master of the house throws +corn over him, and the two greet each other solemnly the one saying, +"Christ is born," and the other answering "He is born indeed." Later in +the evening the master of the house pours a glass of wine on the charred +end of the log, whereupon one of the younger men takes the burnt piece +of wood, carries it to the orchard, and sets it up against one of the +fruit-trees. For this service he is rewarded by the master of the house +with a piece of money. On Christmas Day, when the family is assembled at +table, they expect the arrival of the special Christmas visiter (called +_polazenik_), the only person who is allowed to enter the house that +day. When he comes, he goes to the hearth, stirs the fire with the poker +and says, "Christ is born. May the family enjoy all good luck and +happiness in this year! May the cattle increase in number like the +sparks I have struck!" As he says these words, the mistress of the house +pours corn over him and leads him to the parlour, where he takes the +place of honour beside the master of the house. He is treated with +marked attention and respect. The family are at pains to entertain him; +they sing their best songs for his amusement, and after midnight a +numerous band of men and maidens escorts him by torchlight, with songs +and jubilation, to his own house.[672] + +[The Yule log among the Servians of Dalmatia, Herzegovina, and +Montenegro; the Yule log in Albania.] + +Among the Servians of Dalmatia, Herzegovina, and Montenegro it is +customary on Christmas Eve (_Badnyi Dan_) to fetch a great Yule log +(_badnyak_), which serves as a symbol of family luck. It is generally +cut from an evergreen oak, but sometimes from an olive-tree or a beech. +At nightfall the master of the house himself brings in the log and lays +it on the fire. Then he and all present bare their heads, sprinkle the +log with wine, and make a cross on it. After that the master of the +house says, "Welcome, O log! May God keep you from mishap!" So saying he +strews peas, maize, raisins, and wheat on the log, praying for God's +blessing on all members of the family living and dead, for heaven's +blessing on their undertakings, and for domestic prosperity. In +Montenegro they meet the log with a loaf of bread and a jug of wine, +drink to it, and pour wine on it, whereupon the whole family drinks out +of the same beaker. In Dalmatia and other places, for example in Rizano, +the Yule logs are decked by young women with red silk, flowers, laurel +leaves, ribbons, and even gold wire; and the lights near the doorposts +are kindled when the log is brought into the house. Among the Morlaks, +as soon as the master of the house crosses the threshold with the Yule +log, one of the family must sprinkle corn on him and say, "God bless +you," to which he answers, "The same to you." A piece of the log is kept +till New Year's Day to kindle a light with or it is carried out to the +fields to protect them from hail. It is customary to invite before hand +a Christmas visitor (_polazaynik_) and to admit no one else into the +house on that day. He comes early, carrying in his sleeves a quantity of +corn which he throws into the house, saying, "Christ is born." One of +the household replies, "He is born indeed," and throws corn on the +visiter. Then the newcomer goes up to the hearth, pokes the fire and +strikes the burning log with the poker so hard that sparks fly off in +all directions. At each blow he says, "I wish the family as many cows, +calves, sucking pigs, goats, and sheep, and as many strokes of good +luck, as the sparks that now fly from the log." With these words he +throws some small coins into the ashes.[673] In Albania down to recent +years it was a common custom to burn a Yule log at Christmas, and with +it corn, maize, and beans; moreover, wine and _rakia_ were poured on the +flames, and the ashes of the fire were scattered on the fields to make +them fertile.[674] The Huzuls, a Slavonic people of the Carpathians, +kindle fire by the friction of wood on Christmas Eve (Old Style, the +fifth of January) and keep it burning till Twelfth Night.[675] + +[Belief that the Yule log protects against fire and lightning.] + +It is remarkable how common the belief appears to have been that the +remains of the Yule-log, if kept throughout the year, had power to +protect the house against fire and especially against lightning.[676] As +the Yule log was frequently of oak,[677] it seems possible that this +belief may be a relic of the old Aryan creed which associated the +oak-tree with the god of thunder.[678] Whether the curative and +fertilizing virtues ascribed to the ashes of the Yule log, which are +supposed to heal cattle as well as men, to enable cows to calve, and to +promote the fruitfulness of the earth,[679] may not be derived from the +same ancient source, is a question which deserves to be considered. + +[Public celebrations of the fire-festival at Midwinter; the bonfire on +Christmas Eve at Schweina in Thuringia.] + +Thus far we have regarded only the private or domestic celebration of +the fire-festival at midwinter. The public celebration of such rites at +that season of the year appears to have been rare and exceptional in +Central and Northern Europe. However, some instances are on record. Thus +at Schweina, in Thuringia, down to the second half of the nineteenth +century, the young people used to kindle a great bonfire on the Antonius +Mountain every year on Christmas Eve. Neither the civil nor the +ecclesiastical authorities were able to suppress the celebration; nor +could the cold, rain, and snow of the season damp or chill the +enthusiasm of the celebrants. For some time before Christmas the young +men and boys were busy building a foundation for the bonfire on the top +of the mountain, where the oldest church of the village used to stand. +The foundation consisted of a pyramidal structure composed of stones, +turf, and moss. When Christmas Eve came round, a strong pole, with +bundles of brushwood tied to it, was erected on the pyramid. The young +folk also provided themselves with poles to which old brooms or faggots +of shavings were attached. These were to serve as torches. When the +evening grew dark and the church bells rang to service, the troop of +lads ascended the mountain; and soon from the top the glare of the +bonfire lit up the darkness, and the sound of a hymn broke the stillness +of night. In a circle round the great fire lesser fires were kindled; +and last of all the lads ran about swinging their lighted torches, till +these twinkling points of fire, moving down the mountain-side, went out +one by one in the darkness. At midnight the bells rang out from the +church tower, mingled with the blast of horns and the sound of singing. +Feasting and revelry were kept up throughout the night, and in the +morning young and old went to early mass to be edified by hearing of the +light eternal.[680] + +[Bonfires on Christmas Eve in Normandy.] + +In the Bocage of Normandy the peasants used to repair, often from a +distance of miles, to the churches to hear the midnight mass on +Christmas Eve. They marched in procession by torchlight, chanting +Christmas carols, and the fitful illumination of the woods, the hedges, +and the fields as they moved through the darkness, presented a +succession of picturesque scenes. Mention is also made of bonfires +kindled on the heights; the custom is said to have been observed at +Athis near Conde down to recent years.[681] + +[Bonfires on St. Thomas's Day in the Isle of Man; the "Burning of the +Clavie" at Burghead on the last day of December; the old rampart at +Burghead] + +In the Isle of Man, "on the twenty-first of December, a day dedicated to +Saint Thomas, the people went to the mountains to catch deer and sheep +for Christmas, and in the evenings always kindled a large fire on the +top of every _fingan_ or cliff. Hence, at the time of casting peats, +every one laid aside a large one, saying, '_Faaid mooar moayney son +oie'l fingan_'; that is, 'a large turf for Fingan Eve.'"[682] At +Burghead, an ancient village on the southern shore of the Moray Firth, +about nine miles from the town of Elgin, a festival of fire called "the +Burning of the Clavie" has been celebrated from time immemorial on +Hogmanay, the last day of December. A tar-barrel is sawn in two, one +half of it is set on the top of a stout pole, and filled with tar and +other combustibles. The half-barrel is fastened to the pole by means of +a long nail, which is made for the purpose and furnished gratuitously by +the village blacksmith. The nail must be knocked in with a stone; the +use of a hammer is forbidden. When the shades of evening have begun to +fall, the Clavie, as it is called, is set on fire by means of a burning +peat, which is always fetched from the same house; it may not be kindled +with a match. As soon as it is in a blaze, it is shouldered by a man, +who proceeds to carry it at a run, flaring and dripping melted tar, +round the old boundaries of the village; the modern part of the town is +not included in the circuit. Close at his heels follows a motley crowd, +cheering and shouting. One bearer relieves another as each wearies of +his burden. The first to shoulder the Clavie, which is esteemed an +honour, is usually a man who has been lately married. Should the bearer +stumble or fall, it is deemed a very ill omen for him and for the +village. In bygone times it was thought necessary that one man should +carry it all round the village; hence the strongest man was chosen for +the purpose. Moreover it was customary to carry the burning Clavie round +every fishing-boat and vessel in the harbour; but this part of the +ceremony was afterwards discontinued. Finally, the blazing tar-barrel is +borne to a small hill called the Doorie, which rises near the northern +end of the promontory. Here the pole is fixed into a socket in a pillar +of freestone, and fresh fuel is heaped upon the flames, which flare up +higher and brighter than ever. Formerly the Clavie was allowed to burn +here the whole night, but now, after blazing for about half an hour, it +is lifted from the socket and thrown down the western slope of the hill. +Then the crowd rushes upon it, demolishes it, and scrambles for the +burning, smoking embers, which they carry home and carefully preserve as +charms to protect them against witchcraft and misfortune.[683] The great +antiquity of Burghead, where this curious and no doubt ancient festival +is still annually observed, appears from the remains of a very +remarkable rampart which formerly encircled the place. It consists of a +mound of earth faced on both sides with a solid wall of stone and +strengthened internally by oak beams and planks, the whole being laid on +a foundation of boulders. The style of the rampart agrees in general +with Caesar's description of the mode in which the Gauls constructed +their walls of earth, stone, and logs,[684] and it resembles the ruins +of Gallic fortifications which have been discovered in France, though it +is said to surpass them in the strength and solidity of its structure. +No similar walls appear to be known in Britain. A great part of this +interesting prehistoric fortress was barbarously destroyed in the early +part of the nineteenth century, much of it being tumbled into the sea +and many of the stones used to build the harbour piers.[685] + +[Procession with burning tar-barrels on Christmas Eve (Old Style) at +Lerwick.] + +In Lerwick, the capital of the Shetland Islands, "on Christmas Eve, the +fourth of January,--for the old style is still observed--the children go +_a guizing_, that is to say, they disguising themselves in the most +fantastic and gaudy costumes, parade the streets, and infest the houses +and shops, begging for the wherewithal to carry on their Christmas +amusements. One o'clock on Yule morning having struck, the young men +turn out in large numbers, dressed in the coarsest of garments, and, at +the double-quick march, drag huge tar barrels through the town, shouting +and cheering as they go, or blowing loud blasts with their 'louder +horns.' The tar barrel simply consists of several--say from four to +eight--tubs filled with tar and chips, placed on a platform of wood. It +is dragged by means of a chain, to which scores of jubilant youths +readily yoke themselves. They have recently been described by the worthy +burgh officer of Lerwick as 'fiery chariots, the effect of which is +truly grand and terrific.' In a Christmas morning the dark streets of +Lerwick are generally lighted up by the bright glare, and its atmosphere +blackened by the dense smoke of six or eight tar barrels in succession. +On the appearance of daybreak, at six A.M., the morning revellers put +off their coarse garments--well begrimed by this time--and in their turn +become guizards. They assume every imaginable form of costume--those of +soldiers, sailors, Highlanders, Spanish chevaliers, etc. Thus disguised, +they either go in pairs, as man and wife, or in larger groups, and +proceed to call on their friends, to wish them the compliments of the +season. Formerly, these adolescent guizards used to seat themselves in +crates, and accompanied by fiddlers, were dragged through the +town."[686] + +[Persian festival of fire at the winter solstice.] + +The Persians used to celebrate a festival of fire called _Sada_ or +_Saza_ at the winter solstice. On the longest night of the year they +kindled bonfires everywhere, and kings and princes tied dry grass to the +feet of birds and animals, set fire to the grass, and then let the birds +and beasts fly or run blazing through the air or over the fields and +mountains, so that the whole air and earth appeared to be on fire.[687] + + +Sec. 8. _The Need-fire_ + + +[European festivals of fire in seasons of distress and calamity; the +need-fire.] + +The fire-festivals hitherto described are all celebrated periodically at +certain stated times of the year. But besides these regularly recurring +celebrations the peasants in many parts of Europe have been wont from +time immemorial to resort to a ritual of fire at irregular intervals in +seasons of distress and calamity, above all when their cattle were +attacked by epidemic disease. No account of the popular European +fire-festivals would be complete without some notice of these remarkable +rites, which have all the greater claim on our attention because they +may perhaps be regarded as the source and origin of all the other +fire-festivals; certainly they must date from a very remote antiquity. +The general name by which they are known among the Teutonic peoples is +need-fire.[688] + +[The needfire in the Middle Ages; the needfire at Neustadt in 1598.] + +The history of the need-fire can be traced back to early Middle Ages; +for in the reign of Pippin, King of Franks, the practice of kindling +need-fires was denounced as a heathen superstition by a synod of +prelates and nobles held under the presidency of Boniface, Archbishop of +Mainz.[689] Not long afterwards the custom was again forbidden, along +with many more relics of expiring paganism, in an "Index of +Superstitions and Heathenish Observances," which has been usually +referred to the year 743 A.D., though some scholars assign it a later +date under the reign of Charlemagne.[690] In Germany the need-fires +would seem to have been popular down to the second half of the +nineteenth century. Thus in the year 1598, when a fatal cattle-plague +was raging at Neustadt, near Marburg, a wise man of the name of Joh. +Koehler induced the authorities of the town to adopt the following +remedy. A new waggon-wheel was taken and twirled round an axle, which +had never been used before, until the friction elicited fire. With this +fire a bonfire was next kindled between the gates of the town, and all +the cattle were driven through the smoke and flames. Moreover, every +householder had to rekindle the fire on his hearth by means of a light +taken from the bonfire. Strange to say, this salutary measure had no +effect whatever in staying the cattle-plague, and seven years later the +sapient Joh. Koehler himself was burnt as a witch. The farmers, whose +pigs and cows had derived no benefit from the need-fire, perhaps +assisted as spectators at the burning, and, while they shook their +heads, agreed among themselves that it served Joh. Koehler perfectly +right.[691] According to a writer who published his book about nine +years afterwards, some of the Germans, especially in the Wassgaw +mountains, confidently believed that a cattle-plague could be stayed by +driving the animals through a need-fire which had been kindled by the +violent friction of a pole on a quantity of dry oak wood; but it was a +necessary condition of success that all fires in the village should +previously be extinguished with water, and any householder who failed to +put out his fire was heavily fined.[692] + +[Method kindling the need fire.] + +The method of kindling the need-fire is described as follows by a writer +towards the end of the seventeenth century: "When an evil plague has +broken out among the cattle, large and small, and the herds have thereby +suffered great ravages, the peasants resolve to light a need-fire. On a +day appointed there must be no single flame in any house nor on any +hearth. From every house a quantity of straw and water and underwood +must be brought forth; then a strong oaken pole is fixed firmly in the +earth, a hole is bored in it, and a wooden winch, well smeared with +pitch and tar, is inserted in the hole and turned round forcibly till +great heat and then fire is generated. The fire so produced is caught in +fuel and fed with straw, heath, and underwood till it bursts out into a +regular need-fire, which must then be somewhat spread out between walls +or fences, and the cattle and horses driven through it twice or thrice +with sticks and whips. Others set up two posts, each with a hole in it, +and insert a winch, along with old greasy rags, in the holes. Others use +a thick rope, collect nine kinds of wood, and keep them in violent +motion till fire leaps forth. Perhaps there may be other ways of +generating or kindling this fire, but they are all directed simply at +the cure of the cattle. After passing twice or thrice through the fire +the cattle are driven to their stalls or to pasture, and the heap of +wood that had been collected is destroyed, but in some places every +householder must take with him a brand, extinguish it in a washing-tub +or trough, and put it in the manger where the cattle are fed, where it +must lie for some time. The poles that were used to make the need-fire, +together with the wood that was employed as a winch, are sometimes +burned with the rest of the fuel, sometimes carefully preserved after +the cattle have been thrice driven through the flames."[693] + +[The mode of kindling the need-fire about Hildesheim.] + +Sometimes the need-fire was known as the "wild fire," to distinguish it +no doubt from the tame fire produced by more ordinary methods. The +following is Grimm's account of the mode of kindling it which prevailed +in some parts of Central Germany, particularly about Hildesheim, down +apparently to the first half of the nineteenth century: "In many places +of Lower Saxony, especially among the mountains, the custom prevails of +preparing the so-called 'wild fire' for the purpose of preventing +cattle-plague; and through it first the pigs, then the cows, and last of +all the geese are driven. The proceedings on the occasion are as +follows. The principal farmers and parishioners assemble, and notice is +served to every inhabitant to extinguish entirely all fire in his house, +so that not even a spark remains alight in the whole village. Then young +and old repair to a road in a hollow, usually towards evening, the women +carrying linen, and the men wood and tow. Two oaken poles are driven +into the ground about a foot and a half from each other. Each pole has +in the side facing the other a socket into which a cross-piece as thick +as a man's arm is fitted. The sockets are stuffed with linen, and the +cross-piece is rammed in as tight as possible, while the poles are bound +together at the top by ropes. A rope is wound about the round, smooth +cross-piece, and the free ends of the rope at both sides are gripped by +several persons, who pull the cross-piece to and fro with the utmost +rapidity, till through the friction the linen in the sockets takes fire. +The sparks of the linen are immediately caught in tow or oakum and waved +about in a circle until they burst into a bright glow, when straw is +applied to it, and the flaming straw used to kindle the brushwood which +has been stacked in piles in the hollow way. When this wood has blazed +up and the fire has nearly died out again, the people hasten to the +herds, which have been waiting in the background, and drive them +forcibly, one after the other, through the glow. As soon as all the +beasts are through, the young folk rush wildly at the ashes and cinders, +sprinkling and blackening each other with them; those who have been most +sprinkled and blackened march in triumph behind the cattle into the +village and do not wash themselves for a long time. If after long +rubbing the linen should not catch fire, they guess that there is still +fire somewhere in the village; then a strict search is made from house +to house, any fire that may be found is put out, and the householder is +punished or upbraided. The 'wild fire' must be made by prolonged +friction; it may not be struck with flint and steel. Some villages do +not prepare it yearly as a preventive of cattle-plague, but only kindle +it when the disease has actually broken out."[694] In the Halberstadt +district the ends of the rope which was used to make the cross-piece +revolve in the sockets had to be pulled by two chaste young men.[695] + +[The mode of kindling the need-fire in the Mark.] + +In the Mark down to the first half of the nineteenth century the +practice was similar. We read that "in many parts of the Mark there +still prevails on certain occasions the custom of kindling a need-fire, +it happens particularly when a farmer has sick pigs. Two posts of dry +wood are planted in the earth amid solemn silence before the sun rises, +and round these posts hempen ropes are pulled to and fro till the wood +kindles; whereupon the fire is fed with dry leaves and twigs and the +sick beasts are driven through it In some places the fire is produced by +the friction of an old cart-wheel."[696] + +[The mode of kindling the need-fire in Mecklenburg] + +In Mecklenburg the need-fire used to be lighted by the friction of a +rope wound about an oaken pole or by rubbing two boards against each +other. Having been thus elicited, the flame was fed with wood of seven +kinds. The practice was forbidden by Gustavus Adolphus, Duke of +Mecklenburg, in 1682; but the prohibition apparently had little effect, +for down to the end of the eighteenth century the custom was so common +that the inhabitants even of large towns made no scruple of resorting to +it. For example, in the month of July 1792 sickness broke out among the +cattle belonging to the town of Sternberg; some of the beasts died +suddenly, and so the people resolved to drive all the survivors through +a need-fire. On the tenth day of July the magistrates issued a +proclamation announcing that next morning before sunrise a need-fire +would be kindled for the behoof of all the cattle of the town, and +warning all the inhabitants against lighting fires in their kitchens +that evening. So next morning very early, about two o'clock, nearly the +whole population was astir, and having assembled outside one of the +gates of the town they helped to drive the timid cattle, not without +much ado, through three separate need-fires; after which they dispersed +to their homes in the unalterable conviction that they had rescued the +cattle from destruction. But to make assurance doubly sure they deemed +it advisable to administer the rest of the ashes as a bolus to the +animals. However, some people in Mecklenburg used to strew the ashes of +the need-fire on fields for the purpose of protecting the crops against +vermin. As late as June 1868 a traveller in Mecklenburg saw a couple of +peasants sweating away at a rope, which they were pulling backwards and +forwards so as to make a tarry roller revolve with great speed in the +socket of an upright post. Asked what they were about, they vouchsafed +no reply; but an old woman who appeared on the scene from a neighbouring +cottage was more communicative. In the fulness of her heart she confided +to the stranger that her pigs were sick, that the two taciturn bumpkins +were her sons, who were busy extracting a need-fire from the roller, and +that, when they succeeded, the flame would be used to ignite a heap of +rags and brushwood, through which the ailing swine would be driven. She +further explained that the persons who kindle a need-fire should always +be two brothers or at least bear the same Christian name.[697] + +[The mode of kindling the need-fire in Hanover.] + +In the summer of 1828 there was much sickness among the pigs and the +cows of Eddesse, a village near Meinersen, in the south of Hanover. When +all ordinary measures to arrest the malady failed, the farmers met in +solemn conclave on the village green and determined that next morning +there should be a need-fire. Thereupon the head man of the village sent +word from house to house that on the following day nobody should kindle +a fire before sunrise, and that everybody should stand by ready to drive +out the cattle. The same afternoon all the necessary preparations were +made for giving effect to the decision of the collective wisdom. A +narrow street was enclosed with planks, and the village carpenter set to +work at the machinery for kindling the fire. He took two posts of oak +wood, bored a hole about three inches deep and broad in each, and set +the two poles up facing each other at a distance of about two feet. Then +he fitted a roller of oak wood into the two holes of the posts, so that +it formed a cross-piece between them. About two o'clock next morning +every householder brought a bundle of straw and brushwood and laid it +down across the street in a prescribed order. The sturdiest swains who +could be found were chosen to make the need-fire. For this purpose a +long hempen rope was wound twice round the oaken roller in the oaken +posts: the pivots were well smeared with pitch and tar: a bundle of tow +and other tinder was laid close at hand, and all was ready. The stalwart +clodhoppers now seized the two ends of the rope and went to work with a +will. Puffs of smoke soon issued from the sockets, but to the +consternation of the bystanders not a spark of fire could be elicited. +Some people openly declared their suspicion that some rascal had not put +out the fire in his house, when suddenly the tinder burst into flame. +The cloud passed away from all faces; the fire was applied to the heaps +of fuel, and when the flames had somewhat died down, the herds were +forcibly driven through the fire, first the pigs, next the cows, and +last of all the horses. The herdsmen then drove the beasts to pasture, +and persons whose faith in the efficacy of the need-fire was +particularly robust carried home brands.[698] + +[The mode of kindling the need-fire in the Harz Mountains.] + +Again, at a village near Quedlinburg, in the Harz Mountains, it was +resolved to put a herd of sick swine through the need-fire. Hearing of +this intention the Superintendent of Quedlinburg hurried to the spot and +has described for us what he saw. The beadles went from house to house +to see that there was no fire in any house; for it is well known that +should there be common fire burning in a house the need-fire will not +kindle. The men made their rounds very early in the morning to make +quite sure that all lights were out. At two o'clock a night-light was +still burning in the parsonage, and this was of course a hindrance to +the need-fire. The peasants knocked at the window and earnestly +entreated that the night-light might be extinguished. But the parson's +wife refused to put the light out; it still glimmered at the window; and +in the darkness outside the angry rustics vowed that the parson's pigs +should get no benefit of the need-fire. However, as good luck would have +it, just as the morning broke, the night-light went out of itself, and +the hopes of the people revived. From every house bundles of straw, tow, +faggots and so forth were now carried to feed the bonfire. The noise and +the cheerful bustle were such that you might have thought they were all +hurrying to witness a public execution. Outside the village, between two +garden walls, an oaken post had been driven into the ground and a hole +bored through it. In the hole a wooden winch, smeared with tar, was +inserted and made to revolve with such force and rapidity that fire and +smoke in time issued from the socket. The collected fuel was then thrown +upon the fire and soon a great blaze shot up. The pigs were now driven +into the upper end of the street. As soon as they saw the fire, they +turned tail, but the peasants drove them through with shrieks and shouts +and lashes of whips. At the other end of the street there was another +crowd waiting, who chased the swine back through the fire a second time. +Then the other crowd repeated the manoeuvre, and the herd of swine was +driven for the third time through the smoke and flames. That was the end +of the performance. Many pigs were scorched so severely that they gave +up the ghost. The bonfire was broken up, and every householder took home +with him a brand, which he washed in the water-barrel and laid for some +time, as a treasure of great price, in the manger from which the cattle +were fed. But the parson's wife had reason bitterly to repent her folly +in refusing to put out that night-light; for not one of her pigs was +driven through the need-fire, so they died.[699] + +[The mode of kindling the need-fire in Brunswick.] + +In Brunswick, also, the need-fire is known to have been repeatedly +kindled during the nineteenth century. After driving the pigs through +the fire, which was kindled by the friction of wood, some people took +brands home, dipped them in water, and then gave the water to the pigs +to drink, no doubt for the purpose of inoculating them still more +effectually with the precious virtue of the need-fire. In the villages +of the Droemling district everybody who bore a hand in kindling the "wild +fire" must have the same Christian name; otherwise they laboured in +vain. The fire was produced by the friction of a rope round the beams of +a door; and bread, corn, and old boots contributed their mites to swell +the blaze through which the pigs as usual were driven. In one place, +apparently not far from Wolfenbuettel, the needfire is said to have been +kindled, contrary to custom, by the smith striking a spark from the cold +anvil.[700] At Gandersheim down to about the beginning of the nineteenth +century the need-fire was lit in the common way by causing a cross-bar +to revolve rapidly on its axis between two upright posts. The rope which +produced the revolution of the bar had to be new, but it was if possible +woven from threads taken from a gallows-rope, with which people had been +hanged. While the need-fire was being kindled in this fashion, every +other fire in the town had to be put out; search was made through the +houses, and any fire discovered to be burning was extinguished. If in +spite of every precaution no flame could be elicited by the friction of +the rope, the failure was set down to witchcraft; but if the efforts +were successful, a bonfire was lit with the new fire, and when the +flames had died down, the sick swine were driven thrice through the +glowing embers.[701] On the lower Rhine the need-fire is said to have +been kindled by the friction of oak-wood on fir-wood, all fires in the +village having been previously extinguished. The bonfires so kindled +were composed of wood of nine different sorts; there were three such +bonfires, and the cattle were driven round them with great gravity and +devotion.[702] + +[The mode of kindling the need-fire in Silesia and Bohemia.] + +In Silesia, also, need-fires were often employed for the purpose of +curing a murrain or preventing its spread. While all other lights within +the boundaries were extinguished, the new fire was produced by the +friction of nine kinds of wood, and the flame so obtained was used to +kindle heaps of brushwood or straw to which every inhabitant had +contributed. Through these fires the cattle, both sick and sound, were +driven in the confident expectation that thereby the sick would be +healed and the sound saved from sickness.[703] When plague breaks out +among the herds at Dobischwald, in Austrian Silesia, a splinter of wood +is chipped from the threshold of every house, the cattle are driven to a +cross-road, and there a tree, growing at the boundary, is felled by a +pair of twin brothers. The wood of the tree and the splinters from the +thresholds furnish the fuel of a bonfire, which is kindled by the +rubbing of two pieces of wood together. When the bonfire is ablaze, the +horns of the cattle are pared and the parings thrown into the flames, +after which the animals are driven through the fire. This is believed to +guard the herd against the plague.[704] The Germans of Western Bohemia +resort to similar measures for staying a murrain. You set up a post, +bore a hole in it, and insert in the hole a stick, which you have first +of all smeared with pitch and wrapt in inflammable stuffs. Then you wind +a rope round the stick and give the two ends of the rope to two persons +who must either be brothers or have the same baptismal name. They haul +the rope backwards and forwards so as to make the tarred stick revolve +rapidly, till the rope first smokes and then emits sparks. The sparks +are used to kindle a bonfire, through which the cattle are driven in the +usual way. And as usual no other fire may burn in the village while the +need-fire is being kindled; for otherwise the rope could not possibly be +ignited.[705] In Upper Austria sick pigs are reported to have been +driven through a need-fire about the beginning of the nineteenth +century.[706] + +[The use the need-fire in Switzerland.] + +The need-fire is still in use in some parts of Switzerland, but it seems +to have degenerated into a children's game and to be employed rather for +the dispersal of a mist than for the prevention or cure of +cattle-plague. In some cantons it goes by the name of "mist-healing," +while in others it is called "butter-churning." On a misty or rainy day +a number of children will shut themselves up in a stable or byre and +proceed to make fire for the purpose of improving the weather. The way +in which they make it is this. A boy places a board against his breast, +takes a peg pointed at both ends, and, setting one end of the peg +against the board on his breast, presses the other end firmly against a +second board, the surface of which has been flaked into a nap. A string +is tied round the peg, and two other boys pull it to and fro, till +through the rapid motion of the point of the peg a hole is burnt in the +flaked board, to which tow or dry moss is then applied as a tinder. In +this way fire and smoke are elicited, and with their appearance the +children fancy that the mist will vanish.[707] We may conjecture that +this method of dispersing a mist, which is now left to children, was +formerly practised in all seriousness by grown men in Switzerland. It is +thus that religious or magical rites dwindle away into the sports of +children. In the canton of the Grisons there is still in common use an +imprecation, "Mist, go away, or I'll heal you," which points to an old +custom of burning up the fog with fire. A longer form of the curse +lingers in the Vallee des Bagnes of the canton Valais. It runs thus: +"Mist, mist, fly, fly, or St. Martin will come with a sheaf of straw to +burn your guts, a great log of wood to smash your brow, and an iron +chain to drag you to hell."[708] + +[The mode of kindling the need-fire in Sweden and Norway; the need-fire +as a protection against witchcraft.] + +In Sweden the need-fire is called, from the mode of its production, +either _vrid-eld_, "turned fire," or _gnid-eld_, "rubbed fire." Down to +near the end of the eighteenth century the need-fire was kindled, as in +Germany, by the violent rubbing of two pieces of wood against each +other; sometimes nine different kinds of wood were used for the purpose. +The smoke of the fire was deemed salutary; fruit-trees and nets were +fumigated with it, in order that the trees might bear fruit and the nets +catch fish. Cattle were also driven through the smoke.[709] In Sundal, a +narrow Norwegian valley, shut in on both sides by precipitous mountains, +there lived down to the second half of the nineteenth century an old man +who was very superstitious. He set salmon-traps in the river Driva, +which traverses the valley, and he caught many fish both in spring and +autumn. When his fishing went wrong, he kindled _naueld_ ("need-fire") +or _gnideild_ ("rubbed fire," "friction fire") to counteract the +witchcraft, which he believed to be the cause of his bad luck. He set up +two planks near each other, bored a hole in each, inserted a pointed rod +in the holes, and twisted a long cord round the rod. Then he pulled the +cord so as to make the rod revolve rapidly. Thus by reason of the +friction he at last drew fire from the wood. That contented him, for "he +believed that the witchery was thus rendered powerless, and that good +luck in his fishing was now ensured."[710] + +[The need-fire among the Slavonic peoples.] + +Slavonic peoples hold the need-fire in high esteem. They call it "living +fire," and attribute to it a healing virtue. The ascription of medicinal +power to fire kindled by the friction of wood is said to be especially +characteristic of the Slavs who inhabit the Carpathian Mountains and the +Balkan peninsula. The mode in which they produce the need-fire differs +somewhat in different places. Thus in the Schar mountains of Servia the +task is entrusted to a boy and girl between eleven and fourteen years of +age. They are led into a perfectly dark room, and having stripped +themselves naked kindle the fire by rubbing two rollers of lime wood +against each other, till the friction produces sparks, which are caught +in tinder. The Serbs of Western Macedonia drive two oaken posts into the +ground, bore a round hole in the upper end of each, insert a roller of +lime wood in the holes, and set it revolving rapidly by means of a cord, +which is looped round the roller and worked by a bow. Elsewhere the +roller is put in motion by two men, who hold each one end of the cord +and pull it backwards and forwards forcibly between them. Bulgarian +shepherds sometimes kindle the need-fire by drawing a prism-shaped piece +of lime wood to and fro across the flat surface of a tree-stump in the +forest.[711] But in the neighbourhood of Kuestendil, in Bulgaria, the +need-fire is kindled by the friction of two pieces of oak wood and the +cattle are driven through it.[712] + +[The need-fire in Russia and Poland; the need-fire in Slavonia.] + +In many districts of Russia, also, "living fire" is made by the friction +of wood on St. John's Day, and the herds are driven through it, and the +people leap over it in the conviction that their health is thereby +assured; when a cattle-plague is raging, the fire is produced by rubbing +two pieces of oak wood against each other, and it is used to kindle the +lamps before the holy pictures and the censers in the churches.[713] +Thus it appears that in Russia the need-fire is kindled for the sake of +the cattle periodically as well as on special emergencies. Similarly in +Poland the peasants are said to kindle fires in the village streets on +St. Rochus's day and to drive the cattle thrice through them in order to +protect the animals against the murrain. The fire is produced by rubbing +a pole of poplar wood on a plank of poplar or fir wood and catching the +sparks in tow. The embers are carried home to be used as remedies in +sickness.[714] As practised in Slavonia, the custom of the need-fire +used to present some interesting features, which are best described in +the words of an eyewitness:--"In the year 1833 I came for the first time +as a young merchant to Slavonia; it was to Gaj that I went, in the +Pozega district. The time was autumn, and it chanced that a +cattle-plague was raging in the neighbourhood, which inflicted much loss +on the people. The peasants believed that the plague was a woman, an +evil spirit (_Kutga_), who was destroying the cattle; so they sought to +banish her. I had then occasion to observe the proceedings in the +villages of Gaj, Kukunjevac, Brezina, and Brekinjska. Towards evening +the whole population of the village was busy laying a ring of brushwood +round the boundaries of the village. All fires were extinguished +throughout the village. Then pairs of men in several places took pieces +of wood, which had been specially prepared for the purpose, and rubbed +them together till they emitted sparks. The sparks were allowed to fall +on tinder and fanned into a flame, with which the dry brushwood was +kindled. Thus the fire burned all round the village. The peasants +persuaded themselves that thereupon _Kuga_ must take her +departure."[715] + +[The need-fire in Servia.] + +This last account leaves no doubt as to the significance of the +need-fire in the minds of Slavonian peasantry. They regard it simply as +a barrier interposed between their cattle and the evil spirit, which +prowls, like a hungry wolf, round the fold and can, like a wolf, be kept +at bay by fire. The same interpretation of the need-fire comes out, +hardly less clearly, in the account which another writer gives of a +ceremony witnessed by him at the village of Setonje, at the foot of the +Homolje mountains in the great forest of Servia. An epidemic was raging +among the children, and the need-fire was resorted to as a means of +staying the plague. It was produced by an old man and an old woman in +the first of the ways described above; that is, they made it in the dark +by rubbing two sticks of lime wood against each other. Before the +healing virtue of the fire was applied to the inhabitants of the +village, two old women performed the following ceremony. Both bore the +name of Stana, from the verb _stati_, "to remain standing"; for the +ceremony could not be successfully performed by persons of any other +name. One of them carried a copper kettle full of water, the other an +old house-lock with the key. Thus equipped they repaired to a spot +outside of the village, and there the old dame with the kettle asked the +old dame with the lock, "Whither away?" and the other answered her, "I +came to shut the village against ill-luck." With that she locked the +lock and threw it with the key into the kettle of water. Then they +marched thrice round the village, repeating the ceremony of the lock and +key at each round. Meantime all the villagers, arrayed in their best +clothes, were assembled in an open place. All the fires in the houses +had been previously extinguished. Two sturdy yokels now dug a tunnel +through a mound beside an oak tree; the tunnel was just high enough to +let a man creep through it on all fours. Two fires, lit by the +need-fire, were now laid, one at each end of the tunnel; and the old +woman with the kettle took her stand at the entrance of the tunnel, +while the one with the lock posted herself at the exit. Facing the +latter stood another woman with a great pot of milk before her, and on +the other side was set a pot full of melted swine's fat. All was now +ready. The villagers thereupon crawled through the tunnel on hands and +knees, one behind the other. Each, as he emerged from the tunnel, +received a spoonful of milk from the woman and looked at his face +reflected in the pot of melted swine's fat. Then another woman made a +cross with a piece of charcoal on his back. When all the inhabitants had +thus crept through the tunnel and been doctored at the other end, each +took some glowing embers home with him in a pot wherewith to rekindle +the fire on the domestic hearth. Lastly they put some of the charcoal in +a vessel of water and drank the mixture in order to be thereby magically +protected against the epidemic.[716] + +It would be superfluous to point out in detail how admirably these +measures are calculated to arrest the ravages of disease; but for the +sake of those, if there are any, to whom the medicinal effect of +crawling through a hole on hands and knees is not at once apparent, I +shall merely say that the procedure in question is one of the most +powerful specifics which the wit of man has devised for maladies of all +sorts. Ample evidence of its application will be adduced in a later part +of this work.[717] + +[The need-fire in Bulgaria.] + +In Bulgaria the herds suffer much from the raids of certain +blood-sucking vampyres called _Ustrels_. An _Ustrel_ is the spirit of a +Christian child who was born on a Saturday and died unfortunately before +he could be baptized. On the ninth day after burial he grubs his way out +of the grave and attacks the cattle at once, sucking their blood all +night and returning at peep of dawn to the grave to rest from his +labours. In ten days or so the copious draughts of blood which he has +swallowed have so fortified his constitution that he can undertake +longer journeys; so when he falls in with great herds of cattle or +flocks of sheep he returns no more to the grave for rest and refreshment +at night, but takes up his quarters during the day either between the +horns of a sturdy calf or ram or between the hind legs of a milch-cow. +Beasts whose blood he has sucked die the same night. In any herd that he +may fasten on he begins with the fattest animal and works his way down +steadily through the leaner kine till not one single beast is left +alive. The carcases of the victims swell up, and when the hide is +stripped off you can always perceive the livid patch of flesh where the +monster sucked the blood of the poor creature. In a single night he may, +by working hard, kill five cows; but he seldom exceeds that number. He +can change his shape and weight very easily; for example, when he is +sitting by day between the horns of a ram, the animal scarcely feels his +weight, but at night he will sometimes throw himself on an ox or a cow +so heavily that the animal cannot stir, and lows so pitifully that it +would make your heart bleed to hear. People who were born on a Saturday +can see these monsters, and they have described them accurately, so that +there can be no doubt whatever about their existence. It is, therefore, +a matter of great importance to the peasant to protect his flocks and +herds against the ravages of such dangerous vampyres. The way in which +he does so is this. On a Saturday morning before sunrise the village +drummer gives the signal to put out every fire in the village; even +smoking is forbidden. Next all the domestic animals, with the exception +of fowls, geese, and ducks, are driven out into the open. In front of +the flocks and herds march two men, whose names during the ceremony may +not be mentioned in the village. They go into the wood, pick two dry +branches, and having stript themselves of their clothes they rub the two +branches together very hard till they catch fire; then with the fire so +obtained they kindle two bonfires, one on each side of a cross-road +which is known to be frequented by wolves. After that the herd is driven +between the two fires. Coals from the bonfires are then taken back to +the village and used to rekindle the fires on the domestic hearths. For +several days no one may go near the charred and blackened remains of the +bonfires at the cross-road. The reason is that the vampyre is lying +there, having dropped from his seat between the cow's horns when the +animals were driven between the two fires. So if any one were to pass by +the spot during these days, the monster would be sure to call him by +name and to follow him to the village; whereas if he is left alone, a +wolf will come at midnight and strangle him, and in a few days the +herdsmen can see the ground soaked with his slimy blood. So that is the +end of the vampyre.[718] In this Bulgarian custom, as in the Slavonian +custom described above, the conception of the need-fire as a barrier set +up between the cattle and a dangerous spirit is clearly worked out. The +spirit rides the cow till he comes to the narrow pass between the two +fires, but the heat there is too much for him; he drops in a faint from +the saddle, or rather from the horns, and the now riderless animal +escapes safe and sound beyond the smoke and flame, leaving her +persecutor prostrate on the ground on the further side of the blessed +barrier. + +[The need-fire in Bosnia and Herzegovina.] + +In Bosnia and Herzegovina there are some local differences in the mode +of kindling the need-fire, or "living fire," as it is called. Thus at +Jablanica both the uprights and the roller or cross-piece, which by its +revolution kindles the fire, are made of cornel-tree wood; whereas at +Dolac, near Sarajevo, the uprights and the cross-piece or roller are all +made of lime wood. In Gacko, contrary to the usual custom, the fire is +made by striking a piece of iron on an anvil, till sparks are given out, +which are caught in tinder. The "living fire" thus produced is employed +for purposes of healing. In particular, if any one suffers from wounds +or sores, ashes of the need-fire are sprinkled on the ailing part. In +Gacko it is also believed that if a pregnant woman witnesses a +conflagration, her child will either be born with a red eruption on its +skin or will contract the malady sooner or later afterwards. The only +remedy consists in ashes of the need-fire, which are mixed with water +and given to the child to drink.[719] + +[The need-fire in England; the need-fire in Yorkshire.] + +In England the earliest notice of the need-fire seems to be contained in +the Chronicle of Lanercost for the year 1268. The annalist tells with +pious horror how, when an epidemic was raging in that year among the +cattle, "certain beastly men, monks in garb but not in mind, taught the +idiots of their country to make fire by the friction of wood and to set +up an image of Priapus, whereby they thought to succour the +animals."[720] The use of the need-fire is particularly attested for the +counties of Yorkshire and Northumberland. Thus in Yorkshire down to the +middle of the eighteenth century "the favourite remedy of the country +people, not only in the way of cure, but of prevention, was an odd one; +it was to smoke the cattle almost to suffocation, by kindling straw, +litter, and other combustible matter about them. The effects of this +mode of cure are not stated, but the most singular part of it was that +by which it was reported to have been discovered. An angel (says the +legend), descended into Yorkshire, and there set a large tree on fire; +the strange appearance of which or else the savour of the smoke, incited +the cattle around (some of which were infected) to draw near the +miracle, when they all either received an immediate cure or an absolute +prevention of the disorder. It is not affirmed that the angel staid to +speak to anybody, but only that he left a _written_ direction for the +neighbouring people to catch this supernatural fire, and to communicate +it from one to another with all possible speed throughout the country; +and in case it should be extinguished and utterly lost, that then new +fire, of equal virtue, might be obtained, not by any common method, but +by rubbing two pieces of wood together till they ignited. Upon what +foundation this story stood, is not exactly known, but it put the +farmers actually into a hurry of communicating flame and smoke from one +house to another with wonderful speed, making it run like wildfire over +the country."[721] Again, we read that "the father of the writer, who +died in 1843, in his seventy-ninth year, had a perfect remembrance of a +great number of persons, belonging to the upper and middle classes of +his native parish of Bowes, assembling on the banks of the river Greta +to work for need-fire. A disease among cattle, called the murrain, then +prevailed to a very great extent through that district of Yorkshire. The +cattle were made to pass through the smoke raised by this miraculous +fire, and their cure was looked upon as certain, and to neglect doing so +was looked upon as wicked. This fire was produced by the violent and +continued friction of two dry pieces of wood until such time as it was +thereby obtained. 'To work as though one was working for need-fire' is a +common proverb in the North of England."[722] At Ingleton, a small town +nestling picturesquely at the foot of the high hill of Ingleborough in +western Yorkshire, "within the last thirty years or so it was a common +practice to kindle the so-called 'Need-fire' by rubbing two pieces of +wood briskly together, and setting ablaze a large heap of sticks and +brushwood, which were dispersed, and cattle then driven through the +smoking brands. This was thought to act as a charm against the spread or +developement of the various ailments to which cattle are liable, and the +farmers seem to have had great faith in it."[723] Writing about the +middle of the nineteenth century, Kemble tells us that the will-fire or +need-fire had been used in Devonshire for the purpose of staying a +murrain within the memory of man.[724] + +[The need-fire in Northumberland.] + +So in Northumberland, down to the first half of the nineteenth century, +"when a contagious disease enters among cattle, the fires are +extinguished in the adjacent villages. Two pieces of dried wood are then +rubbed together until fire be produced; with this a quantity of straw is +kindled, juniper is thrown into the flame, and the cattle are repeatedly +driven through the smoke. Part of the forced fire is sent to the +neighbours, who again forward it to others, and, as great expedition is +used, the fires may be seen blazing over a great extent of country in a +very short space of time."[725] "It is strange," says the antiquary +William Henderson, writing about 1866, "to find the custom of lighting +'need-fires' on the occasion of epidemics among cattle still lingering +among us, but so it is. The vicar of Stamfordham writes thus respecting +it: 'When the murrain broke out among the cattle about eighteen years +ago, this fire was produced by rubbing two pieces of dry wood together, +and was carried from place to place all through this district, as a +charm against cattle taking the disease. Bonfires were kindled with it, +and the cattle driven into the smoke, where they were left for some +time. Many farmers hereabouts, I am informed, had the need-fire.'"[726] + +[Martin's account of the need-fire in the Highlands of Scotland.] + +In the earliest systematic account of the western islands of Scotland we +read that "the inhabitants here did also make use of a fire called +_Tin-egin, i.e._ a forced fire, or fire of necessity, which they used as +an antidote against the plague or murrain in cattle; and it was +performed thus: all the fires in the parish were extinguished, and then +eighty-one married men, being thought the necessary number for effecting +this design, took two great planks of wood, and nine of them were +employed by turns, who by their repeated efforts rubbed one of the +planks against the other until the heat thereof produced fire; and from +this forced fire each family is supplied with new fire, which is no +sooner kindled than a pot full of water is quickly set on it, and +afterwards sprinkled upon the people infected with the plague, or upon +the cattle that have the murrain. And this they all say they find +successful by experience: it was practised in the main land, opposite to +the south of Skie, within these thirty years."[727] + +[The need-fire in the island of Mull; sacrifice of a heifer.] + +In the island of Mull, one of the largest of the Hebrides, the need-fire +was kindled as late as 1767. "In consequence of a disease among the +black cattle the people agreed to perform an incantation, though they +esteemed it a wicked thing. They carried to the top of Carnmoor a wheel +and nine spindles of oakwood. They extinguished every fire in every +house within sight of the hill; the wheel was then turned from east to +west over the nine spindles long enough to produce fire by friction. If +the fire were not produced before noon, the incantation lost its effect. +They failed for several days running. They attributed this failure to +the obstinacy of one householder, who would not let his fires be put out +for what he considered so wrong a purpose. However, by bribing his +servants they contrived to have them extinguished and on that morning +raised their fire. They then sacrificed a heifer, cutting in pieces and +burning, while yet alive, the diseased part. They then lighted their own +hearths from the pile and ended by feasting on the remains. Words of +incantation were repeated by an old man from Morven, who came over as +master of the ceremonies, and who continued speaking all the time the +fire was being raised. This man was living a beggar at Bellochroy. Asked +to repeat the spell, he said, the sin of repeating it once had brought +him to beggary, and that he dared not say those words again. The whole +country believed him accursed."[728] From this account we see that in +Mull the kindling of the need-fire as a remedy for cattle disease was +accompanied by the sacrifice of one of the diseased animals; and though +the two customs are for the most part mentioned separately by our +authorities, we may surmise that they were often, perhaps usually, +practised together for the purpose of checking the ravages of sickness +in the herds.[729] + +[The need-fire in Caithness.] + +In the county of Caithness, forming the extreme northeast corner of the +mainland of Scotland, the practice of the need-fire survived down at +least to about 1788. We read that "in those days, when the stock of any +considerable farmer was seized with the murrain, he would send for one +of the charm-doctors to superintend the raising of a _need-fire_. It was +done by friction, thus; upon any small island, where the stream of a +river or burn ran on each side, a circular booth was erected, of stone +and turf, as it could be had, in which a semicircular or highland couple +of birch, or other hard wood, was set; and, in short, a roof closed on +it. A straight pole was set up in the centre of this building, the upper +end fixed by a wooden pin to the top of the couple, and the lower end in +an oblong _trink_ in the earth or floor; and lastly, another pole was +set across horizontally, having both ends tapered, one end of which was +supported in a hole in the side of the perpendicular pole, and the other +in a similar hole in the couple leg. The horizontal stick was called the +auger, having four short arms or levers fixed in its centre, to work it +by; the building having been thus finished, as many men as could be +collected in the vicinity, (being divested of all kinds of metal in +their clothes, etc.), would set to work with the said auger, two after +two, constantly turning it round by the arms or levers, and others +occasionally driving wedges of wood or stone behind the lower end of the +upright pole, so as to press it the more on the end of the auger: by +this constant friction and pressure, the ends of the auger would take +fire, from which a fire would be instantly kindled, and thus the +_needfire_ would be accomplished. The fire in the farmer's house, etc., +was immediately quenched with water, a fire kindled from this needfire, +both in the farm-houses and offices, and the cattle brought to feel the +smoke of this new and sacred fire, which preserved them from the +murrain."[730] + +[The need-fire in Caithness.] + +The last recorded case of the need-fire in Caithness happened in 1809 or +1810. At Houstry, Dunbeath, a crofter named David Gunn had made for +himself a kail-yard and in doing so had wilfully encroached on one of +those prehistoric ruins called _brochs_, which the people of the +neighbourhood believed to be a fairy habitation. Soon afterwards a +murrain broke out among the cattle of the district and carried off many +beasts. So the wise men put their heads together and resolved to light a +_teine-eigin_ or need-fire as the best way of stopping the plague. They +cut a branch from a tree in a neighbouring wood, stripped it of bark, +and carried it to a small island in the Houstry Burn. Every fire in the +district having been quenched, new fire was made by the friction of wood +in the island, and from this sacred flame all the hearths of the houses +were lit afresh. One of the sticks used in making the fire was preserved +down to about the end of the nineteenth century; apparently the mode of +operation was the one known as the fire-drill: a pointed stick was +twirled in a hole made in another stick till fire was elicited by the +friction.[731] + +[Another account of the need-fire in the Highlands.] + +Another account of the use of need-fire in the Highlands of Scotland +runs as follows: "When, by the neglect of the prescribed safeguards +[against witchcraft], the seeds of iniquity have taken root, and a +person's means are decaying in consequence, the only alternative, in +this case, is to resort to that grand remedy, the _Tein Econuch_, or +'Forlorn Fire,' which seldom fails of being productive of the best +effects. The cure for witchcraft, called _Tein Econuch_, is wrought in +the following manner:--A consultation being held by the unhappy sufferer +and his friends as to the most advisable measures of effecting a cure, +if this process is adopted, notice is privately communicated to all +those householders who reside within the nearest of two running streams, +to extinguish their lights and fires on some appointed morning. On its +being ascertained that this notice has been duly observed, a +spinning-wheel, or some other convenient instrument, calculated to +produce fire by friction, is set to work with the most furious +earnestness by the unfortunate sufferer, and all who wish well to his +cause. Relieving each other by turns, they drive on with such +persevering diligence, that at length the spindle of the wheel, ignited +by excessive friction, emits 'forlorn fire' in abundance, which, by the +application of tow, or some other combustible material, is widely +extended over the whole neighbourhood. Communicating the fire to the +tow, the tow communicates it to a candle, the candle to a fir-torch, the +torch to a cartful of peats, which the master of the ceremonies, with +pious ejaculations for the success of the experiment, distributes to +messengers, who will proceed with portions of it to the different houses +within the said two running streams, to kindle the different fires. By +the influence of this operation, the machinations and spells of +witchcraft are rendered null and void."[732] + +[Alexander Carmichael's account of the need-fire in the Highlands of +Scotland during the nineteenth century.] + +In various parts of the Highlands of Scotland the needfire was still +kindled during the first half of the nineteenth century, as we learn +from the following account:-- + +"_Tein-eigin_, neid-fire, need-fire, forced fire, fire produced by the +friction of wood or iron against wood. + +"The fire of purification was kindled from the neid-fire, while the +domestic fire on the hearth was re-kindled from the purification fire on +the knoll. Among other names, the purification fire was called _Teine +Bheuil_, fire of Beul, and _Teine mor Bheuil_, great fire of Beul. The +fire of Beul was divided into two fires between which people and cattle +rushed australly for purposes of purification. The ordeal was trying, as +may be inferred from phrases still current. _Is teodha so na teine +teodha Bheuil_, 'Hotter is this than the hot fire of Beul.' Replying to +his grandchild, an old man in Lewis said ... 'Mary! sonnie, it were +worse for me to do that for thee than to go between the two great fires +of Beul.' + +"The neid-fire was resorted to in imminent or actual calamity upon the +first day of the quarter, and to ensure success in great or important +events. + +[The needfire in Arran.] + +"The writer conversed with several persons who saw the neid-fire made, +and who joined in the ceremony. As mentioned elsewhere, a woman in Arran +said that her father, and the other men of the townland, made the +neid-fire on the knoll on _La buidhe Bealltain_--Yellow Day of Beltane. +They fed the fire from _cuaile mor conaidh caoin_--great bundles of +sacred faggots brought to the knoll on Beltane Eve. When the sacred fire +became kindled, the people rushed home and brought their herds and drove +them through and round the fire of purification, to sain them from the +_bana bhuitseach mhor Nic Creafain Mac Creafain_--the great arch witch +Mac Crauford, now Crawford. That was in the second decade of this +century. + +[The need-fire in North Uist.] + +"John Macphail, Middlequarter, North Uist, said that the last occasion +on which the neid-fire was made in North Uist was _bliadhna an +t-sneachda bhuidhe_--the year of the yellow snow--1829 (?). The snow lay +so deep and remained so long on the ground, that it became yellow. Some +suggest that the snow was originally yellow, as snow is occasionally +red. This extraordinary continuance of snow caused much want and +suffering throughout the Isles. The people of North Uist extinguished +their own fires and generated a purification fire at Sail Dharaich, +Sollas. The fire was produced from an oak log by rapidly boring with an +auger. This was accomplished by the exertions of _naoi naoinear ciad +ginealach mac_--the nine nines of first-begotten sons. From the +neid-fire produced on the knoll the people of the parish obtained fire +for their dwellings. Many cults and ceremonies were observed on the +occasion, cults and ceremonies in which Pagan and Christian beliefs +intermingled. _Sail Dharaich_, Oak Log, obtained its name from the log +of oak for the neid-fire being there. A fragment of this log riddled +with auger holes marks a grave in _Cladh Sgealoir_, the burying-ground +of _Sgealoir_, in the neighbourhood. + +[The need-fire in Reay, Sutherland.] + +"Mr. Alexander Mackay, Edinburgh, a native of Reay, Sutherland, +says:--'My father was the skipper of a fishing crew. Before beginning +operations for the season, the crew of the boat met at night in our +house to settle accounts for the past, and to plan operations for the +new season. My mother and the rest of us were sent to bed. I lay in the +kitchen, and was listening and watching, though they thought I was +asleep. After the men had settled their past affairs and future plans, +they put out the fire on the hearth, not a spark being allowed to live. +They then rubbed two pieces of wood one against another so rapidly as to +produce fire, the men joining in one after the other, and working with +the utmost energy and never allowing the friction to relax. From this +friction-fire they rekindled the fire on the hearth, from which all the +men present carried away a kindling to their own homes. Whether their +success was due to their skill, their industry, their perseverance, or +to the neid-fire, I do not know, but I know that they were much the most +successful crew in the place. They met on Saturday, and went to church +on Sunday like the good men and the good Christians they were--a little +of their Pagan faith mingling with their Christian belief. I have reason +to believe that other crews in the place as well as my father's crew +practised the neid-fire.' + +"A man at Helmsdale, Sutherland, saw the _tein-eigin_ made in his +boyhood. + +"The neid-fire was made in North Uist about the year 1829, in Arran +about 1820, in Helmsdale about 1818, in Reay about 1830."[733] + +[The Beltane fire a precaution against witchcraft.] + +From the foregoing account we learn that in Arran the annual Beltane +fire was regularly made by the friction of wood, and that it was used to +protect men and cattle against a great witch. When we remember that +Beltane Eve or the Eve of May Day (Walpurgis Night) is the great +witching time of the year throughout Europe, we may surmise that +wherever bonfires have been ceremonially kindled on that day it has been +done simply as a precaution against witchcraft; indeed this motive is +expressly alleged not only in Scotland, but in Wales, the Isle of Man, +and many parts of Central Europe.[734] It deserves, further, to be +noticed that in North Uist the wood used to kindle the need-fire was +oak, and that the nine times nine men by whose exertions the flame was +elicited were all first-born sons. Apparently the first-born son of a +family was thought to be endowed with more magical virtue than his +younger brothers. Similarly in the Punjaub "the supernatural power +ascribed to the first born is not due to his being unlucky, but the idea +underlying the belief seems to be that being the first product of the +parents, he inherits the spiritual powers (or magnetism) in a high +degree. The success of such persons in stopping rain and hail and in +stupefying snakes is proverbial. It is believed that a first child born +with feet forward can cure backache by kicking the patient in the back, +on a crossing."[735] + +[The need-fire in Aberdeenshire.] + +In the north-east of Aberdeenshire and the neighbourhood, when the +cattle-disease known as the "quarter-ill" broke out, "the 'muckle wheel' +was set in motion and turned till fire was produced. From this virgin +flame fires were kindled in the byres. At the same time, if neighbours +requested the favour, live coals were given them to kindle fires for the +purification of their homesteads and turning off the disease. Fumigating +the byres with juniper was a method adopted to ward off disease. Such a +fire was called 'needfyre.' The kindling of it came under the censure of +the Presbytery at times."[736] + +[The need-fire in Perthshire.] + +In Perthshire the need-fire was kindled as a remedy for cattle-disease +as late as 1826. "A wealthy old farmer, having lost several of his +cattle by some disease very prevalent at present, and being able to +account for it in no way so rationally as by witchcraft, had recourse to +the following remedy, recommended to him by a weird sister in his +neighbourhood, as an effectual protection from the attacks of the foul +fiend. A few stones were piled together in the barnyard, and woodcoals +having been laid thereon, the fuel was ignited by _will-fire_, that is +fire obtained by friction; the neighbours having been called in to +witness the solemnity, the cattle were made to pass through the flames, +in the order of their dignity and age, commencing with the horses and +ending with the swine. The ceremony having been duly and decorously gone +through, a neighbouring farmer observed to the enlightened owner of the +herd, that he, along with his family, ought to have followed the example +of the cattle, and the sacrifice to Baal would have been complete."[737] + +[The need-fire in Ireland.] + +In County Leitrim, Ireland, in order to prevent fever from spreading, +"all the fires on the townland, and the two adjoining (one on each +side), would be put out. Then the men of the three townlands would come +to one house, and get two large blocks of wood. One would be set in the +ground, and the other one, fitted with two handles, placed on the top of +it. The men would then draw the upper block backwards and forwards over +the lower until fire was produced by friction, and from this the fires +would be lighted again. This would prevent the fever from +spreading,"[738] + +[The use of the need-fire a relic of a time when all fires were kindled +by the friction of wood.] + +Thus it appears that in many parts of Europe it has been customary to +kindle fire by the friction of wood for the purpose of curing or +preventing the spread of disease, particularly among cattle. The mode of +striking a light by rubbing two dry sticks against each other is the one +to which all over the world savages have most commonly resorted for the +sake of providing themselves with fire;[739] and we can scarcely doubt +that the practice of kindling the need-fire in this primitive fashion is +merely a survival from the time when our savage forefathers lit all +their fires in that way. Nothing is so conservative of old customs as +religious or magical ritual, which invests these relics of the past with +an atmosphere of mysterious virtue and sanctity. To the educated mind it +seems obvious that a fire which a man kindles with the sweat of his brow +by laboriously rubbing one stick against each other can possess neither +more nor less virtue than one which he has struck in a moment by the +friction of a lucifer match; but to the ignorant and superstitious this +truth is far from apparent, and accordingly they take infinite pains to +do in a roundabout way what they might have done directly with the +greatest ease, and what, even when it is done, is of no use whatever for +the purpose in hand. A vast proportion of the labour which mankind has +expended throughout the ages has been no better spent; it has been like +the stone of Sisyphus eternally rolled up hill only to revolve eternally +down again, or like the water poured for ever by the Danaids into broken +pitchers which it could never fill. + +[The belief that the need-fire cannot kindle if any other fire remains +alight in the neighbourhood.] + +The curious notion that the need-fire cannot kindle if any other fire +remains alight in the neighbourhood seems to imply that fire is +conceived as a unity which is broken up into fractions and consequently +weakened in exact proportion to the number of places where it burns; +hence in order to obtain it at full strength you must light it only at a +single point, for then the flame will burst out with a concentrated +energy derived from the tributary fires which burned on all the +extinguished hearths of the country. So in a modern city if all the gas +were turned off simultaneously at all the burners but one, the flame +would no doubt blaze at that one burner with a fierceness such as no +single burner could shew when all are burning at the same time. The +analogy may help us to understand the process of reasoning which leads +the peasantry to insist on the extinction of all common fires when the +need-fire is about to be kindled. Perhaps, too, it may partly explain +that ceremonial extinction of all old fires on other occasions which is +often required by custom as a preliminary to the lighting of a new and +sacred fire.[740] We have seen that in the Highlands of Scotland all +common fires were extinguished on the Eve of May-day as a preparation +for kindling the Beltane bonfire by friction next morning;[741] and no +doubt the reason for the extinction was the same as in the case of the +need-fire. Indeed we may assume with a fair degree of probability that +the need-fire was the parent of the periodic fire-festivals; at first +invoked only at irregular intervals to cure certain evils as they +occurred, the powerful virtue of fire was afterwards employed at regular +intervals to prevent the occurrence of the same evils as well as to +remedy such as had actually arisen. + +[The needfire among the Iroquois of North America.] + +The need-fire of Europe has its parallel in a ceremony which used to be +observed by the Iroquois Indians of North America. "Formerly when an +epidemic prevailed among the Iroquois despite the efforts to stay it, it +was customary for the principal shaman to order the fires in every cabin +to be extinguished and the ashes and cinders to be carefully removed; +for it was believed that the pestilence was sent as a punishment for +neglecting to rekindle 'new fire,' or because of the manner in which the +fire then in use had been kindled. So, after all the fires were out, two +suitable logs of slippery elm (_Ulmus fulva_) were provided for the new +fire. One of the logs was from six to eight inches in diameter and from +eight to ten feet long; the other was from ten to twelve inches in +diameter and about ten feet long. About midway across the larger log a +cuneiform notch or cut about six inches deep was made, and in the +wedge-shaped notch punk was placed. The other log was drawn rapidly to +and fro in the cut by four strong men chosen for the purpose until the +punk was ignited by the friction thus produced. Before and during the +progress of the work of igniting the fire the shaman votively sprinkled +_tcar-hu'-en-we_, 'real tobacco,' three several times into the cuneiform +notch and offered earnest prayers to the Fire-god, beseeching him 'to +aid, to bless, and to redeem the people from their calamities.' The +ignited punk was used to light a large bonfire, and then the head of +every family was required to take home 'new fire' to rekindle a fire in +his or her fire-place."[742] + + +Sec. 9. _The Sacrifice of an Animal to stay a Cattle-Plague_ + + +[The burnt sacrifice of a calf in England and Wales; burnt sacrifice a +pig in Scotland.] + +Sometimes apparently in England as well as in Scotland the kindling of a +need-fire was accompanied by the sacrifice of a calf. Thus in +Northamptonshire, at some time during the first half of the nineteenth +century, "Miss C---- and her cousin walking saw a fire in a field and a +crowd round it. They said, 'What is the matter?' 'Killing a calf.' 'What +for?' 'To stop the murrain.' They went away as quickly as possible. On +speaking to the clergyman he made enquiries. The people did not like to +talk of the affair, but it appeared that when there is a disease among +the cows or the calves are born sickly, they sacrifice (i.e. kill and +burn) one 'for good luck.'"[743] It is not here said that the fire was a +need-fire, of which indeed the two horrified ladies had probably never +heard; but the analogy of the parallel custom in Mull[744] renders it +probable that in Northamptonshire also the fire was kindled by the +friction of wood, and that the calf or some part of it was burnt in the +fire. Certainly the practice of burning a single animal alive in order +to save all the others would seem to have been not uncommon in England +down to the nineteenth century. Thus a farmer in Cornwall about the year +1800, having lost many cattle by disease, and tried many remedies in +vain, consulted with some of his neighbours and laying their heads +together "they recalled to their recollections a tale, which tradition +had handed down from remote antiquity, that the calamity would not cease +until he had actually burned alive the finest calf which he had upon his +farm; but that, when this sacrifice was made, the murrain would afflict +his cattle no more." Accordingly, on a day appointed they met, lighted a +large fire, placed the best calf in it, and standing round the blazing +pile drove the animal with pitchforks back into the flames whenever it +attempted to escape. Thus the victim was burned alive to save the rest +of the cattle.[745] "There can be no doubt but that a belief prevailed +until a very recent period, amongst the small farmers in the districts +remote from towns in Cornwall, that a living sacrifice appeased the +wrath of God. This sacrifice must be by fire; and I have heard it argued +that the Bible gave them warranty for this belief.... While correcting +these sheets I am informed of two recent instances of this superstition. +One of them was the sacrifice of a calf by a farmer near Portreath, for +the purpose of removing a disease which had long followed his horses and +his cows. The other was the burning of a living lamb, to save, as the +farmer said, 'his flocks from spells which had been cast on 'em.'"[746] +In a recent account of the fire-festivals of Wales we read that "I have +also heard my grandfather and father say that in times gone by the +people would throw a calf in the fire when there was any disease among +the herds. The same would be done with a sheep if there was anything the +matter with a flock. I can remember myself seeing cattle being driven +between two fires to 'stop the disease spreading.' When in later times +it was not considered humane to drive the cattle between the fires, the +herdsmen were accustomed to force the animals over the wood ashes to +protect them against various ailments."[747] Writing about 1866, the +antiquary W. Henderson says that a live ox was burned near Haltwhistle +in Northumberland "only twenty years ago" to stop a murrain.[748] "About +the year 1850 disease broke out among the cattle of a small farm in the +parish of Resoliss, Black Isle, Ross-shire. The farmer prevailed on his +wife to undertake a journey to a wise woman of renown in Banffshire to +ask a charm against the effects of the 'ill eye.' The long journey of +upwards of fifty miles was performed by the good wife, and the charm was +got. One chief thing ordered was to burn to death a pig, and sprinkle +the ashes over the byre and other farm buildings. This order was carried +out, except that the pig was killed before it was burned. A more +terrible sacrifice was made at times. One of the diseased animals was +rubbed over with tar, driven forth, set on fire, and allowed to run till +it fell down and died."[749] "Living animals have been burnt alive in +sacrifice within memory to avert the loss of other stock. The burial of +three puppies 'brandise-wise' in a field is supposed to rid it of weeds. +Throughout the rural districts of Devon witchcraft is an article of +current faith, and the toad is thrown into the flames as an emissary of +the evil one."[750] + +[The calf is burnt in order to break a spell which has been cast on the +herd.] + +But why, we may ask, should the burning alive of a calf or a sheep be +supposed to save the rest of the herd or the flock from the murrain? +According to one writer, as we have seen, the burnt sacrifice was +thought to appease the wrath of God.[751] The idea of appeasing the +wrath of a ferocious deity by burning an animal alive is probably no +more than a theological gloss put on an old heathen rite; it would +hardly occur to the simple mind of an English bumpkin, who, though he +may be stupid, is not naturally cruel and does not conceive of a +divinity who takes delight in the contemplation of suffering. To his +thinking God has little or nothing to do with the murrain, but witches, +ill-wishers, and fairies have a great deal to do with it. The English +farmer who burned one of his lambs alive said that he did it "to save +his flocks from spells which had been cast on them"; and the Scotch +farmer who was bidden to burn a pig alive for a similar purpose, but who +had the humanity to kill the animal first, believed that this was a +remedy for the "evil eye" which had been cast upon his beasts. Again, we +read that "a farmer, who possessed broad acres, and who was in many +respects a sensible man, was greatly annoyed to find that his cattle +became diseased in the spring. Nothing could satisfy him but that they +were bewitched, and he was resolved to find out the person who had cast +the evil eye on his oxen. According to an anciently-prescribed rule, the +farmer took one of his bullocks and bled it to death, catching all the +blood on bundles of straw. The bloody straw was then piled into a heap, +and set on fire. Burning with a vast quantity of smoke, the farmer +expected to see the witch, either in reality or in shadow, amidst the +smoke."[752] Such reasons express the real beliefs of the peasants. +"Cattle, like human beings, were exposed to the influences of the evil +eye, of forespeaking, and of the casting of evil. Witches and warlocks +did the work of evil among their neighbours' cattle if their anger had +been aroused in any way. The fairies often wrought injury amongst +cattle. Every animal that died suddenly was killed by the dart of the +fairies, or, in the language of the people, was 'shot-a-dead.' Flint +arrows and spear-heads went by the name of 'faery dairts....' When an +animal died suddenly the canny woman of the district was sent for to +search for the 'faery dairt,' and in due course she found one, to the +great satisfaction of the owner of the dead animal."[753] + +[Mode in which the burning of a bewitched animal is supposed to break +the spell.] + +But how, we must still ask, can burning an animal alive break the spell +that has been cast upon its fellows by a witch or a warlock? Some light +is thrown on the question by the following account of measures which +rustic wiseacres in Suffolk are said to have adopted as a remedy for +witchcraft. "A woman I knew forty-three years had been employed by my +predecessor to take care of his poultry. At the time I came to make her +acquaintance she was a bedridden toothless crone, with chin and nose all +but meeting. She did not discourage in her neighbours the idea that she +knew more than people ought to know, and had more power than others had. +Many years before I knew her it happened one spring that the ducks, +which were a part of her charge, failed to lay eggs.... She at once took +it for granted that the ducks had been bewitched. This misbelief +involved very shocking consequences, for it necessitated the idea that +so diabolical an act could only be combated by diabolical cruelty. And +the most diabolical act of cruelty she could imagine was that of baking +alive in a hot oven one of the ducks. And that was what she did. The +sequence of thought in her mind was that the spell that had been laid on +the ducks was that of preternaturally wicked wilfulness; that this spell +could only be broken through intensity of suffering, in this case death +by burning; that the intensity of suffering would break the spell in the +one roasted to death; and that the spell broken in one would be +altogether broken, that is, in all the ducks.... Shocking, however, as +was this method of exorcising the ducks, there was nothing in it +original. Just about a hundred years before, everyone in the town and +neighbourhood of Ipswich had heard, and many had believed, that a witch +had been burnt to death in her own house at Ipswich by the process of +burning alive one of the sheep she had bewitched. It was curious, but it +was as convincing as curious, that the hands and feet of this witch were +the only parts of her that had not been incinerated. This, however, was +satisfactorily explained by the fact that the four feet of the sheep, by +which it had been suspended over the fire, had not been destroyed in the +flames that had consumed its body."[754] According to a slightly +different account of the same tragic incident, the last of the "Ipswitch +witches," one Grace Pett, "laid her hand heavily on a farmer's sheep, +who, in order to punish her, fastened one of the sheep in the ground and +burnt it, except the feet, which were under the earth. The next morning +Grace Pett was found burnt to a cinder, except her feet. Her fate is +recorded in the _Philosophical Transactions_ as a case of spontaneous +combustion."[755] + +[In burning the bewitched animal you burn the witch herself.] + +This last anecdote is instructive, if perhaps not strictly authentic. It +shows that in burning alive one of a bewitched flock or herd what you +really do is to burn the witch, who is either actually incarnate in the +animal or perhaps more probably stands in a relation of sympathy with it +so close as almost to amount to identity. Hence if you burn the creature +to ashes, you utterly destroy the witch and thereby save the whole of +the rest of the flock or herd from her abominable machinations; whereas +if you only partially burn the animal, allowing some parts of it to +escape the flames, the witch is only half-baked, and her power for +mischief may be hardly, if at all, impaired by the grilling. We can now +see that in such matters half-measures are useless. To kill the animal +first and burn it afterwards is a weak compromise, dictated no doubt by +a well-meant but utterly mistaken kindness; it is like shutting the +stable-door when the steed is stolen, for obviously by leaving the +animal's, and therefore the witch's, body nearly intact at the moment of +death, it allows her soul to escape and return safe and sound to her own +human body, which all the time is probably lying quietly at home in bed. +And the same train of reasoning that justifies the burning alive of +bewitched animals justifies and indeed requires the burning alive of the +witches themselves; it is really the only way of destroying them, body +and soul, and therefore of thoroughly extirpating the whole infernal +crew. + +[Practice of burning cattle and sheep as sacrifices in the Isle of Man.] + +In the Isle of Man the practice of burning cattle alive in order to stop +a murrain seems to have persisted down to a time within living memory. +On this subject I will quote the evidence collected by Sir John Rhys: "A +respectable farmer from Andreas told me that he was driving with his +wife to the neighbouring parish of Jurby some years ago, and that on the +way they beheld the carcase of a cow or an ox burning in a field, with a +woman engaged in stirring the fire. On reaching the village to which +they were going, they found that the burning beast belonged to a farmer +whom they knew. They were further told it was no wonder that the said +farmer had one of his cattle burnt, as several of them had recently +died. Whether this was a case of sacrifice or not I cannot say. But let +me give you another instance: a man whom I have already mentioned, saw +at a farm nearer the centre of the island a live calf being burnt. The +owner bears an English name, but his family has long been settled in +Man. The farmer's explanation to my informant was that the calf was +burnt to secure luck for the rest of the herd, some of which were +threatening to die. My informant thought there was absolutely nothing +the matter with them, except that they had too little to eat. Be that as +it may, the one calf was sacrificed as a burnt-offering to secure luck +for the rest of the cattle. Let me here also quote Mr. Moore's note in +his _Manx Surnames_, p. 184, on the place name _Cabbal yn Oural Losht_, +or the Chapel of the Burnt Sacrifice. 'This name,' he says, 'records a +circumstance which took place in the nineteenth century, but which, it +is to be hoped, was never customary in the Isle of Man. A farmer, who +had lost a number of his sheep and cattle by murrain, burned a calf as a +propitiatory offering to the Deity on this spot, where a chapel was +afterwards built. Hence the name.' Particulars, I may say, of time, +place, and person could be easily added to Mr. Moore's statement, +excepting, perhaps as to the deity in question; on that point I have +never been informed, but Mr. Moore is probably right in the use of the +capital _d_, as the sacrificer is, according to all accounts, a highly +devout Christian. One more instance: an octogenarian woman, born in the +parish of Bride, and now living at Kirk Andreas, saw, when she was a +'lump of a girl' of ten or fifteen years of age, a live sheep being +burnt in a field in the parish of Andreas, on May-day, whereby she meant +the first of May reckoned according to the Old Style. She asserts very +decidedly that it was _son oural_, 'as a sacrifice,' as she put it, and +'for an object to the public': those were her words when she expressed +herself in English. Further, she made the statement that it was a custom +to burn a sheep on old May-day for a sacrifice. I was fully alive to the +interest of this evidence, and cross-examined her so far as her age +allows of it, and I find that she adheres to her statement with all +firmness."[756] + +[By burning a bewitched animal you compel the witch to appear.] + +But Manxmen burn beasts when they are dead as well as when they are +alive; and their reasons for burning the dead animals may help us to +understand their reasons for burning the living animals. On this subject +I will again quote Sir John Rhys: "When a beast dies on a farm, of +course it dies, according to the old-fashioned view of things, as I +understand it, from the influence of the evil eye or the interposition +of a witch. So if you want to know to whom you are indebted for the loss +of the beast, you have simply to burn its carcase in the open air and +watch who comes first to the spot or who first passes by; that is the +criminal to be charged with the death of the animal, and he cannot help +coming there--such is the effect of the fire. A Michael woman, who is +now about thirty, related to me how she watched while the carcase of a +bewitched colt was burning, how she saw the witch coming, and how she +remembers her shrivelled face, with nose and chin in close proximity. +According to another native of Michael, a well-informed middle-aged man, +the animal in question was oftenest a calf, and it was wont to be burnt +whole, skin and all. The object, according to him, is invariably to +bring the bewitcher on the spot, and he always comes; but I am not clear +what happens to him when he appears. My informant added, however, that +it was believed that, unless the bewitcher got possession of the heart +of the burning beast, he lost all his power of bewitching."[757] + +[Magic sympathy between the witch and the bewitched animal.] + +These statements shew that in the Isle of Man the sympathetic relation +between the witch and his or her animal victim is believed to be so +close that by burning the animal you compel the witch to appear. The +original idea may have been that, by virtue of a magic sympathy which +binds the two together, whatever harm you do to the animal is felt by +the witch as if it were done to herself. That notion would fully explain +why Manx people used also to burn bewitched animals alive; in doing so +they probably imagined that they were simultaneously burning the witch +who had cast the spell on their cattle. + +[Parallel belief in magic sympathy between the animal shape of a +were-wolf and his or her ordinary human shape: by wounding the wolf you +simultaneously wound the man or woman.] + +This explanation of the reason for burning a bewitched animal, dead or +alive, is confirmed by the parallel belief concerning were-wolves. It is +commonly supposed that certain men and women can transform themselves by +magic art into wolves or other animals, but that any wound inflicted on +such a transformed beast (a were-wolf or other were-animal) is +simultaneously inflicted on the human body of the witch or warlock who +had transformed herself or himself into the creature. This belief is +widely diffused; it meets us in Europe, Asia, and Africa. For example, +Olaus Magnus tells us that in Livonia, not many years before he wrote, a +noble lady had a dispute with her slave on the subject of were-wolves, +she doubting whether there were any such things, and he maintaining that +there were. To convince her he retired to a room, from which he soon +appeared in the form of a wolf. Being chased by the dogs into the forest +and brought to bay, the wolf defended himself fiercely, but lost an eye +in the struggle. Next day the slave returned to his mistress in human +form but with only one eye.[758] Again, it happened in the year 1588 +that a gentleman in a village among the mountains of Auvergne, looking +out of the window one evening, saw a friend of his going out to hunt. He +begged him to bring him back some of his bag, and his friend said that +he would. Well, he had not gone very far before he met a huge wolf. He +fired and missed it, and the animal attacked him furiously, but he stood +on his guard and with an adroit stroke of his hunting knife he cut off +the right fore-paw of the brute, which thereupon fled away and he saw it +no more. He returned to his friend, and drawing from his pouch the +severed paw of the wolf he found to his horror that it was turned into a +woman's hand with a golden ring on one of the fingers. His friend +recognized the ring as that of his own wife and went to find her. She +was sitting by the fire with her right arm under her apron. As she +refused to draw it out, her husband confronted her with the hand and the +ring on it. She at once confessed the truth, that it was she in the form +of a were-wolf whom the hunter had wounded. Her confession was confirmed +by applying the severed hand to the stump of her arm, for the two fitted +exactly. The angry husband delivered up his wicked wife to justice; she +was tried and burnt as a witch.[759] It is said that a were-wolf, +scouring the streets of Padua, was caught, and when they cut off his +four paws he at once turned into a man, but with both his hands and feet +amputated.[760] Again, in a farm of the French district of Beauce, there +was once a herdsman who never slept at home. These nocturnal absences +naturally attracted attention and set people talking. At the same time, +by a curious coincidence, a wolf used to prowl round the farm every +night and to excite the dogs in the farmyard to fury by thrusting his +snout derisively through the cat's hole in the great gate. The farmer +had his suspicions and he determined to watch. One night, when the +herdsman went out as usual, his master followed him quietly till he came +to a hut, where with his own eyes he saw the man put on a broad belt and +at once turn into a wolf, which scoured away over the fields. The farmer +smiled a sickly sort of smile and went back to the farm. There he took a +stout stick and sat down at the cat's hole to wait. He had not long to +wait. The dogs barked like mad, a wolf's snout shewed through the hole, +down came the stick, out gushed the blood, and a voice was heard to say +without the gate, "A good job too. I had still three years to run." Next +day the herdsman appeared as usual, but he had a scar on his brow, and +he never went out again at night.[761] + +[Werewolves in China.] + +In China also the faith in similar transformation is reflected in the +following tale. A certain man in Sung-yang went into the mountains to +gather fuel. Night fell and he was pursued by two tigers, but scrambled +up a tree out of their reach. Then said the one tiger to the other +tiger, "If we can find Chu-Tu-shi, we are sure to catch this man up the +tree." So off went one of them to find Chu-Tu-shi, while the other kept +watch at the foot of the tree. Soon after that another tiger, leaner and +longer than the other two, appeared on the scene and made a grab at the +man's coat. But fortunately the moon was shining, the man saw the paw, +and with a stroke of his axe cut off one of its claws. The tigers roared +and fled, one after the other, so the man climbed down the tree and went +home. When he told his tale in the village, suspicion naturally fell on +the said Chu-Tu-shi; next day some men went to see him in his house. +They were told that they could not see him; for he had been out the +night before and had hurt his hand, and he was now ill in bed. So they +put two and two together and reported him to the police. The police +arrived, surrounded the house, and set fire to it; but Chu-Tu-shi rose +from his bed, turned into a tiger, charged right through the police, and +escaped, and to this day nobody ever knew where he went to.[762] + +[Werewolves among the Toradjas of Central Celebes.] + +The Toradjas of Central Celebes stand in very great fear of werewolves, +that is of men and women, who have the power of transforming their +spirits into animals such as cats, crocodiles, wild pigs, apes, deer, +and buffaloes, which roam about battening on human flesh, and especially +on human livers, while the men and women in their own proper human form +are sleeping quietly in their beds at home. Among them a man is either +born a were-wolf or becomes one by infection; for mere contact with a +were-wolf, or even with anything that has been touched by his spittle, +is quite enough to turn the most innocent person into a were-wolf; nay +even to lean your head against anything against which a were-wolf has +leaned his head suffices to do it. The penalty for being a were-wolf is +death; but the sentence is never passed until the accused has had a fair +trial and his guilt has been clearly demonstrated by an ordeal, which +consists in dipping the middle finger into boiling resin. If the finger +is not burnt, the man is no were-wolf; but if it is burnt, a werewolf he +most assuredly is, so they take him away to a quiet spot and hack him to +bits. In cutting him up the executioners are naturally very careful not +to be bespattered with his blood, for if that were to happen they would +of course be turned into were-wolves themselves. Further, they place his +severed head beside his hinder-quarters to prevent his soul from coming +to life again and pursuing his depredations. So great is the horror of +were-wolves among the Toradjas, and so great is their fear of +contracting the deadly taint by infection, that many persons have +assured a missionary that they would not spare their own child if they +knew him to be a were-wolf.[763] Now these people, whose faith in +were-wolves is not a mere dying or dead superstition but a living, +dreadful conviction, tell stories of were-wolves which conform to the +type which we are examining. They say that once upon a time a were-wolf +came in human shape under the house of a neighbour, while his real body +lay asleep as usual at home, and calling out softly to the man's wife +made an assignation with her to meet him in the tobacco-field next day. +But the husband was lying awake and he heard it all, but he said nothing +to anybody. Next day chanced to be a busy one in the village, for a roof +had to be put on a new house and all the men were lending a hand with +the work, and among them to be sure was the were-wolf himself, I mean to +say his own human self; there he was up on the roof working away as hard +as anybody. But the woman went out to the tobacco-field, and behind went +unseen her husband, slinking through the underwood. When they were come +to the field, he saw the were-wolf make up to his wife, so out he rushed +and struck at him with a stick. Quick as thought, the were-wolf turned +himself into a leaf, but the man was as nimble, for he caught up the +leaf, thrust it into the joint of bamboo, in which he kept his tobacco, +and bunged it up tight. Then he walked back with his wife to the +village, carrying the bamboo with the werewolf in it. When they came to +the village, the human body of the were-wolf was still on the roof, +working away with the rest. The man put the bamboo in a fire. At that +the human were-wolf looked down from the roof and said, "Don't do that." +The man drew the bamboo from the fire, but a moment afterwards he put it +in the fire again, and again the human were-wolf on the roof looked down +and cried, "Don't do that." But this time the man kept the bamboo in the +fire, and when it blazed up, down fell the human were-wolf from the roof +as dead as a stone.[764] Again, the following story went round among the +Toradjas not so very many years ago. The thing happened at Soemara, on +the Gulf of Tomori. It was evening and some men sat chatting with a +certain Hadji Mohammad. When it had grown dark, one of the men went out +of the house for something or other. A little while afterwards one of +the company thought he saw a stag's antlers standing out sharp and clear +against the bright evening sky. So Hadji Mohammad raised his gun and +fired. A minute or two afterwards back comes the man who had gone out, +and says he to Hadji Mohammad, "You shot at me and hit me. You must pay +me a fine." They searched him but found no wound on him anywhere. Then +they knew that he was a were-wolf who had turned himself into a stag and +had healed the bullet-wound by licking it. However, the bullet had found +its billet, for two days afterwards he was a dead man.[765] + +[Were-wolves in the Egyptian Sudan.] + +In Sennar, a province of the Egyptian Sudan, the Hammeg and Fungi enjoy +the reputation of being powerful magicians who can turn themselves into +hyaenas and in that guise scour the country at night, howling and +gorging themselves. But by day they are men again. It is very dangerous +to shoot at such human hyaenas by night. On the Jebel Bela mountain a +soldier once shot at a hyaena and hit it, but it dragged itself off, +bleeding, in the darkness and escaped. Next morning he followed up the +trail of blood and it led him straight to the hut of a man who was +everywhere known for a wizard. Nothing of the hyaena was to be seen, but +the man himself was laid up in the house with a fresh wound and died +soon afterwards. And the soldier did not long survive him.[766] + +[The were-wolf story in Petronius.] + +But the classical example of these stories is an old Roman tale told by +Petronius. It is put in the mouth of one Niceros. Late at night he left +the town to visit a friend of his, a widow, who lived at a farm five +miles down the road. He was accompanied by a soldier, who lodged in the +same house, a man of Herculean build. When they set out it was near +dawn, but the moon shone as bright as day. Passing through the outskirts +of the town, they came amongst the tombs, which lined the highroad for +some distance. There the soldier made an excuse for retiring behind a +monument, and Niceros sat down to wait for him, humming a tune and +counting the tombstones to pass the time. In a little he looked round +for his companion, and saw a sight which froze him with horror. The +soldier had stripped off his clothes to the last rag and laid them at +the side of the highway. Then he performed a certain ceremony over them, +and immediately was changed into a wolf, and ran howling into the +forest. When Niceros had recovered himself a little, he went to pick up +the clothes, but found that they were turned to stone. More dead than +alive, he drew his sword, and, striking at every shadow cast by the +tombstones on the moonlit road, he tottered to his friend's house. He +entered it like a ghost, to the surprise of the widow, who wondered to +see him abroad so late. "If you had only been here a little ago," said +she, "you might have been of some use. For a wolf came tearing into the +yard, scaring the cattle and bleeding them like a butcher. But he did +not get off so easily, for the servant speared him in the neck." After +hearing these words, Niceros felt that he could not close an eye, so he +hurried away home again. It was now broad daylight, but when he came to +the place where the clothes had been turned to stone, he found only a +pool of blood. He reached home, and there lay the soldier in bed like an +ox in the shambles, and the doctor was bandaging his neck. "Then I +knew," said Niceros, "that the man was a were-wolf, and never again +could I break bread with him, no, not if you had killed me for it."[767] + +[Witches like were-wolves can temporarily transform themselves into +animals.] + +These stories may help us to understand the custom of burning a +bewitched animal, which has been observed in our own country down to +recent times, if indeed it is even now extinct. For a close parallel may +be traced in some respects between witches and were-wolves. Like +were-wolves, witches are commonly supposed to be able to transform +themselves temporarily into animals for the purpose of playing their +mischievous pranks;[768] and like were-wolves they can in their animal +disguise be compelled to unmask themselves to any one who succeeds in +drawing their blood. In either case the animal-skin is conceived as a +cloak thrown round the wicked enchanter; and if you can only pierce the +skin, whether by the stab of a knife or the shot of a gun, you so rend +the disguise that the man or woman inside of it stands revealed in his +or her true colours. Strictly speaking, the stab should be given on the +brow or between the eyes in the case both of a witch and of a +were-wolf;[769] and it is vain to shoot at a were-wolf unless you have +had the bullet blessed in a chapel of St. Hubert or happen to be +carrying about you, without knowing it, a four-leaved clover; otherwise +the bullet will merely rebound from the were-wolf like water from a +duck's back.[770] However, in Armenia they say that the were-wolf, who +in that country is usually a woman, can be killed neither by shot nor by +steel; the only way of delivering the unhappy woman from her bondage is +to get hold of her wolf's skin and burn it; for that naturally prevents +her from turning into a wolf again. But it is not easy to find the skin, +for she is cunning enough to hide it by day.[771] So with witches, it is +not only useless but even dangerous to shoot at one of them when she has +turned herself into a hare; if you do, the gun may burst in your hand or +the shot come back and kill you. The only way to make quite sure of +hitting a witch-animal is to put a silver sixpence or a silver button in +your gun.[772] For example, it happened one evening that a native of the +island of Tiree was going home with a new gun, when he saw a black sheep +running towards him across the plain of Reef. Something about the +creature excited his suspicion, so he put a silver sixpence in his gun +and fired at it. Instantly the black sheep became a woman with a drugget +coat wrapt round her head. The man knew her quite well, for she was a +witch who had often persecuted him before in the shape of a cat.[773] + +[Wounds inflicted on an animal into which a witch has transformed +herself are inflicted on the witch herself.] + +Again, the wounds inflicted on a witch-hare or a witch-cat are to be +seen on the witch herself, just as the wounds inflicted on a were-wolf +are to be seen on the man himself when he has doffed the wolfs skin. To +take a few instances out of a multitude, a young man in the island of +Lismore was out shooting. When he was near Balnagown loch, he started a +hare and fired at it. The animal gave an unearthly scream, and then for +the first time it occurred to him that there were no real hares in +Lismore. He threw away his gun in terror and fled home; and next day he +heard that a notorious witch was laid up with a broken leg. A man need +be no conjuror to guess how she came by that broken leg.[774] Again, at +Thurso certain witches used to turn themselves into cats and in that +shape to torment an honest man. One night he lost patience, whipped out +his broadsword, and put them to flight. As they were scurrying away he +struck at them and cut off a leg of one of the cats. To his astonishment +it was a woman's leg, and next morning he found one of the witches short +of the corresponding limb.[775] Glanvil tells a story of "an old woman +in Cambridge-shire, whose astral spirit, coming into a man's house (as +he was sitting alone at the fire) in the shape of an huge cat, and +setting her self before the fire, not far from him, he stole a stroke at +the back of it with a fire-fork, and seemed to break the back of it, but +it scambled from him, and vanisht he knew not how. But such an old +woman, a reputed witch, was found dead in her bed that very night, with +her back broken, as I have heard some years ago credibly reported."[776] +In Yorkshire during the latter half of the nineteenth century a parish +clergyman was told a circumstantial story of an old witch named Nanny, +who was hunted in the form of a hare for several miles over the +Westerdale moors and kept well away from the dogs, till a black one +joined the pack and succeeded in taking a bit out of one of the hare's +legs. That was the end of the chase, and immediately afterwards the +sportsmen found old Nanny laid up in bed with a sore leg. On examining +the wounded limb they discovered that the hurt was precisely in that +part of it which in the hare had been bitten by the black dog and, what +was still more significant, the wound had all the appearance of having +been inflicted by a dog's teeth. So they put two and two together.[777] +The same sort of thing is often reported in Lincolnshire. "One night," +said a servant from Kirton Lindsey, "my father and brother saw a cat in +front of them. Father knew it was a witch, and took a stone and hammered +it. Next day the witch had her face all tied up, and shortly afterwards +died." Again, a Bardney bumpkin told how a witch in his neighbourhood +could take all sorts of shapes. One night a man shot a hare, and when he +went to the witch's house he found her plastering a wound just where he +had shot the hare.[778] So in County Leitrim, in Ireland, they say that +a hare pursued by dogs fled to a house near at hand, but just as it was +bolting in at the door one of the dogs came up with it and nipped a +piece out of its leg. The hunters entered the house and found no hare +there but only an old woman, and her side was bleeding; so they knew +what to think of her.[779] + +[Wounded witches in the Vosges.] + +Again, in the Vosges Mountains a great big hare used to come out every +evening to take the air at the foot of the Mont des Fourches. All the +sportsmen of the neighbourhood tried their hands on that hare for a +month, but not one of them could hit it. At last one marksman, more +knowing than the rest, loaded his gun with some pellets of a consecrated +wafer in addition to the usual pellets of lead. That did the trick. If +puss was not killed outright, she was badly hurt, and limped away +uttering shrieks and curses in a human voice. Later it transpired that +she was no other than the witch of a neighbouring village who had the +power of putting on the shape of any animal she pleased.[780] Again, a +hunter of Travexin, in the Vosges, fired at a hare and almost shot away +one of its hind legs. Nevertheless the creature contrived to escape into +a cottage through the open door. Immediately a child's cries were heard +to proceed from the cottage, and the hunter could distinguish these +words, "Daddy, daddy, come quick! Poor mammy has her leg broken."[781] + +[Wounded witches in Swabia.] + +In Swabia the witches are liable to accidents of the same sort when they +go about their business in the form of animals. For example, there was a +soldier who was betrothed to a young woman and used to visit her every +evening when he was off duty. But one evening the girl told him that he +must not come to the house on Friday nights, because it was never +convenient to her to see him then. This roused his suspicion, and the +very next Friday night he set out to go to his sweetheart's house. On +the way a white cat ran up to him in the street and dogged his steps, +and when the animal would not make off he drew his sword and slashed off +one of its paws. On that the cat bolted. The soldier walked on, but when +he came to his sweetheart's house he found her in bed, and when he asked +her what was the matter, she gave a very confused reply. Noticing stains +of blood on the bed, he drew down the coverlet and saw that the girl was +weltering in her gore, for one of her feet was lopped off. "So that's +what's the matter with you, you witch!" said he, and turned on his heel +and left her, and within three days she was dead.[782] Again, a farmer +in the neighbourhood of Wiesensteig frequently found in his stable a +horse over and above the four horses he actually owned. He did not know +what to make of it and mentioned the matter to the smith. The smith said +quietly, "The next time you see a fifth horse in the stable, just you +send for me." Well, it was not long before the strange horse was there +again, and the farmer at once sent for the smith. He came bringing four +horse-shoes with him, and said, "I'm sure the nag has no shoes; I'll +shoe her for you." No sooner said than done. However, the smith +overreached himself; for next day when his friend the farmer paid him a +visit he found the smith's own wife prancing about with horse-shoes +nailed on her hands and feet. But it was the last time she ever appeared +in the shape of a horse.[783] + +[The miller's wife and the two grey cats.] + +Once more, in Silesia they tell of a miller's apprentice, a sturdy and +industrious young fellow, who set out on his travels. One day he came to +a mill, and the miller told him that he wanted an apprentice but did not +care to engage one, because hitherto all his apprentices had run away in +the night, and when he came down in the morning the mill was at a stand. +However, he liked the looks of the young chap and took him into his pay. +But what the new apprentice heard about the mill and his predecessors +was not encouraging; so the first night when it was his duty to watch in +the mill he took care to provide himself with an axe and a prayer-book, +and while he kept one eye on the whirring, humming wheels he kept the +other on the good book, which he read by the flickering light of a +candle set on a table. So the hours at first passed quietly with nothing +to disturb him but the monotonous drone and click of the machinery. But +on the stroke of twelve, as he was still reading with the axe lying on +the table within reach, the door opened and in came two grey cats +mewing, an old one and a young one. They sat down opposite him, but it +was easy to see that they did not like his wakefulness and the +prayer-book and the axe. Suddenly the old cat reached out a paw and made +a grab at the axe, but the young chap was too quick for her and held it +fast. Then the young cat tried to do the same for the prayer-book, but +the apprentice gripped it tight. Thus balked, the two cats set up such a +squalling that the young fellow could hardly say his prayers. Just +before one o'clock the younger cat sprang on the table and fetched a +blow with her right paw at the candle to put it out. But the apprentice +struck at her with his axe and sliced the paw off, whereupon the two +cats vanished with a frightful screech. The apprentice wrapped the paw +up in paper to shew it to his master. Very glad the miller was next +morning when he came down and found the mill going and the young chap at +his post. The apprentice told him what had happened in the night and +gave him the parcel containing the cat's paw. But when the miller opened +it, what was the astonishment of the two to find in it no cat's paw but +a woman's hand! At breakfast the miller's young wife did not as usual +take her place at the table. She was ill in bed, and the doctor had to +be called in to bind up her right arm, because in hewing wood, so they +said, she had made a slip and cut off her own right hand. But the +apprentice packed up his traps and turned his back on that mill before +the sun had set.[784] + +[The analogy of were-wolves confirms the view that the reason for +burning bewitched animals is either to burn the witch or to compel her +to appear.] + +It would no doubt be easy to multiply instances, all equally well +attested and authentic, of the transformation of witches into animals +and of the damage which the women themselves have sustained through +injuries inflicted on the animals.[785] But the foregoing evidence may +suffice to establish the complete parallelism between witches and +were-wolves in these respects. The analogy appears to confirm the view +that the reason for burning a bewitched animal alive is a belief that +the witch herself is in the animal, and that by burning it you either +destroy the witch completely or at least unmask her and compel her to +reassume her proper human shape, in which she is naturally far less +potent for mischief than when she is careering about the country in the +likeness of a cat, a hare, a horse, or what not. This principle is still +indeed clearly recognized by people in Oldenburg, though, as might be +expected, they do not now carry out the principle to its logical +conclusion by burning the bewitched animal or person alive; instead they +resort to a feeble and, it must be added, perfectly futile subterfuge +dictated by a mistaken humanity or a fear of the police. "When anything +living is bewitched in a house, for example, children or animals, they +burn or boil the nobler inwards of animals, especially the hearts, but +also the lungs or the liver. If animals have died, they take the inwards +of one of them or of an animal of the same kind slaughtered for the +purpose; but if that is not possible they take the inwards of a cock, by +preference a black one. The heart, lung, or liver is stuck all over with +needles, or marked with a cross cut, or placed on the fire in a tightly +closed vessel, strict silence being observed and doors and windows well +shut. When the heart boils or is reduced to ashes, the witch must +appear, for during the boiling she feels the burning pain. She either +begs to be released or seeks to borrow something, for example, salt or a +coal of fire, or she takes the lid off the pot, or tries to induce the +person whose spell is on her to speak. They say, too, that a woman comes +with a spinning-wheel. If it is a sheep that has died, you proceed in +the same way with a tripe from its stomach and prick it with needles +while it is on the boil. Instead of boiling it, some people nail the +heart to the highest rafter of the house, or lay it on the edge of the +hearth, in order that it may dry up, no doubt because the same thing +happens to the witch. We may conjecture that other sympathetic means of +destruction are employed against witchcraft. The following is expressly +reported: the heart of a calf that has died is stuck all over with +needles, enclosed in a bag, and thrown into flowing water before +sunset."[786] + +[There is the same reason for burning bewitched things; similarly by +burning alive a person whose form a witch has assumed, you compel the +witch to disclose herself.] + +And the same thing holds good also of inanimate objects on which a witch +has cast her spell. In Wales they say that "if a thing is bewitched, +burn it, and immediately afterwards the witch will come to borrow +something of you. If you give what she asks, she will go free; if you +refuse it, she will burn, and a mark will be on her body the next +day."[787] So, too, in Oldenburg, "the burning of things that are +bewitched or that have been received from witches is another way of +breaking the spell. It is often said that the burning should take place +at a cross-road, and in several places cross-roads are shewn where the +burning used to be performed.... As a rule, while the things are +burning, the guilty witches appear, though not always in their own +shape. At the burning of bewitched butter they often appear as +cockchafers and can be killed with impunity. Victuals received from +witches may be safely consumed if only you first burn a portion of +them."[788] For example, a young man in Oldenburg was wooing a girl, and +she gave him two fine apples as a gift. Not feeling any appetite at the +time, he put the apples in his pocket, and when he came home he laid +them by in a chest. Two or three days afterwards he remembered the +apples and went to the chest to fetch them. But when he would have put +his hand on them, what was his horror to find in their stead two fat +ugly toads in the chest. He hastened to a wise man and asked him what he +should do with the toads. The man told him to boil the toads alive, but +while he was doing so he must be sure on no account to lend anything out +of the house. Well, just as he had the toads in a pot on the fire and +the water began to grow nicely warm, who should come to the door but the +girl who had given him the apples, and she wished to borrow something; +but he refused to give her anything, rated her as a witch, and drove her +out of the house. A little afterwards in came the girl's mother and +begged with tears in her eyes for something or other; but he turned her +out also. The last word she said to him was that he should at least +spare her daughter's life; but he paid no heed to her and let the toads +boil till they fell to bits. Next day word came that the girl was +dead.[789] Can any reasonable man doubt that the witch herself was +boiled alive in the person of the toads? + +[The burning alive of a supposed witch in Ireland in 1895.] + +Moreover, just as a witch can assume the form of an animal, so she can +assume the form of some other human being, and the likeness is sometimes +so good that it is difficult to detect the fraud. However, by burning +alive the person whose shape the witch has put on, you force the witch +to disclose herself, just as by burning alive the bewitched animal you +in like manner oblige the witch to appear. This principle may perhaps be +unknown to science, falsely so called, but it is well understood in +Ireland and has been acted on within recent years. In March 1895 a +peasant named Michael Cleary, residing at Ballyvadlea, a remote and +lonely district in the county of Tipperary, burned his wife Bridget +Cleary alive over a slow fire on the kitchen hearth in the presence of +and with the active assistance of some neighbours, including the woman's +own father and several of her cousins. They thought that she was not +Bridget Cleary at all, but a witch, and that when they held her down on +the fire she would vanish up the chimney; so they cried, while she was +burning, "Away she goes! Away she goes!" Even when she lay quite dead on +the kitchen floor (for contrary to the general expectation she did not +disappear up the chimney), her husband still believed that the woman +lying there was a witch, and that his own dear wife had gone with the +fairies to the old _rath_ or fort on the hill of Kylenagranagh, where he +would see her at night riding a grey horse and roped to the saddle, and +that he would cut the ropes, and that she would stay with him ever +afterwards. So he went with some friends to the fort night after night, +taking a big table-knife with him to cut the ropes. But he never saw his +wife again. He and the men who had held the woman on the fire were +arrested and tried at Clonmel for wilful murder in July 1895; they were +all found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to various terms of penal +servitude and imprisonment; the sentence passed on Michael Cleary was +twenty years' penal servitude.[790] + +[Sometimes bewitched animals are buried alive instead of being burned.] + +However, our British peasants, it must be confessed, have not always +acted up to the strict logical theory which seems to call for death by +fire as the proper treatment both of bewitched animals and of witches. +Sometimes, perhaps in moments of weakness, they have merely buried the +bewitched animals alive instead of burning them. For example, in the +year 1643, "many cattle having died, John Brughe and Neane Nikclerith, +also one of the initiated, conjoined their mutual skill for the safety +of the herd. The surviving animals were drove past a tub of water +containing two enchanted stones: and each was sprinkled from the liquid +contents in its course. One, however, being unable to walk, 'was by +force drawin out at the byre dure; and the said Johnne with Nikclerith +smelling the nois thereof said it wald not leive, caused are hoill to be +maid in Maw Greane, quhilk was put quick in the hole and maid all the +rest of the cattell theireftir to go over that place: and in that +devillische maner, be charmeing,' they were cured."[791] Again, during +the prevalence of a murrain about the year 1629, certain persons +proposed to stay the plague with the help of a celebrated "cureing +stane" of which the laird of Lee was the fortunate owner. But from this +they were dissuaded by one who "had sene bestiall curet be taking are +quik seik ox, and making are deip pitt, and bureing him therin, and be +calling the oxin and bestiall over that place." Indeed Issobell Young, +the mother of these persons, had herself endeavoured to check the +progress of the distemper by taking "ane quik ox with ane catt, and ane +grit quantitie of salt," and proceeding "to burie the ox and catt quik +with the salt, in ane deip hoill in the grund, as ane sacrifice to the +devill, that the rest of the guidis might be fred of the seiknes or +diseases."[792] Writing towards the end of the eighteenth century, John +Ramsay of Ochtertyre tells us that "the violent death even of a brute is +in some cases held to be of great avail. There is a disease called the +_black spauld_, which sometimes rages like a pestilence among black +cattle, the symptoms of which are a mortification in the legs and a +corruption of the mass of blood. Among the other engines of superstition +that are directed against this fatal malady, the first cow seized with +it is commonly buried alive, and the other cattle are forced to pass +backwards and forwards over the pit. At other times the heart is taken +out of the beast alive, and then the carcass is buried. It is remarkable +that the leg affected is cut off, and hung up in some part of the house +or byre, where it remains suspended, notwithstanding the seeming danger +of infection. There is hardly a house in Mull where these may not be +seen. This practice seems to have taken its rise antecedent to +Christianity, as it reminds us of the pagan custom of hanging up +offerings in their temples. In Breadalbane, when a cow is observed to +have symptoms of madness, there is recourse had to a peculiar process. +They tie the legs of the mad creature, and throw her into a pit dug at +the door of the fold. After covering the hole with earth, a large fire +is kindled upon it; and the rest of the cattle are driven out, and +forced to pass through the fire one by one."[793] In this latter custom +we may suspect that the fire kindled on the grave of the buried cow was +originally made by the friction of wood, in other words, that it was a +need-fire. Again, writing in the year 1862, Sir Arthur Mitchell tells us +that "for the cure of the murrain in cattle, one of the herd is still +sacrificed for the good of the whole. This is done by burying it alive. +I am assured that within the last ten years such a barbarism occurred in +the county of Moray."[794] + +[Calves killed and buried to save the rest of the herd.] + +Sometimes, however, the animal has not even been buried alive, it has +been merely killed and then buried. In this emasculated form the +sacrifice, we may say with confidence, is absolutely useless for the +purpose of stopping a murrain. Nevertheless, it has been tried. Thus in +Lincolnshire, when the cattle plague was so prevalent in 1866, there +was, I believe, not a single cowshed in Marshland but had its wicken +cross over the door; and other charms more powerful than this were in +some cases resorted to. I never heard of the use of the needfire in the +Marsh, though it was, I believe, used on the wolds not many miles off. +But I knew of at least one case in which a calf was killed and solemnly +buried feet pointing upwards at the threshold of the cowshed. When our +garthman told me of this, I pointed out to him that the charm had +failed, for the disease had not spared that shed. But he promptly +replied, "Yis, but owd Edwards were a soight too cliver; he were that +mean he slew nobbutt a wankling cauf as were bound to deny anny road; if +he had nobbutt tekken his best cauf it wud hev worked reight enuff; +'tain't in reason that owd skrat 'ud be hanselled wi' wankling +draffle."[795] + +Notes: + +[262] See Jacob Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_*[4] (Berlin, 1875-1878), i. +502, 510, 516. + +[263] W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus der Germanen und ihrer +Nachbarstaemme_ (Berlin, 1875), pp. 518 _sq._ + +[264] In the following survey of these fire-customs I follow chiefly W. +Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, kap. vi. pp. 497 _sqq._ Compare also J. +Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 500 _sqq._; Walter E. Kelly, +_Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and Folk-lore_ (London, 1863), +pp. 46 _sqq._; F. Vogt, "Scheibentreiben und Fruehlingsfeuer," +_Zeitschrift des Vereins fuer Volkskunde_, iii. (1893) pp. 349-369; +_ibid._ iv. (1894) pp. 195-197. + +[265] _The Scapegoat_, pp. 316 _sqq._ + +[266] The first Sunday in Lent is known as _Invocavit_ from the first +word of the mass for the day (O. Frh. von Reinsberg-Dueringsfeld, +_Fest-Kalender aus Boehmen_, p. 67). + +[267] Le Baron de Reinsberg-Dueringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels, +1861-1862), i. 141-143; E. Monseur, _Le Folklore Wallon_ (Brussels, +N.D.), pp. 124 _sq._ + +[268] Emile Hublard, _Fetes du Temps Jadis, les Feux du Careme_ (Mons, +1899), pp. 25. For the loan of this work I am indebted to Mrs. Wherry of +St. Peter's Terrace, Cambridge. + +[269] E. Hublard, _op. cit._ pp. 27 _sq._ + +[270] A. Meyrac, _Traditions, coutumes, legendes et contes des Ardennes_ +(Charleville, 1890), p. 68. + +[271] L.F. Sauve, _Le Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), p. 56. +The popular name for the bonfires in the Upper Vosges (_Hautes-Vosges_) +is _chavandes_. + +[272] E. Cortet, _Essai sur les fetes religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), pp. +101 _sq._ The local name for these bonfires is _bures_. + +[273] Charles Beauquier, _Les mois en Franche-Comte_ (Paris, 1900), pp. +33 _sq._ In Bresse the custom was similar. See _La Bresse Louhannaise, +Bulletin Mensuel, Organe de la Societe d'Agriculture et d'Horticulture +de l'Arrondissement de Louhans_, Mars, 1906, pp. 111 _sq._; E. Cortet, +_op. cit._ p. 100. The usual name for the bonfires is _chevannes_ or +_schvannes_; but in some places they are called _fouleres, foualeres, +failles_, or _bourdifailles_ (Ch. Beauquier, _op. cit._ p. 34). But the +Sunday is called the Sunday of the _brandons, bures, bordes_, or +_boides_, according to the place. The _brandons_ are the torches which +are carried about the streets and the fields; the bonfires, as we have +seen, bear another name. A curious custom, observed on the same Sunday +in Franche-Comte, requires that couples married within the year should +distribute boiled peas to all the young folks of both sexes who demand +them at the door. The lads and lasses go about from house to house, +making the customary request; in some places they wear masks or are +otherwise disguised. See Ch. Beauquier, _op. cit._ pp. 31-33. + +[274] Curiously enough, while the singular is _granno-mio_, the plural +is _grannas-mias_. + +[275] Dr. Pommerol, "La fete des Brandons et le dieu Gaulois Grannus," +_Bulletins et Memoires de la Societe d'Anthropologie de Paris_, v. +Serie, ii. (1901) pp. 427-429. + +[276] _Op. cit._ pp. 428 _sq._ + +[277] H. Dessau, _Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae_, vol. ii. Pars i. +(Berlin, 1902) pp. 216 _sq._, Nos. 4646-4652. + +[278] (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_ (London, 1888), pp. 22-25. + +[279] Emile Hublard, _Fetes du Temps Jadis, les Feux du Careme_ (Mons, +1899), p. 38, quoting Dom Grenier, _Histoire de la Province de +Picardie_. + +[280] E. Hublard, _op. cit._ p. 39, quoting Dom Grenier. + +[281] M. Desgranges, "Usages du Canton de Bonneval," _Memoires de la +Societe Royale des Antiquaires de France_, i. (Paris, 1817) pp. 236-238; +Felix Chapiseau, _Le folk-lore de la Beauce et du Perche_ (Paris, 1902), +i. 315 _sq._ + +[282] John Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, +1882-1883), i. 100. + +[283] E. Cortet, _Essai sur les fetes religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), pp. 99 +_sq.; La Bresse Louhannaise_, Mars, 1906, p. 111. + +[284] A. de Nore, _Coutumes, mythes et traditions des provinces de +France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), pp. 283 _sq._ A similar, though not +identical, custom prevailed at Valenciennes (_ibid._ p. 338). + +[285] A. de Nore, _op. cit._ p. 302. + +[286] Desire Monnier, _Traditions populaires comparees_ (Paris, 1854), +pp. 191 _sq._ + +[287] Laisnel de la Salle, _Croyances et legendes du centre de la +France_ (Paris, 1875). i. 35 _sqq._ + +[288] Jules Lecoeur, _Esquisses du Rocage Normand_ (Conde-sur-Noireau, +1887), ii. 131 _sq._ For more evidence of customs of this sort observed +in various parts of France on the first Sunday in Lent, see Madame +Clement, _Histoire des Fetes civiles et religieuses_, etc., _du +Departement du Nord_*[2] (Cambrai, 1836), pp. 351 _sqq._; Emile Hublard, +_Fetes du Temps Jadis, les Feux du Careme_ (Mons, 1899), pp. 33 _sqq._ + +[289] J.H. Schmitz, _Sitten und Sagen, Lieder, Spruechwoerter und Raethsel +des Eifler Volkes_ (Treves, 1856-1858), i. 21-25; N. Hocker, in +_Zeitschrift fuer deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, i. (1853) p. 90; +W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus der Germanen und ihrer Nachbarstaemme_ +(Berlin, 1875), p. 501. + +[290] N. Hocker, _op. cit._ pp. 89 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, _l.c._ + +[291] F.J. Vonbun, _Beitraege zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Chur, 1862), p. +20; W. Mannhardt, _l.c._ + +[292] Ernst Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebraeuche aus Schwaben_ +(Stuttgart, 1852), pp. 380 _sqq._; Anton Birlinger, _Volksthuemliches aus +Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1861-1862), ii. 56 _sqq._, 66 _sqq._; +_Bavaria, Landes-und Volkskunde des Koenigreichs Bayern_ (Munich, +1860-1867), ii. 2, pp. 838 _sq._; F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen +Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), i. 211, Sec. 232; W. Mannhardt, _l.c._ One +of the popular German names for the first Sunday in Lent is White +Sunday, which is not to be confused with the first Sunday after Easter, +which also goes by the name of White Sunday (E. Meier, _op. cit._ p. +380; A. Birlinger, _op. cit._ ii. 56). + +[293] H. Gaidoz, "Le dieu gaulois du soleil et le symbolisme de la +roue," _Revue Archeologique_, iii. serie, iv. (1884) pp. 139 _sq._ + +[294] August Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebraeuche aus Thueringen_ +(Vienna, 1878), p. 189; F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ +(Munich, 1848-1855), ii. 207; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus,_ pp. 500 +_sq._ + +[295] W. Kolbe, _Hessiche Volks-Sitten und Gebraeuche_*[2] (Marburg, +1888), p. 36. + +[296] Adalbert Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des +Goettertranks_*[2] (Guetersloh, 1886), p. 86, quoting Hocker, _Des +Mosellandes Geschichten, Sagen und Legenden_ (Trier, 1852), pp. 415 +_sqq._ Compare W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 501; and below, pp. +163 _sq._ Thus it appears that the ceremony of rolling the fiery wheel +down hill was observed twice a year at Konz, once on the first Sunday in +Lent, and once at Midsummer. + +[297] H. Herzog, _Schweizerische Volksfeste, Sitten und Gebraeuche_ +(Aarau, 1884), pp. 214-216; E. Hoffmann-Krayer, "Fruchtbarkeitsriten im +schweizerischen Volksbrauch," _Schweizerisches Archiv fuer Volkskunde_, +xi. (1907) pp. 247-249; _id., Feste und Braeuche des Schweizervolkes_ +(Zurich, 1913), pp. 135 _sq._ + +[298] Theodor Vernaleken, _Mythen und Braeuche des Volkes in Oesterreich_ +(Vienna, 1859), pp. 293 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 498. +See _The Dying God_, p. 239. + +[299] J. H. Schmitz, _Sitten und Sagen, Lieder, Spruechwoerter und Raethsel +des Eifler Volkes_ (Treves, 1856-1858), i. 20; W. Mannhardt, _Der +Baumkultus_, p. 499. + +[300] L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum +Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), ii. 39, Sec. 306; W. Mannhardt, _Der +Baumkultus_, p. 498. + +[301] W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 499. + +[302] W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ pp. 498 _sq._ + +[303] W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 499. + +[304] Christian Schneller, _Maerchen und Sagen aus Waelschtirol_ +(Innsbruck, 1867), pp. 234 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ pp. 499 _sq._ + +[305] John Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, +1882-1883), i. 157 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, pp. 502-505; +Karl Freiherr von Leoprechting, _Aus dem Lechrain_ (Munich, 1855), pp. +172 _sq._; Anton Birlinger, _Volksthuemliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im +Breisgau, 1861-1862), i. 472 _sq._; Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste, +Volksbraeuche und deutscher Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), p. 26; F. +Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), ii. 241 +_sq._; Ernst Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebraeuche aus Schwaben_ +(Stuttgart, 1852), pp. 139 _sq._; _Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des +Koenigreichs Bayern_ (Munich, 1860-1867), i. 371; A. Wuttke, _Der +deutsche Volksaberglaube_*[2] (Berlin, 1869), pp. 68 _sq._, Sec. 81; Ignaz +V. Zingerle, _Sitten, Braeuche und Meinungen des Tiroler Volkes_*[2] +(Innsbruck, 1871), p. 149, Sec.Sec. 1286-1289; W. Kolbe, _Hessische +Volks-Sitten und Gebraeuche_*[2] (Marburg, 1888), pp. 44 _sqq._; _County +Folk-lore, Printed Extracts, Leicestershire and Rutland_, collected by +C.J. Billson (London, 1895), pp. 75 _sq._; A. Tiraboschi, "Usi pasquali +nel Bergamasco," _Archivio per lo Studio delle Tradizione Popolari_, i. +(1892) pp. 442 _sq._ The ecclesiastical custom of lighting the Paschal +or Easter candle is very fully described by Mr. H.J. Feasey, _Ancient +English Holy Week Ceremonial_ (London, 1897), pp. 179 _sqq._ These +candles were sometimes of prodigious size; in the cathedrals of Norwich +and Durham, for example, they reached almost to the roof, from which +they had to be lighted. Often they went by the name of the Judas Light +or the Judas Candle; and sometimes small waxen figures of Judas were +hung on them. See H.J. Feasey, _op. cit._ pp. 193, 213 _sqq._ As to the +ritual of the new fire at St. Peter's in Rome, see R. Chambers, _The +Book of Days_ (London and Edinburgh, 1886), i. 421; and as to the early +history of the rite in the Catholic church, see Mgr. L. Duchesne, +_Origines du Culte Chretien_*[3] (Paris, 1903), pp. 250-257.] + +[306] _Bavaria, Landes und Volkskunde des Koenigreichs Bayern_ (Munich, +1860-1867), i. 1002 _sq._ + +[307] Gennaro Finamore, _Credenze, Usi e Costumi Abruzzesi_ (Palermo, +1890), pp. 122 _sq._ + +[308] G. Finamore, _op. cit._ pp. 123 _sq._ + +[309] Vincenzo Dorsa, _La Tradizione Greco-Latina negli Usi e nelle +Credenze Popolari della Calabria Citeriore_ (Cosenza, 1884), pp. 48 +_sq._ + +[310] Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen +Westboehmen_ (Prague, 1905), pp. 62 _sq._ + +[311] K. Seifart, _Sagen, Maerchen, Schwaenke und Gebraeuche aits Stadt und +Stift Hildesheim_*[2] (Hildesheim, 1889), pp. 177 _sq._, 179 _sq._ + +[312] M. Lexer, "Volksueberlieferungen aus dem Lesachthal in Karnten," +_Zeitschrift fuer deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, iii. (1855) p. +31. + +[313] _The Popish Kingdome or reigne of Antichrist, written in Latin +verse by Thomas Naogeorgus and Englyshed by Barnabe Googe_, 1570, edited +by R.C. Hope (London, 1880), p. 52, _recto._ The title of the original +poem was _Regnum Papisticum_. The author, Thomas Kirchmeyer (Naogeorgus, +as he called himself), died in 1577. The book is a satire on the abuses +and superstitions of the Catholic Church. Only one perfect copy of +Googe's translation is known to exist: it is in the University Library +at Cambridge. See Mr. R.C. Hope's introduction to his reprint of this +rare work, pp. xv. _sq._ The words, "Then Clappers ceasse, and belles +are set againe at libertee," refer to the custom in Catholic countries +of silencing the church bells for two days from noon on Maundy Thursday +to noon on Easter Saturday and substituting for their music the harsh +clatter of wooden rattles. See R. Chambers, _The Book of Days_ (London +and Edinburgh, 1886), i, 412 _sq._ According to another account the +church bells are silent from midnight on the Wednesday preceding Maundy +Thursday till matins on Easter Day. See W. Smith and S. Cheetham, +_Dictionary of Christian Antiquities_ (London, 1875-1880), ii. 1161, +referring to _Ordo Roman_. i. _u.s._ + +[314] R. Chambers, _The Book of Days_ (London and Edinburgh, 1886), i. +421. + +[315] Miss Jessie L. Weston, "The _Scoppio del Carro_ at Florence," +_Folk-lore_, xvi. (1905) pp. 182-184; "Lo Scoppio del Carro," +_Resurrezione, Numero Unico del Sabato Santo_ (Florence, April, 1906), +p. 1 (giving a picture of the car with its pyramid of fire-works). The +latter paper was kindly sent to me from Florence by my friend Professor +W.J. Lewis. I have also received a letter on the subject from Signor +Carlo Placci, dated 4 (or 7) September, 1905, 1 Via Alfieri, Firenze. + +[316] Frederick Starr, "Holy Week in Mexico," _The Journal of American +Folk-lore_, xii. (1899) pp. 164 _sq._; C. Boyson Taylor, "Easter in Many +Lands," _Everybody's Magazine_, New York, 1903, p. 293. I have to thank +Mr. S.S. Cohen, of 1525 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, for sending me a +cutting from the latter magazine. + +[317] K. von den Steinen, _Unter den Naturvoelkern Zentral-Brasiliens_ +(Berlin, 1894), pp. 458 _sq._; E. Montet, "Religion et Superstition dans +l'Amerique du Sud," _Revue de l'Histoire des Religions_, xxxii. (1895) +p. 145. + +[318] J.J. von Tschudi, _Peru, Reiseskizzen aus den Jahren 1838-1842_ +(St. Gallen, 1846), ii. 189 _sq._ + +[319] H. Candelier, _Rio-Hacha et les Indiens Goajires_ (Paris, 1893), +p. 85. + +[320] Henry Maundrell, "A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem at Easter, +A.D. 1697," in Bohn's _Early Travellers in Palestine_ (London, 1848), +pp. 462-465; Mgr. Auvergne, in _Annales de la Propagation de la Foi_, x. +(1837) pp. 23 _sq._; A.P. Stanley, _Sinai and Palestine_, Second Edition +(London, 1856), pp. 460-465; E. Cortet, _Essai sur les Fetes +Religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), pp. 137-139; A.W. Kinglake, _Eothen_, +chapter xvi. pp. 158-163 (Temple Classics edition); Father N. Abougit, +S.J., "Le feu du Saint-Sepulcre," _Les Missions Catholiques_, viii. +(1876) pp. 518 _sq._; Rev. C.T. Wilson, _Peasant Life in the Holy Land_ +(London, 1906), pp. 45 _sq._; P. Saint-yves, "Le Renouvellement du Feu +Sacre," _Revue des Traditions Populaires_, xxvii. (1912) pp. 449 _sqq._ +The distribution of the new fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is +the subject of a picture by Holman Hunt. From some printed notes on the +picture, with which Mrs. Holman Hunt was so kind as to furnish me, it +appears that the new fire is carried by horsemen to Bethlehem and Jaffa, +and that a Russian ship conveys it from Jaffa to Odessa, whence it is +distributed all over the country. + +[321] Father X. Abougit, S.J., "Le feu du Saint-Sepulcre," _Les Missions +Catholiques_, viii. (1876) pp. 165-168. + +[322] I have described the ceremony as I witnessed it at Athens, on +April 13th, 1890. Compare _Folk-lore_, i. (1890) p. 275. Having been +honoured, like other strangers, with a place on the platform, I did not +myself detect Lucifer at work among the multitude below; I merely +suspected his insidious presence. + +[323] W.H.D. Rouse, "Folk-lore from the Southern Sporades," _Folk-lore_, +x. (1899) p. 178. + +[324] Mrs. A.E. Gardner was so kind as to send me a photograph of a +Theban Judas dangling from a gallows and partially enveloped in smoke. +The photograph was taken at Thebes during the Easter celebration of +1891. + +[325] G.F. Abbott, _Macedonian Folklore_ (Cambridge, 1903) p. 37. + +[326] Cirbied, "Memoire sur la gouvernment et sur la religion des +anciens Armeniens," _Memoires publiees par la Societe Royale des +Antiquaires de France_, ii. (1820) pp. 285-287; Manuk Abeghian, _Der +armenische Volksglaube_ (Leipsic, 1899), pp. 72-74. The ceremony is said +to be merely a continuation of an old heathen festival which was held at +the beginning of spring in honour of the fire-god Mihr. A bonfire was +made in a public place, and lamps kindled at it were kept burning +throughout the year in each of the fire-god's temples. + +[327] _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 32, ii. 243; +_Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, ii. 65, 74, 75, 78, 136. + +[328] Garcilasso de la Vega, _Royal Commentaries of the Yncas_ +translated by (Sir) Clements R. Markham (Hakluyt Society, London, +1869-1871), vol. ii. pp. 155-163. Compare Juan de Velasco, "Histoire du +Royaume de Quito," in H. Ternaux-Compans's _Voyages, Relations et +Memoires originaux pour servir a l'Histoire de la Decouverte de +l'Amerique_, xviii. (Paris, 1840) p. 140. + +[329] B. de Sahagun, _Histoire Generale des Choses de la Nouvelle +Espagne_, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon (Paris, 1880), bk. ii. +chapters 18 and 37, pp. 76, 161; Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des +Nations civilisees du Mexique et de l'Amerique-Centrale_ (Paris, +1857-1859), iii. 136. + +[330] Mrs. Matilda Coxe Stevenson, "The Zuni Indians," _Twenty-third +Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology_ (Washington, 1904), +pp. 108-141, 148-162, especially pp. 108, 109, 114 _sq._, 120 _sq._, 130 +_sq._, 132, 148 _sq._, 157 _sq._ I have already described these +ceremonies in _Totemism and Exogamy_, iii. 237 _sq._ Among the Hopi +(Moqui) Indians of Walpi, another pueblo village of this region, new +fire is ceremonially kindled by friction in November. See Jesse Walter +Fewkes, "The Tusayan New Fire Ceremony," _Proceedings of the Boston +Society of Natural History_, xxvi. 422-458; _id._, "The Group of Tusayan +Ceremonials called _Katcinas," Fifteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of +Ethnology_ (Washington, 1897), p. 263; _id._, "Hopi _Katcinas," +Twenty-first Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology_ +(Washington, 1903), p. 24. + +[331] Henry R. Schoolcraft, _Notes on the Iroquois_ (Albany, 1847), p. +137. Schoolcraft did not know the date of the ceremony, but he +conjectured that it fell at the end of the Iroquois year, which was a +lunar year of twelve or thirteen months. He says: "That the close of the +lunar series should have been the period of putting out the fire, and +the beginning of the next, the time of relumination, from new fire, is +so consonant to analogy in the tropical tribes, as to be probable" (_op. +cit._ p. 138). + +[332] C.F. Hall, _Life with the Esquimaux_ (London, 1864), ii. 323. + +[333] Franz Boas, "The Eskimo of Baffin Land and Hudson Bay," _Bulletin +of the American Museum of Natural, History_, xv. Part i. (New York, +1901) p. 151. + +[334] G. Nachtigal, _Sahara und Sudan_, iii. (Leipsic, 1889) p. 251. + +[335] Major C. Percival, "Tropical Africa, on the Border Line of +Mohamedan Civilization," _The Geographical Journal_, xlii. (1913) pp. +253 _sq._ + +[336] Adrien Germain, "Note sur Zanzibar et la cote orientale de +l'Afrique," _Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie_ (Paris), v. Serie +xvi. (1868) p. 557; _Les Missions Catholiques_, iii. (1870) p. 270; +Charles New, _Life, Wanderings, and Labours in Eastern Africa_ (London, +1873), p. 65; Jerome Becker, _La Vie en Afrique_ (Paris and Brussels, +1887), ii. 36; O. Baumann, _Usambara und seine Nachbargebiele_ (Berlin, +1891), pp. 55 _sq._; C. Velten, _Sitten und Gebraeucheaer Suaheli_ +(Goettingen,1903), pp. 342-344. + +[337] Duarte Barbosa, _Description of the Coasts of East Africa and +Malabar_ (Hakluyt Society, London, 1866), p. 8; _id._, in _Records of +South-Eastern Africa_, collected by G. McCall Theal, vol. i. (1898) p. +96; Damiao de Goes, "Chronicle of the Most Fortunate King Dom Emanuel," +in _Records of South-Eastern Africa_, collected by G. McCall Theal, vol. +iii. (1899) pp. 130 _sq._ The name Benametapa (more correctly +_monomotapa_) appears to have been the regular title of the paramount +chief, which the Portuguese took to be the name of the country. The +people over whom he ruled seem to have been the Bantu tribe of the +Makalanga in the neighbourhood of Sofala. See G. McCall Theal, _Records +of South-Eastern Africa_, vii. (1901) pp. 481-484. It is to their custom +of annually extinguishing and relighting the fire that Montaigne refers +in his essay (i. 22, vol. i. p. 140 of Charpentier's edition), though he +mentions no names. + +[338] Sir H.H. Johnson, _British Central Africa_ (London, 1897), pp. +426, 439. + +[339] W.H.R. Rivers, _The Todas_ (London, 1906), pp. 290-292. + +[340] Lieut. R. Stewart, "Notes on Northern Cachar," _Journal of the +Asiatic Society of Bengal_ xxiv. (1855) p. 612. + +[341] A. Bastian, _Die Voelker des oestlichen Asien_, ii. (Leipsic, 1866) +pp. 49 _sq._; Shway Yoe, _The Burman_ (London, 1882), ii. 325 _sq._ + +[342] G. Schlegel, _Uranographie Chinoise_ (The Hague and Leyden, 1875), +pp. 139-143; C. Puini, "Il fuoco nella tradizione degli antichi Cinesi," +_Giornale della Societa Asiatica Italiana_, i. (1887) pp. 20-23; J.J.M. +de Groot, _Les Fetes annuellement celebrees a Emoui (Amoy)_ (Paris, +1886), i. 208 _sqq._ The notion that fire can be worn out with age meets +us also in Brahman ritual. See the _Satapatha Brahmana_, translated by +Julius Eggeling, Part i. (Oxford, 1882) p. 230 (_Sacred Books of the +East_, vol. xii.). + +[343] W.G. Aston, _Shinto, The Way of the Gods_ (London, 1905), pp. 258 +_sq._, compare p. 193. The wands in question are sticks whittled near +the top into a mass of adherent shavings; they go by the name of +_kedzurikake_ ("part-shaved"), and resemble the sacred _inao_ of the +Aino. See W.G. Aston, _op. cit._ p. 191; and as to the _inao_, see +_Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, ii. 185, with note 2. + +[344] Ovid, _Fasti_, iii. 82; Homer, _Iliad_, i. 590, _sqq._ + +[345] Philostiatus, _Heroica_, xx. 24. + +[346] Ovid, _Fasti_, iii. 143 _sq._; Macrobius, _Saturn_, i. 12. 6. + +[347] Festus, ed. C.O. Mueller (Leipsic, 1839), p. 106, _s.v._ "Ignis." +Plutarch describes a method of rekindling the sacred fire by means of +the sun's rays reflected from a hollow mirror (_Numa_, 9); but he seems +to be referring to a Greek rather than to the Roman custom. The rule of +celibacy imposed on the Vestals, whose duty it was to relight the sacred +fire as well as to preserve it when it was once made, is perhaps +explained by a superstition current among French peasants that if a girl +can blow up a smouldering candle into a flame she is a virgin, but that +if she fails to do so, she is not. See Jules Lecoeur, _Esquisses du +Bocage Normand_ (Conde-sur-Noireau, 1883-1887), ii. 27; B. Souche, +_Croyances, Presages et Traditions diverses_ (Niort, 1880), p. 12. At +least it seems more likely that the rule sprang from a superstition of +this sort than from a simple calculation of expediency, as I formerly +suggested (_Journal of Philology_, xiv. (1885) p. 158). Compare _The +Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings>_ ii. 234 _sqq._ + +[348] Geoffrey Keating, D.D., _The History of Ireland, translated from +the original Gaelic, and copiously annotated_, by John O'Mahony (New +York, 1857), p. 300, with the translator's note. Compare (Sir) John +Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_ (London, 1888), pp. 514 _sq._ + +[349] W.R.S. Ralston, _Songs of the Russian People_, Second Edition +(London, 1872), pp. 254 _sq._ + +[350] A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, Maerchen und +Gebraeuche_ (Leipsic, 1848), p. 373; A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebraeuche und +Maerchen aus Westfalen_ (Leipsic, 1859), ii. 134 _sqq.; id., Maerkische +Sagen und Maerchen_ (Berlin, 1843), pp. 312 _sq._; J.D.H. Temme, _Die +Volkssagen der Altmark_ (Berlin, 1839), pp. 75 _sq._; K. Lynker, +_Deutsche Sagen und Sitten in hessischen Gauen_*[2] (Cassel and +Goettingen, 1860), p. 240; H. Proehle, _Harzbilder_ (Leipsic, 1855), p. +63; R. Andree, _Braunschweiger Volkskunde_ (Brunswick, 1896), pp. +240-242; W. Kolbe, _Hessische Volks-Sitten und Gebraeuche_ (Marburg, +1888), pp. 44-47; F.A. Reimann, _Deutsche Volksfeste_ (Weimar, 1839), p. +37; "Sitten und Gebraeuche in Duderstadt," _Zeitschrift fuer deutsche +Mythologie und Sitten-kunde_, ii. (1855) p. 107; K. Seifart, _Sagen, +Maerchen, Schwaenke und Gebraeuche aus Stadt und Stift Hildesheim_*[2] +(Hildesheim, 1889), pp. 177, 180; O. Hartung, "Zur Volkskunde aus +Anhalt," _Zeitschrift des Vereins fuer Volkskunde_, vii. (1897) p. 76. + +[351] L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum +Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), ii. p. 43 _sq._, Sec.313; W. Mannhardt, _Der +Baumkultus der Germanen und ihrer Nachbarstaemme_ (Berlin, 1875), pp. 505 +_sq._ + +[352] L. Strackerjan, _op. cit._ ii. p. 43, Sec.313. + +[353] J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] (Berlin, 1875-1878), i. 512; +W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus der Germanen und ihrer Nachbarstaemme_, pp. +506 _sq._ + +[354] H. Proehle, _Harzbilder_ (Leipsic, 1855), p. 63; _id._, in +_Zeitschrift fuer deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, i. (1853) p. 79; +A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, Maerchen und Gebraeuche_ +(Leipsic, 1848), p. 373; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 507. + +[355] A. Kuhn, _Maerkische Sagen und Maerchen_ (Berlin, 1843), pp. 312 +_sq._; W. Mannhardt, _l.c._ + +[356] W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_ p. 508. Compare J.W. Wolf, +_Beitraege zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Goettingen, 1852-1857), i. 74; J. +Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 512. The two latter writers only +state that before the fires were kindled it was customary to hunt +squirrels in the woods. + +[357] A. Kuhn, _l.c._; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 508. + +[358] _Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Koenigreichs Bayern_ (Munich, +1860-1867), iii. 956. + +[359] See above, pp. 116 _sq._, 119. + +[360] F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), +i. pp. 211 _sq._, Sec. 233; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, pp. 507 _sq._ + +[361] _Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Koenigreichs Bayern_, iii. +357. + +[362] F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), +i. pp. 212 _sq._, Sec. 236. + +[363] F. Panzer, _op. cit._ ii. pp. 78 _sq._, Sec.Sec. 114, 115. The customs +observed at these places and at Althenneberg are described together by +W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 505. + +[364] A. Birlinger, _Volksthuemliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im +Breisgau, 1861-1862), ii. p. 82, Sec. 106; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, +p. 508. + +[365] Elard Hugo Meyer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), pp. 97 +_sq._ + +[366] _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 349 _sqq._ See +further below, vol. ii. pp. 298 _sqq._ + +[367] J.W. Wolf, _Beitraege sur deutschen Mythologie_, i. 75 _sq._; W. +Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 506. + +[368] L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), p. 228. + +[369] W. Mueller, _Beitraege sur Volkskunde der Deutschen in Mahren_ +(Vienna and Olmuetz, 1893), pp. 321, 397 _sq._ In Wagstadt, a town of +Austrian Silesia, a boy in a red waistcoat used to play the part of +Judas on the Wednesday before Good Friday. He was chased from before the +church door by the other school children, who pursued him through the +streets with shouts and the noise of rattles and clappers till they +reached a certain suburb, where they always caught and beat him because +he had betrayed the Redeemer. See Anton Peter, _Volksthuemliches aus +oesterreichisch-Schlesien_ (Troppau, 1865-1867), ii. 282 _sq._; Paul +Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic, +1903-1906), i. 77 _sq._ + +[370] _Scotland and Scotsmen in the Eighteenth Century_, from the MSS. +of John Ramsay, Esq., of Ochtertyre, edited by Alexander Allardyce +(Edinburgh and London, 1888), ii. 439-445. As to the _tein-eigin_ or +need-fire, see below, pp. 269 _sqq_. The etymology of the word Beltane +is uncertain; the popular derivation of the first part from the +Phoenician Baal is absurd. See, for example, John Graham Dalyell, _The +Darker Superstitions of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1834), pp. 176 _sq._: "The +recognition of the pagan divinity Baal, or Bel, the Sun, is discovered +through innumerable etymological sources. In the records of Scottish +history, down to the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries, multiplied +prohibitions were issued from the fountains of ecclesiastical +ordinances, against kindling _Bailfires_, of which the origin cannot be +mistaken. The festival of this divinity was commemorated in Scotland +until the latest date." Modern scholars are not agreed as to the +derivation of the name Beltane. See Rev. John Gregorson Campbell, +_Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ +(Glasgow, 1902), pp. 268 _sq._; J.A. MacCulloch, _The Religion of the +Ancient Celts_ (Edinburgh, 1911), p. 264. + +[371] "_Bal-tein_ signifies the _fire of Baal. Baal_ or _Ball_ is the +only word in Gaelic for _a globe_. This festival was probably in honour +of the sun, whose return, in his apparent annual course, they +celebrated, on account of his having such a visible influence, by his +genial warmth, on the productions of the earth. That the Caledonians +paid a superstitious respect to the sun, as was the practice among many +other nations, is evident, not only by the sacrifice at Baltein, but +upon many other occasions. When a Highlander goes to bathe, or to drink +waters out of a consecrated fountain, he must always approach by going +round the place, _from east to west on the south side_, in imitation of +the apparent diurnal motion of the sun. When the dead are laid in the +earth, the grave is approached by going round in the same manner. The +bride is conducted to her future spouse, in the presence of the +minister, and the glass goes round a company, in the course of the sun. +This is called, in Gaelic, going round the right, or the _lucky way_. +The opposite course is the wrong, or the _unlucky_ way. And if a +person's meat or drink were to affect the wind-pipe, or come against his +breath, they instantly cry out _deisheal_! which is an ejaculation +praying that it may go by the right way" (Rev. J. Robertson, in Sir John +Sinclair's _Statistical Account of Scotland_, xi. 621 note). Compare +J.G. Campbell, _Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ +(Glasgow, 1900), pp. 229 _sq._: "_The Right-hand Turn_ (_Deiseal_).-- +This was the most important of all the observances. The rule is +'_Deiseal_ (i.e. the right-hand turn) for everything,' and consists in +doing all things with a motion corresponding to the course of the sun, +or from left to right. This is the manner in which screw-nails are +driven, and is common with many for no reason but its convenience. Old +men in the Highlands were very particular about it. The coffin was taken +_deiseal_ about the grave, when about to be lowered; boats were turned +to sea according to it, and drams are given to the present day to a +company. When putting a straw rope on a house or corn-stack, if the +assistant went _tuaitheal_ (i.e. against the course of the sun), the old +man was ready to come down and thrash him. On coming to a house the +visitor should go round it _deiseal_ to secure luck in the object of his +visit. After milking a cow the dairy-maid should strike it _deiseal_ +with the shackle, saying 'out and home' (_mach 'us dachaigh_). This +secures its safe return. The word is from _deas_, right-hand, and _iul_, +direction, and of itself contains no allusion to the sun." Compare M. +Martin, "Description of the Western Islands of Scotland," in J. +Pinkerton's _Voyages and Travels_, iii. 612 _sq._: "There was an ancient +custom in the island of Lewis, to make a fiery circle about the houses, +corn, cattle, etc., belonging to each particular family: a man carried +fire in his right hand, and went round, and it was called _dessil_, from +the right hand, which in the ancient language is called _dess_.... There +is another way of the _dessil_, or carrying fire round about women +before they are churched, after child-bearing; and it is used likewise +about children until they are christened; both which are performed in +the morning and at night. This is only practised now by some of the +ancient midwives: I enquired their reason for this custom, which I told +them was altogether unlawful; this disobliged them mightily, insomuch +that they would give me no satisfaction. But others, that were of a more +agreeable temper, told me that fire-round was an effectual means to +preserve both the mother and the infant from the power of evil spirits, +who are ready at such times to do mischief, and sometimes carry away the +infant; and when they get them once in their possession, return them +poor meagre skeletons; and these infants are said to have voracious +appetites, constantly craving for meat. In this case it was usual with +those who believed that their children were thus taken away, to dig a +grave in the fields upon quarter-day, and there to lay the fairy +skeleton till next morning; at which time the parents went to the place, +where they doubted not to find their own child instead of this skeleton. +Some of the poorer sort of people in these islands retain the custom of +performing these rounds sun-ways about the persons of their benefactors +three times, when they bless them, and wish good success to all their +enterprizes. Some are very careful when they set out to sea that the +boat be first rowed about sun-ways; and if this be neglected, they are +afraid their voyage may prove unfortunate." Probably the superstition +was based entirely on the supposed luckiness of the right hand, which +accordingly, in making a circuit round an object, is kept towards the +centre. As to a supposed worship of the sun among the Scottish +Highlanders, compare J.G. Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the +Highlands and Islands of Scotland_, p. 304: "Both the sun (_a Ghrian_) +and moon (_a Ghealach_) are feminine in Gaelic, and the names are simply +descriptive of their appearance. There is no trace of a Sun-God or +Moon-Goddess." As to the etymology of Beltane, see above, p. 149 note. + +[372] Rev. James Robertson (Parish Minister of Callander), in Sir John +Sinclair's _Statistical Account of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1791-1799), xi. +620 _sq._ + +[373] Pennant's "Tour in Scotland," in John Pinkerton's _Voyages and +Travels_ (London, 1808-1814), iii. 49. + +[374] Rev. Dr. Thomas Bisset, in Sir John Sinclair's _Statistical +Account of Scotland_, v. 84. + +[375] Rev. Allan Stewart, in Sir John Sinclair's _Statistical Account of +Scotland_, xv. 517 note. + +[376] Rev. Walter Gregor, "Notes on Beltane Cakes," _Folk-lore_, vi. +(1895) pp. 2 _sq._ The Beltane cakes with the nine knobs on them remind +us of the cakes with twelve knobs which the Athenians offered to Cronus +and other deities (see _The Scapegoat_, p. 351). The King of the Bean on +Twelfth Night was chosen by means of a cake, which was broken in as many +pieces as there were persons present, and the person who received the +piece containing a bean or a coin became king. See J. Boemus, _Mores, +leges et ritus omnium gentium_ (Lyons, 1541), p. 222; John Brand, +_Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1882-1883), i. 22 _sq.; +The Scapegoat_, pp. 313 _sqq._ + +[377] Shaw, in Pennant's "Tour in Scotland," printed in J. Pinkerton's +_Voyages and Travels_, iii. 136. The part of Scotland to which Shaw's +description applies is what he calls the province or country of Murray, +extending from the river Spey on the east to the river Beauly on the +west, and south-west to Loch Lochy. + +[378] Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of +Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 167. + +[379] A. Goodrich-Freer, "More Folklore from the Hebrides," _Folk-lore_, +xiii. (1902) p. 41. The St. Michael's cake (_Struthan na h'eill +Micheil_), referred to in the text, is described as "the size of a +quern" in circumference. "It is kneaded simply with water, and marked +across like a scone, dividing it into four equal parts, and then placed +in front of the fire resting on a quern. It is not polished with dry +meal as is usual in making a cake, but when it is cooked a thin coating +of eggs (four in number), mixed with buttermilk, is spread first on one +side, then on the other, and it is put before the fire again. An earlier +shape, still in use, which tradition associates with the female sex, is +that of a triangle with the corners cut off. A _struhthan_ or +_struhdhan_ (the word seems to be used for no other kind of cake) is +made for each member of the household, including servants and herds. +When harvest is late, an early patch of corn is mown on purpose for the +_struthan_" (A. Goodrich-Freer, _op. cit._ pp. 44. _sq._.) + +[380] Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, +1909), pp. 22-24. + +[381] Jonathan Ceredig Davies, _Folklore of West and Mid-Wales_ +(Aberystwyth, 1911), p. 76. + +[382] Joseph Train, _An Historical and Statistical Account of the Isle +of Man_ (Douglas, Isle of Man, 1845), i. 314 _sq._ + +[383] (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and Manx_ (Oxford, +1901), i. 309; _id._, "The Coligny Calendar," _Proceedings of the +British Academy, 1909-1910_, pp. 261 _sq._ See further _The Magic Art +and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 53 _sq._ + +[384] Professor Frank Granger, "Early Man," in _The Victoria History of +the County of Nottingham_, edited by William Page, i. (London, 1906) pp. +186 _sq._ + +[385] (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and Manx_ (Oxford, +1901), i. 310; _id._, "Manx Folk-lore and Superstitions," _Folk-lore_, +ii. (1891) pp. 303 _sq._ + +[386] P.W. Joyce, _A Social History of Ancient Ireland_ (London, 1903), +i. 290 _sq._, referring to Kuno Meyer, _Hibernia Minora_, p. 49 and +_Glossary_, 23. + +[387] J.B. Bury, _The Life of St. Patrick_ (London, 1905), pp. 104 +_sqq._ + +[388] Above, p. 147. + +[389] Geoffrey Keating, D.D., _The History of Ireland_, translated by +John O'Mahony (New York, 1857), pp. 300 _sq._ + +[390] (Sir) John Rhys, "Manx Folk-lore and Superstition," _Folk-lore_, +ii. (1891) p. 303; _id., Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and Manx_ (Oxford, +1901), i. 309. Compare P.W. Joyce, _A Social History of Ancient Ireland_ +(London, 1903), i. 291: "The custom of driving cattle through fires +against disease on the eve of the 1st of May, and on the eve of the 24th +June (St. John's Day), continued in Ireland, as well as in the Scottish +Highlands, to a period within living memory." In a footnote Mr. Joyce +refers to Carmichael, _Carmina Gadelica_, ii. 340, for Scotland, and +adds, "I saw it done in Ireland." + +[391] L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), pp. 233 _sq._ + +[392] Reinsberg-Dueringsfeld, _Fest-Kalender aus Boehmen_ (Prague, N.D.), +pp. 211 _sq._; Br. Jelinek, "Materialien zur Vorgeschichte und +Volkskunde Boehmens," _Mittheilungen der anthropologischen Gesellschaft +in Wien_, xxi. (1891) p. 13; Alois John, _Sitte, Branch, und Volksglaube +im deutschen Westboehmen_ (Prague, 1905), p. 71. + +[393] J.A.E. Koehler, _Volksbrauch, Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte +Ueberlieferungen im Voigtlande_ (Leipsic, 1867), p. 373. The +superstitions relating to witches at this season are legion. For +instance, in Saxony and Thuringia any one who labours under a physical +blemish can easily rid himself of it by transferring it to the witches +on Walpurgis Night. He has only to go out to a cross-road, make three +crosses on the blemish, and say, "In the name of God the Father, the +Son, and the Holy Ghost." Thus the blemish, whatever it may be, is left +behind him at the cross-road, and when the witches sweep by on their way +to the Brocken, they must take it with them, and it sticks to them +henceforth. Moreover, three crosses chalked up on the doors of houses +and cattle-stalls on Walpurgis Night will effectually prevent any of the +infernal crew from entering and doing harm to man or beast. See E. +Sommer, _Sagen, Maerchen und Gebraeuche aus Sachsen und Thueringen_ (Halle, +1846), pp. 148 _sq.; Die gestriegelte Rockenphilosophie_ (Chemnitz, +1759), p. 116. + +[394] See _The Scapegoat_, pp. 158 _sqq._ + +[395] As to the Midsummer Festival of Europe in general see the evidence +collected in the "Specimen Calendarii Gentilis," appended to the _Edda +Rhythmica seu Antiquior, vulgo Saemundina dicta_, Pars iii. (Copenhagen, +1828) pp. 1086-1097. + +[396] John Mitchell Kemble, _The Saxons in England_, New Edition +(London, 1876), i. 361 _sq_., quoting "an ancient MS. written in +England, and now in the Harleian Collection, No. 2345, fol. 50." The +passage is quoted in part by J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great +Britain_ (London, 1882-1883), i. 298 _sq._, by R.T. Hampson, _Medii Aevi +Kalendarium_ (London, 1841), i. 300, and by W. Mannhardt, _Der +Baumkultus_, p. 509. The same explanations of the Midsummer fires and of +the custom of trundling a burning wheel on Midsummer Eve are given also +by John Beleth, a writer of the twelfth century. See his _Rationale +Divinorum Officiorum_ (appended to the _Rationale Divinorum Officiorum_ +of G. [W.] Durandus, Lyons, 1584), p. 556 _recto: "Solent porro hoc +tempore_ [the Eve of St. John the Baptist] _ex veteri consuetudine +mortuorum animalium ossa comburi, quod hujusmodi habet originem. Sunt +enim animalia, quae dracones appellamus.... Haec inquam animalia in aere +volant, in aquis natant, in terra ambulant. Sed quando in aere ad +libidinem concitantur (quod fere fit) saepe ipsum sperma vel in puteos, +vel in aquas fluviales ejicunt ex quo lethalis sequitur annus. Adversus +haec ergo hujusmodi inventum est remedium, ut videlicet rogus ex ossibus +construeretur, et ita fumus hujusmodi animalia fugaret. Et quia istud +maxime hoc tempore fiebat, idem etiam modo ab omnibus observatur.... +Consuetum item est hac vigilia ardentes deferri faculas quod Johannes +fuerit ardens lucerna, et qui vias Domini praeparaverit. Sed quod etiam +rota vertatur hinc esse putant quia in eum circulum tunc Sol descenderit +ultra quem progredi nequit, a quo cogitur paulatim descendere_." The +substance of the passage is repeated in other words by G. Durandus +(Wilh. Durantis), a writer of the thirteenth century, in his _Rationale +Divinorum Officiorum_, lib. vii. cap. 14 (p. 442 _verso_, ed. Lyons, +1584). Compare J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 516. + +With the notion that the air is poisoned at midsummer we may compare the +popular belief that it is similarly infected at an eclipse. Thus among +the Esquimaux on the Lower Yukon river in Alaska "it is believed that a +subtle essence or unclean influence descends to the earth during an +eclipse, and if any of it is caught in utensils of any kind it will +produce sickness. As a result, immediately on the commencement of an +eclipse, every woman turns bottom side up all her pots, wooden buckets, +and dishes" (E.W. Nelson, "The Eskimo about Bering Strait," _Eighteenth +Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology_, Part i. (Washington, +1899) p. 431). Similar notions and practices prevail among the peasantry +of southern Germany. Thus the Swabian peasants think that during an +eclipse of the sun poison falls on the earth; hence at such a time they +will not sow, mow, gather fruit or eat it, they bring the cattle into +the stalls, and refrain from business of every kind. If the eclipse +lasts long, the people get very anxious, set a burning candle on the +mantel-shelf of the stove, and pray to be delivered from the danger. See +Anton Birlinger, _Volksthuemliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau, +1861-1862), i. 189. Similarly Bavarian peasants imagine that water is +poisoned during a solar eclipse (F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen +Mythologie_, ii. 297); and Thuringian bumpkins cover up the wells and +bring the cattle home from pasture during an eclipse either of the sun +or of the moon; an eclipse is particularly poisonous when it happens to +fall on a Wednesday. See August Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebraeuche +aus Thueringen_ (Vienna, 1878), p. 287. As eclipses are commonly supposed +by the ignorant to be caused by a monster attacking the sun or moon +(E.B. Tylor, _Primitive Culture_,*[2] London, 1873, i. 328 _sqq._), we +may surmise, on the analogy of the explanation given of the Midsummer +fires, that the unclean influence which is thought to descend on the +earth at such times is popularly attributed to seed discharged by the +monster or possibly by the sun or moon then in conjunction with each +other. + +[397] _The Popish Kingdome or reigne of Antichrist, written in Latin +verse by Thomas Naogeorgus and Englyshed by Barnabe Googe, 1570_, edited +by R.C. Hope (London, 1880), p. 54 _verso_. As to this work see above, +p. 125 note 1. + +[398] J. Boemus, _Mores, leges et ritus omnium gentium_ (Lyons, 1541), +pp. 225 _sq._ + +[399] Tessier, "Sur la fete annuelle de la roue flamboyante de la +Saint-Jean, a Basse-Kontz, arrondissement de Thionville," _Memoires et +dissertations publies par la Societe Royale des Antiquaires de France_, +v. (1823) pp. 379-393. Tessier witnessed the ceremony, 23rd June 1822 +(not 1823, as is sometimes stated). His account has been reproduced more +or less fully by J. Grimm (_Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 515 _sq._) W. +Mannhardt (_Der Baumkultus_, pp. 510 _sq._), and H. Gaidoz ("Le dieu +gaulois du Soleil et le symbolisme de la Roue," _Revue Archeologique_, +iii. Serie, iv. (1884) pp. 24 _sq._). + +[400] _Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Koenigreichs Bayern_ (Munich, +1860-1867), i. 373 _sq_.; compare _id_., iii. 327 _sq_. As to the +burning discs at the spring festivals, see above, pp. 116 _sq_., 119, +143. + +[401] _Op. cit_. ii. 260 _sq_., iii. 936, 956, iv. 2. p. 360. + +[402] _Op. cit_. ii. 260. + +[403] _Op. cit._ iv. i. p. 242. We have seen (p. 163) that in the +sixteenth century these customs and beliefs were common in Germany. It +is also a German superstition that a house which contains a brand from +the midsummer bonfire will not be struck by lightning (J.W. Wolf, +_Beitraege, zur deutschen Mythologie_, i. p. 217, Sec. 185). + +[404] J. Boemus, _Mores, leges et ritus omnium gentium_ (Lyons, 1541), +p. 226. + +[405] Karl Freiherr von Leoprechting, _Aus dem Lechrain_ (Munich, 1855), +pp. 181 _sqq._; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 510. + +[406] A. Birlinger, _Volksthuemliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im +Breisgau, 1861-1862), ii. pp. 96 _sqq._, Sec. 128, pp. 103 _sq._, Sec. 129; +_id., Aus Schwaben_ (Wiesbaden, 1874), ii. 116-120; E. Meier, _Deutsche +Sagen, Sitten und Gebraeuche aus Schwaben_ (Stuttgart, 1852), pp. 423 +_sqq._; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 510. + +[407] F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), +i. pp. 215 _sq._, Sec. 242; _id._, ii. 549. + +[408] A. Birlinger, _Volksthuemliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im +Breisgau, 1861-1862), ii. 99-101. + +[409] Elard Hugo Mayer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), pp. +103 _sq._, 225 _sq._ + +[410] W. von Schulenberg, in _Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft +fuer Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte, Jahrgang 1897_, pp. 494 +_sq._ (bound up with _Zeitschrift fuer Ethnologie_, xxix. 1897). + +[411] H. Gaidoz, "Le dieu Gaulois du Soleil et le symbolisme de la +Roue," _Revue Archeologique_, iii. Serie, iv. (1884) pp. 29 _sq._ + +[412] Bruno Stehle, "Volksglauben, Sitten und Gebraeuche in Lothringen," +_Globus_, lix. (1891) pp. 378 _sq._; "Die Sommerwendfeier im St. +Amarinthale," _Der Urquell_, N.F., i. (1897) pp. 181 _sqq._ + +[413] J.H. Schmitz, _Sitten und Sagen Lieder, Spruechwoerter und Raethsel +des Eifler Volkes_ (Treves, 1856-1858), i. 40 _sq._ According to one +writer, the garlands are composed of St. John's wort (Montanus, _Die +deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbraeuche und deutscher Volksglaube_, Iserlohn, +N.D., p. 33). As to the use of St. John's wort at Midsummer, see below, +vol. ii. pp. 54 _sqq._ + +[414] A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, Maerchen und +Gebraeuche_ (Leipsic, 1848), p. 390. + +[415] Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbraeuche und deutscher +Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), pp. 33 _sq._ + +[416] C.L. Rochholz, _Deutscher Glaube und Brauch_ (Berlin, 1867), ii. +144 _sqq._ + +[417] Philo vom Walde, _Schlesien in Sage und Brauch_ (Berlin, N.D.), p. +124; Paul Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch, und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ +(Leipsic, 1903-1906), i. 136 _sq._ + +[418] J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie,_*[4] i. 517 _sq._ + +[419] From information supplied by Mr. Sigurd K. Heiberg, engineer, of +Bergen, Norway, who in his boyhood regularly collected fuel for the +fires. I have to thank Miss Anderson, of Barskimming, Mauchline, +Ayrshire, for kindly procuring the information for me from Mr. Heiberg. + +The Blocksberg, where German as well as Norwegian witches gather for +their great Sabbaths on the Eve of May Day (Walpurgis Night) and +Midsummer Eve, is commonly identified with the Brocken, the highest peak +of the Harz mountains. But in Mecklenburg, Pomerania, and probably +elsewhere, villages have their own local Blocksberg, which is generally +a hill or open place in the neighbourhood; a number of places in +Pomerania go by the name of the Blocksberg. See J. Grimm, _Deutsche +Mythologie_*[4] ii. 878 _sq._; Ulrich Jahn, _Hexenwesen und Zauberei in +Pommern_ (Breslau, 1886), pp. 4 _sq._; _id._, _Volkssagen aus Pommern +und Ruegen_ (Stettin, 1886), p. 329. + +[420] L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), pp. 259, 265. + +[421] L. Lloyd, _op. cit._ pp. 261 _sq._ These springs are called +"sacrificial fonts" (_Offer kaellor_) and are "so named because in +heathen times the limbs of the slaughtered victim, whether man or beast, +were here washed prior to immolation" (L. Lloyd, _op. cit._ p. 261). + +[422] E. Hoffmann-Krayer, _Feste und Braeuche des Schweizervolkes_ +(Zurich, 1913), p. 164. + +[423] Ignaz V. Zingerle, _Sitten, Braeuche und Meinungen des Tiroler +Volkes_*[2] (Innsbruck, 1871), ii. p. 159, Sec. 1354. + +[424] I.V. Zingerle, _op. cit._ p. 159, Sec.Sec. 1353, 1355, 1356; W. +Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 513. + +[425] W. Mannhardt, _l.c._ + +[426] F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), +i. p. 210, Sec. 231. + +[427] Theodor Vernaleken, _Mythen und Braeuche des Volkes in Oesterreich_ +(Vienna, 1859), pp. 307 _sq._ + +[428] J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_*[4] i. 519; Theodor Vernaleken, +_Mythen und Braeuche des Volkes in Oesterreich_ (Vienna, 1859), p. 308; +Joseph Virgil Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebraeuche aus Bohmen und +Maehren_ (Prague and Leipsic, 1864), p. 80, Sec. 636; Reinsberg-Dueringsfeld, +_Fest-Kalender aus Bohmen_ (Prague, N.D.), pp. 306-311; Br. Jelfnek, +"Materialien zur Vorgeschichte und Volkskunde Boehmens," _Mittheilungen +der anthropologischen Gesellschaft in Wien>_ xxi. (1891) p. 13; Alois +John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westboehmen_ (Prague, +1905) pp. 84-86. + +[429] Willibald Mueller, _Beitraege zur Volkskunde der Deutschen in +Maehren_ (Vienna and Olmutz, 1893), pp. 263-265. + +[430] Anton Peter, _Volksthuemliches aus Oesterreichisch-Schlesien_ +(Troppau, 1865-1867), ii. 287. + +[431] Th. Vernaleken, _Mythen und Braeuche des Volkes in Oesterreich_ +(Vienna, 1859), pp. 308 _sq._ + +[432] _The Dying God_, p. 262. Compare M. Kowalewsky, in _Folk-lore_, i. +(1890) p. 467. + +[433] W.R.S. Ralston, _Songs of the Russian People_, Second Edition +(London, 1872), p. 240. + +[434] J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 519; W.R.S. Ralston, +_Songs of the Russian People_ (London, 1872), pp. 240, 391. + +[435] W.R.S. Ralston, _op. cit._ p. 240. + +[436] W.R.S. Ralston, _l.c._ + +[437] W.J.A. von Tettau und J.D.H. Temme, _Die Volkssagen Ostpreussens, +Litthauens und Westpreussens_ (Berlin, 1837), p. 277. + +[438] M. Toeppen, _Aberglauben aus Masuren_*[2] (Danzig, 1867), p. 71. + +[439] F.S. Krauss, "Altslavische Feuergewinnung," _Globus_, lix. (1891) +p. 318. + +[440] J.G. Kohl, _Die deutsch-russischen Ostseeprovinzen_ (Dresden and +Leipsic, 1841), i. 178-180, ii. 24 _sq._ Ligho was an old heathen deity, +whose joyous festival used to fall in spring. + +[441] Ovid, _Fasti_, vi. 775 _sqq._ + +[442] Friederich S. Krauss, _Sitte und Brauch der Suedslaven_ (Vienna, +1885), pp. 176 _sq._ + +[443] J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 519. + +[444] H. von Wlislocki, _Volksglaube und religioeser Brauch der Magyar_ +(Muenster i. W., 1893), pp. 40-44. + +[445] A. von Ipolyi, "Beitraege zur deutschen Mythologie aus Ungarn," +_Zeitschrift fuer deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, i. (1853) pp. 270 +_sq._ + +[446] J.G. Kohl, _Die deutsch-russischen Ostseeprovinzen_, ii. 268 +_sq._; F.J. Wiedemann, _Aus dem inneren und aeusseren Leben der Ehsten_ +(St. Petersburg, 1876), p. 362. The word which I have translated "weeds" +is in Esthonian _kaste-heinad_, in German _Thaugras_. Apparently it is +the name of a special kind of weed. + +[447] Fr. Kreutzwald und H. Neus, _Mythische und Magische Lieder der +Ehsten_ (St. Petersburg, 1854), p. 62. + +[448] J.B. Holzmayer, "Osiliana," _Verhandlungen der gelehrten +Estnischen Gesellschaft zu Dorpat_, vii. (1872) pp. 62 _sq._ Wiedemann +also observes that the sports in which young couples engage in the woods +on this evening are not always decorous (_Aus dem inneren und aeusseren +Leben der Ehsten_, p. 362). + +[449] J.G. Kohl, _Die deutsch-russischen Ostseeprovinzen_, ii. 447 _sq._ + +[450] J.G. Georgi, _Beschreibung aller Nationen des russischen Reichs_ +(St. Petersburg, 1776), p. 36; August Freiherr von Haxthausen, _Studien +ueber die innere Zustaende das Volksleben und insbesondere die laendlichen +Einrichtungen Russlands_ (Hanover, 1847), i. 446 _sqq._ + +[451] Alfred de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de +France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), p. 19. + +[452] It is notable that St. John is the only saint whose birthday the +Church celebrates with honours like those which she accords to the +nativity of Christ. Compare Edmond Doutte, _Magie et Religion dans +l'Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers, 1908), p. 571 note I. + +[453] Bossuet, _Oeuvres_ (Versailles, 1815-1819), vi. 276 ("Catechisme +du diocese de Meaux"). His description of the superstitions is, in his +own words, as follows: "_Danser a l'entour du feu, jouer, faire des +festins, chanter des chansons deshonnetes, jeter des herbes par-dessus +le feu, en cueillir avant midi ou a jeun, en porter sur soi, les +conserver le long de l'annee, garder des tisons ou des charbons du feu, +et autres semblables._" This and other evidence of the custom of +kindling Midsummer bonfires in France is cited by Ch. Cuissard in his +tract _Les Feux de la Saint-Jean_ (Orleans, 1884). + +[454] Ch. Cuissard, _Les Feux de la Saint-Jean_ (Orleans, 1884), pp. 40 +_sq._ + +[455] A. Le Braz, _La Legende de la Mort en Basse-Bretagne_ (Paris, +1893), p. 279. For an explanation of the custom of throwing a pebble +into the fire, see below, p. 240. + +[456] M. Quellien, quoted by Alexandre Bertrand, _La Religion des +Gaulois_ (Paris, 1897), pp. 116 _sq._ + +[457] Collin de Plancy, _Dictionnaire Infernal_ (Paris, 1825-1826), iii. +40; J.W. Wolf, _Beitraege zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Goettingen, +1852-1857), i. p. 217, Sec. 185; A. Breuil, "Du Culte de St. Jean +Baptiste," _Memoires de la Societe des Antiquaires de Picardie_, viii. +(Amiens, 1845) pp. 189 _sq._ + +[458] Eugene Cortet, _Essai sur les Fetes Religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), p. +216; Ch. Cuissard, _Les Feux de la Saint-Jean_ (Orleans, 1884), p. 24. + +[459] Paul Sebillot, _Coutumes populaires de la Haute-Bretagne_ (Paris, +1886), pp. 192-195. In Upper Brittany these bonfires are called _rieux_ +or _raviers_. + +[460] A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de +France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), p. 219; E. Cortet, _Essai sur les Fetes +Religieuses_, p. 216. + +[461] A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de +France_, pp. 219, 228, 231; E. Cortet, _op. cit._ pp. 215 _sq._ + +[462] J. Lecoeur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Conde-sur-Noireau, +1883-1887), ii. 219-224. + +[463] This description is quoted by Madame Clement (_Histoire des fetes +civites et religieuses_, etc., _de la Belgique Meridionale_, Avesnes, +1846, pp. 394-396); F. Liebrecht (_Des Gervasius von Tilbury Otia +Imperialia_, Hanover, 1856, pp. 209 _sq._); and W. Mannhardt (_Antike +Wald und Feldkulte_, Berlin, 1877, pp. 323 _sqq._) from the _Magazin +pittoresque_, Paris, viii. (1840) pp. 287 _sqq._ A slightly condensed +account is given, from the same source, by E. Cortet (_Essai sur les +Fetes Religieuses_, pp. 221 _sq._). + +[464] Bazin, quoted by Breuil, in _Memoires de la Societe d' Antiquaires +de Picardie_, viii. (1845) p. 191 note. + +[465] Correspondents quoted by A. Bertrand, _La Religion des Gaulois_ +(Paris, 1897), pp. 118, 406. + +[466] Correspondent quoted by A. Bertrand, _op. cit._ p. 407. + +[467] Felix Chapiseau, _Le folk-lore de la Beauce et du Perche_ (Paris, +1902), i. 318-320. In Perche the midsummer bonfires were called +_marolles_. As to the custom formerly observed at Bullou, near +Chateaudun, see a correspondent quoted by A. Bertrand, _La Religion des +Gaulois_ (Paris, 1897), p. 117. + +[468] Albert Meyrac, _Traditions, Coutumes, Legendes, et Contes des +Ardennes_ (Charleville, 1890), pp. 88 _sq._ + +[469] L.F. Sauve, _Le Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), p. +186. + +[470] Desire Monnier, _Traditions populaires comparees_ (Paris, 1854), +pp. 207 _sqq._; E. Cortet, _Essai sur les Fetes Religieuses_, pp. 217 +_sq._ + +[471] Berenger-Feraud, _Reminiscences populaires de la Provence_ (Paris, +1885), p. 142. + +[472] Charles Beauquier, _Les Mois en Franche-Comte_ (Paris, 1900), p. +89. The names of the bonfires vary with the place; among them are +_failles, bourdifailles, bas_ or _baux, feuleres_ or _folieres_, and +_chavannes_. + +[473] _La Bresse Louhannaise_, Juin, 1906, p. 207. + +[474] Laisnel de la Salle, _Croyances et Legendes du Centre de la +France_ (Paris, 1875), i. 78 _sqq._ The writer adopts the absurd +derivation of _jonee_ from Janus. Needless to say that our old friend +Baal, Bel, or Belus figures prominently in this and many other accounts +of the European fire-festivals. + +[475] A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de +France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), p. 150. + +[476] Correspondent, quoted by A. Bertrand, _La Religion des Gaulois_ +(Paris, 1897), p. 408. + +[477] Guerry, "Sur les usages et traditions du Poitou," _Memoires et +dissertations publies par la Societe Royale des Antiquaires de France_, +viii. (1829) pp. 451 _sq._ + +[478] Breuil, in _Memoires de la Societe des Antiquaires de Picardie_, +viii. (1845) p. 206; E. Cortet, _Essai sur les Fetes Religieuses_, p. +216; Laisnel de la Salle, _Croyances et Legendes du Centre de la +France_, i. 83; J. Lecoeur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_, ii. 225. + +[479] H. Gaidoz, "Le dieu gaulois du soleil et le symbolisme de la +roue," _Revue Archeologique_, iii. Serie, iv. (1884) p. 26, note 3. + +[480] L. Pineau, _Le Folk-lore du Poitou_ (Paris, 1892), pp. 499 _sq._ +In Perigord the ashes of the midsummer bonfire are searched for the hair +of the Virgin (E. Cortet, _Essai sur les Fetes Religieuses_, p. 219). + +[481] A. de Nore, _Coutumes Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de +France_, pp. 149 _sq._; E. Cortet, _op. cit._ pp. 218 _sq._ + +[482] Dupin, "Notice sur quelques fetes et divertissemens populaires du +departement des Deux-Sevres," _Memoires et Dissertations publies par la +Societe Royale des Antiquaires de France_, iv. (1823) p. 110. + +[483] J.L.M. Nogues, _Les moeurs d'autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_ +(Saintes, 1891), pp. 72, 178 _sq._ + +[484] H. Gaidoz, "Le dieu soleil et le symbolisme de la roue," _Revue +Archeologique_, iii. Serie, iv. (1884) p. 30. + +[485] Ch. Cuissard, _Les Feux de la Saint-Jean_ (Orleans, 1884), pp. 22 +_sq._ + +[486] A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de +France_ p. 127. + +[487] Aubin-Louis Millin, _Voyage dans les Departemens du Midi de la +France_ (Paris, 1807-1811), iii. 341 _sq._ + +[488] Aubin-Louis Millin, _op. cit._ iii. 28. + +[489] A. de Nore, _op. cit._ pp. 19 _sq._; Berenger-Feraud, +_Reminiscences populaires de la Provence_ (Paris, 1885), pp. 135-141. As +to the custom at Toulon, see Poncy, quoted by Breuil, _Memoires de la +Societe des Antiquaires de Picardie_, viii. (1845) p. 190 note. The +custom of drenching people on this occasion with water used to prevail +in Toulon, as well as in Marseilles and other towns in the south of +France. The water was squirted from syringes, poured on the heads of +passers-by from windows, and so on. See Breuil, _op. cit._ pp. 237 _sq._ + +[490] A. de Nore, _op. cit._ pp. 20 _sq._; E. Cortet, _op. cit._ pp. +218, 219 _sq._ + +[491] Le Baron de Reinsberg-Dueringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels, +1861-1862), i. 416 _sq._ 439. + +[492] Le Baron de Reinsberg-Dueringsfeld, _op. cit._ i. 439-442. + +[493] Madame Clement, _Histoire des fetes civiles et religieuses_, etc., +_du Departement du Nord_ (Cambrai, 1836), p. 364; J.W. Wolf, _Beitraege +zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Goettingen, 1852-1857), ii. 392; W. Mannhardt, +_Der Baumkultus_. p. 513. + +[494] E. Monseur, _Folklore Wallon_ (Brussels, N.D.), p. 130, Sec.Sec. 1783, +1786, 1787. + +[495] Joseph Strutt, _The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England_, +New Edition, by W. Hone (London, 1834), p. 359. + +[496] John Stow, _A Survay of London_, edited by Henry Morley (London, +N.D.), pp. 126 _sq._ Stow's _Survay_ was written in 1598. + +[497] John Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, +1882-1883), i. 338; T.F. Thiselton Dyer, _British Popular Customs_ +(London, 1876), p. 331. Both writers refer to _Status Scholae Etonensis_ +(A.D. 1560). + +[498] John Aubrey, _Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme_ (London, 1881), +p. 26. + +[499] J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, +1882-1883), i. 300 _sq._, 318, compare pp. 305, 306, 308 _sq._; W. +Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus_, p. 512. Compare W. Hutchinson, _View of +Northumberland_, vol. ii. (Newcastle, 1778), Appendix, p. (15), under +the head "Midsummer":--"It is usual to raise fires on the tops of high +hills and in the villages, and sport and danse around them; this is of +very remote antiquity, and the first cause lost in the distance of +time." + +[500] Dr. Lyttelton, Bishop of Carlisle, quoted by William Borlase, +_Antiquities, Historical and Monumental, of the County of Cornwall_ +(London, 1769), p. 135 note. + +[501] _County Folk-lore_, vol. iv. _Northumberland_, collected by M.C. +Balfour (London, 1904), p. 76, quoting E. Mackenzie, _An Historical, +Topographical, and Descriptive View of the County of Northumberland_, +Second Edition (Newcastle, 1825), i. 217. + +[502] _County Folk-lore_, vol. iv. _Northumberland_, collected by M.C. +Balfour, p. 75. + +[503] _County Folk-lore_, vol. iv. _Northumberland_, collected by M.C. +Balfour, p. 75. + +[504] _The Denham Tracts_, edited by J. Hardy (London, 1892-1895), ii. +342 _sq._, quoting _Archaelogia Aeliana_, N.S., vii. 73, and the +_Proceedings_ of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club, vi. 242 _sq._; +_County Folk-lore_, vol. iv. _Northumberland_, collected by M.C. Balfour +(London, 1904), pp. 75 _sq._ Whalton is a village of Northumberland, not +far from Morpeth. + +[505] _County Folk-lore_, vol. vi. _East Riding of Yorkshire_, collected +and edited by Mrs. Gutch (London, 1912), p. 102. + +[506] John Aubrey, _Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme_ (London, 1881), +p. 96, compare _id._, p. 26. + +[507] J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, +1882-1883), i. 311. + +[508] William Borlase, LL.D., _Antiquities, Historical and Monumental, +of the County of Cornwall_ (London, 1769), pp. 135 _sq._ The Eve of St. +Peter is June 28th. Bonfires have been lit elsewhere on the Eve or the +day of St. Peter. See above, pp. 194 _sq._ 196 _sq._, and below, pp. 199 +_sq._, 202, 207. + +[509] J. Brand, _op. cit._ i. 318, 319; T.F. Thiselton Dyer, _British +Popular Customs_ (London, 1876), p. 315. + +[510] William Bottrell, _Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West +Cornwall_ (Penzance, 1870), pp. 8 _sq._, 55 _sq._; James Napier, +_Folk-lore, or Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland_ (Paisley, +1879), p. 173. + +[511] Richard Edmonds, _The Land's End District_ (London, 1862), pp. 66 +_sq._; Robert Hunt, _Popular Romances of the West of England_, Third +Edition (London, 1881), pp. 207 _sq._ + +[512] Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, +1909), pp. 27 _sq._ Compare Jonathan Ceredig Davies, _Folk-lore of West +and Mid-Wales_ (Aberystwyth, 1911), p. 76. + +[513] J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, +1882-1883), i. 318. + +[514] Joseph Train, _Account of the Isle of Man_ (Douglas, Isle of Man, +1845), ii. 120. + +[515] Sir Henry Piers, _Description of the County of Westmeath_, written +in 1682, published by (General) Charles Vallancey, _Collectanea de Rebus +Hibernieis_, i. (Dublin, 1786) pp. 123 _sq._ + +[516] J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, +1882-1883), i. 303, quoting the author of the _Survey of the South of +Ireland_, p. 232. + +[517] J. Brand, _op. cit._ i. 305, quoting the author of the _Comical +Pilgrim's Pilgrimage into Ireland_ (1723), p. 92. + +[518] _The Gentleman's Magazine_, vol. lxv. (London, 1795) pp. 124 _sq._ +The writer dates the festival on June 21st, which is probably a mistake. + +[519] T.F. Thiselton Dyer, _British Popular Customs_ (London, 1876), pp. +321 _sq._, quoting the _Liverpool Mercury_ of June 29th, 1867. + +[520] L.L. Duncan, "Further Notes from County Leitrim," _Folk-lore_, v. +(1894) p. 193. + +[521] A.C. Haddon, "A Batch of Irish Folk-lore," _Folk-lore_, iv. (1893) +pp. 351, 359. + +[522] G.H. Kinahan, "Notes on Irish Folk-lore," _Folk-lore Record_, iv. +(1881) p. 97. + +[523] Charlotte Elizabeth, _Personal Recollections_, quoted by Rev. +Alexander Hislop, _The Two Babylons_ (Edinburgh, 1853), p. 53. + +[524] Lady Wilde, _Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of +Ireland_ (London, 1887), i. 214 _sq._ + +[525] T.F. Thiselton Dyer, _British Popular Customs_ (London, 1876), pp. +322 _sq._, quoting the _Hibernian Magazine_, July 1817. As to the +worship of wells in ancient Ireland, see P.W. Joyce, _A Social History +of Ancient Ireland_ (London, 1903), i. 288 _sq._, 366 _sqq._ + +[526] Rev. A. Johnstone, describing the parish of Monquhitter in +Perthshire, in Sir John Sinclair's _Statistical Account of Scotland_ +(Edinburgh, 1791-1799), xxi. 145. Mr. W. Warde Fowler writes that in +Scotland "before the bonfires were kindled on midsummer eve, the houses +were decorated with foliage brought from the woods" (_Roman Festivals of +the Period of the Republic_, London, 1899, pp. 80 _sq._). For his +authority he refers to _Chambers' Journal_, July, 1842. + +[527] John Ramsay, of Ochtertyre, _Scotland and Scotsmen in the +Eighteenth Century_, edited by A. Allardyce (Edinburgh, 1888), ii. 436. + +[528] Rev. Mr. Shaw, Minister of Elgin, in Pennant's "Tour in Scotland," +printed in John Pinkerton's _Voyages and Travels_ (London, 1808-1814), +iii. 136. + +[529] A. Macdonald, "Midsummer Bonfires," _Folk-lore_, xv. (1904) pp. +105 _sq._ + +[530] From notes kindly furnished to me by the Rev. J.C. Higgins, parish +minister of Tarbolton. Mr. Higgins adds that he knows of no superstition +connected with the fire, and no tradition of its origin. I visited the +scene of the bonfire in 1898, but, as Pausanias says (viii. 41. 6) in +similar circumstances, "I did not happen to arrive at the season of the +festival." Indeed the snow was falling thick as I trudged to the village +through the beautiful woods of "the Castle o' Montgomery" immortalized +by Burns. From a notice in _The Scotsman_ of 26th June, 1906 (p. 8) it +appears that the old custom was observed as usual that year. + +[531] Thomas Moresinus, _Papatus seu Depravatae Religionis Origo et +Incrementum_ (Edinburgh, 1594), p. 56. + +[532] Rev. Dr. George Lawrie, in Sir John Sinclair's _Statistical +Account of Scotland_, iii. (Edinburgh, 1792) p. 105. + +[533] Letter from Dr. Otero Acevado of Madrid, published in _Le Temps_, +September 1898. An extract from the newspaper was sent me, but without +mention of the day of the month when it appeared. The fires on St. +John's Eve in Spain are mentioned also by J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities +of Great Britain_, i. 317. Jacob Grimm inferred the custom from a +passage in a romance (_Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 518). The custom of +washing or bathing on the morning of St. John's Day is mentioned by the +Spanish historian Diego Duran, _Historia de las Indias de Nueva Espana_, +edited by J.F. Ramirez (Mexico, 1867-1880), vol. ii. p. 293. To roll in +the dew on the morning of St. John's Day is a cure for diseases of the +skin in Normandy, Perigord, and the Abruzzi, as well as in Spain. See J. +Lecoeur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_, ii. 8; A. de Nore, _Coutumes, +Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de France_, p. 150; Gennaro Finamore, +_Credenze, Usi e Costumi Abruzzesi_ (Palermo, 1890), p. 157. + +[534] M. Longworth Dames and Mrs. E. Seemann, "Folklore of the Azores," +_Folk-lore_, xiv. (1903) pp. 142 _sq._; Theophilo Braga, _O Povo +Portuguez nos seus Costumes, Crencas e Tradicoes_ (Lisbon, 1885), ii. +304 _sq._, 307 _sq._ + +[535] See below, pp. 234 _sqq._ + +[536] Angelo de Gubernatis, _Mythologie des Plantes_ (Paris, 1878-1882), +i. 185 note 1. + +[537] _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 202 _sq._ + +[538] G. Finamore, _Credenze, Usi e Costumi Abruzzesi_ (Palermo, 1890), +pp. 154 _sq._ + +[539] G. Finamore, _Credenze, Usi e Costumi Abruzzesi_, pp. 158-160. We +may compare the Provencal and Spanish customs of bathing and splashing +water at Midsummer. See above, pp. 193 _sq._, 208. + +[540] Giuseppe Pitre, _Spettacoli e Feste Popolari Siciliane_ (Palermo, +1881), pp. 246, 308 _sq._; _id., Usi e Costumi, Credenze e Pregiudizi +del Popolo Siciliano_ (Palermo, 1889), pp. 146 _sq._ + +[541] J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 518. + +[542] V. Busuttil, _Holiday Customs in Malta, and Sports, Usages, +Ceremonies, Omens, and Superstitions of the Maltese People_ (Malta, +1894), pp. 56 _sqq._ The extract was kindly sent to me by Mr. H.W. +Underwood (letter dated 14th November, 1902, Birbeck Bank Chambers, +Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, W.C.). See _Folk-lore_, xiv. +(1903) pp. 77 _sq._ + +[543] W. R. Paton, in _Folk-lore_, ii. (1891) p. 128. The custom was +reported to me when I was in Greece in 1890 (_Folk-lore_, i. (1890) p. +520). + +[544] J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 519. + +[545] G. Georgeakis et L. Pineau, _Le Folk-lore de Lesbos_ (Paris, +1894), pp. 308 _sq._ + +[546] W.R. Paton, in _Folk-lore_, vi. (1895) p. 94. From the stones cast +into the fire omens may perhaps be drawn, as in Scotland, Wales, and +probably Brittany. See above, p. 183, and below, pp. 230 _sq._, 239, +240. + +[547] W.H.D. Rouse, "Folklore from the Southern Sporades," _Folk-lore_, +x. (1899) p. 179. + +[548] Lucy M.J. Garnett, _The Women of Turkey and their Folk-lore, the +Christian Women_ (London, 1890), p. 122; G.F. Abbott, _Macedonian +Folklore_ (Cambridge, 1903), p. 57. + +[549] J.G. von Hahn, _Albanesische Studien_ (Jena, 1854), i. 156. + +[550] K. von den Steinen, _Unter den Natur-Voelkern Zentral-Brasiliens_ +(Berlin, 1894), p. 561. + +[551] Alcide d'Orbigny, _Voyage dans l'Amerique Meridionale_, ii. (Paris +and Strasbourg, 1839-1843), p. 420; D. Forbes, "On the Aymara Indians of +Bolivia and Peru," _Journal of the Ethnological Society of London_, ii. +(1870) p. 235. + +[552] Edmond Doutte, _Magie et Religion dans l'Afrique du Nord_ +(Algiers, 1908), pp. 566 _sq_. For an older but briefer notice of the +Midsummer fires in North Africa, see Giuseppe Ferraro, _Superstizioni, +Usi e Proverbi Monferrini_ (Palermo, 1886), pp. 34 _sq._: "Also in +Algeria, among the Mussalmans, and in Morocco, as Alvise da Cadamosto +reports in his _Relazione dei viaggi d'Africa_, which may be read in +Ramusio, people used to hold great festivities on St. John's Night; they +kindled everywhere huge fires of straw (the _Palilia_ of the Romans), in +which they threw incense and perfumes the whole night long in order to +invoke the divine blessing on the fruit-trees." See also Budgett Meakin, +_The Moors_ (London, 1902), p. 394: "The Berber festivals are mainly +those of Islam, though a few traces of their predecessors are +observable. Of these the most noteworthy is Midsummer or St. John's Day, +still celebrated in a special manner, and styled _El Ansarah_. In the +Rif it is celebrated by the lighting of bonfires only, but in other +parts there is a special dish prepared of wheat, raisins, etc., +resembling the frumenty consumed at the New Year. It is worthy of remark +that the Old Style Gregorian calendar is maintained among them, with +corruptions of Latin names." + +[553] Edward Westermarck, "Midsummer Customs in Morocco," _Folklore_, +xvi. (1905) pp. 28-30; _id., Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with +Agriculture, Certain Dates of the Solar Year, and the Weather_ +(Helsingfors, 1913), pp. 79-83. + +[554] E. Westermarck, "Midsummer Customs in Morocco," _Folk-lore_, xvi. +(1905) pp. 30 _sq._; _id., Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with +Agriculture_, etc., pp. 83 _sq._ + +[555] Edmond Doutte, _Magie et Religion dans l'Afrique du Nord_ +(Algiers, 1908), pp. 567 _sq._ + +[556] E. Westermarck, "Midsummer Customs in Morocco," _Folk-lore_, xvi. +(1905) pp. 31 _sq._; _id., Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with +Agriculture_, etc., pp. 84-86. + +[557] See K. Vollers, in Dr. James Hastings's _Encyclopaedia of Religion +and Ethics_ iii. (Edinburgh, 1910) _s.v._ "Calendar (Muslim)," pp. 126 +_sq._ However, L. Ideler held that even before the time of Mohammed the +Arab year was lunar and vague, and that intercalation was only employed +in order to fix the pilgrimage month in autumn, which, on account of the +milder weather and the abundance of food, is the best time for pilgrims +to go to Mecca. See L. Ideler, _Handbuch der mathematischen und +techischen Chronologie_ (Berlin, 1825-1826), ii. 495 _sqq._ + +[558] E. Doutte, _Magie et Religion dans l'Afrique du Nord_, pp. 496, +509, 532, 543, 569. It is somewhat remarkable that the tenth, not the +first, day of the first month should be reckoned New Year's Day. + +[559] E. Westermarck, "Midsummer Customs in Morocco," _Folk-lore_, xvi. +(1905) pp. 40-42. + +[560] E. Doutte, _Magie et Religion dans l'Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers, +1908), pp. 541 _sq._ + +[561] E. Westermarck, "Midsummer Customs in Morocco," _Folk-lore_, xvi. +(1905) p. 42; _id., Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with Agriculture, +Certain Dates of the Solar Year, and the Weather in Morocco_ +(Helsingfors, 1913), p. 101. + +[562] E. Westermarck, "Midsummer Customs in Morocco," _Folk-lore_, xvi. +(1905), pp. 42 _sq._, 46 _sq.; id., Ceremonies and Beliefs connected +with Agriculture_, etc., _in Morocco_, pp. 99 _sqq._ + +[563] G. F. Abbott, _Macedonian Folklore_ (Cambridge, 1903), pp. 60 +_sq._ + +[564] "Narrative of the Adventures of four Russian Sailors, who were +cast in a storm upon the uncultivated island of East Spitzbergen," +translated from the German of P.L. Le Roy, in John Pinkerton's _Voyages +and Travels_ (London, 1808-1814), i. 603. This passage is quoted from +the original by (Sir) Edward B. Tylor, _Researches into the Early +History of Mankind_, Third Edition (London, 1878), pp. 259 _sq._ + +[565] See _The Scapegoat_, pp. 166 _sq._ + +[566] E.K. Chambers, _The Mediaeval Stage_ (Oxford, 1903), i. 110 _sqq._ + +[567] In Eastern Europe to this day the great season for driving out the +cattle to pasture for the first time in spring is St. George's Day, the +twenty-third of April, which is not far removed from May Day. See _The +Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 324 _sqq._ As to the +bisection of the Celtic year, see the old authority quoted by P.W. +Joyce, _The Social History of Ancient Ireland_ (London, 1903), ii. 390: +"The whole year was [originally] divided into two parts--Summer from 1st +May to 1st November, and Winter from 1st November to 1st May." On this +subject compare (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_ (London and +Edinburgh, 1888), pp. 460, 514 _sqq.; id., Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and +Manx_ (Oxford, 1901), i. 315 _sqq._; J.A. MacCulloch, in Dr. James +Hastings's _Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics_, iii. (Edinburgh, +1910) p. 80. + +[568] See below, p. 225. + +[569] Above, pp. 146 _sqq._; _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, +ii. 59 _sqq._ + +[570] (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Folk-lore, Manx and Welsh_ (Oxford, +1901), i. 316, 317 _sq._; J.A. MacCulloch, in Dr. James Hastings's +_Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics_, iii. (Edinburgh, 1910) _s.v._ +"Calendar," p. 80, referring to Kelly, _English and Manx Dictionary_ +(Douglas, 1866), _s.v._ "Blein." Hogmanay is the popular Scotch name for +the last day of the year. See Dr. J. Jamieson, _Etymological Dictionary +of the Scottish Language_, New Edition (Paisley, 1879-1882), ii. 602 +_sq._ + +[571] (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and Manx_, i. 316 _sq._ + +[572] Above, p. 139. + +[573] See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 309-318. As I +have there pointed out, the Catholic Church succeeded in altering the +date of the festival by one day, but not in changing the character of +the festival. All Souls' Day is now the second instead of the first of +November. But we can hardly doubt that the Saints, who have taken +possession of the first of November, wrested it from the Souls of the +Dead, the original proprietors. After all, the Saints are only one +particular class of the Souls of the Dead; so that the change which the +Church effected, no doubt for the purpose of disguising the heathen +character of the festival, is less great than appears at first sight. + +[574] In Wales "it was firmly believed in former times that on All +Hallows' Eve the spirit of a departed person was to be seen at midnight +on every cross-road and on every stile" (Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and +Folk-stories of Wales_, London, 1909, p. 254). + +[575] E. J. Guthrie, _Old Scottish Customs_ (London and Glasgow, 1885), +p. 68. + +[576] A. Goodrich-Freer, "More Folklore from the Hebrides," _Folk-lore_, +xiii. (1902) p. 53. + +[577] (Sir) Jolin Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_ (London and Edinburgh, +1888), p. 516. + +[578] P.W. Joyce, _A Social History of Ancient Ireland_ (London, 1903), +i. 264 _sq._, ii. 556. + +[579] (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_, p. 516. + +[580] Rev. John Gregorson Campbell, _Superstitions of the Highlands and +Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1900), pp. 61 _sq._ + +[581] Ch. Rogers, _Social Life in Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1884-1886), iii. +258-260. + +[582] Douglas Hyde, _Beside the Fire, a Collection of Irish Gaelic Folk +Stories_ (London, 1890), pp. 104, 105, 121-128. + +[583] P.W. Joyce, _Social History of Ancient Ireland_, i. 229. + +[584] Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, +1909), p. 254. + +[585] (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_, pp. 514 _sq._ In order to +see the apparitions all you had to do was to run thrice round the parish +church and then peep through the key-hole of the door. See Marie +Trevelyan, _op. cit._ p. 254; J. C. Davies, _Folk-lore of West and +Mid-Wales_ (Aberystwyth, 1911), p. 77. + +[586] Miss E. J. Guthrie, _Old Scottish Customs_ (London and Glasgow, +1885), p. 75. + +[587] Rev. John Gregorson Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the +Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), p. 282. + +[588] Thomas Pennant, "Tour in Scotland, and Voyage to the Hebrides in +1772," in John Pinkerton's _Voyages and Travels_, iii. (London, 1809) +pp. 383 _sq._ In quoting the passage I have corrected what seem to be +two misprints. + +[589] John Ramsay, of Ochtertyre, _Scotland and Scotsmen in the +Eighteenth Century_, edited by Alexander Allardyce (Edinburgh and +London, 1888), ii. 437 _sq._ This account was written in the eighteenth +century. + +[590] Rev. James Robertson, Parish minister of Callander, in Sir John +Sinclair's _Statistical Account of Scotland_, xi. (Edinburgh, 1794), pp. +621 _sq._ + +[591] Rev. Dr. Thomas Bisset, in Sir John Sinclair's _Statistical +Account of Scotland_ v. (Edinburgh, 1793) pp. 84 _sq._ + +[592] Miss E. J. Guthrie, _Old Scottish Customs_ (London and Glasgow, +1885), p. 67. + +[593] James Napier, _Folk Lore, or Superstitious Beliefs in the West of +Scotland within this Century_ (Paisley, 1879), p. 179. + +[594] J. G. Frazer, "Folk-lore at Balquhidder," _The Folk-lore Journal_, +vi. (1888) p. 270. + +[595] Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of +Scotland_ (London, 1881), pp. 167 _sq._ + +[596] Rev. A. Johnstone, as to the parish of Monquhitter, in Sir John +Sinclair's _Statistical Account of Scotland_, xxi. (Edinburgh, 1799) pp. +145 _sq._ + +[597] A. Macdonald, "Some former Customs of the Royal Parish of Crathie, +Scotland," _Folk-lore_, xviii. (1907) p. 85. The writer adds: "In this +way the 'faulds' were purged of evil spirits." But it does not appear +whether this expresses the belief of the people or only the +interpretation of the writer. + +[598] Rev. John Gregorson Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the +Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), pp. 282 _sq._ + +[599] Robert Burns, _Hallowe'en_, with the poet's note; Rev. Walter +Gregor, _op. cit._ p. 84; Miss E.J. Guthrie, _op. cit._ p. 69; Rev. J.G. +Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 287. + +[600] R. Burns, _l.c._; Rev. Walter Gregor, _l.c._; Miss E.J. Guthrie, +_op. cit._ pp. 70 _sq._; Rev. J.G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 286. + +[601] R. Burns, _l.c._.; Rev. W. Gregor, _l.c._; Miss E.J. Guthrie, _op. +cit._ p. 73; Rev. J.G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 285; A. Goodrich-Freer, +"More Folklore from the Hebrides," _Folk-lore_, xiii. (1902) pp. 54 +_sq._ + +[602] R. Burns, _l.c._; Rev. W. Gregor, _op. cit._ p. 85; Miss E.J. +Guthrie, _op. cit._ p. 71; Rev. J.G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 285. +According to the last of these writers, the winnowing had to be done in +the devil's name. + +[603] R. Burns, _l.c._; Rev. W. Gregor, _l.c._; Miss E.J. Guthrie, _op. +cit._ p. 72; Rev. J.G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 286; A. Goodrich-Freer, +"More Folklore from the Hebrides," _Folklore_, xiii. (1902) p. 54. + +[604] Rev. J.G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 283. + +[605] Rev. J.G. Campbell, _op. cit._ pp. 283 _sq._; A. Goodrich-Freer, +_l.c._ + +[606] Rev. J.G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 284. + +[607] R. Burns, _l.c._; Rev. W. Gregor, _op. cit._ p. 85; Miss E.J. +Guthrie, _op. cit._ p. 70; Rev. J.G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 284. Where +nuts were not to be had, peas were substituted. + +[608] Rev. J.G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 284. + +[609] Rev. J.G. Campbell, _l.c._ According to my recollection of +Hallowe'en customs observed in my boyhood at Helensburgh, in +Dumbartonshire, another way was to stir the floating apples and then +drop a fork on them as they bobbed about in the water. Success consisted +in pinning one of the apples with the fork. + +[610] R. Burns, _l.c._; Rev. W. Gregor, _op. cit_. pp. 85 _sq_.; Miss +E.J. Guthrie, _op. cit_. pp. 72 _sq_.; Rev. J.G. Campbell, _op. cit_. p. +287. + +[611] R. Burns, _l.c._; Rev. W. Gregor, _op. cit_. p. 85; Miss E.J. +Guthrie, _op. cit_. pp. 69 _sq_.; Rev. J.G. Campbell, _op. cit_. p. 285. +It is the last of these writers who gives what may be called the +Trinitarian form of the divination. + +[612] Miss E.J. Guthrie, _Old Scottish Customs_ (London and Glasgow, +1885), pp. 74 _sq_. + +[613] A. Goodrich-Freer, "More Folklore from the Hebrides," _Folk-lore_, +xiii. (1902) p. 55. + +[614] Pennant's manuscript, quoted by J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of +Great Britain_ (London, 1882-1883), i. 389 _sq_. + +[615] Sir Richard Colt Hoare, _The Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin +through Wales A.D. MCLXXXVIII. by Giraldus de Barri_ (London, 1806), ii. +315; J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, i. 390. The passage quoted in the +text occurs in one of Hoare's notes on the Itinerary. The dipping for +apples, burning of nuts, and so forth, are mentioned also by Marie +Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, 1909), pp. +253, 255. + +[616] (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_ (London and Edinburgh, 1888), +pp. 515 _sq._ As to the Hallowe'en bonfires in Wales compare J.C. +Davies, _Folk-lore of West and Mid-Wales_ (Aberystwyth, 1911), p. 77. + +[617] See above, p. 183. + +[618] See above, p. 231. + +[619] Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, +1909), pp. 254 _sq._ + +[620] (General) Charles Vallancey, _Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis_, +iii. (Dublin, 1786), pp. 459-461. + +[621] Miss A. Watson, quoted by A.C. Haddon, "A Batch of Irish +Folk-lore," _Folk-lore_, iv. (1893) pp. 361 _sq._ + +[622] Leland L. Duncan, "Further Notes from County Leitrim," +_Folk-lore_, v. (1894) pp. 195-197. + +[623] H.J. Byrne, "All Hallows Eve and other Festivals in Connaught," +_Folk-lore_, xviii. (1907) pp. 437 _sq._ + +[624] Joseph Train, _Historical and Statistical Account of the Isle of +Man_ (Douglas, Isle of Man, 1845), ii. 123; (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic +Folk-lore, Welsh and Manx_ (Oxford, 1901), i. 315 _sqq._ + +[625] (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and Manx_ (Oxford, +1901), i. 318-321. + +[626] John Harland and T.T. Wilkinson, _Lancashire Folk-lore_ +(Manchester and London, 1882), pp. 3 _sq_. + +[627] J. Harland and T.T. Wilkinson, _op. cit_. p. 140. + +[628] Annie Milner, in William Hone's _Year Book_ (London, preface dated +January, 1832), coll. 1276-1279 (letter dated June, 1831); R.T. Hampson, +_Medii Aevi Kalendarium_ (London, 1841), i. 365; T.F. Thiselton Dyer, +_British Popular Customs_ (London, 1876), p. 395. + +[629] _County Folk-lore_ vol. iv. _Northumberland_, collected by M.C. +Balfour (London, 1904), p. 78. Compare W. Henderson, _Notes on the +Folk-lore of the Northern Counties of England_ (London, 1879), pp. 96 +_sq_. + +[630] Baron Dupin, in _Memoires publiees par la Societe Royale des +Antiquaires de France_, iv. (1823) p. 108. + +[631] The evidence for the solar origin of Christmas is given in +_Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 254-256. + +[632] For the various names (Yu-batch, Yu-block, Yule-log, etc.) see +Francis Grose, _Provincial Glossary_, New Edition (London, 1811), p. +141; Joseph Wright, _The English Dialect Dictionary_ (London, +1898-1905), vi. 593, _s.v._ "Yule." + +[633] "I am pretty confident that the Yule block will be found, in its +first use, to have been only a counterpart of the Midsummer fires, made +within doors because of the cold weather at this winter solstice, as +those in the hot season, at the summer one, are kindled in the open +air." (John Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_, London, +1882-1883, i. 471). His opinion is approved by W. Mannhardt _(Der +Baumkultus der Germanen und ihrer Nachbarstaemme_, p. 236). + +[634] "_Et arborem in nativitate domini ad festivum ignem suum +adducendam esse dicebat_" (quoted by Jacob Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_, +i. 522). + +[635] Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbrauche und deutscher +Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), p. 12. The Sieg and Lahn are two rivers +of Central Germany, between Siegen and Marburg. + +[636] J.H. Schmitz, _Sitten und Sagen, Lieder, Spruechwoerter und Raethsel +des Eifler Volkes_ (Treves, 1856-1858), i. 4. + +[637] Adalbert Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebraeuche und Maerchen aus Westfalen_ +(Leipsic, 1859), ii. Sec. 319, pp. 103 _sq_. + +[638] A. Kuhn, _op. cit._ ii. Sec. 523, p. 187. + +[639] August Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebraeuche aus Thueringen_ +(Vienna, 1878), p. 172. + +[640] K. Hoffmann-Krayer, _Feste und Braeuche des Schweizervolkes_ +(Zurich, 1913), pp. 108 _sq._ + +[641] Le Baron de Reinsberg-Dueringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels, +1861-1862), ii. 326 _sq._ Compare J.W. Wolf, _Beitraegezur deutschen +Mythologie_ (Goettingen, 1852-1858), i. 117. + +[642] J.B. Thiers, _Traite des Superstitions_*[5] (Paris, 1741), i. 302 +_sq._; Eugene Cortet, _Essai sur les Fetes Religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), +pp. _266 sq._ + +[643] J.B. Thiers, _Traite des Superstitions_ (Paris, 1679), p. 323. + +[644] Aubin-Louis Millin, _Voyage dans les Departemens du Midi de la +France_ (Paris, 1807-1811), iii. 336 _sq._ The fire so kindled was +called _caco fuech_. + +[645] Alfred de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de +France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), pp. 151 _sq._ The three festivals +during which the Yule log is expected to burn are probably Christmas Day +(December 25th), St. Stephen's Day (December 26th), and St. John the +Evangelist's Day (December 27th). Compare J.L.M. Nogues, _Les Moeurs +d'autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_ (Saintes, 1891), pp. 45-47. +According to the latter writer, in Saintonge it was the mistress of the +house who blessed the Yule log, sprinkling salt and holy water on it; in +Poitou it was the eldest male who officiated. The log was called the +_cosse de No_. + +[646] Laisnel de Salle, _Croyances et Legendes du Centres de la France_ +(Paris, 1875), i. 1-3. + +[647] Jules Lecoeur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Conde-sur-Noireau, +1883-1887), ii. 291. The author speaks of the custom as still practised +in out-of-the-way villages at the time when he wrote. The usage of +preserving the remains of the Yule-log (called _trefouet_) in Normandy +is mentioned also by M'elle Amelie Bosquet, _La Normandie Romanesque et +Merveilleuse_ (Paris and Rouen, 1845), p. 294. + +[648] A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes, et Traditions des Provinces de +France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), p. 256. + +[649] Paul Sebillot, _Coutumes populaires de la Haute-Bretagne_ (Paris, +1886), pp. 217 _sq._ + +[650] Albert Meyrac, _Traditions, Coutumes, Legendes et Contes des +Ardennes_ (Charleville, 1890), pp. 96 _sq._ + +[651] See above, p. 251. + +[652] Lerouze, in _Memoires de l'Academie Celtique_, iii. (1809) p. 441, +quoted by J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, +1882-1883), i. 469 note. + +[653] L.F. Sauve, _Le Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), pp. +370 _sq._ + +[654] Charles Beauquier, _Les Mois en Franche-Comte_ (Paris, 1900), p. +183. + +[655] A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes, et Traditions des Provinces de +France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), pp. 302 _sq._ + +[656] John Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, +1882-1883), i. 467. + +[657] J. Brand, _op. cit._ i. 455; _The Denham Tracts_, edited by Dr. +James Hardy (London, 1892-1895), ii. 25 _sq._ + +[658] Herrick, _Hesperides_, "Ceremonies for Christmasse": + +"_Come, bring with a noise, +My merrie merrie boyes, +The Christmas log to the firing_;... +_With the last yeeres brand +Light the neiv block_" + +And, again, in his verses, "Ceremonies for Candlemasse Day": + +"_Kindle the Christmas brand, and then +Till sunne-set let it burne; +Which quencht, then lay it up agen, +Till Christmas next returne. +Part must be kept, wherewith to teend +The Christmas log next yeare; +And where 'tis safely kept, the fiend +Can do no mischiefe there_" + +See _The Works of Robert Herrick_ (Edinburgh, 1823), vol. ii. pp. 91, +124. From these latter verses it seems that the Yule log was replaced on +the fire on Candlemas (the second of February). + +[659] Miss C. S. Burne and Miss G. F. Jackson, _Shropshire Folk-lore_ +(London, 1883), p. 398 note 2. See also below, pp. 257, 258, as to the +Lincolnshire, Herefordshire, and Welsh practice. + +[660] Francis Grose, _Provincial Glossary_, Second Edition (London, +1811), pp. 141 _sq._; T.F. Thiselton Dyer, _British Popular Customs_ +(London, 1876), p. 466. + +[661] _County Folk-lore_, vol. iv. _Northumberland_, collected by M.C. +Balfour and edited by Northcote W. Thomas (London, 1904), p. 79. + +[662] _County Folk-lore,_ vol. ii. _North Riding of Yorkshire, York and +the Ainsty,_ collected and edited by Mrs. Gutch (London, 1901), pp. 273, +274, 275 _sq_. + +[663] _County Folk-lore_, vol. vi. _East Riding of Yorkshire_, collected +and edited by Mrs. Gutch (London, 1912), pp. 23, 118, compare p. 114. + +[664] John Aubrey, _Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme_ (London, 1881), +p. 5. + +[665] _County Folk-lore_, vol. v. _Lincolnshire_, collected by Mrs. +Gutch and Mabel Peacock (London, 1908), p. 219. Elsewhere in +Lincolnshire the Yule-log seems to have been called the Yule-clog (_op. +cit_. pp. 215, 216). + +[666] Mrs. Samuel Chandler (Sarah Whateley), quoted in _The Folk-lore +Journal_, i. (1883) pp. 351 _sq_. + +[667] Miss C.S. Burne and Miss G.F. Jackson, _Shropshire Folk-lore_ +(London, 1883), pp. 397 _sq_. One of the informants of these writers +says (_op. cit._ p. 399): "In 1845 I was at the Vessons farmhouse, near +the Eastbridge Coppice (at the northern end of the Stiperstones). The +floor was of flags, an unusual thing in this part. Observing a sort of +roadway through the kitchen, and the flags much broken, I enquired what +caused it, and was told it was from the horses' hoofs drawing in the +'Christmas Brund.'" + +[668] Mrs. Ella Mary Leather, _The Folklore of Herefordshire_ (Hereford +and London, 1912), p. 109. Compare Miss C.S. Burne, "Herefordshire +Notes," _The Folk-lore Journal_, iv. (1886) p. 167. + +[669] Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, +1909), p. 28. + +[670] "In earlier ages, and even so late as towards the middle of the +nineteenth century, the Servian village organisation and the Servian +agriculture had yet another distinguishing feature. The dangers from +wild beasts in old time, the want of security for life and property +during the Turkish rule, or rather misrule, the natural difficulties of +the agriculture, more especially the lack in agricultural labourers, +induced the Servian peasants not to leave the parental house but to +remain together on the family's property. In the same yard, within the +same fence, one could see around the ancestral house a number of wooden +huts which contained one or two rooms, and were used as sleeping places +for the sons, nephews and grandsons and their wives. Men and women of +three generations could be often seen living in that way together, and +working together the land which was considered as common property of the +whole family. This expanded family, remaining with all its branches +together, and, so to say, under the same roof, working together, +dividing the fruits of their joint labours together, this family and an +agricultural association in one, was called _Zadrooga_ (The +Association). This combination of family and agricultural association +has morally, economically, socially, and politically rendered very +important services to the Servians. The headman or chief (called +_Stareshina_) of such family association is generally the oldest male +member of the family. He is the administrator of the common property and +director of work. He is the executive chairman of the association. +Generally he does not give any order without having consulted all the +grown-up male members of the _Zadroega_" (Chedo Mijatovich, _Servia and +the Servians_, London, 1908, pp. 237 _sq._). As to the house-communities +of the South Slavs see further Og. M. Utiesenovic, _Die Hauskommunionen +der Suedslaven_ (Vienna, 1859); F. Demelic, _Le Droit Coutumier des +Slaves Meridionaux_ (Paris, 1876), pp. 23 _sqq._; F.S. Krauss, _Sitte +und Brauch der Suedslaven_ (Vienna, 1885), pp. 64 _sqq._ Since Servia, +freed from Turkish oppression, has become a well-regulated European +state, with laws borrowed from the codes of France and Germany, the old +house-communities have been rapidly disappearing (Chedo Mijatovich, _op. +cit._ p. 240). + +[671] Chedo Mijatovich, _Servia and the Servians_ (London, 1908), pp. +98-105. + +[672] Baron Rajacsich, _Das Leben, die Sitten und Gebraeuche der im +Kaiserthume Oesterreich lebenden Suedslaven_ (Vienna, 1873), pp. 122-128. + +[673] Baron Rajacsich, _Das Leben, die Sitten und Gebrauche der im +Kaiserthume Oesterreich lebenden Suedslaven_ (Vienna, 1873), pp. 129-131. +The Yule log (_badnyak_) is also known in Bulgaria, where the women +place it on the hearth on Christmas Eve. See A. Strausz, _Die Bulgaren_ +(Leipsic, 1898), p. 361. + +[674] M. Edith Durham, _High Albania_ (London, 1909), p. 129. + +[675] R.F. Kaindl, _Die Huzulen_ (Vienna, 1894) p. 71. + +[676] See above, pp. 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 258. +Similarly at Candlemas people lighted candles in the churches, then took +them home and kept them, and thought that by lighting them at any time +they could keep off thunder, storm, and tempest. See Barnabe Googe, _The +Popish Kingdom_ (reprinted London, 1880), p. 48 _verso_. + +[677] See above, pp. 248, 250, 251, 257, 258, 263. + +[678] See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 356 _sqq._ + +[679] See above, pp. 248, 249, 250, 251, 264. + +[680] August Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebraeuche aus Thueringen_ +(Vienna, 1878), pp. 171 _sq._ + +[681] Jules Lecoeur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Conde-sur-Noireau, +1883-1887), ii. 289 _sq._ + +[682] Joseph Train, _Historical and Statistical Account of the Isle of +Man_ (Douglas, Isle of Man, 1845), ii. 124, referring to Cregeen's _Manx +Dictionary_, p. 67. + +[683] R. Chambers, _The Book of Days_ (London and Edinburgh, 1886), ii. +789-791, quoting _The Banffshire Journal_; Miss C.F. Gordon Cumming, _In +the Hebrides_ (London, 1883), p. 226; Miss E.J. Guthrie, _Old Scottish +Customs_ (London and Glasgow, 1885), pp. 223-225; Ch. Rogers, _Social +Life in Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1884-1886), iii. 244 _sq_.; _The Folk-lore +Journal_, vii. (1889) pp. 11-14, 46. Miss Gordon Gumming and Miss +Guthrie say that the burning of the Clavie took place upon Yule Night; +but this seems to be a mistake. + +[684] Caesar, _De bello Gallico_, vii. 23. + +[685] Hugh W. Young, F.S.A. Scot., _Notes on the Ramparts of Burghead as +revealed by recent Excavations_ (Edinburgh, 1892), pp. 3 _sqq_.; _Notes +on further Excavations at Burghead_ (Edinburgh, 1893), pp. 7 _sqq_. +These papers are reprinted from the _Proceedings of the Society of +Antiquaries of Scotland_, vols. xxv., xxvii. Mr. Young concludes as +follows: "It is proved that the fort at Burghead was raised by a people +skilled in engineering, who used axes and chisels of iron; who shot +balista stones over 20 lbs. in weight; and whose daily food was the _bos +longifrons_. A people who made paved roads, and sunk artesian wells, and +used Roman beads and pins. The riddle of Burghead should not now be very +difficult to read." (_Notes on further Excavations at Burghead_, pp. 14 +_sq_.). For a loan of Mr. Young's pamphlets I am indebted to the +kindness of Sheriff-Substitute David. + +[686] Robert Cowie, M.A., M.D., _Shetland, Descriptive and Historical_ +(Aberdeen, 1871), pp. 127 _sq._; _County Folk-lore_, vol. iii. _Orkney +and Shetland Islands_, collected by G.F. Black and edited by Northcote +W. Thomas (London, 1903), pp. 203 _sq._ A similar celebration, known as +Up-helly-a, takes place at Lerwick on the 29th of January, twenty-four +days after Old Christmas. See _The Scapegoat_, pp. 167-169. Perhaps the +popular festival of Up-helly-a has absorbed some of the features of the +Christmas Eve celebration. + +[687] Thomas Hyde, _Historia Religionis veterum Persarum_ (Oxford, +1700), pp. 255-257. + +[688] On the need-fire see Jacob Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_*[4] i. 501 +_sqq._; J.W. Wolf, _Beitraege zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Goettingen and +Leipsic, 1852-1857), i. 116 _sq._, ii. 378 _sqq._; Adalbert Kuhn, _Die +Herabkunjt des Feuers und des Goettertranks_*[2] (Guetersloh, 1886), pp. +41 _sqq._; Walter K. Kelly, _Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and +Folk-lore_ (London, 1863), pp. 48 _sqq._; W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus +der Germanen und ihrer Nachbarstaemme_ (Berlin, 1875), pp. 518 _sqq._; +Charles Elton, _Origins of English History_ (London, 1882), pp. 293 +_sqq._; Ulrich Jahn, _Die deutschen Opfergebraeuche bei Ackerbau und +Viehzucht_ (Breslau, 1884), pp. 26 _sqq._ Grimm would derive the name +_need-_fire (German, _niedfyr, nodfyr, nodfeur, nothfeur_) from _need_ +(German, _noth_), "necessity," so that the phrase need-fire would mean +"a forced fire." This is the sense attached to it in Lindenbrog's +glossary on the capitularies, quoted by Grimm, _op. cit._ i. p. 502: +"_Eum ergo ignem_ nodfeur _et_ nodfyr, _quasi necessarium ignem vocant_" +C.L. Rochholz would connect _need_ with a verb _nieten_ "to churn," so +that need-fire would mean "churned fire." See C.L. Rochholz, _Deutscher +Glaube und Brauch_ (Berlin, 1867), ii. 149 _sq._ This interpretion is +confirmed by the name _ankenmilch bohren_, which is given to the +need-fire in some parts of Switzerland. See E. Hoffmann-Krayer, +"Fruchtbarkeitsriten im schweizerischen Volksbrauch," _Schweizerisches +Archiv fuer Volkskuende_, xi. (1907) p. 245. + +[689] "_Illos sacrilegos ignes, quos_ niedfyr _vocant_," quoted by J. +Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 502; R. Andree, _Braunschweiger +Volkskunde_ (Brunswick, 1896), p. 312. + +[690] _Indiculus Superstitionum et Paganiarum_, No. XV., "_De igne +fricato de ligno i.e._ nodfyr." A convenient edition of the _Indiculus_ +has been published with a commentary by H.A. Saupe (Leipsic, 1891). As +to the date of the work, see the editor's introduction, pp. 4 _sq_. + +[691] Karl Lynker, _Deutsche Sagen und Sitten in hessischen Gauen_,*[2] +(Cassel and Goettingen, 1860), pp. 252 _sq._, quoting a letter of the +mayor (_Schultheiss_) of Neustadt to the mayor of Marburg dated 12th +December 1605. + +[692] Bartholomaeus Carrichter, _Der Teutschen Speisskammer_ (Strasburg, +1614), Fol. pag. 17 and 18, quoted by C.L. Rochholz, _Deutscher Glaube +und Brauch_ (Berlin, 1867), ii. 148 _sq._ + +[693] Joh. Reiskius, _Untersuchung des Notfeuers_ (Frankfort and +Leipsic, 1696), p. 51, quoted by J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. +502 _sq._; R. Andree, _Braunschweiger Volkskunde_ (Brunswick, 1896), p. +313. + +[694] J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_, *[4] i. 503 _sq._ + +[695] J. Grimm, _op. cit._ i. 504. + +[696] Adalbert Kuhn, _Maerkische Sagen und Maerchen_ (Berlin, 1843), p. +369. + +[697] Karl Bartsch, _Sagen, Maerchen und Gebraeuche aus Mecklenburg_ +(Vienna, 1879-1880), ii. 149-151. + +[698] Carl und Theodor Colshorn, _Maerchen und Sagen_ (Hanover, 1854), +pp. 234-236, from the description of an eye-witness. + +[699] Heinrich Proehle, _Harzbilder, Sitten und Gebraeuche aus dem +Harz-gebirge_ (Leipsic, 1855), pp. 74 _sq._ The date of this need-fire +is not given; probably it was about the middle of the nineteenth +century. + +[700] R. Andree, _Braunschweiger Volkskunde_ (Brunswick, 1896), pp. 313 +_sq._ + +[701] R. Andree, _op. cit._ pp. 314 _sq._ + +[702] Montanus, _Die deutschen Volks-feste, Volksbraeuche und deutscher +Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), p. 127. + +[703] Paul Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ +(Leipsic, 1903-1906), ii. 204. + +[704] Anton Peter, _Volksthuemliches aus Oesterreichisch-Schlesien_ +(Troppau, 1865-1867), ii. 250. + +[705] Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen +Westboehmen_ (Prague, 1905), p. 209. + +[706] C.L. Rochholz, _Deutscher Glaube und Brauch_ (Berlin, 1867), ii. +149. + +[707] E. Hoffmann-Krayer, "Fruchtbarkeitsriten im schweizerischen +Volksbrauch," _Schweizerisches Archiv fur Volkskunde_, xi. (1907) pp. +244-246. + +[708] E. Hoffmann-Krayer, _op. cit._ p. 246. + +[709] J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 505. + +[710] "Old-time Survivals in remote Norwegian Dales," _Folk-lore_, xx. +(1909) pp. 314, 322 _sq._ This record of Norwegian folk-lore is +translated from a little work _Sundalen og Oeksendalens Beskrivelse_ +written by Pastor Chr. Gluekstad and published at Christiania "about +twenty years ago." + +[711] Prof. VI. Titelbach, "Das heilige Feuer bei den Balkanslaven," +_Inter-nationales Archiv fuer Ethnographie_, xiii. (1900) pp. 2 _sq._ We +have seen (above, p. 220) that in Russia the need-fire is, or used to +be, annually kindled on the eighteenth of August. As to the need-fire in +Bulgaria see also below, pp. 284 _sq._ + +[712] F.S. Krauss, "Altslavische Feuergewinnung," _Globus_, lix. (1891) +p. 318, quoting P. Ljiebenov, _Baba Ega_ (Trnovo, 1887), p. 44. + +[713] F.S. Krauss, _op. cit._ p. 319, quoting _Wisla_, vol. iv. pp. 1, +244 _sqq._ + +[714] F.S. Krauss, _op. cit._ p. 318, quoting Oskar Kolberg, in +_Mazowsze_, vol. iv. p. 138. + +[715] F.S. Krauss, "Slavische Feuerbohrer," _Globus_, lix. (1891) p. +140. The evidence quoted by Dr. Krauss is that of his father, who often +told of his experience to his son. + +[716] Prof. Vl. Titelbach, "Das heilige Feuer bei den Balkanslaven," +_Internationales Archiv fur Ethnographie_, xiii. (1900) p. 3. + +[717] See below, vol. ii. pp. 168 _sqq._ + +[718] Adolf Strausz, _Die Bulgaren_ (Leipsic, 1898), pp. 194-199. + +[719] _Wissenschaftliche Mittheilungen aus Bosnien und der Hercegovina_, +redigirt von Moriz Hoernes, iii. (Vienna, 1895) pp. 574 _sq._ + +[720] "_Pro fidei divinae integritate servanda recolat lector quod, cum +hoc anno in Laodonia pestis grassaretur in pecudes armenti, quam vocant +usitate Lungessouth, quidam bestiales, habitu claustrales non animo, +docebant idiotas patriae ignem confrictione de lignis educere et +simulachrum Priapi statuere, et per haec bestiis succurrere_" quoted by +J.M. Kemble, _The Saxons in England_ (London, 1849), i. 358 _sq._; A. +Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Goettertranks_*[2] (Guetersloh, +1886), p. 43; Ulrich Jahn, _Die deutschen Opfergebraeuche bei Ackerbau +und Viehzucht_ (Breslau, 1884) p. 31. + +[721] W.G.M. Jones Barker, _The Three Days of Wensleydale_ (London, +1854), pp. 90 _sq._; _County Folk-lore_, vol. ii., _North Riding of +Yorkshire, York and the Ainsty_, collected and edited by Mrs. Gutch +(London, 1901), p. 181. + +[722] _The Denham Tracts, a Collection of Folklore by Michael Aislabie +Denham_, edited by Dr. James Hardy (London, 1892-1895), ii. 50. + +[723] Harry Speight, _Tramps and Drives in the Craven Highlands_ +(London, 1895), p. 162. Compare, _id., The Craven and North-West +Yorkshire Highlands_ (London, 1892), pp. 206 _sq._ + +[724] J.M. Kemble, _The Saxons in England_ (London, 1849), i. 361 note. + +[725] E. Mackenzie, _An Historical, Topographical and Descriptive View +of the County of Northumberland_, Second Edition (Newcastle, 1825), i. +218, quoted in _County Folk-lore_, vol. iv. _Northumberland_, collected +by M.C. Balfour (London, 1904), p. 45. Compare J.T. Brockett, _Glossary +of North Country Words_, p. 147, quoted by Mrs. M.C. Balfour, _l.c.: +"Need-fire_ ... an ignition produced by the friction of two pieces of +dried wood. The vulgar opinion is, that an angel strikes a tree, and +that the fire is thereby obtained. Need-fire, I am told, is still +employed in the case of cattle infected with the murrain. They were +formerly driven through the smoke of a fire made of straw, etc." The +first edition of Brockett's _Glossary_ was published in 1825. + +[726] W. Henderson, _Notes on the Folklore of the Northern Counties of +England and the Borders_ (London, 1879), pp. 167 _sq._ Compare _County +Folklore_, vol. iv. _Northumberland_, collected by M.C. Balfour (London, +1904), p. 45. Stamfordham is in Northumberland. The vicar's testimony +seems to have referred to the first half of the nineteenth century. + +[727] M. Martin, "Description of the Western Islands of Scotland," in J. +Pinkerton's _General Collection of Voyages and Travels_, iii. (London, +1809), p. 611. The second edition of Martin's book, which Pinkerton +reprints, was published at London in 1716. For John Ramsay's account of +the need-fire, see above, pp. 147 _sq._ + +[728] J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 506, referring to Miss +Austin as his authority. + +[729] As to the custom of sacrificing one of a plague-stricken herd or +flock for the purpose of saving the rest, see below, pp. 300 _sqq._ + +[730] John Jamieson, _Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language_, +New Edition, revised by J. Longmuir and D. Donaldson, iii. (Paisley, +1880) pp. 349 _sq._, referring to "Agr. Surv. Caithn., pp. 200, 201." + +[731] R.C. Maclagan, "Sacred Fire," _Folk-lore_, ix. (1898) pp. 280 +_sq._ As to the fire-drill see _The Magic Art and the Evolution of +Kings_, ii. 207 _sqq._ + +[732] W. Grant Stewart, _The Popular Superstitions and Festive +Amusements of the Highlanders of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1823), pp. +214-216; Walter K. Kelly, _Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and +Folk-lore_ (London, 1863), pp. 53 _sq._ + +[733] Alexander Carmichael, _Carmina Gadelica_ (Edinburgh, 1900), ii. +340 _sq._ + +[734] See above, pp. 154, 156, 157, 159 _sq._ + +[735] _Census of India, 1911_, vol. xiv. _Punjab_, Part i. _Report_, by +Pandit Harikishan Kaul (Lahore, 1912), p. 302. So in the north-east of +Scotland "those who were born with their feet first possessed great +power to heal all kinds of sprains, lumbago, and rheumatism, either by +rubbing the affected part, or by trampling on it. The chief virtue lay +in the feet. Those who came into the world in this fashion often +exercised their power to their own profit." See Rev. Walter Gregor, +_Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of Scotland_ (London, 1881), +pp. 45 _sq._ + +[736] Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of +Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 186. The fumigation of the byres with +juniper is a charm against witchcraft. See J.G. Campbell, _Witchcraft +and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, +1902), p. ii. The "quarter-ill" is a disease of cattle, which affects +the animals only in one limb or quarter. "A very gross superstition is +observed by some people in Angus, as an antidote against this ill. A +piece is cut out of the thigh of one of the cattle that has died of it. +This they hang up within the chimney, in order to preserve the rest of +the cattle from being infected. It is believed that as long as it hangs +there, it will prevent the disease from approaching the place. It is +therefore carefully preserved; and in case of the family removing, +transported to the new farm, as one of their valuable effects. It is +handed down from one generation to another" (J. Jamieson, _Etymological +Dictionary of the Scottish Language_, revised by J. Longmuir and D. +Donaldson, iii. 575, _s.v._ "Quarter-ill"). See further Rev. W. Gregor, +_op. cit._ pp. 186 _sq._: "The forelegs of one of the animals that had +died were cut off a little above the knee, and hung over the fire-place +in the kitchen. It was thought sufficient by some if they were placed +over the door of the byre, in the 'crap o' the wa'.' Sometimes the heart +and part of the liver and lungs were cut out, and hung over the +fireplace instead of the fore-feet. Boiling them was at times +substituted for hanging them over the hearth." Compare W. Henderson, +_Notes on the Folk-lore of the Northern Counties of England and the +Borders_ (London, 1879), p. 167: "A curious aid to the rearing of cattle +came lately to the knowledge of Mr. George Walker, a gentleman of the +city of Durham. During an excursion of a few miles into the country, he +observed a sort of rigging attached to the chimney of a farmhouse well +known to him, and asked what it meant. The good wife told him that they +had experienced great difficulty that year in rearing their calves; the +poor little creatures all died off, so they had taken the leg and thigh +of one of the dead calves, and hung it in a chimney by a rope, since +which they had not lost another calf." In the light of facts cited below +(pp. 315 _sqq._) we may conjecture that the intention of cutting off the +legs or cutting out the heart, liver, and lungs of the animals and +hanging them up or boiling them, is by means of homoeopathic magic to +inflict corresponding injuries on the witch who cast the fatal spell on +the cattle. + +[737] _The Mirror_, 24th June, 1826, quoted by J. M. Kemble, _The Saxons +in England_ (London, 1849), i. 360 note 2. + +[738] Leland L. Duncan, "Fairy Beliefs and other Folklore Notes from +County Leitrim," _Folk-lore_, vii. (1896) pp. 181 _sq._ + +[739] (Sir) Edward B. Tylor, _Researches into the Early History of +Mankind_, Third Edition (London, 1878), pp. 237 _sqq._; _The Magic Art +and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 207 _sqq._ + +[740] For some examples of such extinctions, see _The Magic Art and the +Evolution of Kings_, ii. 261 _sqq._, 267 _sq._; _Spirits of the Corn and +of the Wild_, i. 311, ii. 73 _sq._; and above, pp. 124 _sq._, 132-139. +The reasons for extinguishing fires ceremonially appear to vary with the +occasion. Sometimes the motive seems to be a fear of burning or at least +singeing a ghost, who is hovering invisible in the air; sometimes it is +apparently an idea that a fire is old and tired with burning so long, +and that it must be relieved of the fatiguing duty by a young and +vigorous flame. + +[741] Above, pp. 147, 154. The same custom appears to have been observed +in Ireland. See above, p. 158. + +[742] J.N.B. Hewitt, "New Fire among the Iroquois," _The American +Anthropologist_, ii. (1889) p. 319. + +[743] J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 507. + +[744] See above, p. 290. + +[745] William Hone, _Every-day Book_ (London, preface dated 1827), i. +coll. 853 _sq._ (June 24th), quoting Hitchin's _History of Cornwall_. + +[746] Hunt, _Romances and Drolls of the West of England_, 1st series, p. +237, quoted by W. Henderson, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the Northern +Counties of England and the Borders_ (London, 1879), p. 149. Compare +J.G. Dalyell, _The Darker Superstitions of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1834), +p. 184: "Here also maybe found a solution of that recent expedient so +ignorantly practised in the neighbouring kingdom, where one having lost +many of his herd by witchcraft, as he concluded, burnt a living calf to +break the spell and preserve the remainder." + +[747] Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, +1909), p. 23. + +[748] W. Henderson, _op. cit._ pp. 148 _sq._ + +[749] Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of +Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 186. + +[750] R. N. Worth, _History of Devonshire_, Second Edition (London, +1886), p. 339. The diabolical nature of the toad probably explains why +people in Herefordshire think that if you wear a toad's heart concealed +about your person you can steal to your heart's content without being +found out. A suspected thief was overheard boasting, "They never catches +_me_: and they never ooll neither. I allus wears a toad's heart round my +neck, _I_ does." See Mrs. Ella M. Leather, in _Folk-lore_, xxiv. (1913) +p. 238. + +[751] Above, p. 301. + +[752] Robert Hunt, _Popular Romances of the West of England_, Third +Edition (London, 1881), p. 320. The writer does not say where this took +place; probably it was in Cornwall or Devonshire. + +[753] Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of +Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 184. + +[754] _County Folk-lore, Printed Extracts, No. 2, Suffolk_, collected +and edited by the Lady Eveline Camilla Gurdon (London, 1893), pp. 190 +_sq._, quoting _Some Materials for the History of Wherstead_ by F. +Barham Zincke (Ipswich, 1887), p. 168. + +[755] _County Folk-lore, Printed Extracts, No. 2, Suffolk_, p. 191, +referring to Murray's _Handbook for Essex, Suffolk_, etc., p. 109. + +[756] (Sir) John Rhys, "Manx Folklore and Superstitions," _Folk-lore_, +ii. (1891) pp. 300-302; repeated in his _Celtic Folk-lore, Welsh and +Manx_ (Oxford, 1901), i. 306 _sq._ Sir John Rhys does not doubt that the +old woman saw, as she said, a live sheep being burnt on old May-day; but +he doubts whether it was done as a sacrifice. He adds: "I have failed to +find anybody else in Andreas or Bride, or indeed in the whole island, +who will now confess to having ever heard of the sheep sacrifice on old +May-day." However, the evidence I have adduced of a custom of burnt +sacrifice among English rustics tends to confirm the old woman's +statement, that the burning of the live sheep which she witnessed was +not an act of wanton cruelty but a sacrifice per formed for the public +good. + +[757] (Sir) John Rhys, "Manx Folklore and Superstitions," _Folk-lore_, +ii. (1891) pp. 299 _sq.; id., Celtic Folklore, Welsh and Manx_ (Oxford, +1901), i. 304 _sq._ We have seen that by burning the blood of a +bewitched bullock a farmer expected to compel the witch to appear. See +above, p. 303. + +[758] Olaus Magnus, _Historia de Gentium Septentrionalium +Conditionibus_, lib xviii. cap. 47, p. 713 (ed. Bale, 1567). + +[759] Collin de Plancy, _Dictionnaire Infernal_ (Paris, 1825-1826), iii. +473 _sq._, referring to Boguet. + +[760] Collin de Plancy, _op. cit._ iii. 473. + +[761] Felix Chapiseau, _Le Folk-lore de la Beauce et du Perche_ (Paris, +1902), i. 239 _sq._ The same story is told in Upper Brittany. See Paul +Sebillot, _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute-Bretagne_ (Paris, +1882), i. 292. It is a common belief that a man who has once been +transformed into a werewolf must remain a were-wolf for seven years +unless blood is drawn from him in his animal shape, upon which he at +once recovers his human form and is delivered from the bondage and +misery of being a were-wolf. See F. Chapiseau, _op. cit._ i. 218-220; +Amelie Bosquet, _La Normandie Romanesque et Merveilleuse_ (Paris and +Rouen, 1845), p. 233. On the belief in were-wolves in general; see W. +Hertz, _Der Werwolf_ (Stuttgart, 1862); J. Grimm, _Deutsche +Mythologie_*[4] i. 915 _sqq._; (Sir) Edward B. Tylor, _Primitive +Culture_[2] (London, 1873), i. 308 _sqq._; R. Andree, _Ethnographische +Parallelen und Vergleiche_ (Stuttgart, 1878), pp. 62-80. In North +Germany it is believed that a man can turn himself into a wolf by +girding himself with a strap made out of a wolf's hide. Some say that +the strap must have nine, others say twelve, holes and a buckle; and +that according to the number of the hole through which the man inserts +the tongue of the buckle will be the length of time of his +transformation. For example, if he puts the tongue of the buckle through +the first hole, he will be a wolf for one hour; if he puts it through +the second, he will be a wolf for two days; and so on, up to the last +hole, which entails a transformation for a full year. But by putting off +the girdle the man can resume his human form. The time when were-wolves +are most about is the period of the Twelve Nights between Christmas and +Epiphany; hence cautious German farmers will not remove the dung from +the cattle stalls at that season for fear of attracting the were-wolves +to the cattle. See Adalbert Kuhn, _Maerkische Sagen und Maerchen_ (Berlin, +1843), p. 375; Ulrich Jahn, _Volkssagen aus Pommern und Ruegen_ (Stettin, +1886), pp. 384, 386, Nos. 491, 495. Down to the time of Elizabeth it was +reported that in the county of Tipperary certain men were annually +turned into wolves. See W. Camden, _Britain_, translated into English by +Philemon Holland (London, 1610), "Ireland," p. 83. + +[762] J.J.M. de Groot, _The Religious System of China_, v. (Leyden, +1907) p. 548. + +[763] A. C. Kruijt, "De weerwolf bij de Toradja's van Midden-Celebes," +_Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Landen Volkenkunde,_ xli. (1899) pp. +548-551, 557-560. + +[764] A.C. Kruijt, _op. cit._ pp. 552 _sq._ + +[765] A.C. Kruijt, _op. cit._ pp. 553. For more evidence of the belief +in were-wolves, or rather in were-animals of various sorts, particularly +were-tigers, in the East Indies, see J.J. M. de Groot, "De Weertijger in +onze Kolonien en op het oostaziatische Vasteland," _Bijdragen tot de +Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indie_, xlix. (1898) pp. +549-585; G.P. Rouffaer, "Matjan Gadoengan," _Bijdragen tot de Taal- +Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indie_ 1. (1899) pp. 67-75; J. +Knebel, "De Weertijger op Midden-Java, den Javaan naverteld," +_Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xli. (1899) pp. +568-587; L.M.F. Plate, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van de lykanthropie bij +de Sasaksche bevolking in Oost-Lombok," _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- +Land- en Volkenkunde_, liv. (1912) pp. 458-469; G.A. Wilken, "Het +animisme bij de volken van den Indischen Archipel," _Verspreide +Geschriften_ (The Hague, 1912), iii. 25-30. + +[766] Ernst Marno, _Reisen im Gebiete des blauen und weissen Nil_ +(Vienna, 1874), pp. 239 _sq._ + +[767] Petronius, _Sat._ 61 _sq._ (pp. 40 _sq._, ed. Fr. Buecheler,*[3] +Berlin, 1882). The Latin word for a were-wolf (_versipellis_) is +expressive: it means literally "skin-shifter," and is equally +appropriate whatever the particular animal may be into which the wizard +transforms himself. It is to be regretted that we have no such general +term in English. The bright moonlight which figures in some of these +were-wolf stories is perhaps not a mere embellishment of the tale but +has its own significance; for in some places it is believed that the +transformation of were-wolves into their bestial shape takes place +particularly at full moon. See A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et +Traditions des Provinces de France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), pp. 99, +157; J.L.M. Nogues, _Les Moeurs d'autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_ +(Saintes, 1891), p. 141. + +[768] J.G. Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and +Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), p. 6: "In carrying out their +unhallowed cantrips, witches assumed various shapes. They became gulls, +cormorants, ravens, rats, mice, black sheep, swelling waves, whales, and +very frequently cats and hares." To this list of animals into which +witches can turn themselves may be added horses, dogs, wolves, foxes, +pigs, owls, magpies, wild geese, ducks, serpents, toads, lizards, flies, +wasps, and butterflies. See A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche +Volksaberglaube_*[2] (Berlin, 1869), p. 150 Sec. 217; L. Strackerjan, +_Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), +i. 327 Sec. 220; Ulrich Jahn, _Hexenwesen und Zauberei in Pommern_ +(Breslau, 1886), p. 7. In his _Topography of Ireland_ (chap. 19), a work +completed in 1187 A.D., Giraldus Cambrensis records that "it has also +been a frequent complaint, from old times as well as in the present, +that certain hags in Wales, as well as in Ireland and Scotland, changed +themselves into the shape of hares, that, sucking teats under this +counterfeit form, they might stealthily rob other people's milk." See +_The Historical Works of Giraldus Cambrensis_, revised and edited by +Thomas Wright (London, 1887), p. 83. + +[769] _The Folk-lore Journal_, iv. (1886) p. 266; Collin de Plancy, +_Dictionnaire Infernal_ (Paris, 1825-1826), iii. 475; J.L.M. Nogues, +_Les Moeurs d'autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_ (Saintes, 1891), p. +141. In Scotland the cut was known as "scoring above the breath." It +consisted of two incisions made crosswise on the witch's forehead, and +was "confided in all throughout Scotland as the most powerful +counter-charm." See Sir Walter Scott, _Letters on Demonology and +Witchcraft_ (London, 1884), p. 272; J.G. Dalyell, _The Darker +Superstitions of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1834), pp. 531 _sq._; M.M. Banks, +"Scoring a Witch above the Breath," _Folk-lore_, xxiii. (1912) p. 490. + +[770] J.L.M. Nogues, _l.c._; L.F. Sauve, _Le Folk-lore des +Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), P. 187. + +[771] M. Abeghian, _Der armenische Volksglaube_ (Leipsic, 1899), p. 117. +The wolf-skin is supposed to fall down from heaven and to return to +heaven after seven years, if the were-wolf has not been delivered from +her unhappy state in the meantime by the burning of the skin. + +[772] J.G. Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and +Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), p. 8; compare A. Wuttke, _Der +deutsche Volksaberglaube_*[2] (Berlin, 1869), p. 150 Sec. 217. Some think +that the sixpence should be crooked. See Rev. W. Gregor, _Notes on the +Folk-lore of the North-East of Scotland_ (London, 1881), pp. 71 _sq._, +128; _County Folk-lore_, vol. v. _Lincolnshire_, collected by Mrs. Gutch +and Mabel Peacock (London, 1908), p. 75. + +[773] J.G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 30. + +[774] J.G. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 33. + +[775] (Sir) Edward B. Tylor, _Primitive Culture_*[2] (London, 1873), i. +314. + +[776] Joseph Glanvil, _Saducismus Triumphatus or Full and Plain Evidence +concerning Witches and Apparitions_ (London, 1681), Part ii. p. 205. + +[777] Rev. J.C. Atkinson, _Forty Years in a Moorland Parish_ (London, +1891), pp. 82-84. + +[778] _County Folk-lore_, vol. v. _Lincolnshire_, collected by Mrs. +Gutch and Mabel Peacock (London, 1908), pp. 79, 80. + +[779] Leland L. Duncan, "Folk-lore Gleanings from County Leitrim," +_Folklore_, iv. (1893) pp. 183 _sq._ + +[780] L.F. Sauve, _Le Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), p. +176. + +[781] L.F. Sauve, _op. cit._ pp. 176 _sq._ + +[782] Ernst Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebraeuche aus Schwaben_ +(Stuttgart, 1852), pp. 184 _sq._, No. 203. + +[783] E. Meier, _op. cit._ pp. 191 _sq._, No. 215. A similar story of +the shoeing of a woman in the shape of a horse is reported from Silesia. +See R. Kuehnau, _Schlesische Sagen_ (Berlin, 1910-1913), iii. pp. 27 +_sq._, No. 1380. + +[784] R. Kuehnau, _Schlesische Sagen_ (Berlin, 1910-1913), iii. pp. 23 +_sq._, No. 1375. Compare _id._, iii. pp. 28 _sq._, No. 1381. + +[785] See for example L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem +Herzogthum Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), i. pp. 328, 329, 334, 339; W. +von Schulenburg, _Wendische Volkssagen und Gebraeuche aus dem Spreewald_ +(Leipsic, 1880), pp. 164, 165 _sq._; H. Proehle, _Harzsagen_ (Leipsic, +1859), i. 100 _sq._ The belief in such things is said to be universal +among the ignorant and superstitious in Germany. See A. Wuttke, _Der +deutsche Volksaberglaube_*[2] (Berlin, 1869), p. 150, Sec. 217. In Wales, +also, "the possibility of injuring or marking the witch in her assumed +shape so deeply that the bruise remained a mark on her in her natural +form was a common belief" (J. Ceredig Davies, _Folk-lore of West and +Mid-Wales_, Aberystwyth, 1911, p. 243). For Welsh stories of this sort, +see J. Ceredig Davies, _l.c._; Rev. Elias Owen, _Welsh Folk-lore_ +(Oswestry and Wrexham, N.D., preface dated 1896), pp. 228 _sq._; M. +Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, 1909), p. 214. + +[786] L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum +Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), i. p. 361, Sec. 239. + +[787] Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, +1909), p. 210. + +[788] L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum +Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), i. p. 358, Sec. 238. + +[789] L. Strackerjan, _op. cit._ i. p. 360, Sec. 238e. + +[790] "The 'Witch-burning' at Clonmell," _Folk-lore_, vi. (1895) pp. +373-384. The account there printed is based on the reports of the +judicial proceedings before the magistrates and the judge, which were +published in _The Irish Times_ for March 26th, 27th, and 28th, April +2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 8th, and July 6th, 1895. + +[791] John Graham Dalyell, _The Darker Superstitions of Scotland_ +(Edinburgh, 1834), p. 185. In this passage "quick" is used in the old +sense of "living," as in the phrase "the quick and the dead." _Nois_ is +"nose," _hoill_ is "hole," _quhilk (whilk)_ is "which," and _be_ is +"by." + +[792] J.G. Dalyell, _op. cit._ p. 186. _Bestiall_=animals; _seik_=sick; +_calling_=driving; _guidis_=cattle. + +[793] John Ramsay, of Ochtertyre, _Scotland and Scotsmen in the +Eighteenth Century_, edited by Alexander Allardyce (Edinburgh and +London, 1888), ii. 446 _sq._ As to the custom of cutting off the leg of +a diseased animal and hanging it up in the house, see above, p. 296, +note 1. + +[794] (Sir) Arthur Mitchell, A.M., M.D., _On Various Superstitions in +the North-West Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1862), p. +12 (reprinted from the _Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of +Scotland_, vol. iv.). + +[795] _County Folk-lore_, vol. v. _Lincolnshire_, collected by Mrs. +Gutch and Mabel Peacock (London, 1908), p. 75, quoting Rev. R.M. +Heanley, "The Vikings: traces of their Folklore in Marshland," a paper +read before the Viking Club, London, and printed in its _Saga-Book_, +vol. iii. Part i. Jan. 1902. The wicken-tree is the mountain-ash or +rowan free, which is a very efficient, or at all events a very popular +protective against witchcraft. See _County Folk-lore_, vol. v. +_Lincolnshire_, pp. 26 _sq._, 98 _sq._; Mabel Peacock, "The Folklore of +Lincolnshire," _Folk-lore_, xii. (1901) p. 175; J.G. Campbell, +_Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ +(Glasgow, 1902), pp. 11 _sq._; Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the +Folk-lore of the North-East of Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 188. See +further _The Scapegoat_, pp. 266 _sq_. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FIRE-FESTIVALS + + +Sec. 1. _On the Fire-festivals in general_ + + +[General resemblance of the European fire-festivals to each other.] + +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. + +[Two explanations suggested of the fire-festivals. According to W. +Mannhardt, they are charms to secure a supply of sunshine; according to +Dr. E. Westermarck they are purificatory, being intended to burn and +destroy all harmful influences.] + +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. + +[The two explanations are perhaps not mutually exclusive.] + +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. + + +Sec. 2. _The Solar Theory of the Fire-festivals_ + + +[Theory that the fire-festivals are charms to ensure a supply of +sunshine.] + +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. + +[Coincidence of two of the festivals with the solstices.] + +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. + +[Attempt of the Bushmen to warm up the fire of Sirius in midwinter by +kindling sticks.] + +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. + +[The burning wheels and discs of the fire-festivals may be direct +imitations of the sun.] + +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. + +[The wheel sometimes used to kindle the fire by friction may also be an +imitation of the sun.] + +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 swineherds 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 cartwheel, 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. + +[The influence which the fires are supposed to exert on the weather and +vegetation may be thought to be due to an increase of solar heat +produced by the fires.] + +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. + +[The effect which the bonfires are supposed to have in fertilizing +cattle and women may also be attributed to an increase of solar heat +produced by the fires.] + +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 midsummer 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. + +[The custom of carrying lighted torches about the country at the +festival may be explained as an attempt to diffuse the Sun's heat.] + +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. + + +Sec. 3. _The Purificatory Theory of the Fire-festivals_ + + +[Theory that the fires at the festivals are purificatory, being intended +to burn up all harmful things.] + +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. + +[The purificatory or destructive effect of the fires is often alleged by +the people who light them; the great evil against which the fire at the +festivals is directed appears to be witchcraft.] + +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] + +[Amongst the evils for which the fire-festivals are deemed remedies the +foremost is cattle-disease, and cattle-disease is often supposed to be +an effect of witchcraft.] + +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. + +[Again, the bonfires are thought to avert hail, thunder, lightning, and +other maladies, all of which are attributed to the maleficent arts of +witches.] + +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] + +[The burning wheels rolled down hills and the burning discs and brooms +thrown into the air may be intended to burn the invisible witches.] + +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] + +[On this view the fertility supposed to follow the use of fire results +indirectly from breaking the spells of witches.] + +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] + +[On the whole the theory of the purificatory or destructive intention of +the fire-festivals seems the more probable.] + +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. + +Notes: + +[796] Above, pp. 116 _sq._, 119, 143, 165, 166, 168 _sq._, 172. + +[797] Above, pp. 116, 117 _sq._, 119, 141, 143, 161, 162 _sq._, 163 +_sq._, 173, 191, 201. + +[798] W. Mannhardt, _Der Baumkultus der Germanen und ihrer +Nachbarstaemme_ (Berlin, 1875), pp. 521 _sqq._ + +[799] E. Westermarck, "Midsummer Customs in Morocco," _Folk-lore_, xvi. +(1905) pp. 44 _sqq.; id., The Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas_ +(London, 1906-1908), i. 56; _id., Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with +Agriculture, certain Dates of the Solar Year, and the Weather in +Morocco_ (Helsingfors, 1913), pp. 93-102. + +[800] E. Mogk, "Sitten und Gebraeuche im Kreislauf des Jahres," in R. +Wuttke's _Saechsische Volkskunde_*[2] (Dresden, 1901), pp. 310 _sq._ + +[801] _The Golden Bough_, Second Edition (London, 1900), iii. 312: "The +custom of leaping over the fire and driving cattle through it may be +intended, on the one hand, to secure for man and beast a share of the +vital energy of the sun, and, on the other hand, to purge them of all +evil influences; for to the primitive mind fire is the most powerful of +all purificatory agents"; and again, _id._ iii. 314: "It is quite +possible that in these customs the idea of the quickening power of fire +may be combined with the conception of it as a purgative agent for the +expulsion or destruction of evil beings, such as witches and the vermin +that destroy the fruits of the earth. Certainly the fires are often +interpreted in the latter way by the persons who light them; and this +purgative use of the element comes out very prominently, as we have +seen, in the general expulsion of demons from towns and villages. But in +the present class of cases this aspect of fire may be secondary, if +indeed it is more than a later misinterpretation of the custom." + +[802] _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 311 _sqq_. + +[803] See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 254 _sqq_. + +[804] Manilius, _Astronom_. v. 206 _sqq._: + +"_Cum vero in vastos surget Nemeaeus + hiatus, + Exoriturque Canis, latratque Canicula + flammas + Et rabit igne suo geminatque incendia + solis, + Qua subdente facem terris radiosque + movente_" etc. + +Pliny, _Naturalis Historic_ xviii. 269 _sq_.: "_Exoritur dein post +triduum fere ubique confessum inter omnes sidus ingens quod canis ortum +vocamus, sole partem primam leonis ingresso. Hoc fit post solstitium +XXIII. die. Sentiunt id maria et terrae, multae vero et ferae, ut suis +locis diximus. Neque est minor ei veneratio quam descriptis in deos +stellis accendique solem et magnam aestus obtinet causam_." + +[805] _Specimens of Bushman Folklore_ collected by the late W.H.I. +Bleek, Ph.D., and L.C. Lloyd (London, 1911), pp. 339, 341. In quoting +the passage I have omitted the brackets which the editors print for the +purpose of indicating the words which are implied, but not expressed, in +the original Bushman text. + +[806] "The sun is a little warm, when this star appears in winter" +(Editors of _Specimens of Bushman Folklore_). + +[807] "With the stick that he had held in the fire, moving it up and +down quickly" (Editors). + +[808] "They take one arm out of the kaross, thereby exposing one +shoulder blade to the sun" (Editors). + +[809] See above, pp. 161, 162 _sq._ On the wheel as an emblem of the +sun, see J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] ii. 585; A. Kuhn, _Die +Herabkunft des Feuers und des Goettertranks_*[2] (Guetersloh, 1886), pp. +45 _sqq._; H. Gaidoz, "Le dieu gaulois du soleil et le symbolisme de la +roue," _Revue Archeologique_, iii. Serie, iv. (1884) pp. 14 _sqq._; +William Simpson, _The Buddhist Praying Wheel_ (London, 1896), pp. 87 +_sqq._ It is a popular Armenian idea that "the body of the sun has the +shape of the wheel of a water-mill; it revolves and moves forward. As +drops of water sputter from the mill-wheel, so sunbeams shoot out from +the spokes of the sun-wheel" (M. Abeghian, _Der armenische Volksglaube_, +Leipsic, 1899, p. 41). In the old Mexican picture-books the usual +representation of the sun is "a wheel, often brilliant with many +colours, the rays of which are so many bloodstained tongues, by means of +which the Sun receives his nourishment" (E.J. Payne, _History of the New +World called America_, Oxford, 1892, i. 521). + +[810] Above, p. 169. + +[811] Ernst Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebraeuche aus Schwaben_ +(Stuttgart, 1852), p. 225; F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ +(Munich, 1848-1855), ii. 240; Anton Birlinger, _Volksthuemliches aus +Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1861-1862), ii. 57, 97; W. Mannhardt, +_Baumkultus_, p. 510. + +[812] Compare J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 521; J.W. Wolf, +_Beitraege zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Gottingen und Leipsic, 1852-1857), +ii. 389; Adalbert Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des +Goettertranks_*[2] (Guetersloh, 1886), pp. 41 _sq._, 47; W. Mannhardt, +_Baumkultus_, p. 521. Lindenbrog in his Glossary on the Capitularies +(quoted by J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 502) expressly says: +"The rustics in many parts of Germany, particularly on the festival of +St. John the Baptist, wrench a stake from a fence, wind a rope round it, +and pull it to and fro till it catches fire. This fire they carefully +feed with straw and dry sticks and scatter the ashes over the vegetable +gardens, foolishly and superstitiously imagining that in this way the +caterpillar can be kept off. They call such a fire _nodfeur_ or +_nodfyr_, that is to say need-fire." + +[813] Above, pp. 144 _sq._, 147 _sq._, 155, 169 _sq._, 175, 177, 179. + +[814] J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] i. 509; J.W. Wolf, _Beitraege +zur deutschen Mythologie_, i. 117; A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des +Feuers_,*[2] pp. 47 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 521; W.E. +Kelly, _Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and Folk-lore_ (London, +1863), p. 49. + +[815] A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Goettertranks_*[2] +(Guetersloh, 1886), p. 47. + +[816] Above, p. 179. + +[817] F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), +ii. 240, Sec. 443. + +[818] Above, p. 177. + +[819] Above, pp. 187 _sq._ + +[820] Above, pp. 279 _sq._ + +[821] Above, p. 188. + +[822] Above, p. 159. + +[823] Above, p. 116. + +[824] Above, p. 201. + +[825] L. Decle, _Three Years in Savage Africa_ (London, 1898), pp. 160 +_sq._ + +[826] Rev. J. Shooter, _The Kafirs of Natal and the Zulu Country_ +(London, 1857), p. 18. + +[827] Above, pp. 140, 142. + +[828] Above, pp. 119, 165, 166, 173, 203. + +[829] Above, p. 140. + +[830] Above, p. 121. + +[831] Above, pp. 141, 170, 190, 203, 248, 250, 264. + +[832] Above, p. 251. + +[833] Above, pp. 119, 165, 166, 168, 173, 174. + +[834] Above, pp. 118, 163 _sq._ + +[835] Above, p. 201. + +[836] Above, p. 203. + +[837] Above, p. 250. + +[838] Above, pp. 251, 262, 263, 264. + +[839] Above, p. 112. + +[840] Above, p. 141. + +[841] Above, p. 214. + +[842] Above, p. 204. + +[843] Above, p. 194. + +[844] Above, p. 185, 189; compare p. 174. + +[845] Above, p. 166. + +[846] Above, pp. 249, 250. + +[847] Above, pp. 107, 109, 111, 119; compare pp. 116, 192, 193. + +[848] Above, p. 115. + +[849] Above, p. 180. + +[850] Above, pp. 113, 142, 170, 233. The torches of Demeter, which +figure so largely in her myth and on her monuments, are perhaps to be +explained by this custom. See _Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, i. +57. W. Mannhardt thought (_Baumkultus_, p. 536) that the torches in the +modern European customs are imitations of lightning. At some of their +ceremonies the Indians of North-West America imitate lightning by means +of pitch-wood torches which are flashed through the roof of the house. +See J.G. Swan, quoted by Franz Boas, "The Social Organization and the +Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians," _Report of the United States +National Museum for 1895_ (Washington, 1897), p. 639. + +[851] Above, p. 203. + +[852] Amelie Bosquet, _La Normandie Romanesque et Merveilleuse_ (Paris +and Rouen, 1845), pp. 295 _sq._; Jules Lecoeur, _Esquisses du Bocage +Normand_ (Conde-sur-Noireau, 1883-1887), ii. 126-129. See _The +Scapegoat_, pp. 316 _sq._ + +[853] Br. Jelinek, "Materialen zur Vorgeschichte mid Volkskunde +Boehmens," _Mittheilungen der anthropolog. Gesellschaft in Wien_ xxi. +(1891) p. 13 note. + +[854] Mrs. Bishop, _Korea and her Neighbours_ (London, 1898), ii. 56 +_sq._ + +[855] Above, pp. 190 _sq._ + +[856] Above, pp. 178, 205, 206. + +[857] See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 311 _sqq._ + +[858] Above, pp. 108, 109, 116, 118 _sq._, 121, 148, 154, 156, 157, 159, +160, 170, 171, 174, 175, 176, 180, 183, 185, 188, 232 _sq._, 245, 252, +253, 280, 292, 293, 295, 297. For more evidence of the use of fire to +burn or expel witches on certain days of the year, see _The Scapegoat_ +pp. 158 _sqq._ Less often the fires are thought to burn or repel evil +spirits and vampyres. See above, pp. 146, 170, 172, 202, 252, 282, 285. +Sometimes the purpose of the fires is to drive away dragons (above, pp. +161, 195). + +[859] Above, pp. 107, 116, 118 _sq._, 159. + +[860] "In short, of all the ills incident to the life of man, none are +so formidable as witchcraft, before the combined influence of which, to +use the language of an honest man who had himself severely suffered from +its effects, the great laird of Grant himself could not stand them if +they should fairly yoke upon him" (W. Grant Stewart, _The Popular +Superstitions and Festive Amusements of the Highlanders of Scotland_, +Edinburgh, 1823, pp. 202 _sq._). "Every misfortune and calamity that +took place in the parish, such as ill-health, the death of friends, the +loss of stock, and the failure of crops; yea to such a length did they +carry their superstition, that even the inclemency of the seasons, were +attributed to the influence of certain old women who were supposed to be +in league, and had dealings with the Devil. These the common people +thought had the power and too often the inclination to injure their +property, and torment their persons" (_County Folklore_, vol. v. +_Lincolnshire_, collected by Mrs. Gutch and Mabel Peacock, London, 1908, +p. 76). "The county of Salop is no exception to the rule of +superstition. The late vicar of a parish on the Clee Hills, startled to +find that his parishioners still believed in witchcraft, once proposed +to preach a sermon against it, but he was dissuaded from doing so by the +parish schoolmaster, who assured him that the belief was so deeply +rooted in the people's minds that he would be more likely to alienate +them from the Church than to weaken their faith in witchcraft" (Miss +C.F. Burne and Miss G.F. Jackson, _Shropshire Folk-lore_, London, 1883, +p. 145). "Wherever a man or any living creature falls sick, or a +misfortune of any kind happens, without any natural cause being +discoverable or rather lying on the surface, there in all probability +witchcraft is at work. The sudden stiffness in the small of the back, +which few people can account for at the time, is therefore called a +'witch-shot' and is really ascribed to witchcraft" (L. Strackerjan, +_Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_, Oldenburg, 1867, i. +p. 298, Sec. 209). What Sir Walter Scott said less than a hundred years ago +is probably still true: "The remains of the superstition sometimes +occur; there can be no doubt that the vulgar are still addicted to the +custom of scoring above the breath (as it is termed), and other +counter-spells, evincing that the belief in witchcraft is only asleep, +and might in remote corners be again awakened to deeds of blood" +(_Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft_, London, 1884, p. 272). Compare +L. Strackerjan, _op. cit._ i. p. 340, Sec. 221: "The great power, the +malicious wickedness of the witches, cause them to be feared and hated +by everybody. The hatred goes so far that still at the present day you +may hear it said right out that it is a pity burning has gone out of +fashion, for the evil crew deserve nothing else. Perhaps the hatred +might find vent yet more openly, if the fear were not so great." + +[861] For some evidence, see _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_; +ii. 52-55, 330 _sqq._ It is a popular belief, universally diffused in +Germany, that cattle-plagues are caused by witches (A. Wuttke, _Der +deutsche Volksaberglaube_,*[2] Berlin, 1869, p. 149 Sec. 216). The Scotch +Highlanders thought that a witch could destroy the whole of a farmer's +live stock by hiding a small bag, stuffed with charms, in a cleft of the +stable or byre (W. Grant Stewart, _The Popular superstitions and Festive +Amusements of the Highlanders of Scotland_, Edinburgh, 1823, pp. 201 +_sq._). + +[862] _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 330 _sqq._ + +[863] Above, pp. 282, 284 _sq._ + +[864] Above, pp. 118, 121, 144, 145, 176. + +[865] Above, pp. 121, 122, 124, 140 _sq._, 145, 146, 174, 176, 183, 184, +187, 188, 190, 191, 192, 249, 250, 252, 253, 254, 258. + +[866] J. Grimm, _Deutsch Mythologie_,*[4] ii. 908 _sqq._; J.V. Grohmann, +_Aberglauben und Gebraeuche aus Boehmen und Maehren_ (Prague and Leipsic, +1864), p. 32 Sec. 182; A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_*[2] +(Berlin, 1869), pp. 149 _sq._, Sec.216; J. Ceredig Davies, _Folk-lore of +West and Mid-Wales_ (Aberystwyth, 1911), p. 230; Alois John, _Sitte, +Branch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westboehmen_ (Prague, 1905), p. 202. + +[867] Above, pp. 108, 121, 140, 146, 165, 183, 188, 196, 250, 255, 256, +258. + +[868] Above, pp. 107, 195 _sq._ + +[869] Above, pp. 162, 163, 166, 171, 174. + +[870] A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_*[2] (Berlin, 1869), p. +351, Sec. 395. + +[871] Above, pp. 165, 168, 189, compare 190. + +[872] A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_*[2] (Berlin, 1869), p. +351, Sec. 395; L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum +Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), i. p. 298, Sec. 209. See above, p. 343 note. + +[873] In the Ammerland, a district of Oldenburg, you may sometimes see +an old cart-wheel fixed over the principal door or on the gable of a +house; it serves as a charm against witchcraft and is especially +intended to protect the cattle as they are driven out and in. See L. +Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_ +(Oldenburg, 1867), i. p. 357, Sec. 236. Can this use of a wheel as a +talisman against witchcraft be derived from the practice of rolling +fiery wheels down hill for a similar purpose? + +[874] F.S. Krauss, _Volksglaube und religioeser Brauch der Suedslaven_ +(Muenster i. W., 1890), pp. 118 _sq._ + +[875] In German such spells are called _Nestelknuepfen_; in French, +_nouer l'aiguilette_. See J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,*[4] ii. 897, +983; A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_*[2] (Berlin, 1869), p. +252 Sec. 396; K. Doutte, _Magic et Religion dans l'Afrique du Nord_ +(Algiers, 1908), pp. 87 _sq._, 294 _sqq._; J.L.M. Nogues, _Les Moeurs +d'autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_ (Saintes, 1891), pp. 171 _sq._ + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Balder The Beautiful, Vol. I. +by Sir James George Frazer + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BALDER THE BEAUTIFUL, VOL. 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