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diff --git a/43433-8.txt b/43433-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..949d4a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/43433-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24085 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and +Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 11 of 12) by 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 http://www.gutenberg.org/license + + + +Title: The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. + 11 of 12) + +Author: James George Frazer + +Release Date: July 9, 2013 [Ebook #43433] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO 8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN BOUGH: A STUDY IN MAGIC AND RELIGION (THIRD EDITION, VOL. 11 OF 12)*** + + + + + + The Golden Bough + + A Study in Magic and Religion + + By + + James George Frazer, D.C.L., LL.D., Litt.D. + + Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge + + Professor of Social Anthropology in the University of Liverpool + + Vol. XI. of XII. + + Part VII: Balder the Beautiful. + + The Fire-Festivals of Europe and the Doctrine of the External Soul. + + Vol. 2 of 2. + + New York and London + + MacMillan and Co. + + 1913 + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +Chapter VI. Fire-Festivals in Other Lands. + § 1. The Fire-walk. + § 2. The Meaning of the Fire-walk. +Chapter VII. The Burning of Human Beings in the Fires. + § 1. The Burning of Effigies in the Fires. + § 2. The Burning of Men and Animals in the Fires. +Chapter VIII. The Magic Flowers of Midsummer Eve. +Chapter IX. Balder and the Mistletoe. +Chapter X. The Eternal Soul in Folk-Tales. +Chapter XI. The External Soul in Folk-Custom. + § 1. The External Soul in Inanimate Things. + § 2. The External Soul in Plants. + § 3. The External Soul in Animals. + § 4. A Suggested Theory of Totemism. + § 5. The Ritual of Death and Resurrection. +Chapter XII. The Golden Bough. +Chapter XIII. Farewell to Nemi. +Notes. + I. Snake Stones. + II. The Transformation of Witches Into Cats. + III. African Balders. + IV. The Mistletoe and the Golden Bough. +Index. +Footnotes + + + + + + + [Cover Art] + +[Transcriber's Note: The above cover image was produced by the submitter +at Distributed Proofreaders, and is being placed into the public domain.] + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. FIRE-FESTIVALS IN OTHER LANDS. + + + + +§ 1. The Fire-walk. + + +(M1) At first sight the interpretation of the European fire customs as +charms for making sunshine is confirmed by a parallel custom observed by +the Hindoos of Southern India at the Pongol or Feast of Ingathering. The +festival is celebrated in the early part of January, when, according to +Hindoo astrologers, the sun enters the tropic of Capricorn, and the chief +event of the festival coincides with the passage of the sun. For some days +previously the boys gather heaps of sticks, straw, dead leaves, and +everything that will burn. On the morning of the first day of the festival +the heaps are fired. Every street and lane has its bonfire. The young folk +leap over the flames or pile on fresh fuel. This fire is an offering to +Sûrya, the sun-god, or to Agni, the deity of fire; it "wakes him from his +sleep, calling on him again to gladden the earth with his light and +heat."(1) If this is indeed the explanation which the people themselves +give of the festival, it seems decisive in favour of the solar explanation +of the fires; for to say that the fires waken the sun-god from his sleep +is only a metaphorical or mythical way of saying that they actually help +to rekindle the sun's light and heat. But the hesitation which the writer +indicates between the two distinct deities of sun and fire seems to prove +that he is merely giving his own interpretation of the rite, not reporting +the views of the celebrants. If that is so, the expression of his opinion +has no claim to authority. + +(M2) A festival of Northern India which presents points of resemblance to +the popular European celebrations which we have been considering is the +Holi. This is a village festival held in early spring at the full moon of +the month Phalgun. Large bonfires are lit and young people dance round +them. The people believe that the fires prevent blight, and that the ashes +cure disease. At Barsana the local village priest is expected to pass +through the Holi bonfire, which, in the opinion of the faithful, cannot +burn him. Indeed he holds his land rent-free simply on the score of his +being fire-proof. On one occasion when the priest disappointed the +expectant crowd by merely jumping over the outermost verge of the +smouldering ashes and then bolting into his cell, they threatened to +deprive him of his benefice if he did not discharge his spiritual +functions better when the next Holi season came round. Another feature of +the festival which has, or once had, its counterpart in the corresponding +European ceremonies is the unchecked profligacy which prevails among the +Hindoos at this time.(2) In Kumaon, a district of North-West India, at the +foot of the Himalayas, each clan celebrates the Holi festival by cutting +down a tree, which is thereupon stripped of its leaves, decked with shreds +of cloth, and burnt at some convenient place in the quarter of the town +inhabited by the clan. Some of the songs sung on this occasion are of a +ribald character. The people leap over the ashes of the fire, believing +that they thus rid themselves of itch and other diseases of the skin. +While the trees are burning, each clan tries to carry off strips of cloth +from the tree of another clan, and success in the attempt is thought to +ensure good luck. In Gwalior large heaps of cow-dung are burnt instead of +trees. Among the Marwaris the festival is celebrated by the women with +obscene songs and gestures. A monstrous and disgusting image of a certain +Nathuram, who is said to have been a notorious profligate, is set up in a +bazaar and then smashed with blows of shoes and bludgeons while the +bonfire of cow-dung is blazing. No household can be without an image of +Nathuram, and on the night when the bride first visits her husband, the +image of this disreputable personage is placed beside her couch. Barren +women and mothers whose children have died look to Nathuram for +deliverance from their troubles.(3) Various stories are told to account +for the origin of the Holi festival. According to one legend it was +instituted in order to get rid of a troublesome demon (_rákshasí_). The +people were directed to kindle a bonfire and circumambulate it, singing +and uttering fearlessly whatever might come into their minds. Appalled by +these vociferations, by the oblations to fire, and by the laughter of the +children, the demon was to be destroyed.(4) + +(M3) In the Chinese province of Fo-Kien we also meet with a vernal +festival of fire which may be compared to the fire-festivals of Europe. +The ceremony, according to an eminent authority, is a solar festival in +honour of the renewal of vegetation and of the vernal warmth. It falls in +April, on the thirteenth day of the third month in the Chinese calendar, +and is doubtless connected with the ancient custom of renewing the fire, +which, as we saw, used to be observed in China at this season.(5) The +chief performers in the ceremony are labourers, who refrain from women for +seven days, and fast for three days before the festival. During these days +they are taught in the temple how to discharge the difficult and dangerous +duty which is to be laid upon them. On the eve of the festival an enormous +brazier of charcoal, sometimes twenty feet wide, is prepared in front of +the temple of the Great God, the protector of life. At sunrise next +morning the brazier is lighted and kept burning by fresh supplies of fuel. +A Taoist priest throws a mixture of salt and rice on the fire to conjure +the flames and ensure an abundant year. Further, two exorcists, barefooted +and followed by two peasants, traverse the fire again and again till it is +somewhat beaten down. Meantime the procession is forming in the temple. +The image of the god of the temple is placed in a sedan-chair, resplendent +with red paint and gilding, and is carried forth by a score or more of +barefooted peasants. On the shafts of the sedan-chair, behind the image, +stands a magician with a dagger stuck through the upper parts of his arms +and grasping in each hand a great sword, with which he essays to deal +himself violent blows on the back; however, the strokes as they descend +are mostly parried by peasants, who walk behind him and interpose bamboo +rods between his back and the swords. Wild music now strikes up, and under +the excitement caused by its stirring strains the procession passes thrice +across the furnace. At their third passage the performers are followed by +other peasants carrying the utensils of the temple; and the rustic mob, +electrified by the frenzied spectacle, falls in behind. Strange as it may +seem, burns are comparatively rare. Inured from infancy to walking +barefoot, the peasants can step with impunity over the glowing charcoal, +provided they plant their feet squarely and do not stumble; for usage has +so hardened their soles that the skin is converted into a sort of leathery +or horny substance which is almost callous to heat. But sometimes, when +they slip and a hot coal touches the sides of their feet or ankles, they +may be seen to pull a wry face and jump out of the furnace amid the +laughter of the spectators. When this part of the ceremony is over, the +procession defiles round the village, and the priests distribute to every +family a leaf of yellow paper inscribed with a magic character, which is +thereupon glued over the door of the house. The peasants carry off the +charred embers from the furnace, pound them to ashes, and mix the ashes +with the fodder of their cattle, believing that it fattens them. However, +the Chinese Government disapproves of these performances, and next morning +a number of the performers may generally be seen in the hands of the +police, laid face downwards on the ground and receiving a sound +castigation on a part of their person which is probably more sensitive +than the soles of their feet.(6) + +(M4) In this last festival the essential feature of the ceremony appears +to be the passage of the image of the deity across the fire; it may be +compared to the passage of the straw effigy of Kupalo across the midsummer +bonfire in Russia.(7) As we shall see presently, such customs may perhaps +be interpreted as magical rites designed to produce light and warmth by +subjecting the deity himself to the heat and glow of the furnace; and +where, as at Barsana, priests or sorcerers have been accustomed in the +discharge of their functions to walk through or over fire, they have +sometimes done so as the living representatives or embodiments of deities, +spirits, or other supernatural beings. Some confirmation of this view is +furnished by the beliefs and practices of the Dosadhs, a low Indian caste +in Behar and Chota Nagpur. On the fifth, tenth, and full-moon days of +three months in the year, the priest walks over a narrow trench filled +with smouldering wood ashes, and is supposed thus to be inspired by the +tribal god Rahu, who becomes incarnate in him for a time. Full of the +spirit and also, it is surmised, of drink, the man of god then mounts a +bamboo platform, where he sings hymns and distributes to the crowd leaves +of _tulsi_, which cure incurable diseases, and flowers which cause barren +women to become happy mothers. The service winds up with a feast lasting +far into the night, at which the line that divides religious fervour from +drunken revelry cannot always be drawn with absolute precision.(8) +Similarly the Bhuiyas, a Dravidian tribe of Mirzapur, worship their tribal +hero Bir by walking over a short trench filled with fire, and they say +that the man who is possessed by the hero does not feel any pain in the +soles of his feet.(9) Ceremonies of this sort used to be observed in most +districts of the Madras Presidency, sometimes in discharge of vows made in +time of sickness or distress, sometimes periodically in honour of a deity. +Where the ceremony was observed periodically, it generally occurred in +March or June, which are the months of the vernal equinox and the summer +solstice respectively. A narrow trench, sometimes twenty yards long and +half a foot deep, was filled with small sticks and twigs, mostly of +tamarind, which were kindled and kept burning till they sank into a mass +of glowing embers. Along this the devotees, often fifty or sixty in +succession, walked, ran, or leaped barefoot. In 1854 the Madras Government +instituted an enquiry into the custom, but found that it was not attended +by danger or instances of injury sufficient to call for governmental +interference.(10) + +(M5) The French traveller Sonnerat has described how, in the eighteenth +century, the Hindoos celebrated a fire-festival of this sort in honour of +the god Darma Rajah and his wife Drobedé (Draupadi). The festival lasted +eighteen days, during which all who had vowed to take part in it were +bound to fast, to practise continence, to sleep on the ground without a +mat, and to walk on a furnace. On the eighteenth day the images of Darma +Rajah and his spouse were carried in procession to the furnace, and the +performers followed dancing, their heads crowned with flowers and their +bodies smeared with saffron. The furnace consisted of a trench about forty +feet long, filled with hot embers. When the images had been carried thrice +round it, the worshippers walked over the embers, faster or slower, +according to the degree of their religious fervour, some carrying their +children in their arms, others brandishing spears, swords, and standards. +This part of the ceremony being over, the bystanders hastened to rub their +foreheads with ashes from the furnace, and to beg from the performers the +flowers which they had worn in their hair; and such as obtained them +preserved the flowers carefully. The rite was performed in honour of the +goddess Drobedé (Draupadi), the heroine of the great Indian epic, the +_Mahabharata_. For she married five brothers all at once; every year she +left one of her husbands to betake herself to another, but before doing so +she had to purify herself by fire. There was no fixed date for the +celebration of the rite, but it could only be held in one of the first +three months of the year.(11) In some villages the ceremony is performed +annually; in others, which cannot afford the expense every year, it is +observed either at longer intervals, perhaps once in three, seven, ten, or +twelve years, or only in special emergencies, such as the outbreak of +smallpox, cholera, or plague. Anybody but a pariah or other person of very +low degree may take part in the ceremony in fulfilment of a vow. For +example, if a man suffers from some chronic malady, he may vow to Draupadi +that, should he be healed of his disease, he will walk over the fire at +her festival. As a preparation for the solemnity he sleeps in the temple +and observes a fast. The celebration of the rite in any village is +believed to protect the cattle and the crops and to guard the inhabitants +from dangers of all kinds. When it is over, many people carry home the +holy ashes of the fire as a talisman which will drive away devils and +demons.(12) + +(M6) The Badagas, an agricultural tribe of the Neilgherry Hills in +Southern India, annually celebrate a festival of fire in various parts of +their country. For example, at Nidugala the festival is held with much +ceremony in the month of January. Omens are taken by boiling two pots of +milk side by side on two hearths. If the milk overflows uniformly on all +sides, the crops will be abundant for all the villages; but if it flows +over on one side only, the harvest will be good for villages on that side +only. The sacred fire is made by friction, a vertical stick of +_Rhodomyrtus tomentosus_ being twirled by means of a cord in a socket let +into a thick bough of _Debregeasia velutina_. With this holy flame a heap +of wood of two sorts, the _Eugenia Jambolana_ and _Phyllanthus Emblica_, +is kindled, and the hot embers are spread over a fire-pit about five yards +long and three yards broad. When all is ready, the priest ties bells on +his legs and approaches the fire-pit, carrying milk freshly drawn from a +cow which has calved for the first time, and also bearing flowers of +_Rhododendron arboreum_, _Leucas aspera_, or jasmine. After doing +obeisance, he throws the flowers on the embers and then pours some of the +milk over them. If the omens are propitious, that is, if the flowers +remain for a few seconds unscorched and the milk does not hiss when it +falls on the embers, the priest walks boldly over the embers and is +followed by a crowd of celebrants, who before they submit to the ordeal +count the hairs on their feet. If any of the hairs are found to be singed +after the passage through the fire-pit, it is an ill omen. Sometimes the +Badagas drive their cattle, which have recovered from sickness, over the +hot embers in performance of a vow.(13) At Melur, another place of the +Badagas in the Neilgherry Hills, three, five, or seven men are chosen to +walk through the fire at the festival; and before they perform the +ceremony they pour into an adjacent stream milk from cows which have +calved for the first time during the year. A general feast follows the +performance of the rite, and next day the land is ploughed and sown for +the first time that season. At Jakkaneri, another place of the Badagas in +the Neilgherry Hills, the passage through the fire at the festival "seems +to have originally had some connection with agricultural prospects, as a +young bull is made to go partly across the fire-pit before the other +devotees, and the owners of young cows which have had their first calves +during the year take precedence of others in the ceremony, and bring +offerings of milk, which are sprinkled over the burning embers."(14) +According to another account the ceremony among the Badagas was performed +every second year at a harvest festival, and the performers were a set of +degenerate Brahmans called Haruvarus, who "used to walk on burning coals +with bare feet, pretending that the god they worshipped could allay the +heat and make fire like cold water to them. As they only remained a few +seconds, however, on the coals, it was impossible that they could receive +much injury."(15) + +(M7) In Japan the fire-walk is performed as a religious rite twice a year +at a temple in the Kanda quarter of Tokio. One of the performances takes +place in September. It was witnessed in the year 1903 by the wife of an +American naval officer, who has described it. In a court of the temple a +bed of charcoal about six yards long, two yards wide, and two feet deep +was laid down and covered with a deep layer of straw. Being ignited, the +straw blazed up, and when the flames had died down the bed of hot charcoal +was fanned by attendants into a red glow. Priests dressed in robes of +white cotton then walked round the fire, striking sparks from flint and +steel and carrying trays full of salt. When mats had been laid down at the +two ends of the fire and salt poured on them, the priests rubbed their +bare feet twice in the salt and then walked calmly down the middle of the +fire. They were followed by a number of people, including some boys and a +woman with a baby in her arms. "The Shintoists claim that, having been +perfectly purified by their prayers and ceremonies, no evil has any power +over them. Fire they regard as the very spirit of evil; so twice a year, I +believe, they go through this fire-walking as a kind of 'outward and +visible sign of inward spiritual grace.' "(16) + +(M8) In the island of Mbengga, one of the Fijian archipelago, once every +year a dracaena, which grows in profusion on the grassy hillsides, becomes +fit to yield the sugar of which its fibrous root is full. To render the +roots edible it is necessary to bake them among hot stones for four days. +A great pit is dug and filled with great stones and blazing logs, and when +the flames have died down and the stones are at white heat, the oven is +ready to receive the roots. At this moment the members of a certain clan +called Na Ivilankata, favoured of the gods, leap into the oven and walk +unharmed upon the hot stones, which would scorch the feet of any other +persons. On one occasion when the ceremony was witnessed by Europeans +fifteen men of the clan, dressed in garlands and fringes, walked unscathed +through the furnace, where tongues of fire played among the hot stones. +The pit was about nineteen feet wide and the men marched round it, +planting their feet squarely and firmly on each stone. When they emerged +from the pit, the feet of several were examined and shewed no trace of +scorching; even the anklets of dried tree-fern leaves which they wore on +their legs were unburnt. The immunity thus enjoyed by members of the clan +in the fiery furnace is explained by a legend that in former days a chief +of the clan, named Tui Nkualita, received for himself and his descendants +this remarkable privilege from a certain god, whom the chief had +accidentally dragged out of a deep pool of water by the hair of his +head.(17) A similar ceremony of walking through fire, or rather over a +furnace of hot charcoal or hot stones, has also been observed in +Tahiti,(18) the Marquesas Islands,(19) and by Hindoo coolies in the West +Indian island of Trinidad;(20) but the eye-witnesses who have described +the rite, as it is observed in these islands, have said little or nothing +as to its meaning and purpose, their whole attention having been +apparently concentrated on the heat of the furnace and the state of the +performers' legs before and after passing through it. + +(M9) "Another grand custom of the Hottentots, which they likewise term +_andersmaken_, is the driving their sheep at certain times through the +fire. Early in the day appointed by a kraal for the observance of this +custom, the women milk all their cows, and set the whole produce before +their husbands. 'Tis a strict rule at those times that the women neither +taste, nor suffer their children to touch, a drop of it. The whole +quantity is sacred to the men, who drink it all up before they address +themselves to the business of the fire. Having consumed the milk, some go +and bring the sheep together to the place where the fire is to be lighted, +while others repair to the place to light it. The fire is made of chips +and dry twigs and thinly spread into a long square. Upon the coming up of +the sheep, the fire, scattered into this figure, is covered with green +twigs to raise a great smoak; and a number of men range themselves closely +on both sides of it, making a lane for the sheep to pass through, and +extending themselves to a good distance beyond the fire on the side where +the sheep are to enter. Things being in this posture, the sheep are driven +into the lane close up to the fire, which now smoaks in the thickest +clouds. The foremost boggle, and being forced forward by the press behind, +seek their escape by attempting breaches in the ranks. The men stand close +and firm, and whoop and goad them forward; when a few hands, planted at +the front of the fire, catch three or four of the foremost sheep by the +head, and drag them through, and bring them round into the sight of the +rest; which sometimes upon this, the whooping and goading continuing, +follow with a tantivy, jumping and pouring themselves through the fire and +smoak with a mighty clattering and fury. At other times they are not so +tractable, but put the Hottentots to the trouble of dragging numbers of +them through; and sometimes, in a great press and fright, sturdily +attacking the ranks, they make a breach and escape. This is a very +mortifying event at all times, the Hottentots, upon whatever account, +looking upon it as a heavy disgrace and a very ill omen into the bargain. +But when their labours here are attended with such success, that the sheep +pass readily through or over the fire, 'tis hardly in the power of +language to describe them in all the sallies of their joy." The writer who +thus describes the custom had great difficulty in extracting an +explanation of it from the Hottentots. At last one of them informed him +that their country was much infested by wild dogs, which made terrible +havoc among the cattle, worrying the animals to death even when they did +not devour them. "Now we have it," he said, "from our ancestors, that if +sheep are driven through the fire, as we say, that is, through a thick +smoak, the wild dogs will not be fond of attacking them while the scent of +the smoak remains upon their fleeces. We therefore from time to time, for +the security of our flocks, perform this _andersmaken_."(21) + +(M10) When disease breaks out in a herd of the Nandi, a pastoral tribe of +British East Africa, a large bonfire is made with the wood of a certain +tree (_Olea chrysophilla_), and brushwood of two sorts of shrubs is thrown +on the top. Then the sick herd is driven to the fire, and while the +animals are standing near it, a sheep big with young is brought to them +and anointed with milk by an elder, after which it is strangled by two men +belonging to clans that may intermarry. The intestines are then inspected, +and if the omens prove favourable, the meat is roasted and eaten; moreover +rings are made out of the skin and worn by the cattle-owners. After the +meat has been eaten, the herd is driven round the fire, and milk is poured +on each beast.(22) When their cattle are sick, the Zulus of Natal will +collect their herds in a kraal, where a medicine-man kindles a fire, burns +medicine in it, and so fumigates the cattle with the medicated smoke. +Afterwards he sprinkles the herd with a decoction, and, taking some melted +fat of the dead oxen in his mouth, squirts it on a fire-brand and holds +the brand to each animal in succession.(23) Such a custom is probably +equivalent to the Hottentot and European practice of driving cattle +through a fire. + +(M11) Among the Indians of Yucatan the year which was marked in their +calendar by the sign of _Cauac_ was reputed to be very unlucky; they +thought that in the course of it the death-rate would be high, the maize +crops would be withered up by the extreme heat of the sun, and what +remained of the harvest would be devoured by swarms of ants and birds. To +avert these calamities they used to erect a great pyre of wood, to which +most persons contributed a faggot. Having danced about it during the day, +they set fire to it at night-fall, and when the flames had died down, they +spread out the red embers and walked or ran barefoot over them, some of +them escaping unsmirched by the flames, but others burning themselves more +or less severely. In this way they hoped to conjure away the evils that +threatened them, and to undo the sinister omens of the year.(24) + +(M12) Similar rites were performed at more than one place in classical +antiquity. At Castabala, in Cappadocia, the priestesses of an Asiatic +goddess, whom the Greeks called Artemis Perasia, used to walk barefoot +through a furnace of hot charcoal and take no harm.(25) Again, at the foot +of Mount Soracte, in Italy, there was a sanctuary of a goddess Feronia, +where once a year the men of certain families walked barefoot, but +unscathed, over the glowing embers and ashes of a great fire of pinewood +in presence of a vast multitude, who had assembled from all the country +round about to pay their devotions to the deity or to ply their business +at the fair. The families from whom the performers of the rite were drawn +went by the name of Hirpi Sorani, or "Soranian Wolves"; and in +consideration of the services which they rendered the state by walking +through the fire, they were exempted, by a special decree of the senate, +from military service and all public burdens. In the discharge of their +sacred function, if we can trust the testimony of Strabo, they were +believed to be inspired by the goddess Feronia. The ceremony certainly +took place in her sanctuary, which was held in the highest reverence alike +by Latins and Sabines; but according to Virgil and Pliny the rite was +performed in honour of the god of the mountain, whom they call by the +Greek name of Apollo, but whose real name appears to have been +Soranus.(26) If Soranus was a sun-god, as his name has by some been +thought to indicate,(27) we might perhaps conclude that the passage of his +priests through the fire was a magical ceremony designed to procure a due +supply of light and warmth for the earth by mimicking the sun's passage +across the firmament. For so priceless a service, rendered at some +personal risk, it would be natural that the magicians should be handsomely +rewarded by a grateful country, and that they should be released from the +common obligations of earth in order the better to devote themselves to +their celestial mission. The neighbouring towns paid the first-fruits of +their harvest as tribute to the shrine, and loaded it besides with +offerings of gold and silver, of which, however, it was swept clean by +Hannibal when he hung with his dusky army, like a storm-cloud about to +break, within sight of the sentinels on the walls of Rome.(28) + + + + +§ 2. The Meaning of the Fire-walk. + + +(M13) The foregoing customs, observed in many different parts of the +world, present at least a superficial resemblance to the modern European +practices of leaping over fires and driving cattle through them; and we +naturally ask whether it is not possible to discover a general explanation +which will include them all. We have seen that two general theories have +been proposed to account for the European practices; according to one +theory the customs in question are sun-charms, according to the other they +are purifications. Let us see how the two rival theories fit the other +facts which we have just passed in review. To take the solar theory first, +it is supported, first, by a statement that the fires at the Pongol +festival in Southern India are intended to wake the sun-god or the +fire-god from his sleep;(29) and, second, by the etymology which connects +Soranus, the god of Soracte, with the sun.(30) But for reasons which have +already been given, neither of these arguments carries much weight; and +apart from them there appears to be nothing in the foregoing customs to +suggest that they are sun-charms. Nay, some of the customs appear hardly +reconcilable with such a view. For it is to be observed that the fire-walk +is frequently practised in India and other tropical countries, where as a +rule people would more naturally wish to abate than to increase the fierce +heat of the sun. In Yucatan certainly the intention of kindling the +bonfires cannot possibly have been to fan the solar flames, since one of +the principal evils which the bonfires were designed to remedy was +precisely the excessive heat of the sun, which had withered up the maize +crops.(31) Thus the solar theory is not strongly supported by any of the +facts which we are considering, and it is actually inconsistent with some +of them. + +(M14) Not so with the purificatory theory. It is obviously applicable to +some of the facts, and apparently consistent with them all. Thus we have +seen that sick men make a vow to walk over the fire, and that sick cattle +are driven over it. In such cases clearly the intention is to cleanse the +suffering man or beast from the infection of disease, and thereby to +restore him or it to health; and the fire is supposed to effect this +salutary end, either by burning up the powers of evil or by interposing an +insurmountable barrier between them and the sufferer. For it is to be +remembered that evils which civilized men regard as impersonal are often +conceived by uncivilized man in the personal shape of witches and wizards, +of ghosts and hobgoblins; so that measures which we should consider as +simple disinfectants the savage looks upon as obstacles opportunely +presented to the attacks of demons or other uncanny beings. Now of all +such obstacles fire seems generally to be thought the most effective; +hence in passing through or leaping over it our primitive philosopher +often imagines that he is not so much annihilating his spiritual foe as +merely giving him the slip; the ghostly pursuer shrinks back appalled at +the flames through which his intended victim, driven to desperation by his +fears, has safely passed before him. This interpretation of the ceremony +is confirmed, first, by the observation that in India the ashes of the +bonfire are used as a talisman against devils and demons;(32) and, second, +by the employment of the ceremony for the avowed purpose of escaping from +the pursuit of a troublesome ghost. For example, in China "they believe +that a beheaded man wanders about a headless spectre in the World of +Shades. Such spectres are frequently to be seen in walled towns, +especially in the neighbourhood of places of execution. Here they often +visit the people with disease and disaster, causing a considerable +depreciation in the value of the houses around such scenes. Whenever an +execution takes place, the people fire crackers to frighten the headless +ghost away from the spot; and the mandarin who has superintended the +bloody work, on entering the gate of his mansion, has himself carried in +his sedan chair over a fire lighted on the pavement, lest the headless +apparition should enter there along with him; for disembodied spirits are +afraid of fire."(33) For a like reason Chinese mourners after a funeral, +and persons who have paid a visit of condolence to a house of death, often +purify themselves by stepping over a fire of straw;(34) the purification, +we cannot doubt, consists simply in shaking off the ghost who is supposed +to dog their steps. Similarly at a coroner's inquest in China the mandarin +and his subordinates hold pocket handkerchiefs or towels to their mouths +and noses while they are inspecting the corpse, no doubt to hinder the +ghost from insinuating himself into their bodies by these apertures; and +when they have discharged their dangerous duty, they purify themselves by +passing through a small fire of straw kindled on the pavement before they +enter their sedan-chairs to return home, while at the same time the crowd +of idlers, who have gathered about the door, assist in keeping the ghost +at bay by a liberal discharge of crackers. The same double process of +purification, or rather of repelling the ghost, by means of fire and +crackers is repeated at the gate of the mandarin's residence when the +procession defiles into it.(35) Among some of the Tartars it used to be +customary for all persons returning from a burial to leap over a fire made +for the purpose, "in order that the dead man might not follow them; for +apparently in their opinion he would be afraid of the fire."(36) "The +Yakuts bury their dead as a rule on the day of the death, and in order not +to take the demon of death home with them, they kindle fires on the way +back from the burial and jump over them in the belief that the demon of +death, who dreads fire, will not follow them, and that in this way they +will be freed from the persecutions of the hated demon of death."(37) In +Sikkhim, when members of the Khambu caste have buried a corpse, all +persons present at the burial "adjourn to a stream for a bath of +purification, and, on re-entering the house, have to tread on a bit of +burning cloth, to prevent the evil spirits who attend at funerals from +following them in."(38) Among the Fans of West Africa, "when the mourning +is over, the wives of the deceased must pass over a small lighted brazier +in the middle of the village, then they sit down while some leaves are +still burning under their feet; their heads are shaved, and from that +moment they are purified from the mourning--perhaps we should translate: +'delivered from the ghost of their husband'--and may be divided among the +heirs."(39) At Agweh, on the Slave Coast of West Africa, a widow used to +remain shut up for six months in the room where her husband was buried; at +the end of the time a fire was lighted on the floor, and red peppers +strewn in it, until in the pungent fumes the widow was nearly stifled.(40) +No doubt the intention was to rid her of her husband's ghost in order that +she might mingle again in the world with safety to herself and others. + +(M15) On the analogy of these customs, in which the purpose of the passage +through the fire appears to be unmistakable, we may suppose that the +motive of the rite is similar at the popular festivals of Europe and the +like observances in other lands. In every case the ritual appears to be +explained in a simple and natural way by the supposition that the +performers believe themselves to be freed from certain evils, actual or +threatened, through the beneficent agency of fire, which either burns up +and destroys the noxious things or at all events repels and keeps them at +bay. Indeed this belief, or at least this hope, is definitely expressed by +some of the people who leap across the bonfires: they imagine that all +ills are burnt up and consumed in the flames, or that they leave their +sins, or at all events their fleas, behind them on the far side of the +fire.(41) But we may conjecture that originally all the evils from which +the people thus thought to deliver themselves were conceived by them to be +caused by personal beings, such as ghosts and demons or witches and +warlocks, and that the fires were kindled for the sole purpose of burning +or banning these noxious creatures. Of these evil powers witches and +warlocks appear to have been the most dreaded by our European peasantry; +and it is therefore significant that the fires kindled on these occasions +are often expressly alleged to burn the witches,(42) that effigies of +witches are not uncommonly consumed in them,(43) and that two of the great +periodic fire-festivals of the year, namely May Day and Midsummer Eve, +coincide with the seasons when witches are believed to be most active and +mischievous, and when accordingly many other precautions are taken against +them.(44) Thus if witchcraft, as a great part of mankind has believed, is +the fertile source of almost all the calamities that afflict our species, +and if the surest means of frustrating witchcraft is fire, then it follows +as clearly as day follows night that to jump over a fire must be a +sovereign panacea for practically all the ills that flesh is heir to. We +can now, perhaps, fully understand why festivals of fire played so +prominent a part in the religion or superstition of our heathen +forefathers; the observance of such festivals flowed directly from their +overmastering fear of witchcraft and from their theory as to the best way +of combating that dreadful evil. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. THE BURNING OF HUMAN BEINGS IN THE FIRES. + + + + +§ 1. The Burning of Effigies in the Fires. + + +(M16) We have still to ask, What is the meaning of burning effigies in the +fire at these festivals? After the preceding investigation the answer to +the question seems obvious. As the fires are often alleged to be kindled +for the purpose of burning the witches, and as the effigy burnt in them is +sometimes called "the Witch," we might naturally be disposed to conclude +that all the effigies consumed in the flames on these occasions represent +witches or warlocks, and that the custom of burning them is merely a +substitute for burning the wicked men and women themselves, since on the +principle of homoeopathic or imitative magic you practically destroy the +witch herself in destroying her effigy. On the whole this explanation of +the burning of straw figures in human shape at the festivals appears to be +the most probable. + +(M17) Yet it may be that this explanation does not apply to all the cases, +and that certain of them may admit and even require another +interpretation, in favour of which I formerly argued as follows:--(45) + +"It remains to ask, What is the meaning of burning an effigy in these +bonfires? The effigies so burned, as I have already remarked, can hardly +be separated from the effigies of Death which are burned or otherwise +destroyed in spring; and grounds have been already given for regarding the +so-called effigies of Death as really representatives of the tree-spirit +or spirit of vegetation.(46) Are the other effigies, which are burned in +the spring and midsummer bonfires, susceptible of the same explanation? It +would seem so. For just as the fragments of the so-called Death are stuck +in the fields to make the crops grow, so the charred embers of the figure +burned in the spring bonfires are sometimes laid on the fields in the +belief that they will keep vermin from the crop.(47) Again, the rule that +the last married bride must leap over the fire in which the straw-man is +burned on Shrove Tuesday, is probably intended to make her fruitful.(48) +But, as we have seen, the power of blessing women with offspring is a +special attribute of tree-spirits;(49) it is therefore a fair presumption +that the burning effigy over which the bride must leap is a representative +of the fertilizing tree-spirit or spirit of vegetation. This character of +the effigy, as representative of the spirit of vegetation, is almost +unmistakable when the figure is composed of an unthreshed sheaf of corn or +is covered from head to foot with flowers.(50) Again, it is to be noted +that, instead of a puppet, trees, either living or felled, are sometimes +burned both in the spring and midsummer bonfires.(51) Now, considering the +frequency with which the tree-spirit is represented in human shape, it is +hardly rash to suppose that when sometimes a tree and sometimes an effigy +is burned in these fires, the effigy and the tree are regarded as +equivalent to each other, each being a representative of the tree-spirit. +This, again, is confirmed by observing, first, that sometimes the effigy +which is to be burned is carried about simultaneously with a May-tree, the +former being carried by the boys, the latter by the girls;(52) and, +second, that the effigy is sometimes tied to a living tree and burned with +it.(53) In these cases, we can scarcely doubt, the tree-spirit is +represented, as we have found it represented before, in duplicate, both by +the tree and by the effigy. That the true character of the effigy as a +representative of the beneficent spirit of vegetation should sometimes be +forgotten, is natural. The custom of burning a beneficent god is too +foreign to later modes of thought to escape misinterpretation. Naturally +enough the people who continued to burn his image came in time to identify +it as the effigy of persons, whom, on various grounds, they regarded with +aversion, such as Judas Iscariot, Luther, and a witch. + +(M18) "The general reasons for killing a god or his representative have +been examined in the preceding chapter.(54) But when the god happens to be +a deity of vegetation, there are special reasons why he should die by +fire. For light and heat are necessary to vegetable growth; and, on the +principle of sympathetic magic, by subjecting the personal representative +of vegetation to their influence, you secure a supply of these necessaries +for trees and crops. In other words, by burning the spirit of vegetation +in a fire which represents the sun, you make sure that, for a time at +least, vegetation shall have plenty of sun. It may be objected that, if +the intention is simply to secure enough sunshine for vegetation, this end +would be better attained, on the principles of sympathetic magic, by +merely passing the representative of vegetation through the fire instead +of burning him. In point of fact this is sometimes done. In Russia, as we +have seen, the straw figure of Kupalo is not burned in the midsummer fire, +but merely carried backwards and forwards across it.(55) But, for the +reasons already given, it is necessary that the god should die; so next +day Kupalo is stripped of her ornaments and thrown into a stream. In this +Russian custom, therefore, the passage of the image through the fire is a +sun-charm pure and simple; the killing of the god is a separate act, and +the mode of killing him--by drowning--is probably a rain-charm. But usually +people have not thought it necessary to draw this fine distinction; for +the various reasons already assigned, it is advantageous, they think, to +expose the god of vegetation to a considerable degree of heat, and it is +also advantageous to kill him, and they combine these advantages in a +rough-and-ready way by burning him." + +(M19) On the foregoing argument, which I do not now find very cogent, I +would remark that we must distinguish the cases in which an effigy or an +image is burnt in the fire from the cases in which it is simply carried +through or over it. We have seen that in the Chinese festival of fire the +image of the god is carried thrice by bearers over the glowing furnace. +Here the motive for subjecting a god to the heat of the furnace must +surely be the same as the motive for subjecting his worshippers to the +same ordeal; and if the motive in the case of the worshippers is +purificatory, it is probably the same in the case of the deity. In other +words we may suppose that the image of a god is periodically carried over +a furnace in order to purify him from the taint of corruption, the spells +of magicians, or any other evil influences that might impair or impede his +divine energies. The same theory would explain the custom of obliging the +priest ceremonially to pass through the fire; the custom need not be a +mitigation of an older practice of burning him in the flames, it may only +be a purification designed to enable him the better to discharge his +sacred duties as representative of the deity in the coming year. +Similarly, when the rite is obligatory, not on the people as a whole, but +only on certain persons chosen for the purpose,(56) we may suppose that +these persons act as representatives of the entire community, which thus +passes through the fire by deputy and consequently participates in all the +benefits which are believed to accrue from the purificatory character of +the rite.(57) In both cases, therefore, if my interpretation of them is +correct, the passage over or through a fire is not a substitute for human +sacrifice; it is nothing but a stringent form of purification. + + + + +§ 2. The Burning of Men and Animals in the Fires. + + +(M20) Yet in the popular customs connected with the fire-festivals of +Europe there are certain features which appear to point to a former +practice of human sacrifice. We have seen reasons for believing that in +Europe living persons have often acted as representatives of the +tree-spirit and corn-spirit and have suffered death as such.(58) There is +no reason, therefore, why they should not have been burned, if any special +advantages were likely to be attained by putting them to death in that +way. The consideration of human suffering is not one which enters into the +calculations of primitive man. Now, in the fire-festivals which we are +discussing, the pretence of burning people is sometimes carried so far +that it seems reasonable to regard it as a mitigated survival of an older +custom of actually burning them. Thus in Aachen, as we saw, the man clad +in peas-straw acts so cleverly that the children really believe he is +being burned.(59) At Jumièges in Normandy the man clad all in green, who +bore the title of the Green Wolf, was pursued by his comrades, and when +they caught him they feigned to fling him upon the mid-summer bonfire.(60) +Similarly at the Beltane fires in Scotland the pretended victim was +seized, and a show made of throwing him into the flames, and for some time +afterwards people affected to speak of him as dead.(61) Again, in the +Hallowe'en bonfires of north-eastern Scotland we may perhaps detect a +similar pretence in the custom observed by a lad of lying down as close to +the fire as possible and allowing the other lads to leap over him.(62) The +titular king at Aix, who reigned for a year and danced the first dance +round the midsummer bonfire,(63) may perhaps in days of old have +discharged the less agreeable duty of serving as fuel for that fire which +in later times he only kindled. In the following customs Mannhardt is +probably right in recognizing traces of an old custom of burning a +leaf-clad representative of the spirit of vegetation. At Wolfeck, in +Austria, on Midsummer Day, a boy completely clad in green fir branches +goes from house to house, accompanied by a noisy crew, collecting wood for +the bonfire. As he gets the wood he sings-- + + + "_Forest trees I want,_ + _No sour milk for me,_ + _But beer and wine,_ + _So can the wood-man be jolly and gay._"(64) + + +In some parts of Bavaria, also, the boys who go from house to house +collecting fuel for the midsummer bonfire envelop one of their number from +head to foot in green branches of firs, and lead him by a rope through the +whole village.(65) At Moosheim, in Wurtemberg, the festival of St. John's +Fire usually lasted for fourteen days, ending on the second Sunday after +Midsummer Day. On this last day the bonfire was left in charge of the +children, while the older people retired to a wood. Here they encased a +young fellow in leaves and twigs, who, thus disguised, went to the fire, +scattered it, and trod it out. All the people present fled at the sight of +him.(66) + +(M21) In this connexion it is worth while to note that in pagan Europe the +water as well as the fire seems to have claimed its human victim on +Midsummer Day. Some German rivers, such as the Saale and the Spree, are +believed still to require their victim on that day; hence people are +careful not to bathe at this perilous season. Where the beautiful Neckar +flows, between vine-clad and wooded hills, under the majestic ruins of +Heidelberg castle, the spirit of the river seeks to drown three persons, +one on Midsummer Eve, one on Midsummer Day, and one on the day after. On +these nights, if you hear a shriek as of a drowning man or woman from the +water, beware of running to the rescue; for it is only the water-fairy +shrieking to lure you to your doom. Many a fisherman of the Elbe knows +better than to launch his boat and trust himself to the treacherous river +on Midsummer Day. And Samland fishermen will not go to sea at this season, +because they are aware that the sea is then hollow and demands a victim. +In the neighbourhood of the Lake of Constance the Swabian peasants say +that on St. John's Day the Angel or St. John must have a swimmer and a +climber; hence no one will climb a tree or bathe even in a brook on that +day.(67) According to others, St. John will have three dead men on his +day; one of them must die by water, one by a fall, and one by lightning; +therefore old-fashioned people warn their children not to climb or bathe, +and are very careful themselves not to run into any kind of danger on +Midsummer Day.(68) So in some parts of Switzerland people are warned +against bathing on St. John's Night, because the saint's day demands its +victims. Thus in the Emmenthal they say, "This day will have three +persons; one must perish in the air, one in the fire, and the third in the +water." At Schaffhausen the saying runs, "St. John the Baptist must have a +runner, must have a swimmer, must have a climber." That is the reason why +you should not climb cherry-trees on the saint's day, lest you should fall +down and break your valuable neck.(69) In Cologne the saint is more +exacting; on his day he requires no less than fourteen dead men; seven of +them must be swimmers and seven climbers.(70) Accordingly when we find +that, in one of the districts where a belief of this sort prevails, it +used to be customary to throw a person into the water on Midsummer Day, we +can hardly help concluding that this was only a modification of an older +custom of actually drowning a human being in the river at that time. In +Voigtland it was formerly the practice to set up a fine May tree, adorned +with all kinds of things, on St. John's Day. The people danced round it, +and when the lads had fetched down the things with which it was tricked +out, the tree was thrown into the water. But before this was done, they +sought out somebody whom they treated in the same manner, and the victim +of this horseplay was called "the John." The brawls and disorders, which +such a custom naturally provoked, led to the suppression of the whole +ceremony.(71) + +(M22) At Rotenburg on the Neckar they throw a loaf of bread into the water +on St. John's Day; were this offering not made, the river would grow angry +and take away a man.(72) Clearly, therefore, the loaf is regarded as a +substitute which the spirit of the river consents to accept instead of a +human victim. Elsewhere the water-sprite is content with flowers. Thus in +Bohemia people sometimes cast garlands into water on Midsummer Eve; and if +the water-sprite pulls one of them down, it is a sign that the person who +threw the garland in will die.(73) In the villages of Hesse the girl who +first comes to the well early on the morning of Midsummer Day, places on +the mouth of the well a gay garland composed of many sorts of flowers +which she has culled from the fields and meadows. Sometimes a number of +such garlands are twined together to form a crown, with which the well is +decked. At Fulda, in addition to the flowery decoration of the wells, the +neighbours choose a Lord of the Wells and announce his election by sending +him a great nosegay of flowers; his house, too, is decorated with green +boughs, and children walk in procession to it. He goes from house to house +collecting materials for a feast, of which the neighbours partake on the +following Sunday.(74) What the other duties of the Lord of the Wells may +be, we are not told. We may conjecture that in old days he had to see to +it that the spirits of the water received their dues from men and maidens +on that important day. + +(M23) The belief that the spirits of the water exact a human life on +Midsummer Day may partly explain why that day is regarded by some people +as unlucky. At Neuburg, in Baden, people who meet on Midsummer Day bid +each other beware.(75) Sicilian mothers on that ominous day warn their +little sons not to go out of the house, or, if they do go out, not to +stray far, not to walk on solitary unfrequented paths, to avoid horses and +carriages and persons with firearms, and not to dare to swim; in short +they bid them be on their guard at every turn. The Sicilian writer who +tells us this adds: "This I know and sadly remember ever since the year +1848, when, not yet seven years old, I beheld in the dusk of the evening +on St. John's Day some women of my acquaintance bringing back in their +arms my little brother, who had gone to play in a garden near our house, +and there had found his death, my poor Francesco! In their simplicity the +women who strove to console my inconsolable mother, driven distracted by +the dreadful blow, kept repeating that St. John must have his due, that on +that day he must be appeased. 'Who knows,' said they, 'how many other +mothers are weeping now for other little sons forlorn!' "(76) + +(M24) Yet curiously enough, though the water-spirits call for human +victims on Midsummer Eve or Midsummer Day, water in general is supposed at +that season to acquire certain wonderful medicinal virtues, so that he who +bathes in it then or drinks of it is not only healed of all his +infirmities but will be well and hearty throughout the year. Hence in many +parts of Europe, from Sweden in the north to Sicily in the south, and from +Ireland and Spain in the west to Esthonia in the east it used to be +customary for men, women, and children to bathe in crowds in rivers, the +sea, or springs on Midsummer Eve or Midsummer Day, hoping thus to fortify +themselves for the next twelve months. The usual time for taking the bath +was the night which intervenes between Midsummer Eve and Midsummer +Day;(77) but in Belgium the hour was noon on Midsummer Day. It was a +curious sight, we are told, to see the banks of a river lined with naked +children waiting for the first stroke of noon to plunge into the healing +water. The dip was supposed to have a remarkable effect in strengthening +the legs. People who were ashamed to bathe in public used to have cans of +water brought to their houses from the river at midday, and then performed +their ablutions in the privacy of their chambers. Nor did they throw away +the precious fluid; on the contrary they bottled it up and kept it as a +sort of elixir for use throughout the year. It was thought never to grow +foul and to be as blessed as holy water fetched from a church, which we +may well believe. Hence it served to guard the house against a +thunder-storm; when the clouds were heavy and threatening, all you had to +do was to take the palm branches (that is, the twigs of box-wood) which +were blessed on Palm Sunday, dip them in the midsummer water, and burn +them. That averted the tempest.(78) In the Swiss canton of Lucerne a bath +on Midsummer Eve is thought to be especially wholesome, though in other +parts of Switzerland, as we saw, bathing at that season is accounted +dangerous.(79) + +(M25) Nor are such customs and beliefs confined to the Christian peoples +of Europe; they are shared also by the Mohammedan peoples of Morocco. +There, too, on Midsummer Day all water is thought to be endowed with such +marvellous virtue that it not only heals but prevents sickness for the +rest of the year; hence men, women, and children bathe in the sea, in +rivers, or in their houses at that time for the sake of their health. In +Fez and other places on this day people pour or squirt water over each +other in the streets or from the house-tops, so that the streets become +almost as muddy as after a fall of rain. More than that, in the Andjra +they bathe their animals also; horses, mules, donkeys, cattle, sheep, and +goats, all must participate in the miraculous benefits of midsummer +water.(80) The rite forms part of that old heathen celebration of +Midsummer which appears to have been common to the peoples on both sides +of the Mediterranean;(81) and as the aim of bathing in the midsummer water +is undoubtedly purification, it is reasonable to assign the same motive +for the custom of leaping over the midsummer bonfire. On the other hand +some people in Morocco, like some people in Europe, think that water on +Midsummer Day is unclean or dangerous. A Berber told Dr. Westermarck that +water is haunted on Midsummer Day, and that people therefore avoid bathing +in it and keep animals from drinking of it. And among the Beni Ahsen +persons who swim in the river on that day are careful, before plunging +into the water, to throw burning straw into it as an offering, in order +that the spirits may not harm them.(82) The parallelism between the rites +of water and fire at this season is certainly in favour of interpreting +both in the same way;(83) and the traces of human sacrifice which we have +detected in the rite of water may therefore be allowed to strengthen the +inference of a similar sacrifice in the rite of fire. + +(M26) But it seems possible to go farther than this. Of human sacrifices +offered on these occasions the most unequivocal traces, as we have seen, +are those which, about a hundred years ago, still lingered at the Beltane +fires in the Highlands of Scotland, that is, among a Celtic people who, +situated in a remote corner of Europe and almost completely isolated from +foreign influence, had till then conserved their old heathenism better +perhaps than any other people in the West of Europe. It is significant, +therefore, that human sacrifices by fire are known, on unquestionable +evidence, to have been systematically practised by the Celts. The earliest +description of these sacrifices has been bequeathed to us by Julius +Caesar. As conqueror of the hitherto independent Celts of Gaul, Caesar had +ample opportunity of observing the national Celtic religion and manners, +while these were still fresh and crisp from the native mint and had not +yet been fused in the melting-pot of Roman civilization. With his own +notes Caesar appears to have incorporated the observations of a Greek +explorer, by name Posidonius, who travelled in Gaul about fifty years +before Caesar carried the Roman arms to the English Channel. The Greek +geographer Strabo and the historian Diodorus seem also to have derived +their descriptions of the Celtic sacrifices from the work of Posidonius, +but independently of each other, and of Caesar, for each of the three +derivative accounts contain some details which are not to be found in +either of the others. By combining them, therefore, we can restore the +original account of Posidonius with some probability, and thus obtain a +picture of the sacrifices offered by the Celts of Gaul at the close of the +second century before our era.(84) The following seem to have been the +main outlines of the custom. Condemned criminals were reserved by the +Celts in order to be sacrificed to the gods at a great festival which took +place once in every five years. The more there were of such victims, the +greater was believed to be the fertility of the land.(85) If there were +not enough criminals to furnish victims, captives taken in war were +immolated to supply the deficiency. When the time came the victims were +sacrificed by the Druids or priests. Some they shot down with arrows, some +they impaled, and some they burned alive in the following manner. Colossal +images of wicker-work or of wood and grass were constructed; these were +filled with live men, cattle, and animals of other kinds; fire was then +applied to the images, and they were burned with their living contents. + +(M27) Such were the great festivals held once every five years. But +besides these quinquennial festivals, celebrated on so grand a scale, and +with, apparently, so large an expenditure of human life, it seems +reasonable to suppose that festivals of the same sort, only on a lesser +scale, were held annually, and that from these annual festivals are +lineally descended some at least of the fire-festivals which, with their +traces of human sacrifices, are still celebrated year by year in many +parts of Europe. The gigantic images constructed of osiers or covered with +grass in which the Druids enclosed their victims remind us of the leafy +framework in which the human representative of the tree-spirit is still so +often encased.(86) Hence, seeing that the fertility of the land was +apparently supposed to depend upon the due performance of these +sacrifices, Mannhardt interpreted the Celtic victims, cased in osiers and +grass, as representatives of the tree-spirit or spirit of vegetation. + +(M28) These wicker giants of the Druids seem to have had till lately their +representatives at the spring and midsummer festivals of modern Europe. At +Douay, down to the early part of the nineteenth century, a procession took +place annually on the Sunday nearest to the seventh of July. The great +feature of the procession was a colossal figure, some twenty or thirty +feet high, made of osiers, and called "the giant," which was moved through +the streets by means of rollers and ropes worked by men who were enclosed +within the effigy. The wooden head of the giant is said to have been +carved and painted by Rubens. The figure was armed as a knight with lance +and sword, helmet and shield. Behind him marched his wife and his three +children, all constructed of osiers on the same principle, but on a +smaller scale.(87) At Dunkirk the procession of the giants took place on +Midsummer Day, the twenty-fourth of June. The festival, which was known as +the Follies of Dunkirk, attracted such multitudes of spectators, that the +inns and private houses could not lodge them all, and many had to sleep in +cellars or in the streets. In 1755 an eye-witness estimated that the +number of onlookers was not less than forty thousand, without counting the +inhabitants of the town. The streets through which the procession took its +way were lined with double ranks of soldiers, and the houses crammed with +spectators from top to bottom. High mass was celebrated in the principal +church and then the procession got under weigh. First came the guilds or +brotherhoods, the members walking two and two with great waxen tapers, +lighted, in their hands. They were followed by the friars and the secular +priests, and then came the Abbot, magnificently attired, with the Host +borne before him by a venerable old man. When these were past, the real +"Follies of Dunkirk" began. They consisted of pageants of various sorts +wheeled through the streets in cars. These appear to have varied somewhat +from year to year; but if we may judge from the processions of 1755 and +1757, both of which have been described by eye-witnesses, a standing show +was a car decked with foliage and branches to imitate a wood, and carrying +a number of men dressed in leaves or in green scaly skins, who squirted +water on the people from pewter syringes. An English spectator has +compared these maskers to the Green Men of our own country on May Day. +Last of all came the giant and giantess. The giant was a huge figure of +wicker-work, occasionally as much as forty-five feet high, dressed in a +long blue robe with gold stripes, which reached to his feet, concealing +the dozen or more men who made it dance and bob its head to the +spectators. This colossal effigy went by the name of Papa Reuss, and +carried in its pocket a bouncing infant of Brobdingnagian proportions, who +kept bawling "Papa! papa!" in a voice of thunder, only pausing from time +to time to devour the victuals which were handed out to him from the +windows. The rear was brought up by the daughter of the giant, +constructed, like her sire, of wicker-work, and little, if at all, +inferior to him in size. She wore a rose-coloured robe, with a gold watch +as large as a warming pan at her side: her breast glittered with jewels: +her complexion was high, and her eyes and head turned with as easy a grace +as the men inside could contrive to impart to their motions. The +procession came to an end with the revolution of 1789, and has never been +revived. The giant himself indeed, who had won the affections of the +townspeople, survived his ancient glory for a little while and made shift +to appear in public a few times more at the Carnival and other festal +occasions; but his days were numbered, and within fifty years even his +memory had seemingly perished.(88) + +(M29) Most towns and even villages of Brabant and Flanders have, or used +to have, similar wicker giants which were annually led about to the +delight of the populace, who loved these grotesque figures, spoke of them +with patriotic enthusiasm, and never wearied of gazing at them. The name +by which the giants went was Reuzes, and a special song called the Reuze +song was sung in the Flemish dialect while they were making their +triumphal progress through the streets. The most celebrated of these +monstrous effigies were those of Antwerp and Wetteren. At Ypres a whole +family of giants contributed to the public hilarity at the Carnival. At +Cassel and Hazebrouch, in the French department of Nord, the giants made +their annual appearance on Shrove Tuesday.(89) At Antwerp the giant was so +big that no gate in the city was large enough to let him go through; hence +he could not visit his brother giants in neighbouring towns, as the other +Belgian giants used to do on solemn occasions. He was designed in 1534 by +Peter van Aelst, painter to the Emperor Charles the Fifth, and is still +preserved with other colossal figures in a large hall at Antwerp.(90) At +Ath, in the Belgian province of Hainaut, the popular procession of the +giants took place annually in August down to the year 1869 at least. For +three days the colossal effigies of Goliath and his wife, of Samson and an +Archer (_Tirant_), together with a two-headed eagle, were led about the +streets on the shoulders of twenty bearers concealed under the flowing +drapery of the giants, to the great delight of the townspeople and a crowd +of strangers who assembled to witness the pageant. The custom can be +traced back by documentary evidence to the middle of the fifteenth +century; but it appears that the practice of giving Goliath a wife dates +only from the year 1715. Their nuptials were solemnized every year on the +eve of the festival in the church of St. Julien, whither the two huge +figures were escorted by the magistrates in procession.(91) + +(M30) In England artificial giants seem to have been a standing feature of +the midsummer festival. A writer of the sixteenth century speaks of +"Midsommer pageants in London, where to make the people wonder, are set +forth great and uglie gyants marching as if they were alive, and armed at +all points, but within they are stuffed full of browne paper and tow, +which the shrewd boyes, underpeering, do guilefully discover, and turne to +a greate derision."(92) At Chester the annual pageant on Midsummer Eve +included the effigies of four giants, with animals, hobby-horses, and +other figures. An officious mayor of the town suppressed the giants in +1599, but they were restored by another mayor in 1601. Under the +Commonwealth the pageant was discontinued, and the giants and beasts were +destroyed; but after the restoration of Charles II. the old ceremony was +revived on the old date, new effigies being constructed to replace those +which had fallen victims to Roundhead bigotry. The accounts preserve a +record not only of the hoops, buckram, tinfoil, gold and silver leaf, +paint, glue, and paste which went to make up these gorgeous figures; they +also mention the arsenic which was mixed with the paste in order to +preserve the poor giants from being eaten alive by the rats.(93) At +Coventry the accounts of the Cappers' and Drapers' Companies in the +sixteenth century shed light on the giants which there also were carried +about the town at Midsummer; from some of the entries it appears that the +giant's wife figured beside the giant.(94) At Burford, in Oxfordshire, +Midsummer Eve used to be celebrated with great jollity by the carrying of +a giant and a dragon up and down the town. The last survivor of these +perambulating English giants dragged out a miserable existence at +Salisbury, where an antiquary found him mouldering to decay in the +neglected hall of the Tailors' Company about the year 1844. His bodily +framework was of lath and hoop like the one which used to be worn by +Jack-in-the-Green on May Day. The drapery, which concealed the bearer, was +of coloured chintz, bordered with red and purple, and trimmed with yellow +fringe. His head was modelled in paste-board and adorned with a gold-laced +cocked hat: his flowing locks were of tow; and in his big right hand he +brandished a branch of artificial laurel. In the days of his glory he +promenaded about the streets, dancing clumsily and attended by two men +grotesquely attired, who kept a watchful eye on his movements and checked +by the wooden sword and club which they carried any incipient tendency to +lose his balance and topple over in an undignified manner, which would +have exposed to the derision of the populace the mystery of his inner man. +The learned called him St. Christopher, the vulgar simply the giant.(95) + +(M31) In these cases the giants only figure in the processions. But +sometimes they were burned in the summer bonfires. Thus the people of the +Rue aux Ours in Paris used annually to make a great wicker-work figure, +dressed as a soldier, which they promenaded up and down the streets for +several days, and solemnly burned on the third of July, the crowd of +spectators singing _Salve Regina_. A personage who bore the title of king +presided over the ceremony with a lighted torch in his hand. The burning +fragments of the image were scattered among the people, who eagerly +scrambled for them. The custom was abolished in 1743.(96) In Brie, Isle de +France, a wicker-work giant, eighteen feet high, was annually burned on +Midsummer Eve.(97) + +(M32) Again, the Druidical custom of burning live animals, enclosed in +wicker-work, has its counterpart at the spring and midsummer festivals. At +Luchon in the Pyrenees on Midsummer Eve "a hollow column, composed of +strong wicker-work, is raised to the height of about sixty feet in the +centre of the principal suburb, and interlaced with green foliage up to +the very top; while the most beautiful flowers and shrubs procurable are +artistically arranged in groups below, so as to form a sort of background +to the scene. The column is then filled with combustible materials, ready +for ignition. At an appointed hour--about 8 P.M.--a grand procession, +composed of the clergy, followed by young men and maidens in holiday +attire, pour forth from the town chanting hymns, and take up their +position around the column. Meanwhile, bonfires are lit, with beautiful +effect, in the surrounding hills. As many living serpents as could be +collected are now thrown into the column, which is set on fire at the base +by means of torches, armed with which about fifty boys and men dance +around with frantic gestures. The serpents, to avoid the flames, wriggle +their way to the top, whence they are seen lashing out laterally until +finally obliged to drop, their struggles for life giving rise to +enthusiastic delight among the surrounding spectators. This is a favourite +annual ceremony for the inhabitants of Luchon and its neighbourhood, and +local tradition assigns it to a heathen origin."(98) In the midsummer +fires formerly kindled on the Place de Grève at Paris it was the custom to +burn a basket, barrel, or sack full of live cats, which was hung from a +tall mast in the midst of the bonfire; sometimes a fox was burned. The +people collected the embers and ashes of the fire and took them home, +believing that they brought good luck. The French kings often witnessed +these spectacles and even lit the bonfire with their own hands. In 1648 +Louis the Fourteenth, crowned with a wreath of roses and carrying a bunch +of roses in his hand, kindled the fire, danced at it and partook of the +banquet afterwards in the town hall. But this was the last occasion when a +monarch presided at the midsummer bonfire in Paris.(99) At Metz midsummer +fires were lighted with great pomp on the esplanade, and a dozen cats, +enclosed in wicker-cages, were burned alive in them, to the amusement of +the people.(100) Similarly at Gap, in the department of the High Alps, +cats used to be roasted over the midsummer bonfire.(101) In Russia a white +cock was sometimes burned in the midsummer bonfire;(102) in Meissen or +Thuringia a horse's head used to be thrown into it.(103) Sometimes animals +are burned in the spring bonfires. In the Vosges cats were burned on +Shrove Tuesday; in Alsace they were thrown into the Easter bonfire.(104) +In the department of the Ardennes cats were flung into the bonfires +kindled on the first Sunday in Lent; sometimes, by a refinement of +cruelty, they were hung over the fire from the end of a pole and roasted +alive. "The cat, which represented the devil, could never suffer enough." +While the creatures were perishing in the flames, the shepherds guarded +their flocks and forced them to leap over the fire, esteeming this an +infallible means of preserving them from disease and witchcraft.(105) We +have seen that squirrels were sometimes burned in the Easter fire.(106) + +(M33) Thus it appears that the sacrificial rites of the Celts of ancient +Gaul can be traced in the popular festivals of modern Europe. Naturally it +is in France, or rather in the wider area comprised within the limits of +ancient Gaul, that these rites have left the clearest traces in the +customs of burning giants of wicker-work and animals enclosed in +wicker-work or baskets. These customs, it will have been remarked, are +generally observed at or about midsummer. From this we may infer that the +original rites of which these are the degenerate successors were +solemnized at midsummer. This inference harmonizes with the conclusion +suggested by a general survey of European folk-custom, that the midsummer +festival must on the whole have been the most widely diffused and the most +solemn of all the yearly festivals celebrated by the primitive Aryans in +Europe. At the same time we must bear in mind that among the British Celts +the chief fire-festivals of the year appear certainly to have been those +of Beltane (May Day) and Hallowe'en (the last day of October); and this +suggests a doubt whether the Celts of Gaul also may not have celebrated +their principal rites of fire, including their burnt sacrifices of men and +animals, at the beginning of May or the beginning of November rather than +at Midsummer. + +(M34) We have still to ask, What is the meaning of such sacrifices? Why +were men and animals burnt to death at these festivals? If we are right in +interpreting the modern European fire-festivals as attempts to break the +power of witchcraft by burning or banning the witches and warlocks, it +seems to follow that we must explain the human sacrifices of the Celts in +the same manner; that is, we must suppose that the men whom the Druids +burnt in wicker-work images were condemned to death on the ground that +they were witches or wizards, and that the mode of execution by fire was +chosen because, as we have seen, burning alive is deemed the surest mode +of getting rid of these noxious and dangerous beings. The same explanation +would apply to the cattle and wild animals of many kinds which the Celts +burned along with the men.(107) They, too, we may conjecture, were +supposed to be either under the spell of witchcraft or actually to be the +witches and wizards, who had transformed themselves into animals for the +purpose of prosecuting their infernal plots against the welfare of their +fellow creatures. This conjecture is confirmed by the observation that the +victims most commonly burned in modern bonfires have been cats, and that +cats are precisely the animals into which, with the possible exception of +hares, witches were most usually supposed to transform themselves. Again, +we have seen that serpents and foxes used sometimes to be burnt in the +midsummer fires;(108) and Welsh and German witches are reported to have +assumed the form both of foxes and serpents.(109) In short, when we +remember the great variety of animals whose forms witches can assume at +pleasure,(110) it seems easy on this hypothesis to account for the variety +of living creatures that have been burnt at festivals both in ancient Gaul +and modern Europe; all these victims, we may surmise, were doomed to the +flames, not because they were animals, but because they were believed to +be witches who had taken the shape of animals for their nefarious +purposes. One advantage of explaining the ancient Celtic sacrifices in +this way is that it introduces, as it were, a harmony and consistency into +the treatment which Europe has meted out to witches from the earliest +times down to about two centuries ago, when the growing influence of +rationalism discredited the belief in witchcraft and put a stop to the +custom of burning witches. On this view the Christian Church in its +dealings with the black art merely carried out the traditional policy of +Druidism, and it might be a nice question to decide which of the two, in +pursuance of that policy, exterminated the larger number of innocent men +and women.(111) Be that as it may, we can now perhaps understand why the +Druids believed that the more persons they sentenced to death, the greater +would be the fertility of the land.(112) To a modern reader the connexion +at first sight may not be obvious between the activity of the hangman and +the productivity of the earth. But a little reflection may satisfy him +that when the criminals who perish at the stake or on the gallows are +witches, whose delight it is to blight the crops of the farmer or to lay +them low under storms of hail, the execution of these wretches is really +calculated to ensure an abundant harvest by removing one of the principal +causes which paralyze the efforts and blast the hopes of the husbandman. + +(M35) The Druidical sacrifices which we are considering were explained in +a different way by W. Mannhardt. He supposed that the men whom the Druids +burned in wickerwork images represented the spirits of vegetation, and +accordingly that the custom of burning them was a magical ceremony +intended to secure the necessary sunshine for the crops. Similarly, he +seems to have inclined to the view that the animals which used to be burnt +in the bonfires represented the corn-spirit,(113) which, as we saw in an +earlier part of this work, is often supposed to assume the shape of an +animal.(114) This theory is no doubt tenable, and the great authority of +W. Mannhardt entitles it to careful consideration. I adopted it in former +editions of this book; but on reconsideration it seems to me on the whole +to be less probable than the theory that the men and animals burnt in the +fires perished in the character of witches. This latter view is strongly +supported by the testimony of the people who celebrate the fire-festivals, +since a popular name for the custom of kindling the fires is "burning the +witches," effigies of witches are sometimes consumed in the flames, and +the fires, their embers, or their ashes are supposed to furnish protection +against witchcraft. On the other hand there is little to shew that the +effigies or the animals burnt in the fires are regarded by the people as +representatives of the vegetation-spirit, and that the bonfires are +sun-charms. With regard to serpents in particular, which used to be burnt +in the midsummer fire at Luchon, I am not aware of any certain evidence +that in Europe snakes have been regarded as embodiments of the tree-spirit +or corn-spirit,(115) though in other parts of the world the conception +appears to be not unknown.(116) Whereas the popular faith in the +transformation of witches into animals is so general and deeply rooted, +and the fear of these uncanny beings is so strong, that it seems safer to +suppose that the cats and other animals which were burnt in the fire +suffered death as embodiments of witches than that they perished as +representatives of vegetation-spirits. + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. THE MAGIC FLOWERS OF MIDSUMMER EVE. + + +(M36) A feature of the great midsummer festival remains to be considered, +which may perhaps help to clear up the doubt as to the meaning of the +fire-ceremonies and their relation to Druidism. For in France and England, +the countries where the sway of the Druids is known to have been most +firmly established, Midsummer Eve is still the time for culling certain +magic plants, whose evanescent virtue can be secured at this mystic season +alone. Indeed all over Europe antique fancies of the same sort have +lingered about Midsummer Eve, imparting to it a fragrance of the past, +like withered rose leaves that, found by chance in the pages of an old +volume, still smell of departed summers. Thus in Saintonge and Aunis, two +of the ancient provinces of Western France, we read that "of all the +festivals for which the merry bells ring out there is not one which has +given rise to a greater number of superstitious practices than the +festival of St. John the Baptist. The Eve of St. John was the day of all +days for gathering the wonderful herbs by means of which you could combat +fever, cure a host of diseases, and guard yourself against sorcerers and +their spells. But in order to attain these results two conditions had to +be observed; first, you must be fasting when you gathered the herbs, and +second, you must cull them before the sun rose. If these conditions were +not fulfilled, the plants had no special virtue."(117) In the neighbouring +province of Perigord the person who gathered the magic herbs before +sunrise at this season had to walk backwards, to mutter some mystic words, +and to perform certain ceremonies. The plants thus collected were +carefully kept as an infallible cure for fever; placed above beds and the +doors of houses and of cattle-sheds they protected man and beast from +disease, witchcraft, and accident.(118) In Normandy a belief in the +marvellous properties of herbs and plants, of flowers and seeds and leaves +gathered, with certain traditional rites, on the Eve or the Day of St. +John has remained part of the peasant's creed to this day. Thus he fancies +that seeds of vegetables and plants, which have been collected on St. +John's Eve, will keep better than others, and that flowers plucked that +day will never fade.(119) Indeed so widespread in France used to be the +faith in the magic virtue of herbs culled on that day that there is a +French proverb "to employ all the herbs of St. John in an affair," meaning +"to leave no stone unturned."(120) In the early years of the nineteenth +century a traveller reported that at Marseilles, "on the Eve of St. John, +the Place de Noailles and the course are cleaned. From three o'clock in +the morning the country-people flock thither, and by six o'clock the whole +place is covered with a considerable quantity of flowers and herbs, +aromatic or otherwise. The folk attribute superstitious virtues to these +plants; they are persuaded that if they have been gathered the same day +before sunrise they are fitted to heal many ailments. People buy them +emulously to give away in presents and to fill the house with."(121) On +the Eve of St. John (Midsummer Eve), before sunset, the peasants of Perche +still gather the herb called St. John's herb. It is a creeping plant, very +aromatic, with small flowers of a violet blue. Other scented flowers are +added, and out of the posies they make floral crosses and crowns, which +they hang up over the doors of houses and stables. Such floral decorations +are sold like the box-wood on Palm Sunday, and the withered wreaths are +kept from year to year. If an animal dies, it may be a cow, they carefully +clean the byre or the stable, make a pile of these faded garlands, and set +them on fire, having previously closed up all the openings and +interstices, so that the whole place is thoroughly fumigated. This is +thought to eradicate the germs of disease from the byre or stable.(122) At +Nellingen, near Saaralben, in Lorraine the hedge doctors collect their +store of simples between eleven o'clock and noon on Midsummer Day; and on +that day nut-water is brewed from nuts that have been picked on the stroke +of noon. Such water is a panacea for all ailments.(123) In the Vosges +Mountains they say that wizards have but one day in the year, and but one +hour in that day, to find and cull the baleful herbs which they use in +their black art. That day is the Eve of St. John, and that hour is the +time when the church bells are ringing the noonday Angelus. Hence in many +villages they say that the bells ought not to ring at noon on that +day.(124) + +(M37) In the Tyrol also they think that the witching hour is when the _Ave +Maria_ bell is ringing on Midsummer Eve, for then the witches go forth to +gather the noxious plants whereby they raise thunderstorms. Therefore in +many districts the bells ring for a shorter time than usual that +evening;(125) at Folgareit the sexton used to steal quietly into the +church, and when the clock struck three he contented himself with giving a +few pulls to the smallest of the bells.(126) At Rengen, in the Eifel +Mountains, the sexton rings the church bell for an hour on the afternoon +of Midsummer Day. As soon as the bell begins to ring, the children run out +into the meadows, gather flowers, and weave them into garlands which they +throw on the roofs of the houses and buildings. There the garlands remain +till the wind blows them away. It is believed that they protect the houses +against fire and thunderstorms.(127) At Niederehe, in the Eifel Mountains, +on Midsummer Day little children used to make wreaths and posies out of +"St. John's flowers and Maiden-flax" and throw them on the roofs. Some +time afterwards, when the wild gooseberries were ripe, all the children +would gather round an old woman on a Sunday afternoon, and taking the now +withered wreaths and posies with them march out of the village, praying +while they walked. Wreaths and posies were then thrown in a heap and +kindled, whereupon the children snatched them up, still burning, and ran +and fumigated the wild gooseberry bushes with the smoke. Then they +returned with the old woman to the village, knelt down before her, and +received her blessing. From that time the children were free to pick and +eat the wild gooseberries.(128) In the Mark of Brandenburg the peasants +gather all sorts of simples on Midsummer Day, because they are of opinion +that the drugs produce their medicinal effect only if they have been +culled at that time. Many of these plants, especially roots, must be dug +up at midnight and in silence.(129) In Mecklenburg not merely is a special +healing virtue ascribed to simples collected on Midsummer Day; the very +smoke of such plants, if they are burned in the fire, is believed to +protect a house against thunder and lightning, and to still the raging of +the storm.(130) The Wends of the Spreewald twine wreaths of herbs and +flowers at midsummer, and hang them up in their rooms; and when any one +gets a fright he will lay some of the leaves and blossoms on hot coals and +fumigate himself with the smoke.(131) In Eastern Prussia, some two hundred +years ago, it used to be customary on Midsummer Day to make up a bunch of +herbs of various sorts and fasten it to a pole, which was then put up over +the gate or door through which the corn would be brought in at harvest. +Such a pole was called Kaupole, and it remained in its place till the +crops had been reaped and garnered. Then the bunch of herbs was taken +down; part of it was put with the corn in the barn to keep rats and mice +from the grain, and part was kept as a remedy for diseases of all +sorts.(132) + +(M38) The Germans of West Bohemia collect simples on St. John's Night, +because they believe the healing virtue of the plants to be especially +powerful at that time.(133) The theory and practice of the Huzuls in the +Carpathian Mountains are similar; they imagine that the plants gathered on +that night are not only medicinal but possess the power of restraining the +witches; some say that the herbs should be plucked in twelve gardens or +meadows.(134) Among the simples which the Czechs and Moravians of Silesia +cull at this season are dandelions, ribwort, and the bloom of the +lime-tree.(135) The Esthonians of the island of Oesel gather St. John's +herbs (_Jani rohhud_) on St. John's Day, tie them up in bunches, and hang +them up about the houses to prevent evil spirits from entering. A +subsidiary use of the plants is to cure diseases; gathered at that time +they have a greater medical value than if they were collected at any other +season. Everybody does not choose exactly the same sorts of plants; some +gather more and some less, but in the collection St. John's wort (_Jani +rohhi_, _Hypericum perforatum_) should never be wanting.(136) A writer of +the early part of the seventeenth century informs us that the Livonians, +among whom he lived, were impressed with a belief in the great and +marvellous properties possessed by simples which had been culled on +Midsummer Day. Such simples, they thought, were sure remedies for fever +and for sickness and pestilence in man and beast; but if gathered one day +too late they lost all their virtue.(137) Among the Letts of the Baltic +provinces of Russia girls and women go about on Midsummer Day crowned with +wreaths of aromatic plants, which are afterwards hung up for good luck in +the houses. The plants are also dried and given to cows to eat, because +they are supposed to help the animals to calve.(138) + +(M39) In Bulgaria St. John's Day is the special season for culling +simples. On this day, too, Bulgarian girls gather nosegays of a certain +white flower, throw them into a vessel of water, and place the vessel +under a rose-tree in bloom. Here it remains all night. Next morning they +set it in the courtyard and dance singing round it. An old woman then +takes the flowers out of the vessel, and the girls wash themselves with +the water, praying that God would grant them health throughout the year. +After that the old woman restores her nosegay to each girl and promises +her a rich husband.(139) Among the South Slavs generally on St. John's Eve +it is the custom for girls to gather white flowers in the meadows and to +place them in a sieve or behind the rafters. A flower is assigned to each +member of the household: next morning the flowers are inspected; and he or +she whose flower is fresh will be well the whole year, but he or she whose +flower is faded will be sickly or die. Garlands are then woven out of the +flowers and laid on roofs, folds, and beehives.(140) In some parts of +Macedonia on St. John's Eve the peasants are wont to festoon their +cottages and gird their own waists with wreaths of what they call St. +John's flower; it is the blossom of a creeping plant which resembles +honeysuckle.(141) Similar notions as to the magical virtue which plants +acquire at midsummer have been transported by Europeans to the New World. +At La Paz in Bolivia people believe that flowers of mint (_Yerba buena_) +gathered before sunrise on St. John's Day foretell an endless felicity to +such as are so lucky as to find them.(142) + +(M40) Nor is the superstition confined to Europe and to people of European +descent. In Morocco also the Mohammedans are of opinion that certain +plants, such as penny-royal, marjoram, and the oleander, acquire a special +magic virtue (_baraka_) when they are gathered shortly before midsummer. +Hence the people collect these plants at this season and preserve them for +magical or medical purposes. For example, branches of oleander are brought +into the houses before midsummer and kept under the roof as a charm +against the evil eye; but while the branches are being brought in they may +not touch the ground, else they would lose their marvellous properties. +Cases of sickness caused by the evil eye are cured by fumigating the +patients with the smoke of these boughs. The greatest efficacy is ascribed +to "the sultan of the oleander," which is a stalk with four pairs of +leaves clustered round it. Such a stalk is always endowed with magical +virtue, but that virtue is greatest when the stalk has been cut just +before midsummer. Arab women in the Hiaina district of Morocco gather +_Daphne gnidium_ on Midsummer Day, dry it in the sun, and make it into a +powder which, mixed with water, they daub on the heads of their little +children to protect them from sunstroke and vermin and to make their hair +grow well. Indeed such marvellous powers do these Arabs attribute to +plants at this mystic season that a barren woman will walk naked about a +vegetable garden on Midsummer Night in the hope of conceiving a child +through the fertilizing influence of the vegetables.(143) + +(M41) Sometimes in order to produce the desired effect it is deemed +necessary that seven or nine different sorts of plants should be gathered +at this mystic season. Norman peasants, who wish to fortify themselves for +the toil of harvest, will sometimes go out at dawn on St. John's Day and +pull seven kinds of plants, which they afterwards eat in their soup as a +means of imparting strength and suppleness to their limbs in the harvest +field.(144) In Mecklenburg maidens are wont to gather seven sorts of +flowers at noon on Midsummer Eve. These they weave into garlands, and +sleep with them under their pillows. Then they are sure to dream of the +men who will marry them.(145) But the flowers on which youthful lovers +dream at Midsummer Eve are oftener nine in number. Thus in Voigtland nine +different kinds of flowers are twined into a garland at the hour of noon, +but they may not enter the dwelling by the door in the usual way; they +must be passed through the window, or, if they come in at the door, they +must be thrown, not carried, into the house. Sleeping on them that night +you will dream of your future wife or future husband.(146) The Bohemian +maid, who gathers nine kinds of flowers on which to dream of love at +Midsummer Eve, takes care to wrap her hand in a white cloth, and +afterwards to wash it in dew; and when she brings her garland home she +must speak no word to any soul she meets by the way, for then all the +magic virtue of the flowers would be gone.(147) Other Bohemian girls look +into the book of fate at this season after a different fashion. They twine +their hair with wreaths made of nine sorts of leaves, and go, when the +stars of the summer night are twinkling in the sky, to a brook that flows +beside a tree. There, gazing on the stream, the girl beholds, beside the +broken reflections of the tree and the stars, the watery image of her +future lord.(148) So in Masuren maidens gather nosegays of wild flowers in +silence on Midsummer Eve. At the midnight hour each girl takes the nosegay +and a glass of water, and when she has spoken certain words she sees her +lover mirrored in the water.(149) + +(M42) Sometimes Bohemian damsels make a different use of their midsummer +garlands twined of nine sorts of flowers. They lie down with the garland +laid as a pillow under their right ear, and a hollow voice, swooning from +underground, proclaims their destiny.(150) Yet another mode of consulting +the oracle by means of these same garlands is to throw them backwards and +in silence upon a tree at the hour of noon, just when the flowers have +been gathered. For every time that the wreath is thrown without sticking +to the branches of the tree the girl will have a year to wait before she +weds. This mode of divination is practised in Voigtland,(151) East +Prussia,(152) Silesia,(153) Belgium,(154) and Wales,(155) and the same +thing is done in Masuren, although we are not told that there the wreaths +must be composed of nine sorts of flowers.(156) However, in Masuren +chaplets of nine kinds of herbs are gathered on St. John's Eve and put to +a more prosaic use than that of presaging the course of true love. They +are carefully preserved, and the people brew a sort of tea from them, +which they administer as a remedy for many ailments; or they keep the +chaplets under their pillows till they are dry, and thereupon dose their +sick cattle with them.(157) In Esthonia the virtues popularly ascribed to +wreaths of this sort are many and various. These wreaths, composed of nine +kinds of herbs culled on the Eve or the Day of St. John, are sometimes +inserted in the roof or hung up on the walls of the house, and each of +them receives the name of one of the inmates. If the plants which have +been thus dedicated to a girl happen to take root and grow in the chinks +and crannies, she will soon wed; if they have been dedicated to an older +person and wither away, that person will die. The people also give them as +medicine to cattle at the time when the animals are driven forth to +pasture; or they fumigate the beasts with the smoke of the herbs, which +are burnt along with shavings from the wooden threshold. Bunches of the +plants are also hung about the house to keep off evil spirits, and maidens +lay them under their pillows to dream on.(158) In Sweden the "Midsummer +Brooms," made up of nine sorts of flowers gathered on Midsummer Eve, are +put to nearly the same uses. Fathers of families hang up such "brooms" to +the rafters, one for each inmate of the house; and he or she whose broom +(_quast_) is the first to wither will be the first to die. Girls also +dream of their future husbands with these bunches of flowers under their +pillows. A decoction made from the flowers is, moreover, a panacea for all +disorders, and if a bunch of them be hung up in the cattle shed, the Troll +cannot enter to bewitch the beasts.(159) The Germans of Moravia think that +nine kinds of herbs gathered on St. John's Night (Midsummer Eve) are a +remedy for fever;(160) and some of the Wends attribute a curative virtue +in general to such plants.(161) + +(M43) Of the flowers which it has been customary to gather for purposes of +magic or divination at midsummer none perhaps is so widely popular as St. +John's wort (_Hypericum perforatum_). The reason for associating this +particular plant with the great summer festival is perhaps not far to +seek, for the flower blooms about Midsummer Day, and with its bright +yellow petals and masses of golden stamens it might well pass for a tiny +copy on earth of the great sun which reaches its culminating point in +heaven at this season. Gathered on Midsummer Eve, or on Midsummer Day +before sunrise, the blossoms are hung on doorways and windows to preserve +the house against thunder, witches, and evil spirits; and various healing +properties are attributed to the different species of the plant. In the +Tyrol they say that if you put St. John's wort in your shoe before sunrise +on Midsummer Day you may walk as far as you please without growing weary. +In Scotland people carried it about their persons as an amulet against +witchcraft. On the lower Rhine children twine chaplets of St. John's wort +on the morning of Midsummer Day, and throw them on the roofs of the +houses. Here, too, the people who danced round the midsummer bonfires used +to wear wreaths of these yellow flowers in their hair, and to deck the +images of the saints at wayside shrines with the blossoms. Sometimes they +flung the flowers into the bonfires. In Sicily they dip St. John's wort in +oil, and so apply it as a balm for every wound. During the Middle Ages the +power which the plant notoriously possesses of banning devils won for it +the name of _fuga daemonum_; and before witches and wizards were stretched +on the rack or otherwise tortured, the flower used to be administered to +them as a means of wringing the truth from their lips.(162) In North Wales +people used to fix sprigs of St. John's wort over their doors, and +sometimes over their windows, "in order to purify their houses, and by +that means drive away all fiends and evil spirits."(163) In Saintonge and +Aunis the flowers served to detect the presence of sorcerers, for if one +of these pestilent fellows entered a house, the bunches of St. John's +wort, which had been gathered on Midsummer Eve and hung on the walls, +immediately dropped their yellow heads as if they had suddenly faded.(164) +However, the Germans of Western Bohemia think that witches, far from +dreading St. John's wort, actually seek the plant on St. John's Eve.(165) +Further, the edges of the calyx and petals of St. John's wort, as well as +their external surface, are marked with dark purple spots and lines, +which, if squeezed, yield a red essential oil soluble in spirits.(166) +German peasants believe that this red oil is the blood of St. John,(167) +and this may be why the plant is supposed to heal all sorts of +wounds.(168) In Mecklenburg they say that if you pull up St. John's wort +at noon on Midsummer Day you will find at the root a bead of red juice +called St. John's blood; smear this blood on your shirt just over your +heart, and no mad dog will bite you.(169) In the Mark of Brandenburg the +same blood, procured in the same manner and rubbed on the barrel of a gun, +will make every shot from that gun to hit the mark.(170) According to +others, St. John's blood is found at noon on St. John's Day, and only +then, adhering in the form of beads to the root of a weed called knawel, +which grows in sandy soil. But some people say that these beads of red +juice are not really the blood of the martyred saint, but only insects +resembling the cochineal or kermes-berry.(171) "About Hanover I have often +observed devout Roman Catholics going on the morning of St. John's day to +neighbouring sandhills, gathering on the roots of herbs a certain insect +(_Coccus Polonica_) looking like drops of blood, and thought by them to be +created on purpose to keep alive the remembrance of the foul murder of St. +John the Baptist, and only to be met with on the morning of the day set +apart for him by the Church. I believe the life of this insect is very +ephemeral, but by no means restricted to the twenty-fourth of June."(172) + +(M44) Yet another plant whose root has been thought to yield the blood of +St. John is the mouse-ear hawkweed (_Hieracium pilosella_), which grows +very commonly in dry exposed places, such as gravelly banks, sunny lawns, +and the tops of park walls. "It blossoms from May to the end of July, +presenting its elegant sulphur-coloured flowers to the noontide sun, while +the surrounding herbage, and even its own foliage, is withered and burnt +up";(173) and these round yellow flowers may be likened not inaptly to the +disc of the great luminary whose light they love. At Hildesheim, in +Germany, people used to dig up hawkweed, especially on the Gallows' Hill, +when the clocks were striking noon on Midsummer Day; and the blood of St. +John, which they found at the roots, was carefully preserved in quills for +good luck. A little of it smeared secretly on the clothes was sure to make +the wearer fortunate in the market that day.(174) According to some the +plant ought to be dug up with a gold coin.(175) Near Gablonz, in Bohemia, +it used to be customary to make a bed of St. John's flowers, as they were +called, on St. John's Eve, and in the night the saint himself came and +laid his head on the bed; next morning you could see the print of his head +on the flowers, which derived a healing virtue from his blessed touch, and +were mixed with the fodder of sick cattle to make them whole.(176) But +whether these St. John's flowers were the mouse-ear hawkweed or not is +doubtful.(177) + +(M45) More commonly in Germany the name of St. John's flowers +(_Johannisblumen_) appears to be given to the mountain arnica. In +Voigtland the mountain arnica if plucked on St. John's Eve and stuck in +the fields, laid under the roof, or hung on the wall, is believed to +protect house and fields from lightning and hail.(178) So in some parts of +Bavaria they think that no thunderstorm can harm a house which has a +blossom of mountain arnica in the window or the roof, and in the Tyrol the +same flower fastened to the door will render the dwelling fire-proof. But +it is needless to remark that the flower, which takes its popular name +from St. John, will be no protection against either fire or thunder unless +it has been culled on the saint's own day.(179) + +(M46) Another plant which possesses wondrous virtues, if only it be +gathered on the Eve or the Day of St. John, is mugwort (_Artemisia +vulgaris_). Hence in France it goes by the name of the herb of St. +John.(180) Near Péronne, in the French department of Somme, people used to +go out fasting before sunrise on St. John's Day to cull the plant; put +among the wheat in the barn it protected the corn against mice. In Artois +people carried bunches of mugwort, or wore it round their body;(181) in +Poitou they still wear girdles of mugwort or hemp when they warm their +backs at the midsummer fire as a preservative against backache at +harvest;(182) and the custom of wearing girdles of mugwort on the Eve or +Day of St. John has caused the plant to be popularly known in Germany and +Bohemia as St. John's girdle. In Bohemia such girdles are believed to +protect the wearer for the whole year against ghosts, magic, misfortune, +and sickness. People also weave garlands of the plant and look through +them at the midsummer bonfire or put them on their heads; and by doing so +they ensure that their heads will not ache nor their eyes smart all that +year. Another Bohemian practice is to make a decoction of mugwort which +has been gathered on St. John's Day; then, when your cow is bewitched and +will yield no milk, you have only to wash the animal thrice with the +decoction and the spell will be broken.(183) In Germany, people used to +crown their heads or gird their bodies with mugwort, which they afterwards +threw into the midsummer bonfire, pronouncing certain rhymes and believing +that they thus rid themselves of all their ill-luck.(184) Sometimes +wreaths or girdles of mugwort were kept in houses, cattle-sheds, and +sheep-folds throughout the year.(185) In Normandy such wreaths are a +protection against thunder and thieves;(186) and stalks of mugwort hinder +witches from laying their spells on the butter.(187) In the Isle of Man on +Midsummer Eve people gathered _barran fealoin_ or mugwort "as a preventive +against the influence of witchcraft";(188) in Belgium bunches of mugwort +gathered on St. John's Day or Eve and hung on the doors of stables and +houses are believed to bring good luck and to furnish a protection against +sorcery.(189) It is curious to find that in China a similar use is, or was +formerly, made of mugwort at the same season of the year. In an old +Chinese calendar we read that "on the fifth day of the fifth month the +four classes of the people gambol in the herbage, and have competitive +games with plants of all kinds. They pluck mugwort and make dolls of it, +which they suspend over their gates and doors, in order to expel poisonous +airs or influences."(190) On this custom Professor J. J. M. de Groot +observes: "Notice that the plant owed its efficacy to the time when it was +plucked: a day denoting the midsummer festival, when light and fire of the +universe are in their apogee."(191) On account of this valuable property +mugwort is used by Chinese surgeons in cautery.(192) The Ainos of Japan +employ bunches of mugwort in exorcisms, "because it is thought that demons +of disease dislike the smell and flavour of this herb."(193) It is an old +German belief that he who carries mugwort in his shoes will not grow +weary.(194) In Mecklenburg, they say that if you will dig up a plant of +mugwort at noon on Midsummer Day, you will find under the root a burning +coal, which vanishes away as soon as the church bells have ceased to ring. +If you find the coal and carry it off in silence, it will prove a remedy +for all sorts of maladies.(195) According to another German superstition, +such a coal will turn to gold.(196) English writers record the popular +belief that a rare coal is to be found under the root of mugwort at a +single hour of a single day in the year, namely, at noon or midnight on +Midsummer Eve, and that this coal will protect him who carries it on his +person from plague, carbuncle, lightning, fever, and ague.(197) In Eastern +Prussia, on St. John's Eve, people can foretell a marriage by means of +mugwort; they bend two stalks of the growing plant outward, and then +observe whether the stalks, after straightening themselves again, incline +towards each other or not.(198) + +(M47) A similar mode of divination has been practised both in England and +in Germany with the orpine (_Sedum telephium_), a plant which grows on a +gravelly or chalky soil about hedges, the borders of fields, and on bushy +hills. It flowers in August, and the blossoms consist of dense clustered +tufts of crimson or purple petals; sometimes, but rarely, the flowers are +white.(199) In England the plant is popularly known as Midsummer Men, +because people used to plant slips of them in pairs on Midsummer Eve, one +slip standing for a young man and the other for a young woman. If the +plants, as they grew up, bent towards each other, the couple would marry; +if either of them withered, he or she whom it represented would die.(200) +In Masuren, Westphalia, and Switzerland the method of forecasting the +future by means of the orpine is precisely the same.(201) + +(M48) Another plant which popular superstition has often associated with +the summer solstice is vervain.(202) In some parts of Spain people gather +vervain after sunset on Midsummer Eve, and wash their faces next morning +in the water in which the plants have been allowed to steep +overnight.(203) In Belgium vervain is gathered on St. John's Day and worn +as a safeguard against rupture.(204) In Normandy the peasants cull vervain +on the Day or the Eve of St. John, believing that, besides its medical +properties, it possesses at this season the power of protecting the house +from thunder and lightning, from sorcerers, demons, and thieves.(205) +Bohemian poachers wash their guns with a decoction of vervain and +southernwood, which they have gathered naked before sunrise on Midsummer +Day; guns which have been thus treated never miss the mark.(206) In our +own country vervain used to be sought for its magical virtues on Midsummer +Eve.(207) In the Tyrol they think that he who finds a four-leaved clover +while the vesper-bell is ringing on Midsummer Eve can work magic from that +time forth.(208) People in Berry say that the four-leaved clover is +endowed with all its marvellous virtues only when it has been plucked by a +virgin on the night of Midsummer Eve.(209) In Saintonge and Aunis the +four-leaved clover, if it be found on the Eve of St. John, brings good +luck at play;(210) in Belgium it brings a girl a husband.(211) + +(M49) At Kirchvers, in Hesse, people run out to the fields at noon on +Midsummer Day to gather camomile; for the flowers, plucked at the moment +when the sun is at the highest point of his course, are supposed to +possess the medicinal qualities of the plant in the highest degree. In +heathen times the camomile flower, with its healing qualities, its yellow +calix and white stamens, is said to have been sacred to the kindly and +shining Balder and to have borne his name, being called _Balders-brâ_, +that is, Balder's eyelashes.(212) In Westphalia, also, the belief prevails +that camomile is most potent as a drug when it has been gathered on +Midsummer Day;(213) in Masuren the plant must always be one of the nine +different kinds of plants that are culled on Midsummer Eve to form +wreaths, and tea brewed from the flower is a remedy for many sorts of +maladies.(214) + +(M50) Thuringian peasants hold that if the root of the yellow mullein +(_Verbascum_) has been dug up in silence with a ducat at midnight on +Midsummer Eve, and is worn in a piece of linen next to the skin, it will +preserve the wearer from epilepsy.(215) In Prussia girls go out into the +fields on Midsummer Day, gather mullein, and hang it up over their beds. +The girl whose flower is the first to wither will be the first to +die.(216) Perhaps the bright yellow flowers of mullein, clustering round +the stem like lighted candles, may partly account for the association of +the plant with the summer solstice. In Germany great mullein (_Verbascum +thapsus_) is called the King's Candle; in England it is popularly known as +High Taper. The yellow, hoary mullein (_Verbascum pulverulentum_) "forms a +golden pyramid a yard high, of many hundreds of flowers, and is one of the +most magnificent of British herbaceous plants."(217) We may trace a +relation between mullein and the sun in the Prussian custom of bending the +flower, after sunset, towards the point where the sun will rise, and +praying at the same time that a sick person or a sick beast may be +restored to health.(218) + +(M51) In Bohemia poachers fancy that they can render themselves +invulnerable by swallowing the seed from a fir-cone which they have found +growing upwards before sunrise on the morning of St. John's Day.(219) +Again, wild thyme gathered on Midsummer Day is used in Bohemia to fumigate +the trees on Christmas Eve in order that they may grow well;(220) in +Voigtland a tea brewed from wild thyme which has been pulled at noon on +Midsummer Day is given to women in childbed.(221) The Germans of Western +Bohemia brew a tea or wine from elder-flowers, but they say that the brew +has no medicinal virtue unless the flowers have been gathered on Midsummer +Eve. They do say, too, that whenever you see an elder-tree, you should +take off your hat.(222) In the Tyrol dwarf-elder serves to detect +witchcraft in cattle, provided of course that the shrub has been pulled up +or the branches broken on Midsummer Day.(223) Russian peasants regard the +plant known as purple loosestrife (_Lythrum salicaria_) with respect and +even fear. Wizards make much use of it. They dig the root up on St. John's +morning, at break of day, without the use of iron tools; and they believe +that by means of the root, as well as of the blossom, they can subdue evil +spirits and make them serviceable, and also drive away witches and the +demons that guard treasures.(224) + +(M52) More famous, however, than these are the marvellous properties which +popular superstition in many parts of Europe has attributed to the fern at +this season. At midnight on Midsummer Eve the plant is supposed to bloom +and soon afterwards to seed; and whoever catches the bloom or the seed is +thereby endowed with supernatural knowledge and miraculous powers; above +all, he knows where treasures lie hidden in the ground, and he can render +himself invisible at will by putting the seed in his shoe. But great +precautions must be observed in procuring the wondrous bloom or seed, +which else quickly vanishes like dew on sand or mist in the air. The +seeker must neither touch it with his hand nor let it touch the ground; he +spreads a white cloth under the plant, and the blossom or the seed falls +into it. Beliefs of this sort concerning fern-seed have prevailed, with +trifling variations of detail, in England, France, Germany, Austria, +Italy, and Russia.(225) In Bohemia the magic bloom is said to be golden, +and to glow or sparkle like fire.(226) In Russia, they say that at dead of +night on Midsummer Eve the plant puts forth buds like glowing coals, which +on the stroke of twelve burst open with a clap like thunder and light up +everything near and far.(227) In the Azores they say that the fern only +blooms at midnight on St. John's Eve, and that no one ever sees the flower +because the fairies instantly carry it off. But if any one, watching till +it opens, throws a cloth over it, and then, when the magic hour has +passed, burns the blossoms carefully, the ashes will serve as a mirror in +which you can read the fate of absent friends; if your friends are well +and happy, the ashes will resume the shape of a lovely flower; but if they +are unhappy or dead, the ashes will remain cold and lifeless.(228) In +Thuringia people think that he who has on his person or in his house the +male fern (_Aspidium filix mas_) cannot be bewitched. They call it St. +John's root (_Johanniswurzel_), and say that it blooms thrice in the year, +on Christmas Eve, Easter Eve, and the day of St. John the Baptist; it +should be dug up when the sun enters the sign of the lion. Armed with this +powerful implement you can detect a sorcerer at any gathering, it may be a +wedding feast or what not. All you have to do is to put the root under the +tablecloth unseen by the rest of the company, and, if there should be a +sorcerer among them, he will turn as pale as death and get up and go away. +Fear and horror come over him when the fern-root is under the tablecloth. +And when oxen, horses, or other domestic cattle are bewitched by wicked +people, you need only take the root at full moon, soak it in water, and +sprinkle the cattle with the water, or rub them down with a cloth that has +been steeped in it, and witchcraft will have no more power over the +animals.(229) + +(M53) Once more, people have fancied that if they cut a branch of hazel on +Midsummer Eve it would serve them as a divining rod to discover treasures +and water. This belief has existed in Moravia, Mecklenburg, and apparently +in Scotland.(230) In the Mark of Brandenburg, they say that if you would +procure the mystic wand you must go to the hazel by night on Midsummer +Eve, walking backwards, and when you have come to the bush you must +silently put your hands between your legs and cut a fork-shaped stick; +that stick will be the divining-rod, and, as such, will detect treasures +buried in the ground. If you have any doubt as to the quality of the wand, +you have only to hold it in water; for in that case your true divining-rod +will squeak like a pig, but your spurious one will not.(231) In Bavaria +they say that the divining-rod should be cut from a hazel bush between +eleven and twelve on St. John's Night, and that by means of it you can +discover not only veins of metal and underground springs, but also thieves +and murderers and unknown ways. In cutting it you should say, "God greet +thee, thou noble twig! With God the Father I seek thee, with God the Son I +find thee, with the might of God the Holy Ghost I break thee. I adjure +thee, rod and sprig, by the power of the Highest that thou shew me what I +order, and that as sure and clear as Mary the Mother of God was a pure +virgin when she bare our Lord Jesus, in the name of God the Father, God +the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, Amen!"(232) In Berlin and the +neighbourhood they say that every seventh year there grows a wonderful +branch on a hazel bush, and that branch is the divining-rod. Only an +innocent child, born on a Sunday and nursed in the true faith, can find it +on St. John's Night; to him then all the treasures of the earth lie +open.(233) In the Tyrol the divining-rod ought to be cut at new moon, but +may be cut either on St. John's Day or on Twelfth Night. Having got it you +baptize it in the name of one of the Three Holy Kings according to the +purpose for which you intend to use it: if the rod is to discover gold, +you name it Caspar; if it is to reveal silver, you call it Balthasar; and +if it is to point out hidden springs of water, you dub it Melchior.(234) +In Lechrain the divining-rod is a yearling shoot of hazel with two +branches; a good time for cutting it is new moon, and if the sun is +rising, so much the better. As for the day of the year, you may take your +choice between St. John's Day, Twelfth Night, and Shrove Tuesday. If cut +with the proper form of words, the rod will as usual discover underground +springs and hidden treasures.(235) + +(M54) Midsummer Eve is also the favourite time for procuring the +divining-rod in Sweden. Some say that it should then be cut from a +mistletoe bough.(236) However, other people in Sweden are of opinion that +the divining-rod (_Slag ruta_) which is obtained on Midsummer Eve ought to +be compounded out of four different kinds of wood, to wit, mistletoe, +mountain-ash, the aspen, and another; and they say that the mountain-ash +which is employed for this purpose should, like the mistletoe, be a +parasite growing from the hollow root of a fallen tree, whither the seed +was carried by a bird or wafted by the wind. Armed with this fourfold +implement of power the treasure-seeker proceeds at sundown to the spot +where he expects to find hidden wealth; there he lays the rod on the +ground in perfect silence, and when it lies directly over treasure, it +will begin to hop about as if it were alive.(237) + +(M55) A mystical plant which to some extent serves the same purpose as the +divining-rod is the springwort, which is sometimes supposed to be +caper-spurge (_Euphorbia lathyris_). In the Harz Mountains they say that +many years ago there was a wondrous flower called springwort or Johnswort, +which was as rare as it was marvellous. It bloomed only on St. John's +Night (some say under a fern) between the hours of eleven and twelve; but +when the last stroke of twelve was struck, the flower vanished away. Only +in mountainous regions, where many noble metals reposed in the bosom of +the earth, was the flower seen now and then in lonely meadows among the +hills. The spirits of the hills wished by means of it to shew to men where +their treasures were to be found. The flower itself was yellow and shone +like a lamp in the darkness of night. It never stood still, but kept +hopping constantly to and fro. It was also afraid of men and fled before +them, and no man ever yet plucked it unless he had been set apart by +Providence for the task. To him who was lucky enough to cull it the flower +revealed all the treasures of the earth, and it made him rich, oh so rich +and so happy!(238) + +(M56) However, the usual account given of the springwort is somewhat +different. They say that the way to procure it is this. You mark a hollow +in a tree where a green or black woodpecker has built its nest and hatched +its young; you plug up the hole with a wooden wedge; then you hide behind +the tree and wait. The woodpecker meantime has flown away but very soon +returns with the springwort in its bill. It flutters up to the tree-trunk +holding the springwort to the wedge, which at once, as if struck by a +hammer, jumps out with a bang. Now is your chance. You rush from your +concealment, you raise a loud cry, and in its fright the bird opens its +bill and drops the springwort. Quick as thought you reach out a red or +white cloth, with which you have taken care to provide yourself, and catch +the magic flower as it falls. The treasure is now yours. Before its +marvellous power all doors and locks fly open; it can make the bearer of +it invisible; and neither steel nor lead can wound the man who carries it +in the right-hand pocket of his coat. That is why people in Swabia say of +a thief who cannot be caught, "He must surely have a springwort."(239) The +superstition which associates the springwort with the woodpecker is very +ancient, for it is recorded by Pliny. It was a vulgar belief, he tells us, +that if a shepherd plugged up a woodpecker's nest in the hollow of a tree +with a wedge, the bird would bring a herb which caused the wedge to slip +out of the hole; Trebius indeed affirmed that the wedge leaped out with a +bang, however hard and fast you might have driven it into the tree.(240) +Another flower which possesses the same remarkable power of bursting open +all doors and locks is chicory, provided always that you cut the flower +with a piece of gold at noon or midnight on St. James's Day, the +twenty-fifth of July. But in cutting it you must be perfectly silent; if +you utter a sound, it is all up with you. There was a man who was just +about to cut the flower of the chicory, when he looked up and saw a +millstone hovering over his head. He fled for his life and fortunately +escaped; but had he so much as opened his lips, the millstone would have +dropped on him and crushed him as flat as a pancake. However, it is only a +rare white variety of the chicory flower which can act as a picklock; the +common bright blue flower is perfectly useless for the purpose.(241) + +(M57) Many more examples might perhaps be cited of the marvellous virtues +which certain plants have been supposed to acquire at the summer solstice, +but the foregoing instances may suffice to prove that the superstition is +widely spread, deeply rooted, and therefore probably very ancient in +Europe. Why should plants be thought to be endowed with these wonderful +properties on the longest day more than on any other day of the year? It +seems difficult or impossible to explain such a belief except on the +supposition that in some mystic way the plants catch from the sun, then at +the full height of his power and glory, some fleeting effluence of radiant +light and heat, which invests them for a time with powers above the +ordinary for the healing of diseases and the unmasking and baffling of all +the evil things that threaten the life of man. That the supposition is not +purely hypothetical will appear from a folk-tale, to be noticed later on, +in which the magic bloom of the fern is directly derived from the sun at +noon on Midsummer Day. And if the magic flowers of Midsummer Eve thus +stand in direct relation to the sun, which many of them resemble in shape +and colour, blooming in the meadows like little yellow suns fallen from +the blue sky, does it not become probable that the bonfires kindled at the +same time are the artificial, as the flowers are the natural, imitations +of the great celestial fire then blazing in all its strength? At least +analogy seems to favour the inference and so far to support Mannhardt's +theory, that the bonfires kindled at the popular festivals of Europe, +especially at the summer solstice, are intended to reinforce the waning or +waxing fires of the sun. Thus if in our enquiry into these fire-festivals +the scales of judgment are loaded with the adverse theories of Mannhardt +and Westermarck, we may say that the weight, light as it is, of the magic +flowers of Midsummer Eve seems to incline the trembling balance back to +the side of Mannhardt. + +(M58) Nor is it, perhaps, an argument against Mannhardt's view that the +midsummer flowers and plants are so often employed as talismans to break +the spells of witchcraft.(242) For granted that employment, which is +undeniable, we have still to explain it, and that we can hardly do except +by reference to the midsummer sun. And what is here said of the midsummer +flowers applies equally to the midsummer bonfires. They too are used to +destroy the charms of witches and warlocks; but if they can do so, may it +not be in part because fires at midsummer are thought to burn with fiercer +fury than at other times by sympathy with the fiercer fervour of the sun? +This consideration would bring us back to an intermediate position between +the opposing theories, namely, to the view that while the purely +destructive aspect of fire is generally the most prominent and apparently +the most important at these festivals, we must not overlook the additional +force which by virtue of homoeopathic or imitative magic the bonfires may +be supposed both to derive from and to impart to the sun, especially at +the moment of the summer solstice when his strength is greatest and begins +to decline, and when accordingly he can at once give and receive help to +the greatest advantage. + +(M59) To conclude this part of our subject it may not be amiss to +illustrate by a few more miscellaneous examples the belief that Midsummer +Eve is one of the great days of the year in which witches and warlocks +pursue their nefarious calling; indeed in this respect Midsummer Eve +perhaps stands second only to the famous Walpurgis Night (the Eve of May +Day). For instance, in the neighbourhood of Lierre, in Belgium, the people +think that on the night of Midsummer Eve all witches and warlocks must +repair to a certain field which is indicated to them beforehand. There +they hold their infernal Sabbath and are passed in review by a hellish +magician, who bestows on them fresh powers. That is why old women are most +careful, before going to bed on that night, to stop up doors and windows +and every other opening in order to bar out the witches and warlocks, who +but for this sage precaution might steal into the house and make the first +trial of their new powers on the unfortunate inmates.(243) At Rottenburg, +in Swabia, people thought that the devil and the witches could do much +harm on Midsummer Eve; so they made fast their shutters and bunged up even +the chinks and crannies, for wherever air can penetrate, there the devil +and witches can worm their way in. All night long, too, from nine in the +evening till break of day, the church bells rang to disturb the dreadful +beings at their evil work, since there is perhaps no better means of +putting the whole devilish crew to flight than the sound of church +bells.(244) Down to the second half of the nineteenth century the belief +in witches was still widespread in Voigtland, a bleak mountainous region +of Central Germany. It was especially on the Eve of May Day (Walpurgis), +St. Thomas's Day, St. John's Day, and Christmas Eve, as well as on +Mondays, that they were dreaded. Then they would come into a neighbour's +house to beg, borrow, or steal something, no matter what; but woe to the +poor wretch who suffered them to carry away so much as a chip or splinter +of wood; for they would certainly use it to his undoing. On these witching +nights the witches rode to their Sabbath on baking-forks and the dashers +of churns; but if when they were hurtling through the darkness any one +standing below addressed one of the witches by name, she would die within +the year. To counteract and undo the spells which witches cast on man and +beast, people resorted to all kinds of measures. Thus on the +before-mentioned days folk made three crosses on the doors of the byres or +guarded them by hanging up St. John's wort, marjoram, or other equally +powerful talismans. Very often, too, the village youth would carry the war +into the enemy's quarters by marching out in a body, cracking whips, +firing guns, waving burning besoms, shouting and making an uproar, all for +the purpose of frightening and driving away the witches.(245) In Prussia +witches and warlocks used regularly to assemble twice a year on Walpurgis +Night and the Eve of St. John. The places where they held their infernal +Sabbath were various; for example, one was Pogdanzig, in the district of +Schlochau. They generally rode on a baking-fork, but often on a black +three-legged horse, and they took their departure up the chimney with the +words, "Up and away and nowhere to stop!" When they were all gathered on +the Blocksberg or Mount of the Witches, they held high revelry, feasting +first and then dancing on a tight rope lefthanded-wise to the inspiring +strains which an old warlock drew from a drum and a pig's head.(246) The +South Slavs believe that on the night of Midsummer Eve a witch will slink +up to the fence of the farmyard and say, "The cheese to me, the lard to +me, the butter to me, the milk to me, but the cowhide to thee!" After that +the cow will perish miserably and you will be obliged to bury the flesh +and sell the hide. To prevent this disaster the thing to do is to go out +into the meadows very early on Midsummer morning while the dew is on the +grass, collect a quantity of dew in a waterproof mantle, carry it home, +and having tethered your cow wash her down with the dew. After that you +have only to place a milkpail under her udders and to milk away as hard as +you can; the amount of milk that you will extract from that cow's dugs is +quite surprising. Again, the Slovenians about Görz and the Croats of +Istria believe that on the same night the witches wage pitched battles +with baptized folk, attacking them fiercely with broken stakes of palings +and stumps of trees. It is therefore a wise precaution to grub up all the +stumps in autumn and carry them home, so that the witches may be +weaponless on St. John's Night. If the stumps are too heavy to be grubbed +up, it is well to ram them down tighter into the earth, for then the +witches will not be able to pull them up.(247) + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. BALDER AND THE MISTLETOE. + + +(M60) The reader may remember that the preceding account of the popular +fire-festivals of Europe was suggested by the myth of the Norse god +Balder, who is said to have been slain by a branch of mistletoe and burnt +in a great fire. We have now to enquire how far the customs which have +been passed in review help to shed light on the myth. In this enquiry it +may be convenient to begin with the mistletoe, the instrument of Balder's +death. + +(M61) From time immemorial the mistletoe has been the object of +superstitious veneration in Europe. It was worshipped by the Druids, as we +learn from a famous passage of Pliny. After enumerating the different +kinds of mistletoe, he proceeds: "In treating of this subject, the +admiration in which the mistletoe is held throughout Gaul ought not to +pass unnoticed. The Druids, for so they call their wizards, esteem nothing +more sacred than the mistletoe and the tree on which it grows, provided +only that the tree is an oak. But apart from this they choose oak-woods +for their sacred groves and perform no sacred rites without oak-leaves; so +that the very name of Druids may be regarded as a Greek appellation +derived from their worship of the oak.(248) For they believe that whatever +grows on these trees is sent from heaven, and is a sign that the tree has +been chosen by the god himself. The mistletoe is very rarely to be met +with; but when it is found, they gather it with solemn ceremony. This they +do above all on the sixth day of the moon, from whence they date the +beginnings of their months, of their years, and of their thirty years' +cycle, because by the sixth day the moon has plenty of vigour and has not +run half its course. After due preparations have been made for a sacrifice +and a feast under the tree, they hail it as the universal healer and bring +to the spot two white bulls, whose horns have never been bound before. A +priest clad in a white robe climbs the tree and with a golden sickle cuts +the mistletoe, which is caught in a white cloth. Then they sacrifice the +victims, praying that God may make his own gift to prosper with those upon +whom he has bestowed it. They believe that a potion prepared from +mistletoe will make barren animals to bring forth, and that the plant is a +remedy against all poison. So much of men's religion is commonly concerned +with trifles."(249) + +(M62) In another passage Pliny tells us that in medicine the mistletoe +which grows on an oak was esteemed the most efficacious, and that its +efficacy was by some superstitious people supposed to be increased if the +plant was gathered on the first day of the moon without the use of iron, +and if when gathered it was not allowed to touch the earth; oak-mistletoe +thus obtained was deemed a cure for epilepsy; carried about by women it +assisted them to conceive; and it healed ulcers most effectually, if only +the sufferer chewed a piece of the plant and laid another piece on the +sore.(250) Yet, again, he says that mistletoe was supposed, like vinegar +and an egg, to be an excellent means of extinguishing a fire.(251) + +(M63) If in these latter passages Pliny refers, as he apparently does, to +the beliefs current among his contemporaries in Italy, it will follow that +the Druids and the Italians were to some extent agreed as to the valuable +properties possessed by mistletoe which grows on an oak; both of them +deemed it an effectual remedy for a number of ailments, and both of them +ascribed to it a quickening virtue, the Druids believing that a potion +prepared from mistletoe would fertilize barren cattle, and the Italians +holding that a piece of mistletoe carried about by a woman would help her +to conceive a child. Further, both peoples thought that if the plant were +to exert its medicinal properties it must be gathered in a certain way and +at a certain time. It might not be cut with iron, hence the Druids cut it +with gold; and it might not touch the earth, hence the Druids caught it in +a white cloth. In choosing the time for gathering the plant, both peoples +were determined by observation of the moon; only they differed as to the +particular day of the moon, the Italians preferring the first, and the +Druids the sixth. + +(M64) With these beliefs of the ancient Gauls and Italians as to the +wonderful medicinal properties of mistletoe we may compare the similar +beliefs of the modern Ainos of Japan. We read that they, "like many +nations of the Northern origin, hold the mistletoe in peculiar veneration. +They look upon it as a medicine, good in almost every disease, and it is +sometimes taken in food and at others separately as a decoction. The +leaves are used in preference to the berries, the latter being of too +sticky a nature for general purposes.... But many, too, suppose this plant +to have the power of making the gardens bear plentifully. When used for +this purpose, the leaves are cut up into fine pieces, and, after having +been prayed over, are sown with the millet and other seeds, a little also +being eaten with the food. Barren women have also been known to eat the +mistletoe, in order to be made to bear children. That mistletoe which +grows upon the willow is supposed to have the greatest efficacy. This is +because the willow is looked upon by them as being an especially sacred +tree."(252) + +(M65) Thus the Ainos agree with the Druids in regarding mistletoe as a +cure for almost every disease, and they agree with the ancient Italians +that applied to women it helps them to bear children. A similar belief as +to the fertilizing influence of mistletoe, or of similar plants, upon +women is entertained by the natives of Mabuiag, an island in Torres +Straits. These savages imagine that twins can be produced "by the pregnant +woman touching or breaking a branch of a loranthaceous plant (_Viscum +sp._, probably _V. orientale_) parasitic on a tree, _mader_. The wood of +this tree is much esteemed for making digging sticks and as firewood, no +twin-producing properties are inherent in it, nor is it regarded as being +infected with the properties of its twin-producing parasite."(253) Again, +the Druidical notion that the mistletoe was an "all-healer" or panacea may +be compared with a notion entertained by the Walos of Senegambia. These +people "have much veneration for a sort of mistletoe, which they call +_tob_; they carry leaves of it on their persons when they go to war as a +preservative against wounds, just as if the leaves were real talismans +(_gris-gris_)." The French writer who records this practice adds: "Is it +not very curious that the mistletoe should be in this part of Africa what +it was in the superstitions of the Gauls? This prejudice, common to the +two countries, may have the same origin; blacks and whites will doubtless +have seen, each of them for themselves, something supernatural in a plant +which grows and flourishes without having roots in the earth. May they not +have believed, in fact, that it was a plant fallen from the sky, a gift of +the divinity?"(254) + +(M66) This suggestion as to the origin of the superstition is strongly +confirmed by the Druidical belief, reported by Pliny, that whatever grew +on an oak was sent from heaven and was a sign that the tree had been +chosen by the god himself.(255) Such a belief explains why the Druids cut +the mistletoe, not with a common knife, but with a golden sickle,(256) and +why, when cut, it was not suffered to touch the earth; probably they +thought that the celestial plant would have been profaned and its +marvellous virtue lost by contact with the ground. With the ritual +observed by the Druids in cutting the mistletoe we may compare the ritual +which in Cambodia is prescribed in a similar case. They say that when you +see an orchid growing as a parasite on a tamarind tree, you should dress +in white, take a new earthenware pot, then climb the tree at noon, break +off the plant, put it in the pot, and let the pot fall to the ground. +After that you make in the pot a decoction which confers the gift of +invulnerability.(257) Thus just as in Africa the leaves of one parasitic +plant are supposed to render the wearer invulnerable, so in Cambodia a +decoction made from another parasitic plant is considered to render the +same service to such as make use of it, whether by drinking or washing. We +may conjecture that in both places the notion of invulnerability is +suggested by the position of the plant, which, occupying a place of +comparative security above the ground, appears to promise to its fortunate +possessor a similar security from some of the ills that beset the life of +man on earth. We have already met with many examples of the store which +the primitive mind sets on such vantage grounds.(258) + +(M67) Whatever may be the origin of these beliefs and practices concerning +the mistletoe, certain it is that some of them have their analogies in the +folk-lore of modern European peasants. For example, it is laid down as a +rule in various parts of Europe that mistletoe may not be cut in the +ordinary way but must be shot or knocked down with stones from the tree on +which it is growing. Thus, in the Swiss canton of Aargau "all parasitic +plants are esteemed in a certain sense holy by the country folk, but most +particularly so the mistletoe growing on an oak. They ascribe great powers +to it, but shrink from cutting it off in the usual manner. Instead of that +they procure it in the following manner. When the sun is in Sagittarius +and the moon is on the wane, on the first, third, or fourth day before the +new moon, one ought to shoot down with an arrow the mistletoe of an oak +and to catch it with the left hand as it falls. Such mistletoe is a remedy +for every ailment of children."(259) Here among the Swiss peasants, as +among the Druids of old, special virtue is ascribed to mistletoe which +grows on an oak: it may not be cut in the usual way: it must be caught as +it falls to the ground; and it is esteemed a panacea for all diseases, at +least of children. In Sweden, also, it is a popular superstition that if +mistletoe is to possess its peculiar virtue, it must either be shot down +out of the oak or knocked down with stones.(260) Similarly, "so late as +the early part of the nineteenth century, people in Wales believed that +for the mistletoe to have any power, it must be shot or struck down with +stones off the tree where it grew."(261) + +(M68) Again, in respect of the healing virtues of mistletoe the opinion of +modern peasants, and even of the learned, has to some extent agreed with +that of the ancients. The Druids appear to have called the plant, or +perhaps the oak on which it grew, the "all-healer";(262) and "all-healer" +is said to be still a name of the mistletoe in the modern Celtic speech of +Brittany, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland.(263) On St. John's morning +(Midsummer morning) peasants of Piedmont and Lombardy go out to search the +oak-leaves for the "oil of St. John," which is supposed to heal all wounds +made with cutting instruments.(264) Originally, perhaps, the "oil of St. +John" was simply the mistletoe, or a decoction made from it. For in +Holstein the mistletoe, especially oak-mistletoe, is still regarded as a +panacea for green wounds and as a sure charm to secure success in +hunting;(265) and at Lacaune, in the south of France, the old Druidical +belief in the mistletoe as an antidote to all poisons still survives among +the peasantry; they apply the plant to the stomach of the sufferer or give +him a decoction of it to drink.(266) Again, the ancient belief that +mistletoe is a cure for epilepsy has survived in modern times not only +among the ignorant but among the learned. Thus in Sweden persons afflicted +with the falling sickness think they can ward off attacks of the malady by +carrying about with them a knife which has a handle of oak mistletoe;(267) +and in Germany for a similar purpose pieces of mistletoe used to be hung +round the necks of children.(268) In the French province of Bourbonnais a +popular remedy for epilepsy is a decoction of mistletoe which has been +gathered on an oak on St. John's Day and boiled with rye-flour.(269) So at +Bottesford in Lincolnshire a decoction of mistletoe is supposed to be a +palliative for this terrible disease.(270) Indeed mistletoe was +recommended as a remedy for the falling sickness by high medical +authorities in England and Holland down to the eighteenth century.(271) At +Kirton-in-Lindsey, in Lincolnshire, it is thought that St. Vitus's dance +may be cured by the water in which mistletoe berries have been +boiled.(272) In the Scotch shires of Elgin and Moray, down to the second +half of the eighteenth century, at the full moon of March people used to +cut withes of mistletoe or ivy, make circles of them, keep them all the +year, and profess to cure hectics and other troubles by means of +them.(273) In Sweden, apparently, for other complaints a sprig of +mistletoe is hung round the patient's neck or a ring of it is worn on his +finger.(274) + +(M69) However, the opinion of the medical profession as to the curative +virtues of mistletoe has undergone a radical alteration. Whereas the +Druids thought that mistletoe cured everything, modern doctors appear to +think that it cures nothing.(275) If they are right, we must conclude that +the ancient and widespread faith in the medicinal virtue of mistletoe is a +pure superstition based on nothing better than the fanciful inferences +which ignorance has drawn from the parasitic nature of the plant, its +position high up on the branch of a tree seeming to protect it from the +dangers to which plants and animals are subject on the surface of the +ground. From this point of view we can perhaps understand why mistletoe +has so long and so persistently been prescribed as a cure for the falling +sickness. As mistletoe cannot fall to the ground because it is rooted on +the branch of a tree high above the earth, it seems to follow as a +necessary consequence that an epileptic patient cannot possibly fall down +in a fit so long as he carries a piece of mistletoe in his pocket or a +decoction of mistletoe in his stomach. Such a train of reasoning would +probably be regarded even now as cogent by a large portion of the human +species. + +(M70) Again the ancient Italian opinion that mistletoe extinguishes fire +appears to be shared by Swedish peasants, who hang up bunches of +oak-mistletoe on the ceilings of their rooms as a protection against harm +in general and conflagration in particular.(276) A hint as to the way in +which mistletoe comes to be possessed of this property is furnished by the +epithet "thunder-besom," which people of the Aargau canton in Switzerland +apply to the plant.(277) For a thunder-besom is a shaggy, bushy +excrescence on branches of trees, which is popularly believed to be +produced by a flash of lightning;(278) hence in Bohemia a thunder-besom +burnt in the fire protects the house against being struck by a +thunder-bolt.(279) Being itself a product of lightning it naturally +serves, on homoeopathic principles, as a protection against lightning, in +fact as a kind of lightning-conductor. Hence the fire which mistletoe in +Sweden is designed especially to avert from houses may be fire kindled by +lightning; though no doubt the plant is equally effective against +conflagration in general. + +(M71) Again, mistletoe acts as a master-key as well as a +lightning-conductor; for it is said to open all locks.(280) However, in +the Tyrol it can only exert this power "under certain circumstances," +which are not specified.(281) But perhaps the most precious of all the +virtues of mistletoe is that it affords efficient protection against +sorcery and witchcraft.(282) That, no doubt, is the reason why in Austria +a twig of mistletoe is laid on the threshold as a preventive of +nightmare;(283) and it may be the reason why in the north of England they +say that if you wish your dairy to thrive you should give your bunch of +mistletoe to the first cow that calves after New Year's Day,(284) for it +is well known that nothing is so fatal to milk and butter as witchcraft. +Similarly in Wales, for the sake of ensuring good luck to the dairy, +people used to give a branch of mistletoe to the first cow that gave birth +to a calf after the first hour of the New Year; and in rural districts of +Wales, where mistletoe abounded, there was always a profusion of it in the +farmhouses. When mistletoe was scarce, Welsh farmers used to say, "No +mistletoe, no luck"; but if there was a fine crop of mistletoe, they +expected a fine crop of corn.(285) In Sweden mistletoe is diligently +sought after on St. John's Eve, the people "believing it to be, in a high +degree, possessed of mystic qualities; and that if a sprig of it be +attached to the ceiling of the dwelling-house, the horse's stall, or the +cow's crib, the Troll will then be powerless to injure either man or +beast."(286) + +(M72) With regard to the time when the mistletoe should be gathered +opinions have varied. The Druids gathered it above all on the sixth day of +the moon, the ancient Italians apparently on the first day of the +moon.(287) In modern times some have preferred the full moon of March and +others the waning moon of winter when the sun is in Sagittarius.(288) But +the favourite time would seem to be Midsummer Eve or Midsummer Day. We +have seen that both in France and Sweden special virtues are ascribed to +mistletoe gathered at Midsummer.(289) The rule in Sweden is that +"mistletoe must be cut on the night of Midsummer Eve when sun and moon +stand in the sign of their might."(290) Again, in Wales it was believed +that a sprig of mistletoe gathered on St. John's Eve (Midsummer Eve), or +at any time before the berries appeared, would induce dreams of omen, both +good and bad, if it were placed under the pillow of the sleeper.(291) Thus +mistletoe is one of the many plants whose magical or medicinal virtues are +believed to culminate with the culmination of the sun on the longest day +of the year. Hence it seems reasonable to conjecture that in the eyes of +the Druids, also, who revered the plant so highly, the sacred mistletoe +may have acquired a double portion of its mystic qualities at the solstice +in June, and that accordingly they may have regularly cut it with solemn +ceremony on Midsummer Eve. + +(M73) Be that as it may, certain it is that the mistletoe, the instrument +of Balder's death, has been regularly gathered for the sake of its mystic +qualities on Midsummer Eve in Scandinavia, Balder's home.(292) The plant +is found commonly growing on pear-trees, oaks, and other trees in thick +damp woods throughout the more temperate parts of Sweden.(293) Thus one of +the two main incidents of Balder's myth is reproduced in the great +midsummer festival of Scandinavia. But the other main incident of the +myth, the burning of Balder's body on a pyre, has also its counterpart in +the bonfires which still blaze, or blazed till lately, in Denmark, Norway, +and Sweden on Midsummer Eve.(294) It does not appear, indeed, that any +effigy is burned in these bonfires; but the burning of an effigy is a +feature which might easily drop out after its meaning was forgotten. And +the name of Balder's balefires (_Balder's Balar_), by which these +midsummer fires were formerly known in Sweden,(295) puts their connexion +with Balder beyond the reach of doubt, and makes it probable that in +former times either a living representative or an effigy of Balder was +annually burned in them. Midsummer was the season sacred to Balder, and +the Swedish poet Tegner, in placing the burning of Balder at +midsummer,(296) may very well have followed an old tradition that the +summer solstice was the time when the good god came to his untimely end. + +(M74) Thus it has been shewn that the leading incidents of the Balder myth +have their counterparts in those fire-festivals of our European peasantry +which undoubtedly date from a time long prior to the introduction of +Christianity. The pretence of throwing the victim chosen by lot into the +Beltane fire,(297) and the similar treatment of the man, the future Green +Wolf, at the midsummer bonfire in Normandy,(298) may naturally be +interpreted as traces of an older custom of actually burning human beings +on these occasions; and the green dress of the Green Wolf, coupled with +the leafy envelope of the young fellow who trod out the midsummer fire at +Moosheim,(299) seems to hint that the persons who perished at these +festivals did so in the character of tree-spirits or deities of +vegetation. From all this we may reasonably infer that in the Balder myth +on the one hand, and the fire-festivals and custom of gathering mistletoe +on the other hand, we have, as it were, the two broken and dissevered +halves of an original whole. In other words, we may assume with some +degree of probability that the myth of Balder's death was not merely a +myth, that is, a description of physical phenomena in imagery borrowed +from human life, but that it was at the same time the story which people +told to explain why they annually burned a human representative of the god +and cut the mistletoe with solemn ceremony. If I am right, the story of +Balder's tragic end formed, so to say, the text of the sacred drama which +was acted year by year as a magical rite to cause the sun to shine, trees +to grow, crops to thrive, and to guard man and beast from the baleful arts +of fairies and trolls, of witches and warlocks. The tale belonged, in +short, to that class of nature myths which are meant to be supplemented by +ritual; here, as so often, myth stood to magic in the relation of theory +to practice. + +(M75) But if the victims--the human Balders--who died by fire, whether in +spring or at midsummer, were put to death as living embodiments of +tree-spirits or deities of vegetation, it would seem that Balder himself +must have been a tree-spirit or deity of vegetation. It becomes desirable, +therefore, to determine, if we can, the particular kind of tree or trees, +of which a personal representative was burned at the fire-festivals. For +we may be quite sure that it was not as a representative of vegetation in +general that the victim suffered death. The idea of vegetation in general +is too abstract to be primitive. Most probably the victim at first +represented a particular kind of sacred tree. Now of all European trees +none has such claims as the oak to be considered as pre-eminently the +sacred tree of the Aryans. Its worship is attested for all the great +branches of the Aryan stock in Europe. We have seen that it was not only +the sacred tree, but the principal object of worship of both Celts and +Lithuanians.(300) The roving Celts appear to have carried their worship of +the oak with them even to Asia; for in the heart of Asia Minor the +Galatian senate met in a place which bore the pure Celtic name of +Drynemetum or "temple of the oak."(301) Among the Slavs the oak seems to +have been the sacred tree of the great god Perun.(302) According to Grimm, +the oak ranked first among the holy trees of the Germans. It is certainly +known to have been adored by them in the age of heathendom, and traces of +its worship have survived in various parts of Germany almost to the +present day.(303) Among the ancient Italians the oak was sacred above all +other trees.(304) The image of Jupiter on the Capitol at Rome seems to +have been originally nothing but a natural oak-tree.(305) At Dodona, +perhaps the oldest of all Greek sanctuaries, Zeus was worshipped as +immanent in the sacred oak, and the rustling of its leaves in the wind was +his voice.(306) If, then, the great god of both Greeks and Romans was +represented in some of his oldest shrines under the form of an oak, and if +the oak was the principal object of worship of Celts, Germans, and +Lithuanians, we may certainly conclude that this tree was venerated by the +Aryans in common before the dispersion; and that their primitive home must +have lain in a land which was clothed with forests of oak.(307) + +(M76) Now, considering the primitive character and remarkable similarity +of the fire-festivals observed by all the branches of the Aryan race in +Europe, we may infer that these festivals form part of the common stock of +religious observances which the various peoples carried with them in their +wanderings from their old home. But, if I am right, an essential feature +of those primitive fire-festivals was the burning of a man who represented +the tree-spirit. In view, then, of the place occupied by the oak in the +religion of the Aryans, the presumption is that the tree so represented at +the fire-festivals must originally have been the oak. So far as the Celts +and Lithuanians are concerned, this conclusion will perhaps hardly be +contested. But both for them and for the Germans it is confirmed by a +remarkable piece of religious conservatism. The most primitive method +known to man of producing fire is by rubbing two pieces of wood against +each other till they ignite; and we have seen that this method is still +used in Europe for kindling sacred fires such as the need-fire, and that +most probably it was formerly resorted to at all the fire-festivals under +discussion. Now it is sometimes required that the need-fire, or other +sacred fire, should be made by the friction of a particular kind of wood; +and when the kind of wood is prescribed, whether among Celts, Germans, or +Slavs, that wood appears to be generally the oak.(308) Thus we have seen +that amongst the Slavs of Masuren the new fire for the village is made on +Midsummer Day by causing a wheel to revolve rapidly round an axle of oak +till the axle takes fire.(309) When the perpetual fire which the ancient +Slavs used to maintain chanced to go out, it was rekindled by the friction +of a piece of oak-wood, which had been previously heated by being struck +with a grey (not a red) stone.(310) In Germany and the Highlands of +Scotland the need-fire was regularly, and in Russia and among the South +Slavs it was sometimes, kindled by the friction of oak-wood;(311) and both +in Wales and the Highlands of Scotland the Beltane fires were lighted by +similar means.(312) Now, if the sacred fire was regularly kindled by the +friction of oak-wood, we may infer that originally the fire was also fed +with the same material. In point of fact, it appears that the perpetual +fire of Vesta at Rome was fed with oak-wood,(313) and that oak-wood was +the fuel consumed in the perpetual fire which burned under the sacred oak +at the great Lithuanian sanctuary of Romove.(314) Further, that oak-wood +was formerly the fuel burned in the midsummer fires may perhaps be +inferred from the custom, said to be still observed by peasants in many +mountain districts of Germany, of making up the cottage fire on Midsummer +Day with a heavy block of oak-wood. The block is so arranged that it +smoulders slowly and is not finally reduced to charcoal till the expiry of +a year. Then upon next Midsummer Day the charred embers of the old log are +removed to make room for the new one, and are mixed with the seed-corn or +scattered about the garden. This is believed to guard the food cooked on +the hearth from witchcraft, to preserve the luck of the house, to promote +the growth of the crops, and to preserve them from blight and vermin.(315) +Thus the custom is almost exactly parallel to that of the Yule-log, which +in parts of Germany, France, England, Servia, and other Slavonic lands was +commonly of oak-wood.(316) At the Boeotian festival of the Daedala, the +analogy of which to the spring and midsummer festivals of modern Europe +has been already pointed out, the great feature was the felling and +burning of an oak.(317) The general conclusion is, that at those periodic +or occasional ceremonies the ancient Aryans both kindled and fed the fire +with the sacred oak-wood.(318) + +(M77) But if at these solemn rites the fire was regularly made of +oak-wood, it follows that any man who was burned in it as a +personification of the tree-spirit could have represented no tree but the +oak. The sacred oak was thus burned in duplicate; the wood of the tree was +consumed in the fire, and along with it was consumed a living man as a +personification of the oak-spirit. The conclusion thus drawn for the +European Aryans in general is confirmed in its special application to the +Scandinavians by the relation in which amongst them the mistletoe appears +to have stood to the burning of the victim in the midsummer fire. We have +seen that among Scandinavians it has been customary to gather the +mistletoe at midsummer. But so far as appears on the face of this custom, +there is nothing to connect it with the midsummer fires in which human +victims or effigies of them were burned. Even if the fire, as seems +probable, was originally always made with oak-wood, why should it have +been necessary to pull the mistletoe? The last link between the midsummer +customs of gathering the mistletoe and lighting the bonfires is supplied +by Balder's myth, which can hardly be disjoined from the customs in +question. The myth suggests that a vital connexion may once have been +believed to subsist between the mistletoe and the human representative of +the oak who was burned in the fire. According to the myth, Balder could be +killed by nothing in heaven or earth except the mistletoe; and so long as +the mistletoe remained on the oak, he was not only immortal but +invulnerable. Now, if we suppose that Balder was the oak, the origin of +the myth becomes intelligible. The mistletoe was viewed as the seat of +life of the oak, and so long as it was uninjured nothing could kill or +even wound the oak. The conception of the mistletoe as the seat of life of +the oak would naturally be suggested to primitive people by the +observation that while the oak is deciduous, the mistletoe which grows on +it is evergreen. In winter the sight of its fresh foliage among the bare +branches must have been hailed by the worshippers of the tree as a sign +that the divine life which had ceased to animate the branches yet survived +in the mistletoe, as the heart of a sleeper still beats when his body is +motionless. Hence when the god had to be killed--when the sacred tree had +to be burnt--it was necessary to begin by breaking off the mistletoe. For +so long as the mistletoe remained intact, the oak (so people might think) +was invulnerable; all the blows of their knives and axes would glance +harmless from its surface. But once tear from the oak its sacred heart--the +mistletoe--and the tree nodded to its fall. And when in later times the +spirit of the oak came to be represented by a living man, it was logically +necessary to suppose that, like the tree he personated, he could neither +be killed nor wounded so long as the mistletoe remained uninjured. The +pulling of the mistletoe was thus at once the signal and the cause of his +death. + +(M78) On this view the invulnerable Balder is neither more nor less than a +personification of a mistletoe-bearing oak. The interpretation is +confirmed by what seems to have been an ancient Italian belief, that the +mistletoe can be destroyed neither by fire nor water;(319) for if the +parasite is thus deemed indestructible, it might easily be supposed to +communicate its own indestructibility to the tree on which it grows, so +long as the two remain in conjunction. Or to put the same idea in mythical +form we might tell how the kindly god of the oak had his life securely +deposited in the imperishable mistletoe which grew among the branches; how +accordingly so long as the mistletoe kept its place there, the deity +himself remained invulnerable; and how at last a cunning foe, let into the +secret of the god's invulnerability, tore the mistletoe from the oak, +thereby killing the oak-god and afterwards burning his body in a fire +which could have made no impression on him so long as the incombustible +parasite retained its seat among the boughs. + +(M79) But since the idea of a being whose life is thus, in a sense, +outside himself, must be strange to many readers, and has, indeed, not yet +been recognized in its full bearing on primitive superstition, it will be +worth while to illustrate it by examples drawn both from story and custom. +The result will be to shew that, in assuming this idea as the explanation +of Balder's relation to the mistletoe, I assume a principle which is +deeply engraved on the mind of primitive man. + + + + + +CHAPTER X. THE ETERNAL SOUL IN FOLK-TALES. + + +(M80) In a former part of this work we saw that, in the opinion of +primitive people, the soul may temporarily absent itself from the body +without causing death.(320) Such temporary absences of the soul are often +believed to involve considerable risk, since the wandering soul is liable +to a variety of mishaps at the hands of enemies, and so forth. But there +is another aspect to this power of disengaging the soul from the body. If +only the safety of the soul can be ensured during its absence, there is no +reason why the soul should not continue absent for an indefinite time; +indeed a man may, on a pure calculation of personal safety, desire that +his soul should never return to his body. Unable to conceive of life +abstractly as a "permanent possibility of sensation" or a "continuous +adjustment of internal arrangements to external relations," the savage +thinks of it as a concrete material thing of a definite bulk, capable of +being seen and handled, kept in a box or jar, and liable to be bruised, +fractured, or smashed in pieces. It is not needful that the life, so +conceived, should be in the man; it may be absent from his body and still +continue to animate him by virtue of a sort of sympathy or action at a +distance. So long as this object which he calls his life or soul remains +unharmed, the man is well; if it is injured, he suffers; if it is +destroyed, he dies. Or, to put it otherwise, when a man is ill or dies, +the fact is explained by saying that the material object called his life +or soul, whether it be in his body or out of it, has either sustained +injury or been destroyed. But there may be circumstances in which, if the +life or soul remains in the man, it stands a greater chance of sustaining +injury than if it were stowed away in some safe and secret place. +Accordingly, in such circumstances, primitive man takes his soul out of +his body and deposits it for security in some snug spot, intending to +replace it in his body when the danger is past. Or if he should discover +some place of absolute security, he may be content to leave his soul there +permanently. The advantage of this is that, so long as the soul remains +unharmed in the place where he has deposited it, the man himself is +immortal; nothing can kill his body, since his life is not in it. + +(M81) Evidence of this primitive belief is furnished by a class of +folk-tales of which the Norse story of "The giant who had no heart in his +body" is perhaps the best-known example. Stories of this kind are widely +diffused over the world, and from their number and the variety of incident +and of details in which the leading idea is embodied, we may infer that +the conception of an external soul is one which has had a powerful hold on +the minds of men at an early stage of history. For folk-tales are a +faithful reflection of the world as it appeared to the primitive mind; and +we may be sure that any idea which commonly occurs in them, however absurd +it may seem to us, must once have been an ordinary article of belief. This +assurance, so far as it concerns the supposed power of disengaging the +soul from the body for a longer or shorter time, is amply corroborated by +a comparison of the folk-tales in question with the actual beliefs and +practices of savages. To this we shall return after some specimens of the +tales have been given. The specimens will be selected with a view of +illustrating both the characteristic features and the wide diffusion of +this class of tales.(321) + +(M82) In the first place, the story of the external soul is told, in +various forms, by all Aryan peoples from Hindoostan to the Hebrides. A +very common form of it is this: A warlock, giant, or other fairyland being +is invulnerable and immortal because he keeps his soul hidden far away in +some secret place; but a fair princess, whom he holds enthralled in his +enchanted castle, wiles his secret from him and reveals it to the hero, +who seeks out the warlock's soul, heart, life, or death (as it is +variously called), and, by destroying it, simultaneously kills the +warlock. Thus a Hindoo story tells how a magician called Punchkin held a +queen captive for twelve years, and would fain marry her, but she would +not have him. At last the queen's son came to rescue her, and the two +plotted together to kill Punchkin. So the queen spoke the magician fair, +and pretended that she had at last made up her mind to marry him. "And do +tell me," she said, "are you quite immortal? Can death never touch you? +And are you too great an enchanter ever to feel human suffering?" "It is +true," he said, "that I am not as others. Far, far away, hundreds of +thousands of miles from this, there lies a desolate country covered with +thick jungle. In the midst of the jungle grows a circle of palm trees, and +in the centre of the circle stand six chattees full of water, piled one +above another: below the sixth chattee is a small cage, which contains a +little green parrot;--on the life of the parrot depends my life;--and if the +parrot is killed I must die. It is, however," he added, "impossible that +the parrot should sustain any injury, both on account of the +inaccessibility of the country, and because, by my appointment, many +thousand genii surround the palm trees, and kill all who approach the +place." But the queen's young son overcame all difficulties, and got +possession of the parrot. He brought it to the door of the magician's +palace, and began playing with it. Punchkin, the magician, saw him, and, +coming out, tried to persuade the boy to give him the parrot. "Give me my +parrot!" cried Punchkin. Then the boy took hold of the parrot and tore off +one of his wings; and as he did so the magician's right arm fell off. +Punchkin then stretched out his left arm, crying, "Give me my parrot!" The +prince pulled off the parrot's second wing, and the magician's left arm +tumbled off. "Give me my parrot!" cried he, and fell on his knees. The +prince pulled off the parrot's right leg, the magician's right leg fell +off; the prince pulled off the parrot's left leg, down fell the magician's +left. Nothing remained of him except the trunk and the head; but still he +rolled his eyes, and cried, "Give me my parrot!" "Take your parrot, then," +cried the boy; and with that he wrung the bird's neck, and threw it at the +magician; and, as he did so, Punchkin's head twisted round, and, with a +fearful groan, he died!(322) In another Hindoo tale an ogre is asked by +his daughter, "Papa, where do you keep your soul?" "Sixteen miles away +from this place," he said, "is a tree. Round the tree are tigers, and +bears, and scorpions, and snakes; on the top of the tree is a very great +fat snake; on his head is a little cage; in the cage is a bird; and my +soul is in that bird." The end of the ogre is like that of the magician in +the previous tale. As the bird's wings and legs are torn off, the ogre's +arms and legs drop off; and when its neck is wrung he falls down +dead.(323) + +(M83) In another Hindoo story a princess called Sodewa Bai was born with a +golden necklace about her neck, and the astrologer told her parents, "This +is no common child; the necklace of gold about her neck contains your +daughter's soul; let it therefore be guarded with the utmost care; for if +it were taken off, and worn by another person, she would die." So her +mother caused it to be firmly fastened round the child's neck, and, as +soon as the child was old enough to understand, she told her its value, +and warned her never to let it be taken off. In course of time Sodewa Bai +was married to a prince who had another wife living. The first wife, +jealous of her young rival, persuaded a negress to steal from Sodewa Bai +the golden necklace which contained her soul. The negress did so, and, as +soon as she put the necklace round her own neck, Sodewa Bai died. All day +long the negress used to wear the necklace; but late at night, on going to +bed, she would take it off and put it by till morning; and whenever she +took it off, Sodewa Bai's soul returned to her and she lived. But when +morning came, and the negress put on the necklace, Sodewa Bai died again. +At last the prince discovered the treachery of his elder wife and restored +the golden necklace to Sodewa Bai.(324) In another Hindoo story a holy +mendicant tells a queen that she will bear a son, adding, "As enemies will +try to take away the life of your son, I may as well tell you that the +life of the boy will be bound up in the life of a big _boal_ fish which is +in your tank, in front of the palace. In the heart of the fish is a small +box of wood, in the box is a necklace of gold, that necklace is the life +of your son." The boy was born and received the name of Dalim. His mother +was the Suo or younger queen. But the Duo or elder queen hated the child, +and learning the secret of his life, she caused the _boal_ fish, with +which his life was bound up, to be caught. Dalim was playing near the tank +at the time, but "the moment the _boal_ fish was caught in the net, that +moment Dalim felt unwell; and when the fish was brought up to land, Dalim +fell down on the ground, and made as if he was about to breathe his last. +He was immediately taken into his mother's room, and the king was +astonished on hearing of the sudden illness of his son and heir. The fish +was by the order of the physician taken into the room of the Duo queen, +and as it lay on the floor striking its fins on the ground, Dalim in his +mother's room was given up for lost. When the fish was cut open, a casket +was found in it; and in the casket lay a necklace of gold. The moment the +necklace was worn by the queen, that very moment Dalim died in his +mother's room." The queen used to put off the necklace every night, and +whenever she did so, the boy came to life again. But every morning when +the queen put on the necklace, he died again.(325) + +(M84) In a Cashmeer story a lad visits an old ogress, pretending to be her +grandson, the son of her daughter who had married a king. So the old +ogress took him into her confidence and shewed him seven cocks, a spinning +wheel, a pigeon, and a starling. "These seven cocks," said she, "contain +the lives of your seven uncles, who are away for a few days. Only as long +as the cocks live can your uncles hope to live; no power can hurt them as +long as the seven cocks are safe and sound. The spinning-wheel contains my +life; if it is broken, I too shall be broken, and must die; but otherwise +I shall live on for ever. The pigeon contains your grandfather's life, and +the starling your mother's; as long as these live, nothing can harm your +grandfather or your mother." So the lad killed the seven cocks and the +pigeon and the starling, and smashed the spinning-wheel; and at the moment +he did so the ogres and ogresses perished.(326) In another story from +Cashmeer an ogre cannot die unless a particular pillar in the verandah of +his palace be broken. Learning the secret, a prince struck the pillar +again and again till it was broken in pieces. And it was as if each stroke +had fallen on the ogre, for he howled lamentably and shook like an aspen +every time the prince hit the pillar, until at last, when the pillar fell +down, the ogre also fell down and gave up the ghost.(327) In another +Cashmeer tale an ogre is represented as laughing very heartily at the idea +that he might possibly die. He said that "he should never die. No power +could oppose him; no years could age him; he should remain ever strong and +ever young, for the thing wherein his life dwelt was most difficult to +obtain." It was in a queen bee, which was in a honeycomb on a tree. But +the bees in the honeycomb were many and fierce, and it was only at the +greatest risk that any one could catch the queen. However, the hero +achieved the enterprise and crushed the queen bee; and immediately the +ogre fell stone dead to the ground, so that the whole land trembled with +the shock.(328) In some Bengalee tales the life of a whole tribe of ogres +is described as concentrated in two bees. The secret was thus revealed by +an old ogress to a captive princess who pretended to fear lest the ogress +should die. "Know, foolish girl," said the ogress, "that we ogres never +die. We are not naturally immortal, but our life depends on a secret which +no human being can unravel. Let me tell you what it is, that you may be +comforted. You know yonder tank; there is in the middle of it a crystal +pillar, on the top of which in deep waters are two bees. If any human +being can dive into the waters, and bring up to land the two bees from the +pillar in one breath, and destroy them so that not a drop of their blood +falls to the ground, then we ogres shall certainly die; but if a single +drop of blood falls to the ground, then from it will start up a thousand +ogres. But what human being will find out this secret, or, finding it, +will be able to achieve the feat? You need not, therefore, darling, be +sad; I am practically immortal." As usual, the princess reveals the secret +to the hero, who kills the bees, and that same moment all the ogres drop +down dead, each on the spot where he happened to be standing.(329) In +another Bengalee story it is said that all the ogres dwell in Ceylon, and +that all their lives are in a single lemon. A boy cuts the lemon in +pieces, and all the ogres die.(330) + +(M85) In a Siamese or Cambodian story, probably derived from India, we are +told that Thossakan or Ravana, the King of Ceylon, was able by magic art +to take his soul out of his body and leave it in a box at home, while he +went to the wars. Thus he was invulnerable in battle. When he was about to +give battle to Rama, he deposited his soul with a hermit called Fire-eye, +who was to keep it safe for him. So in the fight Rama was astounded to see +that his arrows struck the king without wounding him. But one of Rama's +allies, knowing the secret of the king's invulnerability, transformed +himself by magic into the likeness of the king, and going to the hermit +asked back his soul. On receiving it he soared up into the air and flew to +Rama, brandishing the box and squeezing it so hard that all the breath +left the King of Ceylon's body, and he died.(331) In a Bengalee story a +prince going into a far country planted with his own hands a tree in the +courtyard of his father's palace, and said to his parents, "This tree is +my life. When you see the tree green and fresh, then know that it is well +with me; when you see the tree fade in some parts, then know that I am in +an ill case; and when you see the whole tree fade, then know that I am +dead and gone."(332) In another Indian tale a prince, setting forth on his +travels, left behind him a barley plant, with instructions that it should +be carefully tended and watched; for if it flourished, he would be alive +and well, but if it drooped, then some mischance was about to happen to +him. And so it fell out. For the prince was beheaded, and as his head +rolled off, the barley plant snapped in two and the ear of barley fell to +the ground.(333) In the legend of the origin of Gilgit there figures a +fairy king whose soul is in the snows and who can only perish by +fire.(334) + +(M86) In Greek tales, ancient and modern, the idea of an external soul is +not uncommon. When Meleager was seven days old, the Fates appeared to his +mother and told her that Meleager would die when the brand which was +blazing on the hearth had burnt down. So his mother snatched the brand +from the fire and kept it in a box. But in after-years, being enraged at +her son for slaying her brothers, she burnt the brand in the fire and +Meleager expired in agonies, as if flames were preying on his vitals.(335) +Again, Nisus King of Megara had a purple or golden hair on the middle of +his head, and it was fated that whenever the hair was pulled out the king +should die. When Megara was besieged by the Cretans, the king's daughter +Scylla fell in love with Minos, their king, and pulled out the fatal hair +from her father's head. So he died.(336) Similarly Poseidon made Pterelaus +immortal by giving him a golden hair on his head. But when Taphos, the +home of Pterelaus, was besieged by Amphitryo, the daughter of Pterelaus +fell in love with Amphitryo and killed her father by plucking out the +golden hair with which his life was bound up.(337) In a modern Greek +folk-tale a man's strength lies in three golden hairs on his head. When +his mother pulls them out, he grows weak and timid and is slain by his +enemies.(338) Another Greek story, in which we may perhaps detect a +reminiscence of Nisus and Scylla, relates how a certain king, who was the +strongest man of his time, had three long hairs on his breast. But when he +went to war with another king, and his own treacherous wife had cut off +the three hairs, he became the weakest of men.(339) In another modern +Greek story the life of an enchanter is bound up with three doves which +are in the belly of a wild boar. When the first dove is killed, the +magician grows sick; when the second is killed, he grows very sick; and +when the third is killed, he dies.(340) In another Greek story of the same +sort an ogre's strength is in three singing birds which are in a wild +boar. The hero kills two of the birds, and then coming to the ogre's house +finds him lying on the ground in great pain. He shews the third bird to +the ogre, who begs that the hero will either let it fly away or give it to +him to eat. But the hero wrings the bird's neck, and the ogre dies on the +spot.(341) In a variant of the latter story the monster's strength is in +two doves, and when the hero kills one of them, the monster cries out, +"Ah, woe is me! Half my life is gone. Something must have happened to one +of the doves." When the second dove is killed, he dies.(342) In another +Greek story the incidents of the three golden hairs and three doves are +artificially combined. A monster has on his head three golden hairs which +open the door of a chamber in which are three doves: when the first dove +is killed, the monster grows sick; when the second is killed, he grows +worse; and when the third is killed, he dies.(343) In another Greek tale +an old man's strength is in a ten-headed serpent. When the serpent's heads +are being cut off, he feels unwell; and when the last head is struck off, +he expires.(344) In another Greek story a dervish tells a queen that she +will have three sons, that at the birth of each she must plant a pumpkin +in the garden, and that in the fruit borne by the pumpkins will reside the +strength of the children. In due time the infants are born and the +pumpkins planted. As the children grow up, the pumpkins grow with them. +One morning the eldest son feels sick, and on going into the garden they +find that the largest pumpkin is gone. Next night the second son keeps +watch in a summer-house in the garden. At midnight a negro appears and +cuts the second pumpkin. At once the boy's strength goes out of him, and +he is unable to pursue the negro. The youngest son, however, succeeds in +slaying the negro and recovering the lost pumpkins.(345) + +(M87) Ancient Italian legend furnishes a close parallel to the Greek story +of Meleager. Silvia, the young wife of Septimius Marcellus, had a child by +the god Mars. The god gave her a spear, with which he said that the fate +of the child would be bound up. When the boy grew up he quarrelled with +his maternal uncles and slew them. So in revenge his mother burned the +spear on which his life depended.(346) In one of the stories of the +_Pentamerone_ a certain queen has a twin brother, a dragon. The +astrologers declared at her birth that she would live just as long as the +dragon and no longer, the death of the one involving the death of the +other. If the dragon were killed, the only way to restore the queen to +life would be to smear her temples, breast, pulses, and nostrils with the +blood of the dragon.(347) In a modern Roman version of "Aladdin and the +Wonderful Lamp," the magician tells the princess, whom he holds captive in +a floating rock in mid-ocean, that he will never die. The princess reports +this to the prince her husband, who has come to rescue her. The prince +replies, "It is impossible but that there should be some one thing or +other that is fatal to him; ask him what that one fatal thing is." So the +princess asked the magician, and he told her that in the wood was a hydra +with seven heads; in the middle head of the hydra was a leveret, in the +head of the leveret was a bird, in the bird's head was a precious stone, +and if this stone were put under his pillow he would die. The prince +procured the stone, and the princess laid it under the magician's pillow. +No sooner did the enchanter lay his head on the pillow than he gave three +terrible yells, turned himself round and round three times, and died.(348) + +(M88) Another Italian tale sets forth how a great cloud, which was really +a fairy, used to receive a young girl as tribute every year from a certain +city; and the inhabitants had to give the girls up, for if they did not, +the cloud would throw things at them and kill them all. One year it fell +to the lot of the king's daughter to be handed over to the cloud, and they +took her in procession, to the roll of muffled drums, and attended by her +weeping father and mother, to the top of a mountain, and left her sitting +in a chair there all alone. Then the fairy cloud came down on the top of +the mountain, set the princess in her lap, and began to suck her blood out +of her little finger; for it was on the blood of girls that this wicked +fairy lived. When the poor princess was faint with the loss of blood and +lay like a log, the cloud carried her away up to her fairy palace in the +sky. But a brave youth had seen all that happened from behind a bush, and +no sooner did the fairy spirit away the princess to her palace than he +turned himself into an eagle and flew after them. He lighted on a tree +just outside the palace, and looking in at the window he beheld a room +full of young girls all in bed; for these were the victims of former years +whom the fairy cloud had half killed by sucking their blood; yet they +called her mamma. When the fairy went away and left the girls, the brave +young man had food drawn up for them by ropes, and he told them to ask the +fairy how she might be killed and what was to become of them when she +died. It was a delicate question, but the fairy answered it, saying, "I +shall never die." However, when the girls pressed her, she took them out +on a terrace and said, "Do you see that mountain far off there? On that +mountain is a tigress with seven heads. If you wish me to die, a lion must +fight that tigress and tear off all seven of her heads. In her body is an +egg, and if any one hits me with it in the middle of my forehead, I shall +die; but if that egg falls into my hands, the tigress will come to life +again, resume her seven heads, and I shall live." When the young girls +heard this they pretended to be glad and said, "Good! certainly our mamma +can never die," but naturally they were discouraged. However, when she +went away again, they told it all to the young man, and he bade them have +no fear. Away he went to the mountain, turned himself into a lion, and +fought the tigress. Meantime the fairy came home, saying, "Alas! I feel +ill!" For six days the fight went on, the young man tearing off one of the +tigress's heads each day, and each day the strength of the fairy kept +ebbing away. Then after allowing himself two days' rest the hero tore off +the seventh head and secured the egg, but not till it had rolled into the +sea and been brought back to him by a friendly dog-fish. When he returned +to the fairy with the egg in his hand, she begged and prayed him to give +it her, but he made her first restore the young girls to health and send +them away in handsome carriages. When she had done so, he struck her on +the forehead with the egg, and she fell down dead.(349) Similarly in a +story from the western Riviera a sorcerer called Body-without-Soul can +only be killed by means of an egg which is in an eagle, which is in a dog, +which is in a lion; and the egg must be broken on the sorcerer's forehead. +The hero, who achieves the adventure, has received the power of changing +himself into a lion, a dog, an eagle, and an ant from four creatures of +these sorts among whom he had fairly divided the carcase of a dead +ass.(350) + +(M89) Stories of the same sort are current among Slavonic peoples. In some +of them, as in the biblical story of Samson and Delilah, the warlock is +questioned by a treacherous woman as to the place where his strength +resides or his life or death is stowed away; and his suspicions being +roused by her curiosity, he at first puts her off with false answers, but +is at last beguiled into telling her the truth, thereby incurring his doom +through her treachery. Thus a Russian story tells how a certain warlock +called Kashtshei or Koshchei the Deathless carried off a princess and kept +her prisoner in his golden castle. However, a prince made up to her one +day as she was walking alone and disconsolate in the castle garden, and +cheered by the prospect of escaping with him she went to the warlock and +coaxed him with false and flattering words, saying, "My dearest friend, +tell me, I pray you, will you never die?" "Certainly not," says he. +"Well," says she, "and where is your death? is it in your dwelling?" "To +be sure it is," says he, "it is in the broom under the threshold." +Thereupon the princess seized the broom and threw it on the fire, but +although the broom burned, the deathless Koshchei remained alive; indeed +not so much as a hair of him was singed. Balked in her first attempt, the +artful hussy pouted and said, "You do not love me true, for you have not +told me where your death is; yet I am not angry, but love you with all my +heart." With these fawning words she besought the warlock to tell her +truly where his death was. So he laughed and said, "Why do you wish to +know? Well then, out of love I will tell you where it lies. In a certain +field there stand three green oaks, and under the roots of the largest oak +is a worm, and if ever this worm is found and crushed, that instant I +shall die." When the princess heard these words, she went straight to her +lover and told him all; and he searched till he found the oaks and dug up +the worm and crushed it. Then he hurried to the warlock's castle, but only +to learn from the princess that the warlock was still alive. Then she fell +to wheedling and coaxing Koshchei once more, and this time, overcome by +her wiles, he opened his heart to her and told her the truth. "My death," +said he, "is far from here and hard to find, on the wide ocean. In that +sea is an island, and on the island there grows a green oak, and beneath +the oak is an iron chest, and in the chest is a small basket, and in the +basket is a hare, and in the hare is a duck, and in the duck is an egg; +and he who finds the egg and breaks it, kills me at the same time." The +prince naturally procured the fateful egg and with it in his hands he +confronted the deathless warlock. The monster would have killed him, but +the prince began to squeeze the egg. At that the warlock shrieked with +pain, and turning to the false princess, who stood by smirking and +smiling, "Was it not out of love for you," said he, "that I told you where +my death was? And is this the return you make to me?" With that he grabbed +at his sword, which hung from a peg on the wall; but before he could reach +it, the prince had crushed the egg, and sure enough the deathless warlock +found his death at the same moment.(351) + +(M90) In another version of the same story, when the cunning warlock +deceives the traitress by telling her that his death is in the broom, she +gilds the broom, and at supper the warlock sees it shining under the +threshold and asks her sharply, "What's that?" "Oh," says she, "you see +how I honour you." "Simpleton!" says he, "I was joking. My death is out +there fastened to the oak fence." So next day when the warlock was out, +the prince came and gilded the whole fence; and in the evening when the +warlock was at supper he looked out of the window and saw the fence +glittering like gold. "And pray what may that be?" said he to the +princess. "You see," said she, "how I respect you. If you are dear to me, +dear too is your death. That is why I have gilded the fence in which your +death resides." The speech pleased the warlock, and in the fulness of his +heart he revealed to her the fatal secret of the egg. When the prince, +with the help of some friendly animals, obtained possession of the egg, he +put it in his bosom and repaired to the warlock's house. The warlock +himself was sitting at the window in a very gloomy frame of mind; and when +the prince appeared and shewed him the egg, the light grew dim in the +warlock's eyes and he became all of a sudden very meek and mild. But when +the prince began to play with the egg and to throw it from one hand to the +other, the deathless Koshchei staggered from one corner of the room to the +other, and when the prince broke the egg, Koshchei the Deathless fell down +and died.(352) "In one of the descriptions of Koshchei's death, he is said +to be killed by a blow on the forehead inflicted by the mysterious +egg--that last link in the magic chain by which his life is darkly bound. +In another version of the same story, but told of a snake, the fatal blow +is struck by a small stone found in the yolk of an egg, which is inside a +duck, which is inside a hare, which is inside a stone, which is on an +island."(353) In another Russian story the death of an enchantress is in a +blue rose-tree in a blue forest. Prince Ivan uproots the rose-tree, +whereupon the enchantress straightway sickens. He brings the rose-tree to +her house and finds her at the point of death. Then he throws it into the +cellar, crying, "Behold her death!" and at once the whole building shakes, +"and becomes an island, on which are people who had been sitting in Hell, +and who offer up thanks to Prince Ivan."(354) In another Russian story a +prince is grievously tormented by a witch who has got hold of his heart, +and keeps it seething in a magic cauldron.(355) + +(M91) In a Bohemian tale a warlock's strength lies in an egg which is in a +duck, which is in a stag, which is under a tree. A seer finds the egg and +sucks it. Then the warlock grows as weak as a child, "for all his strength +had passed into the seer."(356) A Servian story relates how a certain +warlock called True Steel carried off a prince's wife and kept her shut up +in his cave. But the prince contrived to get speech of her and told her +that she must persuade True Steel to reveal to her where his strength lay. +So when True Steel came home, the prince's wife said to him, "Tell me, +now, where is your great strength?" He answered, "My wife, my strength is +in my sword." Then she began to pray and turned to his sword. When True +Steel saw that, he laughed and said, "O foolish woman! my strength is not +in my sword, but in my bow and arrows." Then she turned towards the bow +and arrows and prayed. But True Steel said, "I see, my wife, you have a +clever teacher who has taught you to find out where my strength lies. I +could almost say that your husband is living, and it is he who teaches +you." But she assured him that nobody had taught her. When she found he +had deceived her again, she waited for some days and then asked him again +about the secret of his strength. He answered, "Since you think so much of +my strength, I will tell you truly where it is. Far away from here there +is a very high mountain; in the mountain there is a fox; in the fox there +is a heart; in the heart there is a bird, and in this bird is my strength. +It is no easy task, however, to catch the fox, for she can transform +herself into a multitude of creatures." So next day, when True Steel went +forth from the cave, the prince came and learned from his wife the true +secret of the warlock's strength. So away he hied to the mountain, and +there, though the fox, or rather the vixen, turned herself into various +shapes, he managed with the help of certain friendly eagles, falcons, and +dragons, to catch and kill her. Then he took out the fox's heart, and out +of the heart he took the bird and burned it in a great fire. At that very +moment True Steel fell down dead.(357) + +(M92) In another Servian story we read how a dragon resided in a +water-mill and ate up two king's sons, one after the other. The third son +went out to seek his brothers, and coming to the water-mill he found +nobody in it but an old woman. She revealed to him the dreadful character +of the being that kept the mill, and how he had devoured the prince's two +elder brothers, and she implored him to go away home before the same fate +should overtake him. But he was both brave and cunning, and he said to +her, "Listen well to what I am going to say to you. Ask the dragon whither +he goes and where his strength is; then kiss all that place where he tells +you his strength is, as if from love, till you find it out, and afterwards +tell me when I come." So when the dragon came in, the old woman began to +question him, "Where in God's name have you been? Whither do you go so +far? You will never tell me whither you go." The dragon replied, "Well, my +dear old woman, I do go far." Then the old woman coaxed him, saying, "And +why do you go so far? Tell me where your strength is. If I knew where your +strength is, I don't know what I should do for love; I would kiss all that +place." Thereupon the dragon smiled and said to her, "Yonder is my +strength, in that fireplace." Then the old woman began to fondle and kiss +the fireplace; and the dragon on seeing it burst into a laugh. "Silly old +woman," he said, "my strength is not there. It is in the tree-fungus in +front of the house." Then the old woman began to fondle and kiss the tree; +but the dragon laughed again and said to her, "Away, old woman! my +strength is not there." "Then where is it?" asked the old woman. "My +strength," said he, "is a long way off, and you cannot go thither. Far in +another kingdom under the king's city is a lake; in the lake is a dragon; +in the dragon is a boar; in the boar is a pigeon, and in the pigeon is my +strength." The murder was now out; so next morning when the dragon went +away from the mill to attend to his usual business of eating people up, +the prince came to the old woman and she let him into the secret of the +dragon's strength. The prince accordingly set off to find the lake in the +far country and the other dragon that lived in it. He found them both at +last; the lake was a still and lonely water surrounded by green meadows, +where flocks of sheep nibbled the sweet lush grass. The hero tucked up his +hose and his sleeves, and wading out into the lake called aloud on the +dragon to come forth and fight. Soon the monster emerged from the water, +slimy and dripping, his scaly back glistening in the morning sun. The two +grappled and wrestled from morning to afternoon of a long summer day. What +with the heat of the weather and the violence of his exertions the dragon +was quite exhausted, and said, "Let me go, prince, that I may moisten my +parched head in the lake and toss you to the sky." But the prince sternly +refused; so the dragon relaxed his grip and sank under the water, which +bubbled and gurgled over the place where he plunged into the depths. When +he had disappeared and the ripples had subsided on the surface, you would +never have suspected that under that calm water, reflecting the green +banks, the white, straying sheep, the blue sky, and the fleecy +gold-flecked clouds of a summer evening, there lurked so ferocious and +dangerous a monster. Next day the combat was renewed with the very same +result. But on the third day the hero, fortified by a kiss from the fair +daughter of the king of the land, tossed the dragon high in air, and when +the monster fell with a most tremendous thud on the water he burst into +little bits. Out of the pieces sprang a boar which ran away as fast as it +could lay legs to the ground. But the prince sent sheep-dogs after it +which caught it up and rent it in pieces. Out of the pieces sprang a +pigeon; but the prince let loose a falcon, which stooped on the pigeon, +seized it in its talons, and brought it to the prince. In the pigeon was +the life of the dragon who kept the mill, so before inflicting on the +monster the doom he so richly merited, the prince questioned him as to the +fate of his two elder brothers who had perished at the hands, or rather +under the claws and fangs, of the dragon. Having ascertained how to +restore them to life and to release a multitude of other victims whom the +dragon kept prisoners in a vault under the water-mill, the prince wrung +the pigeon's neck, and that of course was the end of the dragon and his +unscrupulous career.(358) + +(M93) A Lithuanian story relates how a prince married a princess and got +with her a kingdom to boot. She gave him the keys of the castle and told +him he might enter every chamber except one small room, of which the key +had a bit of twine tied to it. But one day, having nothing to do, he +amused himself by rummaging in all the rooms of the castle, and amongst +the rest he went into the little forbidden chamber. In it he found twelve +heads and a man hanging on the hook of the door. The man said to the +prince, "Oblige me by fetching me a glass of beer." The prince fetched it +and the man drank it. Then the man said to the prince, "Oblige me by +releasing me from the hook." The prince released him. Now the man was a +king without a soul, and he at once availed himself of his liberty to come +to an understanding with the coachman of the castle, and between them they +put the prince's wife in the coach and drove off with her. The prince rode +after them and coming up with the coach called out, "Halt, Soulless King! +Step out and fight!" The King stepped out and the fight began. In a trice +the King had sliced the buttons off the prince's coat and pinked him in +the side. Then he stepped into the coach and drove off. The prince rode +after him again, and when he came up with the coach he called out, "Halt, +Soulless King! Step out and fight!" The King stepped out and they fought +again, and again the King sliced off the prince's buttons and pinked him +in the side. Then, after carefully wiping and sheathing his sword, he said +to his discomfited adversary, "Now look here. I let you off the first time +for the sake of the glass of beer you gave me, and I let you off the +second time because you let me down from that infernal hook; but if you +fight me a third time, by Gad I'll make mince meat of you." Then he +stepped into the coach, told the coachman to drive on, jerked up the coach +window with a bang, and drove away like anything. But the prince galloped +after him and coming up with the coach for the third time he called out, +"Halt, Soulless King! Step out and fight!" The King did step out, and at +it the two of them went, tooth and nail. But the prince had no chance. +Before he knew where he was, the King ran him through the body, whisked +off his head, and left him lying a heap of raw mince beside the road. His +wife, or rather his widow, said to the King, "Let me gather up the +fragments that remain." The King said, "Certainly." So she made up the +mince into a neat parcel, deposited it on the front seat of the coach, and +away they drove to the King's castle. Well to cut a long story short, a +brother-in-law of the deceased prince sent a hawk to fetch the water of +life; the hawk brought it in his beak; the brother-in-law poured the water +on the fragments of the prince, and the prince came to life again at once +safe and sound. Then he went to the King's castle and played on a little +pipe, and his wife heard it in the castle and said, "That is how my +husband used to play, whom the King cut in bits." So she went out to the +gate and said to him, "Are you my husband?" "That I am," said he, and he +told her to find out from the King where he kept his soul and then to come +and tell him. So she went to the King and said to him, "Where my husband's +soul is, there must mine be too." The King was touched by this artless +expression of her love, and he replied, "My soul is in yonder lake. In +that lake lies a stone; in that stone is a hare; in the hare is a duck, in +the duck is an egg, and in the egg is my soul." So the queen went and told +her former husband, the prince, and gave him plenty of money and food for +the journey, and off he set for the lake. But when he came to the lake, he +did not know in which part of it the stone was; so he roamed about the +banks, and he was hungry, for he had eaten up all the food. Then he met a +dog, and the dog said to him, "Don't shoot me dead. I will be a mighty +helper to you in your time of need." So he let the dog live and went on +his way. Next he saw a tree with two hawks on it, an old one and a young +one, and he climbed up the tree to catch the young one. But the old hawk +said to him, "Don't take my young one. He will be a mighty helper to you +in your time of need." So the prince climbed down the tree and went on his +way. Then he saw a huge crab and wished to break off one of his claws for +something to eat, but the crab said to him, "Don't break off my claw. It +will be a mighty helper to you in your time of need." So he left the crab +alone and went on his way. And he came to people and got them to fish up +the stone for him from the lake and to bring it to him on the bank. And +there he broke the stone in two and out of the stone jumped a hare. But +the dog seized the hare and tore him, and out of the hare flew a duck. The +young hawk pounced on the duck and rent it, and out of the duck fell an +egg, and the egg rolled into the lake. But the crab fetched the egg out of +the lake and brought it to the prince. Then the King fell ill. So the +prince went to the King and said, "You killed me. Now I will kill you." +"Don't," said the King. "I will," said the prince. With that he threw the +egg on the ground, and the King fell out of the bed as dead as a stone. So +the prince went home with his wife and very happy they were, you may take +my word for it.(359) + +(M94) Amongst peoples of the Teutonic stock stories of the external soul +are not wanting. In a tale told by the Saxons of Transylvania it is said +that a young man shot at a witch again and again. The bullets went clean +through her but did her no harm, and she only laughed and mocked at him. +"Silly earthworm," she cried, "shoot as much as you like. It does me no +harm. For know that my life resides not in me but far, far away. In a +mountain is a pond, on the pond swims a duck, in the duck is an egg, in +the egg burns a light, that light is my life. If you could put out that +light, my life would be at an end. But that can never, never be." However, +the young man got hold of the egg, smashed it, and put out the light, and +with it the witch's life went out also.(360) In this last story, as in +many other stories of the same type, the hero achieves his adventure by +the help of certain grateful animals whom he had met and done a service to +on his travels. The same incident occurs in another German tale of this +class which runs thus. Once upon a time there was a young fellow called +Body-without-Soul, or, for short, Soulless, and he was a cannibal who +would eat nothing but young girls. Now it was a custom in that country +that the girls drew lots every year, and the one on whom the lot fell was +handed over to Soulless. In time it happened that the lot fell on the +king's daughter. The king was exceedingly sorry, but what could he do? Law +was law, and had to be obeyed. So they took the princess to the castle +where Soulless resided; and he shut her up in the larder and fattened her +for his dinner. But a brave soldier undertook to rescue her, and off he +set for the cannibal's castle. Well, as he trudged along, what should he +see but a fly, an eagle, a bear, and a lion sitting in a field by the side +of the road, and quarrelling about their shares in a dead horse. So he +divided the carcase fairly between them, and as a reward the fly and the +eagle bestowed on him the power of changing himself at will into either of +their shapes. That evening he made himself into an eagle, and flew up a +high tree; there he looked about, but could see nothing but trees. Next +morning he flew on till he came to a great castle, and at the gate was a +big black board with these words chalked up on it: "Mr. Soulless lives +here." When the soldier read that he was glad, and changed himself into a +fly, and flew buzzing from window to window, looking in at every one till +he came to the one where the fair princess sat a prisoner. He introduced +himself at once and said, "I am come to free you, but first you must learn +where the soul of Soulless really is." "I don't know," replied the +princess, "but I will ask." So after much coaxing and entreaty she learned +that the soul of Soulless was in a box, and that the box was on a rock in +the middle of the Red Sea. When the soldier heard that, he turned himself +into an eagle again, flew to the Red Sea, and came back with the soul of +Soulless in the box. Arrived at the castle he knocked and banged at the +door as if the house was on fire. Soulless did not know what was the +matter, and he came down and opened the door himself. When he saw the +soldier standing at it, I can assure you he was in a towering rage. "What +do you mean," he roared, "by knocking at my door like that? I'll gobble +you up on the spot, skin and hair and all." But the soldier laughed in his +face. "You'd better not do that," said he, "for here I've got your soul in +the box." When the cannibal heard that, all his courage went down into the +calves of his legs, and he begged and entreated the soldier to give him +his soul. But the soldier would not hear of it; he opened the box, took +out the soul, and flung it over his head; and that same instant down fell +the cannibal, dead as a door-nail.(361) + +(M95) Another German story, which embodies the notion of the external soul +in a somewhat different form, tells how once upon a time a certain king +had three sons and a daughter, and for each of the king's four children +there grew a flower in the king's garden, which was a life-flower; for it +bloomed and flourished so long as the child lived, but drooped and +withered away when the child died. Now the time came when the king's +daughter married a rich man and went to live with him far away. But it was +not long before her flower withered in the king's garden. So the eldest +brother went forth to visit his brother-in-law and comfort him in his +bereavement. But when he came to his brother-in-law's castle he saw the +corpse of his murdered sister weltering on the ramparts. And his wicked +brother-in-law set before him boiled human hands and feet for his dinner. +And when the king's son refused to eat of them, his brother-in-law led him +through many chambers to a murder-hole, where were all sorts of implements +of murder, but especially a gallows, a wheel, and a pot of blood. Here he +said to the prince, "You must die, but you may choose your kind of death." +The prince chose to die on the gallows; and die he did even as he had +said. So the eldest son's flower withered in the king's garden, and the +second son went forth to learn the fate of his brother and sister. But it +fared with him no better than with his elder brother, for he too died on +the gallows in the murder-hole of his wicked brother-in-law's castle, and +his flower also withered away in the king's garden at home. Now when the +youngest son was also come to his brother-in-law's castle and saw the +corpse of his murdered sister weltering on the ramparts, and the bodies of +his two murdered brothers dangling from the gallows in the murder-hole, he +said that for his part he had a fancy to die by the wheel, but he was not +quite sure how the thing was done, and would his brother-in-law kindly +shew him? "Oh, it's quite easy," said his brother-in-law, "you just put +your head in, so," and with that he popped his head through the middle of +the wheel. "Just so," said the king's youngest son, and he gave the wheel +a twirl, and as it spun round and round, the wicked brother-in-law died a +painful death, which he richly deserved. And when he was quite dead, the +murdered brothers and sister came to life again, and their withered +flowers bloomed afresh in the king's garden.(362) + +(M96) In another German story an old warlock lives with a damsel all alone +in the midst of a vast and gloomy wood. She fears that being old he may +die and leave her alone in the forest. But he reassures her. "Dear child," +he said, "I cannot die, and I have no heart in my breast." But she +importuned him to tell her where his heart was. So he said, "Far, far from +here in an unknown and lonesome land stands a great church. The church is +well secured with iron doors, and round about it flows a broad deep moat. +In the church flies a bird and in the bird is my heart. So long as the +bird lives, I live. It cannot die of itself, and no one can catch it; +therefore I cannot die, and you need have no anxiety." However the young +man, whose bride the damsel was to have been before the warlock spirited +her away, contrived to reach the church and catch the bird. He brought it +to the damsel, who stowed him and it away under the warlock's bed. Soon +the old warlock came home. He was ailing, and said so. The girl wept and +said, "Alas, daddy is dying; he has a heart in his breast after all." +"Child," replied the warlock, "hold your tongue. I _can't_ die. It will +soon pass over." At that the young man under the bed gave the bird a +gentle squeeze; and as he did so, the old warlock felt very unwell and sat +down. Then the young man gripped the bird tighter, and the warlock fell +senseless from his chair. "Now squeeze him dead," cried the damsel. Her +lover obeyed, and when the bird was dead, the old warlock also lay dead on +the floor.(363) + +(M97) In the Norse tale of "the giant who had no heart in his body," the +giant tells the captive princess, "Far, far away in a lake lies an island, +on that island stands a church, in that church is a well, in that well +swims a duck, in that duck there is an egg, and in that egg there lies my +heart." The hero of the tale, with the help of some animals to whom he had +been kind, obtains the egg and squeezes it, at which the giant screams +piteously and begs for his life. But the hero breaks the egg in pieces and +the giant at once bursts.(364) In another Norse story a hill-ogre tells +the captive princess that she will never be able to return home unless she +finds the grain of sand which lies under the ninth tongue of the ninth +head of a certain dragon; but if that grain of sand were to come over the +rock in which the ogres live, they would all burst "and the rock itself +would become a gilded palace, and the lake green meadows." The hero finds +the grain of sand and takes it to the top of the high rock in which the +ogres live. So all the ogres burst and the rest falls out as one of the +ogres had foretold.(365) + +(M98) In a Danish tale a warlock carries off a princess to his wondrous +subterranean palace; and when she anxiously enquires how long he is likely +to live, he assures her that he will certainly survive her. "No man," he +says, "can rob me of my life, for it is in my heart, and my heart is not +here; it is in safer keeping." She urges him to tell her where it is, so +he says: "Very far from here, in a land that is called Poland, there is a +great lake, and in the lake is a dragon, and in the dragon is a hare, and +in the hare is a duck, and in the duck is an egg, and in the egg is my +heart. It is in good keeping, you may trust me. Nobody is likely to +stumble upon it." However, the hero of the tale, who is also the husband +of the kidnapped princess, has fortunately received the power of turning +himself at will into a bear, a dog, an ant, or a falcon as a reward for +having divided the carcase of a deer impartially between four animals of +these species; and availing himself of this useful art he not only makes +his way into the warlock's enchanted palace but also secures the egg on +which the enchanter's life depends. No sooner has he smashed the egg on +the enchanter's ugly face than that miscreant drops down as dead as a +herring.(366) + +(M99) Another Danish story tells how a lad went out into the world to look +for service. He met a man, who hired him for three years and said he would +give him a bushel of money for the first year, two bushels of money for +the second, and three bushels of money for the third. The lad was well +content, as you may believe, to get such good wages. But the man was a +magician, and it was not long before he turned the lad into a hare, by +pronouncing over him some strange words. For a whole year the lad scoured +the woods in the shape of a hare, and there was not a sportsman in all the +country round about that had not a shot at him. But not one of them could +hit him. At the end of the year the magician spoke some other words over +him and turned him back into human form and gave him the bushel of money. +But then the magician mumbled some other words, and the lad was turned +into a raven and flew up into the sky. Again all the marksmen of the +neighbourhood pointed their guns at him and banged away; but they only +wasted powder and shot, for not one of them could hit him. At the end of +the year the magician changed him back into a man and gave him two +bushelfuls of money. But soon after he changed him into a fish, and in the +form of a fish the young man jumped into the brook and swam down into the +sea. There at the bottom of the ocean he saw a most beautiful castle all +of glass and in it a lovely girl all alone. Round and round the castle he +swam, looking into all the rooms and admiring everything. At last he +remembered the words the magician had spoken when he turned him back into +a man, and by repeating them he was at once transformed into a stripling +again. He walked into the glass castle and introduced himself to the girl, +and though at first she was nearly frightened to death, she was soon very +glad to have him with her. From her he learned that she was no other than +the daughter of the magician, who kept her there for safety at the bottom +of the sea. The two now laid their heads together, and she told him what +to do. There was a certain king who owed her father money and had not the +wherewithal to pay; and if he did not pay by such and such a day, his head +was to be cut off. So the young man was to take service with the king, +offer him the bushels of money which he had earned in the service of the +magician, and go with him to the magician to pay his debt. But he was to +dress up as the court Fool so that the magician would not know him, and in +that character he was to indulge in horse-play, smashing windows and so +on, till the magician would fall into such a rage that though the king had +paid his debt to the last farthing he would nevertheless be condemned to +instant execution unless he could answer the magician's questions. The +questions would be these, "Where is my daughter?" "Would you know her if +you saw her?" Now the magician would cause a whole line of phantom women +to pass by, so that the young man would not be able to tell which of them +was the sorcerer's daughter; but when her turn came to pass by she would +give him a nudge as a sign, and so he would know her. Then the magician +would ask, "And where is my heart?" And the young man was to say, "In a +fish." And the magician would ask, "Would you know the fish if you saw +it?" And he would cause all sorts of fishes to pass by, and the young man +would have to say in which of them was the heart of the magician. He would +never be able of himself to tell in which of them it was, but the girl +would stand beside him, and when the right fish passed by, she would nudge +him and he was to catch it and rip it up, and the magician would ask him +no more questions. Everything turned out exactly as she had said. The king +paid his debt to the last farthing; but the young man disguised as the +court Fool cut such capers and smashed so many glass windows and doors +that the heaps of broken glass were something frightful to contemplate. So +there was nothing for it but that the king, who was of course responsible +for the pranks of his Fool, should either answer the magician's questions +or die the death. While they were getting the axe and the block ready in +the courtyard, the trembling king was interrogated by the stern magician. +"Where is my daughter?" asked the sorcerer. Here the court Fool cut in and +said, "She is at the bottom of the sea." "Would you know her if you saw +her?" enquired the magician. "To be sure I would," answered the Fool. So +the magician caused a whole regiment of girls to defile before him, one +after the other; but they were mere phantoms and apparitions. Almost the +last of all came the magician's daughter, and when she passed the young +man she pinched his arm so hard that he almost shrieked with pain. +However, he dissembled his agony and putting his arm round her waist held +her fast. The magician now played his last trump. "Where is my heart?" +said he. "In a fish," said the Fool. "Would you know the fish if you saw +it?" asked the magician. "To be sure I would," answered the Fool. Then all +the fishes of the sea swam past, and when the right one came last of all, +the girl nudged her lover; he seized the fish, and with one stroke of his +knife slit it from end to end. Out tumbled the magician's heart; the young +man seized it and cut it in two, and at the same moment the magician fell +dead.(367) + +(M100) In Iceland they say that once a king's son was out hunting in a +wood with the courtiers, when the mist came down so thick that his +companions lost sight of the prince, and though they searched the woods +till evening they could not find him. At the news the king was +inconsolable, and taking to his bed caused proclamation to be made that he +who could find and bring back his lost son should have half the kingdom. +Now an old man and his old wife lived together in a wretched hut, and they +had a daughter. She resolved to seek the lost prince and get the promised +reward. So her parents gave her food for the journey and a pair of new +shoes, and off she set. Well, she walked and better walked for days, and +at last she came towards evening to a cave and going into it she saw two +beds. One of them was covered with a cloth of silver and the other with a +cloth of gold; and in the bed with the golden coverlet was the king's son +fast asleep. She tried to wake him, but all in vain. Then she noticed some +runes carved on the bedsteads, but she could not read them. So she went +back to the mouth of the cave and hid behind the door. Hardly had she time +to conceal herself when she heard a loud noise and saw two giantesses, two +great hulking louts they were, stride into the cave. No sooner were they +in than one said to the other, "Ugh, what a smell of human flesh in our +cave!" But the other thought the smell might come from the king's son. +They went up to the bed where he was sleeping, and calling two swans, +which the girl had not perceived in the dim light of the cave, they said:-- + + + "_Sing, sing, my swans,_ + _That the king's son may wake._" + + +So the swans sang and the king's son awoke. The younger of the two hags +offered him food, but he refused it; then she asked him, if he would marry +her, but he said "No, certainly not." Then she shrieked and said to the +swans:-- + + + "_Sing, sing, my swans,_ + _That the king's son may sleep._" + + +The swans sang and the king's son fell fast asleep. Then the two +giantesses lay down in the bed with the silver coverlet and slept till +break of day. When they woke in the morning, they wakened the prince and +offered him food again, but he again refused it; and the younger hag again +asked him if he would have her to wife, but he would not hear of it. So +they put him to sleep again to the singing of the swans and left the cave. +When they were gone a while, the girl came forth from her hiding-place and +waked the king's son to the song of the swans, and he was glad to see her +and to get the news. She told him that, when the hag asked him again to +marry her, he must say, "Yes, but you must first tell me what is written +on the beds, and what you do by day." So when it drew to evening, the girl +hid herself again, and soon the giantesses came, lit a fire in the cave, +and cooked at it the game they had brought with them. And the younger hag +wakened the king's son and asked him if he would have something to eat. +This time he said "Yes." And when he had finished his supper, the giantess +asked him if he would have her to wife. "That I will," said he, "but first +you must tell me what the runes mean that are carved on the bed." She said +that they meant:-- + + + "_Run, run, my little bed,_ + _Run whither I will._" + + +He said he was very glad to know it, but she must also tell him what they +did all day long out there in the wood. The hag told him that they hunted +beasts and birds, and that between whiles they sat down under an oak and +threw their life-egg from one to the other, but they had to be careful, +for if the egg were to break, they would both die. The king's son thanked +her kindly, but next morning when the giantess asked him to go with them +to the wood he said that he would rather stay at home. So away went the +giantesses by themselves, after they had lulled him to sleep to the +singing of the swans. But hardly were their backs turned when out came the +girl and wakened the prince and told him to take his spear, and they would +pursue the giantesses, and when they were throwing their life-egg to each +other he was to hurl his spear at it and smash it to bits. "But if you +miss," said she, "it is as much as your life is worth." So they came to +the oak in the wood, and there they heard a loud laugh, and the king's son +climbed up the tree, and there under the oak were the two giantesses, and +one of them had a golden egg in her hand and threw it to the other. Just +then the king's son hurled his spear and hit the egg so that it burst. At +the same time the two hags fell dead to the ground and the slaver dribbled +out of their mouths.(368) In an Icelandic parallel to the story of +Meleager the spae-wives or sibyls come and foretell the high destiny of +the infant Gestr as he lies in his cradle. Two candles were burning beside +the child, and the youngest of the spae-wives, conceiving herself +slighted, cried out, "I foretell that the child shall live no longer than +this candle burns." Whereupon the chief sibyl put out the candle and gave +it to Gestr's mother to keep, charging her not to light it again until her +son should wish to die. Gestr lived three hundred years; then he kindled +the candle and expired.(369) + +(M101) The conception of the external soul meets us also in Celtic +stories. Thus a tale, told by a blind fiddler in the island of Islay, +relates how a giant carried off a king's wife and his two horses and kept +them in his den. But the horses attacked the giant and mauled him so that +he could hardly crawl. He said to the queen, "If I myself had my soul to +keep, those horses would have killed me long ago." "And where, my dear," +said she, "is thy soul? By the books I will take care of it." "It is in +the Bonnach stone," said he. So on the morrow when the giant went out, the +queen set the Bonnach stone in order exceedingly. In the dusk of the +evening the giant came back, and he said to the queen, "What made thee set +the Bonnach stone in order like that?" "Because thy soul is in it," quoth +she. "I perceive," said he, "that if thou didst know where my soul is, +thou wouldst give it much respect." "That I would," said she. "It is not +there," said he, "my soul is; it is in the threshold." On the morrow she +set the threshold in order finely, and when the giant returned, he asked +her, "What brought thee to set the threshold in order like that?" "Because +thy soul is in it," said she. "I perceive," said he, "that if thou knewest +where my soul is, thou wouldst take care of it." "That I would," said she. +"It is not there that my soul is," said he. "There is a great flagstone +under the threshold. There is a wether under the flag. There is a duck in +the wether's belly, and an egg in the belly of the duck, and it is in the +egg that my soul is." On the morrow when the giant was gone, they raised +the flagstone and out came the wether. They opened the wether and out came +the duck. They split the duck, and out came the egg. And the queen took +the egg and crushed it in her hands, and at that very moment the giant, +who was coming home in the dusk, fell down dead.(370) In another Celtic +tale, a sea beast has carried off a king's daughter, and an old smith +declares that there is no way of killing the beast but one. "In the island +that is in the midst of the loch is Eillid Chaisfhion--the white-footed +hind, of the slenderest legs, and the swiftest step, and though she should +be caught, there would spring a hoodie out of her, and though the hoodie +should be caught, there would spring a trout out of her, but there is an +egg in the mouth of the trout, and the soul of the beast is in the egg, +and if the egg breaks, the beast is dead." As usual the egg is broken and +the beast dies.(371) + +(M102) In these Celtic tales the helpful animals reappear and assist the +hero in achieving the adventure, though for the sake of brevity I have +omitted to describe the parts they play in the plot. They figure also in +an Argyleshire story, which seems however to be of Irish origin; for the +Cruachan of which we hear in it is not the rugged and lofty mountain Ben +Cruachan which towers above the beautiful Loch Awe, but Roscommon Cruachan +near Belanagare, the ancient palace of the kings of Connaught, long famous +in Irish tradition.(372) The story relates how a big giant, King of +Sorcha, stole away the wife and the shaggy dun filly of the herdsman or +king of Cruachan. So the herdsman baked a bannock to take with him by the +way, and set off in quest of his wife and the filly. He went for a long, +long time, till at last his soles were blackened and his cheeks were +sunken, the yellow-headed birds were going to rest at the roots of the +bushes and the tops of the thickets, and the dark clouds of night were +coming and the clouds of day were departing; and he saw a house far from +him, but though it was far from him he did not take long to reach it. He +went in, and sat in the upper end of the house, but there was no one +within; and the fire was newly kindled, the house newly swept, and the bed +newly made; and who came in but the hawk of Glencuaich, and she said to +him, "Are you here, young son of Cruachan?" "I am," said he. The hawk said +to him, "Do you know who was here last night?" "I do not," said he. "There +were here," said she, "the big giant, King of Sorcha, your wife, and the +shaggy dun filly; and the giant was threatening terribly that if he could +get hold of you he would take the head off you." "I well believe it," said +he. Then she gave him food and drink, and sent him to bed. She rose in the +morning, made breakfast for him, and baked a bannock for him to take with +him on his journey. And he went away and travelled all day, and in the +evening he came to another house and went in, and was entertained by the +green-headed duck, who told him that the giant had rested there the night +before with the wife and shaggy dun filly of the herdsman of Cruachan. And +next day the herdsman journeyed again, and at evening he came to another +house and went in and was entertained by the fox of the scrubwood, who +told him just what the hawk of Glencuaich and the green-headed duck had +told him before. Next day the same thing happened, only it was the brown +otter of the burn that entertained him at evening in a house where the +fire was newly kindled, the floor newly swept, and the bed newly made. And +next morning when he awoke, the first thing he saw was the hawk of +Glencuaich, the green-headed duck, the fox of the scrubwood, and the brown +otter of the burn all dancing together on the floor. They made breakfast +for him, and partook of it all together, and said to him, "Should you be +at any time in straits, think of us, and we will help you." Well, that +very evening he came to the cave where the giant lived, and who was there +before him but his own wife? She gave him food and hid him under clothes +at the upper end of the cave. And when the giant came home he sniffed +about and said, "The smell of a stranger is in the cave." But she said no, +it was only a little bird she had roasted. "And I wish you would tell me," +said she, "where you keep your life, that I might take good care of it." +"It is in a grey stone over there," said he. So next day when he went +away, she took the grey stone and dressed it well, and placed it in the +upper end of the cave. When the giant came home in the evening he said to +her, "What is it that you have dressed there?" "Your own life," said she, +"and we must be careful of it." "I perceive that you are very fond of me, +but it is not there," said he. "Where is it?" said she. "It is in a grey +sheep on yonder hillside," said he. On the morrow, when he went away, she +got the grey sheep, dressed it well, and placed it in the upper end of the +cave. When he came home in the evening he said, "What is it that you have +dressed there?" "Your own life, my love," said she. "It is not there as +yet," said he. "Well!" said she, "you are putting me to great trouble +taking care of it, and you have not told me the truth these two times." He +then said, "I think that I may tell it to you now. My life is below the +feet of the big horse in the stable. There is a place down there in which +there is a small lake. Over the lake are seven grey hides, and over the +hides are seven sods from the heath, and under all these are seven oak +planks. There is a trout in the lake, and a duck in the belly of the +trout, an egg in the belly of the duck, and a thorn of blackthorn inside +of the egg, and till that thorn is chewed small I cannot be killed. +Whenever the seven grey hides, the seven sods from the heath, and the +seven oak planks are touched I shall feel it wherever I shall be. I have +an axe above the door, and unless all these are cut through with one blow +of it the lake will not be reached; and when it will be reached I shall +feel it." Next day, when the giant had gone out hunting on the hill, the +herdsman of Cruachan contrived, with the help of the friendly animals--the +hawk, the duck, the fox, and the otter--to get possession of the fateful +thorn and to chew it before the giant could reach him; and no sooner had +he done so than the giant dropped stark and stiff, a corpse.(373) + +(M103) Another Argyleshire story relates how a certain giant, who lived in +the Black Corrie of Ben Breck, carried off three daughters of a king, one +after the other, at intervals of seven years. The bereaved monarch sent +champions to rescue his lost daughters, but though they surprised the +giant in his sleep and cut off his head, it was all to no purpose; for as +fast as they cut it off he put it on again and made after them as if +nothing had happened. So the champions fled away before him as fast as +they could lay legs to the ground, and the more agile of them escaped, but +the shorter-winded he caught, bared them to the skin, and hanged them on +hooks against the turrets of his castle. So he went by the name of the +Bare-Stripping Hangman. Now this amiable man had announced his intention +of coming to fetch away the fourth and last of the king's daughters, when +another seven years should be up. The time was drawing near, and the king, +with the natural instincts of a father, was in great tribulation, when as +good luck would have it a son of the king of Ireland, by name Alastir, +arrived in the king's castle and undertook to find out where the +Bare-Stripping Hangman had hidden his soul. To cut a long story short, the +artful Hangman had hidden his soul in an egg, which was in the belly of a +duck, which was in the belly of a salmon, which was in the belly of a +swift-footed hind of the cliffs. The prince wormed the secret from a +little old man, and by the help of a dog, a brown otter, and a falcon he +contrived to extract the egg from its various envelopes and crushed it to +bits between his hands and knees. So when he came to the giant's castle he +found the Bare-Stripping Hangman lying dead on the floor.(374) + +(M104) Another Highland story sets forth how Hugh, prince of Lochlin, was +long held captive by a giant who lived in a cave overlooking the Sound of +Mull. At last, after he had spent many years of captivity in that dismal +cave, it came to pass that one night the giant and his wife had a great +dispute, and Hugh overheard their talk, and learned that the giant's soul +was in a precious gem which he always wore on his forehead. So the prince +watched his opportunity, seized the gem, and having no means of escape or +concealment, hastily swallowed it. Like lightning from the clouds, the +giant's sword flashed from its scabbard and flew between Hugh's head and +his body to intercept the gem before it could descend into the prince's +stomach. But it was too late; and the giant fell down, sword in hand, and +expired without a gasp. Hugh had now lost his head, it is true, but having +the giant's soul in his body he felt none the worse for the accident. So +he buckled the giant's sword at his side, mounted the grey filly, swifter +than the east wind, that never had a bridle, and rode home. But the want +of his head made a painful impression on his friends; indeed they +maintained that he was a ghost and shut the door in his face, so now he +wanders for ever in shades of darkness, riding the grey filly fleeter than +the wind. On stormy nights, when the wind howls about the gables and among +the trees, you may see him galloping along the shore of the sea "between +wave and sand." Many a naughty little boy, who would not go quietly to +bed, has been carried off by Headless Hugh on his grey filly and never +seen again.(375) + +(M105) In Sutherlandshire at the present day there is a sept of Mackays +known as "the descendants of the seal," who claim to be sprung from a +mermaid, and the story they tell in explanation of their claim involves +the notion of the external soul. They say that the laird of Borgie used to +go down to the rocks under his castle to bathe. One day he saw a mermaid +close in shore, combing her hair and swimming about, as if she were +anxious to land. After watching her for a time, he noticed her cowl on the +rocks beside him, and knowing that she could not go to sea without it, he +carried the cowl up to the castle in the hope that she would follow him. +She did so, but he refused to give up the cowl and detained the sea-maiden +herself and made her his wife. To this she consented with great +reluctance, and told him that her life was bound up with the cowl, and +that if it rotted or was destroyed she would instantly die. So the cowl +was placed for safety in the middle of a great hay-stack, and there it lay +for years. One unhappy day, when the laird was from home, the servants +were working among the hay and found the cowl. Not knowing what it was, +they shewed it to the lady of the house. The sight revived memories of her +old life in the depths of the sea, so she took the cowl, and leaving her +child in its cot, plunged into the sea and never came home to Borgie any +more. Only sometimes she would swim close in shore to see her boy, and +then she wept because he was not of her own kind that she might take him +to sea with her. The boy grew to be a man, and his descendants are famous +swimmers. They cannot drown, and to this day they are known in the +neighbourhood as _Sliochd an roin_, that is, "the descendants of the +seal."(376) + +(M106) In an Irish story we read how a giant kept a beautiful damsel a +prisoner in his castle on the top of a hill, which was white with the +bones of the champions who had tried in vain to rescue the fair captive. +At last the hero, after hewing and slashing at the giant all to no +purpose, discovered that the only way to kill him was to rub a mole on the +giant's right breast with a certain egg, which was in a duck, which was in +a chest, which lay locked and bound at the bottom of the sea. With the +help of some obliging salmon, rams, and eagles, the hero as usual made +himself master of the precious egg and slew the giant by merely striking +it against the mole on his right breast.(377) Similarly in a Breton story +there figures a giant whom neither fire nor water nor steel can harm. He +tells his seventh wife, whom he has just married after murdering all her +predecessors, "I am immortal, and no one can hurt me unless he crushes on +my breast an egg, which is in a pigeon, which is in the belly of a hare; +this hare is in the belly of a wolf, and this wolf is in the belly of my +brother, who dwells a thousand leagues from here. So I am quite easy on +that score." A soldier, the hero of the tale, had been of service to an +ant, a wolf, and a sea-bird, who in return bestowed on him the power of +turning himself into an ant, a wolf, or a sea-bird at will. By means of +this magical power the soldier contrived to obtain the egg and crush it on +the breast of the giant, who immediately expired.(378) Another Breton +story tells of a giant who was called Body-without-Soul because his life +did not reside in his body. He himself dwelt in a beautiful castle which +hung between heaven and earth, suspended by four golden chains; but his +life was in an egg, and the egg was in a dove, and the dove was in a hare, +and the hare was in a wolf, and the wolf was in an iron chest at the +bottom of the sea. In his castle in the air he kept prisoner a beauteous +princess whom he had swooped down upon and carried off in a magic chariot. +But her lover turned himself into an ant and so climbed up one of the +golden chains into the enchanted castle, for he had done a kindness to the +king and queen of ants, and they rewarded him by transforming him into an +ant in his time of need. When he had learned from the captive princess the +secret of the giant's life, he procured the chest from the bottom of the +sea by the help of the king of fishes, whom he had also obliged; and +opening the chest he killed first the wolf, then the hare, and then the +dove, and at the death of each animal the giant grew weaker and weaker as +if he had lost a limb. In the stomach of the dove the hero found the egg +on which the giant's life depended, and when he came with it to the castle +he found Body-without-Soul stretched on his bed at the point of death. So +he dashed the egg against the giant's forehead, the egg broke, and the +giant straightway expired.(379) In another Breton tale the life of a giant +resides in an old box-tree which grows in his castle garden; and to kill +him it is necessary to sever the tap-root of the tree at a single blow of +an axe without injuring any of the lesser roots. This task the hero, as +usual, successfully accomplishes, and at the same moment the giant drops +dead.(380) + +(M107) The notion of an external soul has now been traced in folk-tales +told by Aryan peoples from India to Brittany and the Hebrides. We have +still to shew that the same idea occurs commonly in the popular stories of +peoples who do not belong to the Aryan stock. In the first place it +appears in the ancient Egyptian story of "The Two Brothers." This story +was written down in the reign of Rameses II., about 1300 B.C. It is +therefore older than our present redaction of Homer, and far older than +the Bible. The outline of the story, so far as it concerns us here, is as +follows. Once upon a time there were two brethren; the name of the elder +was Anpu and the name of the younger was Bata. Now Anpu had a house and a +wife, and his younger brother dwelt with him as his servant. It was Anpu +who made the garments, and every morning when it grew light he drove the +kine afield. As he walked behind them they used to say to him, "The grass +is good in such and such a place," and he heard what they said and led +them to the good pasture that they desired. So his kine grew very sleek +and multiplied greatly. One day when the two brothers were at work in the +field the elder brother said to the younger, "Run and fetch seed from the +village." So the younger brother ran and said to the wife of his elder +brother, "Give me seed that I may run to the field, for my brother sent me +saying, Tarry not." She said, "Go to the barn and take as much as thou +wouldst." He went and filled a jar full of wheat and barley, and came +forth bearing it on his shoulders. When the woman saw him her heart went +out to him, and she laid hold of him and said, "Come, let us rest an hour +together." But he said, "Thou art to me as a mother, and my brother is to +me as a father." So he would not hearken to her, but took the load on his +back and went away to the field. In the evening, when the elder brother +was returning from the field, his wife feared for what she had said. So +she took soot and made herself as one who had been beaten. And when her +husband came home, she said, "When thy younger brother came to fetch seed, +he said to me, Come, let us rest an hour together. But I would not, and he +beat me." Then the elder brother became like a panther of the south; he +sharpened his knife and stood behind the door of the cow-house. And when +the sun set and the younger brother came laden with all the herbs of the +field, as was his wont every day, the cow that walked in front of the herd +said to him, "Behold, thine elder brother stands with a knife to kill +thee. Flee before him." When he heard what the cow said, he looked under +the door of the cow-house and saw the feet of his elder brother standing +behind the door, his knife in his hand. So he fled and his brother pursued +him with the knife. But the younger brother cried for help to the Sun, and +the Sun heard him and caused a great water to spring up between him and +his elder brother, and the water was full of crocodiles. The two brothers +stood, the one on the one side of the water and the other on the other, +and the younger brother told the elder brother all that had befallen. So +the elder brother repented him of what he had done and he lifted up his +voice and wept. But he could not come at the farther bank by reason of the +crocodiles. His younger brother called to him and said, "Go home and tend +the cattle thyself. For I will dwell no more in the place where thou art. +I will go to the Valley of the Acacia. But this is what thou shalt do for +me. Thou shalt come and care for me, if evil befalls me, for I will +enchant my heart and place it on the top of the flower of the Acacia; and +if they cut the Acacia and my heart falls to the ground, thou shalt come +and seek it, and when thou hast found it thou shalt lay it in a vessel of +fresh water. Then I shall come to life again. But this is the sign that +evil has befallen me; the pot of beer in thine hand shall bubble." So he +went away to the Valley of the Acacia, but his brother returned home with +dust on his head and slew his wife and cast her to the dogs. + +(M108) For many days afterwards the younger brother dwelt alone in the +Valley of the Acacia. By day he hunted the beasts of the field, but at +evening he came and laid him down under the Acacia, on the top of whose +flower was his heart. And many days after that he built himself a house in +the Valley of the Acacia. But the gods were grieved for him; and the Sun +said to Khnumu, "Make a wife for Bata, that he may not dwell alone." So +Khnumu made him a woman to dwell with him, who was perfect in her limbs +more than any woman on earth, for all the gods were in her. So she dwelt +with him. But one day a lock of her hair fell into the river and floated +down to the land of Egypt, to the house of Pharaoh's washerwomen. The +fragrance of the lock perfumed Pharaoh's raiment, and the washerwomen were +blamed, for it was said, "An odour of perfume in the garments of Pharaoh!" +So the heart of Pharaoh's chief washerman was weary of the complaints that +were made every day, and he went to the wharf, and there in the water he +spied the lock of hair. He sent one down into the river to fetch it, and, +because it smelt sweetly, he took it to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh's magicians +were sent for and they said, "This lock of hair belongs to a daughter of +the Sun, who has in her the essence of all the gods. Let messengers go +forth to all foreign lands to seek her." So the woman was brought from the +Valley of the Acacia with chariots and archers and much people, and all +the land of Egypt rejoiced at her coming, and Pharaoh loved her. But when +they asked her of her husband, she said to Pharaoh, "Let them cut down the +Acacia and let them destroy it." So men were sent with tools to cut down +the Acacia. They came to it and cut the flower upon which was the heart of +Bata; and he fell down dead in that evil hour. But the next day, when the +earth grew light and the elder brother of Bata was entered into his house +and had sat down, they brought him a pot of beer and it bubbled, and they +gave him a jug of wine and it grew turbid. Then he took his staff and his +sandals and hied him to the Valley of the Acacia, and there he found his +younger brother lying dead in his house. So he sought for the heart of his +brother under the Acacia. For three years he sought in vain, but in the +fourth year he found it in the berry of the Acacia. So he threw the heart +into a cup of fresh water. And when it was night and the heart had sucked +in much water, Bata shook in all his limbs and revived. Then he drank the +cup of water in which his heart was, and his heart went into its place, +and he lived as before.(381) + +(M109) In the _Arabian Nights_ we read how Seyf el-Mulook, after wandering +for four months over mountains and hills and deserts, came to a lofty +palace in which he found the lovely daughter of the King of India sitting +alone on a golden couch in a hall spread with silken carpets. She tells +him that she is held captive by a jinnee, who had swooped down on her and +carried her off while she was disporting herself with her female slaves in +a tank in the great garden of her father the king. Seyf el-Mulook then +offers to smite the jinnee with the sword and slay him. "But," she +replied, "thou canst not slay him unless thou kill his soul." "And in what +place," said he, "is his soul?" She answered, "I asked him respecting it +many times; but he would not confess to me its place. It happened, +however, that I urged him, one day, and he was enraged against me, and +said to me, 'How often wilt thou ask me respecting my soul? What is the +reason of thy question respecting my soul?' So I answered him, 'O Hátim, +there remaineth to me no one but thee, excepting God; and I, as long as I +live, would not cease to hold thy soul in my embrace; and if I do not take +care of thy soul, and put it in the midst of my eye, how can I live after +thee? If I knew thy soul, I would take care of it as of my right eye.' And +thereupon he said to me, 'When I was born, the astrologers declared that +the destruction of my soul would be effected by the hand of one of the +sons of the human kings. I therefore took my soul, and put it into the +crop of a sparrow, and I imprisoned the sparrow in a little box, and put +this into another small box, and this I put within seven other small +boxes, and I put these within seven chests, and the chests I put into a +coffer of marble within the verge of this circumambient ocean; for this +part is remote from the countries of mankind, and none of mankind can gain +access to it.' " But Seyf el-Mulook got possession of the sparrow and +strangled it, and the jinnee fell upon the ground a heap of black +ashes.(382) In a modern Arabian tale a king marries an ogress, who puts +out the eyes of the king's forty wives. One of the blinded queens gives +birth to a son whom she names Mohammed the Prudent. But the ogress queen +hated him and compassed his death. So she sent him on an errand to the +house of her kinsfolk the ogres. In the house of the ogres he saw some +things hanging from the roof, and on asking a female slave what they were, +she said, "That is the bottle which contains the life of my lady the +queen, and the other bottle beside it contains the eyes of the queens whom +my mistress blinded." A little afterwards he spied a beetle and rose to +kill it. "Don't kill it," cried the slave, "for that is my life." But +Mohammed the Prudent watched the beetle till it entered a chink in the +wall; and when the female slave had fallen asleep, he killed the beetle in +its hole, and so the slave died. Then Mohammed took down the two bottles +and carried them home to his father's palace. There he presented himself +before the ogress queen and said, "See, I have your life in my hand, but I +will not kill you till you have replaced the eyes which you took from the +forty queens." The ogress did as she was bid, and then Mohammed the +Prudent said, "There, take your life." But the bottle slipped from his +hand and fell, the life of the ogress escaped from it, and she died.(383) + +(M110) A Basque story, which closely resembles some of the stories told +among Aryan peoples, relates how a monster--a Body-without-Soul--detains a +princess in captivity, and is questioned by her as to how he might be +slain. With some reluctance he tells her, "You must kill a terrible wolf +which is in the forest, and inside him is a fox, in the fox is a pigeon; +this pigeon has an egg in his head, and whoever should strike me on the +forehead with this egg would kill me." The hero of the story, by name +Malbrouk, has learned, in the usual way, the art of turning himself at +will into a wolf, an ant, a hawk, or a dog, and on the strength of this +accomplishment he kills the animals, one after the other, and extracts the +precious egg from the pigeon's head. When the wolf is killed, the monster +feels it and says despondently, "I do not know if anything is going to +happen to me. I am much afraid of it." When the fox and the pigeon have +been killed, he cries that it is all over with him, that they have taken +the egg out of the pigeon, and that he knows not what is to become of him. +Finally the princess strikes the monster on the forehead with the egg, and +he falls a corpse.(384) In a Kabyle story an ogre declares that his fate +is far away in an egg, which is in a pigeon, which is in a camel, which is +in the sea. The hero procures the egg and crushes it between his hands, +and the ogre dies.(385) In a Magyar folk-tale, an old witch detains a +young prince called Ambrose in the bowels of the earth. At last she +confided to him that she kept a wild boar in a silken meadow, and if it +were killed, they would find a hare inside, and inside the hare a pigeon, +and inside the pigeon a small box, and inside the box one black and one +shining beetle: the shining beetle held her life, and the black one held +her power; if these two beetles died, then her life would come to an end +also. When the old hag went out, Ambrose killed the wild boar, and took +out the hare; from the hare he took the pigeon, from the pigeon the box, +and from the box the two beetles; he killed the black beetle, but kept the +shining one alive. So the witch's power left her immediately, and when she +came home, she had to take to her bed. Having learned from her how to +escape from his prison to the upper air, Ambrose killed the shining +beetle, and the old hag's spirit left her at once.(386) In another +Hungarian story the safety of the Dwarf-king resides in a golden +cockchafer, inside a golden cock, inside a golden sheep, inside a golden +stag, in the ninety-ninth island. The hero overcomes all these golden +animals and so recovers his bride, whom the Dwarf-king had carried +off.(387) + +(M111) A Lapp story tells of a giant who slew a man and took away his +wife. When the man's son grew up, he tried to rescue his mother and kill +the giant, but fire and sword were powerless to harm the monster; it +seemed as if he had no life in his body. "Dear mother," at last enquired +the son, "don't you know where the giant has hidden away his life?" The +mother did not know, but promised to ask. So one day, when the giant +chanced to be in a good humour, she asked him where he kept his life. He +said to her, "Out yonder on a burning sea is an island, in the island is a +barrel, in the barrel is a sheep, in the sheep is a hen, in the hen is an +egg, and in the egg is my life." When the woman's son heard this, he hired +a bear, a wolf, a hawk, and a diver-bird and set off in a boat to sail to +the island in the burning sea. He sat with the hawk and the diver-bird +under an iron tent in the middle of the boat, and he set the bear and the +wolf to row. That is why to this day the bear's hair is dark brown and the +wolf has dark-brown spots; for as they sat at the oars without any screen +they were naturally scorched by the tossing tongues of flame on the +burning sea. However, they made their way over the fiery billows to the +island, and there they found the barrel. In a trice the bear had knocked +the bottom out of it with his claws, and forth sprang a sheep. But the +wolf soon pulled the sheep down and rent it in pieces. From out the sheep +flew a hen, but the hawk stooped on it and tore it with his talons. In the +hen was an egg, which dropped into the sea and sank; but the diver-bird +dived after it. Twice he dived after it in vain and came up to the surface +gasping and spluttering; but the third time he brought up the egg and +handed it to the young man. Great was the young man's joy. At once he +kindled a great bonfire on the shore, threw the egg into it, and rowed +away back across the sea. On landing he went away straight to the giant's +abode, and found the monster burning, just as he had left the egg burning +on the island. "Fool that I was," lamented the dying giant, "to betray my +life to a wicked old woman," and with that he snatched at an iron tube +through which in happier days he had been wont to suck the blood of his +human victims. But the woman was too subtle for him, for she had taken the +precaution of inserting one end of the tube in the glowing embers of the +hearth; and so, when the giant sucked hard at the other end, he imbibed +only fire and ashes. Thus he burned inside as well as outside, and when +the fire went out the giant's life went out with it.(388) + +(M112) A Samoyed story tells how seven warlocks killed a certain man's +mother and carried off his sister, whom they kept to serve them. Every +night when they came home the seven warlocks used to take out their hearts +and place them in a dish which the woman hung on the tent-poles. But the +wife of the man whom they had wronged stole the hearts of the warlocks +while they slept, and took them to her husband. By break of day he went +with the hearts to the warlocks, and found them at the point of death. +They all begged for their hearts; but he threw six of their hearts to the +ground, and six of the warlocks died. The seventh and eldest warlock +begged hard for his heart and the man said, "You killed my mother. Make +her alive again, and I will give you back your heart." The warlock said to +his wife, "Go to the place where the dead woman lies. You will find a bag +there. Bring it to me. The woman's spirit is in the bag." So his wife +brought the bag; and the warlock said to the man, "Go to your dead mother, +shake the bag and let the spirit breathe over her bones; so she will come +to life again." The man did as he was bid, and his mother was restored to +life. Then he hurled the seventh heart to the ground, and the seventh +warlock died.(389) In a Kalmuck tale we read how a certain khan challenged +a wise man to shew his skill by stealing a precious stone on which the +khan's life depended. The sage contrived to purloin the talisman while the +khan and his guards slept; but not content with this he gave a further +proof of his dexterity by bonneting the slumbering potentate with a +bladder. This was too much for the khan. Next morning he informed the sage +that he could overlook everything else, but that the indignity of being +bonneted with a bladder was more than he could stand; and he ordered his +facetious friend to instant execution. Pained at this exhibition of royal +ingratitude, the sage dashed to the ground the talisman which he still +held in his hand; and at the same instant blood flowed from the nostrils +of the khan, and he gave up the ghost.(390) + +(M113) In a Tartar poem two heroes named Ak Molot and Bulat engage in +mortal combat. Ak Molot pierces his foe through and through with an arrow, +grapples with him, and dashes him to the ground, but all in vain, Bulat +could not die. At last when the combat has lasted three years, a friend of +Ak Molot sees a golden casket hanging by a white thread from the sky, and +bethinks him that perhaps this casket contains Bulat's soul. So he shot +through the white thread with an arrow, and down fell the casket. He +opened it, and in the casket sat ten white birds, and one of the birds was +Bulat's soul. Bulat wept when he saw that his soul was found in the +casket. But one after the other the birds were killed, and then Ak Molot +easily slew his foe.(391) In another Tartar poem, two brothers going to +fight two other brothers take out their souls and hide them in the form of +a white herb with six stalks in a deep pit. But one of their foes sees +them doing so and digs up their souls, which he puts into a golden ram's +horn, and then sticks the ram's horn in his quiver. The two warriors whose +souls have thus been stolen know that they have no chance of victory, and +accordingly make peace with their enemies.(392) In another Tartar poem a +terrible demon sets all the gods and heroes at defiance. At last a valiant +youth fights the demon, binds him hand and foot, and slices him with his +sword. But still the demon is not slain. So the youth asked him, "Tell me, +where is your soul hidden? For if your soul had been hidden in your body, +you must have been dead long ago." The demon replied, "On the saddle of my +horse is a bag. In the bag is a serpent with twelve heads. In the serpent +is my soul. When you have killed the serpent, you have killed me also." So +the youth took the saddle-bag from the horse and killed the twelve-headed +serpent, whereupon the demon expired.(393) In another Tartar poem a hero +called Kök Chan deposits with a maiden a golden ring, in which is half his +strength. Afterwards when Kök Chan is wrestling long with a hero and +cannot kill him, a woman drops into his mouth the ring which contains half +his strength. Thus inspired with fresh force he slays his enemy.(394) + +(M114) In a Mongolian story the hero Joro gets the better of his enemy the +lama Tschoridong in the following way. The lama, who is an enchanter, +sends out his soul in the form of a wasp to sting Joro's eyes. But Joro +catches the wasp in his hand, and by alternately shutting and opening his +hand he causes the lama alternately to lose and recover +consciousness.(395) In a Tartar poem two youths cut open the body of an +old witch and tear out her bowels, but all to no purpose, she still lives. +On being asked where her soul is, she answers that it is in the middle of +her shoe-sole in the form of a seven-headed speckled snake. So one of the +youths slices her shoe-sole with his sword, takes out the speckled snake, +and cuts off its seven heads. Then the witch dies.(396) Another Tartar +poem describes how the hero Kartaga grappled with the Swan-woman. Long +they wrestled. Moons waxed and waned and still they wrestled; years came +and went, and still the struggle went on. But the piebald horse and the +black horse knew that the Swan-woman's soul was not in her. Under the +black earth flow nine seas; where the seas meet and form one, the sea +comes to the surface of the earth. At the mouth of the nine seas rises a +rock of copper; it rises to the surface of the ground, it rises up between +heaven and earth, this rock of copper. At the foot of the copper rock is a +black chest, in the black chest is a golden casket, and in the golden +casket is the soul of the Swan-woman. Seven little birds are the soul of +the Swan-woman; if the birds are killed the Swan-woman will die +straightway. So the horses ran to the foot of the copper rock, opened the +black chest, and brought back the golden casket. Then the piebald horse +turned himself into a bald-headed man, opened the golden casket, and cut +off the heads of the seven birds. So the Swan-woman died.(397) In a Tartar +story a chief called Tash Kan is asked where his soul is. He answers that +there are seven great poplars, and under the poplars a golden well; seven +_Maralen_ (?) come to drink the water of the well, and the belly of one of +them trails on the ground; in this _Maral_ is a golden box, in the golden +box is a silver box, in the silver box are seven quails, the head of one +of the quails is golden and its tail silver; that quail is Tash Kan's +soul. The hero of the story gets possession of the seven quails and wrings +the necks of six of them. Then Tash Kan comes running and begs the hero to +let his soul go free. But the hero wrings the last quail's neck, and Tash +Kan drops dead.(398) In another Tartar poem the hero, pursuing his sister +who has driven away his cattle, is warned to desist from the pursuit +because his sister has carried away his soul in a golden sword and a +golden arrow, and if he pursues her she will kill him by throwing the +golden sword or shooting the golden arrow at him.(399) + +(M115) A modern Chinese story tells how an habitual criminal used to take +his soul out of his own body for the purpose of evading the righteous +punishment of his crimes. This bad man lived in Khien (Kwei-cheu), and the +sentences that had been passed on him formed a pile as high as a hill. The +mandarins had flogged him to death with sticks and flung his mangled +corpse into the river, but three days afterwards the scoundrel got his +soul back again, and on the fifth day he resumed his career of villainy as +if nothing had happened. The thing occurred again and again, till at last +it reached the ears of the Governor of the province, who flew into a +violent passion and proposed to the Governor-General to have the rascal +beheaded. And beheaded he was; but in three days the wretch was alive +again with no trace of decapitation about him except a slender red thread +round his neck. And now, like a giant refreshed, he began a fresh series +of enormities. He even went so far as to beat his own mother. This was +more than she could bear, and she brought the matter before the +magistrate. She produced in court a vase and said, "In this vase my +refractory son has hidden his soul. Whenever he was conscious of having +committed a serious crime, or a misdeed of the most heinous kind, he +remained at home, took his soul out of his body, purified it, and put it +in the vase. Then the authorities only punished or executed his body of +flesh and blood, and not his soul. With his soul, refined by a long +process, he then cured his freshly mutilated body, which thus became able +in three days to recommence in the old way. Now, however, his crimes have +reached a climax, for he has beaten me, an old woman, and I cannot bear +it. I pray you, smash this vase, and scatter his soul by fanning it away +with a windwheel; and if then you castigate his body anew, it is probable +that bad son of mine will really die." The mandarin took the hint. He had +the rogue cudgelled to death, and when they examined the corpse they found +that decay had set in within ten days.(400) + +(M116) The Khasis of Assam tell of a certain Kyllong, king of Madur, who +pursued his conquests on a remarkable principle. He needed few or no +soldiers, because he himself was a very strong man and nobody could kill +him permanently; they could, it is true, put him to death, but then he +came to life again immediately. The king of Synteng, who was much afraid +of him, once chopped him in pieces and threw the severed hands and feet +far away, thinking thus to get rid of him for good and all; but it was to +no purpose. The very next morning Kyllong came to life again and stalked +about as brisk as ever. So the king of Synteng was very anxious to learn +how his rival contrived thus to rise from the dead; and he hit on a plan +for worming out the secret. He chose the fairest girl of the whole +country, clad her in royal robes, put jewels of gold and silver upon her, +and said, "All these will I give thee and more besides, if thou canst +obtain for me King Kyllong's secret, and canst inform me how he brings +himself to life again after being killed." So he sent the girl to the +slave-market in King Kyllong's country; and the king saw and loved her and +took her to wife. So she caressed him and coaxed him to tell her his +secret, and in a fatal hour he was beguiled into revealing it. He said, +"My life depends upon these things. I must bathe every day and must wash +my entrails. After that, I take my food, and there is no one on earth who +can kill me unless he obtains possession of my entrails. Thus my life +hangs only on my entrails." His treacherous wife at once sent word to the +king of Synteng, who caused men to lie in wait while Kyllong was bathing. +As usual, Kyllong had laid his entrails on one side of the bathing-place, +while he disported himself in the water, intending afterwards to wash them +and replace them in his body. But before he could do so, one of the +liers-in-wait had seized the entrails and killed him. The entrails he cut +in pieces and gave to the dogs to eat. That was the end of King Kyllong. +He was never able to come to life again; his country was conquered, and +the members of the royal family were scattered far and wide. Seven +generations have passed since then.(401) + +(M117) A Malay poem relates how once upon a time in the city of Indrapoora +there was a certain merchant who was rich and prosperous, but he had no +children. One day as he walked with his wife by the river they found a +baby girl, fair as an angel. So they adopted the child and called her +Bidasari. The merchant caused a golden fish to be made, and into this fish +he transferred the soul of his adopted daughter. Then he put the golden +fish in a golden box full of water, and hid it in a pond in the midst of +his garden. In time the girl grew to be a lovely woman. Now the King of +Indrapoora had a fair young queen, who lived in fear that the king might +take to himself a second wife. So, hearing of the charms of Bidasari, the +queen resolved to put her out of the way. She lured the girl to the palace +and tortured her cruelly; but Bidasari could not die, because her soul was +not in her. At last she could stand the torture no longer and said to the +queen, "If you wish me to die, you must bring the box which is in the pond +in my father's garden." So the box was brought and opened, and there was +the golden fish in the water. The girl said, "My soul is in that fish. In +the morning you must take the fish out of the water, and in the evening +you must put it back into the water. Do not let the fish lie about, but +bind it round your neck. If you do this, I shall soon die." So the queen +took the fish out of the box and fastened it round her neck; and no sooner +had she done so, than Bidasari fell into a swoon. But in the evening, when +the fish was put back into the water, Bidasari came to herself again. +Seeing that she thus had the girl in her power, the queen sent her home to +her adopted parents. To save her from further persecution her parents +resolved to remove their daughter from the city. So in a lonely and +desolate spot they built a house and brought Bidasari thither. There she +dwelt alone, undergoing vicissitudes that corresponded with the +vicissitudes of the golden fish in which was her soul. All day long, while +the fish was out of the water, she remained unconscious; but in the +evening, when the fish was put into the water, she revived. One day the +king was out hunting, and coming to the house where Bidasari lay +unconscious, was smitten with her beauty. He tried to waken her, but in +vain. Next day, towards evening, he repeated his visit, but still found +her unconscious. However, when darkness fell, she came to herself and told +the king the secret of her life. So the king returned to the palace, took +the fish from the queen, and put it in water. Immediately Bidasari +revived, and the king took her to wife.(402) + +(M118) Another story of an external soul comes from Nias, an island to the +west of Sumatra. Once on a time a chief was captured by his enemies, who +tried to put him to death but failed. Water would not drown him nor fire +burn him nor steel pierce him. At last his wife revealed the secret. On +his head he had a hair as hard as a copper wire; and with this wire his +life was bound up. So the hair was plucked out, and with it his spirit +fled.(403) + +(M119) A Hausa story from Northern Nigeria closely resembles some of the +European tales which we have noticed; for it contains not only the +incident of the external soul, but also the incident of the helpful +animals, by whose assistance the hero is able to slay the Soulless King +and obtain possession of the kingdom. The story runs thus. A certain man +and his wife had four daughters born to them in succession, but every one +of the baby girls mysteriously disappeared on the day when she was to be +weaned; so the parents fell under the suspicion of having devoured them. +Last of all there was born to them a son, who to avoid accidents was left +to wean himself. One day, as he grew up, the son received a magic lotion +from an old woman, who told him to rub his eyes with it. He did so, and +immediately he saw a large house and entering it he found his eldest +sister married to a bull. She bade him welcome and so did her husband the +bull; and when he went away, the bull very kindly presented him with a +lock of his hair as a keepsake. In like manner the lad discovered his +other three sisters, who were living in wedlock with a ram, a dog, and a +hawk respectively. All of them welcomed him and from the ram, the dog, and +the hawk he received tokens of regard in the shape of hair or feathers. +Then he returned home and told his parents of his adventure and how he had +found his sisters alive and married. Next day he went to a far city, where +he made love to the Queen and persuaded her to plot with him against the +life of the King her husband. So she coaxed the King to shew his affection +for her by "taking his own life, and joining it to hers." The unsuspecting +husband, as usual, fell into the trap set for him by his treacherous wife. +He confided to her the secret of his life. "My life," said he, "is behind +the city, behind the city in a thicket. In this thicket there is a lake; +in the lake is a rock; in the rock is a gazelle; in the gazelle is a dove; +and in the dove is a small box." The Queen divulged the secret to her +lover, who kindled a fire behind the city and threw into it the hair and +feathers which he had received from the friendly animals, his +brothers-in-law. Immediately the animals themselves appeared and readily +gave their help in the enterprise. The bull drank up the lake; the ram +broke up the rock; the dog caught the gazelle; the hawk captured the dove. +So the youth extracted the precious box from the dove and repaired to the +palace, where he found the King already dead. His Majesty had been ailing +from the moment when the young man left the city, and he grew steadily +worse with every fresh success of the adventurer who was to supplant him. +So the hero became King and married the false Queen; and his sisters' +husbands were changed from animals into men and received subordinate posts +in the government. The hero's parents, too, came to live in the city over +which he reigned.(404) + +(M120) A West African story from Southern Nigeria relates how a king kept +his soul in a little brown bird, which perched on a tall tree beside the +gate of the palace. The king's life was so bound up with that of the bird +that whoever should kill the bird would simultaneously kill the king and +succeed to the kingdom. The secret was betrayed by the queen to her lover, +who shot the bird with an arrow and thereby slew the king and ascended the +vacant throne.(405) A tale told by the Ba-Ronga of South Africa sets forth +how the lives of a whole family were contained in one cat. When a girl of +the family, named Titishan, married a husband, she begged her parents to +let her take the precious cat with her to her new home. But they refused, +saying, "You know that our life is attached to it"; and they offered to +give her an antelope or even an elephant instead of it. But nothing would +satisfy her but the cat. So at last she carried it off with her and shut +it up in a place where nobody saw it; even her husband knew nothing about +it. One day, when she went to work in the fields, the cat escaped from its +place of concealment, entered the hut, put on the warlike trappings of the +husband, and danced and sang. Some children, attracted by the noise, +discovered the cat at its antics, and when they expressed their +astonishment, the animal only capered the more and insulted them besides. +So they went to the owner and said, "There is somebody dancing in your +house, and he insulted us." "Hold your tongues," said he, "I'll soon put a +stop to your lies." So he went and hid behind the door and peeped in, and +there sure enough was the cat prancing about and singing. He fired at it, +and the animal dropped down dead. At the same moment his wife fell to the +ground in the field where she was at work; said she, "I have been killed +at home." But she had strength enough left to ask her husband to go with +her to her parents' village, taking with him the dead cat wrapt up in a +mat. All her relatives assembled, and bitterly they reproached her for +having insisted on taking the animal with her to her husband's village. As +soon as the mat was unrolled and they saw the dead cat, they all fell down +lifeless one after the other. So the Clan of the Cat was destroyed; and +the bereaved husband closed the gate of the village with a branch, and +returned home, and told his friends how in killing the cat he had killed +the whole clan, because their lives depended on the life of the cat. In +another Ronga story the lives of a whole clan are attached to a buffalo, +which a girl of the clan in like manner insists on taking with her.(406) + +(M121) Ideas of the same sort meet us in stories told by the North +American Indians. Thus in one Indian tale the hero pounds his enemy to +pieces, but cannot kill him because his heart is not in his body. At last +the champion learns that his foe's heart is in the sky, at the western +side of the noonday sun; so he reaches up, seizes the heart, and crushes +it, and straightway his enemy expires. In another Indian myth there +figures a personage Winter whose song brings frost and snow, but his heart +is hidden away at a distance. However, his foe finds the heart and burns +it, and so the Snow-maker perishes.(407) A Pawnee story relates how a +wounded warrior was carried off by bears, who healed him of his hurts. +When the Indian was about to return to his village, the old he-bear said +to him, "I shall look after you. I shall give you a part of myself. If I +am killed, you shall be killed. If I grow old, you shall be old." And the +bear gave him a cap of bearskin, and at parting he put his arms round the +Indian and hugged him, and put his mouth against the man's mouth and held +the man's hands in his paws. The Indian who told the tale conjectured that +when the man died, the old bear died also.(408) The Navajoes tell of a +certain mythical being called "the Maiden that becomes a Bear," who +learned the art of turning herself into a bear from the prairie wolf. She +was a great warrior and quite invulnerable; for when she went to war she +took out her vital organs and hid them, so that no one could kill her; and +when the battle was over she put the organs back in their places +again.(409) The Kwakiutl Indians of British Columbia tell of an ogress, +who could not be killed because her life was in a hemlock branch. A brave +boy met her in the woods, smashed her head with a stone, scattered her +brains, broke her bones, and threw them into the water. Then, thinking he +had disposed of the ogress, he went into her house. There he saw a woman +rooted to the floor, who warned him, saying, "Now do not stay long. I know +that you have tried to kill the ogress. It is the fourth time that +somebody has tried to kill her. She never dies; she has nearly come to +life. There in that covered hemlock branch is her life. Go there, and as +soon as you see her enter, shoot her life. Then she will be dead." Hardly +had she finished speaking when sure enough in came the ogress, singing as +she walked:-- + + + "_I have the magical treasure,_ + _I have the supernatural power,_ + _I can return to life._" + + +Such was her song. But the boy shot at her life, and she fell dead to the +floor.(410) + + + + + +CHAPTER XI. THE EXTERNAL SOUL IN FOLK-CUSTOM. + + + + +§ 1. The External Soul in Inanimate Things. + + +(M122) Thus the idea that the soul may be deposited for a longer or +shorter time in some place of security outside the body, or at all events +in the hair, is found in the popular tales of many races. It remains to +shew that the idea is not a mere figment devised to adorn a tale, but is a +real article of primitive faith, which has given rise to a corresponding +set of customs. + +(M123) We have seen that in the tales the hero, as a preparation for +battle, sometimes removes his soul from his body, in order that his body +may be invulnerable and immortal in the combat. With a like intention the +savage removes his soul from his body on various occasions of real or +imaginary peril. Thus among the people of Minahassa in Celebes, when a +family moves into a new house, a priest collects the souls of the whole +family in a bag, and afterwards restores them to their owners, because the +moment of entering a new house is supposed to be fraught with supernatural +danger.(411) In Southern Celebes, when a woman is brought to bed, the +messenger who fetches the doctor or the midwife always carries with him +something made of iron, such as a chopping-knife, which he delivers to the +doctor. The doctor must keep the thing in his house till the confinement +is over, when he gives it back, receiving a fixed sum of money for doing +so. The chopping-knife, or whatever it is, represents the woman's soul, +which at this critical time is believed to be safer out of her body than +in it. Hence the doctor must take great care of the object; for were it +lost, the woman's soul would assuredly, they think, be lost with it.(412) +But in Celebes the convenience of occasionally depositing the soul in some +external object is apparently not limited to human beings. The Alfoors, or +Toradjas, who inhabit the central district of that island, and among whose +industries the working of iron occupies a foremost place, attribute to the +metal a soul which would be apt to desert its body under the blows of the +hammer, if some means were not found to detain it. Accordingly in every +smithy of Poso--for that is the name of the country of these people--you may +see hanging up a bundle of wooden instruments, such as chopping-knives, +swords, spear-heads, and so forth. This bundle goes by the name of +_lamoa_, which is the general word for "gods," and in it the soul of the +iron that is being wrought in the smithy is, according to one account, +supposed to reside. "If we did not hang the _lamoa_ over the anvil," they +say, "the iron would flow away and be unworkable," on account of the +absence of the soul.(413) However, according to another interpretation +these wooden models are substitutes offered to the gods in room of the +iron, whose soul the covetous deities might otherwise abstract for their +own use, thus making the metal unmalleable.(414) + +(M124) Among the Dyaks of Pinoeh, a district of South-Eastern Borneo, when +a child is born, a medicine-man is sent for, who conjures the soul of the +infant into half a coco-nut, which he thereupon covers with a cloth and +places on a square platter or charger suspended by cords from the roof. +This ceremony he repeats at every new moon for a year.(415) The intention +of the ceremony is not explained by the writer who describes it, but we +may conjecture that it is to place the soul of the child in a safer place +than its own frail little body. This conjecture is confirmed by the reason +assigned for a similar custom observed elsewhere in the Indian +Archipelago. In the Kei Islands, when there is a newly-born child in a +house, an empty coco-nut, split and spliced together again, may sometimes +be seen hanging beside a rough wooden image of an ancestor. The soul of +the infant is believed to be temporarily deposited in the coco-nut in +order that it may be safe from the attacks of evil spirits; but when the +child grows bigger and stronger, the soul will take up its permanent abode +in its own body. Similarly among the Esquimaux of Alaska, when a child is +sick, the medicine-man will sometimes extract its soul from its body and +place it for safe-keeping in an amulet, which for further security he +deposits in his own medicine-bag. (416) It seems probable that many +amulets have been similarly regarded as soul-boxes, that is, as safes in +which the souls of the owners are kept for greater security.(417) An old +Mang'anje woman in the West Shire district of British Central Africa used +to wear round her neck an ivory ornament, hollow, and about three inches +long, which she called her life or soul (_moyo wanga_). Naturally, she +would not part with it; a planter tried to buy it of her, but in +vain.(418) When Mr. James Macdonald was one day sitting in the house of a +Hlubi chief, awaiting the appearance of that great man, who was busy +decorating his person, a native pointed to a pair of magnificent ox-horns, +and said, "Ntame has his soul in these horns." The horns were those of an +animal which had been sacrificed, and they were held sacred. A magician +had fastened them to the roof to protect the house and its inmates from +the thunder-bolt. "The idea," adds Mr. Macdonald, "is in no way foreign to +South African thought. A man's soul there may dwell in the roof of his +house, in a tree, by a spring of water, or on some mountain scaur."(419) +Among the natives of the Gazelle Peninsula in New Britain there is a +secret society which goes by the name of Ingniet or Ingiet. On his +entrance into it every man receives a stone in the shape either of a human +being or of an animal, and henceforth his soul is believed to be knit up +in a manner with the stone. If it breaks, it is an evil omen for him; they +say that the thunder has struck the stone and that he who owns it will +soon die. If nevertheless the man survives the breaking of his soul-stone, +they say that it was not a proper soul-stone and he gets a new one +instead.(420) The emperor Romanus Lecapenus was once informed by an +astronomer that the life of Simeon, prince of Bulgaria, was bound up with +a certain column in Constantinople, so that if the capital of the column +were removed, Simeon would immediately die. The emperor took the hint and +removed the capital, and at the same hour, as the emperor learned by +enquiry, Simeon died of heart disease in Bulgaria.(421) The deified kings +of ancient Egypt appear to have enjoyed the privilege of depositing their +spiritual doubles or souls (_ka_) during their lifetime in a number of +portrait statues, properly fourteen for each king, which stood in the +chamber of adoration (_pa douaït_) of the temple and were revered as the +equivalents or representatives of the monarchs themselves.(422) Among the +Karens of Burma "the knife with which the navel string is cut is carefully +preserved for the child. The life of the child is supposed to be in some +way connected with it, for, if lost or destroyed, it is said the child +will not be long lived."(423) Among the Shawnee Indians of North America +it once happened that an eminent man was favoured with a special +revelation by the Great Spirit. Wisely refusing to hide the sacred light +of revelation under a bushel, he generously communicated a few sparks of +the illumination to John Tanner, a white man who lived for many years as +an Indian among the Indians. "Henceforth," said the inspired sage, "the +fire must never be suffered to go out in your lodge. Summer and winter, +day and night, in the storm, or when it is calm, you must remember that +the life in your body, and the fire in your lodge, are the same, and of +the same date. If you suffer your fire to be extinguished, at that moment +your life will be at its end."(424) + +(M125) Again, we have seen that in folk-tales a man's soul or strength is +sometimes represented as bound up with his hair, and that when his hair is +cut off he dies or grows weak. So the natives of Amboyna used to think +that their strength was in their hair and would desert them if it were +shorn. A criminal under torture in a Dutch Court of that island persisted +in denying his guilt till his hair was cut off, when he immediately +confessed. One man, who was tried for murder, endured without flinching +the utmost ingenuity of his torturers till he saw the surgeon standing +with a pair of shears. On asking what this was for, and being told that it +was to cut his hair, he begged they would not do it, and made a clean +breast. In subsequent cases, when torture failed to wring a confession +from a prisoner, the Dutch authorities made a practice of cutting off his +hair.(425) In Ceram it is still believed that if young people have their +hair cut they will be weakened and enervated thereby.(426) + +(M126) Here in Europe it used to be thought that the maleficent powers of +witches and wizards resided in their hair, and that nothing could make any +impression on these miscreants so long as they kept their hair on. Hence +in France it was customary to shave the whole bodies of persons charged +with sorcery before handing them over to the torturer. Millaeus witnessed +the torture of some persons at Toulouse, from whom no confession could be +wrung until they were stripped and completely shaven, when they readily +acknowledged the truth of the charge. A woman also, who apparently led a +pious life, was put to the torture on suspicion of witchcraft, and bore +her agonies with incredible constancy, until complete depilation drove her +to admit her guilt. The noted inquisitor Sprenger contented himself with +shaving the head of the suspected witch or wizard; but his more +thorough-going colleague Cumanus shaved the whole bodies of forty-one +women before committing them all to the flames. He had high authority for +this rigorous scrutiny, since Satan himself, in a sermon preached from the +pulpit of North Berwick church, comforted his many servants by assuring +them that no harm could befall them "sa lang as their hair wes on, and +sould newir latt ane teir fall fra thair ene."(427) Similarly in Bastar, a +province of India, "if a man is adjudged guilty of witchcraft, he is +beaten by the crowd, his hair is shaved, the hair being supposed to +constitute his power of mischief, his front teeth are knocked out, in +order, it is said, to prevent him from muttering incantations.... Women +suspected of sorcery have to undergo the same ordeal; if found guilty, the +same punishment is awarded, and after being shaved, their hair is attached +to a tree in some public place."(428) So among the Bhils of India, when a +woman was convicted of witchcraft and had been subjected to various forms +of persuasion, such as hanging head downwards from a tree and having +pepper put into her eyes, a lock of hair was cut from her head and buried +in the ground, "that the last link between her and her former powers of +mischief might be broken."(429) In like manner among the Aztecs of Mexico, +when wizards and witches "had done their evil deeds, and the time came to +put an end to their detestable life, some one laid hold of them and +cropped the hair on the crown of their heads, which took from them all +their power of sorcery and enchantment, and then it was that by death they +put an end to their odious existence."(430) + + + + +§ 2. The External Soul in Plants. + + +(M127) Further it has been shewn that in folk-tales the life of a person +is sometimes so bound up with the life of a plant that the withering of +the plant will immediately follow or be followed by the death of the +person.(431) Similarly among the natives of the Pennefather River in +Queensland, when a visiter has made himself very agreeable and taken his +departure, an effigy of him about three or four feet long is cut on some +soft tree, such as the _Canarium australasicum_, so as to face in the +direction taken by the popular stranger. Afterwards from observing the +state of the tree the natives infer the corresponding state of their +absent friend, whose illness or death are apparently supposed to be +portended by the fall of the leaves or of the tree.(432) In Uganda, when a +new royal enclosure with its numerous houses was built for a new king, +barkcloth trees used to be planted at the main entrance by priests of each +principal deity and offerings were laid under each tree for its particular +god. Thenceforth "the trees were carefully guarded and tended, because it +was believed that as they grew and flourished, so the king's life and +power would increase."(433) Among the M'Bengas in Western Africa, about +the Gaboon, when two children are born on the same day, the people plant +two trees of the same kind and dance round them. The life of each of the +children is believed to be bound up with the life of one of the trees; and +if the tree dies or is thrown down, they are sure that the child will soon +die.(434) In Sierra Leone also it is customary at the birth of a child to +plant a shoot of a _malep_-tree, and they think that the tree will grow +with the child and be its god. If a tree which has been thus planted +withers away, the people consult a sorcerer on the subject.(435) Among the +Wajagga of German East Africa, when a child is born, it is usual to plant +a cultivated plant of some sort behind the house. The plant is thenceforth +carefully tended, for they believe that were it to wither away the child +would die. When the navel-string drops from the infant, it is buried under +the plant. The species of birth-plant varies with the clan; members of one +clan, for example, plant a particular sort of banana, members of another +clan plant a sugar-cane, and so on.(436) Among the Swahili of East Africa, +when a child is born, the afterbirth and navel-string are buried in the +courtyard and a mark is made on the spot. Seven days afterwards, the hair +of the child is shaved and deposited, along with the clippings of its +nails, in the same place. Then over all these relics of the infant's +person a coco-nut is planted. As the tree grows up from the nut, the child +likes to point it out to his playfellows and tell them, "This coco-nut +palm is my navel." In planting the coco-nut the parents say, "May God +cause our child to grow up, that he or she may one day enjoy the coco-nut +milk of the tree which we plant here."(437) Though it is not expressly +affirmed, we may perhaps assume that such a birth-tree is supposed to +stand in a sympathetic relation with the life of the person. In the +Cameroons, also, the life of a person is believed to be sympathetically +bound up with that of a tree.(438) The chief of Old Town in Calabar kept +his soul in a sacred grove near a spring of water. When some Europeans, in +frolic or ignorance, cut down part of the grove, the spirit was most +indignant and threatened the perpetrators of the deed, according to the +king, with all manner of evil.(439) Among the Fans of the French Congo, +when a chief's son is born, the remains of the navel-string are buried +under a sacred fig-tree, and "thenceforth great importance is attached to +the growth of the tree; it is strictly forbidden to touch it. Any attempt +on the tree would be considered as an attack on the human being +himself."(440) Among the Boloki of the Upper Congo a family has a plant +with red leaves (called _nkungu_) for its totem. When a woman of the +family is with child for the first time, one of the totemic plants is +planted near the hearth outside the house and is never destroyed, +otherwise it is believed that the child would be born thin and weak and +would remain puny and sickly. "The healthy life of the children and family +is bound up with the healthiness and life of the totem tree as respected +and preserved by the family."(441) Among the Baganda of Central Africa a +child's afterbirth was called the second child and was believed to be +animated by a spirit, which at once became a ghost. The afterbirth was +usually buried at the root of a banana tree, and afterwards the tree was +carefully guarded by old women, who prevented any one from going near it; +they tied ropes of fibre from tree to tree to isolate it, and all the +child's excretions were thrown into this enclosure. When the fruit +ripened, it was cut by the old woman in charge. The reason for guarding +the tree thus carefully was a belief that if any stranger were to eat of +the fruit of the tree or to drink beer brewed from it, he would carry off +with him the ghost of the child's afterbirth, which had been buried at the +root of the banana-tree, and the living child would then die in order to +follow its twin ghost. Whereas a grandparent of the child, by eating the +fruit or drinking the beer, averted this catastrophe and ensured the +health of the child.(442) Among the Wakondyo, at the north-western corner +of Lake Albert Nyanza, it is customary to bury the afterbirth at the foot +of a young banana-tree, and the fruit of this particular tree may be eaten +by no one but the woman who assisted at the birth.(443) The reason for the +custom is not mentioned, but probably, as among the Baganda, the life of +the child is supposed to be bound up with the life of the tree, since the +afterbirth, regarded as a spiritual double of the infant, has been buried +at the root of the tree. + +(M128) Some of the Papuans unite the life of a new-born child +sympathetically with that of a tree by driving a pebble into the bark of +the tree. This is supposed to give them complete mastery over the child's +life; if the tree is cut down, the child will die.(444) After a birth the +Maoris used to bury the navel-string in a sacred place and plant a young +sapling over it. As the tree grew, it was a _tohu oranga_ or sign of life +for the child; if it flourished, the child would prosper; if it withered +and died, the parents augured the worst for their child.(445) In the +Chatham Islands, when the child of a leading man received its name, it was +customary to plant a tree, "the growth of which was to be as the growth of +the child," and during the planting priests chanted a spell.(446) In some +parts of Fiji the navel-string of a male child is planted together with a +coco-nut or the slip of a breadfruit-tree, and the child's life is +supposed to be intimately connected with that of the tree.(447) With +certain Malayo-Siamese families of the Patani States it is customary to +bury the afterbirth under a banana-tree, and the condition of the tree is +afterwards regarded as ominous of the child's fate for good or evil.(448) +In Southern Celebes, when a child is born, a coco-nut is planted and +watered with the water in which the afterbirth and navel-string have been +washed. As it grows up, the tree is called the "contemporary" of the +child.(449) So in Bali a coco-palm is planted at the birth of a child. It +is believed to grow up equally with the child, and is called its +"life-plant."(450) On certain occasions the Dyaks of Borneo plant a +palm-tree, which is believed to be a complete index of their fate. If it +flourishes, they reckon on good fortune; but if it withers or dies, they +expect misfortune.(451) Amongst the Dyaks of Landak and Tajan, districts +of Dutch Borneo, it is customary to plant a fruit-tree for a child, and +henceforth in the popular belief the fate of the child is bound up with +that of the tree. If the tree shoots up rapidly, it will go well with the +child; but if the tree is dwarfed or shrivelled, nothing but misfortune +can be expected for its human counterpart.(452) According to another +account, at the naming of children and certain other festivals the Dyaks +are wont to set a _sawang_-plant, roots and all, before a priestess; and +when the festival is over, the plant is replaced in the ground. Such a +plant becomes thenceforth a sort of prophetic index for the person in +whose honour the festival was held. If the plant thrives, the man will be +fortunate; if it fades or perishes, some evil will befall him.(453) The +Dyaks also believe that at the birth of every person on earth a flower +grows up in the spirit world and leads a life parallel to his. If the +flower flourishes, the man enjoys good health, but if it droops, so does +he. Hence when he has dreamed bad dreams or has felt unwell for several +days, he infers that his flower in the other world is neglected or sickly, +and accordingly he employs a medicine-man to tend the precious plant, weed +the soil, and sweep it up, in order that the earthly and unearthly life +may prosper once more.(454) + +(M129) It is said that there are still families in Russia, Germany, +England, France, and Italy who are accustomed to plant a tree at the birth +of a child. The tree, it is hoped, will grow with the child, and it is +tended with special care.(455) The custom is still pretty general in the +canton of Aargau in Switzerland; an apple-tree is planted for a boy and a +pear-tree for a girl, and the people think that the child will flourish or +dwindle with the tree.(456) In Mecklenburg the afterbirth is thrown out at +the foot of a young tree, and the child is then believed to grow with the +tree.(457) In Bosnia, when the children of a family have died one after +the other, the hair of the next child is cut with some ceremony by a +stranger, and the mother carries the shorn tresses into the garden, where +she ties them to a fine young tree, in order that her child may grow and +flourish like the tree.(458) At Muskau, in Lausitz, it used to be +customary for bride and bridegroom on the morning of their wedding-day to +plant a pair of young oaks side by side, and as each of the trees +flourished or withered, so the good luck of the person who planted it was +believed to wax or wane.(459) On a promontory in Lake Keitele, in Finland, +there used to stand an old fir-tree, which according to tradition had been +planted by the first colonists to serve as a symbol or token of their +fortune. First-fruits of the harvest used to be offered to the tree before +any one would taste of the new crop; and whenever a branch fell, it was +deemed a sign that some one would die. More and more the crown of the tree +withered away, and in the same proportion the family whose ancestors had +planted the fir dwindled away, till only one old woman was left. At last +the tree fell, and soon afterwards the old woman departed this life.(460) +When Lord Byron first visited his ancestral estate of Newstead "he +planted, it seems, a young oak in some part of the grounds, and had an +idea that as _it_ flourished so should _he_."(461) On a day when the cloud +that settled on the later years of Sir Walter Scott lifted a little, and +he heard that _Woodstock_ had sold for over eight thousand pounds, he +wrote in his journal: "I have a curious fancy; I will go set two or three +acorns, and judge by their success in growing whether I shall succeed in +clearing my way or not."(462) Near the Castle of Dalhousie, not far from +Edinburgh, there grows an oak-tree, called the Edgewell Tree, which is +popularly believed to be linked to the fate of the family by a mysterious +tie; for they say that when one of the family dies, or is about to die, a +branch falls from the Edgewell Tree. Thus, on seeing a great bough drop +from the tree on a quiet, still day in July 1874, an old forester +exclaimed, "The laird's deid noo!" and soon after news came that Fox +Maule, eleventh Earl of Dalhousie, was dead.(463) At Howth Castle in +Ireland there is an old tree with which the fortunes of the St. Lawrence +family are supposed to be connected. The branches of the tree are propped +on strong supports, for tradition runs that when the tree falls the direct +line of the Earls of Howth will become extinct.(464) On the old road from +Hanover to Osnabrück, at the village of Oster-Kappeln, there used to stand +an ancient oak, which put out its last green shoot in the year 1849. The +tree was conjecturally supposed to be contemporary with the Guelphs; and +in the year 1866, so fatal for the house of Hanover, on a calm summer +afternoon, without any visible cause, the veteran suddenly fell with a +crash and lay stretched across the highroad. The peasants regarded its +fall as an ill omen for the reigning family, and when King George V. heard +of it he gave orders that the giant trunk should be set up again, and it +was done with much trouble and at great expense, the stump being supported +in position by iron chains clamped to the neighbouring trees. But the +king's efforts to prop the falling fortunes of his house were vain; a few +months after the fall of the oak Hanover formed part of the Prussian +monarchy.(465) + +(M130) In the midst of the "Forbidden City" at Peking there is a tiny +private garden, where the emperors of the now fallen Manchu dynasty used +to take the air and refresh themselves after the cares of state. In +accordance with Chinese taste the garden is a labyrinth of artificial +rockeries, waterfalls, grottoes, and kiosks, in which everything is as +unlike nature as art can make it. The trees in particular (_Arbor vitae_), +the principal ornament of the garden, exhibit the last refinement of the +gardener's skill, being clipped and distorted into a variety of grotesque +shapes. Only one of the trees remained intact and had been spared these +deformations for centuries. Far from being stunted by the axe or the +shears, the tree was carefully tended and encouraged to shoot up to its +full height. "It was the 'Life-tree of the Dynasty,' and according to +legend the prosperity or fall of the present dynasty went hand in hand +with the welfare or death of the tree. Certainly, if we accept the +tradition, the days of the present reigning house must be numbered, for +all the care and attention lavished on the tree have been for some years +in vain. A glance at our illustration shews the tree as it still surpasses +all its fellows in height and size; but it owes its pre-eminence only to +the many artificial props which hold it up. In reality the 'Life-tree of +the Dynasty' is dying, and might fall over night, if one of its artificial +props were suddenly to give way. For the superstitious Chinese--and +superstitious they certainly are--it is a very, very evil omen."(466) Some +twelve years have passed since this passage was written, and in the +interval the omen has been fulfilled--the Manchu dynasty has fallen. We may +conjecture that the old tree in the quaint old garden has fallen too. So +vain are all human efforts to arrest the decay of royal houses by +underpropping trees on which nature herself has passed a sentence of +death. + +(M131) At Rome in the ancient sanctuary of Quirinus there grew two old +myrtle-trees, one named the Patrician and the other the Plebeian. For many +years, so long as the patricians were in the ascendant, their myrtle-tree +flourished and spread its branches abroad, while the myrtle of the +plebeians was shrivelled and shrunken; but from the time of the Marsian +war, when the power of the nobles declined, their myrtle in like manner +drooped and withered, whereas that of the popular party held up its head +and grew strong.(467) Thrice when Vespasia was with child, an old oak in +the garden of the Flavian family near Rome suddenly put forth branches. +The first branch was puny and soon withered away, and the girl who was +born accordingly died within the year; the second branch was long and +sturdy; and the third was like a tree. So on the third occasion the happy +father reported to his mother that a future emperor was born to her as a +grandchild. The old lady only laughed to think that at her age she should +keep her wits about her, while her son had lost his; yet the omen of the +oak came true, for the grandson was afterwards the emperor Vespasian.(468) + +(M132) In England children are sometimes passed through a cleft ash-tree +as a cure for rupture or rickets, and thenceforward a sympathetic +connexion is supposed to exist between them and the tree. An ash-tree +which had been used for this purpose grew at the edge of Shirley Heath, on +the road from Hockly House to Birmingham. "Thomas Chillingworth, son of +the owner of an adjoining farm, now about thirty-four, was, when an infant +of a year old, passed through a similar tree, now perfectly sound, which +he preserves with so much care that he will not suffer a single branch to +be touched, for it is believed the life of the patient depends on the life +of the tree, and the moment that it is cut down, be the patient ever so +distant, the rupture returns, and a mortification ensues, and terminates +in death, as was the case in a man driving a waggon on the very road in +question." "It is not uncommon, however," adds the writer, "for persons to +survive for a time the felling of the tree."(469) The ordinary mode of +effecting the cure is to split a young ash-sapling longitudinally for a +few feet and pass the child, naked, either three times or three times +three through the fissure at sunrise. In the West of England it is said +that the passage should be "against the sun." As soon as the ceremony has +been performed, the tree is bound tightly up and the fissure plastered +over with mud or clay. The belief is that just as the cleft in the tree +closes up, so the rupture in the child's body will be healed; but that if +the rift in the tree remains open, the rupture in the child will remain +too, and if the tree were to die, the death of the child would surely +follow.(470) + +(M133) Down to the second half of the nineteenth century the remedy was +still in common use at Fittleworth and many other places in Sussex. The +account of the Sussex practice and belief is notable because it brings out +very clearly the sympathetic relation supposed to exist between the +ruptured child and the tree through which it has been passed. We are told +that the patient "must be passed nine times every morning on nine +successive days at sunrise through a cleft in a sapling ash-tree, which +has been so far given up by the owner of it to the parents of the child, +as that there is an understanding it shall not be cut down during the life +of the infant who is to be passed through it. The sapling must be sound at +heart, and the cleft must be made with an axe. The child on being carried +to the tree must be attended by nine persons, each of whom must pass it +through the cleft from west to east. On the ninth morning the solemn +ceremony is concluded by binding the tree lightly with a cord, and it is +supposed that as the cleft closes the health of the child will improve. In +the neighbourhood of Petworth some cleft ash-trees may be seen, through +which children have very recently been passed. I may add, that only a few +weeks since, a person who had lately purchased an ash-tree standing in +this parish, intending to cut it down, was told by the father of a child, +who had some time before been passed through it, that the infirmity would +be sure to return upon his son if it were felled. Whereupon the good man +said, he knew that such would be the case; and therefore he would not fell +it for the world."(471) + +(M134) A similar cure for various diseases, but especially for rupture and +rickets, has been commonly practised in other parts of Europe, as Germany, +France, Denmark, and Sweden; but in these countries the tree employed for +the purpose is usually not an ash but an oak; sometimes a willow-tree is +allowed or even prescribed instead. With these exceptions the practice and +the belief are nearly the same on the Continent as in England: a young oak +is split longitudinally and the two sides held forcibly apart while the +sick child is passed through the cleft; then the opening in the tree is +closed, and bound up, and it is believed that as the cleft in the tree +heals by the parts growing together again, so the rupture in the child +will be simultaneously cured. It is often laid down that the ceremony must +be performed in the strictest silence; sometimes the time prescribed is +before sunrise, and sometimes the child must be passed thrice through the +cleft.(472) In Oldenburg and Mecklenburg they say that the cure should be +performed on St. John's Eve (Midsummer Eve) by three men named John, who +assist each other in holding the split oak-sapling open and passing the +child through it.(473) Some people, however, prefer Good Friday or +Christmas Eve as the season for the performance of the ceremony.(474) In +Denmark copper coins are laid as an offering at the foot of the tree +through which sick persons have been passed; and threads, ribbons, or +bandages which have been worn by the sufferers are tied to a branch of the +tree.(475) In the Greek island of Ceos, when a child is sickly, the +parents carry it out into the country "and the father selects a young oak; +this they split up from the root, then the father is assisted by another +man in holding the tree open whilst the mother passes the child three +times through, and then they bind up the tree well, cover it all over with +manure, and carefully water it for forty days. In the same fashion they +bind up the child for a like period, and after the lapse of this time they +expect that it will be quite well."(476) + +(M135) In Mecklenburg, as in England, the sympathetic relation thus +established between the tree and the child is so close that if the tree is +cut down the child will die.(477) In the island of Rügen people believe +that when a person who has been thus cured of rupture dies, his soul +passes into the same oak-tree through which his body was passed in his +youth.(478) Thus it seems that in ridding himself of the disease the +sufferer is supposed to transfer a certain vital part of his person to the +tree so that it is impossible to injure the tree without at the same time +injuring the man; and in Rügen this partial union is thought to be +completed by the transmigration of the man's soul at death into the tree. +Apparently the disease is conceived as something physical, which clings to +the patient but can be stripped off him and left behind on the farther +side of the narrow aperture through which he has forced his way; when the +aperture is closed by the natural growth of the tree, the door is as it +were shut against the disease, which is then unable to pursue and overtake +the sufferer. Hence the idea at the root of the custom is not so much that +the patient has transferred his ailment to the tree, as that the tree +forms an impervious barrier between him and the malady which had hitherto +afflicted him. This interpretation is confirmed by the following +parallels. + +(M136) In those parts of Armenia which are covered with forests, many +great and ancient trees are revered as sacred and receive marks of homage. +The people burn lights before them, fumigate them with incense, sacrifice +cocks and wethers to them, and creep through holes in their trunks or push +lean and sickly children through them "in order to put a stop to the +influence of evil spirits."(479) Apparently, they think that evil spirits +cannot creep through the cleft in the holy tree, and therefore that the +sick who have effected the passage are safe from their demoniacal +pursuers. The same conception of a fissure in a tree as an obstacle placed +in the path of pursuing spirits meets us in a number of savage customs. +Thus in the island of Nias, when a man is in training for the priesthood, +he has to be introduced to the various spirits between whom and mankind it +will be his office to mediate. A priest takes him to an open window, and +while the drums are beating points out to him the great spirit in the sun +who calls away men to himself through death; for it is needful that the +future priest should know him from whose grasp he will often be expected +to wrest the sick and dying. In the evening twilight he is led to the +graves and shewn the envious spirits of the dead, who also are ever +drawing away the living to their own shadowy world. Next day he is +conducted to a river and shewn the spirit of the waters; and finally they +take him up to a mountain and exhibit to him the spirits of the mountains, +who have diverse shapes, some appearing like swine, others like buffaloes, +others like goats, and others again like men with long hair on their +bodies. When he has seen all this, his education is complete, but on his +return from the mountain the new priest may not at once enter his own +house. For the people think that, were he to do so, the dangerous spirits +by whom he is still environed would stay in the house and visit both the +family and the pigs with sickness. Accordingly he betakes himself to other +villages and passes several nights there, hoping that the spirits will +leave him and settle on the friends who receive him into their houses; but +naturally he does not reveal the intention of his visits to his hosts. +Lastly, before he enters his own dwelling, he looks out for some young +tree by the way, splits it down the middle, and then creeps through the +fissure, in the belief that any spirit which may still be clinging to him +will thus be left sticking to the tree.(480) Again, among the Bilqula or +Bella Coola Indians of British Columbia "the bed of a mourner must be +protected against the ghost of the deceased. His male relatives stick a +thorn-bush into the ground at each corner of their beds. After four days +these are thrown into the water. Mourners must rise early and go into the +woods, where they stick four thorn-bushes into the ground, at the corners +of a square, in which they cleanse themselves by rubbing their bodies with +cedar branches. They also swim in ponds. After swimming they cleave four +small trees and creep through the clefts, following the course of the sun. +This they do on four subsequent mornings, cleaving new trees every day. +Mourners cut their hair short. The hair that has been cut off is burnt. If +they should not observe these regulations, it is believed that they would +dream of the deceased."(481) To the savage, who fails to distinguish the +visions of sleep from the appearances of waking life, the apparition of a +dead man in a dream is equivalent to the actual presence of the ghost; and +accordingly he seeks to keep off the spiritual intruder, just as he might +a creature of flesh and blood, by fencing his bed with thorn-bushes. +Similarly the practice of creeping through four cleft trees is clearly an +attempt to shake off the clinging ghost and leave it adhering to the +trees, just as in Nias the future priest hopes to rid himself in like +manner of the dangerous spirits who have dogged his steps from the +mountains and the graves. + +(M137) This interpretation of the custom is strongly confirmed by a +funeral ceremony which Dr. Charles Hose witnessed at the chief village of +the Madangs, a tribe of Kayans who occupy a hitherto unexplored district +in the heart of Borneo. "Just across the river from where we were +sitting," says Dr. Hose, "was the graveyard, and there I witnessed a +funeral procession as the day was drawing to a close. The coffin, which +was a wooden box made from a tree-trunk, was decorated with red and black +patterns in circles, with two small wooden figures of men placed at either +end; it was lashed with rattans to a long pole, and by this means was +lifted to the shoulders of the bearers, who numbered thirteen in all, and +who then carried it to the burying-ground. After the mourners had all +passed over to the graveyard, a man quickly cut a couple of small sticks, +each five feet long and about an inch in diameter. One of these he split +almost the whole way down, and forced the unsplit end into the ground, +when the upper part opened like a V, leaving sufficient room for each +person to pass through. He next split the top of the other stick, and, +placing another short stick in the cleft, made a cross, which he also +forced into the ground. The funeral procession climbed the mound on which +the cemetery was situated, passing through the V of the cleft stick in +single file. As soon as the coffin had been placed on the stage erected +for the purpose, the people commenced their return, following on one +another's heels as quickly as possible, each spitting out the words, '_Pit +balli krat balli jat tesip bertatip!_' ('Keep back, and close out all +things evil, and sickness') as they passed through the V-shaped stick. The +whole party having left the graveyard, the gate was closed by the simple +process of tying the cleft ends of the stick together, and a few words +were then said to the cross-stick, which they call _ngring_, or the wall +that separates the living from the dead. All who had taken part in the +ceremony then went and bathed before returning to their homes, rubbing +their skins with rough pebbles, the old Mosaic idea of the uncleanness of +the dead, as mentioned in Numbers (chap. xix.), evidently finding a place +among their religious beliefs. It is apparently a great relief to their +minds to think that they can shut out the spirit of the deceased. They +believe that the spirit of the dead is not aware that life has left the +body until a short time after the coffin has been taken to the graveyard, +and then not until the spirit has had leisure to notice the clothes, +weapons, and other articles belonging to its earthly estate, which are +placed with the coffin. But before this takes place the gate has been +closed."(482) + +(M138) Here the words uttered by the mourners in passing through the +cloven stick shew clearly that they believe the stick to act as a barrier +or fence, on the further side of which they leave behind the ghost or +other dangerous spirit whose successful pursuit might entail sickness and +death on the survivors. Thus the passage of these Madang mourners through +the cleft stick is strictly analogous to the passage of ruptured English +children through a cleft ash-tree. Both are simply ways of leaving an evil +thing behind. Similarly the subsequent binding up of the cloven stick in +Borneo is analogous to the binding up of the cloven ash-tree in England. +Both are ways of barricading the road against the evil which is dogging +your steps; having passed through the doorway you slam the door in the +face of your pursuer. Yet it seems probable that the intention of binding +up the cleft in a tree through which a ruptured patient has been passed is +not merely that of shutting the door on the malady conceived as a personal +being; combined with this idea is perhaps the notion that in virtue of the +law of magical homoeopathy the rupture in the body of the sufferer will +close up exactly in the same measure as the cleft in the tree closes up +through the force of bandages and of natural growth. That this shade of +meaning attaches to the custom is rendered probable by a comparison of an +ancient Roman cure for dislocation, which has been preserved for us by the +grave authority of the elder Cato. He recommended that a green reed, four +or five feet long, should be taken, split down the middle, and held by two +men to the dislocated bones while a curious and now unintelligible spell +was recited; then, when the spell had been recited and the aperture in the +reed had closed, the reed was to be tied to the dislocated limb, and a +perfect cure might be expected. Apparently it was supposed that just as +the two sides of the split reed came together and coalesced after being +held apart, so the dislocated bones would come together and fit into their +proper places.(483) + +(M139) But the usual idea in passing through a narrow aperture as a cure +or preventive of evil would seem to be simply that of giving the slip to a +dangerous pursuer. With this intention, doubtless, the savage Thays of +Tonquin repair after a burial to the banks of a stream and there creep +through a triangle formed by leaning two reeds against each other, while +the sorcerer souses them with dirty water. All the relations of the +deceased must wash their garments in the stream before they return home, +and they may not set foot in the house till they have shorn their hair at +the foot of the ladder. Afterwards the sorcerer comes and sprinkles the +whole house with water for the purpose of expelling evil spirits.(484) +Here again we cannot doubt that the creeping through the triangle of reeds +is intended to rid the mourners of the troublesome ghost. So when the +Kamtchatkans had disposed of a corpse after their usual fashion by +throwing it to the dogs to be devoured, they purified themselves as +follows. They went into the forest and cut various roots which they bent +into rings, and through these rings they crept twice. Afterwards they +carried the rings back to the forest and flung them away westward. The +Koryaks, a people of the same region, burn their dead and hold a festival +in honour of the departed a year after the death. At this festival, which +takes place on the spot where the corpse was burned, or, if that is too +far off, on a neighbouring height, they sacrifice two young reindeer which +have never been in harness, and the sorcerer sticks a great many reindeer +horns in the earth, believing that thereby he is dispatching a whole herd +of these animals to their deceased friend in the other world. Then they +all hasten home, and purify themselves by passing between two poles +planted in the ground, while the sorcerer strikes them with a stick and +adjures death not to carry them off.(485) The Tokoelawi in the interior of +Central Celebes hold a great sacrificial festival on the eighth day after +the death of a man or the ninth day after the death of a woman. When the +guests return homewards after the festival they pass under two poles +placed in a slanting direction against each other, and they may not look +round at the house where the death occurred. "In this way they take a +final leave of the soul of the deceased. Afterwards no more sacrifices are +offered to the soul."(486) Among the Toboengkoe, another tribe in the +interior of Central Celebes, when a man buries his wife, he goes to the +grave by a different road from that along which the corpse is carried; and +on certain days afterwards he bathes, and on returning from the bath must +pass through a teepee-shaped erection, which is formed by splitting a pole +up the middle and separating the two split pieces except at the top. "This +he must do in order that his second wife, if he has one, may not soon +die."(487) Here the notion probably is that the jealous ghost of the dead +wife seeks to avenge herself on her living rival by carrying off her soul +with her to deadland. Hence to prevent this catastrophe the husband tries +to evade the ghost, first by going to the grave along a different path, +and second by passing under a cleft stick, through which as usual the +spirit cannot follow him. + +(M140) In the light of the foregoing customs, as well as of a multitude of +ceremonies observed for a similar purpose in all parts of the world,(488) +we may safely assume that when people creep through rings after a death or +pass between poles after a sacrifice to the dead, their intention simply +is to interpose a barrier between themselves and the ghost; they make +their way through a narrow pass or aperture through which they hope that +the ghost will not be able to follow them. To put it otherwise, they +conceive that the spirit of the dead is sticking to them like a burr, and +that like a burr it may be rubbed or scraped off and left adhering to the +sides of the opening through which they have squeezed themselves. + +(M141) Similarly, when a pestilence is raging among the Koryaks, they kill +a dog, wind its guts about two poles, and pass between the poles,(489) +doubtless for the sake of giving the slip to the demon of the plague in +the same way that they give the slip to the ghost. When the Kayans of +Borneo have been dogged by an evil spirit on a journey and are nearing +their destination, they fashion a small archway of boughs, light a fire +under it, and pass in single file under the archway and over the fire, +spitting into the fire as they pass. By this ceremony, we are told, "they +thoroughly exorcise the evil spirits and emerge on the other side free +from all baleful influences."(490) Here, to make assurance doubly sure, a +fire as well as an archway is interposed between the travellers and the +dreadful beings who are walking unseen behind. To crawl under a bramble +which has formed an arch by sending down a second root into the ground, is +an English and Welsh cure for whooping-cough, rheumatism, boils, and other +complaints. In some parts of the west of England they say that to get rid +of boils the thing to do is to crawl through such a natural arch nine +times against the sun; but in Devonshire the patient should creep through +the arch thrice with the sun, that is from east to west. When a child is +passed through it for whooping-cough, the operators ought to say: + + + "_In bramble, out cough,_ + _Here I leave the whooping-cough._"(491) + + +In Perigord and other parts of France the same cure is employed for +boils.(492) In Bulgaria, when a person suffers from a congenital malady +such as scrofula, a popular cure is to take him to a neighbouring village +and there make him creep naked thrice through an arch, which is formed by +inserting the lower ends of two vine branches in the ground and joining +their upper ends together. When he has done so, he hangs his clothes on a +tree, and dons other garments. On his way home the patient must also crawl +under a ploughshare, which is held high enough to let him pass.(493) +Further, when whooping-cough is prevalent in a Bulgarian village, an old +woman will scrape the earth from under the root of a willow-tree. Then all +the children of the village creep through the opening thus made, and a +thread from the garment of each of them is hung on the willow. Adults +sometimes go through the same ceremony after recovering from a dangerous +illness.(494) Similarly, when sickness is rife among some of the villages +to the east of Lake Nyassa, the inhabitants crawl through an arch formed +by bending a wand and inserting the two ends in the ground. By way of +further precaution they wash themselves on the spot with medicine and +water, and then bury the medicine and the evil influence together in the +earth. The same ceremony is resorted to as a means of keeping off evil +spirits, wild beasts, and enemies.(495) + +(M142) In Uganda "sometimes a medicine-man directed a sick man to provide +an animal, promising that he would come and transfer the sickness to the +animal. The medicine-man would then select a plantain-tree near the house, +kill the animal by it, and anoint the sick man with its blood, on his +forehead, on each side of his chest, and on his legs above the knees. The +plantain-tree selected had to be one that was about to bear fruit, and the +medicine-man would split the stem from near the top to near the bottom, +leaving a few inches not split both at the top and at the bottom; the +split stem would be held open so that the sick man could step through it, +and in doing so he would leave his clothing at the plantain-tree, and +would run into the house without looking back. When he entered the house, +new clothes would be given him to wear. The plantain, the clothing, and +meat would be carried away by the medicine-man, who would deposit the +plantain-tree on waste land, but would take the meat and clothing for +himself. Sometimes the medicine-man would kill the animal near the hut, +lay a stout stick across the threshold, and narrow the doorway by +partially filling it with branches of trees; he would then put some of the +blood on either side of the narrow entrance, and some on the stick across +the threshold, and would also anoint with it the sick man, who would be +taken outside for the purpose. The patient would then re-enter the house, +letting his clothing fall off, as he passed through the doorway. The +medicine-man would carry away the branches, the stick, the clothing, and +the meat. The branches and the stick he would cast upon waste land, but +the meat and the clothing he would keep for himself."(496) Here the notion +of transferring the sickness to the animal is plainly combined with, we +may almost say overshadowed by the notion that the ailment is left behind +adhering to the cleft plantain-stem or to the stick and branches of the +narrow opening through which the patient has made his way. That obviously +is why the plantain-stem or the stick and branches are thrown away on +waste land, lest they should infect other people with the sickness which +has been transferred to them. + +(M143) The Kai of German New Guinea attribute sickness to the agency +either of ghosts or of sorcerers, but suspicion always falls at first on +ghosts, who are deemed even worse than the sorcerers. To cure a sick man +they will sometimes cleave a stick in the middle, leaving the two ends +intact, and then oblige the sufferer to insert his head through the cleft. +After that they stroke his whole body with the stick from head to foot. +"The stick with the soul-stuff of the ghosts is then hurled away or +otherwise destroyed, whereupon the sick man is supposed to recover."(497) +Here the ghosts who cause the sickness are clearly supposed to be scraped +from the patient's body by means of the cleft stick, and to be thrown away +or destroyed with the implement. The Looboos, a primitive tribe in the +Mandailing district of Sumatra, stand in great fear of the wandering +spirits of the dead (_soemangots_). But "they know all sorts of means of +protecting themselves against the unwelcome visits of the spirits. For +example, if a man has lost his way in the forest, he thinks that this is +the work of such a spirit (_soemangot_), who dogs the wanderer and bedims +his sight. So in order to throw the malignant spirit off the track he +takes a rattan and splits it through the middle. By bending the rattan an +opening is made, through which he creeps. After that the rattan is quickly +stretched and the opening closes. By this procedure the spirit (so they +think) cannot find the opening again and so cannot further follow his +victim."(498) Here therefore, the passage through a cleft stick is +conceived in the clearest way as an escape from a spiritual pursuer, and +the closing of the aperture when the fugitive has passed through it is +nothing but the slamming of the door in the face of his invisible foe. + +(M144) A similar significance is probably to be attached to other cases of +ceremonially passing through a cleft stick even where the intention of the +rite is not expressly alleged. Thus among the Ovambo of German South-West +Africa young women who have become marriageable perform a variety of +ceremonies; among other things they dance in the large and the small +cattle-kraal. On quitting the large cattle-kraal after the dance, and on +entering and quitting the small cattle-kraal, they are obliged to pass, +one after the other, through the fork of a cleft stick, of which the two +sides are held wide open by an old man.(499) Among the Washamba of German +East Africa, when a boy has been circumcised, two women bring a long +sugar-cane, which still bears its leaves. The cane is split at some +distance from its upper and lower ends and the two sides are held apart so +as to form a cleft or opening; at the lower end of the cleft a _danga_ +ring is fastened. The father and mother of the circumcised youth now place +the sugar-cane between them, touch the ring with their feet, and then slip +through the cleft; and after them the lad's aunt must also pass through +the cleft sugar-cane.(500) In both these cases the passage through the +cleft stick is probably intended to give the slip to certain dangerous +spirits, which are apt to molest people at such critical seasons as +puberty and circumcision. + +(M145) Again, the passage through a ring or hoop is resorted to for like +reasons as a mode of curing or preventing disease. Thus in Sweden, when a +natural ring has been found in a tree, it is carefully removed and +treasured in the family; for sick and especially rickety children are +healed by merely passing through it.(501) A young married woman in Sweden, +who suffered from an infirmity, was advised by a wise woman to steal three +branches of willow, make them into a hoop, and creep through it naked, +taking care not to touch the hoop and to keep perfectly silent. The hoop +was afterwards to be burnt. She carried out the prescription faithfully, +and her faith was rewarded by a perfect cure.(502) No doubt her infirmity +was thought to adhere to the hoop and to be burnt with it. Similarly in +Scotland children who suffered from hectic fever and consumptive patients +used to be healed by passing thrice through a circular wreath of woodbine, +which was cut during the increase of the March moon and was let down over +the body of the sufferer from the head to the feet. Thus Jonet Stewart +cured sundry women by "taking ane garland of grene woodbynd, and causing +the patient pas thryis throw it, quhilk thairefter scho cut in nyne +pieces, and cast in the fyre." Another wise woman transmitted the sick +"throw are girth of woodbind thryis thre times, saying, 'I do this in name +of the Father, the Sone, and the Halie Ghaist.' "(503) The Highlanders of +Strathspey used to force all their sheep and lambs to pass through a hoop +of rowan-tree on All Saints' Day and Beltane (the first of November and +the first of May),(504) probably as a means of warding off the witches and +fairies, who are especially dreaded at these seasons, and against whose +malignant arts the rowan-tree affords an efficient protection. In +Oldenburg when a cow gives little or no milk, they milk her through a hole +in a branch. In Eversten they say that this should be done through a ring +which an oak-tree has formed round the scar where a branch has been sawn +off. Others say the beast should be milked through a "witch's nest," that +is, through the boughs of a birch-tree which have grown in a tangle. Such +a "witch's nest" is also hung up in a pig's stye to protect the pig +against witchcraft.(505) Hence the aim of milking a cow through a "witch's +nest" or through a natural wooden ring is no doubt to deliver the poor +creature from an artful witch who has been draining away the milk into her +own pail, as witches are too apt to do. Again, in Oldenburg sick children, +and also adults and animals, are passed through a ring of rough unwashed +yarn, just as it comes from the reel. To complete the cure you should +throw a hot coal thrice through the ring, then spit through it thrice, and +finally bury the yarn under a stone, where you leave it to rot. The writer +who reports these remedies explains them as intended to strip the +witchcraft, as you might say, from the bodies of the victims, whether +human or animal, on whom the witch has cast her spell.(506) Among the +Lushais of Assam "five to ten days after the child is born its body is +said to be covered with small pimples, its lips become black and its +strength decreases. The family then obtain a particular kind of creeping +plant called _vawm_, which they make into a coil. In the evening +everything in the house that has a lid or covering is uncovered, and the +child is thrice passed through this coil, which act is supposed to clear +the child's skin and restore its strength. After this is finished, the +parents go to bed and the pots or other receptacles are covered again by +any of the other members of the family. The parents themselves must not +replace any of these lids for fear that they might shut up the spirit of +the child in them."(507) When the Kwakiutl Indians of British Columbia +fear the outbreak of an epidemic, a medicine-man takes a large ring of +hemlock branches and causes every member of the tribe to pass through it. +Each person puts his head through the ring and then moves the ring +downwards over his body till it has almost reached his feet, when he steps +out of it, right foot first. They think that this prevents the epidemic +from breaking out.(508) In Asia Minor, "if a person is believed to be +possessed by an evil spirit, one form of treatment is to heat an +iron-chain red-hot, form it into a ring and pass the afflicted person +through the opening, on the theory that the evil spirit cannot pass the +hot chain, and so is torn from his victim and left behind."(509) Here the +intention of the passage through the aperture is avowedly to shake off a +spiritual pursuer, who is deterred from further pursuit not only by the +narrowness of the opening but by the risk of burning himself in the +attempt to make his way through it. + +(M146) But if the intention of these ceremonies is essentially to rid the +performer of some harmful thing, whether a disease or a ghost or a demon, +which is supposed to be clinging to him, we should expect to find that any +narrow hole or opening would serve the purpose as well as a cleft tree or +stick, an arch or ring of boughs, or a couple of posts fixed in the +ground. And this expectation is not disappointed. On the coast of Morven +and Mull thin ledges of rock may be seen pierced with large holes near the +sea. Consumptive people used to be brought thither, and after the tops of +nine waves had been caught in a dish and thrown on the patient's head, he +was made to pass through one of the rifted rocks thrice in the direction +of the sun.(510) "On the farm of Crossapol in Coll there is a stone called +_Clach Thuill_, that is, the Hole Stone, through which persons suffering +from consumption were made to pass three times in the name of the Father, +Son, and Holy Ghost. They took meat with them each time, and left some on +the stone. The bird that took the food away had the consumption laid upon +it. Similar stones, under which the patient can creep, were made use of in +other islands."(511) Here it is manifest that the patient left his disease +behind him on the stone, since the bird which carried off the food from +the stone caught the disease. In the Aberdeenshire river Dee, at Cambus o' +May, near Ballater, there is a rock with a hole in it large enough to let +a person pass through. Legend runs that childless women used to wade out +to the stone and squeeze themselves through the hole. It is said that a +certain noble lady tried the effect of the charm not very many years ago +with indifferent success.(512) In the parish of Madern in Cornwall, near +the village of Lanyon, there is a perforated stone called the _Mên-an-tol_ +or "holed stone," through which people formerly crept as a remedy for +pains in the back and limbs; and at certain times of the year parents drew +their children through the hole to cure them of the rickets.(513) The +passage through the stone was also deemed a cure for scrofula, provided it +was made against the sun and repeated three times or three times +three.(514) + +(M147) Near the little town of Dourgne, not far from Castres, in Southern +France, there is a mountain, and on the top of the mountain is a +tableland, where a number of large stones may be seen planted in the +ground about a cross and rising to a height of two to five feet above the +ground. Almost all of them are pierced with holes of different sizes. From +time immemorial people used to assemble at Dourgne and the neighbourhood +every year on the sixth of August, the festival of St. Estapin. The +palsied, the lame, the blind, the sick of all sorts, flocked thither to +seek and find a cure for their various infirmities. Very early in the +morning they set out from the villages where they had lodged or from the +meadows where for want of better accommodation they had been forced to +pass the night, and went on pilgrimage to the chapel of St. Estapin, which +stands in a gorge at the southern foot of the mountain. Having gone nine +times in procession round the chapel, they hobbled, limped, or crawled to +the tableland on the top of the mountain. There each of them chose a stone +with a hole of the requisite size and thrust his ailing member through the +hole. For there are holes to suit every complaint; some for the head, some +for the arm, some for the leg, and so on. Having performed this simple +ceremony they were cured; the lame walked, the blind saw, the palsied +recovered the use of their limbs, and so on. The chapel of the saint is +adorned with the crutches and other artificial aids, now wholly +superfluous, which the joyful pilgrims left behind them in token of their +gratitude and devotion.(515) About two miles from Gisors, in the French +department of Oise, there is a dolmen called Trie or Trie- Chateau, +consisting of three upright stones with a fourth and larger stone laid +horizontally on their tops. The stone which forms the back wall of the +dolmen is pierced about the middle by an irregularly shaped hole, through +which the people of the neighbourhood used from time immemorial to pass +their sickly children in the firm belief that the passage through the +stone would restore them to health.(516) + +(M148) In the church of St. Corona at the village of Koppenwal, in Lower +Bavaria, there is a hole in the stone on which the altar rests. Through +this hole, while service was going on, the peasants used to creep, +believing that having done so they would not suffer from pains in their +back at harvest.(517) In the crypt of the old cathedral at Freising in +Bavaria there is a tomb which is reputed to contain the relics of St. +Nonnosius. Between a pillar of the tomb and the wall there is a narrow +opening, through which persons afflicted with pains in the back creep in +order to obtain thereby some mitigation of their pangs.(518) In Upper +Austria, above the Lake of Aber, which is a sheet of dark-green water +nestling among wooded mountains, there stands the Falkenstein chapel of +St. Wolfgang built close to the face of a cliff that rises from a little +green dale. A staircase leads up from the chapel to a narrow, dark, +dripping cleft in the rock, through which pilgrims creep in a stooping +posture "in the belief that they can strip off their bodily sufferings or +sins on the face of the rock."(519) Women with child also crawl through +the hole, hoping thus to obtain an easy delivery.(520) In the Greek island +of Cythnos, when a child is sickly, the mother will take it to a hole in a +rock about half an hour distant from Messaria. There she strips the child +naked and pushes it through the hole in the rock, afterwards throwing away +the old garments and clothing the child in new ones.(521) + +(M149) Near Everek, on the site of the ancient Caesarea in Asia Minor, +there is a rifted rock through which persons pass to rid themselves of a +cough.(522) A writer well acquainted with Asia Minor has described how he +visited "a well-known pool of water tucked away in a beautiful nook high +up among the Anatolian mountains, and with a wide reputation for sanctity +and healing powers. We arrived just as the last of a flock of three +hundred sheep were being passed through a peculiar hole in the thin ledge +of a huge rock to deliver them from a disease of the liver supposed to +prevent the proper laying on of fat."(523) Among the Kawars of the Central +Provinces in India a man who suffers from intermittent fever will try to +cure it by walking through a narrow passage between two houses.(524) In a +ruined church of St. Brandon, about ten miles from Dingle, in the west of +Ireland, there is a narrow window, through which sick women pass thrice in +order to be cured.(525) The Hindoos of the Punjaub think that the birth of +a son after three girls is unlucky for the parents, and in order to avert +the ill-luck they resort to a number of devices. Amongst other things they +break the centre of a bronze plate and remove all but the rim; then they +pass the luckless child through the bronze rim. Moreover, they make an +opening in the roof of the room where the birth took place, and then pull +the infant out through the opening; and further they pass the child under +the sill of the door.(526) By these passages through narrow apertures they +apparently hope to rid the child of the ill-luck which is either pursuing +it or sticking to it like a burr. For in this case, as in many similar +ones, it might be hard to say whether the riddance is conceived as an +escape from the pursuit of a maleficent spirit or as the abrasion of a +dangerous substance which adheres to the person of the sufferer. + +(M150) Another way of ridding man and beast of the clinging infection of +disease is to pass them through a hole dug in the ground. This mode of +cure was practised in Europe during the Middle Ages, and has survived in +Denmark down to modern times. In a sermon preached by St. Eloi, Bishop of +Noyon, in the sixth century, he forbade the faithful to practise +lustrations and to drive their sheep through hollow trees and holes in the +earth, "because by this they seem to consecrate them to the devil."(527) +Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, who died in 690 A.D., decreed that "if +any one for the health of his little son shall pass through a hole in the +ground and then close it behind him with thorns, let him do penance for +eleven days on bread and water."(528) Here the closing of the hole with +thorns after the patient or his representative has passed through is +plainly intended to barricade the narrow way against the pursuit of +sickness personified as a demon; hence it confirms the general +interpretation here given of these customs. Again, Burchard, Bishop of +Worms, who died in A.D. 1025, repeated the same condemnation: "Hast thou +done what certain women are wont to do? I mean those who have squalling +babes; they dig the earth and pierce it, and through that hole they drag +the babe, and they say that thus the squalling babe ceases to squall. If +thou has done this or consented unto it, thou shalt do penance for fifteen +days on bread and water."(529) At Fünen in Denmark, as late as the latter +part of the nineteenth century, a cure for childish ailments was to dig up +several sods, arrange them so as to form a hole, and then to pass the sick +child through it.(530) A simplified form of this cure is adopted in +Jutland. At twelve o'clock on a Thursday night you go to a churchyard, dig +up a circular piece of turf, and make a hole in it large enough to permit +the passage through it of your infant progeny. Taking the sod with you, go +home, salute nobody on the way, and speak to nobody. On getting to your +house, take the child and pass it thrice through the turf from right to +left; then take the turf back to the churchyard and replace it in +position. If the turf takes root and grows afresh, the child will recover; +but if the turf withers, there is no hope. Elsewhere it is at the hour of +sunset rather than of midnight that people cut the turf in the churchyard. +The same cure is applied to cattle which have been bewitched; though +naturally in that case you must cut a much bigger turf and make a much +bigger hole in it to let a horse or a cow through than is necessary for an +infant.(531) Here, again, the conception of a sympathetic relation, +established between the sufferer and the thing which has rid him of his +ailment, comes out clearly in the belief, that if the turf through which +the child has been passed thrives, the child will thrive also, but that if +the turf withers, the child will die. Among the Corannas, a people of the +Hottentot race on the Orange River, "when a child recovers from a +dangerous illness, a trench is dug in the ground, across the middle of +which an arch is thrown, and an ox made to stand upon it; the child is +then dragged under the arch. After this ceremony the animal is killed, and +eaten by married people who have children, none else being permitted to +participate of the feast."(532) Here the attempt to leave the sickness +behind in the hole, which is probably the essence of the ceremony, may +perhaps be combined with an endeavour to impart to the child the strength +and vigour of the animal. Ancient India seems also to have been familiar +with the same primitive notion that sickness could, as it were, be +stripped off the person of the sufferer by passing him through a narrow +aperture; for in the Rigveda it is said that Indra cured Apala of a +disease of the skin by drawing her through the yoke of the chariot; "thus +the god made her to have a golden skin, purifying her thrice."(533) + +(M151) At the small village of Damun, on the Kabenau river, in German New +Guinea, a traveller witnessed the natives performing a ceremony of +initiation, of which the following rite formed part. The candidates for +initiation, six in number, were boys and lads of various ages from about +four years of age to sixteen or seventeen. The company betook themselves +to the bed of a small stream, where at the end of a gully a hollow in the +rocks formed a natural basin. At the entrance to the gully a sort of yoke, +so the traveller calls it, was erected by means of some poles, and from +the cross-piece plants were hung so as to make an arch. One of the men +took up his station in front of the arch, and as each candidate came up, +the man seized him, spat on his breast and back a clot of red spittle, and +gave him several severe blows with the stock of a plant. After that the +candidate, who had previously stripped himself naked, passed under the +leafy arch and bathed in the rocky pool at the other end of the gully. All +the time that this solemnity was proceeding another man sat perched on a +neighbouring rock, beating a drum and singing. Only men took part in the +ceremony.(534) Though no explanation of the ceremony is given by the +observer who witnessed it, we may suppose that by passing under the yoke +or arch the novices were supposed to rid themselves of certain evil +influences, whether conceived as spiritual or not, which they left behind +them on the further side of the barrier. This interpretation is confirmed +by the bath which each candidate took immediately afterwards. In short the +whole purpose of the rite would seem to have been purificatory. + +(M152) With the preceding examples before us, it seems worth while to ask +whether the ancient Italian practice of making conquered enemies to pass +under a yoke may not in its origin have been a purificatory ceremony, +designed to rid the foe of some uncanny powers before dismissing him to +his home. For apparently the ceremony was only observed with prisoners who +were about to be released;(535) had it been a mere mark of ignominy, there +seems to be no reason why it should not have been inflicted also on men +who were doomed to die. This conjectural explanation of the ceremony is +confirmed by the tradition that the Roman Horatius was similarly obliged +by his fellow-countrymen to pass under a yoke as a form of purification +for the murder of his sister. The yoke by passing under which he cleansed +himself from his sister's blood was still to be seen in Rome when Livy was +writing his history under the emperor Augustus. It was an ancient wooden +beam spanning a narrow lane in an old quarter of the city, the two ends of +the beam being built into the masonry of the walls on either side; it went +by the name of the Sister's Beam, and whenever the wood decayed and +threatened to fall, the venerable monument, which carried back the +thoughts of passers-by to the kingly age of Rome, was repaired at the +public expense.(536) If our interpretation of these customs is right, it +was the ghost of his murdered sister whom the Roman hero gave the slip to +by passing under the yoke; and it may have been the angry ghosts of +slaughtered Romans from whom the enemy's soldiers were believed to be +delivered when they marched under the yoke before being dismissed by their +merciful conquerors to their homes. + +(M153) In a former part of this work we saw that homicides in general and +victorious warriors in particular are often obliged to perform a variety +of ceremonies for the purpose of ridding them of the dangerous ghosts of +their victims.(537) If the ceremony of passing under the yoke was +primarily designed, as I have suggested, to free the soldiers from the +angry ghosts of the men whom they had slain, we should expect to find that +the victorious Romans themselves observed a similar ceremony after a +battle for a similar purpose. Was this the original meaning of passing +under a triumphal arch? In other words, may not the triumphal arch have +been for the victors what the yoke was for the vanquished, a barrier to +protect them against the pursuit of the spirits of the slain? That the +Romans felt the need of purification from the taint of bloodshed after a +battle appears from the opinion of Masurius, mentioned by Pliny, that the +laurel worn by soldiers in a triumphal procession was intended to purge +them from the slaughter of the enemy.(538) A special gate, the _Porta +Triumphalis_, was reserved for the entrance of a victorious army into +Rome;(539) and it would be in accordance with ancient religious views if +this distinction was originally not so much an honour conferred as a +precaution enforced to prevent the ordinary gates from being polluted by +the passage of thousands of blood-guilty men.(540) + + + + +§ 3. The External Soul in Animals. + + +(M154) But in practice, as in folk-tales, it is not merely with inanimate +objects and plants that a person is occasionally believed to be united by +a bond of physical sympathy. The same bond, it is supposed, may exist +between a man and an animal, so that the welfare of the one depends on the +welfare of the other, and when the animal dies the man dies also. The +analogy between the custom and the tales is all the closer because in both +of them the power of thus removing the soul from the body and stowing it +away in an animal is often a special privilege of wizards and witches. +Thus the Yakuts of Siberia believe that every shaman or wizard keeps his +soul, or one of his souls, incarnate in an animal which is carefully +concealed from all the world. "Nobody can find my external soul," said one +famous wizard, "it lies hidden far away in the stony mountains of +Edzhigansk." Only once a year, when the last snows melt and the earth +turns black, do these external souls of wizards appear in the shape of +animals among the dwellings of men. They wander everywhere, yet none but +wizards can see them. The strong ones sweep roaring and noisily along, the +weak steal about quietly and furtively. Often they fight, and then the +wizard whose external soul is beaten, falls ill or dies. The weakest and +most cowardly wizards are they whose souls are incarnate in the shape of +dogs, for the dog gives his human double no peace, but gnaws his heart and +tears his body. The most powerful wizards are they whose external souls +have the shape of stallions, elks, black bears, eagles, or boars. Again, +the Samoyeds of the Turukhinsk region hold that every shaman has a +familiar spirit in the shape of a boar, which he leads about by a magic +belt. On the death of the boar the shaman himself dies; and stories are +told of battles between wizards, who send their spirits to fight before +they encounter each other in person.(541) In Yorkshire witches are thought +to stand in such peculiarly close relations to hares, that if a particular +hare is killed or wounded, a certain witch will at the same moment be +killed or receive a hurt in her body exactly corresponding to the wound in +the hare.(542) However, this fancy is probably a case of the general +European belief that witches have the power of temporarily transforming +themselves into certain animals, particularly hares and cats, and that any +hurts inflicted on such transformed animals are felt by the witches who +are concealed in the animals.(543) But the notion that a person can +temporarily transform himself into an animal differs from the notion that +he can deposit his soul for a longer or shorter period in an animal, while +he himself retains the human form; though in the cloudy mind of the +peasant and the savage the two ideas may not always be sharply +distinguished. The Malays believe that "the soul of a person may pass into +another person or into an animal, or rather that such a mysterious +relation can arise between the two that the fate of the one is wholly +dependent on that of the other."(544) + +(M155) Among the Melanesians of Mota, one of the New Hebrides islands, the +conception of an external soul is carried out in the practice of daily +life. The Mota word for soul is _atai_. "The use of the word _atai_ in +Mota seems properly and originally to have been to signify something +peculiarly and intimately connected with a person and sacred to him, +something that he has set his fancy upon when he has seen it in what has +seemed to him a wonderful manner, or some one has shewn it to him as such. +Whatever the thing might be the man believed it to be the reflection of +his own personality; he and his _atai_ flourished, suffered, lived, and +died together. But the word must not be supposed to have been borrowed +from this use and applied secondarily to describe the soul; the word +carries a sense with it which is applicable alike to that second self, the +visible object so mysteriously connected with the man, and to this +invisible second self which we call the soul. There is another Mota word, +_tamaniu_, which has almost if not quite the same meaning as _atai_ has +when it describes something animate or inanimate which a man has come to +believe to have an existence intimately connected with his own. The word +_tamaniu_ may be taken to be properly 'likeness,' and the noun form of the +adverb _tama_, as, like. It was not every one in Mota who had his +_tamaniu_; only some men fancied that they had this relation to a lizard, +a snake, or it might be a stone; sometimes the thing was sought for and +found by drinking the infusion of certain leaves and heaping together the +dregs; then whatever living thing was first seen in or upon the heap was +the _tamaniu_. It was watched but not fed or worshipped; the natives +believed that it came at call, and that the life of the man was bound up +with the life of his _tamaniu_, if a living thing, or with its safety; +should it die, or if not living get broken or be lost, the man would die. +Hence in case of sickness they would send to see if the _tamaniu_ was safe +and well. This word has never been used apparently for the soul in Mota; +but in Aurora in the New Hebrides it is the accepted equivalent. It is +well worth observing that both the _atai_ and the _tamaniu_, and it may be +added the Motlav _talegi_, is something which has a substantial existence +of its own, as when a snake or stone is a man's _atai_ or _tamaniu_; a +soul then when called by these names is conceived of as something in a way +substantial."(545) + +(M156) From this account, which we owe to the careful and accurate +researches of the Rev. Dr. Codrington, we gather that while every person +in Mota has a second self or external soul in a visible object called an +_atai_, only some people have, it may be, a second external soul in +another visible object called a _tamaniu_. We may conjecture that persons +who have a _tamaniu_ in addition to an _atai_ are more than usually +anxious as to the state of their soul, and that they seek to put it in +perfect security by what we may call a system of double insurance, +calculating that if one of their external souls should die or be broken, +they themselves may still survive by virtue of the survival of the other. +Be that as it may, the _tamaniu_ discharges two functions, one of them +defensive and the other offensive. On the one hand, so long as it lives or +remains unbroken, it preserves its owner in life; and on the other hand it +helps him to injure his enemies. In its offensive character, if the +_tamaniu_ happens to be an eel, it will bite its owner's enemy; if it is a +shark, it will swallow him. In its defensive character, the state of the +_tamaniu_ is a symptom or life-token of the state of the man; hence when +he is ill he will visit and examine it, or if he cannot go himself he will +send another to inspect it and report. In either case the man turns the +animal, if animal it be, carefully over in order to see what is the matter +with it; should something be found sticking to its skin, it is removed, +and through the relief thus afforded to the creature the sick man +recovers. But if the animal should be found dying, it is an omen of death +for the man; for whenever it dies he dies also.(546) + +(M157) In Melanesia a native doctor was once attending to a sick man. Just +then "a large eagle-hawk came soaring past the house, and Kaplen, my +hunter, was going to shoot it; but the doctor jumped up in evident alarm, +and said, 'Oh, don't shoot; that is my spirit' (_niog_, literally, my +shadow); 'if you shoot that, I will die.' He then told the old man, 'If +you see a rat to-night, don't drive it away, 'tis my spirit (_niog_), or a +snake which will come to-night, that also is my spirit.' "(547) It does +not appear whether the doctor in this case, like the giant or warlock in +the tales, kept his spirit permanently in the bird or in the animal, or +whether he only transferred it temporarily to the creature for the purpose +of enabling him the better to work the cure, perhaps by sending out his +own soul in a bird or beast to find and bring back the lost soul of the +patient. In either case he seems to have thought, like the giant or +warlock in the stories, that the death of the bird or the animal would +simultaneously entail his own. A family in Nauru, one of the Marshall +Islands, apparently imagine that their lives are bound up with a species +of large fish, which has a huge mouth and devours human beings; for when +one of these fish was killed, the members of the family cried, "Our +guardian spirit is killed, now we must all die!"(548) + +(M158) The theory of an external soul deposited in an animal appears to be +very prevalent in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria, the Cameroons, and +the Gaboon.(549) In the latter part of the nineteenth century two English +missionaries, established at San Salvador, the capital of the King of +Congo, asked the natives repeatedly whether any of them had seen the +strange, big, East African goat which Stanley had given to a chief at +Stanley Pool in 1877. But their enquiries were fruitless; no native would +admit that he had seen the goat. Some years afterwards the missionaries +discovered why they could obtain no reply to their enquiry. All the +people, it turned out, imagined that the missionaries believed the spirit +of the King of Salvador to be contained in the goat, and that they wished +to obtain possession of the animal in order to exercise an evil influence +on his majesty.(550) The belief from the standpoint of the Congo savages +was natural enough, since in that region some chiefs regularly link their +fate to that of an animal. Thus the Chief Bankwa of Ndolo, on the Moeko +River, had conferred this honour on a certain hippopotamus of the +neighbourhood, at which he would allow nobody to shoot.(551) At the +village of Ongek, in the Gaboon, a French missionary slept in the hut of +an old Fan chief. Awakened about two in the morning by a rustling of dry +leaves, he lit a torch, when to his horror he perceived a huge black +serpent of the most dangerous sort, coiled in a corner, with head erect, +shining eyes, and hissing jaws, ready to dart at him. Instinctively he +seized his gun and pointed it at the reptile, when suddenly his arm was +struck up, the torch was extinguished, and the voice of the old chief +said, "Don't fire! don't fire! I beg of you. In killing the serpent, it is +me that you would kill. Fear nothing. The serpent is my _elangela_." So +saying he flung himself on his knees beside the reptile, put his arms +about it, and clasped it to his breast. The serpent received his caresses +quietly, manifesting neither anger nor fear, and the chief carried it off +and laid it down beside him in another hut, exhorting the missionary to +have no fear and never to speak of the subject.(552) His curiosity being +excited by this adventure, the missionary, Father Trilles, pursued his +enquiries and ascertained that among the Fans of the Gaboon every wizard +is believed at initiation to unite his life with that of some particular +wild animal by a rite of blood-brotherhood; he draws blood from the ear of +the animal and from his own arm, and inoculates the animal with his own +blood, and himself with the blood of the beast. Henceforth such an +intimate union is established between the two that the death of the one +entails the death of the other. The alliance is thought to bring to the +wizard or sorcerer a great accession of power, which he can turn to his +advantage in various ways. In the first place, like the warlock in the +fairy tales who has deposited his life outside of himself in some safe +place, the Fan wizard now deems himself invulnerable. Moreover, the animal +with which he has exchanged blood has become his familiar, and will obey +any orders he may choose to give it; so he makes use of it to injure and +kill his enemies. For that reason the creature with whom he establishes +the relation of blood-brotherhood is never a tame or domestic animal, but +always a ferocious and dangerous wild beast, such as a leopard, a black +serpent, a crocodile, a hippopotamus, a wild boar, or a vulture. Of all +these creatures the leopard is by far the commonest familiar of Fan +wizards, and next to it comes the black serpent; the vulture is the +rarest. Witches as well as wizards have their familiars; but the animals +with which the lives of women are thus bound up generally differ from +those to which men commit their external souls. A witch never has a +panther for her familiar, but often a venomous species of serpent, +sometimes a horned viper, sometimes a black serpent, sometimes a green one +that lives in banana-trees; or it may be a vulture, an owl, or other bird +of night. In every case the beast or bird with which the witch or wizard +has contracted this mystic alliance is an individual, never a species; and +when the individual animal dies the alliance is naturally at an end, since +the death of the animal is supposed to entail the death of the man.(553) + +(M159) Similar beliefs are held by the natives of the Cross River valley +within the German provinces of the Cameroons. Groups of people, generally +the inhabitants of a village, have chosen various animals, with which they +believe themselves to stand on a footing of intimate friendship or +relationship. Amongst such animals are hippopotamuses, elephants, +leopards, crocodiles, gorillas, fish, and serpents, all of them creatures +which are either very strong or can easily hide themselves in the water or +a thicket. This power of concealing themselves is said to be an +indispensable condition of the choice of animal familiars, since the +animal friend or helper is expected to injure his owner's enemy by +stealth; for example, if he is a hippopotamus, he will bob up suddenly out +of the water and capsize the enemy's canoe. Between the animals and their +human friends or kinsfolk such a sympathetic relation is supposed to exist +that the moment the animal dies the man dies also, and similarly the +instant the man perishes so does the beast. From this it follows that the +animal kinsfolk may never be shot at or molested for fear of injuring or +killing the persons whose lives are knit up with the lives of the brutes. +This does not, however, prevent the people of a village, who have +elephants for their animal friends, from hunting elephants. For they do +not respect the whole species but merely certain individuals of it, which +stand in an intimate relation to certain individual men and women; and +they imagine that they can always distinguish these brother elephants from +the common herd of elephants which are mere elephants and nothing more. +The recognition indeed is said to be mutual. When a hunter, who has an +elephant for his friend, meets a human elephant, as we may call it, the +noble animal lifts up a paw and holds it before his face, as much as to +say, "Don't shoot." Were the hunter so inhuman as to fire on and wound +such an elephant, the person whose life was bound up with the elephant +would fall ill.(554) + +(M160) The Balong of the Cameroons think that every man has several souls, +of which one is in his body and another in an animal, such as an elephant, +a wild pig, a leopard, and so forth. When a man comes home, feeling ill, +and says, "I shall soon die," and dies accordingly, the people aver that +one of his souls has been killed in a wild pig or a leopard, and that the +death of the external soul has caused the death of the soul in his body. +Hence the corpse is cut open, and a diviner determines, from an inspection +of the inwards, whether the popular surmise is correct or not.(555) + +(M161) A similar belief in the external souls of living people is +entertained by the Ibos, an important tribe of the Niger delta, who +inhabit a country west of the Cross River. They think that a man's spirit +can quit his body for a time during life and take up its abode in an +animal. This is called _ishi anu_, "to turn animal." A man who wishes to +acquire this power procures a certain drug from a wise man and mixes it +with his food. After that his soul goes out and enters into the animal. If +it should happen that the animal is killed while the man's soul is lodged +in it, the man dies; and if the animal be wounded, the man's body will +presently be covered with boils. This belief instigates to many deeds of +darkness; for a sly rogue will sometimes surreptitiously administer the +magical drug to his enemy in his food, and having thus smuggled the +other's soul into an animal will destroy the creature, and with it the man +whose soul is lodged in it.(556) A like belief is reported to prevail +among the tribes of the Obubura Hill district on the Cross River in +Southern Nigeria. Once when Mr. Partridge's canoe-men wished to catch fish +near a town of the Assiga tribe, the people objected, saying, "Our souls +live in those fish, and if you kill them we shall die."(557) + +(M162) The negroes of Calabar, at the mouth of the Niger, believe that +every person has four souls, one of which always lives outside of his or +her body in the form of a wild beast in the forest. This external soul, or +bush soul, as Miss Kingsley calls it, may be almost any animal, for +example, a leopard, a fish, or a tortoise; but it is never a domestic +animal and never a plant. Unless he is gifted with second sight, a man +cannot see his own bush soul, but a diviner will often tell him what sort +of creature his bush soul is, and after that the man will be careful not +to kill any animal of that species, and will strongly object to any one +else doing so. A man and his sons have usually the same sort of animals +for their bush souls, and so with a mother and her daughters. But +sometimes all the children of a family take after the bush soul of their +father; for example, if his external soul is a leopard, all his sons and +daughters will have leopards for their external souls. And on the other +hand, sometimes they all take after their mother; for instance, if her +external soul is a tortoise, all the external souls of her sons and +daughters will be tortoises too. So intimately bound up is the life of the +man with that of the animal which he regards as his external or bush soul, +that the death or injury of the animal necessarily entails the death or +injury of the man. And, conversely, when the man dies, his bush soul can +no longer find a place of rest, but goes mad and rushes into the fire or +charges people and is knocked on the head, and that is an end of it. When +a person is sick, the diviner will sometimes tell him that his bush soul +is angry at being neglected; thereupon the patient will make an offering +to the offended spirit and deposit it in a tiny hut in the forest at the +spot where the animal, which is his external soul, was last seen. If the +bush soul is appeased, the patient recovers; but if it is not, he dies. +Yet the foolish bush soul does not understand that in injuring the man it +injures itself, and that it cannot long survive his decease.(558) + +(M163) Such is the account which Miss Kingsley gives of the bush souls of +the Calabar negroes. Some fresh particulars are furnished by Mr. Richard +Henshaw, Agent for Native Affairs at Calabar. He tells us that a man may +only marry a woman who has the same sort of bush soul as himself; for +example, if his bush soul is a leopard, his wife also must have a leopard +for her bush soul. Further, we learn from Mr. Henshaw that a person's bush +soul need not be that either of his father or of his mother. For example, +a child with a hippopotamus for his bush soul may be born into a family, +all the members of which have wild pigs for their bush souls; this happens +when the child is a reincarnation of a man whose external soul was a +hippopotamus. In such a case, if the parents object to the intrusion of an +alien soul, they may call in a medicine-man to check its growth and +finally abolish it altogether, after which they will give the child their +own bush soul. Or they may leave the matter over till the child comes of +age, when he will choose a bush soul for himself with the help of a +medicine-man, who will also select the piece of bush or water in which the +chosen animal lives. When a man dies, then the animal which contains his +external soul "becomes insensible and quite unconscious of the approach of +danger. Thus a hunter can capture or kill him with perfect ease." +Sacrifices are often offered to prevent other people from killing the +animal in which a man's bush soul resides. The tribes of Calabar which +hold these beliefs as to the bush soul are the Efik and Ekoi.(559) The +belief of the Calabar negroes in the external soul has been described as +follows by a missionary: "_Ukpong_ is the native word we have taken to +translate our word _soul_. It primarily signifies the shadow of a person. +It also signifies that which dwells within a man on which his life +depends, but which may detach itself from the body, and visiting places +and persons here and there, again return to its abode in the man.... +Besides all this, the word is used to designate an animal possessed of an +_ukpong_, so connected with a person's _ukpong_, that they mutually act +upon each other. When the leopard, or crocodile, or whatever animal may be +a man's _ukpong_, gets sick or dies, the like thing happens to him. Many +individuals, it is believed, have the power of changing themselves into +the animals which are their _ukpong_."(560) + +(M164) Among the Ekoi of the Oban district, in Southern Nigeria, it is +usual to hear a person say of another that he or she "possesses" such and +such an animal, meaning that the person has the power to assume the shape +of that particular creature. It is their belief that by constant practice +and by virtue of certain hereditary secrets a man can quit his human body +and put on that of a wild beast. They say that in addition to the soul +which animates his human body everybody has a bush soul which at times he +can send forth to animate the body of the creature which he "possesses." +When he wishes his bush soul to go out on its rambles, he drinks a magic +potion, the secret of which has been handed down from time immemorial, and +some of which is always kept ready for use in an ancient earthen pot set +apart for the purpose. No sooner has he drunk the mystic draught than his +bush soul escapes from him and floats away invisible through the town into +the forest. There it begins to swell and, safe in the shadow of the trees, +takes on the shape of the man's animal double, it may be an elephant, a +leopard, a buffalo, a wild boar, or a crocodile. Naturally the potion +differs according to the kind of animal into which a man is temporarily +converted. It would be absurd, for example, to expect that the dose which +turns you into an elephant should also be able to turn you into a +crocodile; the thing is manifestly impossible. A great advantage of these +temporary conversions of a man into a beast is that it enables the convert +in his animal shape to pay out his enemy without being suspected. If, for +example, you have a grudge at a man who is a well-to-do farmer, all that +you have to do is to turn yourself by night into a buffalo, an elephant, +or a wild boar, and then, bursting into his fields, stamp about in them +till you have laid the standing crops level with the ground. That is why +in the neighbourhood of large well-tilled farms, people prefer to keep +their bush souls in buffaloes, elephants, and wild boars, because these +animals are the most convenient means of destroying a neighbour's crops. +Whereas where the farms are small and ill-kept, as they are round about +Oban, it is hardly worth a man's while to take the trouble of turning into +a buffalo or an elephant for the paltry satisfaction of rooting up a few +miserable yams or such like trash. So the Oban people keep their bush +souls in leopards and crocodiles, which, though of little use for the +purpose of destroying a neighbour's crops, are excellent for the purpose +of killing the man himself first and eating him afterwards. But the power +of turning into an animal has this serious disadvantage that it lays you +open to the chance of being wounded or even slain in your animal skin +before you have time to put it off and scramble back into your human +integument. A remarkable case of this sort happened only a few miles from +Oban not long ago. To understand it you must know that the chiefs of the +Ododop tribe, who live about ten miles from Oban, keep their bush souls, +whenever they are out on a ramble, in the shape of buffaloes. Well, one +day the District Commissioner at Oban saw a buffalo come down to drink at +a stream which runs through his garden. He shot at the beast and hit it, +and it ran away badly wounded. At the very same moment the head chief of +the Ododop tribe, ten miles away, clapped his hand to his side and said, +"They have killed me at Oban." Death was not instantaneous, for the +buffalo lingered in pain for a couple of days in the forest, but an hour +or two before its dead body was discovered by the trackers the chief +expired. Just before he died, with touching solicitude he sent a message +warning all people who kept their external souls in buffaloes to profit by +his sad fate and beware of going near Oban, which was not a safe place for +them. Naturally, when a man keeps his external soul from time to time in a +beast, say in a wild cow, he is not so foolish as to shoot an animal of +that particular sort, for in so doing he might perhaps be killing himself. +But he may kill animals in which other people keep their external souls. +For example, a wild cow man may freely shoot an antelope or a wild boar; +but should he do so and then have reason to suspect that the dead beast is +the animal double of somebody with whom he is on friendly terms, he must +perform certain ceremonies over the carcase and then hurry home, running +at the top of his speed, to administer a particular medicine to the man +whom he has unintentionally injured. In this way he may possibly be in +time to save the life of his friend from the effects of the deplorable +accident.(561) + +(M165) Near Eket in North Calabar there is a sacred lake, the fish of +which are carefully preserved because the people believe that their own +souls are lodged in the fish, and that with every fish killed a human life +would be simultaneously extinguished.(562) In the Calabar River not very +many years ago there used to be a huge old crocodile, popularly supposed +to contain the external soul of a chief who resided in the flesh at Duke +Town. Sporting vice-consuls used from time to time to hunt the animal, and +once a peculiarly energetic officer contrived to hit it. Forthwith the +chief was laid up with a wound in his leg. He gave out that a dog had +bitten him, but no doubt the wise shook their heads and refused to be put +off with so flimsy a pretext.(563) Again, among several tribes on the +banks of the Niger between Lokoja and the delta there prevails "a belief +in the possibility of a man possessing an _alter ego_ in the form of some +animal such as a crocodile or a hippopotamus. It is believed that such a +person's life is bound up with that of the animal to such an extent that, +whatever affects the one produces a corresponding impression upon the +other, and that if one dies the other must speedily do so too. It happened +not very long ago that an Englishman shot a hippopotamus close to a native +village; the friends of a woman who died the same night in the village +demanded and eventually obtained five pounds as compensation for the +murder of the woman."(564) Among the Montols of Northern Nigeria, "in many +of the compounds there will be found a species of snake, of a +non-poisonous sort, which, when full grown, attains a length of about five +feet and a girth of eight or nine inches. These snakes live in and about +the compound. They are not specially fed by the people of the place, nor +are places provided for them to nest in. They live generally in the roofs +of the small granaries and huts that make up the compound. They feed upon +small mammals, and no doubt serve a useful purpose in destroying vermin +which might otherwise eat the stored grain. They are not kept for the +purpose of destroying vermin, however. The Montols believe that at the +birth of every individual of their race, male and female, one of these +snakes, of the same sex, is also born. If the snake be killed, his human +partner in life dies also and at the same time. If the wife of a +compound-owner gives birth to a son, shortly after the interesting event, +the snake of the establishment will be seen with a young one of +corresponding sex. From the moment of birth, these two, the snake and the +man, share a life of common duration, and the measure of the one is the +measure of the other. Hence every care is taken to protect these animals +from injury, and no Montol would in any circumstances think of injuring or +killing one. It is said that a snake of this kind never attempts any +injury to a man. There is only one type of snake thus regarded."(565) +Among the Angass, of the Kanna District in Northern Nigeria, "when a man +is born, he is endowed with two distinct entities, life and a _kurua_ +(Arabic _rin_).... When the _rin_ enters a man, its counterpart enters +some beast or snake at the same time, and if either dies, so also does the +body containing the counterpart. This, however, in no wise prevents a man +from killing any game, etc., he may see, though he knows full well that he +is causing thereby the death of some man or woman. When a man dies, his +life and _rin_ both leave him, though the latter is asserted sometimes to +linger near the place of death for a day or two."(566) Again, at the town +of Paha, in the northern territory of the Gold Coast, there are pools +inhabited by crocodiles which are worshipped by the people. The natives +believe that for every death or birth in the town a similar event takes +place among the crocodiles.(567) + +(M166) In South Africa the conception of an external soul deposited in an +animal, which is so common in West Africa, appears to be almost unknown; +at least I have met with no clear traces of it in literature. The +Bechuanas, indeed, commonly believe that if a man wounds a crocodile, the +man will be ill as long as the crocodile is ill of its wound, and that if +the crocodile dies, the man dies too. This belief is not, apparently, +confined to the Bechuana clan which has the crocodile for its totem, but +is shared by all the other clans; all of them certainly hold the crocodile +in respect.(568) It does not appear whether the sympathetic relation +between a man and a crocodile is supposed by the Bechuanas to be lifelong, +or only to arise at the moment when the man wounds the animal; in the +latter case the shedding of the crocodile's blood might perhaps be thought +to establish a relationship of affinity or sympathy between the two. The +Zulus believe that every man is attended by an ancestral spirit (_ihlozi_, +or rather _idhlozi_) in the form of a serpent, "which specially guards and +helps him, lives with him, wakes with him, sleeps and travels with him, +but always under ground. If it ever makes its appearance, great is the +joy, and the man must seek to discover the meaning of its appearance. He +who has no _ihlozi_ must die. Therefore if any one kills an _ihlozi_ +serpent, the man whose _ihlozi_ it was dies, but the serpent comes to life +again."(569) But the conception of a dead ancestor incarnate in a snake, +on which the welfare or existence of one of his living descendants +depends, is rather that of a guardian spirit than of an external soul. + +(M167) Amongst the Zapotecs of Central America, when a woman was about to +be confined, her relations assembled in the hut, and began to draw on the +floor figures of different animals, rubbing each one out as soon as it was +completed. This went on till the moment of birth, and the figure that then +remained sketched upon the ground was called the child's _tona_ or second +self. "When the child grew old enough, he procured the animal that +represented him and took care of it, as it was believed that health and +existence were bound up with that of the animal's, in fact that the death +of both would occur simultaneously," or rather that when the animal died +the man would die too.(570) Among the Indians of Guatemala and Honduras +the _nagual_ or _naual_ is "that animate or inanimate object, generally an +animal, which stands in a parallel relation to a particular man, so that +the weal and woe of the man depend on the fate of the _nagual_."(571) +According to an old writer, many Indians of Guatemala "are deluded by the +devil to believe that their life dependeth upon the life of such and such +a beast (which they take unto them as their familiar spirit), and think +that when that beast dieth they must die; when he is chased, their hearts +pant; when he is faint, they are faint; nay, it happeneth that by the +devil's delusion they appear in the shape of that beast (which commonly by +their choice is a buck, or doe, a lion, or tigre, or dog, or eagle) and in +that shape have been shot at and wounded."(572) Herrera's account of the +way in which the Indians of Honduras acquired their _naguals_, runs thus: +"The devil deluded them, appearing in the shape of a lion or a tiger, or a +coyte, a beast like a wolf, or in the shape of an alligator, a snake, or a +bird, that province abounding in creatures of prey, which they called +_naguales_, signifying keepers or guardians, and when the bird died the +Indian that was in league with him died also, which often happened and was +looked upon as infallible. The manner of contracting this alliance was +thus. The Indian repaired to the river, wood, hill, or most obscure place, +where he called upon the devils by such names as he thought fit, talked to +the rivers, rocks, or woods, said he went to weep that he might have the +same his predecessors had, carrying a cock or a dog to sacrifice. In that +melancholy fit he fell asleep, and either in a dream or waking saw some +one of the aforesaid birds or other creatures, whom he entreated to grant +him profit in salt, cacao, or any other commodity, drawing blood from his +own tongue, ears, and other parts of his body, making his contract at the +same time with the said creature, the which either in a dream or waking +told him, 'Such a day you shall go abroad asporting, and I will be the +first bird or other animal you shall meet, and will be your _nagual_ and +companion at all times.' Whereupon such friendship was contracted between +them, that when one of them died the other did not survive, and they +fancied that he who had no _nagual_ could not be rich."(573) The Indians +were persuaded that the death of their _nagual_ would entail their own. +Legend affirms that in the first battles with the Spaniards on the plateau +of Quetzaltenango the _naguals_ of the Indian chiefs fought in the form of +serpents. The _nagual_ of the highest chief was especially conspicuous, +because it had the form of a great bird, resplendent in green plumage. The +Spanish general Pedro de Alvarado killed the bird with his lance, and at +the same moment the Indian chief fell dead to the ground.(574) + +(M168) In many tribes of South-Eastern Australia each sex used to regard a +particular species of animals in the same way that a Central American +Indian regarded his _nagual_, but with this difference, that whereas the +Indian apparently knew the individual animal with which his life was bound +up, the Australians only knew that each of their lives was bound up with +some one animal of the species, but they could not say with which. The +result naturally was that every man spared and protected all the animals +of the species with which the lives of the men were bound up; and every +woman spared and protected all the animals of the species with which the +lives of the women were bound up; because no one knew but that the death +of any animal of the respective species might entail his or her own; just +as the killing of the green bird was immediately followed by the death of +the Indian chief, and the killing of the parrot by the death of Punchkin +in the fairy tale. Thus, for example, the Wotjobaluk tribe of +South-Eastern Australia "held that 'the life of Ngunungunut (the Bat) is +the life of a man, and the life of Yártatgurk (the Nightjar) is the life +of a woman,' and that when either of these creatures is killed the life of +some man or of some woman is shortened. In such a case every man or every +woman in the camp feared that he or she might be the victim, and from this +cause great fights arose in this tribe. I learn that in these fights, men +on one side and women on the other, it was not at all certain which would +be victorious, for at times the women gave the men a severe drubbing with +their yamsticks, while often women were injured or killed by spears." The +Wotjobaluk said that the bat was the man's "brother" and that the nightjar +was his "wife."(575) The particular species of animals with which the +lives of the sexes were believed to be respectively bound up varied +somewhat from tribe to tribe. Thus whereas among the Wotjobaluk the bat +was the animal of the men, at Gunbower Creek on the Lower Murray the bat +seems to have been the animal of the women, for the natives would not kill +it for the reason that "if it was killed, one of their lubras [women] +would be sure to die in consequence."(576) In the Kurnai tribe of +Gippsland the emu-wren (_Stipiturus malachurus_) was the "man's brother" +and the superb warbler (_Malurus cyaneus_) was the "woman's sister"; at +the initiation of young men into the tribal mysteries the name of the +emu-wren was invoked over the novices for the purpose of infusing manly +virtue into them.(577) Among the Yuin on the south-eastern coast of +Australia, the "woman's sister" was the tree-creeper (_Climacteris +scandens_), and the men had both the bat and the emu-wren for their +"brothers."(578) In the Kulin nation each sex had a pair of "brothers" and +"sisters"; the men had the bat and the emu-wren for their "brothers," and +the women had the superb warbler and the small nightjar for their +"sisters."(579) It is notable that in South-Eastern Australia the animals +thus associated with the lives of men and women were generally flying +creatures, either birds or bats. However, in the Port Lincoln tribe of +South Australia the man's "brother" and the woman's "sister" seem to have +been identified with the male and female respectively of a species of +lizard; for we read that "a small kind of lizard, the male of which is +called _ibirri_, and the female _waka_, is said to have divided the sexes +in the human species; an event that would appear not to be much approved +of by the natives, since either sex has a mortal hatred against the +opposite sex of these little animals, the men always destroying the _waka_ +and the women the _ibirri_."(580) But whatever the particular sorts of +creature with which the lives of men and women were believed to be bound +up, the belief itself and the fights to which it gave rise are known to +have prevailed over a large part of South-Eastern Australia, and probably +they extended much farther.(581) The belief was a very serious one, and so +consequently were the fights which sprang from it. Thus among some tribes +of Victoria "the common bat belongs to the men, who protect it against +injury, even to the half-killing of their wives for its sake. The fern +owl, or large goatsucker, belongs to the women, and, although a bird of +evil omen, creating terror at night by its cry, it is jealously protected +by them. If a man kills one, they are as much enraged as if it was one of +their children, and will strike him with their long poles."(582) + +(M169) The jealous protection thus afforded by Australian men and women to +bats and owls respectively (for bats and owls seem to be the creatures +usually allotted to the two sexes)(583) is not based upon purely selfish +considerations. For each man believes that not only his own life but the +lives of his father, brothers, sons, and so on are bound up with the lives +of particular bats, and that therefore in protecting the bat species he is +protecting the lives of all his male relations as well as his own. +Similarly, each woman believes that the lives of her mother, sisters, +daughters, and so forth, equally with her own, are bound up with the lives +of particular owls, and that in guarding the owl species she is guarding +the lives of all her female relations besides her own. Now, when men's +lives are thus supposed to be contained in certain animals, it is obvious +that the animals can hardly be distinguished from the men, or the men from +the animals. If my brother John's life is in a bat, then, on the one hand, +the bat is my brother as well as John; and, on the other hand, John is in +a sense a bat, since his life is in a bat. Similarly, if my sister Mary's +life is in an owl, then the owl is my sister and Mary is an owl. This is a +natural enough conclusion, and the Australians have not failed to draw it. +When the bat is the man's animal, it is called his brother; and when the +owl is the woman's animal, it is called her sister. And conversely a man +addresses a woman as an owl, and she addresses him as a bat.(584) So with +the other animals allotted to the sexes respectively in other tribes. For +example, among the Kurnai all emu-wrens were "brothers" of the men, and +all the men were emu-wrens; all superb warblers were "sisters" of the +women, and all the women were superb warblers.(585) + + + + +§ 4. A Suggested Theory of Totemism.(586) + + +(M170) But when a savage names himself after an animal, calls it his +brother, and refuses to kill it, the animal is said to be his totem. +Accordingly in the tribes of South-Eastern Australia which we have been +considering the bat and the owl, the emu-wren and the superb warbler, may +properly be described as totems of the sexes. But the assignation of a +totem to a sex is comparatively rare, and has hitherto been discovered +nowhere but in Australia. Far more commonly the totem is appropriated not +to a sex, but to a clan, and is hereditary either in the male or female +line. The relation of an individual to the clan totem does not differ in +kind from his relation to the sex totem; he will not kill it, he speaks of +it as his brother, and he calls himself by its name. Now if the relations +are similar, the explanation which holds good of the one ought equally to +hold good of the other. Therefore the reason why a clan revere a +particular species of animals or plants (for the clan totem may be a +plant) and call themselves after it, would seem to be a belief that the +life of each individual of the clan is bound up with some one animal or +plant of the species, and that his or her death would be the consequence +of killing that particular animal, or destroying that particular plant. +This explanation of totemism squares very well with Sir George Grey's +definition of a totem or _kobong_ in Western Australia. He says: "A +certain mysterious connection exists between a family and its _kobong_, so +that a member of the family will never kill an animal of the species to +which his _kobong_ belongs, should he find it asleep; indeed he always +kills it reluctantly, and never without affording it a chance to escape. +This arises from the family belief that some one individual of the species +is their nearest friend, to kill whom would be a great crime, and to be +carefully avoided. Similarly, a native who has a vegetable for his +_kobong_ may not gather it under certain circumstances, and at a +particular period of the year."(587) Here it will be observed that though +each man spares all the animals or plants of the species, they are not all +equally precious to him; far from it, out of the whole species there is +only one which is specially dear to him; but as he does not know which the +dear one is, he is obliged to spare them all from fear of injuring the +one. Again, this explanation of the clan totem harmonizes with the +supposed effect of killing one of the totem species. "One day one of the +blacks killed a crow. Three or four days afterwards a Boortwa (crow) +[_i.e._ a man of the Crow clan] named Larry died. He had been ailing for +some days, but the killing of his _wingong_ [totem] hastened his +death."(588) Here the killing of the crow caused the death of a man of the +Crow clan, exactly as, in the case of the sex-totems, the killing of a bat +causes the death of a Bat-man or the killing of an owl causes the death of +an Owl-woman. Similarly, the killing of his _nagual_ causes the death of a +Central American Indian, the killing of his bush soul causes the death of +a Calabar negro, the killing of his _tamaniu_ causes the death of a Banks +Islander, and the killing of the animal in which his life is stowed away +causes the death of the giant or warlock in the fairy tale. + +(M171) Thus it appears that the story of "The giant who had no heart in +his body" may perhaps furnish the key to the relation which is supposed to +subsist between a man and his totem. The totem, on this theory, is simply +the receptacle in which a man keeps his life, as Punchkin kept his life in +a parrot, and Bidasari kept her soul in a golden fish. It is no valid +objection to this view that when a savage has both a sex totem and a clan +totem his life must be bound up with two different animals, the death of +either of which would entail his own. If a man has more vital places than +one in his body, why, the savage may think, should he not have more vital +places than one outside it? Why, since he can put his life outside +himself, should he not transfer one portion of it to one animal and +another to another? The divisibility of life, or, to put it otherwise, the +plurality of souls, is an idea suggested by many familiar facts, and has +commended itself to philosophers like Plato,(589) as well as to savages. +It finds favour also with the sages of China, who tell us that every human +being is provided with what may be called a male soul (_shen_) and a +female soul (_kwei_), which by their harmonious co-operation compose an +organic unity. However, some Chinese philosophers will have it that each +of the five viscera has its own separate male soul (_shen_); and a Taoist +treatise written about the end of the tenth or beginning of the eleventh +century has even enriched science with a list of about three dozen souls +distributed over the various parts of the human frame; indeed, not content +with a bare catalogue of these souls, the learned author has annexed to +the name and surname of each a brief description of its size and stature, +of the kind of dress in which it is clothed and the shape of hat it +wears.(590) It is only when the notion of a soul, from being a +quasi-scientific hypothesis, becomes a theological dogma that its unity +and indivisibility are insisted upon as essential. The savage, unshackled +by dogma, is free to explain the facts of life by the assumption of as +many souls as he thinks necessary. Hence, for example, the Caribs supposed +that there was one soul in the head, another in the heart, and other souls +at all the places where an artery is felt pulsating.(591) Some of the +Hidatsa Indians explain the phenomena of gradual death, when the +extremities appear dead first, by supposing that man has four souls, and +that they quit the body, not simultaneously, but one after the other, +dissolution being only complete when all four have departed.(592) Some of +the Dyaks of Borneo and the Malays of the Peninsula believe that every man +has seven souls.(593) The Alfoors of Poso in Celebes are of opinion that +he has three.(594) The natives of Laos suppose that the body is the seat +of thirty spirits, which reside in the hands, the feet, the mouth, the +eyes, and so on.(595) Hence, from the primitive point of view, it is +perfectly possible that a savage should have one soul in his sex totem and +another in his clan totem. However, as I have observed, sex totems have +been found nowhere but in Australia; so that as a rule the savage who +practises totemism need not have more than one soul out of his body at a +time.(596) + +(M172) If this explanation of the totem as a receptacle in which a man +keeps his soul or one of his souls is correct, we should expect to find +some totemic people of whom it is expressly said that every man amongst +them is believed to keep at least one soul permanently out of his body, +and that the destruction of this external soul is supposed to entail the +death of its owner. Such a people are the Battas of Sumatra. The Battas +are divided into exogamous clans (_margas_) with descent in the male line; +and each clan is forbidden to eat the flesh of a particular animal. One +clan may not eat the tiger, another the ape, another the crocodile, +another the dog, another the cat, another the dove, another the white +buffalo, and another the locust. The reason given by members of a clan for +abstaining from the flesh of the particular animal is either that they are +descended from animals of that species, and that their souls after death +may transmigrate into the animals, or that they or their forefathers have +been under certain obligations to the creatures. Sometimes, but not +always, the clan bears the name of the animal.(597) Thus the Battas have +totemism in full. But, further, each Batta believes that he has seven or, +on a more moderate computation, three souls. One of these souls is always +outside the body, but nevertheless whenever it dies, however far away it +may be at the time, that same moment the man dies also.(598) The writer +who mentions this belief says nothing about the Batta totems; but on the +analogy of the Australian, Central American, and African evidence we may +conjecture that the external soul, whose death entails the death of the +man, is housed in the totemic animal or plant. + +(M173) Against this view it can hardly be thought to militate that the +Batta does not in set terms affirm his external soul to be in his totem, +but alleges other grounds for respecting the sacred animal or plant of his +clan. For if a savage seriously believes that his life is bound up with an +external object, it is in the last degree unlikely that he will let any +stranger into the secret. In all that touches his inmost life and beliefs +the savage is exceedingly suspicious and reserved; Europeans have resided +among savages for years without discovering some of their capital articles +of faith, and in the end the discovery has often been the result of +accident.(599) Above all, the savage lives in an intense and perpetual +dread of assassination by sorcery; the most trifling relics of his +person--the clippings of his hair and nails, his spittle, the remnants of +his food, his very name(600)--all these may, he fancies, be turned by the +sorcerer to his destruction, and he is therefore anxiously careful to +conceal or destroy them. But if in matters such as these, which are but +the outposts and outworks of his life, he is so shy and secretive, how +close must be the concealment, how impenetrable the reserve in which he +enshrouds the inner keep and citadel of his being! When the princess in +the fairy tale asks the giant where he keeps his soul, he often gives +false or evasive answers, and it is only after much coaxing and wheedling +that the secret is at last wrung from him. In his jealous reticence the +giant resembles the timid and furtive savage; but whereas the exigencies +of the story demand that the giant should at last reveal his secret, no +such obligation is laid on the savage; and no inducement that can be +offered is likely to tempt him to imperil his soul by revealing its +hiding-place to a stranger. It is therefore no matter for surprise that +the central mystery of the savage's life should so long have remained a +secret, and that we should be left to piece it together from scattered +hints and fragments and from the recollections of it which linger in fairy +tales. + + + + +§ 5. The Ritual of Death and Resurrection. + + +(M174) This view of totemism throws light on a class of religious rites of +which no adequate explanation, so far as I am aware, has yet been offered. +Amongst many savage tribes, especially such as are known to practise +totemism, it is customary for lads at puberty to undergo certain +initiatory rites, of which one of the commonest is a pretence of killing +the lad and bringing him to life again. Such rites become intelligible if +we suppose that their substance consists in extracting the youth's soul in +order to transfer it to his totem. For the extraction of his soul would +naturally be supposed to kill the youth or at least to throw him into a +death-like trance, which the savage hardly distinguishes from death. His +recovery would then be attributed either to the gradual recovery of his +system from the violent shock which it had received, or, more probably, to +the infusion into him of fresh life drawn from the totem. Thus the essence +of these initiatory rites, so far as they consist in a simulation of death +and resurrection, would be an exchange of life or souls between the man +and his totem. The primitive belief in the possibility of such an exchange +of souls comes clearly out in the story of the Basque hunter who affirmed +that he had been killed by a bear, but that the bear had, after killing +him, breathed its own soul into him, so that the bear's body was now dead, +but he himself was a bear, being animated by the bear's soul.(601) This +revival of the dead hunter as a bear is exactly analogous to what, on the +theory here suggested, is supposed to take place in the ceremony of +killing a lad at puberty and bringing him to life again. The lad dies as a +man and comes to life again as an animal; the animal's soul is now in him, +and his human soul is in the animal. With good right, therefore, does he +call himself a Bear or a Wolf, etc., according to his totem; and with good +right does he treat the bears or the wolves, etc., as his brethren, since +in these animals are lodged the souls of himself and his kindred. + +(M175) Examples of this supposed death and resurrection at initiation are +as follows. In the Wonghi or Wonghibon tribe of New South Wales "the +youths on approaching manhood attend a meeting of the tribe. The +ceremonies of initiation are secret, and at them none but the men of the +tribe who have been initiated attend with the novices. At the spot where +the ceremonies are to be performed, a large oval space is cleared. The old +men of the tribe conduct the ceremonies, and the 'medicine man' of the +tribe is the master of them. Part of the proceedings consists in knocking +out a tooth and giving a new designation to the novice, indicating the +change from youth to manhood. When the tooth is knocked out, a loud +humming noise is heard, which is made with an instrument of the following +description: a flat piece of wood is made with serrated edges, and having +a hole at one end, to which a string is attached, and this swung round +produces a humming noise. The uninitiated are not even allowed to see this +instrument. Women are forbidden to be present at these ceremonies, and +should one, by accident or otherwise, witness them, the penalty is death. +The penalty for revealing the secrets is probably the same. When +everything is prepared the women and children are covered with boughs, and +the men retire, with the young fellows who are to be initiated, to a +little distance. It is said that the youths are sent away a short distance +one by one, and that they are each met in turn by a Being, who, so far as +I can understand, is believed to be something between a blackfellow and a +spirit. This Being, called Thuremlin, it is said, takes the youth to a +distance, kills him, and in some instances cuts him up, after which he +restores him to life and knocks out a tooth. Their belief in the power of +Thuremlin is undoubted."(602) + +(M176) The foregoing account, while it applies strictly to one tribe only, +may be regarded as typical of the initiation ceremonies performed on young +men throughout the tribes of South-Eastern and Central Australia, except +that among the Central tribes the practice of knocking out a tooth on +these occasions is replaced by the equally mysterious and much severer +bodily mutilations of circumcision and subincision, which are not +practised by the tribes of the South-East.(603) The instrument whose +humming or booming sound accompanies the critical operation of knocking +out the tooth of the novice, is the now well-known bull-roarer, which +figures in many savage rites of initiation. Its true nature is concealed +from the women and uninitiated lads, who are taught to believe that its +sonorous and long-drawn notes are the voice of the mythical being, often +called Daramulun, who lives in the sky, instituted the rites, and +superintends their performance. The hollow roar of the slat of wood, as it +is swung round and round, "represents the muttering of thunder, and the +thunder is the voice of Daramulun, and therefore its sound is of the most +sacred character. Umbara once said to me, 'Thunder is the voice of him +(pointing upward to the sky) calling on the rain to fall and make +everything grow up new.' "(604) This supposed resemblance of the sound to +thunder probably explains a certain use which the Dieri, a tribe of +Central Australia, made of the instrument. When a young man had passed +through an initiatory rite, which consisted in cutting a row of gashes in +his back, he was given a bull-roarer, and when he went out in search of +game, he used to twirl the implement in the belief that by doing so, while +his wounds were still unhealed, he created a good harvest of snakes, +lizards, and other reptiles, which the natives employ as food; but on the +contrary they imagined that these supplies of food would be cut off for +ever, if a woman were to see a bull-roarer which had been swung at the +rites of initiation.(605) No doubt these savages, living in a parched +wilderness where the existence of plants and animals depends on rare and +irregular showers,(606) have observed that the fall of rain is regularly +followed by a great and sudden increase in the food supply, and that this +increase is most marked after violent thunder-storms. Hence by making a +noise like thunder with the help of bull-roarers they probably hope, on +the principle of imitative magic, to bring on a thunder-storm and with it +a fertilizing deluge of rain. + +(M177) For the same reason in the parched and torrid regions of Arizona +and New Mexico the Indians make great use of the bull-roarer in their +ceremonies for procuring rain. For example, when Captain Bourke was at the +Pueblo Indian village of Walpi in the month of August, 1881, he saw the +instrument in use at the snake dance. "The medicine-men twirled it +rapidly, and with a uniform motion, about the head and from front to rear, +and succeeded in faithfully imitating the sound of a gust of rain-laden +wind. As explained to me by one of the medicine-men, by making this sound +they compelled the wind and rain to come to the aid of the crops. At a +later date I found it in use among the Apache, and for the same +purpose."(607) The Zuñi Indians of New Mexico whirl bull-roarers "to +create enthusiasm" among the mythical beings who are supposed to cause +rain, or for the purpose of making them gather in the air over the +village.(608) In a Zuñi rain-making ceremony, while one medicine-man +whirls a bull-roarer, another whips up a mixture of water and meal into +frothy suds symbolic of clouds, and a third plays a flute. "All this is an +invocation to the gods for rain--the one great and perpetual prayer of the +people of this arid land."(609) This supposed connexion of the instrument +with thunder-storms explains why the Navajos of the same torrid country +say that the bull-roarer should always be made of wood from a pine-tree +that has been struck by lightning;(610) and why the Bakairi of Brazil call +the unpretentious instrument by a name that means "thunder and +lightning."(611) The resemblance of the sound of the bull-roarer to the +roaring of the wind is doubtless the reason why in the Torres Straits +Islands wizards whirled bull-roarers in order to make the wind to +blow,(612) and why, when Caffres wish for calm weather, they forbid boys +to play with bull-roarers, because they think that the booming noise +attracts a gale of wind.(613) Hence, as an instrument whose sound +resembles the rumbling of thunder, the roar of wind, and the patter of +rain, the bull-roarer is naturally swung by agricultural savages as a +powerful means of promoting the growth of the crops. In the island of +Kiwai, off the mouth of the Fly River in British New Guinea, bull-roarers +are whirled in order to ensure a good crop of yams, sweet potatoes, and +bananas.(614) Similarly the Yabim of German New Guinea imagine that by +twirling bull-roarers while they mention the names of the dead they +produce a fine crop of taro.(615) + +(M178) But why among the Dieri of Central Australia should the power of +attracting rain and so ensuring a supply of food be specially attributed +to a young man whose back has just been scored and whose wounds are still +raw? Perhaps the reason may be that the blood dripping from the gashes is +thought to resemble rain and therefore to be endowed with a magical +potency of drawing showers from the clouds. The conjecture is confirmed by +the observation that the Dieri actually do bleed themselves avowedly for +the purpose of making rain, and they are not the only people in Australia +and elsewhere who have resorted to this singular mode of putting an end to +a drought.(616) Altogether the foregoing evidence seems to hint that the +whole virtue of the bull-roarer resides, as its English name implies, in +its voice, and that its original significance was simply that of a magical +instrument for causing thunder, wind, and rain.(617) When these natural +phenomena came to be personified as spirits, the sound of the bull-roarer +was naturally interpreted as their voice. + +(M179) Among the tribes on the Brisbane River in Queensland the weird +sound of the bull-roarers swung at initiation was believed by the women +and children to be made by the wizards in swallowing the boys and bringing +them up again as young men. The Ualaroi of the Upper Darling River said +that the boy met a ghost, who killed him and brought him to life again as +a young man. Among the natives on the Lower Lachlan and Murray Rivers it +was Thrumalun (Daramulun) who was thought to slay and resuscitate the +novices.(618) In the Arunta tribe of Central Australia, at the moment when +the lads are being circumcised, the bull-roarer sounds in the darkness all +round the ceremonial ground; and the awestruck women, listening in the +distance, believe that it is the voice of a spirit called Twanyirika, who +lives in wild and inaccessible regions and only comes out when a youth is +initiated. They think that the spirit enters the body of the lad after the +operation of circumcision has been performed and carries him away into the +bush, keeping him there till his wound is healed. While the newly +circumcised youth is out in the wilds, carefully secluded from the sight +of the women and children, he constantly sounds the bull-roarer. When he +has recovered from the wound, the spirit leaves him and he returns to camp +an initiated, or rather partially initiated, man. He has learned, at all +events, the secret of Twanyirika; for no sooner is he circumcised than an +elder brother comes up to him, and placing in his hands a bundle of sacred +sticks or stones (_churinga_), says, "Here is Twanyirika, of whom you have +heard so much. They are _churinga_ and will help you to heal quickly; +guard them well, or else you and your mothers and sisters will be +killed."(619) + +(M180) In this account nothing is said about killing the lad and bringing +him to life again; but a belief in the death and resurrection of the +novices at initiation is expressly affirmed to be part of the feminine +creed in other tribes of Central Australia. Thus in the Unmatjera tribe +both women and children believe that Twanyirika kills the youth and +afterwards brings him to life again during the period of initiation. The +rites of initiation in this tribe, as in the other Central tribes, +comprise the operations of circumcision and subincision; and as soon as +the second of these has been performed on him, the young man receives from +his father a sacred stick (_churinga_), with which, he is told, his spirit +was associated in the remotest past. While he is out in the bush +recovering from his wounds, he must swing the bull-roarer, or a being who +lives up in the sky will swoop down and carry him off.(620) In the +Urabunna tribe of Central Australia a lad at initiation receives a +bull-roarer, the very name of which (_chimbaliri_) is never heard by women +and children. They are taught to believe that the sound of it is the voice +of a spirit called Witurna, who takes the boy away, cuts out all his +bowels, provides him with a new set, and brings him back an initiated +youth. The lad is warned that on no account may he allow a woman or a +child to see the sacred stick, else he and his mother and sisters will +fall down as dead as stones.(621) In the Binbinga tribe, on the western +coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, the women and children believe that the +noise of the bull-roarer at initiation is made by a spirit named +Katajalina, who lives in an ant-hill and comes out and eats up the boy, +afterwards restoring him to life.(622) Similarly among their neighbours +the Anula the women imagine that the droning sound of the bull-roarer is +produced by a spirit called Gnabaia, who swallows the lads at initiation +and afterwards disgorges them in the form of initiated men. In this tribe, +after a lad has been subincised as well as circumcised, he is presented +with a bull-roarer and informed that the instrument was originally made by +the whirlwind, that it is sacred or tabooed, and that it may on no account +be shewn to women or children.(623) + +(M181) Among the tribes settled on the southern coast of New South Wales, +of which the Coast Murring tribe may be regarded as typical, the drama of +resurrection from the dead was exhibited in a graphic form to the novices +at initiation. Before they were privileged to witness this edifying +spectacle they had been raised to the dignity of manhood by an old man, +who promoted them to their new status by the simple process of knocking a +tooth out of the mouth of each with the help of a wooden chisel and +hammer. The ceremony of the resurrection has been described for us in +detail by an eye-witness, the late Dr. A. W. Howitt, one of the best +authorities on the customs of the Australian aborigines. The scene +selected for the sacred drama was the bottom of a deep valley, where a +sluggish stream wound through a bed of tall sharp-edged sedge. Though the +hour was between ten and eleven o'clock in the morning, the sun had but +just peeped over the mountains which enclosed the valley like a wall on +the east; and while the upper slopes, clothed with a forest of tall rowan +trees, looked warm and bright in sunshine, which shot between the grey +stems and under the light feathery foliage of the trees, all the bottom of +the dell was still in deep shadow and dank with the moisture of the +night's rain. While the novices rested and warmed themselves at a +crackling fire, the initiated men laid their heads together, prepared a +stock of decorations made of stringy bark, and dug a grave. There was some +discussion as to the shape of the grave, but the man who was to be buried +in it decided the question by declaring that he would be laid in it on his +back at full length. He was a man of the eagle-hawk totem and belonged to +the tribal subdivision called Yibai. So while two men under his directions +were digging the grave with sticks in the friable granitic soil, he +superintended the costume of the other actors in the drama. Sheets of bark +were beaten out into fleeces of stringy fibre, and in these garments six +performers were clothed from head to foot so that not even a glimpse could +be obtained of their faces. Four of them were tied together by a cord +which was fastened to the back of their heads, and each of them carried +two pieces of bark in his hands. The other two walked free, but hobbled +along bent double and supporting their tottery steps on staves to mark the +weight of years; for they played the part of two medicine-men of venerable +age and great magical power. By this time the grave was ready, and the +eagle-hawk man stretched himself in it at full length on a bed of leaves, +his head resting on a rolled-up blanket, just as if he were a corpse. In +his two hands, crossed on his chest, he held the stem of a young tree +(_Persoonia linearis_), which had been pulled up by the roots and now +stood planted on his chest, so that the top of it rose several feet above +the level of the ground. A light covering of dried sticks filled the +grave, and dead leaves, tufts of grass, and small plants were artistically +arranged over them so as to complete the illusion. All being now ready, +the novices were led by their sisters' husbands to the grave and placed in +a row beside it, while a singer, perched on the trunk of a fallen tree at +the head of the grave, crooned a melancholy ditty, the song of Yibai. +Though the words of the song consisted merely of a monotonous repetition +of the words _Burrin-burrin Yibai_, that is, Stringy-bark Yibai, they were +understood to refer to the eagle-hawk totem, as well as to the tribal +subdivision of the buried man. Then to the slow, plaintive but well-marked +air of the song the actors began to move forward, winding among the trees, +logs, and rocks. On came the four disguised men, stepping in time to the +music, swaying from side to side, and clashing their bark clappers +together at every step, while beside them hobbled the two old men keeping +a little aloof to mark their superior dignity. They represented a party of +medicine-men, guided by two reverend seniors, who had come on pilgrimage +to the grave of a brother medicine-man, him of the eagle-hawk totem, who +lay buried here in the lonely valley, now illumined by the warm rays of +the sun; for by this time the morning was wearing on to noon. When the +little procession, chanting an invocation to Daramulun, had defiled from +among the rocks and trees into the open, it drew up on the side of the +grave opposite to the novices, the two old men taking up a position in the +rear of the dancers. For some time the dance and song went on till the +tree that seemed to grow from the grave began to quiver. "Look there!" +cried the sisters' husbands to the novices, pointing to the trembling +leaves. As they looked, the tree quivered more and more, then was +violently agitated and fell to the ground, while amid the excited dancing +of the dancers and the chanting of the tuneful choir the supposed dead man +spurned from him the superincumbent mass of sticks and leaves, and +springing to his feet danced his magic dance in the grave itself, and +exhibited in his mouth the magic substances which he was supposed to have +received from Daramulun in person.(624) + +(M182) In some tribes of Central and Northern Australia the initiation of +a medicine-man into the mysteries of his craft is supposed to be +accomplished by certain spirits, who kill him, cut out his internal +organs, and having provided him with a new set bring him to life again. +Sometimes the spirits kindly replace the man's human organs by their own +spiritual organs; sometimes along with the new organs they insert magical +stones in his body or even a serpent, and the stones or the serpents +naturally endow the new wizards with marvellous powers. In some tribes the +initiation takes place in a cave, where the spirits dwell. After the man +has been restored to life with a new heart, a new pair of lungs, and so +forth, he returns to his people in a more or less dazed condition, which +his friends may at first mistake for insanity, though afterwards they +recognize its true character as inspiration.(625) One eminent medical +practitioner in the Unmatjera tribe assured Messrs. Spencer and Gillen +that when he came to himself after the operation, which in his case was +performed by an aged doctor, he had completely forgotten who he was and +all about his past life. After a time his venerable friend led him back to +the camp and shewed it to him, and said, "That woman there is your wife," +for she had gone clean out of his head.(626) We shall see presently that +this temporary oblivion, a natural effect of the shock to the nervous +system produced by resuscitation from the dead, is characteristic of +novices under similar circumstances in other lands. Among the Arunta of +Alice Springs the cave where the mystic initiation takes place is a +limestone cavern in a range of hills which rises to the north of the wide +level expanse known as the Emily plain. None of the ordinary natives would +dare to set foot in the awful grotto, which they believe to extend for +miles into the bowels of the earth and to be tenanted by certain ancestral +spirits, who live there in perpetual sunshine and amid streams of running +water, an earthly paradise by contrast with the arid sun-scorched steppes +and barren mountains outside. White men have explored the cave, and if +they perceived no spirits, they found bats in plenty. The man who aspires +to the rank of a wizard lies down at the mouth of the cave and falls +asleep; and as he sleeps one of the ancestral spirits steals up to him and +drives an invisible spear through his neck from back to front. The point +of the spear comes out through the man's tongue, leaving a hole through +which you could put your little finger, and this hole the man retains for +the rest of his natural life, or at least so long as he retains his +magical powers; for if the hole should close up, these spiritual gifts and +graces would depart from him. A second thrust from the invisible spear +transfixes the man's head from ear to ear; he drops down dead, and is +immediately transported into the depths of the cavern, where the spirits +dissect his dead body, extract the old viscera, and replace them with a +new set in the manner already described.(627) + +(M183) In this account of the manner in which medicine-men obtain their +magical powers not only are the supposed death and resurrection of the +novice worthy of attention, but also the exchange of internal organs which +in the Binbinga and Mara tribes is supposed to be effected between the man +and the spirit;(628) for this exchange resembles that which, on the theory +I have suggested, may be thought to take place between a lad and his totem +at the ceremonies of initiation which mark the momentous transition from +boyhood to manhood. Further, the bodily mutilation which is the visible +sign of the medicine-man's initiation (for however the hole may be made it +certainly exists in the tongues of regular Arunta practitioners) +corresponds to the bodily mutilations of other sorts, which in many savage +tribes attest to the world that the mutilated persons are fullgrown men. +What the precise meaning of such mutilations may be, still remains very +obscure; but they seem in some cases to be directly associated with the +conception of death and resurrection. + +(M184) This association certainly comes out plainly in the rites of +initiation through which in some parts of New Guinea all lads must pass +before they attain to the status of adults. The rites are observed by a +group of tribes who occupy contiguous territories about Finsch Harbour and +Huon Gulf in German New Guinea. The tribes in question are the Yabim, the +Bukaua, the Kai, and the Tami. All of them except the Kai belong to the +Melanesian stock and are therefore presumably immigrants from the +adjoining islands; but the Kai, who inhabit the rugged, densely wooded, +and rainy mountains inland from Finsch Harbour, belong to the aboriginal +Papuan stock and differ from their neighbours in speech as well as in +appearance. Yet the rites of initiation which all these tribes celebrate +and the beliefs which they associate with them are so similar that a +single description will apply accurately enough to them all. All of them, +like many Australian tribes, require every male member of the tribe to be +circumcised before he ranks as a full-grown man; and the tribal +initiation, of which circumcision is the central feature, is conceived by +them, as by some Australian tribes, as a process of being swallowed and +disgorged by a mythical monster, whose voice is heard in the humming sound +of the bull-roarer. Indeed the New Guinea tribes not only impress this +belief on the minds of women and children, but enact it in a dramatic form +at the actual rites of initiation, at which no woman or uninitiated person +may be present. For this purpose a hut about a hundred feet long is +erected either in the village or in a lonely part of the forest. It is +modelled in the shape of the mythical monster; at the end which represents +his head it is high, and it tapers away at the other end. A betel-palm, +grubbed up with the roots, stands for the backbone of the great being and +its clustering fibres for his hair; and to complete the resemblance the +butt end of the building is adorned by a native artist with a pair of +goggle eyes and a gaping mouth. When after a tearful parting from their +mothers and women folk, who believe or pretend to believe in the monster +that swallows their dear ones, the awe-struck novices are brought face to +face with this imposing structure, the huge creature emits a sullen growl, +which is in fact no other than the humming note of bull-roarers swung by +men concealed in the monster's belly. The actual process of deglutition is +variously enacted. Among the Tami it is represented by causing the +candidates to defile past a row of men who hold bull-roarers over their +heads; among the Kai it is more graphically set forth by making them pass +under a scaffold on which stands a man, who makes a gesture of swallowing +and takes in fact a gulp of water as each trembling novice passes beneath +him. But the present of a pig, opportunely offered for the redemption of +the youth, induces the monster to relent and disgorge his victim; the man +who represents the monster accepts the gift vicariously, a gurgling sound +is heard, and the water which had just been swallowed descends in a jet on +the novice. This signifies that the young man has been released from the +monster's belly. However, he has now to undergo the more painful and +dangerous operation of circumcision. It follows immediately, and the cut +made by the knife of the operator is explained to be a bite or scratch +which the monster inflicted on the novice in spewing him out of his +capacious maw. While the operation is proceeding, a prodigious noise is +made by the swinging of bull-roarers to represent the roar of the dreadful +being who is in the act of swallowing the young men. + +(M185) When, as sometimes happens, a lad dies from the effect of the +operation, he is buried secretly in the forest, and his sorrowing mother +is told that the monster has a pig's stomach as well as a human stomach, +and that unfortunately her son slipped into the wrong stomach, from which +it was impossible to extricate him. After they have been circumcised the +lads must remain for some months in seclusion, shunning all contact with +women and even the sight of them. They live in the long hut which +represents the monster's belly; among the Yabim they beguile the tedium of +this enforced leisure by weaving baskets and playing on certain sacred +flutes, which are never used except on these occasions. The instruments +are of two patterns. One is called the male and the other the female; and +they are believed to be married to each other. No woman may see these +mysterious flutes; if she did, she would die. When the long seclusion is +over, the lads, now ranking as initiated men, are brought back with great +pomp and ceremony to the village, where they are received with sobs and +tears of joy by the women, as if the grave had given up its dead. At first +the young men keep their eyes rigidly closed or even sealed with a plaster +of chalk, and they appear not to understand the words of command which are +given them by an elder. Gradually, however, they come to themselves as if +awaking from a stupor, and next day they bathe and wash off the crust of +white chalk with which their bodies had been coated.(629) + +(M186) It is highly significant that all these tribes of New Guinea apply +the same word to the bull-roarer and to the monster, who is supposed to +swallow the novices at circumcision, and whose fearful roar is represented +by the hum of the harmless wooden instruments. The word in the speech of +the Yabim and Bukaua is _balum_; in that of the Kai it is _ngosa_; and in +that of the Tami it is _kani_. Further, it deserves to be noted that in +three languages out of the four the same word which is applied to the +bull-roarer and to the monster means also a ghost or spirit of the dead, +while in the fourth language (the Kai) it signifies "grandfather." From +this it seems to follow that the being who swallows and disgorges the +novices at initiation is believed to be a powerful ghost or ancestral +spirit, and that the bull-roarer, which bears his name, is his material +representative. That would explain the jealous secrecy with which the +sacred implement is kept from the sight of women. While they are not in +use, the bull-roarers are stowed away in the men's club-houses, which no +woman may enter; indeed no woman or uninitiated person may set eyes on a +bull-roarer under pain of death.(630) Similarly among the Tugeri or +Kaya-Kaya, a large Papuan tribe on the south coast of Dutch New Guinea, +the name of the bull-roarer, which they call _sosom_, is given to a +mythical giant, who is supposed to appear every year with the south-east +monsoon. When he comes, a festival is held in his honour and bull-roarers +are swung. Boys are presented to the giant, and he kills them, but +considerately brings them to life again.(631) + +(M187) In certain districts of Viti Levu, the largest of the Fijian +Islands, the drama of death and resurrection used to be acted with much +solemnity before the eyes of young men at initiation. The ceremonies were +performed in certain sacred precincts of oblong shape, enclosed by low +walls or rows of stones but open to the sky. Such a precinct was called a +_Nanga_, and it might be described as a temple dedicated to the worship of +ancestors; for in it sacrifices and prayers were offered to the ancestral +spirits. For example, the first-fruits of the yam harvest were regularly +presented with great ceremony to the souls of the dead in the temple +before the bulk of the crop was dug for the people's use, and no man might +taste of the new yams until this solemn offering had been made. The yams +so offered were piled up in the sacred enclosure and left to rot there; if +any man were so bold as to eat of these dedicated fruits, it was believed +that he would go mad.(632) Any initiated man had the right of approaching +the ancestral spirits at any time in their holy place, where he would pray +to them for help and protection and propitiate them by laying down his +offering of a pig, or yams, or eels, or cloth, or what not.(633) Of these +offerings perhaps the most curious was that of the foreskins of young men, +who were circumcised as a sort of vicarious sacrifice or atonement for the +recovery of a sick relative, it might be either their father or one of +their father's brothers. The bloody foreskins, stuck in the cleft of a +split reed, were presented to the ancestral gods in the temple by the +chief priest, who prayed for the sick man's recovery.(634) The temple or +sacred enclosure was divided into two or three compartments by cross walls +of stones, and the inmost of these compartments was the +_Nanga-tambu-tambu_, or Holy of Holies.(635) + +(M188) In these open-air temples of the dead the ceremony of initiating +young men was performed as a rule every year at the end of October or the +beginning of November, which was the commencement of the Fijian New Year; +hence the novices who were initiated at that season went by the name of +_Vilavou_ or New Year's Men. The exact time for celebrating the rite was +determined by the flowering of the _ndrala_ tree (_Erythrina_); but it +roughly coincided with the New Year of the Tahitians and Hawaiians, who +dated the commencement of the year by observation of the Pleiades. The +highlanders of Fiji, who alone celebrated these rites, did not trouble +their heads about the stars.(636) As a preparation for the solemnity the +heads of the novices were shaved and their beards, if they had any, were +carefully eradicated. On four successive days they went in procession to +the temple and there deposited in the Holy of Holies their offerings of +cloth and weapons to the ancestral spirits. But on the fifth and great day +of the festival, when they again entered the sacred ground, they beheld a +sight which froze their souls with horror. Stretched on the ground was a +row of dead or seemingly dead and murdered men, their bodies cut open and +covered with blood, their entrails protruding. At the further end sat the +High Priest, regarding them with a stony glare, and to reach him the +trembling novices had to crawl on hands and knees over the ghastly +blood-bedabbled corpses that lay between. Having done so they drew up in a +line before him. Suddenly he blurted out a piercing yell, at which the +counterfeit dead men started to their feet and ran down to the river to +cleanse themselves from the blood and guts of pigs with which they were +beslobbered. The High Priest now unbent his starched dignity, and skipping +from side to side cried in stridulous tones, "Where are the people of my +enclosure? Are they gone to Tonga Levu? Are they gone to the deep sea?" He +was soon answered by a deep-mouthed chant, and back from the river marched +the dead men come to life, clean, fresh, and garlanded, swaying their +bodies in time to the music of their solemn hymn. They took their places +in front of the novices and a religious silence ensued. Such was the drama +of death and resurrection. It was immediately followed by a sacramental +meal. Four old men of the highest order of initiates now entered the Holy +of Holies. The first bore a cooked yam carefully wrapt up in leaves so +that no part of it should touch the hands of the bearer: the second +carried a piece of baked pork similarly enveloped: the third held a +drinking-cup full of water and wrapt round with native cloth; and the +fourth bore a napkin of the same stuff. The first elder passed along the +row of novices putting the end of the yam into each of their mouths, and +as he did so each of them nibbled a morsel of the sacred food: the second +elder did the same with the hallowed pork: the third elder followed with +the holy water, with which each novice merely wetted his lips; and the +fourth elder wiped all their mouths with his napkin. Then the high priest +or one of the elders addressed the young men, warning them solemnly +against the sacrilege of betraying to the profane vulgar any of the high +mysteries which they had witnessed, and threatening all such traitors with +the vengeance of the gods. The general intention of the initiatory rites +seems to have been to introduce the young men to the worshipful spirits of +the dead at their temple, and to cement the bond between them by a +sacramental meal.(637) + +(M189) The people of Rook, an island between New Guinea and New Britain, +hold festivals at which one or two disguised men, their heads covered with +wooden masks, go dancing through the village, followed by all the other +men. They demand that the circumcised boys who have not yet been swallowed +by Marsaba (the devil) shall be given up to them. The boys, trembling and +shrieking, are delivered to them, and must creep between the legs of the +disguised men. Then the procession moves through the village again, and +announces that Marsaba has eaten up the boys, and will not disgorge them +till he receives a present of pigs, taro, and so forth. So all the +villagers, according to their means, contribute provisions, which are then +consumed in the name of Marsaba.(638) In New Britain all males are members +of an association called the Duk-duk. The boys are admitted to it very +young, but are not fully initiated till their fourteenth year, when they +receive from the Tubuvan or Tubuan a terrible blow with a cane, which is +supposed to kill them. The Tubuan and the Duk-duk are two disguised men +who represent cassowaries. They dance with a short hopping step in +imitation of the cassowary. Each of them wears a huge hat like an +extinguisher, woven of grass or palm-fibres; it is six feet high, and +descends to the wearer's shoulders, completely concealing his head and +face. From the neck to the knees the man's body is hidden by a crinoline +made of the leaves of a certain tree fastened on hoops, one above the +other. The Tubuan is regarded as a female, the Duk-duk as a male. The +former is supposed to breed and give birth to the novices, who are +accordingly looked upon as newly born. The female masks are very plain +compared with the male masks. Two of them are regularly kept from year to +year in order that they may annually breed new Duk-duks. When they are +wanted for this purpose they are brought forth, decorated afresh, and +provided with new leaf dresses to match. According to one account, women +and children may not look upon one of these disguised men or they would +die. So strong is this superstition among them that they will run away and +hide as soon as they hear him coming, for they are aware of his approach +through a peculiar shrieking noise he utters as he goes along. In the +district of Berara, where red is the Duk-duk colour, the mere sight of a +red cloth is enough to make the women take to their heels. The common herd +are not allowed to know who the masker is. If he stumbles and his hat +falls to the ground, disclosing his face, or his crinoline is torn to +tatters by the bushes, his attendants immediately surround him to hide his +person from the vulgar eye. According to one writer, indeed, the performer +who drops his mask, or lets it fall so that the sharp point at the top +sticks in the ground, is put to death. The institution of the Duk-duk is +common to the neighbouring islands of New Ireland and the Duke of +York.(639) + +(M190) Among the Galelareese and Tobelorese of Halmahera, an island to the +west of New Guinea, boys go through a form of initiation, part of which +seems to consist in a pretence of begetting them anew. When a number of +boys have reached the proper age, their parents agree to celebrate the +ceremony at their common expense, and they invite others to be present at +it. A shed is erected, and two long tables are placed in it, with benches +to match, one for the men and one for the women. When all the preparations +have been made for a feast, a great many skins of the rayfish, and some +pieces of a wood which imparts a red colour to water, are taken to the +shed. A priest or elder causes a vessel to be placed in the sight of all +the people, and then begins, with significant gestures, to rub a piece of +the wood with the ray-skin. The powder so produced is put in the vessel, +and at the same time the name of one of the boys is called out. The same +proceeding is repeated for each boy. Then the vessels are filled with +water, after which the feast begins. At the third cock-crow the priest +smears the faces and bodies of the boys with the red water, which +represents the blood shed at the perforation of the _hymen_. Towards +daybreak the boys are taken to the wood, and must hide behind the largest +trees. The men, armed with sword and shield, accompany them, dancing and +singing. The priest knocks thrice on each of the trees behind which a boy +is hiding. All day the boys stay in the wood, exposing themselves to the +heat of the sun as much as possible. In the evening they bathe and return +to the shed, where the women supply them with food.(640) + +(M191) In the west of Ceram boys at puberty are admitted to the Kakian +association.(641) Modern writers have commonly regarded this association +as primarily a political league instituted to resist foreign domination. +In reality its objects are purely religious and social, though it is +possible that the priests may have occasionally used their powerful +influence for political ends. The society is in fact merely one of those +widely-diffused primitive institutions, of which a chief object is the +initiation of young men. In recent years the true nature of the +association has been duly recognized by the distinguished Dutch +ethnologist, J. G. F. Riedel. The Kakian house is an oblong wooden shed, +situated under the darkest trees in the depth of the forest, and is built +to admit so little light that it is impossible to see what goes on in it. +Every village has such a house. Thither the boys who are to be initiated +are conducted blindfold, followed by their parents and relations. Each boy +is led by the hand by two men, who act as his sponsors or guardians, +looking after him during the period of initiation. When all are assembled +before the shed, the high priest calls aloud upon the devils. Immediately +a hideous uproar is heard to proceed from the shed. It is made by men with +bamboo trumpets, who have been secretly introduced into the building by a +back door, but the women and children think it is made by the devils, and +are much terrified. Then the priests enter the shed, followed by the boys, +one at a time. As soon as each boy has disappeared within the precincts, a +dull chopping sound is heard, a fearful cry rings out, and a sword or +spear, dripping with blood, is thrust through the roof of the shed. This +is a token that the boy's head has been cut off, and that the devil has +carried him away to the other world, there to regenerate and transform +him. So at sight of the bloody sword the mothers weep and wail, crying +that the devil has murdered their children. In some places, it would seem, +the boys are pushed through an opening made in the shape of a crocodile's +jaws or a cassowary's beak, and it is then said that the devil has +swallowed them. The boys remain in the shed for five or nine days. Sitting +in the dark, they hear the blast of the bamboo trumpets, and from time to +time the sound of musket shots and the clash of swords. Every day they +bathe, and their faces and bodies are smeared with a yellow dye, to give +them the appearance of having been swallowed by the devil. During his stay +in the Kakian house each boy has one or two crosses tattooed with thorns +on his breast or arm. When they are not sleeping, the lads must sit in a +crouching posture without moving a muscle. As they sit in a row +cross-legged, with their hands stretched out, the chief takes his trumpet, +and placing the mouth of it on the hands of each lad, speaks through it in +strange tones, imitating the voice of the spirits. He warns the lads, +under pain of death, to observe the rules of the Kakian society, and never +to reveal what has passed in the Kakian house. The novices are also told +by the priests to behave well to their blood relations, and are taught the +traditions and secrets of the tribe. + +(M192) Meantime the mothers and sisters of the lads have gone home to weep +and mourn. But in a day or two the men who acted as guardians or sponsors +to the novices return to the village with the glad tidings that the devil, +at the intercession of the priests, has restored the lads to life. The men +who bring this news come in a fainting state and daubed with mud, like +messengers freshly arrived from the nether world. Before leaving the +Kakian house, each lad receives from the priest a stick adorned at both +ends with cock's or cassowary's feathers. The sticks are supposed to have +been given to the lads by the devil at the time when he restored them to +life, and they serve as a token that the youths have been in the spirit +land. When they return to their homes they totter in their walk, and enter +the house backward, as if they had forgotten how to walk properly; or they +enter the house by the back door. If a plate of food is given to them, +they hold it upside down. They remain dumb, indicating their wants by +signs only. All this is to shew that they are still under the influence of +the devil or the spirits. Their sponsors have to teach them all the common +acts of life, as if they were new-born children. Further, upon leaving the +Kakian house the boys are strictly forbidden to eat of certain fruits +until the next celebration of the rites has taken place. And for twenty or +thirty days their hair may not be combed by their mothers or sisters. At +the end of that time the high priest takes them to a lonely place in the +forest, and cuts off a lock of hair from the crown of each of their heads. +After these initiatory rites the lads are deemed men, and may marry; it +would be a scandal if they married before. + +(M193) In the region of the Lower Congo a simulation of death and +resurrection is, or rather used to be, practised by the members of a guild +or secret society called _ndembo_. The society had nothing to do with +puberty or circumcision, though the custom of circumcision is common in +the country. Young people and adults of both sexes might join the guild; +after initiation they were called "the Knowing Ones" (_nganga_). To found +a branch of the society it was necessary to have an albino, who, whether a +child, lad, or adult, was the acknowledged head of the society.(642) The +ostensible reason for starting a branch of the guild in a district was +commonly an epidemic of sickness, "and the idea was to go into _ndembo_ to +die, and after an indefinite period, from a few months to two or three +years, to be resurrected with a new body not liable to the sickness then +troubling the countryside. Another reason for starting a _ndembo_ was a +dearth of children in a district. It was believed that good luck in having +children would attend those who entered or died _ndembo_. But the +underlying idea was the same, _i.e._ to get a 'new body' that would be +healthy and perform its functions properly." The quarters of the society +were always a stockaded enclosure in a great thick forest; a gate of +planks painted yellow and red gave access to it, and within there was an +assemblage of huts. The place was fenced to keep intruders from prying +into the mysteries of the guild, and it was near water. Uninitiated +persons might walk on the public roads through the forest, but if they +were caught in bye-paths or hunting in the woods, they were flogged, +fined, and sometimes killed. They might not even look upon the persons of +those who had "died _ndembo_"; hence when these sanctified persons were +roving about the forest or going to the river, the booming notes of a drum +warned the profane vulgar to keep out of their way. + +(M194) When the stockade and the huts in the forest were ready to receive +all who wished to put off the old man or woman and to put on the new, one +of the initiates gave the sign and the aspirant after the higher life +dropped down like dead in some public place, it might be the market or the +centre of the town where there were plenty of people to witness the +edifying spectacle. The initiates immediately spread a pall over him or +her, beat the earth round about the pretended corpse with plantain stalks, +chanted incantations, fired guns, and cut capers. Then they carried the +seemingly dead body away into the forest and disappeared with it into the +stockade. The spectacle proved infectious; one after another in the +emotional, excitable crowd of negroes followed the example, dropped down +like dead, and were carried off, sometimes in a real cataleptic state. In +this way fifty to a hundred or more novices might feign death and be +transported into the sacred enclosure. There they were supposed not only +to die but to rot till only a single bone of their body remained, of which +the initiated had to take the greatest care in expectation of the joyful +resurrection that was soon to follow. However, though they were both dead +and rotten, they consumed a large quantity of food, which their credulous +relatives brought to them in baskets, toiling with the loads on their +backs over the long paths through the forest in the sweltering heat of the +tropical day. If the relations failed to discharge this pious and +indispensable duty, their kinsman in the sacred enclosure ran a risk of +dying in good earnest, or rather of being spirited away to a distant town +and sold as a slave. + +(M195) Shut up within the stockade for months or years, the men and women, +boys and girls, dispensed with the superfluity of clothes, rubbed their +naked bodies with red ochre or powdered camwood instead, and gave +themselves up to orgies of unbridled lust. Some feeble attempts were made +to teach them the rudiments of a secret language, but the vocabulary was +small and its principles lacking in ingenuity. The time during which this +seclusion lasted might vary from three months to three years. When the +circumstances which had furnished the pretext for instituting the society +had passed away, whether it was that the epidemic had died out or that the +birth-rate had sensibly increased, murmurs would begin to be heard among +friends and relatives in the town, who did not see why they should be +taxed any longer to support a set of idle and dissolute ruffians in the +forest, and why they should trudge day after day in the sweat of their +brow to carry provisions to them. So the supplies would begin to run +short, and whenever that happened the mystery of the resurrection was sure +to follow very soon after. + +(M196) Accordingly it would be announced that on a certain market-day the +new initiates, now raised from the dead, would reveal themselves in all +their glory to the astonished gaze of the public. The glad tidings were +received with enthusiasm, and crowds assembled from all the country round +about to welcome those who had come back from the world beyond the grave. +When all were gathered in eager expectancy in the market-place, the sounds +of distant music would be heard, and soon the gay procession would defile +into the open square and march round it, while the dusky skins, reddened +with camwood powder, glistened in the sunshine, the gay garments fluttered +in the wind, and the tassels of palm-leaf fibre dangled at every arm. In +the crowd of spectators many parents would recognize their children in the +marching figures of the procession, and girls and boys would point out +their brothers and sisters and eagerly call out their names. But in the +stolid faces of the initiates not an eye would gleam with recognition, not +a muscle would twitch with an involuntary expression of delight; for +having just been raised from the dead they were supposed to know nothing +of their former life, of friends and relations, of home and country. There +might be in the crowd a mother or a sister not seen for years; or, more +moving still, the novice might look in vain for loved and remembered faces +that would never be seen in the market-place again. But whatever his +feelings might be, he must rigidly suppress them under pain of a flogging, +a fine, or even death. At last the parade was over and the procession +broke up. Then the old hands introduced the new hands to their own parents +and brothers and sisters, to their old homes and haunts. For still the +novices kept up the pretence that everything was new and strange to them, +that they could not speak their mother tongue, that they did not know +their own fathers and mothers, their own town and their own houses; nay +that they had forgotten even how to eat their food. So everything and +everybody had to be shewn to them and their names and meanings explained. +Their guides would lead them about the town, pointing out the various +roads and telling where they led to--this one to the watering-place on the +river, this to the forest, that to the farms, and so on: they would take +up the commonest domestic utensils and shew what they were used for: they +would even chew the food and put it into the mouths of the novices, like +mother birds feeding their callow young. For some time afterwards the +resuscitated persons, attended by their mentors, would go about the town +and the neighbourhood acting in a strange way like children or mad folk, +seizing what they wanted and trying to beat or even kill such as dared to +refuse them anything. Their guardian would generally restrain these +sallies; but sometimes he would arrange with his hopeful pupils to be out +of sight when two or three of them clubbed together to assault and rob an +honest man, and would only return in time to share the booty. After a +while, however, the excitement created by the resurrection would wear off; +the dead folk come to life were expected to have learned their lessons, +and if they forgot themselves, their memory was promptly refreshed by the +law.(643) + +(M197) The following account of the rites, as practised in this part of +Africa, was given to Adolf Bastian by an interpreter. "The great fetish +lives in the interior of the forest-land, where nobody sees him and nobody +can see him. When he dies, the fetish priests carefully collect his bones +in order to bring them to life again, and they nourish them, that he may +be clothed anew in flesh and blood. But it is not good to speak of it. In +the land of Ambamba every one must die once, and when the fetish priest +shakes his calabash against a village, all the men and lads whose hour is +come fall into a state of lifeless torpidity, from which they generally +arise after three days. But if the fetish loves a man he carries him away +into the bush and buries him in the fetish house, often for many years. +When he comes to life again, he begins to eat and drink as before, but his +understanding is gone and the fetish man must teach him and direct him in +every motion, like the smallest child. At first this can only be done with +a stick, but gradually his senses return, so that it is possible to talk +with him, and when his education is complete, the priest brings him back +to his parents. They would seldom recognize their son but for the express +assurances of the fetish priest, who moreover recalls previous events to +their memory. He who has not gone through the ceremony of the new birth in +Ambamba is universally looked down upon and is not admitted to the +dances."(644) + +(M198) In the same part of Africa we hear of a fetish called Malassi, the +votaries of which form a secret order of the usual sort with a variety of +ranks to which the initiates are promoted. "The candidate is plunged into +a magic sleep within the temple-hut, and while he sleeps he beholds a bird +or other object with which his existence is henceforth sympathetically +bound up, just as the life of the young Indian is bound up with the animal +which he sees in his dream at puberty. All who have been born again at +initiation, after their return to a normal state, bear the name of Swamie +(a sacred designation also in India) or, if they are women, Sumbo (Tembo), +and wear as a token the ring called _sase_, which consists of an iron hoop +with a fruit attached to it."(645) Similarly among the Fans of the Gaboon +a young warrior acquires his guardian spirit by dreaming. He is secluded +in the forest, drinks a fermented and intoxicating liquor, and smokes +hemp. Then he falls into a heavy sleep, and next morning he must describe +exactly to the fetish priest the animal, tree, mineral, or whatever it may +have been which he saw in his dream. This magical dream is repeated on +three successive nights; and after that the young man is sent forth by the +priest to seek and bring back the beast, bird, reptile, or whatever it was +of which he dreamed. The youth obeys, reduces the animal or thing to +cinders or ashes, and preserves these calcined remains as a talisman which +will protect him against many dangers.(646) However, in these rites there +is no clear simulation of dying and coming to life again. + +(M199) Rites of death and resurrection were formerly observed in Quoja, on +the west coast of Africa, to the north of the Congo. They are thus +described by an old writer:--"They have another ceremony which they call +Belli-Paaro, but it is not for everybody. For it is an incorporation in +the assembly of the spirits, and confers the right of entering their +groves, that is to say, of going and eating the offerings which the simple +folk bring thither. The initiation or admission to the Belli-Paaro is +celebrated every twenty or twenty-five years. The initiated recount +marvels of the ceremony, saying that they are roasted, that they entirely +change their habits and life, and that they receive a spirit quite +different from that of other people and quite new lights. The badge of +membership consists in some lines traced on the neck between the +shoulders; the lines seem to be pricked with a needle. Those who have this +mark pass for persons of spirit, and when they have attained a certain age +they are allowed a voice in all public assemblies; whereas the uninitiated +are regarded as profane, impure, and ignorant persons, who dare not +express an opinion on any subject of importance. When the time for the +ceremony has come, it is celebrated as follows. By order of the king a +place is appointed in the forest, whither they bring the youths who have +not been marked, not without much crying and weeping; for it is impressed +upon the youths that in order to undergo this change it is necessary to +suffer death. So they dispose of their property, as if it were all over +with them. There are always some of the initiated beside the novices to +instruct them. They teach them to dance a certain dance called _killing_, +and to sing verses in praise of Belli. Above all, they are very careful +not to let them die of hunger, because if they did so, it is much to be +feared that the spiritual resurrection would profit them nothing. This +manner of life lasts five or six years, and is comfortable enough, for +there is a village in the forest, and they amuse themselves with hunting +and fishing. Other lads are brought thither from time to time, so that the +last comers have not long to stay. No woman or uninitiated person is +suffered to pass within four or five leagues of the sacred wood. When +their instruction is completed, they are taken from the wood and shut up +in small huts made for the purpose. Here they begin once more to hold +communion with mankind and to talk with the women who bring them their +food. It is amusing to see their affected simplicity. They pretend to know +no one, and to be ignorant of all the customs of the country, such as the +customs of washing themselves, rubbing themselves with oil, and so forth. +When they enter these huts, their bodies are all covered with the feathers +of birds, and they wear caps of bark which hang down before their faces. +But after a time they are dressed in clothes and taken to a great open +place, where all the people of the neighbourhood are assembled. Here the +novices give the first proof of their capacity by dancing a dance which is +called the dance of Belli. After the dance is over, the novices are taken +to the houses of their parents by their instructors."(647) + +(M200) Miss Kingsley informs us that "the great point of agreement between +all these West African secret societies lies in the methods of initiation. +The boy, if he belongs to a tribe that goes in for tattooing, is tattooed, +and is handed over to instructors in the societies' secrets and formulae. +He lives, with the other boys of his tribe undergoing initiation, usually +under the rule of several instructors, and for the space of one year. He +lives always in the forest, and is naked and smeared with clay. The boys +are exercised so as to become inured to hardship; in some districts, they +make raids so as to perfect themselves in this useful accomplishment. They +always take a new name, and are supposed by the initiation process to +become new beings in the magic wood, and on their return to their village +at the end of their course, they pretend to have entirely forgotten their +life before they entered the wood; but this pretence is not kept up beyond +the period of festivities given to welcome them home. They all learn, to a +certain extent, a new language, a secret language only understood by the +initiated. The same removal from home and instruction from initiated +members is observed also with the girls. However, in their case, it is not +always a forest-grove they are secluded in, sometimes it is done in huts. +Among the Grain Coast tribes, however, the girls go into a magic wood +until they are married. Should they have to leave the wood for any +temporary reason, they must smear themselves with white clay. A similar +custom holds good in Okÿon, Calabar district, where, should a girl have to +leave the fattening-house, she must be covered with white clay."(648) + +(M201) Among the natives of the Sherbro, an island lying close to the +coast of Sierra Leone, there is a secret society called the _purra_ or +_poro_, "which is partly of a religious, but chiefly of a political +nature. It resembles free-masonry in excluding females, and in obliging +every member by a solemn oath, which I believe is seldom violated, not to +divulge the sacred mysteries, and to yield a prompt and implicit obedience +to every order of their superiors. Boys of seven or eight years of age are +admitted, or rather serve a novitiate until they arrive at a proper age; +for it is difficult to procure exact information, and even somewhat +dangerous to make many inquiries. Every person on entering the society +lays aside his former name and assumes a new one; to call him by his old +name would produce a dispute. They have a superior or head _purra_ man, +assisted by a grand council, whose commands are received with the most +profound reverence and absolute submission, both by the subordinate +councils and by individuals. Their meetings are held in the most retired +spots, amid the gloom of night, and carried on with inquisitorial secrecy. +When the _purra_ comes into a town, which is always at night, it is +accompanied with the most dreadful howlings, screams, and other horrid +noises. The inhabitants, who are not members of the society, are obliged +to secure themselves within doors; should any one be discovered without, +or attempting to peep at what is going forward, he would inevitably be put +to death. To restrain the curiosity of the females, they are ordered to +continue within doors, clapping their hands incessantly, so long as the +_purra_ remains. Like the secret tribunal, which formerly existed in +Germany, it takes cognizance of offences, particularly of witchcraft and +murder, but above all of contumacy and disobedience in any of its own +members, and punishes the guilty with death in so secret and sudden a +manner, that the perpetrators are never known: indeed, such is the dread +created by this institution, that they are never even inquired +after."(649) When the members of the _purra_ or _poro_ society visit a +town, the leader of the troop, whom an English writer calls "the Poro +devil," draws discordant notes from a sort of reed flute, the holes of +which are covered with spiders' webs. The only time when this devil and +his rout make a prolonged stay in the town is on the evening before the +day on which the newly initiated lads are to be brought back from the +forest. Then the leader and his satellites parade the streets for hours, +while all the uninitiated men, women, and children remain shut up in their +houses, listening to the doleful strains of the flute, which signify that +the devil is suffering the pangs of childbirth before he brings forth the +initiated lads; for he is supposed to have been pregnant with them the +whole of the rainy season ever since they entered into the forest. When +they come forth from the wood, they wear four or five coils of twisted +ferns round their waists in token of their being initiated members of the +order.(650) Among the Soosoos of Senegambia there is a similar secret +society called _semo_: "the natives who speak English call it African +masonry. As the whole ceremonies are kept very private, it is difficult to +discover in what they consist: but it is said that the novices are met in +the woods by the old men, who cut marks on several parts of their bodies, +but most commonly on the belly; they are also taught a language peculiar +to the _semo_, and swear dreadful oaths never to divulge the secrets +revealed to them. The young men are then made to live in the woods for +twelve months, and are supposed to be at liberty to kill any one who +approaches and does not understand the language of the _semo_.... It is +said, when women are so unfortunate as to intrude upon the _semo_, they +kill them, cut off their breasts, and hang them up by the side of the +paths as a warning to others. This circumstance is perhaps less deserving +of credit, because the Soosoos are fond of telling wonderful and horrid +stories respecting this institution. They say, for instance, that when +first initiated their throats are cut, and they continue dead for some +time; at length they are reanimated and initiated into the mysteries of +the institution, and are enabled to ramble about with much more vigour +than they possessed before."(651) + +(M202) While the belief or the pretence of death and resurrection at +initiation is common among the negroes of West Africa, few traces of it +appear to be found among the tribes in the southern, central, and eastern +parts of that continent; and it is notable that in these regions secret +societies, which flourish in the West, are also conspicuously absent. +However, the Akikuyu of British East Africa "have a curious custom which +requires that every boy just before circumcision must be born again. The +mother stands up with the boy crouching at her feet; she pretends to go +through all the labour pains, and the boy on being reborn cries like a +babe and is washed. He lives on milk for some days afterwards."(652) A +fuller description of the ceremony was given by a member of the Kikuyu +tribe as follows: "A day is appointed, any time of year, by father and +mother. If the father is dead another elder is called in to act as proxy +in his stead, or if the mother is not living another woman to act in her +place. Any woman thus acting as representative is looked upon in future by +the boy as his own mother. A goat or sheep is killed in the afternoon by +any one, usually not by the father, and the stomach and intestines +reserved. The ceremony begins in the evening. A piece of skin is cut in a +circle, and passed over one shoulder of the candidate and under the other +arm. The stomach of the goat is similarly treated and passed over the +other shoulder and under the other arm. All the boy's ornaments are +removed, but not his clothes. No men are allowed inside the hut, but women +are present. The mother sits on a hide on the floor with the boy between +her knees. The sheep's gut is passed round the woman and brought in front +of the boy. The woman groans as in labour, another woman cuts the gut, and +the boy imitates the cry of a new-born infant. The women present all +applaud, and afterwards the assistant and the mother wash the boy. That +night the boy sleeps in the same hut as the mother."(653) Here the cutting +of the sheep's gut, which unites the mother to the boy, is clearly an +imitation of severing the navel string. Nor is it boys alone who are born +again among the Akikuyu. "Girls go through the rite of second birth as +well as boys. It is sometimes administered to infants. At one time the new +birth was combined with circumcision, and so the ceremony admitted to the +privileges and religious rites of the tribe. Afterwards trouble took place +on account of mere boys wishing to take their place alongside of the young +men and maintaining they were justified in doing so. The old men then +settled the matter by separating the two. Unless the new birth has been +administered the individual is not in a position to be admitted to +circumcision, which is the outward sign of admittance to the nation. Any +who have not gone through the rite cannot inherit property, nor take any +part in the religious rites of the country."(654) For example, a man who +has not been born again is disqualified for carrying his dying father out +into the wilds and for disposing of his body after death. The new birth +seems to take place usually about the tenth year, but the age varies with +the ability of the father to provide a goat, whose guts are necessary to +enable the boy or girl to be born again in due form.(655) + +(M203) Among the Bondeis, a tribe on the coast of German East Africa, +opposite to the island of Pemba, one of the rites of initiation into +manhood consists in a pretence of slaying one of the lads with a sword; +the entrails of a fowl are placed on the boy's stomach to make the +pretence seem more real.(656) Among the Bushongo, who inhabit a district +of the Belgian Congo bounded on the north and east by the Sankuru River +and on the west by the Kasai, young boys had formerly to undergo certain +rites of initiation, amongst which a simulation of killing them would seem +to have had a place, though in recent times the youths have been allowed +to escape the ordeal by the payment of a fine. The supreme chief of the +tribe, who in old days bore the title of God on Earth (_Chembe Kunji_), +used to assemble all the lads who had just reached puberty and send them +away into the forest, where they remained for several months under the +care of one of his sons. During their seclusion they were deemed unclean +and might see no one; if they chanced to meet a woman, she had to flee +before them. By night the old men marched round the quarters of the +novices, raising hideous cries and whirling bull-roarers, the noise of +which the frightened lads took to be the voices of ghosts. They wore +nothing but a comb, and passed their leisure hours in learning to make +mats and baskets. After about a month they had to submit to the first +ordeal. A trench about ten feet deep was dug in the ground and roofed over +with sticks and earth so as to form a dark tunnel. In the sides of the +tunnel were cut niches, and in each niche a man took post, whose business +it was to terrify the novices. For this purpose one of them was disguised +in the skin of a leopard, a second was dressed as a warrior with a knife +in his hand, a third was a smith with his furnace and red-hot irons, and a +fourth was masked to look like an ugly ape, while he too gripped a knife +in his hand. The novices generally recoiled in dismay from each of these +apparitions, and it was only by means of reiterated taunts and threats +that the elders forced them to traverse the whole length of the tunnel. +After the lapse of another month the youths had to face another ordeal of +a similar character. A low tunnel, about three feet deep, was dug in the +earth, and sticks were inserted in it so that their tops projected from +the surface of the ground. At the end of the tunnel a calabash was set +full of goat's blood. By way of encouraging the timid novices the master +of the ceremonies himself crawled through the tunnel, his progress under +ground being revealed to the novices above ground by the vibrations of the +sticks with which he collided in the dark passage. Then having bedabbled +his nose, his mouth, and all the rest of his body with the goat's blood, +he emerged from the tunnel on hands and knees, dripping with gore and to +all appearance in the last stage of exhaustion. Then he lay prostrate on +his stomach in a state of collapse; the elders declared him to be dead and +carried him off. The chief now ordered the lads to imitate the example set +them by the master of the ceremonies, but they begged and prayed to be +excused. At first the chief was inexorable, but in time he relented and +agreed to accept a fine of so many cowries as a ransom paid by the youths +for exemption from the ordeal. A month later the last of the ordeals took +place. A great trunk of a tree was buried with its lower end in the earth +and surrounded for three-quarters of its circumference with arrows stuck +in the ground so that the barbs were pointed towards the tree. The chief +and the leading men sat down at the gap in the circle of arrows, so as to +conceal the gap from the eyes of the novices and other spectators, among +whom the women were allowed to be present. To the eyes of the uninitiated +it now seemed that the tree was surrounded by a bristling hedge of arrows, +to fall upon which would be death. All being ready the master of the +ceremonies climbed the tree amid breathless silence, and having reached +the top, which was decorated with a bunch of leaves, he looked about him +and asked the women, "Shall I come down?" "No! no!" they shrieked, "you +will be killed by the arrows." Then, turning disdainfully from these +craven souls, the gallant man addressed himself to the youths and repeated +his question, "Shall I come down?" A shout of "Yes!" gave the answer that +might have been expected from these heroic spirits. In response the master +of the ceremonies at once slid down the tree and, dropping neatly to the +ground just at the gap in the hedge of arrows, presented himself unscathed +to the gaze of the excited assembly. The chief now ordered the young men +to go up and do likewise. But the dauntless courage with which they had +contemplated the descent of the master of the ceremonies entirely forsook +them when it came to their turn to copy his shining example. Their +mothers, too, raised a loud cry of protest, joining their prayers and +entreaties to those of their hopeful sons. After some discussion the chief +consented to accept a ransom, and the novices were dispensed from the +ordeal. Then they bathed and were deemed to have rid themselves of their +uncleanness, but they had still to work for the chief for three months +before they ranked as full-grown men and might return to their +villages.(657) + +(M204) Among the Indians of Virginia, an initiatory ceremony, called +_Huskanaw_, took place every sixteen or twenty years, or oftener, as the +young men happened to grow up. The youths were kept in solitary +confinement in the woods for several months, receiving no food but an +infusion of some intoxicating roots, so that they went raving mad, and +continued in this state eighteen or twenty days. "Upon this occasion it is +pretended that these poor creatures drink so much of the water of Lethe +that they perfectly lose the remembrance of all former things, even of +their parents, their treasure, and their language. When the doctors find +that they have drunk sufficiently of the Wysoccan (so they call this mad +potion), they gradually restore them to their senses again by lessening +the intoxication of their diet; but before they are perfectly well they +bring them back into their towns, while they are still wild and crazy +through the violence of the medicine. After this they are very fearful of +discovering anything of their former remembrance; for if such a thing +should happen to any of them, they must immediately be _Huskanaw'd_ again; +and the second time the usage is so severe that seldom any one escapes +with life. Thus they must pretend to have forgot the very use of their +tongues, so as not to be able to speak, nor understand anything that is +spoken, till they learn it again. Now, whether this be real or +counterfeit, I don't know; but certain it is that they will not for some +time take notice of anybody nor anything with which they were before +acquainted, being still under the guard of their keepers, who constantly +wait upon them everywhere till they have learnt all things perfectly over +again. Thus they unlive their former lives, and commence men by forgetting +that they ever have been boys."(658) + +(M205) Among some of the Indian tribes of North America there exist +certain religious associations which are only open to candidates who have +gone through a pretence of being killed and brought to life again. In 1766 +or 1767 Captain Jonathan Carver witnessed the admission of a candidate to +an association called "the friendly society of the Spirit" +(_Wakon-Kitchewah_) among the Naudowessies, a Siouan or Dacotan tribe in +the region of the great lakes. The candidate knelt before the chief, who +told him that "he himself was now agitated by the same spirit which he +should in a few moments communicate to him; that it would strike him dead, +but that he would instantly be restored again to life; to this he added, +that the communication, however terrifying, was a necessary introduction +to the advantages enjoyed by the community into which he was on the point +of being admitted. As he spoke this, he appeared to be greatly agitated; +till at last his emotions became so violent, that his countenance was +distorted, and his whole frame convulsed. At this juncture he threw +something that appeared both in shape and colour like a small bean, at the +young man, which seemed to enter his mouth, and he instantly fell as +motionless as if he had been shot." For a time the man lay like dead, but +under a shower of blows he shewed signs of consciousness, and finally, +discharging from his mouth the bean, or whatever it was that the chief had +thrown at him, he came to life.(659) In other tribes, for example, the +Ojebways, Winnebagoes, and Dacotas or Sioux, the instrument by which the +candidate is apparently slain is the medicine-bag. The bag is made of the +skin of an animal (such as the otter, wild cat, serpent, bear, raccoon, +wolf, owl, weasel), of which it roughly preserves the shape. Each member +of the society has one of these bags, in which he keeps the odds and ends +that make up his "medicine" or charms. "They believe that from the +miscellaneous contents in the belly of the skin bag or animal there issues +a spirit or breath, which has the power, not only to knock down and kill a +man, but also to set him up and restore him to life." The mode of killing +a man with one of these medicine-bags is to thrust it at him; he falls +like dead, but a second thrust of the bag restores him to life.(660) Among +the Dacotas the institution of the medicine-bag or mystery-sack was +attributed to Onktehi, the great spirit of the waters, who ordained that +the bag should consist of the skin of the otter, raccoon, weasel, +squirrel, or loon, or a species of fish and of serpents. Further, he +decreed that the bag should contain four sorts of medicines of magical +qualities, which should represent fowls, quadrupeds, herbs, and trees. +Accordingly, swan's down, buffalo hair, grass roots, and bark from the +roots of trees are kept by the Dacotas in their medicine-bags. From this +combination there proceeds a magical influence (_tonwan_) so powerful that +no human being can of his own strength withstand it. When the god of the +waters had prepared the first medicine-bag, he tested its powers on four +candidates for initiation, who all perished under the shock. So he +consulted with his wife, the goddess of the earth, and by holding up his +left hand and pattering on the back of it with the right, he produced +myriads of little shells, whose virtue is to restore life to those who +have been slain by the medicine-bag. Having taken this precaution, the god +chose four other candidates and repeated the experiment of initiation with +success, for after killing them with the bag he immediately resuscitated +them by throwing one of the shells into their vital parts, while he +chanted certain words assuring them that it was only sport and bidding +them rise to their feet. That is why to this day every initiated Dacota +has one of these shells in his body. Such was the divine origin of the +medicine-dance of the Dacotas. The initiation takes place in a special +tent. The candidate, after being steamed in a vapour-bath for four +successive days, plants himself on a pile of blankets, and behind him +stands an aged member of the order. "Now the master of the ceremonies, +with the joints of his knees and hips considerably bent, advances with an +unsteady, uncouth hitching, sack in hand, wearing an aspect of desperate +energy, and uttering his 'Heen, heen, heen' with frightful emphasis, while +all around are enthusiastic demonstrations of all kinds of wild passions. +At this point the sack is raised near a painted spot on the breast of the +candidate, at which the _tonwan_ is discharged. At the instant the brother +from behind gives him a push and he falls dead, and is covered with +blankets. Now the frenzied dancers gather around, and in the midst of +bewildering and indescribable noises, chant the words uttered by the god +at the institution of the ceremony, as already recorded. Then the master +throws off the covering, and chewing a piece of the bone of the Onktehi, +spirts it over him, and he begins to show signs of returning life. Then as +the master pats energetically upon the breast of the initiated person, he, +convulsed, strangling, struggling, and agonizing, heaves up the shell +which falls from his mouth on a sack placed in readiness to receive it. +Life is restored and entrance effected into the awful mysteries. He +belongs henceforth to the medicine-dance, and has a right to enjoy the +medicine-feast."(661) + +(M206) A ceremony witnessed by the castaway John R. Jewitt during his +captivity among the Indians of Nootka Sound doubtless belongs to this +class of customs. The Indian king or chief "discharged a pistol close to +his son's ear, who immediately fell down as if killed, upon which all the +women of the house set up a most lamentable cry, tearing handfuls of hair +from their heads, and exclaiming that the prince was dead; at the same +time a great number of the inhabitants rushed into the house armed with +their daggers, muskets, etc., enquiring the cause of their outcry. These +were immediately followed by two others dressed in wolf skins, with masks +over their faces representing the head of that animal. The latter came in +on their hands and feet in the manner of a beast, and taking up the +prince, carried him off upon their backs, retiring in the same manner they +entered."(662) In another place Jewitt mentions that the young prince--a +lad of about eleven years of age--wore a mask in imitation of a wolf's +head.(663) Now, as the Indians of this part of America are divided into +totem clans, of which the Wolf clan is one of the principal, and as the +members of each clan are in the habit of wearing some portion of the totem +animal about their person,(664) it is probable that the prince belonged to +the Wolf clan, and that the ceremony described by Jewitt represented the +killing of the lad in order that he might be born anew as a wolf, much in +the same way that the Basque hunter supposed himself to have been killed +and to have come to life again as a bear. + +(M207) This conjectural explanation of the ceremony has, since it was +first put forward, been confirmed by the researches of Dr. Franz Boas +among these Indians; though it would seem that the community to which the +chief's son thus obtained admission was not so much a totem clan as a +secret society called Tlokoala, whose members imitated wolves. The name +Tlokoala is a foreign word among the Nootka Indians, having been borrowed +by them from the Kwakiutl Indians, in whose language the word means the +finding of a _manitoo_ or personal totem. The Nootka tradition runs that +this secret society was instituted by wolves who took away a chief's son +and tried to kill him, but, failing to do so, became his friends, taught +him the rites of the society, and ordered him to teach them to his friends +on his return home. Then they carried the young man back to his village. +They also begged that whenever he moved from one place to another he would +kindly leave behind him some red cedar-bark to be used by them in their +own ceremonies; and to this custom the Nootka tribes still adhere. Every +new member of the society must be initiated by the wolves. At night a pack +of wolves, personated by Indians dressed in wolf-skins and wearing +wolf-masks, make their appearance, seize the novice, and carry him into +the woods. When the wolves are heard outside the village, coming to fetch +away the novice, all the members of the society blacken their faces and +sing, "Among all the tribes is great excitement, because I am Tlokoala." +Next day the wolves bring back the novice dead, and the members of the +society have to revive him. The wolves are supposed to have put a magic +stone into his body, which must be removed before he can come to life. +Till this is done the pretended corpse is left lying outside the house. +Two wizards go and remove the stone, which appears to be quartz, and then +the novice is resuscitated.(665) Among the Niska Indians of British +Columbia, who are divided into four principal clans with the raven, the +wolf, the eagle, and the bear for their respective totems, the novice at +initiation is always brought back by an artificial totem animal. Thus when +a man was about to be initiated into a secret society called Olala, his +friends drew their knives and pretended to kill him. In reality they let +him slip away, while they cut off the head of a dummy which had been +adroitly substituted for him. Then they laid the decapitated dummy down +and covered it over, and the women began to mourn and wail. His relations +gave a funeral banquet and solemnly burnt the effigy. In short, they held +a regular funeral. For a whole year the novice remained absent and was +seen by none but members of the secret society. But at the end of that +time he came back alive, carried by an artificial animal which represented +his totem.(666) + +(M208) In these ceremonies the essence of the rite appears to be the +killing of the novice in his character of a man and his restoration to +life in the form of the animal which is thenceforward to be, if not his +guardian spirit, at least linked to him in a peculiarly intimate relation. +It is to be remembered that the Indians of Guatemala, whose life was bound +up with an animal, were supposed to have the power of appearing in the +shape of the particular creature with which they were thus sympathetically +united.(667) Hence it seems not unreasonable to conjecture that in like +manner the Indians of British Columbia may imagine that their life depends +on the life of some one of that species of creature to which they +assimilate themselves by their costume. At least if that is not an article +of belief with the Columbian Indians of the present day, it may very well +have been so with their ancestors in the past, and thus may have helped to +mould the rites and ceremonies both of the totem clans and of the secret +societies. For though these two sorts of communities differ in respect of +the mode in which membership of them is obtained--a man being born into his +totem clan but admitted into a secret society later in life--we can hardly +doubt that they are near akin and have their root in the same mode of +thought.(668) That thought, if I am right, is the possibility of +establishing a sympathetic relation with an animal, a spirit, or other +mighty being, with whom a man deposits for safe-keeping his soul or some +part of it, and from whom he receives in return a gift of magical powers. + +(M209) The Carrier Indians, who dwell further inland than the tribes we +have just been considering, are divided into four clans with the grouse, +the beaver, the toad, and the grizzly bear for their totems. But in +addition to these clan totems the tribe recognized a considerable number +of what Father Morice calls honorific totems, which could be acquired, +through the performance of certain rites, by any person who wished to +improve his social position. Each totem clan had a certain number of +honorific totems or crests, and these might be assumed by any member of +the clan who fulfilled the required conditions; but they could not be +acquired by members of another clan. Thus the Grouse clan had for its +honorific totems or crests the owl, the moose, the weasel, the crane, the +wolf, the full moon, the wind, and so on; the Toad clan had the sturgeon, +the porcupine, the wolverine, the red-headed woodpecker, the "darding +knife," and so forth; the Beaver clan had the mountain-goat for one of its +honorific totems; and the goose was a honorific totem of the Grizzly Bear +clan. But the common bear, as a honorific totem or crest, might be assumed +by anybody, whatever his clan. The common possession of a honorific totem +appears to have constituted the same sort of bond among the Carrier +Indians as the membership of a secret society does among the coast tribes +of British Columbia; certainly the rites of initiation were similar. This +will be clear from Father Morice's account of the performances, which I +will subjoin in his own words. "The connection of the individual with his +crest appeared more especially during ceremonial dances, when the former, +attired, if possible, with the spoils of the latter, was wont to personate +it in the gaze of an admiring assemblage. On all such occasions, man and +totem were also called by the same name. The adoption of any such 'rite' +or crest was usually accompanied by initiatory ceremonies or observances +corresponding to the nature of the crest, followed in all cases by a +distribution of clothes to all present. Thus whenever anybody resolved +upon getting received as _Lulem_ or Bear, he would, regardless of the +season, divest himself of all his wearing apparel and don a bear-skin, +whereupon he would dash into the woods there to remain for the space of +three or four days and nights in deference to the wonts of his intended +totem animal. Every night a party of his fellow-villagers would sally out +in search of the missing 'bear.' To their loud calls: _Yi! Kelulem_ (Come +on, Bear!) he would answer by angry growls in imitation of the bear. The +searching party making for the spot where he had been heard, would find by +a second call followed by a similar answer that he had dexterously shifted +to some opposite quarter in the forest. As a rule, he could not be found, +but had to come back of himself, when he was speedily apprehended and +conducted to the ceremonial lodge, where he would commence his first +bear-dance in conjunction with all the other totem people, each of whom +would then personate his own particular totem. Finally would take place +the _potlatch_ [distribution of property] of the newly initiated 'bear,' +who would not forget to present his captor with at least a whole dressed +skin. The initiation to the 'Darding Knife' was quite a theatrical +performance. A lance was prepared which had a very sharp point so arranged +that the slightest pressure on its tip would cause the steel to gradually +sink into the shaft. In the sight of the multitude crowding the lodge, +this lance was pressed on the bare chest of the candidate and apparently +sunk in his body to the shaft, when he would tumble down simulating death. +At the same time a quantity of blood--previously kept in the mouth--would +issue from the would-be corpse, making it quite clear to the uninitiated +gazers-on that the terrible knife had had its effect, when lo! upon one of +the actors striking up one of the chants specially made for the +circumstance and richly paid for, the candidate would gradually rise up a +new man, the particular _protégé_ of the 'Darding Knife.' "(669) + +(M210) In the former of these two initiatory rites of the Carrier Indians +the prominent feature is the transformation of the man into his totem +animal; in the latter it is his death and resurrection. But in substance, +probably, both are identical. In both the novice dies as a man and revives +as his totem, whether that be a bear, a "darding" knife, or what not; in +other words, he has deposited his life or some portion of it in his totem, +with which accordingly for the future he is more or less completely +identified. Hard as it may be for us to conceive why a man should choose +to identify himself with a knife, whether "darding" or otherwise, we have +to remember that in Celebes it is to a chopping-knife or other iron tool +that the soul of a woman in labour is transferred for safety;(670) and the +difference between a chopping-knife and a "darding" knife, considered as a +receptacle for a human soul, is perhaps not very material. Among the +Thompson Indians of British Columbia warriors who had a knife, an arrow, +or any other weapon for their personal totem or guardian spirit, enjoyed +this signal advantage over their fellows that they were for all practical +purposes invulnerable. If an arrow did hit them, which seldom happened, +they vomited the blood up, and the hurt soon healed. Hence these +arrow-proof warriors rarely wore armour, which would indeed have been +superfluous, and they generally took the most dangerous posts in battle. +So convinced were the Thompson Indians of the power of their personal +totem or guardian spirit to bring them back to life, that some of them +killed themselves in the sure hope that the spirit would immediately raise +them up from the dead. Others, more prudently, experimented on their +friends, shooting them dead and then awaiting more or less cheerfully +their joyful resurrection. We are not told that success crowned these +experimental demonstrations of the immortality of the soul.(671) + +(M211) The Toukaway Indians of Texas, one of whose totems is the wolf, +have a ceremony in which men, dressed in wolf-skins, run about on all +fours, howling and mimicking wolves. At last they scratch up a living +tribesman, who has been buried on purpose, and putting a bow and arrows in +his hands, bid him do as the wolves do--rob, kill, and murder.(672) The +ceremony probably forms part of an initiatory rite like the resurrection +from the grave of the old man in the Australian rites. + +(M212) The simulation of death and resurrection or of a new birth at +initiation appears to have lingered on, or at least to have left traces of +itself, among peoples who have advanced far beyond the stage of savagery. +Thus, after his investiture with the sacred thread--the symbol of his +order--a Brahman is called "twice born." Manu says, "According to the +injunction of the revealed texts the first birth of an Aryan is from his +natural mother, the second happens on the tying of the girdle of Muñga +grass, and the third on the initiation to the performance to a Srauta +sacrifice."(673) A pretence of killing the candidate perhaps formed part +of the initiation to the Mithraic mysteries.(674) + +(M213) Thus, on the theory here suggested, wherever totemism is found, and +wherever a pretence is made of killing and bringing to life again the +novice at initiation, there may exist or have existed not only a belief in +the possibility of permanently depositing the soul in some external +object--animal, plant, or what not--but an actual intention of so doing. If +the question is put, why do men desire to deposit their life outside their +bodies? the answer can only be that, like the giant in the fairy tale, +they think it safer to do so than to carry it about with them, just as +people deposit their money with a banker rather than carry it on their +persons. We have seen that at critical periods the life or soul is +sometimes temporarily stowed away in a safe place till the danger is past. +But institutions like totemism are not resorted to merely on special +occasions of danger; they are systems into which every one, or at least +every male, is obliged to be initiated at a certain period of life. Now +the period of life at which initiation takes place is regularly puberty; +and this fact suggests that the special danger which totemism and systems +like it are intended to obviate is supposed not to arise till sexual +maturity has been attained, in fact, that the danger apprehended is +believed to attend the relation of the sexes to each other. It would be +easy to prove by a long array of facts that the sexual relation is +associated in the primitive mind with many serious perils; but the exact +nature of the danger apprehended is still obscure. We may hope that a more +exact acquaintance with savage modes of thought will in time disclose this +central mystery of primitive society, and will thereby furnish the clue, +not only to totemism, but to the origin of the marriage system. + + + + + +CHAPTER XII. THE GOLDEN BOUGH. + + +(M214) Thus the view that Balder's life was in the mistletoe is entirely +in harmony with primitive modes of thought. It may indeed sound like a +contradiction that, if his life was in the mistletoe, he should +nevertheless have been killed by a blow from the plant. But when a +person's life is conceived as embodied in a particular object, with the +existence of which his own existence is inseparably bound up, and the +destruction of which involves his own, the object in question may be +regarded and spoken of indifferently as his life or his death, as happens +in the fairy tales. Hence if a man's death is in an object, it is +perfectly natural that he should be killed by a blow from it. In the fairy +tales Koshchei the Deathless is killed by a blow from the egg or the stone +in which his life or death is secreted;(675) the ogres burst when a +certain grain of sand--doubtless containing their life or death--is carried +over their heads;(676) the magician dies when the stone in which his life +or death is contained is put under his pillow;(677) and the Tartar hero is +warned that he may be killed by the golden arrow or golden sword in which +his soul has been stowed away.(678) + +(M215) The idea that the life of the oak was in the mistletoe was probably +suggested, as I have said, by the observation that in winter the mistletoe +growing on the oak remains green while the oak itself is leafless. But the +position of the plant--growing not from the ground but from the trunk or +branches of the tree--might confirm this idea. Primitive man might think +that, like himself, the oak-spirit had sought to deposit his life in some +safe place, and for this purpose had pitched on the mistletoe, which, +being in a sense neither on earth nor in heaven, might be supposed to be +fairly out of harm's way. In the first chapter we saw that primitive man +seeks to preserve the life of his human divinities by keeping them poised +between earth and heaven, as the place where they are least likely to be +assailed by the dangers that encompass the life of man on earth. We can +therefore understand why it has been a rule both of ancient and of modern +folk-medicine that the mistletoe should not be allowed to touch the +ground; were it to touch the ground, its healing virtue would be +gone.(679) This may be a survival of the old superstition that the plant +in which the life of the sacred tree was concentrated should not be +exposed to the risk incurred by contact with the earth. In an Indian +legend, which offers a parallel to the Balder myth, Indra swore to the +demon Namuci that he would slay him neither by day nor by night, neither +with staff nor with bow, neither with the palm of the hand nor with the +fist, neither with the wet nor with the dry. But he killed him in the +morning twilight by sprinkling over him the foam of the sea.(680) The foam +of the sea is just such an object as a savage might choose to put his life +in, because it occupies that sort of intermediate or nondescript position +between earth and sky or sea and sky in which primitive man sees safety. +It is therefore not surprising that the foam of the river should be the +totem of a clan in India.(681) + +(M216) Again, the view that the mistletoe owes its mystic character partly +to its not growing on the ground is confirmed by a parallel superstition +about the mountain-ash or rowan-tree. In Jutland a rowan that is found +growing out of the top of another tree is esteemed "exceedingly effective +against witchcraft: since it does not grow on the ground witches have no +power over it; if it is to have its full effect it must be cut on +Ascension Day."(682) Hence it is placed over doors to prevent the ingress +of witches.(683) In Sweden and Norway, also, magical properties are +ascribed to a "flying-rowan" (_flögrönn_), that is to a rowan which is +found growing not in the ordinary fashion on the ground but on another +tree, or on a roof, or in a cleft of the rock, where it has sprouted from +seed scattered by birds. They say that a man who is out in the dark should +have a bit of "flying-rowan" with him to chew; else he runs a risk of +being bewitched and of being unable to stir from the spot.(684) A +Norwegian story relates how once on a time a Troll so bewitched some men +who were ploughing in a field that they could not drive a straight furrow; +only one of the ploughmen was able to resist the enchantment because by +good luck his plough was made out of a "flying-rowan."(685) In Sweden, +too, the "flying-rowan" is used to make the divining rod, which discovers +hidden treasures. This useful art has nowadays unfortunately been almost +forgotten, but three hundred years ago it was in full bloom, as we gather +from the following contemporary account. "If in the woods or elsewhere, on +old walls or on high mountains or rocks you perceive a rowan-tree (_runn_) +which has sprung from a seed that a bird has dropped from its bill, you +must either knock or break off that rod or tree in the twilight between +the third day and the night after Ladyday. But you must take care that +neither iron nor steel touches it and that in carrying it home you do not +let it fall on the ground. Then place it under the roof on a spot under +which you have laid various metals, and you will soon be surprised to see +how that rod under the roof gradually bends in the direction of the +metals. When your rod has sat there in the same spot for fourteen days or +more, you take a knife or an awl, which has been stroked with a magnet, +and with it you slit the bark on all sides, and pour or drop the blood of +a cock (best of all the blood from the comb of a cock which is all of one +colour) on the said slits in the bark; and when the blood has dried, the +rod is ready and will give public proof of the efficacy of its marvellous +properties."(686) Just as in Scandinavia the parasitic rowan is deemed a +countercharm to sorcery, so in Germany the parasitic mistletoe is still +commonly considered a protection against witchcraft, and in Sweden, as we +saw, the mistletoe which is gathered on Midsummer Eve is attached to the +ceiling of the house, the horse's stall or the cow's crib, in the belief +that this renders the Troll powerless to injure man or beast.(687) + +(M217) The view that the mistletoe was not merely the instrument of +Balder's death, but that it contained his life, is countenanced by the +analogy of a Scottish superstition. Tradition ran that the fate of the +Hays of Errol, an estate in Perthshire, near the Firth of Tay, was bound +up with the mistletoe that grew on a certain great oak. A member of the +Hay family has recorded the old belief as follows: "Among the low country +families the badges are now almost generally forgotten; but it appears by +an ancient MS. and the tradition of a few old people in Perthshire, that +the badge of the Hays was the mistletoe. There was formerly in the +neighbourhood of Errol, and not far from the Falcon stone, a vast oak of +an unknown age, and upon which grew a profusion of the plant: many charms +and legends were considered to be connected with the tree, and the +duration of the family of Hay was said to be united with its existence. It +was believed that a sprig of the mistletoe cut by a Hay on Allhallowmas +eve, with a new dirk, and after surrounding the tree three times sunwise, +and pronouncing a certain spell, was a sure charm against all glamour or +witchery, and an infallible guard in the day of battle. A spray gathered +in the same manner was placed in the cradle of infants, and thought to +defend them from being changed for elf-bairns by the fairies. Finally, it +was affirmed, that when the root of the oak had perished, 'the grass +should grow in the hearth of Errol, and a raven should sit in the falcon's +nest.' The two most unlucky deeds which could be done by one of the name +of Hay were, to kill a white falcon, and to cut down a limb from the oak +of Errol. When the old tree was destroyed I could never learn. The estate +has been some time sold out of the family of Hay, and of course it is said +that the fatal oak was cut down a short time before."(688) The old +superstition is recorded in verses which are traditionally ascribed to +Thomas the Rhymer:-- + + + "_While the mistletoe bats on Errol's aik,_ + _And that aik stands fast,_ + _The Hays shall flourish, and their good grey hawk_ + _Shall nocht flinch before the blast._ + _But when the root of the aik decays,_ + _And the mistletoe dwines on its withered breast,_ + _The grass shall grow on Errol's hearthstane,_ + _And the corbie roup in the falcon's nest._"(689) + + +(M218) The idea that the fate of a family, as distinct from the lives of +its members, is bound up with a particular plant or tree, is no doubt +comparatively modern. The older view may have been that the lives of all +the Hays were in this particular mistletoe, just as in the Indian story +the lives of all the ogres are in a lemon; to break a twig of the +mistletoe would then have been to kill one of the Hays. Similarly in the +island of Rum, whose bold mountains the voyager from Oban to Skye observes +to seaward, it was thought that if one of the family of Lachlin shot a +deer on the mountain of Finchra, he would die suddenly or contract a +distemper which would soon prove fatal.(690) Probably the life of the +Lachlins was bound up with the deer on Finchra, as the life of the Hays +was bound up with the mistletoe on Errol's oak, and the life of the +Dalhousie family with the Edgewell Tree. + +(M219) It is not a new opinion that the Golden Bough was the +mistletoe.(691) True, Virgil does not identify but only compares it with +mistletoe. But this may be only a poetical device to cast a mystic glamour +over the humble plant. Or, more probably, his description was based on a +popular superstition that at certain times the mistletoe blazed out into a +supernatural golden glory. The poet tells how two doves, guiding Aeneas to +the gloomy vale in whose depth grew the Golden Bough, alighted upon a +tree, "whence shone a flickering gleam of gold. As in the woods in winter +cold the mistletoe--a plant not native to its tree--is green with fresh +leaves and twines its yellow berries about the boles; such seemed upon the +shady holm-oak the leafy gold, so rustled in the gentle breeze the golden +leaf."(692) Here Virgil definitely describes the Golden Bough as growing +on a holm-oak, and compares it with the mistletoe. The inference is almost +inevitable that the Golden Bough was nothing but the mistletoe seen +through the haze of poetry or of popular superstition. + +(M220) Now grounds have been shewn for believing that the priest of the +Arician grove--the King of the Wood--personified the tree on which grew the +Golden Bough.(693) Hence if that tree was the oak, the King of the Wood +must have been a personification of the oak-spirit. It is, therefore, easy +to understand why, before he could be slain, it was necessary to break the +Golden Bough. As an oak-spirit, his life or death was in the mistletoe on +the oak, and so long as the mistletoe remained intact, he, like Balder, +could not die. To slay him, therefore, it was necessary to break the +mistletoe, and probably, as in the case of Balder, to throw it at him. And +to complete the parallel, it is only necessary to suppose that the King of +the Wood was formerly burned, dead or alive, at the midsummer fire +festival which, as we have seen, was annually celebrated in the Arician +grove.(694) The perpetual fire which burned in the grove, like the +perpetual fire which burned in the temple of Vesta at Rome and under the +oak at Romove,(695) was probably fed with the sacred oak-wood; and thus it +would be in a great fire of oak that the King of the Wood formerly met his +end. At a later time, as I have suggested, his annual tenure of office was +lengthened or shortened, as the case might be, by the rule which allowed +him to live so long as he could prove his divine right by the strong hand. +But he only escaped the fire to fall by the sword. + +(M221) Thus it seems that at a remote age in the heart of Italy, beside +the sweet Lake of Nemi, the same fiery tragedy was annually enacted which +Italian merchants and soldiers were afterwards to witness among their rude +kindred, the Celts of Gaul, and which, if the Roman eagles had ever +swooped on Norway, might have been found repeated with little difference +among the barbarous Aryans of the North. The rite was probably an +essential feature in the ancient Aryan worship of the oak.(696) + +(M222) It only remains to ask, Why was the mistletoe called the Golden +Bough?(697) The whitish-yellow of the mistletoe berries is hardly enough +to account for the name, for Virgil says that the bough was altogether +golden, stem as well as leaves.(698) Perhaps the name may be derived from +the rich golden yellow which a bough of mistletoe assumes when it has been +cut and kept for some months; the bright tint is not confined to the +leaves, but spreads to the stalks as well, so that the whole branch +appears to be indeed a Golden Bough. Breton peasants hang up great bunches +of mistletoe in front of their cottages, and in the month of June these +bunches are conspicuous for the bright golden tinge of their foliage.(699) +In some parts of Brittany, especially about Morbihan, branches of +mistletoe are hung over the doors of stables and byres to protect the +horses and cattle,(700) probably against witchcraft. + +(M223) The yellow colour of the withered bough may partly explain why the +mistletoe has been sometimes supposed to possess the property of +disclosing treasures in the earth;(701) for on the principles of +homoeopathic magic there is a natural affinity between a yellow bough and +yellow gold. This suggestion is confirmed by the analogy of the marvellous +properties popularly ascribed to the mythical fern-seed or fern-bloom. We +saw that fern-seed is popularly supposed to bloom like gold or fire on +Midsummer Eve.(702) Thus in Bohemia it is said that "on St. John's Day +fern-seed blooms with golden blossoms that gleam like fire."(703) Now it +is a property of this mythical fern-seed that whoever has it, or will +ascend a mountain holding it in his hand on Midsummer Eve, will discover a +vein of gold or will see the treasures of the earth shining with a bluish +flame.(704) In Russia they say that if you succeed in catching the +wondrous bloom of the fern at midnight on Midsummer Eve, you have only to +throw it up into the air, and it will fall like a star on the very spot +where a treasure lies hidden.(705) In Brittany treasure-seekers gather +fern-seed at midnight on Midsummer Eve, and keep it till Palm Sunday of +the following year; then they strew the seed on ground where they think a +treasure is concealed.(706) Tyrolese peasants imagine that hidden +treasures can be seen glowing like flame on Midsummer Eve, and that +fern-seed, gathered at this mystic season, with the usual precautions, +will help to bring the buried gold to the surface.(707) In the Swiss +canton of Freiburg people used to watch beside a fern on St. John's night +in the hope of winning a treasure, which the devil himself sometimes +brought to them.(708) In Bohemia they say that he who procures the golden +bloom of the fern at this season has thereby the key to all hidden +treasures; and that if maidens will spread a cloth under the fast-fading +bloom, red gold will drop into it.(709) And in the Tyrol and Bohemia if +you place fern-seed among money, the money will never decrease, however +much of it you spend.(710) Sometimes the fern-seed is supposed to bloom on +Christmas night, and whoever catches it will become very rich.(711) In +Styria they say that by gathering fern-seed on Christmas night you can +force the devil to bring you a bag of money.(712) In Swabia likewise you +can, by taking the proper precautions, compel Satan himself to fetch you a +packet of fern-seed on Christmas night. But for four weeks previously, and +during the whole of the Advent season, you must be very careful never to +pray, never to go to church, and never to use holy water; you must busy +yourself all day long with devilish thoughts, and cherish an ardent wish +that the devil would help you to get money. Thus prepared you take your +stand, between eleven and twelve on Christmas night, at the meeting of two +roads, over both of which corpses have been carried to the churchyard. +Here many people meet you, some of them dead and buried long ago, it may +be your parents or grandparents, or old friends and acquaintances, and +they stop and greet you, and ask, "What are you doing here?" And tiny +little goblins hop and dance about and try to make you laugh. But if you +smile or utter a single word, the devil will tear you to shreds and +tatters on the spot. If, however, you stand glum and silent and solemn, +there will come, after all the ghostly train has passed by, a man dressed +as a hunter, and that is the devil. He will hand you a paper cornet full +of fern-seed, which you must keep and carry about with you as long as you +live. It will give you the power of doing as much work at your trade in a +day as twenty or thirty ordinary men could do in the same time. So you +will grow very rich. But few people have the courage to go through with +the ordeal. The people of Rotenburg tell of a weaver of their town, who +lived some two hundred and fifty years ago and performed prodigies of +weaving by a simple application of fern-seed which he had been so +fortunate as to obtain, no doubt from the devil, though that is not +expressly alleged by tradition. Rich in the possession of this treasure, +the lazy rascal worked only on Saturdays and spent all the rest of the +week playing and drinking; yet in one day he wove far more cloth than any +other skilled weaver who sat at his loom from morning to night every day +of the week. Naturally he kept his own counsel, and nobody might ever have +known how he did it, if it had not been for what, humanly speaking, you +might call an accident, though for my part I cannot but regard it as the +manifest finger of Providence. One day--it was the octave of a festival--the +fellow had woven a web no less than a hundred ells long, and his mistress +resolved to deliver it to her customer the same evening. So she put the +cloth in a basket and away she trudged with it. Her way led her past a +church, and as she passed the sacred edifice, she heard the tinkle of the +holy bell which announced the elevation of the Host. Being a good woman +she put her basket down, knelt beside it, and there, with the shadows +gathering round her, committed herself to the care of God and his good +angels and received, along with the kneeling congregation in the lighted +church, the evening benediction, which kept her and them from all the +perils and dangers of the night. Then rising refreshed she took up her +basket. But what was her astonishment on looking into it to find the whole +web reduced to a heap of yarn! The blessed words of the priest at the +altar had undone the cursed spell of the Enemy of Mankind.(713) + +(M224) Thus, on the principle of like by like, fern-seed is supposed to +discover gold because it is itself golden; and for a similar reason it +enriches its possessor with an unfailing supply of gold. But while the +fern-seed is described as golden, it is equally described as glowing and +fiery.(714) Hence, when we consider that two great days for gathering the +fabulous seed are Midsummer Eve and Christmas--that is, the two solstices +(for Christmas is nothing but an old heathen celebration of the winter +solstice)--we are led to regard the fiery aspect of the fern-seed as +primary, and its golden aspect as secondary and derivative. Fern-seed, in +fact, would seem to be an emanation of the sun's fire at the two +turning-points of its course, the summer and winter solstices. This view +is confirmed by a German story in which a hunter is said to have procured +fern-seed by shooting at the sun on Midsummer Day at noon; three drops of +blood fell down, which he caught in a white cloth, and these blood-drops +were the fern-seed.(715) Here the blood is clearly the blood of the sun, +from which the fern-seed is thus directly derived. Thus it may be taken as +probable that fern-seed is golden, because it is believed to be an +emanation of the sun's golden fire. + +(M225) Now, like fern-seed, the mistletoe is gathered either at Midsummer +or Christmas(716)--that is, at the summer and winter solstices--and, like +fern-seed, it is supposed to possess the power of revealing treasures in +the earth. On Midsummer Eve people in Sweden make divining-rods of +mistletoe, or of four different kinds of wood one of which must be +mistletoe. The treasure-seeker places the rod on the ground after +sun-down, and when it rests directly over treasure, the rod begins to move +as if it were alive.(717) Now, if the mistletoe discovers gold, it must be +in its character of the Golden Bough; and if it is gathered at the +solstices, must not the Golden Bough, like the golden fern-seed, be an +emanation of the sun's fire? The question cannot be answered with a simple +affirmative. We have seen that the old Aryans perhaps kindled the +solstitial and other ceremonial fires in part as sun-charms, that is, with +the intention of supplying the sun with fresh fire; and as these fires +were usually made by the friction or combustion of oak-wood,(718) it may +have appeared to the ancient Aryan that the sun was periodically recruited +from the fire which resided in the sacred oak. In other words, the oak may +have seemed to him the original storehouse or reservoir of the fire which +was from time to time drawn out to feed the sun. But if the life of the +oak was conceived to be in the mistletoe, the mistletoe must on that view +have contained the seed or germ of the fire which was elicited by friction +from the wood of the oak. Thus, instead of saying that the mistletoe was +an emanation of the sun's fire, it might be more correct to say that the +sun's fire was regarded as an emanation of the mistletoe. No wonder, then, +that the mistletoe shone with a golden splendour, and was called the +Golden Bough. Probably, however, like fern-seed, it was thought to assume +its golden aspect only at those stated times, especially midsummer, when +fire was drawn from the oak to light up the sun.(719) At Pulverbatch, in +Shropshire, it was believed within living memory that the oak-tree blooms +on Midsummer Eve and the blossom withers before daylight. A maiden who +wishes to know her lot in marriage should spread a white cloth under the +tree at night, and in the morning she will find a little dust, which is +all that remains of the flower. She should place the pinch of dust under +her pillow, and then her future husband will appear to her in her +dreams.(720) This fleeting bloom of the oak, if I am right, was probably +the mistletoe in its character of the Golden Bough. The conjecture is +confirmed by the observation that in Wales a real sprig of mistletoe +gathered on Midsummer Eve is similarly placed under the pillow to induce +prophetic dreams;(721) and further the mode of catching the imaginary +bloom of the oak in a white cloth is exactly that which was employed by +the Druids to catch the real mistletoe when it dropped from the bough of +the oak, severed by the golden sickle.(722) As Shropshire borders on +Wales, the belief that the oak blooms on Midsummer Eve may be Welsh in its +immediate origin, though probably the belief is a fragment of the +primitive Aryan creed. In some parts of Italy, as we saw,(723) peasants +still go out on Midsummer morning to search the oak-trees for the "oil of +St. John," which, like the mistletoe, heals all wounds, and is, perhaps, +the mistletoe itself in its glorified aspect. Thus it is easy to +understand how a title like the Golden Bough, so little descriptive of its +usual appearance on the tree, should have been applied to the seemingly +insignificant parasite. Further, we can perhaps see why in antiquity +mistletoe was believed to possess the remarkable property of extinguishing +fire,(724) and why in Sweden it is still kept in houses as a safeguard +against conflagration.(725) Its fiery nature marks it out, on homoeopathic +principles, as the best possible cure or preventive of injury by fire. + +(M226) These considerations may partially explain why Virgil makes Aeneas +carry a glorified bough of mistletoe with him on his descent into the +gloomy subterranean world. The poet describes how at the very gates of +hell there stretched a vast and gloomy wood, and how the hero, following +the flight of two doves that lured him on, wandered into the depths of the +immemorial forest till he saw afar off through the shadows of the trees +the flickering light of the Golden Bough illuminating the matted boughs +overhead.(726) If the mistletoe, as a yellow withered bough in the sad +autumn woods, was conceived to contain the seed of fire, what better +companion could a forlorn wanderer in the nether shades take with him than +a bough that would be a lamp to his feet as well as a rod and staff to his +hands? Armed with it he might boldly confront the dreadful spectres that +would cross his path on his adventurous journey. Hence when Aeneas, +emerging from the forest, comes to the banks of Styx, winding slow with +sluggish stream through the infernal marsh, and the surly ferryman refuses +him passage in his boat, he has but to draw the Golden Bough from his +bosom and hold it up, and straightway the blusterer quails at the sight +and meekly receives the hero into his crazy bark, which sinks deep in the +water under the unusual weight of the living man.(727) Even in recent +times, as we have seen, mistletoe has been deemed a protection against +witches and trolls,(728) and the ancients may well have credited it with +the same magical virtue. And if the parasite can, as some of our peasants +believe, open all locks,(729) why should it not have served as an "open +Sesame" in the hands of Aeneas to unlock the gates of death? There is some +reason to suppose that when Orpheus in like manner descended alive to hell +to rescue the soul of his dead wife Eurydice from the shades, he carried +with him a willow bough to serve as a passport on his journey to and from +the land of the dead; for in the great frescoes representing the nether +world, with which the master hand of Polygnotus adorned the walls of a +loggia at Delphi, Orpheus was depicted sitting pensively under a willow, +holding his lyre, now silent and useless, in his left hand, while with his +right he grasped the drooping boughs of the tree.(730) If the willow in +the picture had indeed the significance which an ingenious scholar has +attributed to it,(731) the painter meant to represent the dead musician +dreaming wistfully of the time when the willow had carried him safe back +across the Stygian ferry to that bright world of love and music which he +was now to see no more. Again, on an ancient sarcophagus, which exhibits +in sculptured relief the parting of Adonis from Aphrodite, the hapless +youth, reclining in the lap of his leman, holds a branch, which has been +taken to signify that he, too, by the help of the mystic bough, might yet +be brought back from the gates of death to life and love.(732) + +(M227) Now, too, we can conjecture why Virbius at Nemi came to be +confounded with the sun.(733) If Virbius was, as I have tried to shew, a +tree-spirit, he must have been the spirit of the oak on which grew the +Golden Bough; for tradition represented him as the first of the Kings of +the Wood. As an oak-spirit he must have been supposed periodically to +rekindle the sun's fire, and might therefore easily be confounded with the +sun itself. Similarly we can explain why Balder, an oak-spirit, was +described as "so fair of face and so shining that a light went forth from +him,"(734) and why he should have been so often taken to be the sun. And +in general we may say that in primitive society, when the only known way +of making fire is by the friction of wood, the savage must necessarily +conceive of fire as a property stored away, like sap or juice, in trees, +from which he has laboriously to extract it. The Senal Indians of +California "profess to believe that the whole world was once a globe of +fire, whence that element passed up into the trees, and now comes out +whenever two pieces of wood are rubbed together."(735) Similarly the Maidu +Indians of California hold that "the earth was primarily a globe of molten +matter, and from that the principle of fire ascended through the roots +into the trunk and branches of trees, whence the Indians can extract it by +means of their drill."(736) In Namoluk, one of the Caroline Islands, they +say that the art of making fire was taught men by the gods. Olofaet, the +cunning master of flames, gave fire to the bird _mwi_ and bade him carry +it to earth in his bill. So the bird flew from tree to tree and stored +away the slumbering force of the fire in the wood, from which men can +elicit it by friction.(737) In the ancient Vedic hymns of India the +fire-god Agni "is spoken of as born in wood, as the embryo of plants, or +as distributed in plants. He is also said to have entered into all plants +or to strive after them. When he is called the embryo of trees or of trees +as well as plants, there may be a side-glance at the fire produced in +forests by the friction of the boughs of trees."(738) In some Australian +languages the words for wood and fire are said to be the same.(739) + +(M228) A tree which has been struck by lightning is naturally regarded by +the savage as charged with a double or triple portion of fire; for has he +not seen the mighty flash enter into the trunk with his own eyes? Hence +perhaps we may explain some of the many superstitious beliefs concerning +trees that have been struck by lightning. Thus in the opinion of the +Cherokee Indians "mysterious properties attach to the wood of a tree which +has been struck by lightning, especially when the tree itself still lives, +and such wood enters largely into the secret compounds of the conjurers. +An ordinary person of the laity will not touch it, for fear of having +cracks come upon his hands and feet, nor is it burned for fuel, for fear +that lye made from the ashes will cause consumption. In preparing +ballplayers for the contest, the medicine-man sometimes burns splinters of +it to coal, which he gives to the players to paint themselves with, in +order that they may be able to strike their opponents with all the force +of a thunderbolt. Bark or wood from a tree struck by lightning, but still +green, is beaten up and put into the water in which seeds are soaked +before planting, to insure a good crop, but, on the other hand, any +lightning-struck wood thrown into the field will cause the crop to wither, +and it is believed to have a bad effect even to go into the field +immediately after having been near such a tree."(740) Apparently the +Cherokees imagine that when wood struck by lightning is soaked in water +the fierce heat of the slumbering fire in its veins is tempered to a +genial warmth, which promotes the growth of the crops; but that when the +force of the fire has not been thus diluted it blasts the growing corn. +When the Thompson Indians of British Columbia wished to set fire to the +houses of their enemies, they shot at them arrows which were either made +from a tree that had been struck by lightning or had splinters of such +wood attached to them.(741) They seem to have thought that wood struck by +lightning was so charged with fire that it would ignite whatever it +struck, the mere concussion sufficing to explode it like gunpowder. Yet +curiously enough these Indians supposed that if they burned the wood of +trees that had been struck by lightning, the weather would immediately +turn cold.(742) Perhaps they conceived such trees as reservoirs of heat, +and imagined that by using them up they would exhaust the supply and thus +lower the temperature of the atmosphere.(743) Wendish peasants of Saxony +similarly refuse to burn in their stoves the wood of trees that have been +struck by lightning; but the reason they give for their refusal is +different. They say that with such fuel the house would be burnt +down.(744) No doubt they think that the electric flash, inherent in the +wood, would send such a roaring flame up the chimney that nothing could +stand before it. In like manner the Thonga of South Africa will not use +such wood as fuel nor warm themselves at a fire which has been kindled +with it; but what danger they apprehend from the wood we are not +told.(745) On the contrary, when lightning sets fire to a tree, the +Winamwanga of Northern Rhodesia put out all the fires in the village and +plaster the fireplaces afresh, while the head men convey the +lightning-kindled fire to the chief, who prays over it. The chief then +sends out the new fire to all his villages, and the villagers reward his +messengers for the boon. This shews that they look upon fire kindled by +lightning with reverence, and the reverence is intelligible, for they +speak of thunder and lightning as God himself coming down to earth.(746) +Similarly the Maidu Indians of California believe that a Great Man created +the world and all its inhabitants, and that lightning is nothing but the +Great Man himself descending swiftly out of heaven and rending the trees +with his flaming arm.(747) + +(M229) It is a plausible theory that the reverence which the ancient +peoples of Europe paid to the oak, and the connexion which they traced +between the tree and their sky-god,(748) were derived from the much +greater frequency with which the oak appears to be struck by lightning +than any other tree of our European forests. Some remarkable statistics +have been adduced in support of this view by Mr. W. Warde Fowler.(749) +Observations, annually made in the forests of Lippe-Detmold for seventeen +years, yielded the result that while the woods were mainly stocked with +beech and only to a small extent with oak and Scotch pine, yet far more +oaks and Scotch pines were struck by lightning than beeches, the number of +stricken Scotch pines exceeding the number of stricken beeches in the +proportion of thirty-seven to one, and the number of stricken oaks +exceeding the number of stricken beeches in the proportion of no less than +sixty to one. Similar results have been obtained from observations made in +French and Bavarian forests.(750) In short, it would seem from statistics +compiled by scientific observers, who have no mythological theories to +maintain, that the oak suffers from the stroke of lightning far oftener +than any other forest tree in Europe. However we may explain it, whether +by the easier passage of electricity through oakwood than through any +other timber,(751) or in some other way, the fact itself may well have +attracted the notice of our rude forefathers, who dwelt in the vast +forests which then covered a large part of Europe; and they might +naturally account for it in their simple religious way by supposing that +the great sky-god, whom they worshipped and whose awful voice they heard +in the roll of thunder, loved the oak above all the trees of the wood and +often descended into it from the murky cloud in a flash of lightning, +leaving a token of his presence or of his passage in the riven and +blackened trunk and the blasted foliage. Such trees would thenceforth be +encircled by a nimbus of glory as the visible seats of the thundering +sky-god. Certain it is that, like some savages, both Greeks and Romans +identified their great god of the sky and of the oak with the lightning +flash which struck the ground; and they regularly enclosed such a stricken +spot and treated it thereafter as sacred.(752) It is not rash to suppose +that the ancestors of the Celts and Germans in the forests of Central +Europe paid a like respect for like reasons to a blasted oak. + +(M230) This explanation of the Aryan reverence for the oak and of the +association of the tree with the great god of the thunder and the sky, was +suggested or implied long ago by Jacob Grimm,(753) and has been of late +powerfully reinforced by Mr. W. Warde Fowler.(754) It appears to be +simpler and more probable than the explanation which I formerly adopted, +namely, that the oak was worshipped primarily for the many benefits which +our rude forefathers derived from the tree, particularly for the fire +which they drew by friction from its wood; and that the connexion of the +oak with the sky was an after-thought based on the belief that the flash +of lightning was nothing but the spark which the sky-god up aloft elicited +by rubbing two pieces of oak wood against each other, just as his savage +worshipper kindled fire in the forest on earth.(755) On that theory the +god of the thunder and the sky was derived from the original god of the +oak; on the present theory, which I now prefer, the god of the sky and the +thunder was the great original deity of our Aryan ancestors, and his +association with the oak was merely an inference based on the frequency +with which the oak was seen to be struck by lightning. If the Aryans, as +some think, roamed the wide steppes of Russia or Central Asia with their +flocks and herds before they plunged into the gloom of the European +forests, they may have worshipped the god of the blue or cloudy firmament +and the flashing thunderbolt long before they thought of associating him +with the blasted oaks in their new home.(756) + +(M231) Perhaps the new theory has the further advantage of throwing light +on the special sanctity ascribed to mistletoe which grows on an oak. The +mere rarity of such a growth on an oak hardly suffices to explain the +extent and the persistence of the superstition. A hint of its real origin +is possibly furnished by the statement of Pliny that the Druids worshipped +the plant because they believed it to have fallen from heaven and to be a +token that the tree on which it grew was chosen by the god himself.(757) +Can they have thought that the mistletoe dropped on the oak in a flash of +lightning? The conjecture is confirmed by the name thunder-besom which is +applied to mistletoe in the Swiss canton of Aargau,(758) for the epithet +clearly implies a close connexion between the parasite and the thunder; +indeed "thunder-besom" is a popular name in Germany for any bushy +nest-like excrescence growing on a branch, because such a parasitic growth +is actually believed by the ignorant to be a product of lightning.(759) If +there is any truth in this conjecture, the real reason why the Druids +worshipped a mistletoe-bearing oak above all other trees of the forest was +a belief that every such oak had not only been struck by lightning but +bore among its branches a visible emanation of the celestial fire; so that +in cutting the mistletoe with mystic rites they were securing for +themselves all the magical properties of a thunderbolt. If that was so, we +must apparently conclude that the mistletoe was deemed an emanation of the +lightning rather than, as I have thus far argued, of the midsummer sun. +Perhaps, indeed, we might combine the two seemingly divergent views by +supposing that in the old Aryan creed the mistletoe descended from the sun +on Midsummer Day in a flash of lightning. But such a combination is +artificial and unsupported, so far as I know, by any positive evidence. +Whether on mythical principles the two interpretations can really be +reconciled with each other or not, I will not presume to say; but even +should they prove to be discrepant, the inconsistency need not have +prevented our rude forefathers from embracing both of them at the same +time with an equal fervour of conviction; for like the great majority of +mankind the savage is above being hidebound by the trammels of a pedantic +logic. In attempting to track his devious thought through the jungle of +crass ignorance and blind fear, we must always remember that we are +treading enchanted ground, and must beware of taking for solid realities +the cloudy shapes that cross our path or hover and gibber at us through +the gloom. We can never completely replace ourselves at the standpoint of +primitive man, see things with his eyes, and feel our hearts beat with the +emotions that stirred his. All our theories concerning him and his ways +must therefore fall far short of certainty; the utmost we can aspire to in +such matters is a reasonable degree of probability. + +(M232) To conclude these enquiries we may say that if Balder was indeed, +as I have conjectured, a personification of a mistletoe-bearing oak, his +death by a blow of the mistletoe might on the new theory be explained as a +death by a stroke of lightning. So long as the mistletoe, in which the +flame of the lightning smouldered, was suffered to remain among the +boughs, so long no harm could befall the good and kindly god of the oak, +who kept his life stowed away for safety between earth and heaven in the +mysterious parasite; but when once that seat of his life, or of his death, +was torn from the branch and hurled at the trunk, the tree fell--the god +died--smitten by a thunderbolt.(760) + +(M233) And what we have said of Balder in the oak forests of Scandinavia +may perhaps, with all due diffidence in a question so obscure and +uncertain, be applied to the priest of Diana, the King of the Wood, at +Aricia in the oak forests of Italy. He may have personated in flesh and +blood the great Italian god of the sky, Jupiter,(761) who had kindly come +down from heaven in the lightning flash to dwell among men in the +mistletoe--the thunder-besom--the Golden Bough--growing on the sacred oak +beside the still waters of the lake of Nemi. If that was so, we need not +wonder that the priest guarded with drawn sword the mystic bough which +contained the god's life and his own. The goddess whom he served and +married was herself, if I am right, no other than the Queen of Heaven, the +true wife of the sky-god. For she, too, loved the solitude of the woods +and the lonely hills, and sailing overhead on clear nights in the likeness +of the silver moon she looked down with pleasure on her own fair image +reflected on the calm, the burnished surface of the lake, Diana's Mirror. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. FAREWELL TO NEMI. + + +(M234) We are at the end of our enquiry, but as often happens in the +search after truth, if we have answered one question, we have raised many +more; if we have followed one track home, we have had to pass by others +that opened off it and led, or seemed to lead, to far other goals than the +sacred grove at Nemi. Some of these paths we have followed a little way; +others, if fortune should be kind, the writer and the reader may one day +pursue together. For the present we have journeyed far enough together, +and it is time to part. Yet before we do so, we may well ask ourselves +whether there is not some more general conclusion, some lesson, if +possible, of hope and encouragement, to be drawn from the melancholy +record of human error and folly which has engaged our attention in these +volumes. + +(M235) If then we consider, on the one hand, the essential similarity of +man's chief wants everywhere and at all times, and on the other hand, the +wide difference between the means he has adopted to satisfy them in +different ages, we shall perhaps be disposed to conclude that the movement +of the higher thought, so far as we can trace it, has on the whole been +from magic through religion to science. In magic man depends on his own +strength to meet the difficulties and dangers that beset him on every +side. He believes in a certain established order of nature on which he can +surely count, and which he can manipulate for his own ends. When he +discovers his mistake, when he recognizes sadly that both the order of +nature which he had assumed and the control which he had believed himself +to exercise over it were purely imaginary, he ceases to rely on his own +intelligence and his own unaided efforts, and throws himself humbly on the +mercy of certain great invisible beings behind the veil of nature, to whom +he now ascribes all those far-reaching powers which he once arrogated to +himself. Thus in the acuter minds magic is gradually superseded by +religion, which explains the succession of natural phenomena as regulated +by the will, the passion, or the caprice of spiritual beings like man in +kind, though vastly superior to him in power. + +(M236) But as time goes on this explanation in its turn proves to be +unsatisfactory. For it assumes that the succession of natural events is +not determined by immutable laws, but is to some extent variable and +irregular, and this assumption is not borne out by closer observation. On +the contrary, the more we scrutinize that succession the more we are +struck by the rigid uniformity, the punctual precision with which, +wherever we can follow them, the operations of nature are carried on. +Every great advance in knowledge has extended the sphere of order and +correspondingly restricted the sphere of apparent disorder in the world, +till now we are ready to anticipate that even in regions where chance and +confusion appear still to reign, a fuller knowledge would everywhere +reduce the seeming chaos to cosmos. Thus the keener minds, still pressing +forward to a deeper solution of the mysteries of the universe, come to +reject the religious theory of nature as inadequate, and to revert in a +measure to the older standpoint of magic by postulating explicitly, what +in magic had only been implicitly assumed, to wit, an inflexible +regularity in the order of natural events, which, if carefully observed, +enables us to foresee their course with certainty and to act accordingly. +In short, religion, regarded as an explanation of nature, is displaced by +science. + +(M237) But while science has this much in common with magic that both rest +on a faith in order as the underlying principle of all things, readers of +this work will hardly need to be reminded that the order presupposed by +magic differs widely from that which forms the basis of science. The +difference flows naturally from the different modes in which the two +orders have been reached. For whereas the order on which magic reckons is +merely an extension, by false analogy, of the order in which ideas present +themselves to our minds, the order laid down by science is derived from +patient and exact observation of the phenomena themselves. The abundance, +the solidity, and the splendour of the results already achieved by science +are well fitted to inspire us with a cheerful confidence in the soundness +of its method. Here at last, after groping about in the dark for countless +ages, man has hit upon a clue to the labyrinth, a golden key that opens +many locks in the treasury of nature. It is probably not too much to say +that the hope of progress--moral and intellectual as well as material--in +the future is bound up with the fortunes of science, and that every +obstacle placed in the way of scientific discovery is a wrong to humanity. + +(M238) Yet the history of thought should warn us against concluding that +because the scientific theory of the world is the best that has yet been +formulated, it is necessarily complete and final. We must remember that at +bottom the generalizations of science or, in common parlance, the laws of +nature are merely hypotheses devised to explain that ever-shifting +phantasmagoria of thought which we dignify with the high-sounding names of +the world and the universe. In the last analysis magic, religion, and +science are nothing but theories of thought; and as science has supplanted +its predecessors, so it may hereafter be itself superseded by some more +perfect hypothesis, perhaps by some totally different way of looking at +the phenomena--of registering the shadows on the screen--of which we in this +generation can form no idea. The advance of knowledge is an infinite +progression towards a goal that for ever recedes. We need not murmur at +the endless pursuit:-- + + + "_Fatti non foste a viver come bruti_ + _Ma per seguir virtute e conoscenza._" + + +(M239) Great things will come of that pursuit, though we may not enjoy +them. Brighter stars will rise on some voyager of the future--some great +Ulysses of the realms of thought--than shine on us. The dreams of magic may +one day be the waking realities of science. But a dark shadow lies athwart +the far end of this fair prospect. For however vast the increase of +knowledge and of power which the future may have in store for man, he can +scarcely hope to stay the sweep of those great forces which seem to be +making silently but relentlessly for the destruction of all this starry +universe in which our earth swims as a speck or mote. In the ages to come +man may be able to predict, perhaps even to control, the wayward courses +of the winds and clouds, but hardly will his puny hands have strength to +speed afresh our slackening planet in its orbit or rekindle the dying fire +of the sun.(762) Yet the philosopher who trembles at the idea of such +distant catastrophes may console himself by reflecting that these gloomy +apprehensions, like the earth and the sun themselves, are only parts of +that unsubstantial world which thought has conjured up out of the void, +and that the phantoms which the subtle enchantress has evoked to-day she +may ban to-morrow. They too, like so much that to common eyes seems solid, +may melt into air, into thin air.(763) + +(M240) Without dipping so far into the future, we may illustrate the +course which thought has hitherto run by likening it to a web woven of +three different threads--the black thread of magic, the red thread of +religion, and the white thread of science, if under science we may include +those simple truths, drawn from observation of nature, of which men in all +ages have possessed a store. Could we then survey the web of thought from +the beginning, we should probably perceive it to be at first a chequer of +black and white, a patchwork of true and false notions, hardly tinged as +yet by the red thread of religion. But carry your eye further along the +fabric and you will remark that, while the black and white chequer still +runs through it, there rests on the middle portion of the web, where +religion has entered most deeply into its texture, a dark crimson stain, +which shades off insensibly into a lighter tint as the white thread of +science is woven more and more into the tissue. To a web thus chequered +and stained, thus shot with threads of diverse hues, but gradually +changing colour the farther it is unrolled, the state of modern thought, +with all its divergent aims and conflicting tendencies, may be compared. +Will the great movement which for centuries has been slowly altering the +complexion of thought be continued in the near future? or will a reaction +set in which may arrest progress and even undo much that has been done? To +keep up our parable, what will be the colour of the web which the Fates +are now weaving on the humming loom of time? will it be white or red? We +cannot tell. A faint glimmering light illumines the backward portion of +the web. Clouds and thick darkness hide the other end. + + ------------------------------------- + +(M241) Our long voyage of discovery is over and our bark has drooped her +weary sails in port at last. Once more we take the road to Nemi. It is +evening, and as we climb the long slope of the Appian Way up to the Alban +Hills, we look back and see the sky aflame with sunset, its golden glory +resting like the aureole of a dying saint over Rome and touching with a +crest of fire the dome of St. Peter's. The sight once seen can never be +forgotten, but we turn from it and pursue our way darkling along the +mountain side, till we come to Nemi and look down on the lake in its deep +hollow, now fast disappearing in the evening shadows. The place has +changed but little since Diana received the homage of her worshippers in +the sacred grove. The temple of the sylvan goddess, indeed, has vanished +and the King of the Wood no longer stands sentinel over the Golden Bough. +But Nemi's woods are still green, and as the sunset fades above them in +the west, there comes to us, borne on the swell of the wind, the sound of +the church bells of Ariccia ringing the Angelus. _Ave Maria!_ Sweet and +solemn they chime out from the distant town and die lingeringly away +across the wide Campagnan marshes. _Le roi est mort, vive le roi! Ave +Maria!_ + + + + + +NOTES. + + + + +I. Snake Stones.(764) + + +(M242) The belief of the Scottish Highlanders as to the so-called Snake +Stones has been recorded as follows by a good authority at the end of the +nineteenth century:-- + +"A product called _clach-nathrach_, serpent stone, is found on the root of +the long ling. It is of steel-grey colour, has the consistency of soft +putty when new and of hard putty when old, and is as light as +pumice-stone, which it resembles. It is of a globular form, and from one +to three inches in diameter. There is a circular hole, about a quarter of +an inch in width, through the centre. This substance is said to be +produced by the serpent emitting spume round the root of a twig of +heather. The _clach-nathrach_ is greatly prized by the people, who +transmit it as a talisman to their descendants."(765) + + + + +II. The Transformation of Witches Into Cats. + + +(M243) The European belief that witches can turn themselves into cats, and +that any wounds inflicted on the witch-cat will afterwards be found on the +body of the witch herself,(766) has its exact parallel among the Oraons or +Uraons, a primitive hill tribe of Bengal. The following is the account +given of the Oraon belief by a Jesuit missionary, who laboured for years +among these savages and was intimately acquainted with their +superstitions:-- + +"_Chordewa_ is a witch rather than a _bhut_ [demon]. It is believed that +some women have the power to change their soul into a black cat, who then +goes about in the houses where there are sick people. Such a cat has a +peculiar way of mewing quite different from its brethren, and is easily +recognised. It steals quietly into the house, licks the lips of the sick +man and eats of the food that has been prepared for him. The sick man soon +gets worse and dies. They say it is very difficult to catch the cat, as it +has all the nimbleness of its nature and the cleverness of a _bhut_. +However, they sometimes succeed, and then something wonderful happens. The +woman out of whom the cat has come remains insensible, as it were in a +state of temporary death, until the cat re-enters her body. Any wound +inflicted on the cat will be inflicted on her; if they cut its ears or +break its legs or put out its eyes the woman will suffer the same +mutilation. The Uraons say that formerly they used to burn any woman that +was suspected to be a _Chordewa_."(767) + + + + +III. African Balders. + + +(M244) In various parts of Africa stories are told of men who could only +be killed, like Balder, by the stroke of an apparently insignificant +weapon; and some at least of these men were not mythical beings but real +men of flesh and blood who lived not long ago and whose memory is still +comparatively fresh among their people. The Wadoe of German East Africa +tell such a story of a great sorcerer, whom they now worship as a +dispenser of sunshine and rain. The legend and the worship are reported as +follows by a native African traveller:-- + +(M245) "If drought sets in, all the chiefs meet in council and resolve: +'This year we have had nothing but sunshine; when we plant, the fruits +will not ripen; therefore we must betake ourselves to our spirits of the +dead (_mizimu_).' Then they take some woollen stuff dyed blue and a red +cloth, and set out together on the way and go to the district Nguu, where +their principal ghost (_mzimu_) resides, in order to lay the matter before +him. The ghost dwells in a very spacious cave. On their coming the chiefs +greet him. His answer consists in a humming noise, which sounds like the +patter of rain. If one among them is a bad man, the ghost says to them, +'There is come with you in the caravan a rascal who wears such and such +clothes.' If such a man there is, he is driven away. Now they tell the +ghost all that they wish to say, to wit: 'This year thou hast given us +much sunshine; the fruits in the fields do not grow tall, everywhere there +is sickness, therefore we beg thee, give us rain.' Thereupon the ghost +hums a second time, and all are glad, because he has answered them. But if +the ghost is angry, he does not answer but holds his peace. If he has made +them glad and given an answer, much rain will fall; otherwise they return +as they went in sunshine. + +(M246) "Originally this ghost was a man, a village elder (_jumbe_) of +Ukami. He was a great sorcerer. One day people wished to conquer him, but +they could do him no harm, for neither lead nor sword nor arrow could +pierce his body. But he lived at strife with his wife. She said to his +enemies, 'If you would kill my husband, I will tell you how it can be +done.' They asked her, 'How can it be done?' She answered, 'My husband is +a great sorcerer; you all know that.' They answered, 'That is true.' Then +she said further, 'If you would kill him so that he dies on the spot, seek +a stalk of a gourd and smite him with it; then he will die at once, for +that has always been to him a forbidden thing.'(768) They sought the stalk +of a gourd, and when they smote him with it, he died at once without so +much as setting one foot from the spot. But of him and his departure there +was nothing more to be seen, for suddenly a great storm blew, and no man +knew whither he had gone. The storm is said to have carried him to that +cave which is still there to this day. After some days people saw in the +cave his weapons, clothes, and turban lying, and they brought word to the +folk in the town, 'We have seen the clothes of the elder in the cave, but +of himself we have perceived nothing.' The folk went thither to look +about, and they found that it was so. So the news of this ghost spread, +all the more because people had seen the marvel that a man died and nobody +knew where he had gone. The wonderful thing in this wood is that the +spirits dwell in the midst of the wood and that everywhere a bright white +sand lies on the ground, as if people had gone thither for the purpose of +keeping everything clean. On many days they hear a drumming and shouts of +joy in this wood, as if a marriage feast were being held there. That is +the report about the ghost of Kolelo.(769) All village elders, who dwell +in the interior, see in this ghost the greatest ghost of all. All the +chiefs (_mwene_) and headmen (_pazi_) and the village elders (_jumben_) of +the clan Kingaru(770) respect that ghost."(771) + +(M247) Miss Alice Werner, who kindly called my attention to this and the +following cases of African Balders, tells me that this worshipful ghost in +the cave appears to have been in his time a real man. Again, she was +assured by some natives that "Chikumbu, a Yao chief, who at one time gave +the Administration some trouble, was invulnerable by shot or steel; the +only thing that could kill him--since he had not been fortified against it +by the proper medicine--was a sharp splinter of bamboo. This reminds one of +Balder and the mistletoe."(772) Again, a Nyanja chief named Chibisa, who +was a great man in this part of Africa when Livingstone travelled in +it,(773) "stood firm upon his ant-heap, while his men fell round him, +shouting his war-song, until one who knew the secret of a sand-bullet +brought him down."(774) + +(M248) Once more the Swahili tell a story of an African Samson named +Liongo who lived in Shanga, while it was a flourishing city. By reason of +his great strength he oppressed the people exceedingly, and they sought to +kill him, but all in vain. At last they bribed his nephew, saying, "Go and +ask your father what it is that will kill him. When you know, come and +tell us, and when he is dead we will give you the kingdom." So the +treacherous nephew went to his uncle and asked him, "Father, what is it +that can kill you?" And his uncle said, "A copper needle. If any one stabs +me in the navel, I die." So the nephew went to the town and said to the +people, "It is a copper needle that will kill him." And they gave him a +needle, and he went back to his uncle; and while his uncle slept the +wicked nephew stabbed him with the needle in the navel. So he died, and +they buried him, and his grave is to be seen at Ozi to this day. But they +seized the nephew and killed him; they did not give the kingdom to that +bad young man.(775) + +(M249) When we compare the story of Balder with these African stories, the +heroes of which were probably all real men, and when further we remember +the similar tale told of the Persian hero Isfendiyar, who may well have +been an historical personage,(776) we are confirmed in the suspicion that +Balder himself may have been a real man, admired and beloved in his +lifetime and deified after his death, like the African sorcerer, who is +now worshipped in a cave and bestows rain or sunshine on his votaries. On +the whole I incline to regard this solution of the Balder problem as more +probable than the one I have advocated in the text, namely that Balder was +a mythical personification of a mistletoe-bearing oak. The facts which +seem to incline the balance to the side of Euhemerism reached me as my +book was going to press and too late to be embodied in their proper place +in the volumes. The acceptance of this hypothesis would not necessarily +break the analogy which I have traced between Balder in his sacred grove +on the Sogne fiord of Norway and the priest of Diana in the sacred grove +of Nemi; indeed, it might even be thought rather to strengthen the +resemblance between the two, since there is no doubt at all that the +priests of Diana at Nemi were men who lived real lives and died real +deaths. + + + + +IV. The Mistletoe and the Golden Bough. + + +(M250) That Virgil compares the Golden Bough to the mistletoe(777) is +certain and admitted on all hands. The only doubt that can arise is +whether the plant to which he compares the mystic bough is the ordinary +species of mistletoe (_Viscum album_) or the species known to botanists as +_Loranthus europaeus_. The common mistletoe (_Viscum album_, L.) "lives as +a semi-parasite (obtaining carbon from the air, but water, nitrogen, and +mineral matter from the sap of its host) on many conifers and broadleaved +trees, and chiefly on their branches. The hosts, or trees on which it +lives, are, _most frequently_, the apple tree, both wild and cultivated +varieties; next, the silver-fir; _frequently_, birches, poplars (except +aspen), limes, willows, Scots pine, mountain-ash, and hawthorn; +_occasionally_, robinia, maples, horse-chestnut, hornbeam, and aspen. It +is very rarely found on oaks, but has been observed on pedunculate oak at +Thornbury, Gloucestershire, and elsewhere in Europe, also on _Quercus +coccinea_, Moench., and _Q. palustris_, Moench. The alders, beech and +spruce appear to be always free from mistletoe, and it very rarely attacks +pear-trees. It is commoner in Southern Europe than in the North, and is +extremely abundant where cider is made. In the N.-W. Himalayan districts, +it is frequently found on apricot-trees, which are the commonest +fruit-trees there. Its white berries are eaten by birds, chiefly by the +missel-thrush (_Turdus viscivorus_, L.), and the seeds are either rubbed +by the beak against branches of trees, or voided on to them; the seeds, +owing to the viscous nature of the pulp surrounding them, then become +attached to the branches."(778) The large smooth pale-green tufts of the +parasite, clinging to the boughs of trees, are most conspicuous in winter, +when they assume a yellowish hue.(779) In Greece at the present time +mistletoe grows most commonly on firs, especially at a considerable +elevation (three thousand feet or more) above the level of the sea.(780) +Throughout Italy mistletoe now grows on fruit-trees, almond-trees, +hawthorn, limes, willows, black poplars, and firs, but never, it is said, +on oaks.(781) In England seven authentic cases of mistletoe growing on +oaks are said to be reported.(782) In Gloucestershire mistletoe grows on +the Badham Court oak, Sedbury Park, Chepstow, and on the +Frampton-on-Severn oak.(783) Branches of oak with mistletoe growing on +them were exhibited to more than one learned society in France during the +nineteenth century; one of the branches was cut in the forest of +Jeugny.(784) It is a popular French superstition that mandragora or "the +hand of glory," as it is called by the people, may be found by digging at +the root of a mistletoe-bearing oak.(785) + +(M251) The species of mistletoe known as _Loranthus europaeus_ resembles +the ordinary mistletoe in general appearance, but its berries are bright +yellow instead of white. "This species attacks chiefly oaks, _Quercus +cerris_, L., _Q. sessiliflora_, Salisb., less frequently, _Q. +pedunculata_, Ehrh., and _Castanea vulgaris_, Lam.; also lime. It is found +throughout Southern Europe and as far north as Saxony, not in Britain. It +grows chiefly on the branches of standards over coppice." The injury which +it inflicts on its hosts is even greater than that inflicted by the +ordinary mistletoe; it often kills the branch on which it settles. The +seeds are carried to the trees by birds, chiefly by the missel-thrush. In +India many kinds of _Loranthus_ grow on various species of forest trees, +for example, on teak;(786) one variety (_Loranthus vestitus_) grows on two +species of oak, the _Quercus dilatata_, Lindl., and the _Quercus incana_, +Roxb.(787) A marked distinction between the two sorts of mistletoe is that +whereas ordinary mistletoe (_Viscum album_) is evergreen, the _Loranthus_ +is deciduous.(788) In Greece the _Loranthus_ has been observed on many old +chestnut-trees at Stheni, near Delphi.(789) In Italy it grows chiefly on +the various species of oaks and also on chestnut-trees. So familiar is it +on oaks that it is known as "oak mistletoe" both in popular parlance +(_visco quercino_) and in druggists' shops (_viscum quernum_). Bird-lime +is made from it in Italy.(790) + +(M252) Both sorts of mistletoe were known to the ancient Greeks and +Romans, though the distinctive terms which they applied to each appear not +to be quite certain. Theophrastus, and Pliny after him, seem to +distinguish three sorts of mistletoe, to which Theophrastus gives the +names of _ixia_, _hyphear_, and _stelis_ respectively. He says that the +_hyphear_ and the _stelis_ grow on firs and pines, and that the _ixia_ +grows on the oak ({~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}), the terebinth, and many other kinds of trees. He +also observes that both the _ixia_ and the _hyphear_ grow on the ilex or +holm-oak ({~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}), the same tree sometimes bearing both species at the +same time, the _ixia_ on the north and the _hyphear_ on the south. He +expressly distinguishes the evergreen species of _ixia_ from the +deciduous, which seems to prove that he included both the ordinary +mistletoe (_Viscum album_) and the _Loranthus_ under the general name of +_ixia_.(791) + +(M253) Modern writers are not agreed as to the identification of the +various species of mistletoe designated by the names _ixia_, _hyphear_, +and _stelis_. F. Wimmer, the editor of Theophrastus in the Didot edition, +takes _hyphear_ to be common mistletoe (_Viscum album_), _stelis_ to be +_Loranthus europaeus_, and _ixia_ to be a general name which includes the +two species.(792) On the other hand F. Fraas, while he agrees as to the +identification of _hyphear_ and _stelis_ with common mistletoe and +_Loranthus_ respectively, inclines somewhat hesitatingly to regard _ixia_ +or _ixos_ (as Dioscorides has it) as a synonym for _stelis_ (the +_Loranthus_).(793) H. O. Lenz, again, regards both _hyphear_ and _stelis_ +as synonyms for common mistletoe (_Viscum album_), while he would restrict +_ixia_ to the _Loranthus_.(794) But both these attempts to confine _ixia_ +to the single deciduous species _Loranthus_ seem incompatible with the +statement of Theophrastus, that _ixia_ includes an evergreen as well as a +deciduous species.(795) + +(M254) We have now to ask, Did Virgil compare the Golden Bough to the +common mistletoe (_Viscum album_) or to the _Loranthus europaeus_? Some +modern enquirers decide in favour of the _Loranthus_. Many years ago Sir +Francis Darwin wrote to me:(796) "I wonder whether _Loranthus europaeus_ +would do for your Golden Bough. It is a sort of mistletoe growing on oaks +and chestnuts in S. Europe. In the autumn it produces what are described +as bunches of pretty yellow berries. It is not evergreen like the +mistletoe, but deciduous, and as its leaves appear at the same time as the +oak leaves and drop at the same time in autumn, it must look like a branch +of the oak, more especially as it has rough bark with lichens often +growing on it. _Loranthus_ is said to be a hundred years old sometimes." +Professor P. J. Veth, after quoting the passage from Virgil, writes that +"almost all translators (including Vondel) and commentators of the Mantuan +bard think that the mistletoe is here meant, probably for the simple +reason that it was better known to them than _Loranthus europaeus_. I am +convinced that Virgil can only have thought of the latter. On the other +side of the Alps the _Loranthus_ is much commoner than the mistletoe; on +account of its splendid red blossoms, sometimes twenty centimetres long, +it is a far larger and more conspicuous ornament of the trees; it bears +really golden yellow fruit (_Croceus fetus_), whereas the berries of the +mistletoe are almost white; and it attaches itself by preference to the +oak, whereas the mistletoe is very seldom found on the oak."(797) Again, +Mr. W. R. Paton writes to me from Mount Athos:(798) "The oak is here +called _dendron_, _the_ tree. As for the mistletoe there are two +varieties, both called _axo_ (ancient {~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER XI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}). Both are used to make +bird-lime. The real _Golden Bough_ is the variety with yellow berries and +no leaves. It is the parasite of the oak and rarely grows on other trees. +It is very abundant, and now in winter the oak-trees which have adopted it +seem from a distance to be draped in a golden tissue. The other variety is +our own mistletoe and is strictly a parasite of the fir (a spruce fir, I +don't know its scientific name). It is also very abundant." + +(M255) Thus in favour of identifying Virgil's mistletoe (_viscum_) with +_Loranthus_ rather than with common mistletoe it has been urged, first, +that the berries of _Loranthus_ are bright yellow, whereas those of the +mistletoe are of a greenish white; and, second, that the _Loranthus_ +commonly grows on oaks, whereas mistletoe seldom does so, indeed in Italy +mistletoe is said never to be found on an oak. Both these circumstances +certainly speak strongly in favour of _Loranthus_; since Virgil definitely +describes the berries as of a saffron-yellow (_croceus_) and says that the +plant grew on a holm-oak. Yet on the other hand Virgil tells us that the +plant put forth fresh leaves in the depths of winter (_brumali frigore_, +strictly speaking, "the cold of the winter solstice"); and this would best +apply to the common mistletoe, which is evergreen, whereas _Loranthus_ is +deciduous.(799) Accordingly, if we must decide between the two species, +this single circumstance appears to incline the balance in favour of +common mistletoe. But is it not possible that Virgil, whether consciously +or unconsciously, confused the two plants and combined traits from both in +his description? Both parasites are common in Italy and in appearance they +are much alike except for the colour of the berries. As a loving observer +of nature, Virgil was probably familiar by sight with both, but he may not +have examined them closely; and he might be excused if he thought that the +parasite which he saw growing, with its clusters of bright yellow berries, +on oaks in winter, was identical with the similar parasite which he saw +growing, with its bunches of greenish white berries and its pale green +leaves, on many other trees of the forest. The confusion would be all the +more natural if the Celts of northern Italy, in whose country the poet was +born, resembled the modern Celts of Brittany in attaching bunches of the +common mistletoe to their cottages and leaving them there till the +revolving months had tinged the pale berries, leaves, and twigs with a +golden yellow, thereby converting the branch of mistletoe into a true +Golden Bough. + + + + + +INDEX. + + +Aachen, effigy burnt at, i. 120, ii. 25 + +Aargau, Swiss canton, of, Lenten fire-custom in, i. 119; + superstition as to oak-mistletoe in, ii. 82; + mistletoe called "thunder-besom" in, 85, 301; + birth-trees in, 165 + +Abeghian, Manuk, on creeping through cleft trees in Armenia, ii. 172 + +Abensberg in Bavaria, burning the Easter Man at, i. 144 + +Abeokuta, use of bull-roarers at, ii. 229 _n._ + +Aber, the Lake of, in Upper Austria, ii. 189 + +Aberdeenshire, custom at reaping the last corn in, i. 12; + need-fire in, 296; + holed rock used by childless women in, ii. 187 + +Aberfeldy, Hallowe'en fires near, i. 232 + +Aborigines of Victoria, their custom as to emu fat, i. 13 + +Abougit, Father X., S.J., on the ceremony of the new fire at Jerusalem, i. + 130 + +Abruzzi, new Easter fire in the, i. 122; + water consecrated at Easter in the, 122 _sqq._; + Midsummer rites of fire and water in the, 209 _sq._ + +Acacia, the heart in the flower of the, ii. 135 _sq._ + +Acarnanian story of Prince Sunless, i. 21 + +Achern, St. John's fires at, i. 168 + +Achterneed, in Ross-shire, Beltane cakes at, i. 153 + +Acireale, in Sicily, Midsummer fires at, i. 210 + +Adder stones, i. 15 + +Addison, Joseph, on witchcraft in Switzerland, ii. 42 _n._ 2 + +Adonis and Aphrodite, ii. 294 _sq._ + +Aelst, Peter van, painter, ii. 36 + +Aeneas and the Golden Bough, ii. 285, 293 _sq._ + +Africa, girls secluded at puberty in, i. 22 _sqq._; + dread and seclusion of women at menstruation in, 79 _sqq._; + birth-trees in, ii. 160 _sqq._; + use of bull-roarers in, 229 _n._, 232 + +----, British Central, the Anyanja of, i. 81 + +----, British East, i. 81; + ceremony of new fire in, 135 _sq._; + the Nandi of, ii. 229 _n._; + the Akikuyu of, 262 _sq._ + +----, East, ceremony of the new fire in, i. 135; + the Swahili of, ii. 160 + +----, German East, the Wajagga of, ii. 160; + the Washamba of, 183; + the Bondeis of, 263; + the Wadoe of, 312 + +----, German South-West, the Ovambo of, ii. 183 + +----, North, Midsummer fires in, i. 213 _sqq._ + +----, South, the Thonga of, ii. 297 + +----, West, theory of an external soul embodied in an animal prevalent in, + ii. 200 _sqq._; + ritual of death and resurrection at initiation in, 251 _sqq._ + +African stories of the external soul, ii. 148 _sqq._; + Balders, 312 _sqq._ + +Afterbirth buried under a tree, ii. 160 _sq._, 162, 163, 164, 165; + of child animated by a ghost and sympathetically connected with a + banana-tree, 162; + regarded as brother or sister of child, 162 _n._ 2; + regarded as a second child, 162 _n._ 2; + regarded as a guardian spirit, 223 _n._ 2; + and navel-string regarded as guardian angels of the man, ii. 162 _n._ 2 + +Agaric growing on birch-trees, superstitions as to, i. 148 + +Aglu, New year fires at, i. 217 + +Air thought to be poisoned at eclipses, i. 162 _n._ + +Aisne, Midsummer fires in the department of, i. 187 + +Aix, squibs at Midsummer in, i. 193; + Midsummer king at, i. 194, ii. 25; + bathing at Midsummer in, 216 + +Agni, Hindoo deity, i. 99 _n._ 2; + the fire-god, ii. 1, 296 + +Ague, Midsummer bonfires deemed a cure for, i. 162; + leaps across the Midsummer bonfires thought to be a preventive of, 174 + +Agweh, on the Slave Coast, custom of widows at, ii. 18 _sq._ + +Ahlen, in Munsterland, i. 247 + +Ahriman, the devil of the Persians, i. 95 + +Aht or Nootka Indians of Vancouver Island, seclusion of girls at puberty + among the, i. 43 _sq._ + +Ahura Mazda, the supreme being of the Persians, i. 95 + +Ain, Lenten fires in the department of, i. 114 + +Ainos of Japan, their mourning caps, i. 20; + their use of mugwort in exorcism, ii. 60; + their veneration for mistletoe, 79 + +A-Kamba of British East Africa, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, + i. 23 + +Akikuyu of British East Africa, their dread of menstruous women, i. 81; + ritual of the new birth among the, ii. 262 _sq._ + +Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, Roman version of, ii. 105 + +Alaska, seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of, i. 45 _sq._; + the Esquimaux of, ii. 155 + +Alastir and the Bare-Stripping Hangman, Argyleshire story of, ii. 129 + _sq._ + +Albania, Midsummer fires in, i. 212; + the Yule log in, 264 + +Albanian story of the external soul, ii. 104 _n._ 3 + +Albert Nyanza, the Wakondyo of the, ii. 162 _sq._ + +Albino head of secret society on the Lower Congo, ii. 251 + +Alders free from mistletoe, ii. 315 + +Alfoors or Toradjas of Celebes, their custom at the smelting of iron, ii. + 154; + their doctrine of the plurality of souls, 222 + +Algeria, Midsummer fires in, i. 213 + +Alice Springs in Central Australia, ii. 238 + +Allan, John Hay, on the Hays of Errol, ii. 283 + +Allandur temple, at St. Thomas's Mount, Madras, ii. 8 + +All-healer, name applied to mistletoe, ii. 77, 79, 82 + +All Saints' Day, omens on, i. 240; + the first of November, 225; + bonfires on, 246; + sheep passed through a hoop on, ii. 184 + +All Souls, Feast of, i. 223 _sq._, 225 _n._ 3 + +Almond-trees, mistletoe on, ii. 316 + +A-Louyi, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 28 _n._ 5 + +Alsace, Midsummer fires in, i. 169; + cats burnt in Easter bonfires in, ii. 40 + +Althenneberg, in Bavaria, Easter fires at, i. 143 _sq._ + +Altmark, Easter bonfires in, i. 140, 142 + +Alum burnt at Midsummer, i. 214 + +Alungu, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 24 _sq._ + +Alur, a tribe of the Upper Nile, i. 64 + +Alvarado, Pedro de, Spanish general, ii. 214 + +_Amadhlozi_, ancestral spirits in serpent form, ii. 211 _n._ 2 + +Amambwe, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 24 _sq._ + +_Amatongo_, plural of _itongo_, ii. 302 _n._ + +Amazon, ordeals of young men among the Indians of the, i. 62 _sq._ + +Ambamba, in West Africa, death, resurrection, and the new birth in, ii. + 256 + +Amboyna, hair of criminals cut in, ii. 158 + +Ambras, Midsummer customs at, i. 173 + +America, Central, the Mosquito territory in, i. 86 + +America, North, Indians of, not allowed to sit on bare ground in war, i. + 5; + seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of, 41 _sqq._; + dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Indians of, 87 _sqq._; + stories of the external soul among the Indians of, ii. 151 _sq._; + religious associations among the Indian tribes of, 267 _sqq._ + +----, South, seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of, i. 56 + _sqq._; + effigies of Judas burnt at Easter in, 128; + Midsummer fires in, 212 _sq._ + +Ammerland, in Oldenburg, cart-wheel used as charm against witchcraft in, + i. 345 _n._ 3 + +Amphitryo besieges Taphos, ii. 103 + +Amulets, rings and bracelets as, i. 92; + as soul-boxes, ii. 155; + degenerate into ornaments, 156 _n._ 2 + +Ancestor, wooden image of, ii. 155 + +Ancestors, worship of, in Fiji, ii. 243 _sq._ + +Ancestral spirits incarnate in serpents, ii. 211 + +Anderson, Miss, of Barskimming, i. 171 _n._ 3 + +Andes, the Peruvian, effigies of Judas burnt at Easter in the, i. 128 + +Andjra, a district of Morocco, i. 17; + Midsummer fires in the, 213 _sq._; + Midsummer rites of water in, 216; + animals bathed at Midsummer in, ii. 31 + +Andreas, parish of, in the Isle of Man, i. 224, 305, 307 _n._ 1 + +Angass, the, of Northern Nigeria, their belief in external human souls + lodged in animals, ii. 210 + +Angel, need-fire revealed by an, i. 287 + +---- -man, effigy of, burnt at Midsummer, i. 167 + +Angelus bell, the, i. 110, ii. 47 + +Angoniland, British Central Africa, customs as to girls at puberty in, i. + 25 _sq._; + customs as to salt in, 27 + +Angus, superstitious remedy for the "quarter-ill" in, i. 296 _n._ 1 + +Anhalt, Easter bonfires in, i. 140 + +Animal, bewitched, or part of it, burnt to compel the witch to appear, i. + 303, 305, 307 _sq._, 321 _sq._; + sickness transferred to, ii. 181; + and man, sympathetic relation between, 272 _sq._ + +Animal familiars of wizards and witches, ii. 196 _sq._, 201 _sq._ + +Animals burnt alive as a sacrifice in England, Wales, and Scotland, i. 300 + _sqq._; + witches transformed into, 315 _sqq._, ii. 311 _sq._; + bewitched, buried alive, i. 324 _sqq._; + live, burnt at Spring and Midsummer festivals, ii. 38 _sqq._; + the animals perhaps deemed embodiments of witches, 41 _sq._, 43 _sq._; + the language of, learned by means of fern-seed, 66 _n._; + external soul in, 196 _sqq._; + magical transformation of men into animals, 207; + helpful, in fairy tales. _See_ Helpful + +_Ankenmilch bohren_, to make the need-fire, i. 270 _n._ + +Ankole, in Central Africa, i. 80 + +Annam, dread of menstruous women in, i. 85; + use of wormwood to avert demons in, ii. 61 _n._ 1 + +Anpu and Bata, ancient Egyptian story of, ii. 134 _sqq._ + +_Anthemis nobilis_, camomile, gathered at Midsummer, ii. 63 + +Ant-hill, insane people buried in an, i. 64 + +Ants employed to sting girls at puberty, i. 61; + to sting young men, i. 62 _sq._ + +Antonius Mountain, in Thuringia, Christmas bonfire on the, i. 265 _sq._ + +Antwerp, wicker giants at, ii. 35 _sq._ + +Anula tribe of Northern Australia, their rites of initiation, ii. 235 + +Anyanja of British Central Africa, their dread of menstruous women, i. 81 + _sq._ + +Apaches, i. 21; + use of bull-roarers among the, ii, 230 _n._ + +Apala cured by Indra in the Rigveda, ii. 192 + +Ape, a Batta totem, ii. 223 + +Aphrodite and Adonis, ii. 294 _sq._ + +Apollo, identified with the Celtic Grannus, i. 112 + +---- Soranus, ii. 14, 15 _n._ 3 + +Apollo's temple at Cumae, i. 99 + +Apple, divination by the sliced, i. 238; + and candle, biting at, 241, 242, 243, 245 + +Apple-tree as life-index of boy, ii. 165 + +---- -trees, torches thrown at, i. 108; + mistletoe on, ii. 315, 316 _n._ 5 + +Apples, dipping for, at Hallowe'en, i. 237, 239, 241, 242, 243, 245 + +Apricot-trees, mistletoe on, ii. 316 + +April, the twenty-seventh of, in popular superstitions of Morocco, i. 17 + _sq._; + ceremony of the new fire in, 136 _sq._, ii. 3; + Chinese festival of fire in, 3 + +Arab women in Morocco, their superstitions as to plants at Midsummer, ii. + 51 + +Arabia, tree-spirits in snake form in, ii. 44 _n._ 1 + +Arabian, modern, story of the external soul, ii. 137 _sq._ + +_Arabian Nights_, story of the external soul in the, ii. 137 + +Arabs of Morocco, their Midsummer customs, i. 214 + +Aran, in the valley of the Garonne, Midsummer fires at, i. 193 + +Arch, child after an illness passed under an, ii. 192; + young men at initiation passed under a leafy, 193; + triumphal, suggested origin of the, 195 + +Archer (_Tirant_), effigy of, ii. 36 + +Arches, novices at initiation passed under arches in Australia, ii. 193 + _n._ 1 + +Archways, passing under, as a means of escaping evil spirits or sickness, + ii. 179 _sqq._ + +Ardennes, the Belgian, bonfires on the first Sunday of Lent in the, i. 107 + _sq._; + the French, Lenten fires and customs in the, 109 _sq._; + Midsummer fires in the, 188; + the Yule log in the, 253; + cats burnt alive in Lenten bonfires, ii. 40 + +Argo, tree of which the ship was made, ii. 94 _n._ 1 + +Argyleshire stories of the external soul, ii. 127 _sqq._ + +Argyrus, temple of Hercules at, i. 99 _n._ 3 + +Aricia, the priest of, and the Golden Bough, i. 1; + the priest of Diana at, perhaps a personified Jupiter, ii. 302 _sq._ + +Arician grove, the Midsummer festival of fire in the, ii. 285; + the priest of the, a personification of an oak-spirit, 285 + +Ariminum, triumphal arch of Augustus at, ii. 194 _n._ 4 + +Arizona and New Mexico, use of bull-roarers in, ii. 230 _n._, 231 + +Arks, sacred, of the Cherokees, i. 11 _sq._ + +Armenia, were-wolves in, i. 316; + sick people creep through cleft trees in, ii. 173 + +Armenian church, bonfires at Candlemas in the, i. 131 + +---- idea of the sun as a wheel, i. 334 _n._ 1 + +Arms of youths punctured to make them good hunters, i. 58 + +Arnstadt, witches burnt at, i. 6 + +Arran, the need-fire in, i. 293 + +Arrows used as a love-charm, i. 14 + +Artemis Perasia, at Castabala in Cappadocia, ii. 14 + +_Artemisia absinthium_, wormwood, ii. 58 _n._ 3, 61 _n._ 1 + +---- _vulgaris_, mugwort, gathered at Midsummer, ii. 58 _sqq._ + +Artois, mugwort at Midsummer in, ii. 59 + +Arunta of Central Australia, their sacred pole, i. 7; + their dread of women at menstruation, 77; + legend that the ancestors kept their spirits in their _churinga_, ii. + 218 _n._ 3; + rites of initiation among the, 233 _sq._; + initiation of medicine-men among the, 238 + +Aryan god of the thunder and the oak, i. 265 + +---- peoples, stories of the external soul among, ii. 97 _sqq._ + +Aryans of Europe, importance of the Midsummer festival among the, ii. 40; + the oak the chief sacred tree of the, 89 _sq._ + +Ascension Day, parasitic rowan should be cut on, ii. 281 + +Asceticism not primitive, i. 65 + +Ash Wednesday, effigy burnt on, i. 120 + +Ash-trees, children passed through cleft ash-trees as a cure for rupture + or rickets, ii. 168 _sqq._ + +Ashes in divination, i. 243, 244, 245. + _See also_ Sticks, Charred + +---- of bonfires put in fowls' nests, i. 112, 338; + increase fertility of fields, 141, 337; + make cattle thrive, 141, 338; + placed in a person's shoes, 156; + administered to cattle to make them fat, ii. 4 + +---- of dead, disposal of the, i. 11 + +---- of Easter bonfire mixed with seed at sowing, i. 121 + +---- of Hallowe'en fires scattered, i. 233 + +---- of holy fires a protection against demons, ii. 8, 17 + +---- of Midsummer fires strewed on fields to fertilize them, i. 170, 190, + 203; + a protection against conflagration, 174, 196; + a protection against lightning, 187, 188; + a protection against thunder, 190; + put by people in their shoes, 191 _sq._; + a cure for consumption, 194 _sq._; + rubbed by people on their hair or bodies, 213, 214, 215; + good for the eyes, 214 + +Ashes of the need-fire strewn on fields to protect the crops against + vermin, i. 274; + used as a medicine, 286 + +---- of New Year's fire used to rub sore eyes, i. 218 + +---- of Yule log strewed on fields, i. 250; + used to heal swollen glands, 251 + +_Ashur_, Arab New Year's Day, i. 217, 218 + +Asia Minor, the Celts in, ii. 89; + cure for possession by an evil spirit in, 186; + creeping through rifted rocks in, 189 + +Aspen, mistletoe on, ii. 315 + +_Aspidium filix mas_, the male fern, superstitions as to, ii. 66 _sq._ + +Ass, child passed under an, as a cure for whooping-cough, ii. 192 _n._ 1 + +Assam, the Khasis of, ii. 146; + the Lushais of, 185 _sq._ + +Assiga, tribe of South Nigeria, ii. 204 + +Associations, religious, among the Indian tribes of North America, ii. 267 + _sqq._ + +Assyrian ritual, use of golden axe in, ii. 80 _n._ 3 + +Aston, W. G., quoted, i. 137 _sq._; + on the fire-walk in Japan, ii. 10 _n._ 1 + +Astral spirit of a witch, i. 317 + +_Atai_, external soul in the Mota language, ii. 197 _sq._ + +Ath, in Hainaut, procession of giants at, ii. 36 + +Athboy, in County Meath, i. 139 + +Athena, priestess of, uses a white umbrella, i. 20 _n._ 1 + +Athenians offer cakes to Cronus, i. 153 _n._ 3 + +Athens, ceremony of the new fire at Easter in, i. 130 + +Athis, in Normandy, Christmas bonfires at, i. 266 + +Athos, Mount, mistletoe at, ii. 319, 320 _n._ + +Atrae, city in Mesopotamia, i. 82 + +Aubrey, John, on the Midsummer fires, i. 197 + +Aufkirchen in Bavaria, burning the Easter Man at, i. 144 + +August, procession of wicker giants in, ii. 36 + +----, first of, Festival of the Cross on the, i. 220 + +---- the eighteenth, feast of Florus and Laurus, i. 220 + +---- the sixth, festival of St. Estapin, ii. 188 + +Augustus, triumphal arch of Augustus at Ariminum, ii. 195 _n._ 4 + +Aunis, wonderful herbs gathered on St. John's Eve in, ii. 45; + St. John's wort in, 55; + vervain gathered at Midsummer in, 62 _n._ 4; + four-leaved clover at Midsummer in, 63 + +---- and Saintonge, Midsummer fires in, i. 192 + +Aurora, in the New Hebrides, _tamaniu_ in, ii. 198 + +Australia, dread and seclusion of women at menstruation in, i. 76 _sqq._; + passing under an arch as a rite of initiation in, ii. 193 _n._ 1; + initiation of young men in, 227, 233 _sqq._; + use of bull-roarers in, 228 _n._ 2 + +----, Central, pointing sticks or bones in, i. 14 _n._ 3; + its desert nature, ii. 230 _n._ 2 + +----, South-Eastern, sex totems among the natives of, ii. 214 _sqq._ + +Australian languages, words for fire and wood in, ii. 296 + +Austria, Midsummer fires in, i. 172 _sqq._; + the Yule log among the Servians of, 262 _sqq._; + need-fire in Upper, 279; + fern-seed at Midsummer in, ii. 65; + mistletoe used to prevent nightmare in, 85 + +Autumn fires, i. 220 _sqq._ + +Auvergne, Lenten fires in, i. 111 _sq._; + story of a were-wolf in, 308 _sq._ + +_Ave Maria_ bell, ii. 47 + +Avernus, Lake, and the Golden Bough, ii. 285 _n._ 2 + +Awa-nkonde, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 28 + +"Awasungu, the house of the," i. 28 + +Awka in South Nigeria, i. 4 + +Azemmur, in Morocco, Midsummer fires at, i. 214 + +Azores, bonfires and divination on Midsummer Eve in the, i. 208 _sq._; + fern-seed at Midsummer in the, ii. 66 + +Aztecs, their punishment of witches and wizards, ii. 159 + +Baal and Beltane, i. 149 _n._ 1, 150 _n._ 1, 157 + +Babine Lake in British Columbia, i. 47 + +Backache at reaping, leaps over the Midsummer bonfire thought to be a + preventive of, i. 165, 168, 189, 344 _sq._; + set down to witchcraft, 343 _n._, 345; + at harvest, mugwort a protection against, ii. 59; + creeping through a holed stone to prevent backache at harvest, 189 + +_Badache_, double-axe, Midsummer King of the, i. 194 + +Badagas of the Neilgherry Hills, their fire-walk, ii. 8 _sq._ + +Baden, Lenten fire-custom in, i. 117; + Easter bonfires in, 145; + Midsummer fires in, 167 _sqq._ + +Badham Court oak, in Gloucestershire, ii. 316 + +_Badnyak_, Yule log, i. 259, 263 + +_Badnyi Dan_, Christmas Eve, i. 258, 263 + +Bag, souls of persons deposited in a, ii. 142, 153, 155 + +Baganda, children live apart from their parents among the, i. 23 _n._ 2; + seclusion of girls at puberty among the, 23 _sq._; + superstition as to women who do not menstruate, 24; + abstain from salt in certain cases, 27 _sq._; + their dread of menstruous women, 80 _sq._; + their beliefs and customs concerning the afterbirth, ii. 162. + _See also_ Uganda + +Bahaus or Kayans of Central Borneo, i. 4 _sq._ + +Bahima of Central Africa, their dread of menstruous women, i. 80 + +Bahr-el-Ghazal province, ceremony of the new fire in the, i. 134 _sq._ + +Bakairi, the, of Brazil, call bull-roarers "thunder and lightning," ii. + 231 _sq._ + +Baking-forks, witches ride on, ii. 73, 74 + +Bakuba or Bushongo of the Congo, i. 4 + +Balder, his body burnt, i. 102; + worshipped in Norway, 104; + camomile sacred to, ii. 63; + burnt at Midsummer, 87; + Midsummer sacred to, 87; + a tree-spirit or deity of vegetation, 88 _sq._; + interpreted as a mistletoe-bearing oak, 93 _sq._; + his invulnerability, 94; + why Balder was thought to shine, 293 + +---- and the mistletoe, i. 101 _sq._, ii. 76 _sqq._, 302; + his life or death in the mistletoe, 279, 283; + perhaps a real man deified, 314 _sq._ + +----, the myth of, i. 101 _sqq._; + reproduced in the Midsummer festival of Scandinavia, ii. 87; + perhaps dramatized in ritual, 88; + Indian parallel to, 280; + African parallels to, 312 _sqq._ + +Balder's Balefires, name formerly given to Midsummer bonfires in Sweden, + i. 172, ii. 87 + +---- Grove, i. 104, ii. 315 + +_Balders-brâ_, Balder's eyelashes, a name for camomile, ii. 63 + +Bâle, Lenten fire-custom in the canton of, i. 119 + +Balefires, Balder's, at Midsummer in Sweden, i. 172 + +Bali, filing of teeth in, i. 68 _n._ 2; + birth-trees in, ii. 164 + +Balkan Peninsula, need-fire in the, i. 281 + +Ball, game of, played to determine the King of Summer, i. 195 + +Ballyvadlea, in Tipperary, woman burnt as a witch at, i. 323 _sq._ + +Balnagown loch, in Lismore, i. 316 + +Balong of the Cameroons, their external souls in animals, ii. 203 + +Balquhidder, hill of the fires at, i. 149; + Hallowe'en bonfires at, 232 + +_Balum_, New Guinea word signifying bull-roarer, ghost, and mythical + monster, ii. 242 + +Banana-tree, afterbirth of child buried under a, ii. 162, 163, 164 + +Bancroft, H. H., on the external souls of the Zapotecs, ii. 212 + +Banivas of the Orinoco, their scourging of girls at puberty, i. 66 _sqq._ + +_Baraka_, blessed or magical virtue, i. 216, 218, ii. 51 + +Barclay, Sheriff, on Hallowe'en fires, i. 232 + +Bardney bumpkin, on witch as hare, i. 318 + +Bare-Stripping Hangman, Argyleshire story of the, ii. 129 _sq._ + +Barker, W. G. M. Jones, on need-fire in Yorkshire, i. 286 _sq._ + +Barley plant, external soul of prince in a, ii. 102 + +Ba-Ronga, the, of South Africa, their story of a clan whose external souls + were in a cat, ii. 150 _sq._ + +Barotse or Marotse of the Zambesi, seclusion of girls at puberty among + the, i. 28, 29 + +Barren cattle driven through fire, i. 203, 338 + +---- women hope to conceive through fertilizing influence of vegetables, ii. + 51 + +Barricading the road against a ghostly pursuer, ii. 176 + +Barsana, in North India, Holi bonfires at, ii. 2, 5 + +Bartle Bay, in British New Guinea, festival of the wild mango tree at, i. + 7 _sqq._ + +Basque hunter transformed into bear, ii. 226, 270 + +---- story of the external soul, ii. 139 + +Bastar, province of India, treatment of witches in, ii. 159 + +Bastian, Adolph, on rites of initiation in West Africa, ii. 256 _sq._ + +Basutos, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 31 + +Bata and Anpu, ancient Egyptian story of, ii. 134 _sqq._ + +Bathing in the sea at Easter, i. 123; + at Midsummer, 208, 210, 216, ii. 29 _sq._; + thought to be dangerous on Midsummer Day, 26 _sq._ + +Bats, the lives of men in, ii. 215 _sq._, 217; + called men's "brothers," 215, 216, 218 + +Battas, their doctrine of the plurality of souls, ii. 223; + their totemic system, 224 _sqq._ + +Battel, Andrew, on the colour of negro children at birth, ii. 251 _n._ 1 + +Bavaria, Easter bonfires in, i. 143 _sq._; + belief as to eclipses in, 162; + Midsummer fires in, 164 _sqq._; + leaf-clad mummer at Midsummer in, ii. 26; + the divining-rod in, 67 _sq._; + creeping through a holed stone or narrow opening in, 188 _sq._ + +----, Upper, use of mistletoe in, ii. 85 _n._ 4 + +Bavarian peasants, their belief as to hazel, ii. 69 _n._ + +Bavili, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 31 + +Beal-fires on Midsummer Eve in Yorkshire, i. 198 + +Bean, King of the, i. 153 _n._ 1 + +Beans, divination by, i. 209 + +Bear, external soul of warrior in a, ii. 151; + Basque hunter transformed into, 226, 270; + simulated transformation of novice into a, 274 _sq._ + +---- clan, ii. 271, 272 _n._ 1 + +---- -dance of man who pretends to be a bear, ii. 274 + +Bear's skin, Lapp women shoot blindfold at a, ii. 280 _n._ + +Bearers to carry royal personages, i. 3 _sq._ + +Beating girls at puberty, i. 61, 66 _sq._; + as a form of purification, 61, 64 _sqq._ + +Beauce, festival of torches in, i. 113; + story of a were-wolf in, 309 + +---- and Perche, Midsummer fires in, i. 188 + +Beaver clan, ii. 272 + +Bechuana belief as to sympathetic relation of man to wounded crocodile, + ii. 210 _sq._ + +Bee, external soul of an ogre in a, ii. 101 + +Beech or fir used to make the Yule log, i. 249 + +---- -tree burnt in Lenten bonfire, i. 115 _sq._ + +Beeches, struck by lightning, proportion of, ii. 298 _sq._; + free from mistletoe, 315 + +Bees thought to be killed by menstruous women, i. 96; + ashes of bonfires used to cure ailments of, 142 + +Beetle, external soul in a, ii. 138, 140 + +Begetting novices anew at initiation, pretence of, ii. 248 + +Behar, the fire-walk in, ii. 5 + +_Beifuss_, German name for mugwort, ii. 60 _n._ 6 + +Bel, the fires of, i. 147, 157, 158 _sq._ + +Beleth, John, his _Rationale Divinorum Officiorum_ quoted, i. 161 _n._ 2 + +Belford, in Northumberland, the Yule log at, i. 256 + +Belgium, Lenten fires in, i. 107 _sq._; + Midsummer fires in, 194 _sq._; + the Yule log in, 249; + bathing on Midsummer Day in, ii. 30; + divination by flowers on Midsummer Eve in, 53; + mugwort gathered on St. John's Day or Eve in, 59 _sq._; + vervain gathered on St. John's Day in, 62; + four-leaved clover at Midsummer in, 63; + the witches' Sabbath in, 73 + +Bella Coola Indians of British Columbia, seclusion of girls at puberty + among the, i. 46; + custom of mourners among the, ii. 174 + +Belli-Paaro society in West Africa, rites of initiation in the, ii. 257 + _sqq._ + +Bellochroy, i. 290 + +Bells worn by priest in exorcism, i. 5; + on his legs, ii. 8 + +----, church, silenced in Holy Week, i. 123, 125 _n._ 1; + rung on Midsummer Eve, ii. 47 _sq._; + rung to drive away witches, 73 + +Beltane, popularly derived from Baal, i. 149 _n._ 1, 150 _n._ 1; + the need-fire at, 293; + the Yellow Day of, 293; + sheep passed through a hoop at, ii. 184 + +---- and Hallowe'en the two chief fire-festivals of the British Celts, ii. + 40 _sq._ + +---- cakes, i. 148 _sq._, 150, 152, 153, 154, 155 + +---- carline, i. 148, 153 + +---- Eve (the Eve of May Day), a witching time, i. 295 + +---- fire, pretence of throwing a man into the, i. 148, ii. 25; + kindled by the friction of oak-wood, i. 148, 155, ii. 91 + +---- fires, i. 146 _sqq._; + in Wales, 155 _sq._; + in Ireland, 157 _sq._; + in Nottinghamshire, 157 + +Benametapa, the king of, in East Africa, i. 135 + +Bengal, seclusion of girls at puberty in, i. 68; + the Oraons of, ii. 311 + +Bengalee stories of the external soul, ii. 101 _sq._, 102 + +Beni Ahsen, a tribe in Morocco, ii. 31; + their Midsummer fires, i. 215 _sq._ + +---- Mgild, a Berber tribe of Morocco, their Midsummer fires, i. 215 + +---- Snous, the, of Morocco, their Midsummer rites, i. 216 + +Bent, J. Theodore, on passing sick children through a cleft oak, ii. 172 + +Berber belief as to water at Midsummer, ii. 31 + +---- tale, milk-tie in a, ii. 138 _n._ 1 + +Berbers of North Africa, their Midsummer customs, i. 213 _sqq._, 219 + +Bergen, Midsummer bonfires at, i. 171 + +Bering Strait, the Esquimaux of, i. 91 + +Berleburg, in Westphalia, the Yule log at, i. 248 + +Berlin, the divining-rod at, ii. 68 + +Bern, Midsummer fires in the canton of, i. 172; + the Yule log in the canton of, 249; + witches put to death in the canton of, ii. 42 _n._ 2 + +Berry, Lenten fire custom in, i. 115; + Midsummer fires in, 189; + the Yule log in, 251 _sq._; + four-leaved clover at Midsummer in, ii. 63 + +Besoms, blazing, flung aloft to make the corn grow high, i. 340; + used to drive away witches, ii. 74 + +Bethlehem, new Easter fire carried to, i. 130 _n._ + +"Between the two Beltane fires," i. 149 + +Beul, fire of, need-fire, i. 293 + +Bevan, Professor A. A., i. 83 _n._ 1 + +Beverley, on the initiatory rites of the Virginian Indians, ii. 266 _sq._ + +Bewitched animals burnt alive, i. 300 _sqq._; + buried alive, 324 _sqq._ + +---- cow, mugwort applied to, ii. 59 + +---- things burnt to compel the witch to appear, i. 322 + +Bhils of India, torture of witches among the, ii. 159 + +Bhuiyars of Mirzapur, their dread of menstrual pollution, i. 84 + +Bhuiyas, a Dravidian tribe, fire-walk among the, ii. 5 _sq._ + +_Bhut_, demon, ii. 312 + +Bidasari and the golden fish, Malay story of, ii. 147 _sq._, 220 + +Bilqula. _See_ Bella Coola + +Binbinga tribe of Northern Australia, their rites of initiation, ii. 234 + _sq._; + initiation of medicine-man in the, 239 + +Binding up a cleft stick or tree a mode of barricading the road against a + ghostly pursuer, ii. 176 + +Bir, a tribal hero, ii. 6 + +Birch used to kindle need-fire, i. 291 + +---- and plane, fire made by the friction of, i. 220 + +----, branches of, on Midsummer Day, i. 177, 196; + a protection against witchcraft, ii. 185 + +---- trees set up at Midsummer, i. 177; + used to keep off witches, ii. 20 _n._; + mistletoe on, 315 + +Bird, disease transferred to, ii. 187; + brings first fire to earth, 295 + +Bird-lime made from mistletoe, ii. 317 + +Birds, external souls in, ii. 104, 111, 119, 142, 144, 150; + carry seed of mistletoe, 316 + +Birseck, Lenten fires at, i. 119 + +Birth, the new, of novices at initiation, ii. 247, 251, 256, 257, 261 + +Birth-names of Central American Indians, ii. 214 _n._ 1 + +---- -trees in Africa, ii. 160 _sqq._; + in Europe, 165 + +Birthday of the Sun at the winter solstice, i. 246 + +Bisection of the year, Celtic, i. 223 + +Black Corrie of Ben Breck, the giant of, in an Argyleshire tale, ii. 129 + _sq._ + +---- Forest, Midsummer fires in the, i. 168 + +---- Isle, Ross-shire, i. 301 + +---- poplars, mistletoe on, ii. 316, 318 _n._ 6 + +---- spauld, a disease of cattle, cure for, i. 325 + +---- three-legged horse ridden by witches, ii. 74 + +Blackening girls at puberty, i. 41, 60 + +Blemishes, physical, transferred to witches, i. 160 _n._ 1 + +Blindness of Hother, ii. 279 _n._ 4 + +Block, the Yule, i. 247 + +Blocksberg, the resort of witches, i. 171; + the Mount of the Witches, ii. 74 + +Blood, girls at puberty forbidden to see, i. 46; + disastrous effect of seeing menstruous, 77; + drawn from women who do not menstruate, 81 + +---- -brotherhood between men and animals among the Fans, ii. 201, 226 _n._ + 1 + +---- -covenant between men and animals, ii. 201, 214, 226 _n._ 1 + +----, human, used in rain-making ceremonies, ii. 232 _sq._ + +----, menstruous, dread of, i. 76; + deemed fatal to cattle, 80; + miraculous virtue attributed to, 82 _sq._; + medicinal application of, 98 _n._ 1 + +---- of St. John found on St. John's wort and other plants at Midsummer, ii. + 56, 57 + +---- of sheep poured on image of god as a sin-offering, i. 82 + +Boa-constrictors, kings at death turn into, ii. 212 _n._ + +Boas, Dr. Franz, on seclusion of Shuswap girls at puberty, i. 53; + on customs observed by mourners among the Bella Coola Indians, ii. 174; + on initiation into the wolf society of the Nootka Indians, 270 _sq._; + on the relation between clans and secret societies, 273 _n._ 1 + +Boar's skin, shoes of, worn by a king at inauguration, i. 4 + +Boars, familiar spirits of wizards in, ii. 196 _sq._; + lives of persons bound up with those of, 201, 203, 205; + external human souls in, 207 + +Bocage of Normandy, Midsummer fires in the, i. 185; + the Yule log in the, 252; + torchlight processions on Christmas Eve in the, 266 + +Body-without-soul in a Ligurian story, ii. 107; + in a German story, 116 _sq._; + in a Breton story, 132 _sq._; + in a Basque story, 139 + +Boeotian festival of the Great Daedala, ii. 77 _n._ 1 + +Bogota, rigorous training of the heir to the throne of, i. 19 + +Bohemia, water and fire consecrated at Easter in, i. 123 _sq._; + bonfires on May Day in, 159; + Midsummer fires in, 173 _sqq._; + need-fire in, 278 _sq._; + charm to make corn grow high in, 340; + offering to water-spirits on Midsummer Eve in, ii. 28; + simples gathered on St. John's Night in, 49; + divination by means of flowers on Midsummer Eve in, 52 _sq._; + mugwort at Midsummer in, 59; + elder-flowers gathered at Midsummer in, 64; + wild thyme gathered on Midsummer Day in, 64; + fern-seed at Midsummer in, 66; + "thunder besoms" in, 85; + fern-seed on St. John's Day in, 287, 288 + +Bohemian poachers, their use of vervain, ii. 62; + their use of seeds of fir-cones, 64 + +---- story of the external soul, ii. 110 + +Bohus, Midsummer fires in, i. 172 + +_Boidès_, bonfires, i. 111 _n._ 1 + +Boiling bewitched animal or part of it to compel witch to appear, i. 321 + _sq._, 323 + +---- milk, omens drawn from, ii. 8 + +---- resin, ordeal of, i. 311 + +Boils, crawling under a bramble as a cure for, ii. 180 + +Bolivia, the Chiriguanos of, i. 56; + the Yuracares of, 57 _sq._; + fires on St. John's Eve in, 213; + La Paz in, ii. 50 + +Boloki of the Upper Congo, birth-plants among the, ii. 161 _sq._; + use of bull-roarers among the, 229 _n._ + +Bondeis of German East Africa, rites of initiation among the, ii. 263 + _sq._ + +Bone used to point with in sorcery, i. 14; + incident of, in folk-tales, 73 _n._ 3; + of bird (eagle or swan), women at menstruation obliged to drink out of, + 45, 48, 49, 50, 73 _n._ 3, 90, 92 + +Bones burnt in the Easter bonfires, i. 142; + burnt in Midsummer fires, 203 + +---- of dead husbands carried by their widows, i. 91 _n._ 4 + +Bonfire Day in County Leitrim, i. 203 + +Bonfires supposed to protect against conflagrations, i. 107, 108; + protect houses against lightning and conflagration, 344; + lit by the persons last married, 107, 109; + a protection against witchcraft, 108, 109, 154; + a protection against sickness, 108, 109; + a protection against sorcery, 156; + quickening and fertilizing influence of, 336 _sqq._; + omens of marriage drawn from, 338 _sq._; + protect fields against hail, 344; + at festivals in India, ii. 1 _sqq._ + _See also_ Fires + +Bonfires, Midsummer, intended to drive away dragons, i. 161; + protect cattle against witchcraft, 188; + thought to ensure good crops, 188, 336 + +Boniface, Archbishop of Mainz, i. 270 + +Bonnach stone in a Celtic story, ii. 126 + +_Bordes_, bonfires, i. 111 _n._ 1, 113 + +Borlase, William, on Midsummer fires in Cornwall, i. 199 + +Borneo, festivals in, i. 13; + seclusion of girls at puberty in, 35 _sq._; + birth-custom in, ii. 154 _sq._; + trees and plants as life-indices in, 164 _sq._; + creeping through a cleft stick after a funeral in, 175 _sq._; + giving the slip to an evil spirit in, 179 _sq._ + +----, the Dyaks of, i. 5, ii. 222 + +----, the Kayans of, i. 4 _sq._ + +Bororo of Brazil, their use of bull-roarers, ii. 230 _n._ + +Borrow, witches come to, i. 322, 323, ii. 73 + +Bosnia, need-fire in, i. 286; + life-trees of children in, ii. 165 + +Bossuet, Bishop, on the Midsummer bonfires, i. 182 + +Bottesford, in Lincolnshire, mistletoe deemed a remedy for epilepsy at, + ii. 83 + +Bottle, external soul of queen in a, ii. 138 + +Bougainville, use of bull-roarers in, ii. 229 _n._ + +Bough, the Golden, ii. 279 _sqq._; + and the priest of Aricia, i. 1; + a branch of mistletoe, ii. 284 _sqq._, 315 _sqq._ + _See also_ Golden Bough + +Boulia district of Queensland, i. 14 + +Bourbonnais, mistletoe a remedy for epilepsy in, ii. 83 + +_Bourdifailles_, bonfires, i. 111 _n._ 1 + +Bourke, Captain J. G., on the bull-roarer, ii. 231 + +Bowels, novice at initiation supplied by spirits with a new set of, ii. + 235 _sqq._ + +Bowes, in Yorkshire, need-fire at, i. 287 + +Box, external soul of king in a, ii. 102, 149; + external soul of cannibal in a, 117 + +Boxes or arks, sacred, i. 11 _sq._ + +Box-tree, external soul of giant in a, ii. 133 + +Boxwood blessed on Palm Sunday, i. 184, ii. 47 + +Boy and girl produce need-fire by friction of wood, i. 281 + +Boys at initiation thought to be swallowed by wizards, ii. 233 + +Brabant, Midsummer fires in, i. 194; + St. Peter's bonfires in, 195; + wicker giants in, ii. 35 + +Bracelets as amulets, i. 92 + +Braemar Highlanders, their Hallowe'en fires, i. 233 _sq._ + +Brahman, the Hindoo creator, i. 95 + +Brahman called "twice born," ii. 276 + +---- boys forbidden to see the sun, i. 68 _n._ 2 + +---- student, his observances at end of his studentship, i. 20 + +Brahmanic ritual at inauguration of a king, i. 4 + +Bramble, crawling under a, as a cure for whooping-cough, etc., ii. 180 + +Brand, John, on the Yule log, i. 247, 255 + +Brandenburg, simples culled at Midsummer in, ii. 48 + +_Brandons_, the Sunday of the, i. 110; + torches carried about fields and streets, 111 _n._ 1 + +Brands of Midsummer fires a protection against lightning, conflagration, + and spells, i. 183; + a protection against thunder, 191; + lighted, carried round cattle, 341 + +Braunrode in the Harz Mountains, Easter fires at, i. 142 + +Brazier, walking through a lighted, ii. 3 _sqq._ + +Brazil, the Guaranis of, i. 56; + seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of, 56, 59 _sq._; + the Uaupes of, 61; + ordeals undergone by young men among the Indians of, 62 _sq._; + effigies of Judas burnt at Easter in, 128; + fires of St. John in, 213; + the Caripunas of, ii. 230; + the Bororo of, 230 _n._; + the Nahuqua of, 230; + the Bakairi of, 231 + +Bread, reverence for, i. 13 + +Breadalbane, i. 149; + treatment of mad cow in, 326 + +Breadfruit-tree planted over navel-string of child, ii. 163 + +"Breath, scoring above the," cutting a witch on the forehead, i. 315 _n._ + 2 + +Breitenbrunn, the "Charcoal Man" at, ii. 26 _n._ 2 + +Brekinjska, in Slavonia, need-fire at, i. 282 + +Bresse, Midsummer bonfires in, i. 189 + +Brest, Midsummer fire-custom at, i. 184 + +Breteuil, canton of, Midsummer fires in the, i. 187 + +Breton belief that women can be impregnated by the moon, i. 76 + +---- stories of the external soul, ii. 132 _sq._ + +Brezina, in Slavonia, need-fire at, i. 282 + +Briar-thorn, divination by, i. 242 + +Bri-bri Indians of Costa Rica, seclusion of women at menstruation among + the, i. 86 + +Bride not allowed to tread the earth, i. 5; + last married, made to leap over bonfire, ii. 22 + +---- and bridegroom, mock, at bonfires, i. 109 _sq._ + +Bride, parish of, in the Isle of Man, i. 306, 307 _n._ 1 + +Bridegroom not to touch the ground with his feet, i. 5 + +Brie, Isle de France, effigy of giant burnt on Midsummer Eve at, ii. 38 + +Brihaspati, Hindoo deity, i. 99 _n._ 2 + +Briony, wreaths of, at Midsummer, i. 210 + +Brisbane River in Queensland, use of bull-roarers on the, ii. 233 _sqq._ + +British Columbia, seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of, i. + 46 _sqq._; + dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the Indians of, 89 _sq._; + the Kwakiutl of, ii. 186; + Koskimo Indians of, 229; + rites of initiation among the Indians of, 270 _sqq._; + the Thompson Indians of, 297; + the Shuswap Indians of, 297 _n._ 3 + +Brittany, Midsummer fires in, i. 183 _sqq._; + stones thrown into the Midsummer fires in, 240; + the Yule log in, 253; + mistletoe hung over doors of stables and byres in, ii. 287; + fern-seed used by treasure-seekers in, 288 + +_Brochs_, prehistoric ruins, i. 291 + +Brocken, in the Harz mountains, associated with witches, i. 160 _n._ 1, + 171 _n._ 3 + +Broom, a protective against witchcraft, i. 210 + +"Brother" and "sister," titles given by men and women to their sex totems, + ii. 215, 216, 218 + +Brotherhood of the Green Wolf at Jumièges in Normandy, i. 185 _sq._ + +Brothers, ancient Egyptian story of the Two, ii. 134 _sqq._ + +Brown, Dr. George, quoted, i. 32 _sqq._; + on external soul in Melanesia, ii. 199 + +Brughe, John, his cure for bewitched cattle, i. 324 _sq._ + +Brund (or brand), the Christmas, the Yule log, i. 257 + +Brunswick, belief as to menstruous women in, i. 96; + Easter bonfires in, 140; + need-fire in, 277 _sq._ + +Buchan, Hallowe'en fires in, i. 232 _sq._ + +_Bûche de Noël_, the Yule log, i. 249 + +Buddha and the crocodile, Indian story, ii. 102 _n._ 4 + +Buffalo, external souls of a clan in a, ii. 151; + a Batta totem, 223 + +---- clan in Uganda, i. 3 + +Buffaloes, external human souls in, ii. 207, 208 + +Bühl, St. John's fires at, i. 168 + +Bukaua, the, of New Guinea, girls at puberty secluded among the, i. 35; + their rites of initiation, ii. 239 _sqq._ + +_Bu-ku-rú_, ceremonial uncleanness, i. 65 _n._ 1, 86 + +Buléon, Mgr., quoted by Father H. Trilles, ii. 202 _n._ 1 + +Bulgaria, the Yule log in, i. 264 _n._ 1; + need-fire in, 281, 285; + simples and flowers culled on St. John's Day in, ii. 50; + creeping through an arch of vines as a cure in, 180; + creeping under the root of a willow as a cure for whooping-cough in, 180 + _sq._ + +----, Simeon, prince of, ii. 156 _sq._ + +Bullet blessed by St. Hubert used to shoot witches with, i. 315 _sq._ + +Bullock, bewitched, burnt to cause the witch to appear, i. 303 + +Bull-roarers swung, i. 133; + sounded at initiation of lads, ii. 227, 228 _sqq._, 233 _sqq._, 240, + 241; + used as magical instruments to make rain, 230 _sqq._; + sounded at festivals of the dead, 230 _n._; + made from trees struck by lightning, 231; + sounded to make the wind blow, 232; + called "thunder and lightning," 232; + sounded to promote the growth of the crops, 232; + originally magical instruments for making thunder, wind, and rain, 233; + not to be seen by women, 234, 235, 242; + called by name which means a ghost or spirit of the dead, 242; + called by the same name as the monster who swallows lads at initiation, + 242; + kept in men's club-house, 242; + named after dead men, 242 _n._ 1 + +----, sound of, thought to resemble thunder, ii. 228 _sqq._; + supposed to increase the food supply, 230; + supposed to be the voice of a spirit, 233, 234, 235 + +Burchard, Bishop of Worms, his condemnation of a heathen practice, ii. 191 + +_Bures_, bonfires, i. 110 _n._ 1, 111 _n._ 1 + +Burford, in Oxfordshire, Midsummer giant and dragon at, ii. 37 + +Burghead, the burning of the Clavie at, i. 266 _sq._; + the old rampart at, 267 _sq._ + +Burgundy, Firebrand Sunday in, i. 114; + the Yule log in, 254 + +Burma, the Karens of, ii. 157 + +Burne, Miss F. C., and Jackson, Miss G. F., on the fear of witchcraft in + Shropshire, i. 342 _n._ 4 + +Burning the witches on May Day, i. 157, 159, 160; + of effigies in the Midsummer fires, 195; + of the witches in the Hallowe'en fires, 232 _sq._; + of the Clavie at Burghead, 266 _sq._; + of a bewitched animal or part of it to cause the witch to appear, 303, + 305, 307 _sq._, 321 _sq._; + of human beings in the fires, ii. 21 _sqq._; + of live animals at spring and Midsummer festivals, 38 _sqq._; + the animals perhaps deemed embodiments of witches, 41 _sq._, 43 _sq._; + of human victims annually, 286 _n._ 2 + +---- discs thrown into the air, i. 116 _sq._, 119, 143, 165, 166, 168 _sq._, + 172 + +---- the Easter Man, i. 144 + +"---- the Old Wife (Old Woman)," i. 116, 120 + +"---- the Witches," i. 116, 118 _sq._, 154; + a popular name for the fires of the festivals, ii. 43 + +---- wheels rolled down hill, i. 116, 117 _sq._, 119, 141, 143, 161, 162 + _sq._, 163 _sq._, 166, 173, 174, 201, 328, 334, 337 _sq._; + rolled over fields at Midsummer to fertilize them, 191, 340 _sq._; + perhaps intended to burn witches, 345 + +Burns, Robert, i. 207; + on Hallowe'en, 234 + +Burnt sacrifices to stay cattle-plague in England, Wales, and Scotland, i. + 300 _sqq._ + +Burs, a preservative against witchcraft, i. 177 + +Burying bewitched animals alive, i. 324 _sqq._ + +---- girls at puberty in the ground, i. 38 _sqq._ + +Bushmen, their dread of menstruous women, i. 79; + their way of warming up the star Sirius, 332 _sq._ + +Bushongo, royal persons among the, not allowed to set foot on the ground, + i. 4; + use of bull-roarers among the, ii. 229; + rites of initiation among the, 264 _sqq._ + +Butter thought to be improved by the Midsummer fires, i. 180; + bewitched, burnt at a cross-road, 322 + +"---- -churning," Swiss expression for kindling a need-fire, i. 279 + +Byron, Lord, and the oak, ii. 166 + +Cabbages, divination by, at Hallowe'en, i. 242. + _See also_ Kail + +Caesar on the fortification walls of the Gauls, i. 267; + on human sacrifices among the Celts of Gaul, ii. 32 + +Caesarea. _See_ Everek + +Caffre villages, women's tracks at, i. 80 + +Caffres of South Africa, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 30; + use of bull-roarers among the, ii. 229 _n._, 232 + +Cages, girls at puberty confined in, i. 32 _sqq._, 44, 45 + +_Cailleach beal-tine_, the Beltane carline, i. 148 + +Cairnshee, in Kincardineshire, Midsummer fires on, i. 206 + +Caithness, need-fire in, i. 290 _sqq._ + +Cake, St. Michael's, i. 149, 154 _n._ 3; + salt, divination by, 238 _sq._; + the Yule or Christmas, 257, 259, 261 + +Cakes, Hallowe'en, i. 238, 241, 245; + Beltane, 148 _sq._, 150, 152, 153, 154, 155; + divination by, 242, 243 + +Calabar, soul of chief in sacred grove at, ii. 161; + negroes of, their belief in external or bush souls lodged in animals, + 204 _sqq._, 220, 222 _n._ 5; + the fattening-house for girls in, 259 + +Calabria, holy water at Easter in, i. 123 + +Calamities, almost all, set down to witchcraft, ii. 19 _sq._ + +Calendar, change in the Chinese, i. 137; + Mohammedan, 216 _sq._, 218 _sq._; + the Julian, used by Mohammedans, 218 _sq._; + the reform of, in relation to floral superstitions, ii. 55 _n._ 1 + +Calendars, conflict of, i. 218 + +_Calendeau_, _calignau_, the Yule-log, i. 250 + +Calf burnt alive to stop a murrain, i. 300 _sq._ + +California, seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of, i. 41 + _sqq._; + ordeals among the Indians of, 64; + the Senal Indians of, ii. 295; + the Maidu Indians of, 295, 298 + +Callander, the parish of, Beltane fires in, i. 150 _sqq._; + Hallowe'en fires in, 231 + +Calves burnt to stop disease in the herds, i. 301, 306 + +Calymnos, a Greek island, superstition as to menstruous women in, i. 96 + _sq._; + Midsummer fires in, 212 + +Cambodia, seclusion of girls at puberty in, i. 70; + ritual at cutting a parasitic orchid in, ii. 81 + +Cambodian or Siamese story of the external soul, ii. 102 + +Cambridgeshire, witch as cat in, i. 317 + +Cambus o' May, near Ballater, holed stone at, ii. 187 + +Cameroons, life of person bound up with tree in the, ii. 161; + theory of the external soul in, 200, 202 _sq._ + +Camomile (_Anthemis nobilis_) burnt in Midsummer fire, i. 213; + sacred to Balder, ii. 63; + gathered at Midsummer, 63 + +Campbell, Rev. J. G., on _deiseal_, i. 151 _n._ + +Campbell, Rev. John, on Coranna customs, ii. 192, 192 _n._ 1 + +Campo di Giove, in the Abruzzi, Easter candles at, i. 122 + +Candle, the Easter or Paschal, i. 121, 122, 125; + divination by the flame of a, 229; + the Yule or Christmas, 255, 256, 260; + external soul in a, ii. 125 _sq._ + +---- and apple, biting at, i. 241, 242, 243, 245 + +Candlemas in the Armenian church, bonfires at, i. 131; + the Yule log at, 256 _n._ + +---- candles, i. 264 _n._ 4 + +Candles used to keep off witches, i. 245 + +Canopus and Sirius in Bushman lore, i. 333 + +Capart, Jean, on palettes found in Egyptian tombs, ii. 155 _n._ 3 + +Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, i. 37, 38 + +Caper-spurge (_Euphorbia lathyris_) identified with mythical springwort, + ii. 69 + +Capital of column, external soul in, ii. 156 _sq._ + +Capitol at Rome, the oak of Jupiter on the, ii. 89 + +Cappadocia, the fire-walk at Castabala in, ii. 14 + +Capri, feast of the Nativity of the Virgin in, i. 220 _sq._ + +Capricorn, time when the sun enters the tropic of, ii. 1 + +Caps worn in mourning, i. 20 + +Cardiganshire, Hallowe'en in, i. 226 + +Caribs, their theory of the plurality of souls, ii. 221 + +Carinthia, new fire at Easter in, i. 124 + +Caripunas Indians of Brazil, use of bull-roarers among the, ii. 230 _n._ + +Carmichael, Alexander, on need-fire, i. 293 _sqq._; + on snake stones, ii. 311 + +Carn Brea, in Cornwall, Midsummer fires on, i. 199 + +Carnarvonshire, the cutty black sow in, i. 240 + +Carnival, effigy burnt at end of, i. 120; + wicker giants at the, ii. 35 + +Carnmoor, in Mull, need-fire kindled on, i. 289 _sq._ + +Carnwarth, in Cornwall, Midsummer fires at, i. 199 + +Caroline Islands, traditionary origin of fire in the, ii. 295 + +Carpathian Mountains, Midsummer fires on the, i. 175; + need-fire in the, 281; + the Huzuls of the, ii. 49 + +Carrier Indians of North-Western America, funeral custom of the, i. 11; + their dread and seclusion of menstruous women, 91 _sqq._; + their honorific totems, ii. 273 _sqq._ + +Carver, Captain Jonathan, his description of the rite of death and + resurrection, ii. 267 _sq._ + +Casablanca, Midsummer fires at, i. 214 + +Cashmeer stories of the external soul, ii. 100 _sq._, 138 _n._ 1 + +Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior, the Three Holy Kings, ii. 68 + +Cassel, in France, wicker giants on Shrove Tuesday at, ii. 35 + +Cassowaries, men disguised as, in Duk-duk ceremonies, ii. 247 + +Castabala, in Cappadocia, the fire-walk at, ii. 14 + +Castiglione a Casauria, Midsummer customs at, i. 210 + +Castle Ditches, in the Vale of Glamorgan, bonfires at, i. 156 + +Castres, in Southern France, ii. 187 + +Cat, a representative of the devil, ii. 40; + story of a clan whose souls were all in one, 150 _sq._; + a Batta totem, 223. + _See also_ Cats + +Caterpillars, bonfires as a protection against, i. 114 + +Catholic Church, its consecration of the Midsummer festival to St. John + the Baptist, i. 181 + +Cato on a Roman cure for dislocation, ii. 177 + +Cats burnt in bonfires, i. 109, ii. 39 _sq._; + perhaps burnt as witches, 41; + witches changed into, i. 315 _n._ 1, 317, 318, 319 _sq._, ii. 311 _sq._ + +Cattle sacrificed at holy oak, i. 181; + protected against sorcery by sprigs of mullein, 190; + fire carried round, 201, 206; + driven out to pasture in spring and back in autumn, 223; + acquire the gift of speech on Christmas Eve, 254; + driven through the need-fire, 270 _sqq._; + killed by fairy darts, 303; + lighted brands carried round, 341; + thought to benefit by festivals of fire, ii. 4, 7; + fumigated with smoke of Midsummer herbs, 53 + +---- and sheep driven through, round, or between bonfires, i. 108, 109, 141, + 154, 157, 158, 159, 165, 175, 176, 179, 185, 188, 192, 202, + 203, 204, 301, ii. 8, 9, 11 _sq._, 13 + +---- disease, the Midsummer fires a protection against, i. 176; + attributed to witchcraft, 302 _sq._, 343 + +---- -plague, need-fire kindled as a remedy for, i. 270 _sqq._; + sacrifice of an animal to stay a, 300 _sqq._ + +---- -rearing tribes of South Africa, their dread of menstruous women, i. 79 + _sq._ + +Cave, initiation of medicine-men by spirits in a, ii. 237 _sqq._ + +---- of Cruachan, the "Hell-gate of Ireland," i. 226 + +Cedar-bark, red, used in ceremonies of a secret society, ii. 271 + +Celebes, Macassar in, i. 14; + souls of persons removed for safety from their bodies in, ii. 153 _sq._ + +----, Central, the Toradjas of, i. 311 _sqq._ + +----, Southern, birth-trees in, ii. 164 + +Celibacy of the Vestal Virgins, i. 138 _n._ 5 + +Celtic bisection of the year, i. 223 + +---- population, their superstition as to Snake Stones, i. 15 + +---- stories of the external soul, ii. 126 _sqq._ + +Celts, their two great fire-festivals on the Eve of May Day and + Hallowe'en, i. 222, 224; + the oak worshipped by the, ii. 89 + +----, the British, their chief fire-festivals, Beltane and Hallowe'en, ii. + 40 _sq._ + +---- of Brittany, their use of mistletoe, ii. 320 + +---- of Gaul, their human sacrifices, ii. 32 _sq._; + the victims perhaps witches and wizards, 41 _sq._; + W. Mannhardt's theory, 43 + +---- of Ireland, their new fire on Hallowe'en, i. 139 + +---- of northern Italy, ii. 320 + +Celts (prehistoric implements) called "thunderbolts," i. 14 _sq._ + +Central Provinces of India, cure for fever in the, ii. 190 + +Ceos, Greek island of, sick children passed through a cleft oak in, ii. + 172 + +Ceram, seclusion of girls at puberty in, i. 36; + belief that strength of young people is in their hair in, ii. 158; + rites of initiation to the Kakian association in, 249 _sqq._ + +Ceremony, magical, to ensure fertility of women, i. 23 _sq._, 31 + +Cetraro in Calabria, Easter custom at, i. 123 + +Ceylon, the king of, and his external soul, ii. 102 + +Chaco, the Gran, i. 58; + marriage custom of Indians of the, i. 75; + Indians of the, i. 98 _n._ 1 + +----, the Paraguayan, i. 56 + +Chadwick, Professor H. M., i. 103 _n._ + +Chaka, Zulu king, ii. 212 _n._ + +Chalk, white, bodies of newly initiated lads coated with, ii. 241 + +Chambers, E. K., on the Celtic bisection of the year, i. 223 + +"Charcoal Man" at Midsummer, ii. 26 _n._ 2 + +Charente Inférieure, department of, St. John's fires in the, i. 192 + +Chariot, patient drawn through the yoke of a, ii. 192 + +Chariots used by sacred persons, i. 4 _n._ 1 + +Charlemagne, i. 270 + +Chaste young men kindle need-fire, i. 273 + +Chastity associated with abstinence from salt, i. 27 _sq._ + +Château-Tierry, Midsummer fires at, i. 187 _sq._ + +Chatham Islands, birth-trees in the, ii. 165 + +_Chavandes_, bonfires, i. 109 _n._ 2 + +Cheadle, in Staffordshire, the Yule log at, i. 256 + +Cheese, the Beltane, kept as a charm against the bewitching of + milk-produce, i. 154 + +_Chêne-Doré_, "the gilded oak," in Perche, ii. 287 _n._ 1 + +Chepstow oak, in Gloucestershire, ii. 316 + +Cheremiss of the Volga, their Midsummer festival, i. 181 + +Cherokees, their sacred arks, i. 11 _sq._; + their ideas as to trees struck by lightning, ii. 296 _sq._ + +Cherry-tree wood used for Yule log, i. 250 + +---- -trees, torches thrown at, i. 108 + +Chervil-seed burnt in Midsummer fire, i. 213 + +_Chesnitsa_, Christmas cake, i. 261 + +Chester, Midsummer giants at, ii. 37 + +_Chevannes_, bonfires, i. 111 _n._ 1 + +Cheyenne Indians, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 54 _sq._ + +---- women secluded at menstruation, i. 89 + +Chiaromonte, Midsummer custom at, i. 210 + +Chibisa, an African chief, ii. 314 + +_Chicha_, a native intoxicant, i. 57, 58 + +Chicory, the white flower of, opens all locks, ii. 71 + +Chief's daughter, ceremonies observed by her at puberty, i. 30, 43 + +Chikumbu, a Yao chief, ii. 314 + +Chilblains, the Yule log a preventive of, i. 250 + +Childbirth, customs observed by women after, i. 20 + +Childless couples leap over bonfires to procure offspring, i. 214, 338 + +Childless women creep through a holed stone, ii. 187 + +Children live apart from their parents among the Baganda, i. 23 _n._ 2; + born feet foremost, curative power attributed to, 295; + passed across the Midsummer fires, 182, 189 _sq._, 192, 203; + passed through holes in ground or turf to cure them, ii. 190 _sq._ + +Chillingworth, Thomas, passed through a cleft ash-tree for rupture, ii. + 168 _sq._ + +Chimney, witches fly up the, ii. 74 + +---- -piece, divination by names on, i. 237 + +China, were-wolves in, i. 310 _sq._; + annual ceremony of the new fire in, 136 _sq._, ii. 3; + use of fire to bar ghosts in, 17 _sq._; + spirits of plants in snake form in, 44 _n._ 1; + use of mugwort in, 60 + +Chinese festival of fire, ii. 3 _sqq._; + story of the external soul, 145 _sq._; + theories as to the human soul, 221 + +Chinook Indians, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 43 + +Chippeway Indians, their dread and seclusion of menstruous women, i. 90 + _sq._ + +Chiquites Indians of Paraguay, their theory of sickness, ii. 226 _n._ 1 + +Chirbury, in Shropshire, the Yule log at, i. 257 + +Chiriguanos of Bolivia, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 56 + +Choctaw women secluded at menstruation, i. 88 + +Chopping-knife, soul of woman in childbirth transferred for safety to a, + ii. 153 _sq._ + +Chota Nagpur, the fire-walk in, ii. 5 + +Chouquet, in Normandy, the Green Wolf at, i. 185 + +_Christbrand_, the Yule log, i. 248 + +Christenburg Crags, in Northumberland, Midsummer fires at, i. 198 + +Christian Church, its treatment of witches, ii. 42 + +_Christklotz_, the Yule log, i. 248 + +Christmas, an old pagan festival of the sun, i. 246, 331 _sq._; + new fire made by the friction of wood at, 264; + mistletoe gathered at, ii. 291 + +---- cake, i. 257, 259, 261 + +---- candle, the, i. 255, 256, 260 + +---- Eve, cattle acquire the gift of speech on, i. 254; + trees fumigated with wild thyme on, ii. 64; + the fern blooms at, 66; + witches dreaded on, 73; + sick children passed through cleft trees on, 172 + +---- night, fern-seed blooms on, ii. 289 + +---- pig, i. 259 + +---- visiter, the, i. 261 _sq._, 263, 264 + +Church, the Christian, its treatment of witches, ii. 42 + +---- bells on Midsummer Eve, custom as to ringing, ii. 47 _sq._; + rung to drive away witches, 73 + +Churches used as places of divination at Hallowe'en, i. 229 + +_Churinga_, sacred sticks and stones of the Arunta, ii. 218 _n._ 3, 234 + +Chu-Tu-shi, a Chinese were-tiger, i. 310 _sq._ + +Ciotat, Midsummer rites of fire and water at, i. 194 + +Circumambulating fields with lighted torches, i. 233 _sq._ + +Circumcision, custom at, among the Washamba, ii. 183; + of lads at initiation in Australia, 227 _sq._, 233, 234, 235; + in New Guinea, 240 _sq._; + in Fiji, 243 _sq._; + in Rook, 246; + custom of, on the Lower Congo, 251, 255 _n._ 1 + +_Clach-nathrach_, serpent stone, ii. 311 + +Clam shell, sacred, of the Omahas, i. 11 + +Clan of the Cat, ii. 150 _sq._ + +Clappers, used instead of church bells in Holy Week, i. 125; + wooden, used in China, 137 + +Classificatory system of relationship, ii. 234 _n._ 1, 314 _n._ 4 + +Claudius, the emperor, i. 15 + +Clavie, the burning of the, at Burghead, i. 266 _sq._ + +Clay plastered on girls at puberty, i. 31; + white, bodies of novices at initiation smeared with, ii. 255 _n._ 1, 259 + +Cleary, Bridget, burnt as a witch in Tipperary, i. 323 _sq._ + +----, Michael, burns his wife as a witch, i. 323 _sq._ + +Clee, in Lincolnshire, the Yule log at, i. 257 + +---- Hills, in Shropshire, fear of witchcraft in the, i. 342 _n._ 4 + +Cleft stick, passage through a, in connexion with puberty and + circumcision, ii. 183 _sq._ + +_Climacteris scandens_, women's "sister" among the Kulin, ii. 216 + +Clodd, Edward, on the external soul, ii. 96 _n._ 1 + +Clog, the Yule, i. 247 + +Clonmel, trial for witch-burning at, i. 324 + +Clover, four-leaved, a counter-charm for witchcraft, i. 316; + found at Midsummer, ii. 62 _sq._ + +Clue of yarn, divination by a, i. 235, 240, 241, 243 + +Coal, magical, that turns to gold at Midsummer, ii. 60 _sq._ + +Coast Murring tribe of New South Wales, the drama of resurrection + exhibited to novices at initiation in the, ii. 235 _sqq._ + +Cobern, effigy burnt at, i. 120 + +Coblentz, i. 248 + +_Coccus Polonica_ and St. John's blood, ii. 56 + +Cock, effigy of, in bonfire, i. iii; + a black, used as counter-charm to witchcraft, 321; + white, burnt in Midsummer bonfire, ii. 40; + external soul of ogre in a, 100; + killed on harvest-field, 280 _n._; + red, killed to cure person struck by lightning, 298 _n._ 2 + +---- or hen, striking blindfold at a, ii. 279 _n._ 4 + +Cock's blood poured on divining-rod, ii. 282 + +Cockchafer, external soul in a golden, ii. 140 + +Cockchafers, witches as, i. 322 + +Coco-nut, soul of child deposited in a, i. 154 _sq._ + +---- palm planted over navel-string and afterbirth of child, ii. 161, 163, + compare 164; + attracts lightning, 299 _n._ 2 + +Codrington, Dr. R. H., on the Melanesian conception of the external soul, + ii. 197 _sq._ + +_Coel Coeth_, Hallowe'en bonfire, i. 239 + +Cohen, S. S., i. 128 _n._ 1 + +Coil, sick children passed through a, ii. 185 _sq._ + +Cold food, festival of the, in China, i. 137 + +Cole, Lieut.-Colonel H. W. G., on a custom of the Lushais, ii. 185 _sq._ + +Colic, popular remedies for, i. 17; + leaping over bonfires as a preventive of, 107, 195 _sq._, 344; + attributed to witchcraft, 344 + +Coll, the Hole Stone in the island of, ii. 187 + +Colleda, an old Servian goddess, i. 259 + +Cologne, St. John's fourteen Midsummer victims at, ii. 27 + +Colombia, the Goajiras of, i. 34 _n._ 1; + Guacheta in, 74 + +Combe d'Ain, i. 114 + +Comminges, Midsummer fires in, i. 192 _sq._ + +Community, welfare of, bound up with the life of the divine king, i. 1 + _sq._; + purified in the persons of its representatives, ii. 24 + +Condé, in Normandy, i. 266 + +Conductivity, electric, of various kinds of wood, ii. 299 _n._ 2 + +Conflagrations, bonfires supposed to protect against, i. 107, 108, 140, + 142, 344; + brands of Midsummer bonfires thought to be a protection against, 165, + 174, 183, 188, 196; + the Yule log a protection against, 248 _sq._, 250, 255, 256, 258; + Midsummer flowers a protection against, ii. 48; + mountain arnica a protection against, 58; + oak-mistletoe a protection against, 85 + +Conflict of calendars, solar and lunar, i. 218 + +Congo, seclusion of girls at puberty on the Lower, i. 31; + birth-trees on the, 161 _sq._; + theory of the external soul on the, ii. 200; + use of bull-roarers on the, 229 + +----, the French, the Fans of, ii. 161 + +----, the Lower, rites of initiation on the, ii. 251 _sqq._ + +Connaught, Midsummer fires in, i. 203; + cave of Cruachan in, 226; + palace of the kings of, ii. 127 + +Connemara, Midsummer fires in, i. 203 + +Constance, the Lake of, ii. 26 + +Constantinople, column at, ii. 157 + +Consumption, ashes of the Midsummer fires a cure for, i. 194 _sq._; + transferred to bird, ii. 187 + +Consumptive patients passed through holes in stones or rocks, ii. 186 + _sq._ + +Continence as preparation for walking through fire, ii. 3 + +Conty, Lenten fires at, i. 113 + +Conway, Professor R. S., on the etymology of Soranus, ii. 15 _n._ 1 + +Cook, A. B., on the oak of Errol, ii. 284 _n._ 1 + +Cook, menstruous women not allowed to, i. 80, 82, 84, 90 + +Copper needle, story of man who could only be killed by a, ii. 314 + +Corannas, a Hottentot people, children after an illness passed under an + arch among the, ii. 192 + +Cords tied tightly round the bodies of girls at puberty, i. 92 _n._ 1 + +Corea, custom observed after childbirth by women in, i. 20; + use of torches to ensure good crops in, 340 + +Cormac, on Beltane fires, i. 157 + +Cor-mass, procession of wicker giants at Dunkirk, ii. 34 + +Corn, charm to make the corn grow tall, i. 18; + thrown on the man who brings in the Yule log, 260, 262, 264; + blazing besoms flung aloft to make the corn grow high, 340 + +---- -spirit in last standing corn, i. 12; + human representatives of, put to death, ii. 25; + in animal shape, 43 + +Cornel-tree wood used to kindle need-fire, i. 286 + +Cornwall, Snake Stones in, i. 15, 16 _n._ 1; + Midsummer fires in, 199 _sq._; + burnt sacrifices to stay cattle-disease in, 300 _sq._; + holed stone through which people used to creep in, ii. 187 + +Corpse, priest of Earth forbidden to see a, i. 4 + +Corpus Christi Day, processions on, i. 165 + +Corrèze and Creuse, departments of, St. John's fires in the, i. 190 + +Corsica, Midsummer fires in, i. 209 + +Cos, effigies of Judas burnt at Easter in, i. 130; + Midsummer fires in, 212 + +Cosquin, E., on helpful animals and external souls in folk-tales, ii. 133 + _n._ 1 + +_Cosse de Nau_, the Yule log, i. 251 + +Costa Rica, Indians of, their customs in fasts, i. 20; + ceremonial uncleanness among the, 65 _n._ 1; + the Bri-bri Indians of, 86; + the Guatusos of, ii. 230 _n._ + +Coudreau, H., quoted, i. 63 _sq._ + +Coulommiers, in France, notion as to mistletoe at, ii. 316 _n._ 1 + +Counter-charm for witchcraft, "scoring above the breath," i. 316 _n._ 2 + +Couples married within the year obliged to dance by torchlight, i. 115, + 339 + +Coventry, Midsummer giants at, ii. 37 + +Cows, witches steal milk from, i. 343; + mistletoe given to, ii. 86; + milked through a hole in a branch or a "witch's nest," 185 + +Crackers burnt to frighten ghosts, ii. 17, 18 + +Cracow, Midsummer fires in the district of, i. 175 + +Cream, ceremony for thickening, i. 262 + +Creek Indians, their dread of menstruous women, i. 88 + +Creeping through a tunnel as a remedy for an epidemic, i. 283 _sq._; + through cleft trees as cure for various maladies, ii. 170 _sqq._; + through narrow openings in order to escape ghostly pursuers, 177 _sqq._ + +Creuse and Corrèze, departments of, St. John's fires in the, i. 190 + +Criminals shorn to make them confess, ii. 158 _sq._ + +Croatia, Midsummer fires in, i. 178 + +Croats of Istria, their belief as to the activity of witches on Midsummer + Eve, ii. 75 + +Crocodile, a Batta totem, ii. 223 + +Crocodiles, fat of, i. 14; + lives of persons bound up with those of, ii. 201, 202, 206, 209; + external human souls in, 207, 209 + +Cronus, cakes offered to, i. 153 _n._ 3 + +Crops supposed to be spoiled by menstruous women, i. 79, 96; + leaping over bonfires to ensure good, 107; + Midsummer fires thought to ensure good, 188, 336; + torches swung by eunuchs to ensure good, 340; + bull-roarers sounded to promote the growth of the, ii. 232 + +Cross River natives, their lives bound up with those of certain animals, + ii. 202 _sq._, 204 + +---- -roads, ceremonies at, i. 24; + witches at, 160 _n._ 1; + Midsummer fires lighted at, 172, 191; + divination at, 229; + bewitched things burnt at, 322 + +Crosses chalked up to protect houses and cattle-stalls against witches, i. + 160 _n._ 1, ii. 74 + +Crow, hooded, sacrifice to, i. 152 + +_Crowdie_, a dish of milk and meal, i. 237 + +Crown or garland of flowers in Midsummer bonfire, i. 184, 185, 188, 192; + of Roses, festival of the, 195. + _See also_ Flowers + +Cruachan, the herdsman or king of, Argyleshire story of, ii. 127 _sqq._; + in Connaught, the cave of, i. 226 + +_Cryptocerus atratus_, F., stinging ants, i. 62 + +Cuissard, Ch., on Midsummer fires, i. 182 _sq._ + +Cumae, the Sibyl at, i. 99 + +Cumanus, inquisitor, ii. 158 + +Cumberland, Midsummer fires in, i. 197 + +Cups, special, used by girls at puberty, i. 50, 53 + +Curative powers ascribed to persons born feet foremost, i. 295 + +Cures, popular, prescribed by Marcellus of Bordeaux, i. 17 + +Cursing a mist in Switzerland, i. 280 + +Cuzco, ceremony of the new fire in, i. 132 + +Cycle of thirty years (Druidical), ii. 77 + +Cycles of sixty years (Boeotian, Indian, and Tibetan), ii. 77 _n._ 1 + +Cythnos, Greek island, sickly children pushed through a hole in a rock in, + ii. 189 + +Czechs cull simples at Midsummer, ii. 49 + +Dacotas or Sioux, ritual of death and resurrection among the, ii. 268 + _sq._ + +Daedala, Boeotian festival of the Great, ii. 77 _n._ 1 + +Dairy, mistletoe used to make the dairy thrive, ii. 86 + +Daizan, king of Atrae, i. 83 + +Dalhousie Castle, the Edgewell Tree at, ii. 166 + +Dalmatia, the Yule log in, i. 263 + +Dalyell, J. G., on Beltane, i. 149 _n._ 1 + +Damun, in German New Guinea, ceremony of initiation at, ii. 193 + +Danae, the story of, i. 73 _sq._ + +Dance at Sipi in Northern India, i. 12; + of young women at puberty, ii. 183; + in the grave at initiation, 237; + in honour of the big or grey wolf, 276 _n._ 2 + +Dances of fasting men and women at festival, i. 8 _sq._; + of Duk-duk society, 11; + of girls at puberty, 28, 29, 30, 37, 42, 50, 58, 59; + round bonfires, 108, 109, 110, 111, 114, 116, 120, 131, 142, 145, 148, + 153 _sq._, 159, 166, 172, 173, 175, 178, 182, 183, 185, 187, + 188, 189, 191, 193, 194, 195, 198, 246, ii. 2, 39; + masked, bull-roarers used at, 230 _n._; + of novices at initiation, 258, 259 + +Dancing with the fairies at Hallowe'en, i. 227 + +Dandelions gathered at Midsummer, ii. 49 + +Danger apprehended from the sexual relation, ii. 277 _sq._ + +Dangers thought to attend women at menstruation, i. 94 + +Danish stories of the external soul, ii. 120 _sqq._ + +---- story of a girl who was forbidden to see the sun, i. 70 _sqq._ + +_Danserosse_ or _danseresse_, a stone, i. 110 + +Danube, worship of Grannus on the, i. 112 + +Danzig, the immortal lady of, i. 100 + +_Daphne gnidium_ gathered at Midsummer, ii. 51 + +Dapper, O., on ritual of death and resurrection at initiation in the + Belli-Paaro society, ii. 257 _sqq._ + +Daramulun, a mythical being who instituted and superintends the initiation + of lads in Australia, ii. 228, 233, 237; + his voice heard in the sound of the bull-roarer, 228. + _See also_ Thrumalun and Thuremlin + +"Darding Knife," pretence of death and resurrection at initiation to the, + ii. 274 _sq._ + +Darling River, the Ualaroi of the, ii. 233 + +Darma Rajah, Hindoo god, ii. 6 + +Darowen, in Wales, Midsummer fires at, i. 201 + +Darwin, Charles, on the cooling of the sun, ii. 307 + +Darwin, Sir Francis, on the Golden Bough, ii. 318, 319 _n._ 3 + +Dashers of churns, witches ride on, ii. 73 _sq._ + +Date of Chinese festival changed, i. 137 + +Dathi, king of Ireland, and his Druid, i. 228 _sq._ + +Davies, J. Ceredig, as to witches in Wales, i. 321 _n._ 2 + +Dawn of the Day, prayers to the, i. 50 _sq._, 53; + prayer of adolescent girl to the, 98 _n._ 1 + +Dawson, James, on sex totems in Victoria, ii. 216 + +Dead, festival of the, i. 223 _sq._, 225 _sq._; + souls of the, sit round the Midsummer fire, 183, 184; + sacrifice of reindeer to the, ii. 178; + incarnate in serpents, 211 _sq._; + bull-roarers sounded at festivals of the, 230 _n._; + first-fruits offered to the souls of the, 243 + +"Death, carrying out," i. 119; + "the burying of," 119; + effigies of, burnt in spring fires, ii. 21 _sq._; + omens of, 54, 64; + customs observed by mourners after a death in order to escape from the + ghost, 174 _sqq._; + identified with the sun, 174 _n._ 1 + +Death and resurrection, ritual of, ii. 225 _sqq._; + in Australia, 227 _sqq._; + in New Guinea, 239 _sqq._; + in Fiji, 243 _sqq._; + in Rook, 246; + in New Britain, 246 _sq._; + in Ceram, 249 _sqq._; + in Africa, 251 _sqq._; + in North America, 266 _sqq._; + traces of it elsewhere, 276 _sq._ + +_Debregeasia velutina_, used to kindle fire by friction, ii. 8 + +December, the last day of, Hogmanay, i. 266; + the twenty-first, St. Thomas's Day, 266 + +Decle, L., quoted, i. 4 _n._ 1 + +Dee, holed stone used by childless women in the Aberdeenshire, ii. 187 + +Deer and the family of Lachlin, superstition concerning, ii. 284 + +Deffingin, in Swabia, Midsummer bonfires at, i. 166 _sq._ + +Dehon, P., on witches as cats among the Oraons, ii. 312 + +_Deiseal_, _deisheal_, _dessil_, the right-hand turn, in the Highlands of + Scotland, i. 150 _n._ 1, 154 + +Delagoa Bay, the Thonga of, i. 29 + +Delaware Indians, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 54 + +Delivery, charms to ensure women an easy, i. 49, 50 _sq._, 52; + women creep through a rifted rock to obtain an easy, ii. 189 + +Delmenhorst, in Oldenburg, Easter fires at, i. 142 + +Delos, new fire brought from, i. 136 + +Delphi, perpetual fire at, ii. 91 _n._ 7; + the picture of Orpheus at, 294; + Stheni, near, 317 + +Demeter, the torches of, i. 340 _n._ 1; + serpents in the worship of, ii. 44 _n._ + +Demnat, in the Atlas, New Year rites at, i. 217, 218 + +Demon supposed to attack girls at puberty, i. 67 _sq._; + festival of fire instituted to ban a, ii. 3 + +Demons attack women at puberty and childbirth, i. 24 _n._ 2; + expelled at the New Year, 134 _sq._; + abroad on Midsummer Eve, 172; + ashes of holy fires a protection against, ii. 8, 17; + vervain a protection against, 62; + guard treasures, 65. + _See also_ Evil Spirits + +Déné or Tinneh Indians, their dread and seclusion of menstruous women, i. + 91 _sqq._; + the Western, tattooing among the, 98 _n._ 1 + _See also_ Tinneh + +_Denham Tracts_, on need-fire in Yorkshire, i. 287 _sq._ + +Denmark, fires on St. John's Eve in, i. 171; + passing sick children through a hole in the ground in, 190, 191; + children passed through a cleft oak as a cure for rupture or rickets in, + ii. 170, 172 + +_Dessil._ _See_ _Deiseal_ + +Deux-Sèvres, department of, Midsummer fires in the, i. 191; + fires on All Saints' Day in the, 245 _sq._ + +Devil, the, seen on Midsummer Eve, i. 208 + +Devil's bit, St. John's wort, ii. 55 _n._ 2 + +Devils, ghosts, and hobgoblins abroad on Midsummer Eve, i. 202 + +Devonshire, need-fire in, i. 288; + animals burnt alive as a sacrifice in, 302; + belief in witchcraft in, 302; + crawling under a bramble as a cure for whooping-cough in, ii. 180 + +Dew, rolling in the, at Midsummer, i. 208, with _n._ 1; + at Midsummer a protection against witchcraft, ii. 74 + +Diana and Juno, ii. 302 _n._ 2 + +Diana, priest of, at Nemi, ii. 315 + +Diana's Mirror, the Lake of Nemi, ii. 303 + +Dieri of Central Australia, their dread of women at menstruation, i. 77; + use of bull-roarers among the, ii. 229 _sq._, 232; + bleed themselves to make rain, 232 + +Dijon, Lenten fires at, i, 114 + +Dingle, church of St. Brandon near, ii. 190 + +Diodorus Siculus, on the human sacrifices of the Celts, ii. 32 + +Dioscorides on mistletoe, ii. 318 _n._ 1 + +Dipping for apples at Hallowe'en, i. 237, 239, 241, 242, 245 + +Discs, burning, thrown into the air, i. 116 _sq._, 119, 143, 165, 166, 168 + _sq._, 172, 328, 334; + burning, perhaps directed at witches, 345 + +Disease, walking through fire as a remedy for, ii. 7; + conceived as something physical that can be stripped off the patient and + left behind, 172 + +Diseases of cattle ascribed to witchcraft, i. 343 + +Dish, external soul of warlock in a, ii. 141 + +Dishes, special, used by girls at puberty, i. 47, 49 + +Dislocation, Roman cure for, ii. 177 + +Divination on St. John's Night (Midsummer Eve), i. 173, ii. 46 _n._ 3, 50, + 52 _sqq._, 61, 64, 67 _sqq._; + at Midsummer in Spain and the Azores, i. 208 _sq._; + at Hallowe'en, 225, 228 _sqq._; + by stones at Hallowe'en fires, 230 _sq._, 239, 240; + by stolen kail, 234 _sq._, 241; + by clue of yarn, 235, 240, 241, 243; + by hemp seed, 235, 241, 245; + by winnowing-basket, 236; + by thrown shoe, 236; + by wet shirt, 236, 241; + by white of eggs, 236 _sq._, 238; + by apples in water, 237; + by a ring, 237; + by names on chimney-piece, 237; + by three plates or basins, 237 _sq._, 240, 244; + by nuts in fire, 237, 239, 241, 242, 245; + by salt cake, or salt herring, 238 _sq._; + by the sliced apple, 238; + by eavesdropping, 238, 243, 244; + by knife, 241; + by briar-thorn, 242; + by melted lead, 242; + by cabbages, 242; + by cake at Hallowe'en, 242, 243; + by ashes, 243, 244, 245; + by salt, 244; + by raking a rick, 247; + magic dwindles into, 336. + _See also_ Divining-rod + +Divine personages not allowed to touch the ground with their feet, i. 2 + _sqq._; + not allowed to see the sun, 18 _sqq._; + suspended for safety between heaven and earth, 98 _sq._ + +Divining-rod cut on Midsummer Eve, ii. 67 _sqq._; + made of hazel, 67 _sq._, 291 _n._ 3; + made of mistletoe in Sweden, 69, 291; + made of four sorts of wood, 69; + made of willow, 69 _n._; + made out of a parasitic rowan, 281 _sq._ + +Divisibility of life, doctrine of the, ii. 221 + +Dobischwald, in Silesia, need-fire at, i. 278 + +Dodona, Zeus and his sacred oak at, ii. 49 _sq._ + +Dog not allowed to enter priest's house, i. 4; + beaten to ensure woman's fertility, 69; + charm against the bite of a mad, ii. 56; + a Batta totem, 223 + +---- Star, or Sirius, supposed by the ancients to cause the heat of summer, + i. 332 + +Dolac, need-fire at, i. 286 + +Dolmen, sick children passed through a hole in a, ii. 188 + +Dommartin, Lenten fires at, i. 109 + +Door, separate, for girls at puberty, i. 43, 44 + +Doorie, hill of, at Burghead, i. 267 + +Doors, separate, used by menstruous women, i. 84 + +Doorway, creeping through narrow opening in, as a cure, ii. 181 _sq._ + +Dosadhs, an Indian caste, the fire-walk among the, ii. 5 + +Dosuma, king of, not allowed to touch the ground, i. 3 + +Douay, procession of the giants at, ii. 33 _sq._ + +Double-axe, Midsummer king of the, i. 194 + +Dourgne, in Southern France, crawling through holed stones near, ii. 187 + _sq._ + +Dove, the ceremony of the fiery, at Easter in Florence, i. 126; + a Batta totem, ii. 223 + +Doves, external soul of magicians in, ii. 104; + Aeneas led by doves to the Golden Bough, 285, 316 _n._ 1 + +Dragon at Midsummer, effigy of, ii. 37; + external soul of a queen in a, 105; + of the water-mill, Servian story of the, 111 _sqq._ + +Dragons driven away by smoke of Midsummer bonfires, i. 161; + St. Peter's fires lighted to drive away, 195 + +Draguignan, in the department of Var, Midsummer fires at, i. 193 + +Draupadi, the heroine of the _Mahabharata_, ii. 7 + +Dread and seclusion of menstruous women, i. 76 _sqq._; + dread of witchcraft in Europe, 342 + +Dream, guardian spirit or animal acquired in a, ii. 256 _sq._ + +Dreaming on flowers on Midsummer Eve, i. 175 + +Dreams, oracular, i. 238, 242; + of love on Midsummer Eve, ii. 52, 54; + prophetic, on the bloom of the oak, 292; + prophetic, on mistletoe, 293 + +Driving away the witches on Walpurgis Night, i. 160; + at Midsummer, 170, 171 + +Drobede (Draupadi), the heroine of the epic _Mahabharata_, ii. 7 + +Drömling district, in Hanover, need-fire in, i. 277 + +Drought attributed to misconduct of young girls, i. 31 + +Druid, etymology of the word, i. 76 _n._ 1 + +Druidical custom of burning live animals, ii. 38; + the animals perhaps deemed embodiments of witches, 41 _sq._, 43 _sq._; + festivals, so-called, of the Scotch Highlanders, i. 147, 206 + +---- sacrifices, W. Mannhardt's theory of the, ii. 43 + +Druidism, so-called, remains of, i. 233, 241; + and the Christian Church in relation to witchcraft, ii. 42 + +Druid's Glass, the, i. 16; prediction, the, 229 + +Druids' Hill, the, i. 229 + +Druids, their superstition as to "serpents' eggs," i. 15; + their human sacrifices, ii. 32 _sq._; + in relation to the Midsummer festival, 33 _sqq._, 45; + their worship of the mistletoe and the oak, 76 _sq._, 301; + their cycle of thirty years, 77; + catch the mistletoe in a white cloth, 293 + +---- of Ireland, i. 157 + +Drynemetum, "the temple of the oak," ii. 89 + +Duck baked alive as a sacrifice in Suffolk, i. 304 + +Duck's egg, external soul in a, ii. 109 _sq._, 115 _sq._, 116, 119 _sq._, + 120, 126, 130, 132 + +Duk-duk, secret society of New Britain, i. 11, ii. 246 _sq._ + +Duke of York Island, ii. 199 _n._ 2; + Duk-duk society in, 247; + exogamous classes in, 248 _n._ + +Duke Town, on the Calabar River, ii. 209 + +Dukkala, New Year customs in, i. 218 + +Dumbartonshire, Hallowe'en in, i. 237 _n._ 5 + +Dunbeath, in Caithness, i. 291 + +Dunkeld, i. 232 + +Dunkirk, procession of giants on Midsummer Day at, ii. 34 _sq._ + +Durandus, G. (W. Durantis), his _Rationale Divinorum Officiorum_, i. 161 + +Durham, Easter candle in the cathedral of, i. 122 _n._ + +Durris, parish of, Kincardineshire, Midsummer fires in the, i. 206 _sq._ + +Dusk of the Evening, prayers to the, i. 53 + +Düsseldorf, Shrove Tuesday custom in the district of, i. 120 + +Dutch names for mistletoe, ii. 319 _n._ 1 + +Dwarf-elder at Midsummer detects witchcraft, ii. 64 + +Dyaks of Borneo, trees and plants as life indices among the, ii. 164 + _sq._; + their doctrine of the plurality of souls, 222; + of Landak and Tajan, marriage custom of the, i. 5; + birth-trees among the, ii. 164; + of Pinoeh, their custom at a birth, ii. 154 _sq._ + +Eagle, sacrifice to, i. 152 + +---- bone, used to drink out of, i. 45 + +---- clan, ii. 271, 272 _n._ 1 + +---- -hawk, external soul of medicine-man in, ii. 199 + +---- -spirits and buried treasures, i. 218 + +Earth, taboos observed by the priest of, in Southern Nigeria, i. 4; + prayers to, 50; + and heaven, between, 1 _sqq._ + +Easter, fern-seed blooms at, ii. 292 _n._ 2 + +---- candle, i. 121, 122, 125 + +---- ceremonies in the New World, i. 127 _sq._ + +---- eggs, i. 108, 143, 144 + +---- Eve, new fire on, i. 121, 124, 126, 158; + the fern blooms at, ii. 66 + +---- fires, i. 120 _sqq._ + +---- Man, burning the, i. 144 + +---- Monday, fire-custom on, i. 143 + +---- Mountains, bonfires on, i. 140, 141 + +---- Saturday, new fire on, i. 121, 122, 124, 127, 128, 130; + the divining-rod baptized on, ii. 69 + +---- Sunday, red eggs on, i. 122 + +Eavesdropping, divination by, i. 238, 243, 244 + +Echternach in Luxemburg, Lenten fire-custom at, i. 116 + +Eclipses attributed to monster biting the sun or moon, i. 70; + air thought to be poisoned at, 162 _n._; + thought to be caused by a monster attacking the luminary, 162 _n._ + +_Edda_, the prose, story of Balder in, i. 101; + the poetic, story of Balder in, 102 + +Eddesse, in Hanover, need-fire at, i. 275 _sq._ + +Edersleben, Midsummer fire-custom at, i. 169 + +Edgewell Tree, oak at castle of Dalhousie, ii. 166, 284 + +Effect, supposed, of killing a totem animal, ii. 220 + +Effigies burnt in bonfires, i. 106, 107, 116, 118 _sq._, 119 _sq._, 121, + 122, 159, 167; + of Judas burnt at Easter, 121, 127 _sq._, 130 _sq._; + burnt in the Midsummer fires, 172 _sq._, 195; + of witches burnt in the fires, 342, ii. 19, 43; + of human beings burnt in the fires, 21 _sqq._; + of giants burnt in the summer fires, 38 + +Effigy of absent friend cut in a tree, ii. 159 _sq._ + +Efik, a tribe of Calabar, their belief in external or bush souls, ii. 206 + +Egede, Hans, on impregnation by the moon, i. 76 + +Egg broken in water, divination by means of, i. 208 _sq._ + +Eggs, charm to ensure plenty of, i. 112, 338; + begged for at Midsummer, 169; + divination by white of, 236 _sq._, 238; + external souls of fairy beings in, ii. 106 _sqq._, 110, 125, 132 _sq._, + 140 _sq._ + +----, Easter, i. 108, 122, 143, 144 + +Egypt, the Flight into, ii. 69 _n._; + deified kings of, their souls deposited during life in portrait statues, + 157 + +Egyptian, ancient, story of the external soul, ii. 134 _sqq._ + +---- doctrine of the _ka_ or external soul, ii. 157 _n._ 2 + +---- tombs, plaques or palettes of schist in, ii. 155 + +Egyptians, human sacrifices among the, ii. 286 _n._ 2 + +Eifel Mountains, Lenten fires in the, i. 115 _sq._, 336 _sq._; + Cobern in the, 120; + St. John's fires in the, 169; + the Yule log in the, 248; + Midsummer flowers in the, ii. 48 + +Eighty-one (nine times nine), men make need-fire, i. 289, 294, 295 + +Eket, in North Calabar, ii. 209 + +Ekoi, a tribe of Calabar, their belief in external or bush souls, ii. 206 + _sqq._ + +_Elangela_, external soul in Fan language, ii. 201, 226 _n._ 1 + +Elbe, the river, dangerous on Midsummer Day, ii. 26 + +Elder-flowers gathered at Midsummer, ii. 64 + +Elecampane in a popular remedy, i. 17 + +Electric conductivity of various kinds of wood, ii. 299 _n._ 2 + +Elephant hunters, custom of, i. 5 + +Elephants, lives of persons bound up with those of, ii. 202, 203; + external human souls in, 207 + +Elgin, medical use of mistletoe in, ii. 84 + +Elk clan of the Omaha Indians, i. 11 + +Elm wood used to kindle need-fire, i. 299 + +Embers of bonfires planted in fields, i. 117, 121; + stuck in cabbage gardens, 174, 175; + promote growth of crops, 337. + _See also_ Ashes _and_ Sticks, charred + +---- of Midsummer fires a protection against conflagration, i. 188; + a protection against lightning, 190 + +Emily plain of Central Australia, ii. 238 + +Emmenthal, in Switzerland, superstition as to Midsummer Day in the, ii. + 27; + use of orpine at Midsummer in the, 62 _n._ + +Emu fat not allowed to touch the ground, i. 13 + +---- -wren, called men's "brother" among the Kurnai, ii. 215 _n._ 1, 216, + 218 + +Encounter Bay tribe in South Australia, their dread of women at + menstruation, i. 76 + +Energy, sanctity and uncleanness, different forms of the same mysterious, + i. 97 _sq._ + +England, belief as to menstruous women in, i. 96 _n._ 1; + Midsummer fires in, 196 _sqq._; + the Yule log in, 255 _sqq._; + the need-fire in, 286 _sqq._; + Midsummer giants in, ii. 36 _sqq._; + divination by orpine at Midsummer in, 61; + fern-seed at Midsummer in, 65; + the north of, mistletoe used to make the dairy thrive in, 85 _sq._; + birth-trees in, 165; + children passed through cleft ash-trees as a cure for rupture or rickets + in, 168 _sqq._; + oak-mistletoe in, 316 + +English cure for whooping-cough, rheumatism, and boils, ii. 180 + +Ensival, bonfires at, i. 108 + +Entrails, external soul in, ii. 146 _sq._, 152 + +_Epic of Kings_, Firdusi's, i. 104 + +Epidemic, creeping through a tunnel as a remedy for an, i. 283 _sq._ + +Epilepsy, yellow mullein a protection against, ii. 63; + mistletoe a cure for, 78, 83, 84 + +Épinal, Lenten fires at, i. 109 + +Eriskay, fairies at Hallowe'en in, i. 226; + salt cake at Hallowe'en in, 238 _sq._ + +Errol, the Hays of, their fate bound up with oak-mistletoe, ii. 283 _sq._ + +_Escouvion_ or _Scouvion_, the Great and the Little, i. 108 + +Esquimaux, their superstition as to various meats, i. 13 _sq._; + seclusion of girls at puberty among the, 55; + ceremony of the new fire among the, 134; + their custom at eclipses, 162 _n._ + +---- of Alaska, child's soul deposited in a bag among the, ii. 155 + +---- of Bering Strait, their belief as to menstruous women, i. 91 + +Esthonia, bathing at Midsummer in, ii. 29; + flowers gathered for divination and magic at Midsummer in, 53 _sq._ + +Esthonians, Midsummer fires among the, i. 179 _sq._; + of Oesel cull St. John's herbs on St. John's Day, ii. 49 + +Eteobutads as umbrella-bearers at the festival of Scira, i. 20 _n._ 1 + +Eton, Midsummer fires at, i. 197 + +Eunuchs perform a ceremony for the fertility of the fields, i. 340 + +_Euphorbia lathyris_, caper-spurge, ii. 69 + +Euripides, his play on Meleager, ii. 103 _n._ 2 + +Europe, superstitions as to menstruous women in, i. 96 _sq._; + the fire-festivals of, 106 _sqq._; + great dread of witchcraft in, 342; + birth-trees in, ii. 165; + belief in, that strength of witches and wizards is in their hair, 158 + +Eurydice, Orpheus and, ii. 294 + +Eve of Samhain (Hallowe'en) in Ireland, i. 139 + +Everek (Caesarea), in Asia Minor, creeping through a rifted rock at, ii. + 189 + +Evil eye, protection against, i. 17 + +---- spirit, mode of cure for possession by an, ii. 186 + +Evil spirits driven away at the New Year, i. 134 _sq._; + kept off by fire, 282, 285 _sq._; + St. John's herbs a protection against, ii. 49; + kept off by flowers gathered at Midsummer, 53 _sq._; + creeping through cleft trees to escape the pursuit of, 173 _sqq._ + _See also_ Demons + +Ewe negroes, their dread of menstruous women, i. 82 + +Exogamous classes in Duke of York island, ii. 248 _n._ + +Exorcizing vermin with torches, i. 340 + +Exorcism of evil spirits, i. 5; + and ordeals, 66; + at Easter, 123; + use of St. John's wort in, ii. 55; + use of mugwort in, 60; + by vervain, 62 _n._ 4 + +Expulsion of demons, annual, i. 135 + +External soul in folk-tales, ii. 95 _sqq._; + in folk-custom, 153 _sqq._; + in inanimate things, 153 _sqq._; + in plants, 159 _sqq._; + in animals, 196 _sqq._; + kept in totem, 220 _sqq._ + _See also_ Souls, External + +Extinction of common fires before the kindling of the need-fire, i. 271, + 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277 _sq._, 279, 283, 285, 288, 289, + 289 _sq._, 291, 291 _sq._, 292, 294, 297, 298 _sq._; + ceremonial, of fires, ii. 297 _sq._ + +Eye, the evil, cast on cattle, i. 302, 303; + oleander a protection against the, ii. 51 + +Eyes, looking through flowers at the Midsummer fire, thought to be good + for the, i. 162, 163, 165 _sq._, 171, 174 _sq._, 344; + ashes or smoke of Midsummer fire supposed to benefit the, 214 _sq._; + sore, attributed to witchcraft, 344; + mugwort a protection against sore, ii. 59; + of newly initiated lads closed, 241 + +Eyre, E. J., on menstruous women in Australia, i. 77 + +"Faery dairts" thought to kill cattle, i. 303 + +_Failles_, bonfires, i. 111 _n._ 1 + +Fair, great, at Uisnech in County Meath, i. 158 + +Fairies let loose at Hallowe'en, i. 224 _sqq._; + carry off men's wives, 227; + at Hallowe'en, dancing with the, 227; + thought to kill cattle by their darts, 303; + active on Hallowe'en and May Day, ii. 184 _n._ 4, 185 + +Fairy changelings, i. 151 _n._; + mistletoe a protection against, ii. 283 + +Falcon stone, at Errol, in Perthshire, ii. 283 + +Falkenstein chapel of St. Wolfgang, creeping through a rifted rock near + the, ii. 189 + +Falling sickness, mistletoe a remedy for, ii. 83, 84 + +Famenne in Namur, Lenten fires in, i. 108 + +Familiar spirits of wizards in boars, ii. 196 _sq._ + +Fans of the French Congo, birth-trees among the, ii. 161 + +---- of the Gaboon, their theory of the external soul, ii. 200 _sqq._, 226 + _n._ 1; + guardian spirits acquired in dreams among the, 257 + +---- of West Africa, custom at end of mourning among the, ii. 18 + +Fast at puberty, ii. 222 _n._ 5 + +Fasting of girls at puberty, i. 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 66; + of women at menstruation, 93, 94; + as preparation for gathering magical plants, ii. 45, 55 _n._ 1, 58 + +---- men and women at a dancing festival, i. 8 _sqq._ + +Fasts imposed on heirs to thrones in South America, i. 19; + rules observed in, 20 + +Fat of emu not allowed to touch the ground, i. 13; + of crocodiles and snakes as unguent, 14 + +Fattening-house for girls in Calabar, ii. 259 + +Feast of Florus and Lauras on August 18th, i. 220; + of the Nativity of the Virgin, 220 _sq._; + of All Souls, 223 _sq._, 225 _n._ 3 + +_Fechenots_, _fechenottes_, Valentines, i. 110 + +Feet foremost, children born, curative power attributed to, i. 295 + +Fen-hall, i. 102 + +Ferintosh district, in Scotland, i. 227 + +Fern in a popular remedy, i. 17; + the male (_Aspidium filix mas_), superstitions as 10, ii. 66 _sq._ + +---- owl or goatsucker, sex totem of women, ii. 217 + +---- -seed gathered on Midsummer Eve, magical properties ascribed to, ii. 65 + _sqq._; + blooms on Midsummer Eve, 287; + blooms on Christmas Night, 288 _sq._; + reveals treasures in the earth, 287 _sqq._; + brought by Satan on Christmas night, 289; + gathered at the solstices, Midsummer Eve and Christmas, 290 _sq._; + procured by shooting at the sun on Midsummer Day, 291; + blooms at Easter, 292 _n._ 2 + +Feronia, Italian goddess, ii. 14 + +Ferrara, synod of, denounces practice of gathering fern-seed, ii. 66 _n._ + +Fertility of women, magical ceremony to ensure, i. 23 _sq._, 31; + of fields, processions with lighted torches to ensure the, 233 _sq._; + of the land supposed to depend on the number of human beings sacrificed, + ii. 32, 33, 42 _sq._ + +Fertilization of mango trees, ceremony for the, i. 10 + +Fertilizing fields with ashes of Midsummer fires, i. 170 + +Festival of the cold food in China, i. 137; + Chinese, shifted in the calendar, 137; + of the Cross on August 1st, 220; + of the Dead, 223 _sq._, 225 _sq._ + +Fetish, the great, in West Africa, ii. 256 + +Fever, leaping over the Midsummer bonfires as a preventive of, i. 166, + 173, 194; + Midsummer fires a protection against, 190; + need-fire kindled to prevent, 297; + cure for, in India, ii. 190 + +_Fey_, devoted, i. 231 + +Fez, Midsummer custom at, i. 216, ii. 31 + +Field-mice, burning torches as a protection against, i. 114, 115 + +---- and moles driven away by torches, ii. 340 + +Fields, cultivated, menstruous women not allowed to enter, i. 79; + protected against insects by menstruous women, 98 _n._ 1; + processions with torches through, 107 _sq._, 110 _sqq._, 113 _sqq._, + 179, 339 _sq._; + protected against witches, 121; + made fruitful by bonfires, 140; + fertilized by ashes of Midsummer fires, 170; + fertilized by burning wheel rolled over them, 191, 340 _sq._; + protected against hail by bonfires, 344 + +Fig-trees, charm to benefit, i. 18; sacred among the Fans, ii. 161 + +Fights between men and women about their sex totems, ii. 215, 217 + +_Figo_, bonfire, i. 111 + +Fiji, brides tattooed in, i. 34 _n._ 1; + the fire-walk in, ii. 10 _sq._; + birth-trees in, 163; + the drama of death and resurrection exhibited to novices at initiation + in, 243 _sqq._ + +Filey, in Yorkshire, the Yule log and candle at, i. 256 + +Finchra, mountain in Rum, ii. 284 + +Fingan Eve in the Isle of Man, i. 266 + +Finistère, bonfires on St. John's Day in, i. 183 + +Finland, Midsummer fires in, i. 180 _sq._; + fir-tree as life-index in, ii. 165 _sq._ + +Finsch Harbour in German New Guinea, ii. 239 + +Fir-branches, prayers to, i. 51; + at Midsummer, 177; + Midsummer mummers clad in, ii. 25 _sq._ + +---- -cones, seeds of, gathered on St. John's Day, ii. 64 + +---- -tree as life-index, ii. 165 _sq._; + mistletoe on fir-trees, 315, 316 + +---- -wood used to kindle need-fire, i. 278, 282 + +---- or beech used to make the Yule log, i. 249 + +Firdusi's _Epic of Kings_, i. 104 + +Fire, girls at puberty forbidden to see or go near, i. 29, 45, 46; + menstruous women not allowed to touch or see, 84, 85; + extinguished at menstruation, 87; + in fire-festivals, different possible explanations of its use, 112 + _sq._; + made by flints or by flint and steel, 121, 124, 126, 127, 145, 146, 159; + made by a burning-glass, 121, 127; + made by a metal mirror, 132, 137, 138 _n._ 5; + made by the friction of wood, 132, 133, 135, 136, 137, 138, 144 _sq._, + 148, 155, 169 _sq._, 175, 177, 179, 220, 264, 270 _sqq._, + 335 _sq._, ii. 8, 90, 295; + not to be blown up with breath, i. 133; + year called a fire, 137; + thought to grow weak with age, 137; + pretence of throwing a man into, 148, 186, ii. 25; + carried round houses, corn, cattle, and women after child-bearing, 151 + _n._; + used to drive away witches and demons at Midsummer, 170; + as a protection against evil spirits, 282, 285 _sq._; + made by means of a wheel, 335 _sq._, ii. 91; + as a destructive and purificatory agent, i. 341; + used as a charm to produce sunshine, 341 _sq._; + employed as a barrier against ghosts, ii. 17 _sqq._; + as a purificatory agency, 19; + used to burn or ban witches, 19 _sq._; + extinguished by mistletoe, 78, 84 _sq._, 293; + of oak-wood used to detect a murderer, 92 _n._ 4; + life of man bound up with a, 157; + perpetual, of oak-wood, 285 _sq._; + conceived by savages as a property stored like sap in trees, 295; + primitive ideas as to the origin of, 295 _sq._ + +----, living, made by friction of wood, i. 220 + +----, new, kindled on Easter Saturday, i. 121 _sqq._; + festivals of new, 131 _sqq._; + made by the friction of wood at Christmas, 264 + +"---- of heaven," term applied to Midsummer bonfire, i. 334, 335 + +---- -drill used to kindle need-fire, i. 292 + +Fire-festivals of Europe, i. 106 _sqq._; + interpretation of the, 328 _sqq._, ii. 15 _sqq._; + at the solstices, i. 331 _sq._; + solar theory of the, 331 _sqq._; + purificatory theory of the, 341 _sqq._; + regarded as a protection against witchcraft, 342; + the purificatory theory of the, more probable than the solar theory, + 346; + elsewhere than in Europe, ii. 1 _sqq._; + in India, 1 _sqq._, 5 _sqq._; + in China, 3 _sqq._; + in Japan, 9 _sq._; + in Fiji, 10 _sq._; + in Tahiti, the Marquesas Islands, and Trinidad, 11; + in Africa, 11 _sqq._; + in classical antiquity in Cappadocia and Italy, 14 _sq._; + their relation to Druidism, 33 _sqq._, 45 + +Fire-god, Armenian, i. 131 _n._ 3; + of the Iroquois, prayers to the, 299 _sq._ + +---- -walk, the, ii. 1 _sqq._; + a remedy for disease, 7; + the meaning of the, 15 _sqq._ + +Firebrand, external soul of Meleager in a, ii. 103 + +Firebrands, the Sunday of the, i. 110, 114 + +Fires extinguished as preliminary to obtaining new fire, i. 5; + annually extinguished and relit, 132 _sqq._; + to burn the witches on the Eve of May Day (Walpurgis Night), 159 _sq._; + autumn, 220 _sqq._; + the need-fire, 269 _sqq._; + extinguished before the lighting of the need-fire, 270, 271, 272, 273, + 274, 275, 276, 277 _sq._, 279, 283, 285, 288, 289 _sq._, + 291, 291 _sq._, 292, 294, 297, 298 _sq._; + of the fire-festivals explained as sun-charms, 329, 331 _sqq._; + explained as purificatory, 329 _sq._, 341 _sqq._; + the burning of human beings in the, ii. 21 _sqq._; + perpetual, fed with oak-wood, 91; + with pinewood, 91 _n._ 7; + the solstitial, perhaps sun-charms, 292; + extinguished and relighted from a flame kindled by lightning, 297 _sq._ + _See also_ Fire, Bonfires + +----, the Beltane, i. 146 _sqq._ + +----, the Easter, i. 120 _sqq._ + +----, Hallowe'en, i. 222 _sq._, 230 _sqq._ + +----, the Lenten, i. 106 _sqq._ + +----, Midsummer, i. 160 _sqq._; + a protection against witches, 180; + supposed to stop rain, 188, 336; + supposed to be a preventive of backache in reaping, 189, 344 _sq._; + a protection against fever, 190 + +----, Midwinter, i. 246 _sqq._ + +---- of St. John in France, i. 183, 188, 189, 190, 192, 193 + +---- on the Eve of Twelfth Day, i. 107 + +First-born lamb, wool of, used as cure for colic, i. 17 + +---- sons make need-fire, i. 294; + special magical virtue attributed to, 295 + +First-fruits offered to the souls of the dead, ii. 243 + +Fish frightened or killed by proximity of menstruous women, i. 77, 93; + external soul in a, ii. 99 _sq._, 122 _sq._; + golden, external soul of girl in a, 147 _sq._; + lives of people bound up with, 200, 202, 204, 209 + +Fisheries supposed to be spoiled by menstruous women, i. 77, 78, 90 _sq._, + 93 + +Fison, Rev. Lorimer, on Fijian religion, ii. 244 _n._ 1, 2, 3, 246 _n._ 1 + +Fittleworth, in Sussex, cleft ash-trees used for the cure of rupture at, + ii. 169 _sq._ + +Flames of bonfires, omens drawn from, i. 159, 165, 336 + +Flanders, Midsummer fires in, i. 194; + the Yule log in, 249; + wicker giants in, ii. 35 + +Flax, leaping over bonfires to make the flax grow tall, i. 119; + charms to make flax grow tall, 165, 166, 173, 174, 176, 180 + +---- crop, omens of the, drawn from Midsummer bonfires, i. 165 + +---- seed sown in direction of flames of bonfire, i. 140, 337 + +Fleabane as a cure for headache, i. 17 + +Fleas, leaping over Midsummer fires to get rid of, i. 211, 212, 217 + +Flight into Egypt, the, ii. 69 _n._ + +Flints, fire kindled by, i. 121, 124, 126, 127, 145, 146, 159 + +Floor, sitting on the, at Christmas, i. 261 + +Florence, ceremony of the new fire at Easter in, i. 126 _sq._ + +Florus and Laurus, feast of, on August 18th, i. 220 + +Flowers thrown on bonfire, ii. 8; + external souls in, 117 _sq._ + _See also_ Crown + +---- and herbs cast into the Midsummer bonfires, i. 162, 163, 172, 173 + +---- at Midsummer thrown on roofs as a protection against lightning, i. 169; + festival of, 177 _sq._; + as talismans, 183; + in fires, 184, 188, 190; + wreaths of, hung over doors and windows, 201; + placed on mouths of wells, ii. 28; + divination from, 50 + +---- on Midsummer Eve, blessed by St. John, i. 171; + the magic flowers of Midsummer Eve, ii. 45 _sqq._; + used in divination, 52 _sq._; + used to dream upon, 52, 54 + +Flutes, sacred, played at initiation, ii. 241 + +Fly River, in British New Guinea, ii. 232 + +"Flying-rowan" (parasitic rowan), superstitions in regard to, ii. 281; + used to make a divining-rod, 281 _sq._ + +Foam of the sea, the demon Namuci killed by the, ii. 280; + the totem of a clan in India, 281 + +Fo-Kien, province of China, festival of fire in, ii. 3 _sqq._ + +Folgareit, in the Tyrol, Midsummer custom at, ii. 47 + +Folk-custom, external soul in, ii. 153 _sqq._ + +---- -tales, the external soul in, ii. 95 _sqq._ + +Follies of Dunkirk, ii. 34 _sq._ + +Food, sacred, not allowed to touch the ground, i. 13 _sq._; + girls at puberty not allowed to handle, 23, 28, 36, 40 _sq._, 42 + +Foods, forbidden, i. 4, 7, 19, 36 _sq._, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, + 48, 49, 54, 56, 57, 58, 68, 77, 78, 94 + +"Fool's Stone" in ashes of Midsummer fire, i. 195 + +Forbidden thing of clan, ii. 313 + +Forchheim, in Bavaria, the burning of Judas at Easter in, i. 143 + +Foreskins of young men offered to ancestral spirits in Fiji, ii. 243 _sq._ + +Forespeaking men and cattle, i. 303 + +Forgetfulness of the past after initiation, ii. 238, 254, 256, 258, 259, + 266 _sq._ + +Forked shape of divining-rod, ii. 67 _n._ 3 + +"Forlorn fire," need-fire, i. 292 + +_Foulères_, bonfires, i. 111 _n._ 1 + +Foulkes, Captain, quoted, ii. 210 + +Four kinds of wood used to make the divining-rod, ii. 69, 291 + +Fourdin, E., on the procession of the giants at Ath, ii. 36 _n._ 2 + +Four-leaved clover, a counter-charm for witchcraft, i. 316; + at Midsummer useful for magic, ii. 62 _sq._ + +Fowler, W. Warde, on Midsummer custom, i. 206 _n._ 2; + on _sexta luna,_ ii. 77 _n._ 1; + on the ceremony of passing under the yoke, 195 _n._ 4; + on the oak and the thunder-god, 298, 299 _n._ 2, 300 + +Fowls' nests, ashes of bonfires put in, i, 112, 338 + +Fox prayed to spare lambs, i. 152 + +Foxes burnt in Midsummer fires, ii. 39, 41; + witches turn into, 41 + +Foxwell, Ernest, on the fire-walk in Japan, ii. 10 _n._ 1 + +Fraas, F., on the various sorts of mistletoe known to the ancients, ii. + 318 + +Frampton-on-Severn in Gloucestershire, ii. 316 + +France, Lenten fires in, i. 109 _sqq._; + Midsummer fires in, 181 _sqq._; + fires on All Saints' Day in, 245 _sq._; + the Yule log in, 249 _sqq._; + wonderful herbs gathered on St. John's Eve (Midsummer Eve) in, ii. 45 + _sqq._; + mugwort (herb of St. John) at Midsummer in, 58 _sq._; + fern-seed at Midsummer in, 65; + judicial treatment of sorcerers in, 158; + birth-trees in, 165; + children passed through a cleft oak as a cure for rupture or rickets in, + 170. + _See also_ French + +Franche-Comté, Lenten fires in, i. 110 _sq._; + fires of St. John in, 189; + the Yule log in, 254 + +Franken, Middle, fire custom at Easter in, i. 143 + +Frankenstein, precautions against witches in, ii. 20 _n._ + +Fraser Lake in British Columbia, i. 47 + +Freiburg, in Switzerland, Lenten fires in, i. 119; + fern and treasure on St. John's Night in, ii. 288 + +Freising, in Bavaria, creeping through a narrow opening in the cathedral + of, ii. 189 + +French cure for whooping-cough, ii. 192 _n._ 1 + +---- Islands, use of bull-roarers in, ii. 229 _n._ + +---- peasants, their superstition as to a virgin and a flame, i. 137 _n._ + +Friction of wood, fire made by the, i. 132, 133, 135, 136, 137, 138, 144 + _sq._, 148, 155, 169 _sq._, 175, 177, 179, 220, 264, 270 + _sqq._, 335 _sq._, ii. 8; + the most primitive mode of making fire, 90, 295 + +"Friendly Society of the Spirit" among the Naudowessies, ii. 267 + +Frigg or Frigga, the goddess, and Balder, i. 101, 102 + +Fringes worn over the eyes by girls at puberty, i. 47, 48 + +Fruit-trees threatened, i. 114; + Midsummer fires lit under, 215; + shaken at Christmas to make them bear fruit, 248; + fumigated with smoke of need-fire, 280; + fertilized by burning torches, 340 + +_Fuga daemonum_, St. John's wort, ii. 55 + +Fulda, the Lord of the Wells at, ii. 28 + +Fumigating crops with smoke of bonfires, i. 201, 337 + +---- sheep and cattle, ii. 12, 13 + +Fumigation of pastures at Midsummer to drive away witches and demons, i. + 170; + of fruit-trees, nets, and cattle with smoke of need-fire, 280; + of byres with juniper, 296; + of trees with wild thyme on Christmas Eve, ii. 64 + +Fünen, in Denmark, cure for childish ailments at, ii. 191 + +Funeral, customs observed by mourners after a funeral in order to escape + from the ghost, ii. 174 _sqq._ + +---- ceremony among the Michemis, i. 5 + +Furnace, walking through a fiery, ii. 3 _sqq._ + +Furness, W. H., on passing under an archway, ii. 179 _sq._, 180 _n._ 1 + +Gabb, W. M., on ceremonial uncleanness, i. 65 _n._ 1 + +Gablonz, in Bohemia, Midsummer bed of flowers at, ii. 57 + +Gaboon, birth-trees in the, ii. 160; + theory of the external soul in, 200 _sq._ + +Gacko, need-fire at, i. 286 + +Gaidoz, H., on the custom of passing sick people through cleft trees, ii. + 171 + +Gage, Thomas, on _naguals_ among the Indians of Guatemala, ii. 213 + +Gaj, in Slavonia, need-fire at, i. 282 + +Galatian senate met in Drynemetum, "the temple of the oak," ii. 89 + +Galatians kept their old Celtic speech, ii. 89 _n._ 2 + +Galela, dread of women at menstruation in, i. 79 + +Galelareese of Halmahera, their rites of initiation, ii. 248 + +Gallic Councils, their prohibition of carrying torches, i. 199 + +Gallows Hill, magical plants gathered on the, ii. 57 + +---- -rope used to kindle need-fire, i. 277 + +Gandersheim, in Brunswick, need-fire at, i. 277 + +Gap, in the High Alps, cats roasted alive in the Midsummer fire at, ii. 39 + _sq._ + +Gardner, Mrs. E. A., i. 131 _n._ 1 + +Garlands of flowers placed on wells at Midsummer, ii. 28; + thrown on trees, a form of divination, 53 + +Garlic roasted at Midsummer fires, i. 193 + +Garonne, Midsummer fires in the valley of the, i. 193 + +Gatschet, A. S., on the Toukawe Indians, ii. 276 _n._ 2 + +Gaul, "serpents' eggs" in ancient, i. 15; + human sacrifices in ancient, ii. 32 _sq._ + +Gauls, their fortification walls, i. 267 _sq._ + +Gazelle Peninsula, New Britain, the Ingniet society in the, ii. 156 + +Gem, external soul of magician in a, ii. 105 _sq._; + external soul of giant in a, 130 + +Geneva, Midsummer fires in the canton of, i. 172 + +_Genius_, the Roman, ii. 212 _n._ + +Geranium burnt in Midsummer fire, i. 213 + +Gerhausen, i. 166 + +German stories of the external soul, ii. 116 _sqq._ + +Germans, human sacrifices offered by the ancient, ii. 28 _n._ 1; + the oak sacred among the, 89 + +Germany, Lenten fires in, i. 115 _sq._; + Easter bonfires in, 140 _sqq._; + custom at eclipses in, 162 _n._; + the Midsummer fires in, 163 _sqq._; + the Yule log in, 247 _sqq._; + belief in the transformation of witches into animals in, 321 _n._ 2; + colic, sore eyes, and stiffness of the back attributed to witchcraft in, + 344 _sq._; + mugwort at Midsummer in, ii. 59; + orpine gathered at Midsummer in, 62 _n._; + fern-seed at Midsummer in, 65; + mistletoe a remedy for epilepsy in, 83; + the need-fire kindled by the friction of oak in, 91; + oak-wood used to make up cottage fires on Midsummer Day in, 91 _sq._; + birth-trees in, 165; + children passed through a cleft oak as a cure for rupture in, 170 _sqq._ + +Gestr and the spae-wives, Icelandic story of, ii. 125 _sq._ + +Gewar, King of Norway, i. 103 + +Ghost, oracular, in a cave, ii. 312 _sq._ + +Ghosts extracted from wooden posts, i. 8; + fire used to get rid of, ii. 17 _sqq._; + mugwort a protection against, 59; + kept off by thorn bushes, 174 _sq._; + creeping through cleft sticks to escape from, 174 _sqq._ + +Giant who had no heart in his body, stories of the, ii. 96 _sqq._, 119 + _sq._; + mythical, supposed to kill and resuscitate lads at initiation, 243 + +Giant-fennel burnt in Midsummer fire, i. 213 + +Giants of wicker-work at popular festivals in Europe, ii. 33 _sqq._; + burnt in the summer bonfires, 38 + +Giggenhausen, in Bavaria, burning the Easter Man at, i. 144 + +Gion shrine in Japan, i. 138 + +Gippsland, the Kurnai of, ii. 216 + +Giraldus Cambrensis on transformation of witches into hares, i. 315 _n._ 1 + +Girdle of wolf's hide worn by were-wolves, i. 310 _n._ 1; + of St. John, mugwort, ii. 59 + +Girdles of mugwort worn on St. John's Day or Eve as preservative against + backache, sore eyes, ghosts, magic, and sickness, ii. 59 + +Girkshausen, in Westphalia, the Yule log at, i. 248 + +Girl at puberty said to be wounded by a snake, i. 56; + to be swallowed by a serpent, 57 + +---- and boy produce need-fire by friction of wood, 281 + +Girls at puberty, secluded, i. 22 _sqq._; + not allowed to touch the ground, 22, 33, 35, 36, 60; + not allowed to see the sun, 22, 35, 36, 37, 41, 44, 46, 47, 68; + not allowed to handle food, 23, 28, 36, 40 sq., 42; half buried in + ground, 38 _sqq._; + not allowed to scratch themselves with their fingers, 38, 39, 41, 42, + 44, 47, 50, 53, 92; + not allowed to lie down, 44; + gashed on back, breast, and belly, 60; + stung by ants, 61; + beaten severely, 61, 66 _sq._; + supposed to be attacked by a demon, 67 _sq._; + not to see the sky, 69; + forbidden to break bones of hares, 73 _n._ 3 + +Gisors, crawling through a holed stone near, ii. 188 + +_Givoy agon_, living fire, made by the friction of wood, i. 220 + +Glamorgan, the Vale of, Beltane and Midsummer fires in the, i. 154; + Midsummer fires in, 201, 338 + +Glands, ashes of Yule log used to cure swollen, i. 251 + +Glanvil, Joseph, on a witch in the form of a cat, i. 317 + +Glass, the Magician's or Druid's, i. 16 + +Glatz, precautions against witches on Walpurgis Night in, ii. 20 _n._ + +Glawi, in the Atlas, New Year fires at, i. 217 + +Glencuaich, the hawk of, in a Celtic tale, ii. 127 _sqq._ + +Glenorchy, the Beltane cake in, i. 149 + +"Glory, the Hand of," mandragora, ii. 316 + +Gloucestershire, mistletoe growing on oaks in, ii. 316 + +Gnabaia, a spirit who swallows and disgorges lads at initiation, ii. 235 + +_Gnid-eld_, need-fire, i. 280 + +Goajiras of Colombia, their seclusion of girls at puberty, i. 34 _n._ 1 + +Goatsucker or fern owl, sex totem of women, ii. 217 + +God, Aryan, of the thunder and the oak, i. 265 + +---- on Earth, title of supreme chief of the Bushongo, ii. 264 + +Godolphin, in Cornwall, Midsummer fires on, i. 199 + +Gold, the flower of chicory to be cut with, ii. 71; + root of marsh mallow to be dug with, 80 _n._ 3; + buried, revealed by mistletoe and fern-seed, 287 _sqq._, 291 + +---- coin, magic plant to be dug up with a, ii. 57. + _See also_ Golden + +Golden axe, sacred tamarisk touched with, ii. 80 _n._ 3 + +Golden Bough, the, ii. 279 _sqq._; + and the priest of Aricia, i. 1; + a branch of mistletoe, ii. 284 _sqq._, 315 _sqq._; + Virgil's account of the, 284 _sq._, 286, 293 _sq._, 315 _sqq._; + origin of the name, 286 _sqq._ + +---- fish, girl's external soul in a, ii. 147 _sq._, 220 + +---- knife, horse slain in sacrifice with a, ii. 80 _n._ 3 + +---- ring, half a hero's strength in a, ii. 143 + +---- sickle, mistletoe cut by Druids with a, ii. 77, 88; + sacred olive at Olympia cut with a, 80 _n._ 3 + +Golden sword and golden arrow, external soul of a hero in a, ii. 145 + +Goldie, Rev. Hugh, on the _ukpong_ or external soul in Calabar, ii. 206 + +Goliath, effigy of, ii. 36 + +_Goluan_, Midsummer, i. 199 + +Good Friday, Judas driven out of church on, i. 146; + the divining-rod cut on, ii. 68 _n._ 4; + sick children passed through cleft trees on, 172 + +Goodrich-Freer, A., quoted, i. 154 _n._ 3 + +Googe, Barnabe, i. 124 + +Gooseberry bushes, wild, custom as to, ii. 48 + +Gorillas, lives of persons bound up with those of, ii. 202 + +Görz, belief as to witches at Midsummer about, ii. 75 + +Grain Coast, West Africa, initiation of girls on the, ii. 259 + +Grammont, in Belgium, festival of the "Crown of Roses" at, i. 195; + the Yule log at, 249 + +Granada (South America), youthful rulers secluded in, i. 19 + +Grand Halleux, bonfires at, i. 107 + +_Grannas-mias_, torches, i. 111 + +Granno, invocation of, i. 111 _sq._ + +_Granno-mio_, a torch, i. 111 + +Grannus, a Celtic deity, identified with Apollo, i. 111 _sq._ + +Grant, the great laird of, not exempt from witchcraft, i. 342 _n._ 4 + +Grass, ceremony to make grass plentiful, i. 136 + +Gratz, puppet burned on St. John's Eve at, i. 173 + +Grave, dance at initiation in, ii. 237 + +Great Man, who created the world and comes down in the form of lightning, + ii. 298 + +Greece, Midsummer fires in, i. 211 _sq._; + mistletoe in, ii. 316, 317 + +Greek belief as to menstruous women, i. 98 _n._ 1 + +---- Church, ritual of the new fire at Easter in the, i. 128 _sq._ + +---- stories of girls who were forbidden to see the sun, i. 72 _sqq._; + of the external soul, ii. 103 _sqq._ + +Greeks deemed sacred the places which were struck by lightning, ii. 299 + +Green Wolf, Brotherhood of the, ii. 15 _n._; + at Jumièges in Normandy, i. 185 _sq._, ii. 25, 88 + +Greenlanders, their notion that women can conceive by the moon, i. 75 + _sq._ + +Gregor, Rev. Walter, ii. 284 _n._ 1; + on virtue of children born feet foremost, i. 295 _n._ 3; + on the "quarter-ill," 296 _n._ 1; + on the bewitching of cattle, 303 + +Greig, James S., ii. 187 _n._ 3 + +Greta, river in Yorkshire, i. 287 + +Grey, Sir George, on the _kobong_ or totem, ii. 219 _sq._ + +Grimm, J., on need-fire, i. 270 _n._, 272 _sq._; + on the relation of the Midsummer fires to Balder, ii. 87 _n._ 6; + on the sanctity of the oak, 89; + on the oak and lightning, 300 + +Grisons, threatening a mist in the, i. 280 + +Grizzly Bear clan, ii. 274 + +Groot, J. J. M. de, on mugwort in China, ii. 60 + +Grottkau, precautions against witches in, ii. 20 _n._ + +Ground, sacred persons not allowed to set foot on, i. 2 _sqq._; + not to sit on bare, 4, 5, 12; + girls at puberty not allowed to touch the, 22, 33, 35, 36, 60; + magical plants not to touch the, ii. 51; + mistletoe not allowed to touch the, 280 + +Grouse clan, ii. 273 + +Grove, Miss Florence, on withered mistletoe, ii. 287 _n._ 1 + +Grove, Balder's, i. 104, ii. 315; + sacred grove of Nemi, 315; + soul of chief in sacred, 161. + _See also_ Arician + +Grubb, Rev. W. B., i. 57 _n._ 1 + +Grün, in Bohemia, mountain arnica gathered at Midsummer at, ii. 58 _n._ 1 + +Guacheta in Colombia, i. 74 + +Guaranis of Brazil, their seclusion of girls at puberty, i. 56 + +Guaraunos of the Orinoco, uncleanness of menstruous women among the, i. 85 + _sq._ + +Guardian angels, afterbirth and navel-string regarded as a man's, ii. 162 + _n._ 2 + +---- spirit, afterbirth and seed regarded as, ii. 223 _n._ 2; + acquired in a dream, 256 _sq._ + +Guatemala, the _nagual_ or external soul among the Indians of, ii. 212 + _sq._ + +Guatusos of Costa Rica, use of bull-roarers among the, ii. 230 _n._ + +Guayquiries of the Orinoco, their beliefs as to menstruous women, i. 85 + +Guelphs, the oak of the, ii. 166 + +Guiana, British, the Macusis of, i. 60; + ordeals undergone by young men among the Indians of, 63 _sq._ + +----, French, the Wayanas of, i. 63 + +_Guizing_ at Christmas in Lerwick, i. 268 _sq._ + +Guleesh and the fairies at Hallowe'en, i. 277 _sq._ + +Gunn, David, kindles need-fire, i. 291 + +Guns fired to drive away witches, ii. 74 + +Gwalior, Holi fires in, ii. 2 + +Hadji Mohammad shoots a were-wolf, i. 312 _sq._ + +Haida Indians of Queen Charlotte Islands, girls at puberty secluded among + the, i. 44 _sq._ + +Hail, bonfires thought to protect fields against, i. 344; + ceremonies to avert, 144, 145; + Midsummer fires a protection against, 176; + mountain arnica a protection against, ii. 57 _sq._ + +---- and thunderstorms caused by witches, i. 344 + +Hainan, island, i. 137 + +Hainaut, province of Belgium, fire customs in, i. 108; + procession of giants in, ii. 36 + +Hair, unguent for, i. 14; + prohibition to cut, 28; + of girls at puberty shaved, 31, 56, 57, 59; + Hindoo ritual of cutting a child's, 99 _n._ 2; + of the Virgin or St. John looked for in ashes of Midsummer fire, 182 + _sq._, 190, 191; + external soul in, ii. 103 _sq._, 148; + strength of people bound up with their, 158 _sq._; + of criminals, witches, and wizards shorn to make them confess, 158 + _sq._; + of children tied to trees, 165; + of novices cut at initiation, 245, 251 + +---- and nails of child buried under a tree, ii. 161 + +Hairy Stone, the, at Midsummer, i. 212 + +Halberstadt district, need-fire in the, i. 273 + +Hall, C. F., among the Esquimaux, i. 13, 134 + +----, Rev. G. R., quoted, i. 198 + +Hallowe'en, new fire at, in Ireland, i. 139; + an old Celtic festival of New Year, 224 _sqq._; + divination at, 225, 228 _sqq._; + witches, hobgoblins, and fairies let loose at, 226 _sqq._, 245; + witches and fairies active on, ii. 184 _n._ 4, 185 + +---- and Beltane, the two chief fire festivals of the British Celts, ii. 40 + _sq._ + +---- cakes, i. 238, 241, 245 + +---- fires, i. 222 _sq._, 230 _sqq._; + in Wales, 156 + +Halmahera, rites of initiation in, ii. 248 + +Haltwhistle, in Northumberland, burnt sacrifice at, i. 301 + +Hamilton, Gavin, quoted, i. 47 _sq._ + +Hammocks, girls at puberty hung up in, i. 56, 59, 60, 61, 66 + +"Hand of Glory," mandragora, ii. 316 + +Hannibal despoils the shrine on Soracte, ii. 15 + +Hanover, the need-fire in, i. 275; + Easter bonfires in, 140; + custom on St. John's Day about, ii. 56 + +Hare, pastern bone of a, in a popular remedy, i. 17 + +Hares, witches in the form of, i. 157; + witches changed into, 315 _n._ 1, 316 _sqq._, ii. 41 + +Hares and witches in Yorkshire, ii. 197 + +Hareskin Tinneh, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 48 + +Harris, Slope of Big Stones in, i. 227 + +Hartland, E. S., on the life-token, ii. 119 _n._ + +Haruvarus, degenerate Brahmans, their fire-walk, ii. 9 + +Harz district, Easter bonfires in the, i. 140; + Midsummer fires in the, 169 + +---- Mountains, Easter fires in the, i. 142; + need-fire in the, 276; + springwort in the, ii. 69 _sqq._ + +Hats, special, worn by girls at puberty, i. 45, 46, 47, 92. + _See also_ Hoods + +Hausa story of the external soul, ii. 148 _sq._ + +Hawaiians, the New Year of the, ii. 244 + +Hawkweed gathered at Midsummer, ii. 57 + +Hawthorn, mistletoe on, ii. 315, 316 + +Haxthausen, A. von, i. 181 + +Hays of Errol, their fate bound up with an oak-tree and the mistletoe + growing on it, ii. 283 _sq._ + +Hazebrouch, in France, wicker giants on Shrove Tuesday at, ii. 35 + +Hazel, the divining-rod made of, ii. 67 _sq._; + never struck by lightning, 69 _n._ + +---- rods to drive cattle with, i. 204 + +Headache, cure for, i. 17; + mugwort a protection against, ii. 59 + +Headdress, special, worn by girls at first menstruation, i. 92 + +Headless Hugh, Highland story of, ii. 130 _sq._ + +---- horsemen in India, ii. 131 _n._ 1 + +Heads or faces of menstruous women covered, i. 22, 24, 25, 29, 31, 44 + _sq._, 48 _sq._, 55, 90 + +Hearne, Samuel, quoted, i. 90 _sq._ + +Heart of bewitched animal burnt or boiled to compel the witch to appear, + i. 321 _sq._ + +Hearts of diseased cattle cut out and hung up as a remedy, i. 269 _n._ 1, + 325 + +Heaven, the Queen of, ii. 303 + +---- and earth, between, i. 1 _sqq._, 98 _sq._ + +Hector, first chief of Lochbuy, ii. 131 _n._ 1 + +Heiberg, Sigurd K., i. 171 _n._ 3 + +Heifer sacrificed at kindling need-fire, i. 290 + +Helensburgh, in Dumbartonshire, Hallowe'en at, i. 237 _n._ 5 + +"Hell-gate of Ireland," i. 226 + +Helmsdale, in Sutherland, need-fire at, i. 295 + +Helpful animals in fairy tales, ii. 107, 117, 120, 127 _sqq._, 130, 132, + 133, 139 _n._ 2, 140 _sq._, 149 + +Hemlock branch, external soul of ogress in a, ii. 152 + +Hemlock branches, passing through a ring of, in time of sickness, ii. 186 + +---- stone in Nottinghamshire, i. 157 + +Hemorrhoids, root of orpine a cure for, ii. 62 _n._ + +Hemp, how to make hemp grow tall, i. 109; + leaping over the Midsummer bonfire to make the hemp grow tall, 166, 168 + +---- seed, divination by, i. 235, 241, 245 + +Hen and chickens imitated by a woman and her children at Christmas, i. 260 + +Henderson, William, on need-fire, i. 288 _sq._; + on a remedy for cattle-disease, 296 _n._ 1; + on burnt sacrifice of ox, 301 + +Hen's egg, external soul of giant in a, ii. 140 _sq._ + +Henshaw, Richard, on external or bush souls in Calabar, ii. 205 _sq._ + +Hephaestus worshipped in Lemnos, i. 138 + +Herb, a magic, gathered at Hallowe'en, i. 228 + +---- of St. John, mugwort, ii. 58 + +Herbs thrown across the Midsummer fires, i. 182, 201; + wonderful, gathered on St. John's Eve or Day, ii. 45 _sqq._; + of St. John, wonderful virtues ascribed to, 46 + +---- and flowers cast into the Midsummer bonfires, i. 162, 163, 172, 173 + +Hercules at Argyrus, temple of, i. 99 _n._ 3 + +Herdsmen dread witches and wolves, i. 343 + +Herefordshire, Midsummer fires in, i. 199; + the Yule log in, 257 _sq._ + +Herndon, W. L., quoted, i. 62 _n._ 3 + +Hernia, cure for, i. 98 _n._ 1 + +Herodias, cursed by Slavonian peasants, i. 345 + +Herrera, A. de, on _naguals_ among the Indians of Honduras, ii. 213 _sq._ + +Herrick, Robert, on the Yule log, i. 255 + +Herring, salt, divination by, i. 239 + +Herzegovina, the Yule log in, i. 263; + need-fire in, 288 + +Hesse, Lenten fire-custom in, i. 118; + Easter fires in, 140; + wells decked with flowers on Midsummer Day in, ii. 28 + +Hewitt, J. N. B., on need-fire of the Iroquois, i. 299 _sq._ + +Hiaina district of Morocco, ii. 51 + +Hidatsa Indians, their theory of the plurality of souls, ii. 221 _sq._ + +_Hieracium pilosella_, mouse-ear hawk-weed, gathered at Midsummer, ii. 57 + +Higgins, Rev. J. C., i. 207 _n._ 2 + +High Alps, department of the, Midsummer fires in the, ii. 39 _sq._ + +High Priest, the Fijian, ii. 245 + +Highland story of Headless Hugh, ii. 130 _sq._ + +Highlanders of Scotland, their medicinal applications of menstruous blood, + i. 98 _n._ 1; + their belief in the power of witches to destroy cattle, 343 _n._ 1; + their belief concerning snake stones, ii. 311 + +Highlands of Scotland, snake stones in the, i. 16; + Beltane fires in the, 146 _sqq._; + divination at Hallowe'en in the, 229, 234 _sqq._; + need-fire and Beltane fire kindled by the friction of oak in the, ii. 91 + +Hildesheim, Easter rites of fire and water at, i. 124; + Easter bonfires at, 141; + the need-fire at, 272 _sq._; + hawk-weed gathered on Midsummer Day at, ii. 57 + +Hill of the Fires in the Highlands of Scotland, i. 149 + +---- of Ward, in County Meath, i. 139 + +Himalayan districts, mistletoe in the, ii. 316 + +Hindoo maidens secluded at puberty, i. 68 + +---- marriage custom, i. 75 + +---- ritual, abstinence from salt in, i. 27; + as to cutting a child's hair, 99 _n._ 2 + +---- stories of the external soul, ii. 97 _sqq._ + +---- use of menstruous fluid, i. 98 _n._ 1 + +---- women, their restrictions at menstruation, i. 84 + +Hindoos of Southern India, their Pongol festival, ii. 1; + of the Punjaub, their custom of passing unlucky children through narrow + openings, 190 + +Hippopotamus, external soul of chief in, ii. 200; + lives of persons bound up with those of hippopotamuses, 201, 202, 205, + 209 + +Hirpi Sorani, their fire-walk, ii. 14 _sq._ + +Hlubi chief, his external soul in a pair of ox-horns, ii. 156 + +Hoare, Sir Richard Colt, on Hallowe'en in Wales, i. 239 + +Hogg, Alexander, i. 206 + +Hogmanay, the last day of the year, i. 224, 266 + +Hohenstaufen Mountains in Wurtemberg, Midsummer fires in the, i. 166 + +Hole in tongue of medicine-man, ii. 238, 239 + +Holed stones which people creep through as a cure, ii. 187 _sqq._ + +Holes in rocks or stones, sick people passed through, ii. 186 _sqq._ + +Holi, a festival of Northern India, ii. 2 _sq._ + +Holiness or taboo conceived as a dangerous physical substance which needs + to be insulated, i. 6 _sq._ + +Holland, Easter fires in, i. 145 + +Hollantide Eve (Hallowe'en) in the Isle of Man, i. 244 + +Hollertau, Bavaria, Easter fires in the, i. 122 + +Hollis, A. C., ii. 262 _n._ 2 + +Holly-tree, children passed through a cleft, ii. 169 _n._ 2 + +Holm-oak, the Golden Bough growing on a, ii. 285 + +Holy Apostles, church of the, at Florence, i. 126 + +---- Land, fire flints brought from the, i. 126 + +---- of Holies, the Fijian, ii. 244, 245 + +---- Sepulchre, church of the, at Jerusalem, ceremony of the new fire in + the, i. 128 _sq._ + +Homesteads protected by bonfires against lightning and conflagration, i. + 344 + +Homoeopathic or imitative magic, i. 49, 133, ii. 287 + +Homoeopathy, magical, ii. 177 + +Homolje mountains in Servia, i. 282 + +Honduras, the _nagual_ or external soul among the Indians of, ii. 213 + _sq._, 226 _n._ 1 + +Honorific totems of the Carrier Indians, ii. 273 _sqq._ + +Hoods worn by women after childbirth, i. 20; + worn by girls at puberty, 44 _sq._, 48 _sq._, 55; + worn by women at menstruation, 90. + _See also_ Hats + +Hoop, crawling through a, as a cure or preventive of disease, ii. 184; + of rowan-tree, sheep forced through a, 184 + +Hoopoe brings the mythical springwort, ii. 70 _n._ 2 + +Horatius purified for the murder of his sister, ii. 194 + +Hornbeam, mistletoe on, ii. 315 + +Horse, the White, effigy carried through Midsummer fire, i. 203 _sq._; + witch in the shape of a, 319 + +---- sacrifice in ancient India, ii. 80 _n._ 3 + +Horse's head thrown into Midsummer fire, ii. 40 + +Horse-chestnut, mistletoe on, ii. 315 + +Horses used by sacred persons, i. 4 _n._ 1; + not to be touched or ridden by menstruous women, 88 _sq._, 96; + driven through the need-fire, 276, 297 + +Hos, the, of Togoland (West Africa), their dread of menstruous women, i. + 82 + +Hose, Dr. Charles, on creeping through a cleft stick after a funeral, ii. + 175 _sq._ + +---- and W. McDougall, on the _ngarong_ or secret helper of the Ibans, ii. + 224 _n._ 1 + +Hother, Hodr, or Hod, the blind god, and Balder, i. 101 _sqq._, ii. 279 + _n._ 4 + +Hottentots drive their sheep through fire, ii. 11 _sqq._ + +House-communities of the Servians, i. 259 _n._ 1 + +Houses protected by bonfires against lightning and conflagration, i. 344; + made fast against witches on Midsummer Eve, ii. 73 + +"---- of the soul" in Isaiah, ii. 155 _n._ 3 + +Housman, Professor A. E., on the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin, i. + 220 _sq._ + +Houstry, in Caithness, need-fire at, i. 291 _sq._ + +Howitt, A. W., on seclusion of menstruous women, i. 78; + on killing a totem animal, ii. 220 _n._ 2; + on secrecy of totem names, 225 _n._; + on the drama of resurrection at initiation, 235 _sqq._ + +Howitt, Miss E. B., ii. 226 _n._ 1 + +Howth, the western promontory of, Midsummer fire on, i. 204 + +---- Castle, life-tree of the St. Lawrence family at, ii. 166 + +Huahine, one of the Tahitian islands, ii. 11 _n._ 3 + +Hudson Bay Territory, the Chippeways of, i. 90 + +Hughes, Miss E. P., on the fire-walk in Japan, ii. 10 _n._ 1 + +Human beings burnt in the fires, ii. 21 _sqq._ + +---- divinities put to death, i. 1 _sq._ + +---- sacrifices at fire-festivals, i. 106; + traces of, 146, 148, 150 _sqq._, 186, ii. 31; + offered by the ancient Germans, ii. 28 _n._ 1; + among the Celts of Gaul, 32 _sq._; + the victims perhaps witches and wizards, 41 _sqq._; + Mannhardt's theory, 43 + +---- victims annually burnt, ii. 286 _n._ 2 + +Hungarian story of the external soul, ii. 140 + +Hungary, Midsummer fires in, i. 178 _sq._ + +Hunt, Holman, his picture of the new fire at Jerusalem, i. 130 _n._ + +Hunt, Robert, on burnt sacrifices, i. 303 + +Hunters avoid girls at puberty, i. 44, 46; + luck of, spoiled by menstruous women, 87, 89, 90, 91, 94 + +Huon Gulf in German New Guinea, ii. 239 + +Hupa Indians of California, seclusion of girls among the, i. 42 + +Hurons of Canada, custom of their women at menstruation, i. 88 _n._ 1 + +_Huskanaw_, initiatory ceremony of the Virginian Indians, ii. 266 + +Hut burnt at Midsummer, i. 215 _sq._ + +Hutchinson, W., quoted, i. 197 _n._ 4 + +Huts, special, for menstruous women, i. 79, 82, 85 _sqq._ + +Huzuls of the Carpathians kindle new fire at Christmas, i. 264; + gather simples on St. John's Night, ii. 49 + +Hyaenas, men turned into, i. 313 + +_Hypericum perforatum_, St. John's wort, gathered at Midsummer, ii. 54 + _sqq._ + _See also_ St. John's Wort + +_Hyphear_, a kind of mistletoe, ii. 317, 318 + +Hyrrockin, a giantess, i. 102 + +Ibans of Borneo, their _ngarong_ or secret helper, ii. 224 _n._ 1 + +Ibos of the Niger delta, their belief in external human souls lodged in + animals, ii. 203 _sq._ + +Ibrahim Pasha, i. 129 + +Icelandic stories of the external soul, ii. 123 _sqq._ + +Icolmkill, the hill of the fires in, i. 149 + +Ideler, L., on the Arab year before Mohammed, i. 217 _n._ 1 + +_Idhlozi_, ancestral spirit in serpent form, ii. 211 + +Iglulik, Esquimaux of, i. 134 + +Ilmenau, witches burnt at, i. 6 + +Iluvans of Malabar, marriage custom of, i. 5 + +Image of god carried through fire, ii. 4; + reason for carrying over a fire, 24 + +Images, colossal, filled with human victims and burnt, ii. 32 _sq._ + +Imitative magic, i. 329, ii. 231 + +Immortality, the burdensome gift of, i. 99 _sq._; + of the soul, experimental demonstration of the, ii. 276 + +Immortelles, wreaths of, on Midsummer Day, i. 177 + +Implements, magical, not allowed to touch the ground, i. 14 _sq._ + +Impregnation of women by the sun, i. 74 _sq._; + by the moon, 75 _sq._ + +"---- rite" at Hindoo marriages, i. 75 + +Inauguration of a king in Brahmanic ritual, i. 4 + +Inca, fast of the future, i. 19 + +Incas of Peru, their ceremony of the new fire, i. 132 + +Incantation recited at kindling need-fire, i. 290 + +Inconsistency and vagueness of primitive thought, ii. 301 _sq._ + +India, seclusion of girls at puberty in, i. 68 _sqq._; + fire-festivals in, ii. 1 _sqq._; + sixty years' cycle in, 77 _n._ 1; + the horse-sacrifice in ancient, 80 _n._ 3; + torture of suspected witches in, 159; + ancient, traditional cure of skin disease in, 192; + _Loranthus_ in, 317 + +Indian Archipelago, birth-custom in the, ii. 155 + +---- legend parallel to Balder myth, ii. 280 + +Indians of Costa Rica, their customs in fasts, i. 20 + +---- of Granada seclude their future rulers, i. 19 + +Indians of North America, not allowed to sit on bare ground in war, i. 5; + seclusion of girls among the, 41 _sqq._; + imitate lightning by torches, 340 _n._ 1; + rites of initiation into religious associations among the, ii. 267 + _sqq._ + +"Index of Superstitions," i. 270 + +Indra and Apala, in the Rigveda, ii. 192 + +---- and the demon Namuci, Indian legend of, ii. 280 + +Indrapoora, story of the daughter of a merchant of, ii. 147 + +Infants tabooed, i. 5, 20 + +Ingleborough in Yorkshire, i. 288 + +Ingleton, in Yorkshire, need-fire at, i. 288 + +Ingniet or Ingiet, a secret society of New Britain, ii. 156 + +Initiation, rites in German New Guinea, ii. 193; + at puberty, pretence of killing the novice and bringing him to life + again during, 225 _sqq._; + in Australia, 227, 233 _sqq._; + in New Guinea, 239 _sqq._; + in Fiji, 243 _sqq._; + in Rook, 246; + in New Britain, 246 _sq._; + in Halmahera, 248; + in Fiji apparently intended to introduce the novices to the worshipful + spirits of the dead, 246; + in Ceram, 249 _sqq._; + in Africa, 251 _sqq._; + in North America, 266 _sqq._ + +---- of young men, bull-roarers sounded at the, ii. 227 _sqq._, 233 _sqq._; + of a medicine-man in Australia, 237 _sqq._ + +Inn, effigies burnt at Midsummer in the valley of the river, i. 172 _sq._ + +Innerste, river, i. 124 + +Innuits (Esquimaux), i. 14 + +Insanity, burying in an ant-hill as a cure for, i. 64 + +Inspired men walk through fire unharmed, ii. 5 _sq._ + +Insulation of women at menstruation, i. 97 + +Interpretation of the fire-festivals, i. 328 _sqq._, ii. 15 _sqq._ + +Inverness-shire, Beltane cakes in, i. 153 + +Invulnerability conferred by a species of mistletoe, ii. 79 _sq._; + conferred by decoction of a parasitic orchid, 81; + of Balder, 94; + attained through blood-brotherhood with animal, 201; + thought to be attained through initiation, 275 _sq._, 276 _n._ 1 + +Invulnerable warlock or giant, stories of the, ii. 97 _sqq._ + +Ipswich witches, i. 304 _sq._ + +Iran, marriage custom in, i. 75 + +Ireland, the Druid's Glass in, i. 16; + new fire at Hallowe'en in, 139, 225; + Beltane fires in, 157 _sq._; + Midsummer fires in, 201 _sqq._; + fairies at Hallowe'en in, 226 _sq._; + Hallowe'en customs in, 241 _sq._; + witches as hares in, 315 _n._ 1; + bathing at Midsummer in, ii. 29; + cure for whooping-cough in, 192 _n._ 1 + +Irish story of the external soul, ii. 132 + +Iron not to be used in digging fern root, ii. 65; + mistletoe gathered without the use of, 78; + not to be used in cutting certain plants, 81 _n._; + custom observed by the Toradjas at the working of, 154 + +Iron-wort, bunches of, held in the smoke of the Midsummer fires, i. 179 + +Iroquois, ceremony of the new fire among the, i. 133 _sq._; + need-fire among the, 299 _sq._ + +Isaiah, "houses of the soul" in, ii. 155 _n._ 3 + +Isfendiyar and Rustem, i. 104 _sq._, 314 + +Island, need-fire kindled in an, i. 290 _sq._, 291 _sq._ + +Isle de France, Midsummer giant burnt in, ii. 38 + +---- of Man, Beltane fires in the, i. 157. + _See_ Man, Isle of + +Istria, the Croats of, ii. 75 + +Italian stories of the external soul, ii. 105, _sqq._; + ancient practice of passing conquered enemies under a yoke, 193 _sq._ + +Italians, the oak the chief sacred tree among the ancient, ii. 89 + +Italy, birth-trees in, ii. 165; + mistletoe in, 316, 317 + +_Itongo_, plural _amatongo_, ii. 202 _n._ + +Ivory Coast, totemism among the Siena of the, ii. 220 _n._ 2 + +Ivy to dream on, i. 242 + +_Ixia_, a kind of mistletoe, ii. 317, 318 + +Jablanica, need-fire at, i. 286 + +Jack-in-the-Green, ii. 37 + +Jaffa, new Easter fire carried to, i. 130 _n._ + +Jakkaneri, in the Neilgherry Hills, the fire-walk at, ii. 9 + +James, M. R., on the Sibyl's Wish, i. 100 _n._ + +James and Philip, the Apostles, feast of, i. 158 + +Jamieson, J., on the "quarter-ill," i. 296 _n._ 1 + +January, the Holi festival in, ii. 1; + the fire-walk in, 8 + +---- the sixth, the nativity of Christ on, i. 246 + +Janus and Jupiter, ii. 302 _n._ 2 + +Japan, the Ainos of, i. 20, ii. 60; + the fire-walk in, 9 _sq._ + +Japanese ceremony of new fire, i. 137 _sq._ + +Java, birth-trees in, ii. 161 _n._ 1 + +Jebel Bela mountain, in the Sudan, i. 313 + +Jerusalem, ceremony of the new fire, at Easter in, i. 128 _sq._ + +Jeugny, the forest of, ii. 316 + +Jevons, Dr. F. B., on the Roman _genius_, ii. 212 _n._ + +Jewitt, John R., on ritual of mimic death among the Nootka Indians, ii. + 270 + +_Johanniswurzel_, the male fern, ii. 66 + +Johnstone, Rev. A., quoted, i. 233 + +_Jônee_, _joanne_, _jouanne_, the Midsummer fire (the fire of St. John), + i. 189 + +Joyce, P. W., on driving cattle through fires, i. 159 _n._ 2; + on the bisection of the Celtic year, 223 _n._ 2 + +Judas, effigies of, burnt in Easter fires, i. 121, 127 _sq._, 130 _sq._, + 143, 146, ii. 23; + driven out of church on Good Friday, i. 146 + +---- candle, i. 122 _n._ + +---- fire at Easter, i. 123, 144 + +Julian calendar used by Mohammedans, i. 218 _sq._ + +July, procession of giants at Douay in, ii. 33 + +---- the twenty-fifth, St. James's Day, flower of chicory cut on, ii. 71 + +Jumièges, in Normandy, Brotherhood of the Green Wolf at, i. 185 _sq._, ii. + 25 + +Jumping over a wife, significance of, i. 23 + +June, the fifteenth of, St. Vitus's Day, i. 335 + +---- the fire-walk in, ii. 6 + +Juniper burnt in need-fire, i. 288; + used to fumigate byres, 296 + +Juno and Diana, ii. 302 _n._ 2 + +Jupiter represented by an oak-tree on the Capitol, ii. 89; + perhaps personified by the King of the Wood, the priest of Diana at + Nemi, 302 _sq._; + Jupiter and Janus, 302 _n._ 2 + +----, cycle of sixty years based on the sidereal revolution of the planet, + ii. 77 _n._ 1 + +Jura, fire-custom at Lent in the, i. 114 + +---- Mountains, Midsummer bonfires in the, i. 188 _sq._; + the Yule log in the, 249 + +Jurby, parish of, in the Isle of Man, i. 305 + +Jutland, sick children and cattle passed through holes in turf in, ii. + 191; + superstitions about a parasitic rowan in, 281 + +_Ka_, external soul or double in ancient Egypt, ii. 157 _n._ 2 + +Kabadi, a district of British New Guinea, i. 35 + +Kabenau river, in German New Guinea, ii. 193 + +Kabyle tale, milk-tie in a, ii. 138 _n._ 1; + the external soul in a, 139 + +Kahma, in Burma, annual extinction of fires in, i. 136 + +Kai of New Guinea, their seclusion of women at menstruation, i. 79; + their use of a cleft stick as a cure, ii. 182; + their rites of initiation, 239 _sqq._ + +Kail, divination by stolen, i. 234 _sq._ + +Kakian association in Ceram, rites of initiation in the, ii. 249 _sqq._ + +Kalmuck story of the external soul, ii. 142 + +Kamenagora in Croatia, Midsummer fires at, i. 178 + +Kamtchatkans, their purification after a death, ii. 178 + +Kanna district, Northern Nigeria, ii. 210 + +Kappiliyans of Madura, their seclusion of girls at puberty, i. 69 + +Karens of Burma, their custom at childbirth, ii. 157 + +Kasai River, ii. 264 + +Katajalina, a spirit who eats up boys at initiation and restores them to + life, ii. 234 + +Katrine, Loch, i. 231 + +Kauffmann, Professor F., i. 102 _n._ 1, 103 _n._; + on the external soul, ii. 97 _n._ + +Kaupole, a Midsummer pole in Eastern Prussia, ii. 49 + +Kawars, of India, their cure for fever, ii. 190 + +Kaya-Kaya or Tugeri of Dutch New Guinea, their use of bull-roarers, ii. + 242 + +Kayans or Bahaus of Central Borneo, i. 4 _sq._; + custom observed by them after a funeral, ii. 175 _sq._; + their way of giving the slip to a demon, 179 + +Keating, Geoffrey, Irish historian, quoted, i. 139; + on the Beltane fires, 158 + +Keating, W. H., quoted, i. 89 + +Kei Islands, birth-custom in the, ii. 155 + +Keitele, Lake, in Finland, ii. 165 + +Kemble, J. M., on need-fire, i. 288 + +Kerry, Midsummer fires in, i. 203 + +_Kersavondblok_, the Yule log, i. 249 + +_Kersmismot_, the Yule log, i. 249 + +Khambu caste in Sikkhim, their custom after a funeral, ii. 18 + +Kharwars of Mirzapur, their dread of menstruous women, i. 84 + +Khasis of Assam, story of the external soul told by the, i. 146 _sq._ + +Khnumu, Egyptian god, fashions a wife for Bata, ii. 135 + +Khonds, human sacrifices among the, ii. 286 _n._ 2 + +Kia blacks of Queensland, their treatment of girls at puberty, i. 39 + +Kidd, Dudley, on external souls of chiefs, ii. 156 _n._ 2 + +Kildare, Midsummer fires in, i. 203 + +Kilkenny, Midsummer fires in, i. 203 + +Killin, the hill of the fires at, i. 149 + +Killing a totem animal, ii. 220 + +---- the novice and bringing him to life again at initiation, pretence of, + ii. 225 + +King, nominal, chosen at Midsummer, i. 194, ii. 25; + presides at summer bonfire, 38 + +---- and Queen of Roses, i. 195 + +---- of the Bean, i. 153 _n._ 3 + +---- of Summer chosen on St. Peter's Day, i. 195 + +---- of the Wood at Nemi put to death, i. 2; + in the Arician grove a personification of an oak-spirit, ii. 285; + the priest of Diana at Aricia, perhaps personified Jupiter, 302 _sq._ + _See also_ Kings + +Kingaru, clan of the Wadoe, ii. 313 + +Kings, sacred or divine, put to death, i. 1 _sq._; + subject to taboos, 2 + +---- and priests, their sanctity analogous to the uncleanness of women at + menstruation, i. 97 _sq._ + +---- of Uganda, their life bound up with barkcloth trees, ii. 160 + +_Kings, The Epic of_, i. 104 + +Kingsley, Miss Mary H., on external or bush souls, ii. 204 _sq._; + on rites of initiation in West Africa, 259 + +Kingussie, in Inverness-shire, Beltane cakes at, i. 153 + +Kinship created by the milk-tie, ii. 138 _n._ 1 + +Kirchmeyer, Thomas, author of _Regnum Papisticum_, i. 124, 125 _n._ 1; + his account of Midsummer customs, 162 _sq._ + +Kirghiz story of girl who might not see the sun, i. 74 + +Kirk Andreas, in the Isle of Man, i. 306 + +Kirkmichael, in Perthshire, Beltane fires and cakes at, i. 153 + +Kirton Lindsey, in Lincolnshire, i. 318; + medical use of mistletoe at, ii. 84 + +Kitching, Rev. A. L., on cure for lightning stroke, ii. 298 _n._ 2 + +Kiwai, island off New Guinea, use of bull-roarers in, ii. 232 + +Kiziba, to the west of Victoria Nyanza, theory of the afterbirth in, ii. + 162 _n._ 2 + +Kloo, in the Queen Charlotte Islands, i. 45 + +Knawel, St. John's blood on root of, ii. 56 + +Knife, divination by, i. 241; + soul of child bound up with, ii. 157; + "Darding Knife," honorific totem of the Carrier Indians, 273, 274 _sq._ + +_Kobong_, totem, in Western Australia, ii. 219 _sq._ + +Köhler, Joh., lights need-fire and burnt as a witch, i. 270 _sq._ + +Köhler, Reinhold, on the external soul in folk-tales, ii. 97 _n._ + +Kolelo, in East Africa, ii. 313 + +Konz on the Moselle, custom of rolling a burning wheel down hill at, i. + 118, 163 _sq._, 337 _sq._ + +Kooboos of Sumatra, their theory of the afterbirth and navel-string, ii. + 162 _n._ 2 + +Koppenwal, church of St. Corona at, ii. 188 _sq._ + +Koran, passage of, used as a charm, i. 18 + +Koryaks, their festivals of the dead and subsequent purification, ii. 178; + their custom in time of pestilence, 179 + +Koshchei the Deathless, Russian story of, ii. 108 _sqq._ + +Koskimo Indians of British Columbia, use of bull-roarers among the, ii. + 229 _n._ + +Kreemer, J., on the Looboos of Sumatra, ii. 182 _sq._ + +Kroeber, A. L., quoted, i. 41 _sq._ + +Kruijt, A. C., on Toradja custom as to the working of iron, ii. 154 _n._ 3 + +_Kuga_, an evil spirit, i. 282 + +Kuhn, Adalbert, on need-fire, i. 273; + on Midsummer fire, 335; + on the divining-rod, ii. 67 + +Kühnau, R., on precautions against witches in Silesia, ii. 20 _n._ + +Kukunjevac, in Slavonia, need-fire at, i. 282 + +Kulin nation of South-Eastern Australia, sex totems in the, ii. 216 + +---- tribe of Victoria, ii. 226 _n._ 1 + +Kumaon, in North-West India, the Holi festival in, ii. 2 + +Kupalo, image of, burnt or thrown into stream on St. John's Night, i. 176; + effigy of, carried across fire and thrown into water, ii. 5, 23 + +Kupalo's Night, Midsummer Eve, i. 175, 176 + +Kurnai, a tribe of Gippsland, sex totems and fights concerning them among + the, ii. 215 _n._ 1, 216 + +Küstendil, in Bulgaria, need-fire at, i. 281 + +Kwakiutl, Indians of British Columbia, their story of an ogress whose life + was in a hemlock branch, ii. 152; + pass through a hemlock ring in time of epidemic, 186 + +Kylenagranagh, the hill of, in Ireland, i. 324 + +La Manche, in Normandy, Lenten fire-custom in, i. 115 + +La Paz, in Bolivia, Midsummer fires at, i. 213; + Midsummer flowers at, ii. 50 _sq._ + +Lacaune, belief as to mistletoe at, ii. 83 + +Lachlan River, in Australia, ii. 233 + +Lachlins of Rum and deer, superstition concerning, ii. 284 + +Ladyday, ii. 282 + +Lahn, the Yule log in the valley of the, i. 248 + +Lamb burnt alive to save the rest of the flock, i. 301 + +Lammas, the first of August, superstitious practice at, i. 98 _n._ 1 + +_Lamoa_, gods in Poso, ii. 154 + +Lancashire, Hallowe'en customs in, i. 244 _sq._ + +Landak, district of Dutch Borneo, i. 5, ii. 164 + +Lanercost, Chronicle of, i. 286 + +Lang, Andrew, on the fire-walk, ii. 2 _n._ 1; + on the bull-roarer, 228 _n._ 2 + +Language of animals learned by means of fern-seed, ii. 66 _n._ + +_L'ánsara_ (_El Ansarah_), Midsummer Day in North Africa, i. 213, 214 _n._ + +Lanyon, in Cornwall, holed stone near, ii. 187 + +Laon, Midsummer fires near, i. 187 + +Laos, custom of elephant hunters in, i. 5; + the natives of, their doctrine of the plurality of souls, ii. 222 + +Lapps, their rule as to menstruous women, i. 91; + their story of the external soul, ii. 140 _sq._; + their custom of shooting arrows at skin of dead bear, 280 _n._ + +Larkspur, looking at Midsummer bonfires through bunches of, i. 163, 165 + _sq._ + +Larrakeeyah tribe of South Australia, their treatment of girls at puberty, + i. 38 + +Laurus and Florus, feast of, on August 18th, i. 220 + +Lausitz, Midsummer fires in, i. 170; + marriage oaks in, ii. 165 + +Lawgivers, ancient, on the uncleanness of women at menstruation, i. 95 + _sq._ + +Lead, melted, divination by, i. 242 + +Leaf-clad mummer on Midsummer Day, ii. 25 _sq._ + +Leaping over bonfires to ensure good crops, i. 107; + as a preventive of colic, 107, 195 _sq._, 344; + to make the flax grow tall, 119, 165, 166, 166 _sq._, 168, 173, 174, + 337; + to ensure a happy marriage, 107, 108; + to ensure a plentiful harvest, 155, 156; + to be free from backache at reaping, 165, 168; + as a preventive of fever, 166, 173, 194; + for luck, 171, 189; + in order to be free from ague, 174; + in order to marry and have many children, 204, 338 _sq._; + as cure of sickness, 214; + to procure offspring, 214, 338; + over ashes of fire as remedy for skin diseases, ii. 2; + after a burial to escape the ghost, 18; + a panacea for almost all ills, 20; + as a protection against witchcraft, 40 + +Leaping of women over the Midsummer bonfires to ensure an easy delivery, + i. 194, 339 + +Leaps of lovers over the Midsummer bonfires, i. 165, 166, 168, 174 + +Leather, Mrs. Ella Mary, on the Yule log, i. 257 _sq._ + +Lebanon, peasants of the, their dread of menstruous women, i. 83 _sq._ + +Lech, Midsummer fires in the valley of the, i. 166 + +Lechrain, the divining rod in, ii. 68 + +Lecky, W. E. H., on the treatment of magic and witchcraft by the Christian + Church, ii. 42 _n._ 2 + +Lee, the laird of, his "cureing stane," i. 325 + +_Leeting_ the witches, i. 245 + +Legends of persons who could not die, i. 99 _sq._ + +Legs and thighs of diseased cattle cut off and hung up as a remedy, i. 296 + _n._ 1, 325 + +Leine, river, i. 124 + +Leinster, Midsummer fires in, i. 203 + +Leitrim, Midsummer fires in County, i. 203; + divination at Hallowe'en in, 242; + need-fire in, 297; + witch as hare in, 318 + +Lemnos, worship of Hephaestus in, i. 138 + +Lemon, external souls of ogres in a, ii. 102 + +Lengua Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco, i. 75 _n._ 2; + seclusion of girls at puberty among the, 56; + masquerade of boys among, 57 _n._ 1 + +Lent, the first Sunday in, fire-festival on, i. 107 _sqq._; + bonfires on, 107 _sqq._ + +Lenten fires, i. 106 _sqq._ + +Lenz, H. O., on ancient names for mistletoe, ii. 318 + +Leobschütz, in Silesia, Midsummer fires at, i. 170 + +Leonard, Major A. G., on souls of people in animals, ii. 206 _n._ 2 + +Leopard the commonest familiar of Fan wizards, ii. 202 + +Leopards, lives of persons bound up with those of, ii. 201, 202, 203, 204, + 205, 206; + external human souls in, 207 + +Lerwick, Christmas _guizing_ at, i. 268 _sq._; + procession with lighted tar-barrels on Christmas Eve at, 268; + celebration of Up-helly-a' at, 269 _n._ 1 + +Lesachthal (Carinthia), new fire at Easter in the, i. 124 + +Lesbos, fires on St. John's Eve in, i. 211 _sq._ + +Leslie, David, on Caffre belief as to spirits of the dead incarnate in + serpents, ii. 211 _n._ 2, 212 _n._ + +L'Étoile, Lenten fires at, i. 113 + +Lettermore Island, Midsummer fires in, i. 203 + +Letts of Russia, Midsummer fires among the, i. 177 _sq._; + gather aromatic plants on Midsummer Day, ii. 50 + +Lewis, Professor W. J., i. 127 _n._ 1 + +Lewis, island of, custom of fiery circle in the, i. 151 _n._; + need-fire in the, 293 + +_Lexicon Mythologicum_, author of, on the Golden Bough, ii. 284 _n._ 3 + +Lhwyd, Edward, on snake stones, i. 16 _n._ 1 + +License, annual period of, i. 135; + at Midsummer festival, 180, 339 + +Liège, Lenten fires near, i. 108 + +Lierre, in Belgium, the witches' Sabbath at, ii. 73 + +Life of community bound up with life of divine king, i. 1 _sq._; + the water of, ii. 114 _sq._; + of woman bound up with ornament, 156; + of a man bound up with the capital of a column, 156 _sq._; + of a man bound up with fire in hut, 157; + of child bound up with knife, 157; + of children bound up with trees, 160 _sqq._; + the divisibility of, 221. + _See also_ Soul + +---- -indices, trees and plants as, ii. 160 _sqq._ + +---- -tokens in fairy tales, ii. 118 _n._ 1 + +---- -tree of the Manchu dynasty at Peking, ii. 167 _sq._ + +---- -trees of kings of Uganda, ii. 160 + +Ligho, a heathen deity of the Letts, i. 177, 178 _n._ 1 + +Light, girls at puberty not allowed to see the, i. 57; + external soul of witch in a, ii. 116 + +Lightning, charred sticks of Easter fire used as a talisman against, i. + 121, 124, 140 _sq._, 145, 146; + the Easter candle a talisman against, 122; + brands of the Midsummer bonfires a protection against, 166 _n._ 1, 183; + flowers thrown on roofs at Midsummer as a protection against, 169; + charred sticks of bonfires a protection against, 174, 187, 188, 190; + ashes of Midsummer fires a protection against, 187, 188, 190; + torches interpreted as imitations of, 340 _n._ 1; + bonfires a protection against, 344; + a magical coal a protection against, ii. 61; + pine-tree struck by, used to make bull-roarer, 231; + superstitions about trees struck by, 296 _sqq._; + thought to be caused by a great bird, 297; + strikes oaks oftener than any other tree of the European forests, 298 + _sq._; + regarded as a god descending out of heaven, 298; + mode of treating persons who have been struck by, 298 _n._ 2; + places struck by lightning enclosed and deemed sacred, 299. + _See also_ Thunder + +Lightning and thunder, the Yule log a protection against, i. 248, 249, + 250, 252, 253, 254, 258, 264; + mountain arnica a protection against, ii. 57 _sq._ + +Lillooet Indians of British Columbia, seclusion of girls at puberty among + the, i. 52 _sq._ + +Limburg, processions, with torches in, i. 107 _sq._; + Midsummer fires in, 194; + the Yule log in, 249 + +Lime-kiln in divination, i. 235, 243 + +---- -tree, the bloom of the, gathered at Midsummer, ii. 49; + mistletoe on limes, 315, 316 + +---- -wood used to kindle need-fire, i. 281, 283, 286 + +Lincolnshire, the Yule log in, i. 257; + witches as cats and hares in, 318; + calf buried to stop a murrain in, 326; + mistletoe a remedy for epilepsy and St. Vitus's dance in, ii. 83 _sq._ + +Lindenbrog, on need-fire, i. 335 _n._ 1 + +Lint seed, divination by, i. 235 + +Liongo, an African Samson, ii. 314 + +Lion, the sun in the sign of the, ii. 66 _sq._ + +Lismore, witch as hare in, i. 316 _sq._ + +Lithuania, Midsummer fires in, i. 176; + sanctuary at Romove in, ii. 91 + +Lithuanians, their custom before first ploughing in spring, i. 18; + their worship of the oak, ii. 89; + their story of the external soul, 113 _sqq._ + +Lives of a family bound up with a fish, ii. 200; + with a cat, 150 _sq._ + +Living fire made by friction of wood, i. 220; + the need-fire, 281, 286 + +Livonia, story of a were-wolf in, i. 308 + +Livonians cull simples on Midsummer Day, ii. 49 _sq._ + +Lizard, external soul in, ii. 199 _n._ 1; + sex totem in the Port Lincoln tribe of South Australia, 216; + said to have divided the sexes in the human species, 216 + +Loaf thrown into river Neckar on St. John's Day, ii. 28 + +Loango, rule as to infants in, i. 5; + girls secluded at puberty in, 22 + +Loch Katrine, i. 231 + +---- Tay, i. 232 + +Lock and key in a charm, i. 283 + +Locks opened by springwort, ii. 70; + and by the white flower of chicory, 71; + mistletoe a master-key to open all, 85 + +Locust, a Batta totem, ii. 223 + +Log, the Yule, i. 247 _sqq._ + +Logierait, in Perthshire, Beltane festival in, i. 152 _sq._; + Hallowe'en fires in, 231 _sq._ + +Loiret, Lenten fires in the department of, i. 114 + +Loki and Balder, i. 101 _sq._ + +Lokoja on the Niger, ii. 209 + +Lombardy, belief as to the "oil of St. John" on St. John's Morning in, ii. + 82 _sq._ + +London, the immortal girl of, i. 99; + Midsummer fires in, 196 _sq._ + +Longridge Fell, _leeting_ the witches at, i. 245 + +Looboos of Sumatra creep through a cleft rattan to escape a demon, ii. 182 + _sq._ + +Looking at bonfires through mugwort a protection against headache and sore + eyes, ii. 59 + +_Loranthus europaeus_, a species of mistletoe, ii. 315, 317 _sqq._; + called "oak mistletoe" (_visco quercino_) in Italy, 317 + +---- _vestitus_, in India, ii. 317 + +Lord of the Wells at Midsummer, ii. 28 + +Lorne, the Beltane cake in, i. 149 + +Lorraine, Midsummer fires in, i. 169; + the Yule log in, 253; + Midsummer customs in, ii. 47 + +Loudoun, in Ayrshire, i. 207 + +Louis XIV. at Midsummer bonfire in Paris, ii. 39 + +Love-charm of arrows, i. 14 + +Lovers leap over the Midsummer bonfires, i. 165, 166, 168, 174 + +Low Countries, the Yule log in the, i. 249 + +Lowell, Percival, his fire-walk, ii. 10 _n._ 1 + +Lübeck, church of St. Mary at, i. 100 + +Lucerne, Lenten fire-custom in the canton of, i. 118 _sq._; + bathing at Midsummer in, ii. 30 + +Luchon, in the Pyrenees, serpents burnt alive at the Midsummer festival + in, ii. 38 _sq._, 43 + +Lucian, on the Platonic doctrine of the soul, ii. 221 _n._ 1 + +Luck, leaping over the Midsummer fires for good, i. 171, 189 + +Luckiness of the right hand, i. 151 + +Lunar calendar of Mohammedans, i. 216 _sq._, 218 _sq._ + +Lungs or liver of bewitched animal burnt or boiled to compel the witch to + appear, i. 321 _sq._ + +Lushais of Assam, sick children passed through a coil among the, ii. 185 + _sq._ + +Lussac, in Poitou, Midsummer fires at, i. 191 + +Luther, Martin, burnt in effigy at Midsummer, i. 167, 172 _sq._, ii. 23 + +Luxemburg, "Burning the Witch" in, ii. 116 + +_Lythrum salicaria_, purple loosestrife, gathered at Midsummer, ii. 65 + +Mabuiag, seclusion of girls at puberty in, i. 36 _sq._; + dread and seclusion of women at menstruation in, 78 _sq._; + girls at puberty in, 92 _n._ 1; + belief as to a species of mistletoe in, ii. 79 + +Mac Crauford, the great arch witch, i. 293 + +Macassar in Celebes, magical unguent in, i. 14 + +Macdonald, Rev. James, on the story of Headless Hugh, ii. 131 _n._ 1; + on external soul in South Africa, 156 + +Macdonell, A. A., on Agni, ii. 296 + +McDougall, W., and C. Hose, on creeping through a cleft stick after a + funeral, ii. 176 _n._ 1 + +Macedonia, Midsummer fires among the Greeks of, i. 212; + bonfires on August 1st in, 220; + need-fire among the Serbs of Western, 281; + St. John's flower at Midsummer in, ii. 50 + +Macedonian peasantry burn effigies of Judas at Easter, i. 131 + +McGregor, A. W., on the rite of new birth among the Akikuyu, ii. 263 + +Mackay, Alexander, on need-fire, i. 294 _sq._ + +Mackays, sept of the "descendants of the seal," ii. 131 _sq._ + +Mackenzie, E., on need-fire, i. 288 + +Mackenzie, Sheriff David J., i. 268 _n._ 1 + +Macphail, John, on need-fire, i. 293 _sq._ + +Macusis of British Guiana, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 60 + +Madangs of Borneo, custom observed by them after a funeral, ii. 175 _sq._ + +Madern, parish of, Cornwall, holed stone in, ii. 187 + +Madonie Mountains, in Sicily, Midsummer fires on the, i. 210 + +Madras Presidency, the fire-walk in the, ii. 6 + +Madura, the Kappiliyans of, i. 69; + the Parivarams of, 69 + +Maeseyck, processions with torches at, i. 107 _sq._ + +Magic, homoeopathic or imitative, i. 49, 133, 329, ii. 231, 287; + dwindles into divination, i. 336; + movement of thought from magic through religion to science, ii. 304 + _sq._ + +Magic and ghosts, mugwort a protection against, ii. 59 + +---- and science, different views of natural order postulated by the two, + ii. 305 _sq._ + +---- flowers of Midsummer Eve, ii. 45 _sqq._ + +Magical bone in sorcery, i. 14 + +---- implements not allowed to touch the ground, i. 14 _sq._ + +---- influence of medicine-bag, ii. 268 + +---- virtues of plants at Midsummer apparently derived from the sun, ii. 71 + _sq._ + +Magician's apprentice, Danish story of the, ii. 121 _sqq._ + +---- Glass, the, i. 16 + +Magyars, Midsummer fires among the, i. 178 _sq._; + stories of the external soul among the, ii. 139 _sq._ + +_Mahabharata_, Draupadi and her five husbands in the, ii. 7 + +"Maiden-flax" at Midsummer, ii. 48 + +Maidu Indians of California, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. + 42; + their notion as to fire in trees, ii. 295; + their idea of lightning, 298 + +Maimonides, on the seclusion of menstruous women, i. 83 + +Makalanga, a Bantu tribe, i. 135 _n._ 2 + +_Makral_, "the witch," i. 107 + +Malabar, the Iluvans of, i. 5; + the Tiyans of, 68 + +Malassi, a fetish in West Africa, ii. 256 + +Malay belief as to sympathetic relation between man and animal, ii. 197 + +---- story of the external soul, ii. 147 _sq._ + +Malayo-Siamese families of the Patani States, their custom as to the + afterbirth, ii. 163 _sq._ + +Malays of the Peninsula, their doctrine of the plurality of souls, ii. 222 + +Male and female souls in Chinese philosophy, ii. 221 + +Malkin Tower, witches at the, i. 245 + +Malta, fires on St. John's Eve in, i. 210 _sq._ + +_Malurus cyaneus_, superb warbler, women's "sister," among the Kurnai, ii. + 216 + +Man and animal, sympathetic relation between, ii. 272 _sq._ + +Man, the Isle of, Midsummer fires in, i. 201, 337; + old New Year's Day in, 224 _sq._; + Hallowe'en customs in, 243 _sq._; + bonfires on St. Thomas's Day in, 266; + cattle burnt alive to stop a murrain in, 325 _sqq._; + mugwort gathered on Midsummer Eve in, ii. 59. + _See also_ Isle of Man + +Manchu dynasty, the life-tree of the, ii. 167 _sq._ + +Mandragora, "the hand of glory," ii. 316 + +Mang'anje woman, her external soul, ii. 157 + +Mango tree, festival of wild, i. 7 _sqq._; + ceremony for the fertilization of the, 10 + +_Manitoo_, personal totem, ii. 273 _n._ 1 + +Mannhardt, W., on fire-customs, i. 106 _n._ 3; + on burning leaf-clad representative of spirit of vegetation, 25; + his theory that the fires of the fire-festivals are charms to secure + sunshine, 329, 331 _sqq._; + on torches as imitations of lightning, 340 _n._ 1; + on the Hirpi Sorani, ii. 15 _n._; + on the human victims sacrificed by the Celts, 33; + his theory of the Druidical sacrifices, 43; + his solar theory of the bonfires at the European fire-festivals, 72; + on killing a cock on the harvest-field, 280 _n._ + +_Mantis religiosus_, a totem, ii. 248 _n._ + +Manu, Hindoo lawgiver, on the uncleanness of women at menstruation, i. 95; + the Laws of, on the three births of the Aryan, ii. 276 _sq._ + +Manx mummers at Hallowe'en, i. 224 + +Maoris, birth-trees among the, ii. 163 + +Mara tribe of Northern Australia, initiation of medicine-men in the, ii. + 239 + +_Marake_, an ordeal of being stung by ants and wasps, i. 63 _sq._ + +Marcellus of Bordeaux, his medical treatise, i. 17 + +March, the month of, the fire-walk in, ii. 6; + mistletoe cut at the full moon of, 84, 86 + +---- moon, woodbine cut in the increase of the, ii. 184 + +_Margas_, exogamous totemic clans of the Battas of Sumatra, ii. 222 _sq._ + +Marilaun, A. Kerner von, on mistletoe, ii. 318 _n._ 6 + +Marjoram burnt at Midsummer, i. 214; + gathered at Midsummer, ii. 51; + a talisman against witchcraft, 74 + +Mark of Brandenburg, need-fire in the, i. 273; + simples culled at Midsummer in the, ii. 48; + St. John's blood in the, 56; + the divining-rod in the, 67 + +Marotse. _See_ Barotse + +Marquesas Islands, the fire-walk in the, ii. 11 + +Marriage, leaping over bonfires to ensure a happy, i. 107, 108, 110; + omens of, drawn from Midsummer bonfires, 168, 174, 178, 185, 189; + omens of, drawn from bonfires, 338 _sq._; + omens of, from flowers, ii. 52 _sq._, 61; + oak-trees planted at, 165 + +Married, the person last, lights the bonfire, i. 107, 109, 111, 119, 339; + young man last married provides wheel to be burnt, 116; + the person last married officiates at Midsummer fire, 192; + men married within the year collect fuel for Midsummer fire, 192 _sq._; + married men kindle need-fire, 289; + last married bride made to leap over bonfire, ii. 22 + +Mars and Silvia, ii. 105 + +Marsaba, a devil who swallows lads at initiation, ii. 246 + +Marseilles, drenching people with water at Midsummer in, i. 193; + Midsummer king of the double-axe at, 194; + the Yule log at, 250; + Midsummer flowers at, ii. 46 + +Marshall Islands, belief in the external soul in the, ii. 200 + +Marsi, the ancient, i. 209 + +Martin of Urzedow, i. 177 + +Martin, M., on _dessil_ (_deiseal_), i. 151 _n._; + on need-fire, 289 + +Marwaris, of India, Holi festival among the, ii. 2 _sq._ + +Marxberg, the, on the Moselle, i. 118 + +Masai, peace-making ceremony among the, ii. 139 _n._ + +Mask, not to wear a, i. 4 + +Masked dances, bull-roarers used at, ii. 230 _n._ + +Masks worn by girls at puberty, i. 31, 52; + worn at Duk-duk ceremonies in New Britain, ii. 247; + worn by members of a secret society, 270, 271 + +Masquerade of boys among the Lengua Indians, i. 57 _n._ 1 + +Masuren, a district of Eastern Prussia, Midsummer fire kindled by the + revolution of a wheel at, i. 177, 335 _sq._; + divination by flowers on Midsummer Eve in, ii. 52, 53; + divination by orpine at Midsummer in, 61; + camomile gathered at Midsummer in, 63; + fire kindled by friction of oak at Midsummer in, 91 + +Matabeles fumigate their gardens, i. 337 + +Matacos, Indian tribe of the Gran Chaco, their custom of secluding girls + at puberty, i. 58 + +Mataguayos, Indian tribe of the Gran Chaco, their custom of secluding + girls at puberty, i. 58 + +Matthes, B. F., on sympathetic relation between man and animal, ii. 197 + _n._ 4 + +Mauhes, Indians of Brazil, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 59; + ordeal of young men among the, 62 + +Maundy Thursday, i. 125 _n._ 1 + +Maurer, Konrad, on Icelandic story of the external soul, ii. 125 _n._ 1 + +May Day in the Isle of Man, i. 157; + sheep burnt as a sacrifice on, 306; + witches active on, ii. 19, 184 _n._ 4, 185 + +----, Eve of, Snake Stones thought to be formed on, i. 15; + a witching time, 295; + witches active on, ii. 73 + +May-tree carried about, i. 120, ii. 22 + +Mayo, County, story of Guleesh in, i. 228 + +M'Bengas of the Gaboon, birth-trees among the, ii. 160 + +Mbengga, in Fiji, the fire-walk in, ii. 10 _sq._ + +Meakin, Budgett, on Midsummer fires in Morocco, i. 214 _n._ + +Meath, County, Hill of Ward in, i. 139; + Uisnech in, 158 + +Meaux, Midsummer bonfires in the diocese of, i. 182 + +Mecklenburg, need-fire in, i. 274 _sq._; + simples gathered at Midsummer in, ii. 48; + mugwort at Midsummer in, 60; + the divining-rod in, 67; + treatment of the afterbirth in, 165; + children passed through a cleft oak as a cure in, 171 _sq._; + custom of striking blindfold at a half-buried cock in, 279 _n._ 4 + +Medicine-bag, instrument of pretended death and resurrection at + initiation, ii. 268 _sq._ + +---- -man in Australia, initiation of, ii. 237 _sqq._ + +Megara besieged by Minos, ii. 103 + +Meinersen, in Hanover, i. 275 + +Meissen or Thuringia, horse's head thrown into Midsummer fire in, ii. 40 + +Melanesian conception of the external soul, ii. 197 _sqq._ + +---- and Papuan stocks in New Guinea, ii. 239 + +Meleager and the firebrand, story of, ii. 103; + and the olive-leaf, 103 _n._ 2 + +Melur, in the Neilgherry Hills, the fire-walk at, ii. 8 _sq._ + +Men disguised as women, i. 107 + +---- and women eat apart, i. 81 + +_Mên-an-tol_, "holed stone" in Cornwall, ii. 187 + +Menomini Indians, ritual of death and resurrection among the, ii. 268 _n._ + 1 + +Menstruation, seclusion of girls at the first, i. 22 _sqq._; + the first, attributed to defloration by a spirit, 24; + reasons for secluding women at, 97 + +Menstruous blood, the dread of, i. 76. + _See also_ Blood + +---- energy, beneficent applications of, i. 98 _n._ 1 + +---- fluid, medicinal applications of the, i. 98 _n._ 1 + +Menstruous women keep their heads or faces covered, i. 22, 24, 25, 29, 31, + 44 _sq._, 48 _sq._, 55, 90, 92; + not allowed to cross or bathe in rivers, 77; + not allowed to go near water, 77; + supposed to spoil fisheries, 77, 78, 90 _sq._, 93; + painted red, or red and white, 78; + not allowed to use the ordinary paths, 78, 80, 84, 89, 90; + not allowed to approach the sea, 79; + not allowed to enter cultivated fields, 79; + obliged to occupy special huts, 79, 82, 85 _sqq._; + supposed to spoil crops, 79, 96; + not allowed to cook, 80, 82, 84, 90; + not allowed to drink milk, 80, 84; + not allowed to handle salt, 81 _sq._, 84; + kept from wells, 81, 82, 97; + obliged to use separate doors, 84; + not allowed to lie on high beds, 84; + not allowed to touch or see fire, 84, 85; + not allowed to cross the tracks of animals, 84, 91, 93; + excluded from religious ceremonies, 85; + not allowed to eat with men, 85, 90; + thought to spoil the luck of hunters, 87, 89, 90, 91, 94; + not allowed to ride horses, 88 _sq._, 96; + not allowed to walk on ice of rivers and lakes, 90; + dangers to which they are thought to be exposed, 94; + not allowed to touch beer, wine or vinegar, 96; + not allowed to salt or pickle meat, 96 _n._ 2; + not allowed to cross running streams, 97; + not allowed to draw water at wells, 97; + used to protect fields against insects, 98 _n._ 1 + dreaded and secluded in Australia, i. 76 _sqq._, + in the Torres Straits Islands, 78 _sq._, + in New Guinea, 79, + in Galela, 79, + in Sumatra, 79, + in Africa, 79 _sqq._, + among the Jews and in Syria, 83 _sq._, + in India, 84 _sq._, + in Annam, 85, + in America, 85 _sqq._ + +Mequinez, Midsummer custom at, i. 216 + +Merolla, J., on seclusion of girls at puberty, i. 31 _n._ 3 + +Merrakech, in Morocco, Midsummer custom at, i. 216; + New Year fires at, 217 + +Mesopotamia, Atrae in, i. 82 + +Mespelaer, St. Peter's fires at, i. 195 + +Messaria, in Cythnos, ii. 189 + +Metz, F., on the fire-walk, ii. 9 + +Metz, cats burnt alive in Midsummer fire at, ii. 39 + +Mexican ceremony of new fire, i. 132 + +---- representation of the sun as a wheel, i. 334 _n._ 1 + +Mexico, effigies of Judas burnt at Easter in, i. 127 _sq._; + the Zapotecs of, ii. 212 + +Michael, in the Isle of Man, i. 307 + +Michaelmas, cakes baked at, i. 149. + _See also_ St. Michael + +Michemis, a Tibetan tribe, a funeral ceremony among the, i. 5 + +Middle Ages, the Yule log in the, i. 252; + the need-fire in the, 270 + +Midsummer, wells crowned with flowers at, ii. 28; + bathing at, 29 _sq._; + sacred to Balder, 87. + _See also_ St. John's Day + +---- bonfire called "fire of heaven," i. 334; + intended to drive away dragons, 161 + +"---- Brooms" in Sweden, ii. 54 + +---- Day, charm for fig-trees on, i. 18; + water claims human victims on, 26 _sqq._; + in ancient Rome, 178; + regarded as unlucky, ii. 29 + +---- Eve, Snake Stones thought to be formed on, i. 15; + Trolls and evil spirits abroad on, 172; + witches active on, ii. 19; + the season for gathering wonderful herbs and flowers, 45 _sqq._; + the magic flowers of, 45 _sqq._; + divination on, 46 _n._ 3, 50, 52 _sqq._, 61, 64, 67 _sqq._; + dreams of love on, 52, 54; + fernseed blooms at, 65, 287; + the divining-rod cut at, 67 _sqq._; + activity of witches and warlocks on, 73 _sqq._; + treasures bloom in the earth on, 288 _n._ 5; + the oak thought to bloom on, 292, 293 + +---- festival common to peoples on both sides of the Mediterranean, i. 219, + ii. 31; + the most important of the year among the primitive Aryans of Europe, 40; + its relation to Druidism, 45 + +---- fires, i. 160 _sqq._; + in Wales, 156 + +---- flowers and plants used as talismans against witchcraft, ii. 72 + +---- Men, orpine, ii. 61 + +---- mummers clad in green fir branches, ii. 25 _sq._ + +Midwinter fires, i. 246 _sqq._ + +Mijatovich, Chedo, on the _Zadrooga_ or Servian house-community, i. 259 + _n._ 1 + +Mikado not allowed to set foot on ground, i. 2 _sq._; + the sun not allowed to shine on him, 18 _sq._ + +Milk, girls at puberty forbidden to drink, i. 22, 30; + libations of, 30; + not to be drunk by menstruous women, 80, 84; + stolen by witches from cows, 176, 343, ii. 74; + omens drawn from boiling, 8; + libations of, poured on fire, 8, 9; + libations of, poured into a stream, 9; + poured on sick cattle, 13 + +---- and butter thought to be improved by the Midsummer fires, i. 180; + stolen by witches at Midsummer, 185; + witchcraft fatal to, ii. 86 + +---- -tie as a bond of kinship, ii. 138 _n._ 1 + +---- -vessels not to be touched by menstruous women, i. 80 + +Milking cows through a hole in a branch or a "witch's nest," ii. 185 + +Millaeus on judicial torture, ii. 158 + +Miller's wife a witch, story of the, i. 319 _sq._ + +Miming, a satyr of the woods, i. 103 + +Minahassa, in Celebes, ceremony at a house-warming in, ii. 153 + +Minangkabauers of Sumatra, their belief as to menstruous women, i. 79; + use of bull-roarers among the, ii. 229 _n._ + +Minos, king of Crete, besieges Megara, ii. 103 + +Mint, flowers of, gathered on St. John's Day, ii. 51 + +Mirzapur, the Bhuiyars of, i. 84 + +Misfortune burnt in Midsummer fires, i. 215; + got rid of by leaping over Midsummer fires, 215 + +Missel-thrush and mistletoe, ii. 316 + +"Mist-healing," Swiss expression for kindling a need-fire, i. 279 + +Mistletoe, the divining-rod made of, ii. 69, 291; + worshipped by the Druids, 76 _sq._, 301; + cut on the sixth day of the moon, 77; + makes barren animals and women to bring forth, 77, 78, 79; + cut with a golden sickle, 77, 80; + thought to have fallen from the sky, 77, 80; + called the "all-healer," 77, 79, 82; + an antidote to all poison, 77, 83; + gathered on the first day of the moon, 78; + not to touch the earth, 78, 80; + a cure for epilepsy, 78, 83, 84; + extinguishes fire, 78, 84 _sq._, 293; + venerated by the Ainos of Japan, 79; + growing on willow specially efficacious, 79; + confers invulnerability, 79 _sq._; + its position as a parasite on a tree the source of superstitions about + it, 80, 81, 84; + not to be cut but shot or knocked down with stones, 81 _sq._; + in the folk-lore of modern European peasants, 81 _sqq._; + medical virtues ascribed to, 82 _sqq._; + these virtues a pure superstition, 84; + cut when the sun is in Sagittarius, 82, 86; + growing on oak a panacea for green wounds, 83; + mystic qualities ascribed to mistletoe at Midsummer (St. John's Day or + Eve), 83, 86; + cut at the full moon of March, 84, 86; + called "thunder-besom" in Aargau, 85, 301; + a masterkey to open all locks, 85; + a protection against witchcraft, 85 _sq._; + given to first cow that calves after New Year, 86; + gathered especially at Midsummer, 86 _sq._; + grows on oaks in Sweden, 87; + ancient Italian belief that mistletoe could be destroyed neither by fire + nor water, 94; + Balder's life or death in the, 279, 283; + life of oak in, 280; + not allowed to touch the ground, 280; + a protection against witchcraft and Trolls, 282, 283, 294; + a protection against fairy changelings, 283; + hung over doors of stables and byres in Brittany, 287; thought to + disclose treasures in the earth, 287, 291 _sq._; + gathered at the solstices, Midsummer and Christmas, 291 _sqq._; + traditional privilege of, 291 _n._ 2; + growing on a hazel, 291 _n._ 3; + growing on a thorn, 291 _n._ 3; + life of the oak conceived to be in the, 292; + perhaps conceived as a germ or seed of fire, 292; + sanctity of mistletoe perhaps explained by the belief that the plant has + fallen on the tree in a flash of lightning, 301; + two species of, _Viscum album_ and _Loranthus europaeus_, 315 _sqq._; + found most commonly on apple-trees, 315, compare 316 _n._ 5; + growing on oaks in England, 316; + seeds of, deposited by missel-thrush, 316; + ancient names of, 317 _sq._; + Virgil on, 318 _sqq._; + Dutch names for, 319 _n._ 1 + +Mistletoe and Balder, i. 101 _sq._, ii. 76 _sqq._, 302 + +---- and the Golden Bough, ii. 315 _sqq._ + +Mitchell, Sir Arthur, on a barbarous cure for murrain, i. 326 + +Mithr, Armenian fire-god, i. 131 _n._ 3 + +Mithraic mysteries, initiation into the, ii. 277 + +_Mizimu_, spirits of the dead, ii. 312 + +Mlanje, in British Central Africa, ii. 314 + +Mnasara tribe of Morocco, i. 214 + +Mogk, Professor Eugen, i. 330 + +Mohammedan calendar lunar, i. 216 _sq._, 218 _sq._ + +---- New Year festival in North Africa, i. 217 _sq._ + +---- peoples of North Africa, Midsummer fires among the, i. 213 _sqq._ + +Moharram, first Mohammedan month, i. 217 + +Moles and field-mice driven away by torches, i. 115, ii. 340 + +Molsheim in Baden, i. 117 + +Mondays, witches dreaded on, ii. 73 + +Mongolian story, milk-tie in a, i. 138 _n._ 1; + the external soul in a, ii. 143 _sq._ + +Monster supposed to swallow and disgorge novices at initiation, ii. 240 + _sq._, 242 + +Mont des Fourches, in the Vosges, i. 318 + +Montaigne on ceremonial extinction of fires, i. 135 _n._ 2 + +Montanus, on the Yule log, i. 248 + +Montenegro, the Yule log in, i. 263 + +Montezuma not allowed to set foot on ground, i. 2 + +Montols of Northern Nigeria, their belief in their sympathetic relation to + snakes, ii. 209 _sq._ + +Moon, impregnation of women by the, i. 75 _sq._; + the sixth day of the, mistletoe cut on, 77; + the first day of the, mistletoe gathered on, 78; + the full, transformation of were-wolves at, 314 _n._ 1 + +Mooney, James, on Cherokee ideas as to trees struck by lightning, ii. 296 + +Moore, _Manx Surnames,_ quoted by Sir John Rhys, i. 306 + +Moors, their superstition as to the "sultan of the oleander," i. 18 + +Moosheim, in Wurtemberg, leaf-clad mummer at, ii. 26 + +Moravia, fires to burn the witches in, i. 160; + Midsummer fires in, 175; + the divining-rod in, ii. 67 + +Moravians cull simples at Midsummer, ii. 49, 54 + +Moray, remedy for a murrain in the county of, i. 326 + +Morayshire, medical use of mistletoe in, ii. 84 + +Morbihan in Brittany, ii. 287 + +Moresin, Thomas, on St. Peter's fires in Scotland, i. 207 + +Morice, Father A. G., on customs and beliefs of the Carrier Indians as to + menstruous women, i. 91 _sqq._; + on the honorific totems of the Carrier Indians, ii. 273 _sqq._ + +Morlaks, the Yule log among the, i. 264 + +Morlanwelz, bonfires at, i. 107 + +Morning star, the rising of the, i. 40, 133 + +Morocco, magical virtue ascribed to rain-water in, i. 17 _sq._; + Midsummer fires in, 213 _sqq._; + water thought to acquire marvellous virtue at Midsummer in, ii. 30 + _sq._; + magical plants gathered at Midsummer in, 51 + +Morven, i. 290; + consumptive people passed through rifted rocks in, ii. 186 _sq._ + +Moscow, annual new fire in villages near, i. 139 + +Moselle, bonfires on the, i. 109; + Konz on the, 118, 163 _sq._ + +Moses on the uncleanness of women at menstruation, i. 95 _sq._ + +Mosquito territory, Central America, seclusion of menstruous women in the, + i. 86 + +Mota, in the New Hebrides, conception of the external soul in, ii. 197 + _sq._ + +Motherwort, garlands of, at Midsummer, i. 162 + +Moulin, parish of, in Perthshire, Hallowe'en fires in, i. 230 + +Moulton, Professor J. H., on the etymology of Soranus, ii. 15 _n._ 1 + +Mountain arnica gathered at Midsummer, ii. 57 _sq._; + a protection against thunder, lightning, hail, and conflagration, 58 + +Mountain-ash, parasitic, used to make the divining rod, ii. 69; + mistletoe on, 315. + _See also_ Rowan + +---- scaur, external soul in, ii. 156 + +Mourne Mountains, i. 159 + +Mourners tabooed, i. 20; + step over fire after funeral in China, ii. 17; + purified by fire, 17, 18 _sq._; + customs observed by, among the Bella Coola Indians, 174 + +Mourning, the great, for Isfendiyar, i. 105 + +Mouse-ear hawkweed (_Hieracium pilosella_) gathered at Midsummer, ii. 57 + +Movement of thought from magic through religion to science, ii. 304 _sq._ + +Mugwort (_Artemisia vulgaris_), wreaths of, at Midsummer, i. 163, 165, + 174; + a preventive of sore eyes, 174; + a preservative against witchcraft, 177; + a protection against thunder, ghosts, magic, and witchcraft, ii. 59 + _sq._; + gathered on Midsummer Day or Eve, ii. 58 _sqq._; + thrown into the Midsummer fires, 59; + used in exorcism, 60 + +Mull, the need-fire in, i. 148, 289 _sq._; + the Beltane cake in, 149; + remedy for cattle-disease in, 325; + consumptive people passed through rifted rocks in, ii. 186 _sq._ + +Mullein, sprigs of, passed across Midsummer fires protect cattle against + sickness and sorcery, i. 190; + bunches of, passed across Midsummer fires and fastened on cattle-shed, + 191; + yellow (_Verbascum_), gathered at Midsummer, ii. 63 _sq._; + yellow hoary (_Verbascum pulverulentum_), its golden pyramid of blooms, + 64; + great (_Verbascum thapsus_), called King's Candle or High Taper, 64 + +Mummers at Hallowe'en in the Isle of Man, i. 224 + +Munster, the King of, i. 139; + Midsummer fires in, 203 + +Münsterberg, precautions against witches in, ii. 20 _n._ + +Münsterland, Easter fires in, i. 141; + the Yule log in, 247 + +Muralug, dread of women at menstruation in, i. 78 + +Murderer, fire of oak-wood used to detect a, ii. 92 _n._ 4 + +Murrain, need-fire kindled as a remedy for, i. 278, 282, 290 _sqq._; + burnt sacrifices to stay a, in England, Wales, and Scotland, 300 _sqq._; + calf burnt alive to stop a, 300 _sq._; + cattle buried to stop a, 326. + _See also_ Cattle disease + +Murray, the country of, i. 154 _n._ 1 + +Murray River, in Australia, ii. 233; + natives of, their dread of menstruous women, i. 77 + +Muskau, in Lausitz, marriage oaks at, ii. 165 + +Myrtle-trees of the Patricians and Plebeians at Rome, ii. 168 + +Myths dramatized in ritual, i. 105 + +Na Ivilankata, a Fijian clan, ii. 10 + +Nagas of North-Eastern India, their ceremony of the new fire, i. 136 + +_Nagual_, external soul, among the Indians of Guatemala and Honduras, ii. + 212 _sqq._, 220, 226 _n._ 1 + +Nahuqua Indians of Brazil, their use of bull-roarers, ii. 230 + +Names on chimney-piece, divination by, i. 237; + of savages kept secret, ii. 224 _n._ 2; + new, taken by novices after initiation, 259 + +Namoluk, one of the Caroline Islands, traditionary origin of fire in, ii. + 295 + +Namuci and Indra, legend of, ii. 280 + +Namur, Lenten fires in, i. 108 + +Nandi, the, of British East Africa, their custom of driving sick cattle + round a fire, ii. 13; + use of bull-roarers among the, 229 _n._ + +_Nanga_, sacred enclosure in Fiji, ii. 243, 244 + +Nanna, the wife of Balder, i. 102, 103 + +Nanny, a Yorkshire witch, i. 317 + +Naples, feast of the Nativity of the Virgin at, i. 220 _sq._ + +Narrow openings, creeping through, in order to escape ghostly pursuers, + ii. 177 _sqq._ + +Nathuram, image supposed to make women fruitful, ii. 3 + +Nativity of the Virgin, feast of the, i. 220 _sq._ + +Naudowessies, Indian tribe of North America, ritual of death and + resurrection among the, ii. 267 + +_Naueld_, need-fire, i. 280 + +Nauru, in the Marshall Islands, lives of people bound up with a fish in, + ii. 200 + +Navajoes, their story of the external soul, ii. 151 _sq._; + use of bull-roarers among the, 230 _n._, 231 + +Navel-string buried under a plant or tree, ii. 160 _sq._, 161, 163; + regarded as brother or sister of child, 162 _n._ 2 + +_Ndembo_, secret society on the Lower Congo, ii. 251 _sqq._ + +Ndolo, on the Moeko River, West Africa, ii. 200 + +Neckar, the river, requires three human victims at Midsummer, ii. 26; + loaf thrown into the river, 28 + +Necklace, girl's soul in a, ii. 99 _sq._ + +Need-fire, i. 269 _sqq._; + kindled as a remedy for cattle-plague, 270 _sqq._, 343; + cattle driven through the, 270 _sqq._; + derivation of the name, 270 _n._; + kindled by the friction of a wheel, 270, 273, 289 _sq._, 292; + kindled with oak-wood, 271, 272, 275, 276, 278, 281, 289 _sq._, 294; + called "wild-fire," 272, 273, 277; + kindled by fir-wood, 278, 282; + kindled as a remedy for witchcraft, 280, 292 _sq._, 293, 295; + called "living fire," 281, 286; + healing virtue ascribed to, 281, 286; + kindled by lime-wood, 281, 283, 286; + kindled by poplar-wood, 282; + regarded as a barrier interposed between cattle and an evil spirit, 282, + 285 _sq._; + kindled by cornel-tree wood, 286; + revealed by an angel from heaven, 287; + used to heat water, 289; + kindled on an island, 290 _sq._, 291 _sq._; + kindled by birch-wood, 291; + kindled between two running streams, 292; + kindled to prevent fever, 297; + probable antiquity of the, 297 _sq._; + kindled by elm-wood, 299; + the parent of the periodic fire-festivals, 299, 343; + used by Slavonic peoples to combat vampyres, 344; + sometimes kindled by the friction of fir, plane, birch, lime, poplar, + cornel-wood, ii. 91 _n._ 1 + +Need-fire, John Ramsay's account of, i. 147 _sq._; + Lindenbrog on, 335 _n._ 1 + +Negro children pale at birth, ii. 251 _n._ 1, 259 _n._ 2 + +Neil, R. A., on Gaelic name for mistletoe, ii. 82 _n._ 5 + +Neilgherry Hills, the Badagas of the, ii. 8 _sq._; + the Todas of the, i. 136 + +Neisse, precautions against witches in, ii. 20 _n._ + +Nellingen in Lorraine, simples gathered on Midsummer Day at, ii. 47 + +Nemi, the King of the Wood at, i. 2; + the Lake of, annual tragedy enacted at, ii. 286; + sacramental bread at, 286 _n._ 2; + Virbius at, 295; at evening, 308 _sq._; + sacred grove of, 315; + priests of Diana at, 315 + +Nerthus, old German goddess, ii. 28 _n._ 1 + +_Nestelknüpfen_, i. 346 _n._ 2 + +Nets fumigated with smoke of need-fire, i. 280 + +Nettles, Indians beaten with, as an ordeal, i. 64 + +Neuchatel, Midsummer fires in the canton of, i. 172 + +Neumann, J. B., on the Batta doctrine of souls, ii. 223 _n._ 2 + +Neustadt, in Silesia, Midsummer fires at, i. 170; + near Marburg, the need-fire at, 270 + +New birth of novices at initiation, ii. 247, 251, 256, 257, 261, 262 _sq._ + +---- body obtained at initiation, ii. 252 + +---- Britain, the Duk-duk society of i. 11, ii. 246 _sq._ + +---- fire kindled on Easter Saturday, i. 121 _sqq._; + made at the New Year, 134 _sq._, 138, 140; + made by the friction of wood at Christmas, 264 + +---- Guinea, British, festival of wild mango in, i. 7; + custom observed after childbirth in, 20; + seclusion of girls at puberty in, 35; + dread and seclusion of women at menstruation in, 79; + the Toaripi of, 84; + use of bull-roarers in, ii. 228 _n._ 2 + +---- Guinea, German, the Kai of, ii. 182; + ceremony of initiation in, 193; + the Yabim of, 232; + rites of initiation in, 239 _sqq._ + +---- Hebrides, conception of the external soul in the, ii. 197 _sqq._ + +---- Ireland, seclusion of girls at puberty in, i. 32 _sqq._; + Duk-duk society in, ii. 247 + +---- Mexico, the Zuni Indians of, i. 132; + and Arizona, use of bull-roarers in, ii. 230 _n._, 231 + +---- South Wales, dread of women at menstruation in, i. 78; + the Wongh tribe of, ii. 227; + the drama of resurrection at initiation in, 235 _sqq._ + +---- water at Easter, i. 123 + +---- World, Easter ceremonies in the, i. 127 _sq._; + magical virtue of plants at Midsummer in the, ii. 50 _sq._ + +---- Year, new fire made at the, i. 134 _sq._, 138, 140; + festival of Mohammedans in North Africa, 217 _sq._; + the Celtic, on November first, 224 _sq._; + the Fijian, Tahitian, and Hawaiian, ii. 244 + +Newstead, Byron's oak at, ii. 166 + +_Nganga_, "the Knowing Ones," initiates, ii. 251 + +_Ngarong_, secret helper, of the Ibans of Borneo, ii. 224 _n._ 1 + +Nguu, district of German East Africa, ii. 312 + +Nias, story of the external soul told in the island of, ii. 148; + ceremonies performed by candidates for the priesthood in, 173 _sq._ + +Niceros and the were-wolf, story of, i. 313 _sq._ + +Nidugala, in the Neilgherry Hills, the fire-walk at, ii. 8 + +Nieder-Lausitz, the Midsummer log in, ii. 92 _n._ 1 + +Niederehe, in the Eifel Mountains, Midsummer flowers at, ii. 48 + +Niger, belief as to external human souls lodged in animals on the, ii. 209 + +Nigeria, the Ibo of Southern, i. 4; + theory of the external soul in, ii. 200, 203, _sqq._ + +Nigerian, South, story of the external soul, ii. 150 + +Night-jars, the lives of women in, ii. 215; + called women's "sisters," 216 + +Nikclerith, Neane, buries cow alive, i. 324 _sq._ + +Nile, the Alur of the Upper, i. 64 + +Nine, ruptured child passed nine times on nine successive mornings through + a cleft ash-tree and attended by nine persons, ii. 170 + +---- bonfires on Midsummer Eve an omen of marriage, i. 174, 185, 189, 339 + +---- different kinds of wood burnt in the Beltane fires, i. 155; + used for the Midsummer bonfires, 172, 201; + burnt in the need-fire, 271, 278; + used to kindle need-fire, 278, 280 + +---- grains of oats in divination, i. 243 + +---- leaps over Midsummer fire, i. 193 + +---- men employed to make fire by the friction of wood, i. 148, 155 + +---- ridges of ploughed land in divination, i. 235 + +---- sorts of flowers on Midsummer Eve, to dream on, i. 175; + gathered, ii. 52 _sq._ + +---- times to crawl under a bramble as a cure, ii. 180 + +---- times nine men make need-fire, i. 289, 294, 295 + +---- (thrice three) times passed through a girth of woodbine, ii. 184; + passed through a holed stone, 187 + +---- turns round a rick, i. 243 + +Niska Indians of British Columbia, rites of initiation among the, ii. 271 + _sq._ + +Nisus and his purple or golden hair, story of, ii. 103 + +_Nkimba_, secret society on the Lower Congo, ii. 255 _n._ 1 + +Nocturnal creatures the sex totems of men and women, ii. 217 _n._ 4 + +Nograd-Ludany, in Hungary, Midsummer fires at, i. 179 + +Noguès, J. L. M., on the wonderful herbs of St. John's Eve, ii. 45 + +Nootka Indians of Vancouver Island, seclusion of girls at puberty among + the, i. 43 _sq._; + ritual of death and resurrection among the, ii. 270 _sq._ + +Nord, the department of, giants at Shrove Tuesday in, ii. 35 + +Norden, E., on the Golden Bough, ii. 284 _n._ 3 + +Nore, A. de, on the Yule log, i. 250 _sq._, 253 + +Norfolk, use of orpine for divination in, ii. 61 _n._ 4 + +Norman peasants gather seven kinds of plants on St. John's Day, ii. 51 + _sq._ + +Normandy, Midsummer fires in, i. 185 _sq._; + the Yule log in, 252; + torch-light processions on Christmas Eve in, 266; + processions with torches on the Eve of Twelfth Day, in, 340; + wonderful herbs and flowers gathered at Midsummer in, ii, 46; + wreaths of mugwort in, 59; + vervain gathered at Midsummer in, 62 + +Norrland, Midsummer bonfires in, i. 172 + +Norse stories of the external soul, ii. 119 _sq._ + +North American Indians, their personal totems, ii. 222 _n._ 5, 226 _n._ 1 + +---- Berwick, Satan preaches at, ii. 158 + +Northamptonshire, sacrifice of a calf in, i. 300 + +Northumberland, Midsummer fires in, i. 197 _sq._; + divination at Hallowe'en in, 245; + the Yule log in, 256; + need-fire in, 288 _sq._; + ox burnt alive in, to stop a murrain, 301 + +Norway, bonfires on Midsummer Eve in, i. 171; + the need-fire in, 280; + superstitions about a parasitic rowan in, ii. 281 + +Norwich, Easter candle in the cathedral of, i. 122 _n._ + +Nottinghamshire, the Hemlock Stone in, i. 157 + +_Nouer l'aiguilette_, i. 346 _n._ 2 + +Nouzon, in the Ardennes, the Yule log at, i. 253 + +November the first, old New Year's Day in the Isle of Man, i. 224 _sq._; + the first of, All Saints' Day, 225 + +Novice at initiation killed as a man and brought to life as an animal, ii. + 272 + +Novices (lads) at initiation supposed to be swallowed and disgorged by a + spirit or monster, ii. 235, 240 _sq._, 242, 246; + supposed to be newly born, 247, 251, 256, 257, 261, 262 _sq._; + begotten anew, 248 + +_Nurtunjas_, sacred poles among the Arunta, ii. 219 + +Nut-water brewed at Midsummer, ii. 47 + +Nuts passed across Midsummer fires, i. 190; + in fire, divination by, 237, 239, 241, 242, 245 + +Nyanja chief, ii. 314 + +Nyanja-speaking tribes of Angoniland, their customs as to girls at + puberty, i. 25 _sq._ + +Nyassa, Lake, i. 28, 81; + people to the east of, crawl through an arch as a precaution against + sickness, evil spirits, etc., ii. 181 + +Oak associated with thunder, i. 145; + worshipped by the Druids, ii. 76 _sq._, 301; + the principal sacred tree of the Aryans, 89 _sq._; + human representatives of the oak perhaps originally burnt at the + fire-festivals, 90, 92 _sq._; + children passed through a cleft oak as a cure for rupture or rickets, + 170 _sqq._; + life of, in mistletoe, 280, 292; + struck by lightning oftener than any other tree of the European forest, + 298 _sqq._; + supposed to bloom on Midsummer Eve, 292, 293 + +---- and thunder, Aryan god of the, i. 265 + +---- -leaves, "oil of St. John" found on St. John's Morning upon, ii. 82 + _sq._ + +---- log a protection against witchcraft, ii. 92 + +---- -mistletoe an "all-healer" or panacea, ii. 77, 79, 82; + a remedy for epilepsy, 78, 83; + to be shot down with an arrow, 82; + a panacea for green wounds, 83; + a protection against conflagration, 85, 293 + +---- of Errol, fate of the Hays bound up with the, ii. 283 _sq._ + +---- of the Guelphs, ii. 166 _sq._ + +---- of Romove, ii. 286 + +---- of the Vespasian family at Rome, ii. 168 + +---- planted by Byron, ii. 166 + +---- -spirit, the priest of the Arician grove a personification of an, ii. + 285 + +---- tree worshipped by the Cheremiss, i. 181 + +---- -trees planted at marriage, ii. 165 + +---- twigs and leaves used to keep off witches, ii. 20 + +---- -wood used to kindle the need-fire, i. 148, 271, 272, 275, 276, 278, + 281, 289 _sq._, ii. 90 _sq._; + used to kindle the Beltane fires, i. 148, 155; + used to kindle Midsummer fire, 169, 177, ii. 91 _sq._; + used for the Yule log, i. 248, 250, 251, 257, 258, 259, 260, 263, 264 + _sq._, ii. 92; + fire of, used to detect a murderer, 92 _n._ 4; + perpetual fires of, 285 _sq._ + +Oaks planted by Sir Walter Scott, ii. 166; + mistletoe growing on, in Sweden, 87; + mistletoe growing on, in England and France, 316 + +Oath not to hurt Balder, i. 101 + +Oats, nine grains of, in divination, i. 243 + +Oban district, Southern Nigeria, belief as to external human souls lodged + in animals in the, ii. 206 _sqq._ + +Oberland, in Central Germany, the Yule log in the, i. 248 _sq._ + +Obermedlingen, in Swabia, fire kindled on St. Vitus's Day at, i. 335 _sq._ + +Obubura district of S. Nigeria, ii. 204 + +October, ceremony of the new fire in, i. 136; + the last day of (Hallowe'en), 139 + +Odessa, New Easter fire carried to, i. 130 _n._ + +Odin, Othin, or Woden, the father of Balder, i. 101, 102, 103 _n._ + +Ododop tribe of Southern Nigeria, ii. 208 + +Oels, in Silesia, Midsummer fires at, i. 170 + +Oeniadae, the ancient, i. 21 + +Oesel, Midsummer fires in the island of, i. 180; + St. John's herbs in the island of, ii. 49 + +Offenburg, in the Black Forest, Midsummer fires at, i. 168 + +Ogboni, a secret society on the Slave Coast, ii. 229 _n._ + +Ogre whose soul was in a bird, story of the, ii. 98 _sq._ + +"Oil of St. John" found on St. John's morning, ii. 82 _sq._; + on oaks at Midsummer, 293 + +Oise, French department of, dolmen in, ii. 188 + +Ojebways, ritual of death and resurrection among the, ii. 268 + +Olala, secret society of the Niska Indians, ii. 271 _sq._ + +Olaus Magnus, on were-wolves, i. 308 + +"Old Wife" ("Old Woman"), burning the, i. 116, 120 + +Oldenburg, the immortal dame of, i. 100; + Shrove Tuesday customs in, 120; + Easter bonfires in, 140; + burning or boiling portions of animals or things to force witch to + appear in, 321 _sq._; + witch as toad in, 323; + children passed through a cleft oak as a cure in, ii. 171 _sq._; + custom as to milking cows in, 185; + sick children passed through a ring of yarn in, 185 + +_Olea chrysophilla_, used as fuel for bonfire, ii. 11 + +"Oleander, the Sultan of the," i. 18, ii. 51; + gathered at Midsummer, 51 + +Olive, the sacred, at Olympia, ii. 80 _n._ 3 + +Olofaet, a fire-god, ii. 295 + +Olympia, the sacred olive at, ii. 80 _n._ 3; + white poplar used for sacrifices to Zeus at, 90 _n._ 1, 91 _n._ 7 + +Omaha tribe, Elk clan of the, i. 11 + +---- women secluded at menstruation, i. 88 _sq._ + +Omens from birds and beasts, i. 56; + from the smoke of bonfires, 116, 131, 337; + from flames of bonfires, 140, 142, 159, 165, 336, 337; + from cakes rolled down hill, 153; + from boiling milk, ii. 8; + from intestines of sheep, 13 + +---- of death, ii. 54, 64 + +---- of marriage drawn from Midsummer bonfires, i. 168, 174, 178, 185, 189, + 339; + drawn from bonfires, 338 _sq._; + from flowers, ii. 52 _sq._, 61 + +Onktehi, the great spirit of the waters among the Dacotas, ii. 268, 269 + +Oran, bathing at Midsummer in, i. 216 + +Orange River, the Corannas of the, ii. 192 + +Oraons or Uraons of Bengal, their belief as to the transformation of + witches into cats, ii. 311 _sq._ + +Ordeal of stinging ants undergone by girls at puberty, i. 61, and by young + men, 62 _sqq._; + of boiling resin, 311 + +Ordeals as an exorcism, i. 66; + undergone by novices at initiation among the Bushongo, ii. 264 _sqq._ + +Order of nature, different views of the, postulated by magic and science, + ii. 305 _sq._ + +Organs, internal, of medicine-man replaced by a new set at initiation, ii. + 237, 238 _sq._ + +Origin of fire, primitive ideas as to the, ii. 295 _sq._ + +Orinoco, the Banivas of the, i. 66; + the Guaraunos of the, 85; the Guayquiries of the, 85; + the Tamanaks of the, 61 _n._ 3 + +Ornament, external soul of woman in an ivory, ii. 156 + +Ornaments, amulets degenerate into, ii. 156 _n._ 2 + +Orne, Midsummer fires in the valley of the, i. 185 + +Oro, West African bogey, ii. 229 + +Orpheus and the willow, ii. 294 + +Orpine (_Sedum telephium_) at Midsummer, i. 196; + used in divination at Midsummer, ii. 61 + +Orvieto, Midsummer fires at, i. 210 + +Oster-Kappeln, in Hanover, the oak of the Guelphs at, ii. 166 _sq._ + +Osterode, Easter bonfires at, i. 142 + +Ot Danoms of Borneo, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 35 _sq._ + +Otati tribe of Queensland, their treatment of girls at puberty, i. 38 + +Ovambo, of German South-West Africa, custom observed by young women at + puberty among the, ii. 183 + +Owls, lives of persons bound up with those of, ii. 202; + sex totem of women, 217; + called women's "sisters," 218 + +Ox burnt alive to stop a murrain, i. 301 + +---- -horns, external soul of chief in pair of, ii. 156 + +Ozieri, in Sardinia, bonfires on St. John's Eve at, i. 209 + +Padua, story of a were-wolf in, i. 309 + +Paha, on the Gold Coast, ii. 210 + +Pale colour of negro children at birth, ii. 251 _n._ 1, 259 _n._ 2 + +Palettes or plaques of schist in Egyptian tombs, ii. 155 _n._ 3 + +Palm-branches, consecrated, at Easter, i. 121 + +---- Sunday, palm-branches consecrated on, i. 144, ii. 30, 85 _n._ 4; + boxwood blessed on, i. 184, ii. 47; + fern-seed used on, 288 + +---- -trees as life-indices, ii. 161, 163, 164 + +Papuan and Melanesian stocks in New Guinea, ii. 239 + +Papuans, life-trees among the, ii. 163 + +Paraguay, the Chiquites Indians of, ii. 226 _n._ 1 + +Parallelism between witches and were-wolves, i. 315, 321 + +Parasitic mountain-ash (rowan) used to make the divining-rod, ii. 69 + +---- orchid growing on a tamarind, ritual at cutting, ii. 81 + +---- rowan, superstitions about a, ii. 281 _sq._ + +Paris, effigy of giant burnt in summer fire at, ii. 38; + cats burnt alive at Midsummer in, 39 + +Parivarams of Madura, their seclusion of girls at puberty, i. 69 + +Parrot, external soul of warlock in a, ii. 97 _sq._ + +---- and Punchkin, story of the, ii. 97 _sq._ + +Parsees, their customs as to menstruous women, i. 85 + +Partridge, C., ii. 204 + +Paschal candle, i. 121, 122 _n._, 125 + +---- Mountains, i. 141 + +Passage over or through fire a stringent form of purification, ii. 24; + through a cleft stick in connexion with puberty and circumcision, 183 + _sq._ + +Passes, Indians of Brazil, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 59 + +Passing over fire to get rid of ghosts, ii. 17 _sq._; + through cleft trees and other harrow openings to get rid of ghosts, + etc., 173 _sqq._; + under a yoke as a purification, 193 _sqq._ + +Passing children through cleft trees, ii. 168 _sqq._; + children, sheep, and cattle through holes in the ground, ii. 190 _sq._ + +Pastern-bone of a hare in a popular remedy, i. 17 + +Pastures fumigated at Midsummer to drive away witches and demons, i. 170 + +Patani States, custom as to the after-birth in the, ii. 164 + +Paths, separate, for men and women, i. 78, 80, 89 + +Patiko, in the Uganda Protectorate, dread of lightning at, ii. 298 _n._ 2 + +Paton, W. R., on the Golden Bough, ii. 319 + +Patriarch of Jerusalem kindles the new fire at Easter, i. 129 + +Patrician myrtle-tree at Rome, ii. 168 + +Patschkau, precautions against witches near, ii. 20 _n._ + +Pâturages, processions with torches at, i. 108 + +Pawnee story of the external soul, ii. 151 + +Pawnees, human sacrifices among the, ii. 286 _n._ 2 + +Pazzi family at Florence, i. 126 + +Peace-making ceremony among the Masai, ii. 139 _n._ + +Pear-tree as life-index of girl, ii. 165 + +---- -trees, torches thrown at, i. 108; + rarely attacked by mistletoe, ii. 315 + +Peas, boiled, distributed by young married couples, i. 111 _n._ 1 + +Pebbles thrown into Midsummer fires, i. 183 + +Peguenches, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 59 + +Peking, life-tree of the Manchu dynasty at, ii. 167 _sq._ + +Pelops at Olympia, ii. 90 _n._ 1 + +Pemba, island of, ii. 263 + +Pendle, the forest of, i. 245 + +Pennant, Thomas, on Beltane fires and cakes in Perthshire, i. 152; + on Hallowe'en fires in Perthshire, 230 + +Pennefather River in Queensland, ii. 159; + treatment of girls at puberty on the, i. 38 + +Penny-royal burnt in Midsummer fire, i. 213, 214; + gathered at Midsummer, ii. 51 + +_Pentamerone_, the, ii. 105 + +Penzance, Midsummer fires at, i. 199 _sq._ + +Perche, Midsummer fires in, i. 188; + St. John's herb gathered on Midsummer Eve in, ii. 46; + the _Chêne-Doré_ in, 287 _n._ 1 + +Perforating arms and legs of young men, girls, and dogs as a ceremony, i. + 58 + +Pergine, in the Tyrol, fern-seed at, ii. 288 _sq._ + +Perigord, the Yule log in, i. 250 _sq._, 253; + magic herbs gathered at Midsummer in, ii. 46; + crawling under a bramble as a cure for boils in, 180 + +Perkunas, Lithuanian god, his perpetual fire, ii. 91 _n._ 5 + +Péronne, mugwort at Midsummer near, ii. 58 + +Persians celebrate a festival of fire at the winter solstice, i. 269 + +Perthshire, Beltane fires and cakes in, i. 152 _sq._; + traces of Midsummer fires in, 206; + Hallowe'en bonfires in, 230 _sqq._; + need-fire in, 296 _sq._ + +Peru, ceremony of the new fire in, i. 132 + +Perun, the oak sacred to the god, ii. 89 + +Petronius, his story of the were-wolf, i. 313 _sq._ + +Pett, Grace, a witch, i. 304 + +Petworth, in Sussex, cleft ash-trees used for the cure of rupture at, ii. + 170 + +Phalgun, a Hindoo month, ii. 2 + +Philip and James, the Apostles, feast of, i. 158 + +Piazza del Limbo at Florence, i. 126 + +Picardy, Lenten fire-customs in, i. 113; + Midsummer fires in, 187 + +Piedmont, belief as to the "oil of St. John" on St. John's morning in, ii. + 82 _sq._ + +Pietro in Guarano (Calabria), Easter custom at, i. 123 + +Pig, roast, at Christmas, i. 259; + burnt sacrifice of a, 302 + +Pigeon, external soul of ogre in a, ii. 100; + external soul of dragon in a, 112 _sq._ + +Pigeon's egg, external soul of fairy being in, ii. 132 _sq._, 139 + +Pigeons deposit seed of mistletoe, ii. 316 _n._ 1 + +Pigs sacrificed, i. 9; + driven through Midsummer fire, 179; + driven through the need-fire, 272, 273, 274 _sq._, 275 _sq._, 276 _sq._, + 277, 278, 279, 297; + offered to monster who swallows novices at initiation, ii. 240, 246 + +Pilgrimages on Yule Night in Sweden, i. 20 _sq._ + +Pillar, external soul of ogre in a, ii. 100 _sq._ + +Pima Indians, their purification for manslaughter, i. 21 + +Pines, Scotch, struck by lightning, proportion of, ii. 298 + +Pinewood, fire of, at Soracte, ii. 14, 91 _n._ 1 + +Pinoeh, district of South-Eastern Borneo, ii. 154 _sq._ + +Pippin, king of the Franks, i. 270 + +Pitlochrie, in Perthshire, i. 230 + +Pitrè, Giuseppe, on St. John's Day in Sicily, ii. 29 + +Placci, Carlo, i. 127 _n._ 1 + +Place de Noailles at Marseilles, Midsummer flowers in the, ii. 46 + +Plane and birch, fire made by the friction of, i. 220 + +Plantain-tree, creeping through a cleft, as a cure, ii. 181 + +Plants, spirits of, in the form of snakes, ii. 44 _n._; + external soul in, 159 _sqq._; + and trees as life-indices, 160 _sqq._ + +Plaques or palettes of schist in Egyptian tombs, ii. 155 _n._ 3 + +Plates or basins, divination by three, i. 237 _sq._, 240, 244 + +Plato, on the distribution of the soul in the body, ii. 221 _n._ 1 + +Plebeian myrtle-tree at Rome, ii. 168 + +Pleiades, beginning of year determined by observation of the, ii. 244, 245 + _n._ + +Pliny on "serpents' eggs," i. 15; + on medicinal plants, 17; + on the touch of menstruous women, 96; + on the fire-walk of the Hirpi Sorani, ii. 14; + on the mythical springwort, 71; + on the Druidical worship of mistletoe, 76 _sq._; + on the virtues of mistletoe, 78; + on the birds which deposit seeds of mistletoe, 316 _n._ 1; + on the different kinds of mistletoe, 317 + +Plough, piece of Yule log inserted in the, i. 251, 337 + +Ploughing in spring, custom at the first, i. 18 + +Ploughshare, crawling under a, as a cure, ii. 180 + +Plum-tree wood used for Yule log, i. 250 + +Plurality of souls, doctrine of the, ii. 221 _sq._ + +Plutarch, on oak-mistletoe, ii. 318 _n._ 1 + +Pogdanzig, witches' Sabbath at, ii. 74 + +Pointing sticks or bones in magic, i. 14 + +Poitou, Midsummer fires in, i. 182, 190 _sq._, 340 _sq._; + fires on All Saints' Day in, 246; + the Yule log in, 251 _n._ 1; + mugwort at Midsummer in, ii. 59 + +Poix, Lenten fires at, i. 113 + +Poland, need-fire in, i. 281 _sq._ + +_Polaznik_, _polazenik_, _polazaynik_, Christmas visiter, i. 261, 263, 264 + +Pole, sacred, of the Arunta, i. 7 + +Poles, passing between two poles after a death, ii. 178 _sq._; + passing between two poles in order to escape sickness or evil spirit, + ii. 179 _sqq._ + +Pollution, menstrual, widespread fear of, i. 76 _sqq._ + +Polygnotus, his picture of Orpheus under the willow, ii. 294 + +Pomerania, hills called the Blocksberg in, i. 171 _n._ 3 + +Pommerol, Dr., i. 112 + +Pond, G. H., on ritual of death and resurrection among the Dacotas, ii. + 269 + +Pongol or Feast of Ingathering in Southern India, ii. 1, 16 + +Pontesbury, in Shropshire, the Yule log at, i. 257 + +Popinjay, shooting at a, i. 194 + +_Popish Kingdome, The_, of Thomas Kirchmeyer, i. 125 _sq._, 162 + +Poplar, the white, used in sacrificing to Zeus at Olympia, ii. 90 _n._ 1, + 91 _n._ 7; + black, mistletoe on, 318 _n._ 6 + +---- -wood used to kindle need-fire, i. 282 + +Porcupine as charm to ensure women an easy delivery, i. 49 + +Port Lincoln tribe of South Australia, their superstition as to lizards, + ii. 216 _sq._ + +_Porta Triumphalis_ at Rome, ii. 195 + +Portrait statues, external souls of Egyptian kings deposited in, ii. 157 + +Portreach, sacrifice of a calf near, i. 301 + +Poseidon makes Pterelaus immortal, ii. 103; + priest of, uses a white umbrella, i. 20 _n._ 1 + +Posidonius, Greek traveller in Gaul, ii. 32 + +Poso in Central Celebes, custom at the working of iron in, ii. 154; + the Alfoors of, 222 + +Possession by an evil spirit cured by passing through a red-hot chain, ii. + 186 + +Potawatomi women secluded at menstruation, i. 89 + +_Potlatch_, distribution of property, ii. 274 + +Pots used by girls at puberty broken, i. 61, 69 + +Powers, extraordinary, ascribed to first-born children, i. 295 + +Pozega district of Slavonia, need-fire in, i. 282 + +Prättigau in Switzerland, Lenten fire-custom at, i. 119 + +Prayers of adolescent girls to the Dawn of Day, i. 50 _sq._, 53, 98 _n._ + 1; + for rain, 133 + +Pretence of throwing a man into fire, i. 148, 186, ii. 25 + +Priapus, image of, at need-fire, i. 286 + +Priest of Aricia and the Golden Bough, i. 1; + of Earth, taboos observed by the, 4; + of Diana at Aricia, the King of the Wood, perhaps personified Jupiter, + ii. 302 _sq._; + at Nemi, 315 + +Priestesses not allowed to step on ground, i. 5 + +Priests expected to pass through fire, ii. 2, 5, 8, 9, 14 + +Primitive thought, its vagueness and inconsistency, ii. 301 _sq._ + +Prince Sunless, i. 21 + +---- of Wales Island, Torres Strait, treatment of girls at puberty in, i. 40 + +Princess royal, ceremonies at the puberty of a, i. 29, 30_ sq._ + +Procession with lighted tar-barrels on Christmas Eve, i. 268 + +Processions with lighted torches through fields, gardens, orchards, etc., + i. 107 _sq._, 110 _sqq._, 113 _sqq._, 141, 179, 233 _sq._, + 266, 339 _sq._; + on Corpus Christi Day, 165; + to the Midsummer bonfires, 184, 185, 187, 188, 191, 192, 193; + across fiery furnaces, ii. 4 _sqq._; + of giants (effigies) at popular festivals in Europe, 33 _sqq._ + +Profligacy at Holi festival in India, ii. 2 + +Prophecy, the Norse Sibyl's, i. 102 _sq._ + +Proserpine River in Queensland, i. 39 + +Provence, Midsummer fires in, i. 193 _sq._; + the Yule log in, 249 _sqq._ + +Prussia, Midsummer fires in, i. 176 _sq._; + mullein gathered at Midsummer in, ii. 63 _sq._; + witches' Sabbath in, 74 + +----, Eastern, herbs gathered at Midsummer in, ii. 48 _sq._; + divination by flowers on Midsummer Eve in, 53, 61; + belief as to mistletoe growing on a thorn in, 291 _n._ 3 + +Prussian custom before first ploughing in spring, i. 18 + +Prussians, the old, worshipped serpents, ii. 43 _n._ 3 + +Pterelaus and his golden hair, ii. 103 + +Puberty, girls secluded at, i. 22 _sqq._; + fast and dream at, ii. 222 _n._ 5; + pretence of killing the novice and bringing him to life again during + initiatory rites at, 225 _sqq._ + +Pueblo Indians of Arizona and New Mexico, use of bull-roarers among the, + ii. 230 _n._, 231 + +Pulayars of Travancore, their seclusion of girls at puberty, i. 69 + +Pulverbatch, in Shropshire, the Yule log at, i. 257; + belief as the bloom of the oak on Midsummer Eve at, ii. 292 + +Pumpkin, external soul in a, ii. 105 + +Punchkin and the parrot, story of, ii. 97 _sq._, 215, 220 + +Punjaub, supernatural power ascribed to the first-born in the, i. 295; + passing unlucky children through narrow openings in the, ii. 190 + +Purification by stinging with ants, i. 61 _sqq._; + by beating, 61, 64 _sqq._; + of mourners by fire, ii. 17, 18 _sq._; + after a death, 178; + by passing under a yoke, 193 _sqq._ + +Purificatory theory of the fires of the fire-festivals, i. 329 _sq._, 341, + ii. 16 _sqq._; + more probable than the solar theory, i. 346 + +Purple loosestrife (_Lythrum salicaria_) gathered at Midsummer, ii. 65 + +_Purra_ or _poro_, secret society in Sierra Leone, ii. 260 _sq._ + +Puttenham, George, on the Midsummer giants, ii. 36 _sq._ + +Pyrenees, Midsummer fires in the French, i. 193 + +Quarter-ill, a disease of cattle, i. 296 + +Quedlinburg, in the Harz Mountains, need-fire at, i. 276 + +Queen Charlotte Islands, the Haida Indians of, i. 44 + +---- of Heaven, ii. 303 + +---- of Summer, i. 195 + +Queen's County, Midsummer fires in, i. 203; + divination at Hallowe'en in, 242 + +Queensland, sorcery in, i. 14; + seclusion of girls at puberty in, 37 _sqq._; + dread of women at menstruation in, 78; + natives of, their mode of ascertaining the fate of an absent friend, ii. + 159 _sq._; + use of bull-roarers in, 233 + +_Quimba_, a secret society on the Lower Congo, ii. 256 _n._ + +Quimper, Midsummer fires at, i. 184 + +Quirinus, sanctuary of, at Rome, ii. 168 + +Races at fire-festivals, i. 111; + to Easter bonfire, 122; + at Easter fires, 144; + with torches at Midsummer, 175. + _See also_ Torch-races + +Radium, bearing of its discovery on the probable duration of the sun, ii. + 307 _n._ 2 + +Rahu, a tribal god in India, ii. 5 + +Rain, Midsummer bonfires supposed to stop, i. 188, 336; + bull-roarers used as magical instruments to make, ii. 230 _sqq._ + +---- -clouds, smoke made in imitation of, i. 133 + +---- -makers (mythical), i. 133 + +---- -water in Morocco, magical virtues ascribed to, i. 17 _sq._ + +Raking a rick in the devil's name, i. 243; + the ashes, a mode of divination, 243 + +Ralston, W. R. S., on sacred fire of Perkunas, ii. 91 _n._ 3 + +Rama, his battle with the King of Ceylon, ii. 102 + +Rampart, old, of Burghead, i. 267 _sq._ + +Ramsay, John, of Ochtertyre, on Beltane fires, i. 146 _sqq._; + on Midsummer fires, 206; + on Hallowe'en fires, 230 _sq._; + on burying cattle alive, 325 _sq._ + +Rarhi, Brahmans of Bengal, their seclusion of girls at puberty, i. 68 + +Rat, external soul of medicine-man in, ii. 199 + +Rattan, creeping through a split, to escape a malignant spirit, ii. 183 + +Rattle used at a festival, i. 28 + +Rattles to frighten ghosts, i. 52 + +Raven clan, ii. 271 + +Ray-fish, cure for wound inflicted by a, i. 98 _n._ 1 + +Raymi, a festival of the summer solstice, i. 132 + +Reapers throw sickles blindfold at last sheaf, ii. 279 _n._ 4 + +Reaping, girdle of rye a preventive of weariness in, i. 190 + +Reay, in Sutherland, the need-fire at, i. 294 _sq._ + +Red earth or paint smeared on girls at puberty, i. 30, 31; + girl's face painted red at puberty, 49 _sq._, 54; + women at menstruation painted, 78 + +---- and white, girls at puberty painted, i. 35, 38, 39, 40; + women at menstruation painted, 78 + +---- -hot iron chain, passing persons possessed by evil spirits through a, + ii. 186 + +---- Island, i. 39 + +---- ochre round a woman's mouth, mark of menstruation, i. 77 + +Redemption from the fire, i. 110 + +Reed, W. A., on a superstition as to a parasitic plant, ii. 282 + +Reed, split, used in cure for dislocation, ii. 177 + +Reef, plain of, in Tiree, i. 316 + +Regaby, in the Isle of Man, i. 224 + +Reindeer sacrificed to the dead, ii. 178 + +Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, O. Frh. von, on the Yule log, i. 249 + +Reiskius, Joh., on the need-fire, i. 271 _sq._ + +Religion, movement of thought from magic through religion to science, ii. + 304 _sq._ + +Religious associations among the Indians of North America, ii. 266 _sqq._ + +Remedies, magical, not allowed to touch the ground, i. 14 + +Renewal of fire, annual, in China, i. 137. + _See also_ Fire + +Rengen, in the Eifel Mountains, Midsummer flowers at, ii. 48 + +Resoliss, parish of, in Ross-shire, burnt sacrifice of a pig in, i. 301 + _sq._ + +Resurrection, ritual of death and, ii. 225 _sqq._ + +Reuzes, wicker giants in Brabant and Flanders, ii. 35 + +Revin, Midsummer fires at, i. 188 + +Rhenish Prussia, Lenten fires in, i. 115 + +Rheumatism, crawling under a bramble as a cure for, ii. 180 + +Rhine, the Lower, need-fire on, i. 278; + St. John's wort on, ii. 54 + +Rhodesia, the Winamwanga of, ii. 297 + +_Rhodomyrtus tomentosus_, used to kindle fire by friction, ii. 8 + +Rhön Mountains, Lenten custom in the, i. 117 + +Rhys, Sir John, on Beltane fires, i. 157; + on driving cattle through fires, 159; + on old New Year's Day in the Isle of Man, 224; + on Hallowe'en bonfires in Wales, 239 _sq._; + on burnt sacrifices in the Isle of Man, 305 _sqq._; + on alleged Welsh name for mistletoe, ii. 286 _n._ 3 + +Ribble, the, i. 245 + +Ribwort gathered at Midsummer, ii. 49 + +Rickard, R. H., quoted, i. 34 + +Rickets, children passed through cleft ash-trees as a cure for, ii. 168; + children passed through cleft oaks as a cure for, 170; + children passed through a holed stone as a cure for, 187 + +Rickety children passed through a natural wooden ring, ii. 184 + +Riedel, J. G. F., on the Kakian association in Ceram, ii. 249 + +Rif, province of Morocco, Midsummer fires in, i. 214 _n._, 215; + bathing at Midsummer in, 216 + +Riga, Midsummer festival at, i. 177 + +Right hand, luckiness of the, i. 151 _n._ + +---- turn (_deiseal_, _dessil_) in the Highlands of Scotland, i. 150 _n._ 1, + 154 + +Rigveda, how Indra cured Apala in the, ii. 193 + +Ring, crawling through a, as a cure or preventive of disease, ii. 184 + _sqq._; + divination by a, i. 237; + worn by initiates as token of the new birth, ii. 257. + _See also_ Rings + +Ringhorn, Balder's ship, i. 102 + +Ringing church bells on Midsummer Eve, custom as to, ii. 47 _sq._ + +Rings as amulets, i. 92; + mourners creep through, ii. 178, 179. + _See also_ Ring + +Rio de Janeiro, i. 59 + +---- Negro, ordeals of young men among the Indians of the, i. 63 + +Risley, Sir Herbert H., on Indian fire-walk, ii. 5 _n._ 3 + +Ritual, myths dramatized in, i. 105; + of death and resurrection, ii. 225 _sqq._ + +Rivers, Dr. W. H. R., on _tamaniu_, ii. 199 _n._ 1 + +Rivers, menstruous women not allowed to cross or bathe in, i. 77, 97; + claim human victims at Midsummer, ii. 26 _sqq._; + bathing in, at Midsummer, 30 + +Rizano, in Dalmatia, the Yule log at, i. 263 + +Robertson, Rev. James, quoted, i. 150 _sqq._ + +Robinson, C. H., on human life bound up with that of an animal, ii. 209 + +Rochholz, C. L., on need-fire, i. 270 _n._ + +Rocks, sick people passed through holes in, ii. 186 _sq._, 189 _sq._ + +Roman belief as to menstruous women, i. 98 _n._ 1 + +---- cure for dislocation, ii. 177 + +Romans deemed sacred the places which were struck by lightning, ii. 299 + +Romanus Lecapenus, emperor, ii. 156 + +Rome, the sacred fire of Vesta at, i. 138, ii. 91; + Midsummer Day in ancient, i. 178; + myrtle-trees of the Patricians and Plebeians at, ii. 168; + oak of the Vespasian family at, 168 + +Romove, sacred oak and perpetual fire at, ii. 91, 286 + +Roof of house, the external soul in, ii. 156 + +Rook, the island of, initiation of young men in, ii. 246 + +Roscher, Dr. W. H., on the Roman ceremony of passing under a yoke, ii. 194 + _n._ 2 + +Roscoe, Rev. J., on life-trees of kings of Uganda, ii. 160; + on passing through a cleft stick or a narrow opening as a cure, 181 + +Roscommon, County, divination at Hallowe'en in, i. 243 + +Rose-tree, death in a blue, ii. 110 + +Roses, festival of the Crown of, i. 195; + the King and Queen of, 195 + +Ross-shire, Beltane cakes in, i. 153; + burnt sacrifice of a pig in, 301 _sq._ + +Rotenburg on the Neckar, offering to the river on St. John's Day, ii. 28; + the wicked weaver of, 289 _sq._ + +Rottenburg, in Swabia, burning the Angel-man at, i. 167; + precautions against witches on Midsummer Eve at, ii. 73 + +Roumanians of Transylvania, their belief as to the sacredness of bread, i. + 13 + +Rowan, parasitic, esteemed effective against witchcraft, ii. 281; + superstitions about a, 281 _sq._; + how it is to be gathered, 282; + not to be touched with iron and not to fall on the ground, 282 + +---- -tree a protection against witches, i. 154, 327 _n._ 1, ii. 184 _n._ 4, + 185; + hoop of, sheep passed through a, 184. + _See also_ Mountain-ash + +Rubens, painter, ii. 33 + +Rucuyennes of Brazil, ordeal of young men among the, i. 63 + +Rue aux Ours at Paris, effigy of giant burnt in the, ii. 38 + +Rue burnt in Midsummer fire, i. 213 + +Rügen, sick persons passed through a cleft oak in, ii. 172 + +Rum, island of, and the Lachlin family, ii. 284 + +Rupert's Day, effigy burnt on, i. 119 + +Rupt in the Vosges, Lenten fires at, i. 109; + the Yule log at, 254 + +Rupture, children passed through cleft ash-trees or oaks as a cure for, + ii. 168 _sqq._, 170 _sqq._ + +Russia, Midsummer fires in, i. 176, ii. 40; + need-fire in, i. 281, ii. 91; + treatment of the effigy of Kupalo in, 23; + the Letts of, 50; + purple loose-strife gathered at Midsummer in, 65; + fern-seed at Midsummer in, 65, 66, 287 _sq._; + birth-trees in, 165 + +Russian feast of Florus and Laurus, i. 220 + +---- story of Koshchei the deathless, ii. 108 _sqq._ + +Rustem and Isfendiyar, i. 104 _sq._ + +Ruthenia, Midsummer bonfires in, i. 176 + +Rye, girdles of, a preventive of weariness in reaping, i. 190 + +Saale, the river, claims a human victim on Midsummer Day, ii. 26 + +Saaralben in Lorraine, ii. 47 + +Sabbaths of witches on the Eve of May Day and Midsummer Eve, i. 171 _n._ + 3, 181, ii. 73, 74 + +Sacramental bread at Nemi, ii. 286 _n._ 2 + +---- meal at initiation in Fiji, ii. 245 _sq._ + +Sacred flutes played at initiation, ii. 241 + +---- kings put to death, i. 1 _sq._ + +---- persons not allowed to set foot on the ground, i. 2 _sqq._; + not to see the sun, i. 18 _sqq._ + +---- stick (_churinga_), ii. 234 + +Sacrifice of cattle at holy oak, i. 181; + of heifer at kindling need-fire, 290; + of an animal to stay a cattle-plague, 300 _sqq._; + of reindeer to the dead, ii. 178 + +Sacrifices, human, at fire-festivals, i. 106; + traces of, 146, 148, 150 _sqq._, 186, ii. 31; + offered by the ancient Germans, 28 _n._ 1; + among the Celts of Gaul, 32 _sq._; + the victims perhaps witches and wizards, 41 _sqq._; + W. Mannhardt's theory, 43 + +"Sacrificial fonts" in Sweden, i. 172 _n._ 2 + +_Sada_, _Saza_, Persian festival of fire at the winter solstice, i. 269 + +Sage, divination by sprigs of red, on Midsummer Eve, ii. 61 _n._ 4 + +Sagittarius, mistletoe cut when the sun is in the sign of, ii. 82 + +Sahagun, B. de, on the treatment of witches and wizards among the Aztecs, + ii. 159 + +Saibai, island of Torres Strait, treatment of girls at puberty in, i. 40 + _sq._ + +Sail Dharaich, Sollas, in North Uist, need-fire at, i. 294 + +St. Antony, wood of, i. 110 + +St. Brandon, church of, in Ireland, sick women pass through a window of + the, ii. 190 + +St. Christopher, name given to Midsummer giant at Salisbury, ii. 38 + +St. Columb Kill, festival of, i. 241 + +St. Corona, church of, at Koppenwal, holed stone in the, ii. 188 _sq._ + +Saint-Denis-des-Puits, the oak of, ii. 287 _n._ 1 + +St. Eloi, Bishop of Noyon, his denunciation of heathen practices, ii. 190 + +St. Estapin, festival of, on August the sixth, ii. 188 + +St. George's Day, i. 223 _n._ 2 + +St. Hubert blesses bullets with which to shoot witches, i. 315 _sq._ + +St. James's Day (July the twenty-fifth), the flower of chicory cut on, ii. + 71 + +St. Jean, in the Jura, Midsummer fire-custom at, i. 189 + +St. John blesses the flowers on Midsummer Eve, i. 171; + his hair looked for in ashes of Midsummer fire, 182 _sq._, 190; + fires of, in France, 183, 188, 189, 190, 192, 193; + prayers to, at Midsummer, 210; + claims human victims on St. John's Day (Midsummer Day), ii. 27, 29; + print of his head on St. John's Eve, 57; + oil of, found on oak leaves, 83 + +----, the Knights of, i. 194 + +----, Grand Master of the Order of, i. 211 + +---- the Baptist associated by the Catholic Church with Midsummer Day, i. + 160, 181 + +St. John's blood found on St. John's wort and other plants at Midsummer, + ii. 56, 57 + +St. John's College, Oxford, the Christmas candle at, i. 255 + +---- Day, Midsummer fires on, i. 167 _sqq._, 171 _sqq._, 178, 179; + fire kindled by friction of wood on, 281; + fern-seed blooms on, ii. 287. + _See also_ Midsummer. + +---- Eve (Midsummer Eve) in Malta, i. 210 _sq._; + wonderful herbs gathered on, ii. 45 _sqq._; + sick children passed through cleft trees on, 171 + +St. John's fires among the South Slavs, i. 178; + among the Esthonians, 180. + _See also_ Midsummer fires + +---- flower at Midsummer, ii. 50; + gathered on St. John's Eve (Midsummer Eve), 57 _sq._ + +---- girdle, mugwort, ii. 59 + +---- herbs gathered at Midsummer, ii. 46 _sq._, 49; + a protection against evil spirits, 49 + +---- Night (Midsummer Eve), precautions against witches on, ii. 20 _n._ + +---- oil on oaks at Midsummer, ii. 293 + +---- root (_Johanniswurzel_), the male fern, ii. 66 + +---- wort (_Hypericum perforatum_), garlands of, at Midsummer, i. 169 _n._ + 3, 196; + gathered on St. John's Day or Eve (Midsummer Day or Eve), ii. 49, 54 + _sqq._; + a protection against thunder, witches, and evil spirits, 54, 55, 74; + thrown into the Midsummer bonfires, 55 + +St. Juan Capistrano, in California, ordeal of nettles and ants among the + Indians of, i. 64 + +St. Julien, church of, at Ath, ii. 36 + +St. Just, in Cornwall, Midsummer fire-custom at, i. 200 + +St. Lawrence family, their lives bound up with an old tree at Howth + castle, ii. 166 + +St. Martin invoked to disperse a mist, i. 280 + +St. Mary at Lübeck, church of, i. 100 + +St. Michael's cake, i. 149, 154 _n._ 3 + +St. Nonnosius, relics of, in the cathedral of Freising, Bavaria, ii. 188 + _sq._ + +St. Patrick and the Beltane fires, i. 157 _sq._ + +St. Patrick's Chair, i. 205 + +---- Mount, i. 205 + +St. Peter, the Eve of, Midsummer fires in Ireland on, i. 202 + +---- and St. Paul, celebration of their day in London, i. 196 + +St. Peter's at Rome, new fire at Easter in, i. 125 + +---- Day, bonfires in Belgium on, i. 194 _sq._; + bonfires at Eton on, 197; + fires in Scotland on, 207 + +---- Eve, bonfires on, i. 195, 198, 199 _sq._; + gathering herbs on, ii. 45 _n._ 1 + +St. Rochus's day, need-fire kindled on, i. 282 + +St. Thomas's day (21st December), bonfires on, i. 266; + witches dreaded on, ii. 73 + +---- Mount, near Madras, the fire-walk at, ii. 8 _n._ 1 + +Saint-Valery in Picardy, i. 113 + +St. Vitus's dance, mistletoe a cure for, ii. 84 + +---- Day, "fire of heaven" kindled on, i. 335 + +St. Wolfgang, Falkenstein chapel of, ii. 189 + +Saintes-Maries, Midsummer custom at, i. 194 + +Saintonge, the Yule log in, i. 251 _n._ 1; + wonderful herbs gathered on St. John's Eve in, ii. 45; + St. John's wort in, 55; + vervain gathered at Midsummer in, 62 _n. 4_; + four-leaved clover at Midsummer in, 63 + +---- and Aunis, Midsummer fires in, i. 192 + +Salee, in Morocco, Midsummer fires at, i. 214, 216 + +Salisbury, Midsummer giants at, ii. 37 _sq._ + +Salop (Shropshire), fear of witchcraft in, i. 342 _n._ 4 + +Salt, prohibition to eat, i. 19, 20; + used in a ceremony after marriage, 25 _sq._; + abstinence from, associated with a rule of chastity, 26 _sqq._; + prohibition to taste, 60, 68, 69; + not to be handled by menstruous women, 81 _sq._, 84; + divination by, 244 + +---- cake, divination by, i. 238 _sq._ + +Samhain, Eve of, in Ireland, i. 139, 225, 226; + All Saints' Day in Ireland, 225 + +_Samhanach_, Hallowe'en bogies, i. 227 + +_Samhnagan_, Hallowe'en fires, i. 230 + +Samland fishermen will not go to sea on Midsummer Day, ii. 26 + +Samoan story of woman who was impregnated by the sun, i. 74 _sq._ + +Samoyed shamans, their familiar spirits in boars, ii. 196 _sq._ + +---- story of the external soul, ii. 141 _sq._ + +Samson, effigy of, ii. 36; + an African, 314 + +San Salvador in West Africa, ii. 200 + +Sanctity and uncleanness not clearly differentiated in the primitive mind, + i. 97 _sq._ + +Sanctuary of Balder, i. 104 + +Sand, souls of ogres in a grain of, ii. 120 + +Sandhill, in Northumberland, Midsummer fires at, i. 198 + +Sangerhausen, i. 169 + +Sangro, river, i. 210 + +Sankuru River, ii. 264 + +Santa Catalina Istlavacan, birth-names of the Indians of, ii. 214 _n._ 1 + +---- Maria Piedigrotta at Naples, i. 221 + +Sapor, king of Persia, i. 82 _sq._ + +Sarajevo, need-fire near, i. 286 + +Sardinia, Midsummer fires in, i. 209 + +Satan preaches a sermon in the church of North Berwick, ii. 158; + brings fern-seed on Christmas night, 289 + +_Satapatha Brahmana_, on the sun as Death, ii. 174 _n._ 1 + +Saturday, Easter, new fire on, i. 121, 122, 124, 127, 128, 130; + second-sight of persons born on a, 285 + +Saturnalia at puberty of a princess royal, i. 30 _sq._; + license of the, ii. 291 _n._ 2 + +Saucers, divination by seven, i. 209 + +Savage, secretiveness of the, ii. 224 _sq._; + dread of sorcery, 224 _sq._ + +Saxo Grammaticus, Danish historian, i. 102 _n._ 1; + his account of Balder, 103 + +Saxons of Transylvania, story of the external soul among the, ii. 116 + +Saxony, fires to burn the witches in, i. 160; + the Wends of, ii. 297 + +----, Lower, the need-fire in, i. 272 + +Scania, Midsummer fires in, i. 172 + +Schaffhausen, St. John's three Midsummer victims at, ii. 27 + +Schar mountains of Servia, need-fire in the, i. 281 + +_Scharholz_, Midsummer log in Germany, ii. 92 _n._ 1 + +Schaumburg, Easter bonfires in, i. 142 + +Schlegel, G., on Chinese festival of fire, ii. 5 _n._ 1 + +Schlich, W., on mistletoe, ii. 315 _sq._; + on _Loranthus europaeus_, 317 + +Schlochau, district of, witches' Sabbath in, ii. 74 + +Schöllbronn in Baden, "thunder poles" at, i. 145 + +Schoolcraft, Henry R., on renewal of fire, i. 134 _n._ 1 + +Schürmann, C. W., on the Port Lincoln tribe of South Australia, ii. 216 + _sq._ + +_Schvannes_, bonfires, i. 111 _n._ 1 + +Schweina, in Thuringia, Christmas bonfire at, i. 265 _sq._ + +Schwenda, witches burnt at, i. 6 + +Science, movement of thought from magic through religion to, ii. 304 + _sq._; + and magic, different views of natural order postulated by the two, 305 + _sq._ + +Scira, an Athenian festival, i. 20 _n._ 1 + +"Scoring above the breath," cutting a witch on the forehead, i. 315 _n._ + 2; + counter-spell to witchcraft, 343 _n._ + +Scotch Highlanders, their belief in bogies at Hallowe'en, i. 227; + their belief as to Snake Stones, ii. 311 + +Scotland, sacred wells in, i. 12; + Celts called "thunder-bolts" in, 14 _sq._; + Snake Stones in, 15 _sq._, ii. 311; + worship of Grannus in, i. 112; + Beltane fires in, 146 _sqq._; + Midsummer fires in, 206 _sq._; + divination at Hallowe'en in, 229, 234 _sqq._; + need-fire in, 289 _sqq._; + animals burnt alive as a sacrifice in, 302; + "scoring above the breath," a counter-charm for witchcraft in, 315 _n._ + 2; + witches as hares in, 315 _n._ 1; + St. John's wort in, ii. 54; + the divining-rod in, 67. + _See also_ Highlands _and_ Highlanders + +Scots pine, mistletoe on, ii. 315 + +Scott, Sir Walter, on the fear of witchcraft, i. 343; + oaks planted by, ii. 166 + +Scourging girls at puberty, i. 66 _sq._ + +_Scouvion_, i. 108. + _See_ _Escouvion_ + +Scratching the person with the fingers forbidden to girls at puberty, i. + 38, 39, 41, 42, 44, 47, 50, 53, 92 + +Scrofula, vervain a cure for, ii. 62 _n._ 1; + creeping through an arch of vines as a cure for, 180; + passage through a holed stone a cure for, 187 + +Scylla, daughter of Nisus, the story of her treachery, ii. 103 + +Scythes and bill-hooks set out to cut witches as they fall from the + clouds, i. 345 _sq._ + +Sea, menstruous women not allowed to approach the, i. 79; + bathing in the, at Easter, 123; + bathing in the, at Midsummer, 208, 210, ii. 30; + demands a human victim on Midsummer Day, 26 + +Seal, descendants of the, in Sutherlandshire, ii. 131 _sq._ + +Seats placed for souls of dead at the Midsummer fires, i. 183, 184 + +Seclusion of girls at puberty, i. 22 _sqq._,; + in folk-tales, 70 _sqq._; + reasons for the, 76 _sqq._ + +---- of novices at initiation, ii. 233, 241, 250, 253, 257 _n._ 1, 258, 259, + 261, 264, 266 + +---- of women at menstruation, i. 76 _sqq._ + +Secret language learnt at initiation, ii. 253, 255 _n._ 1, 259, 261 _n._ + +---- societies and totem clans, related to each other, ii. 272 _sq._ + +Secretiveness of the savage, ii. 224 _sq._ + +Sedbury Park oak, in Gloucestershire, ii. 316 + +_Sedum telephium_, orpine, used in divination at Midsummer, ii. 61 + +Seed-corn, charred remains of Midsummer log mixed with the, ii. 92 + +Seeman, Berthold, on St. John's blood, ii. 56 + +Seler, Professor E., on nagual, ii. 213 _n._ + +_Semo_, a secret society of Senegambia, ii. 261 + +Senal Indians of California, their notion as to fire stored in trees, ii. + 295 + +Senegambia, the Walos of, ii. 79; + secret society in, 261 _sq._ + +Sennar, a province of the Sudan, human hyaenas in, i. 313 + +Separation of children from their parents among the Baganda, i. 23 _n._ 2 + +September, eve of the first of, new fire on the, i. 139; + the eighth, feast of the Nativity of the Virgin, 220; + the fire-walk in, ii. 9 + +Serpent, girls at puberty thought to be visited by a, i. 31; + supposed to swallow girl at puberty, 57; + ten-headed, external soul in a, ii. 104 _sq._; + twelve-headed, external soul of demon in a, 143; + external soul of chief in a, 201. + _See also_ Snake + +Serpents burnt alive at the Midsummer festival in Luchon, ii. 38 _sq._, + 43; + witches turn into, 41; + worshipped by the old Prussians, 43 _n._ 3; + in the worship of Demeter, 44 _n._; + the familiars of witches, 202; + spirits of the dead incarnate in, 211 _sq._ + +Serpents' eggs (glass beads) in ancient Gaul, i. 15 + +Servia, Midsummer fire custom in, i. 178; + the Yule log in, 258 _sqq._; + need-fire in, 281, 282 _sqq._ + +Servian stories of the external soul, ii. 110 _sqq._ + +Servians, house-communities of the, i. 259 _n._ 1 + +Setonje, in Servia, need-fire at, i. 282 _sqq._ + +Seven bonfires, lucky to see, i. 107, 108 + +---- leaps over Midsummer fire, i. 213 + +---- sorts of plants gathered at Midsummer, ii. 51 _sq._ + +---- years, a were-wolf for, i. 310 _n._ 1, 316 _n._ 2 + +Sex totems among the natives of South-Eastern Australia, ii. 214 _sqq._; + called "brother" and "sister" by men and women respectively, 215 + +Sexes, danger apprehended from the relation of the, ii. 277 _sq._ + +Seyf el-Mulook and the jinnee, the story of, ii. 137 + +Sgealoir, the burying-ground of, i. 294 + +_Sgreball_, three pence, i. 139 + +Sham-fights at New Year, i. 135 + +Shamans of the Yakuts and Samoyeds keep their external souls in animals, + ii. 196 + +Shamash, the Assyrian sun-god, ii. 80 _n._ 3 + +Shanga, city in East Africa, ii. 314 + +Shawnee prophet, ii. 157 + +Sheaf, the last cut at harvest, the Yule log wrapt up in, i. 248; + reapers blindfold throw sickles at the, ii. 279 _n._ 4 + +Sheaves of wheat or barley burnt in Midsummer fires, i. 215 + +Sheep made to tread embers of extinct Midsummer fires, i. 182; + driven over ashes of Midsummer fires, 192; + burnt to stop disease in the flock, 301; + burnt alive as a sacrifice in the Isle of Man, 306; + witch in shape of a black, 316; + driven through fire, ii. 11 _sqq._; + omens drawn from the intestines of, 13; + passed through a hole in a rock to rid them of disease, 189 _sq._ + +Shells used in ritual of death and resurrection, ii. 267 _n._ 2, 269 + +Sherbro, Sierra Leone, secret society in the, ii. 259 _sqq._ + +Shirley Heath, cleft ash-tree at, ii. 168 + +Shirt, wet, divination by, i. 236, 241 + +Shoe, divination by thrown, i. 236 + +Shoes of boar's skin worn by king at inauguration, i. 4; + magical plants at Midsummer put in, ii. 54, 60, 65 + +Shooting at the sun on Midsummer Day, ii. 291 + +---- at witches in the clouds, i. 345 + +"Shot-a-dead" by fairies, i. 303 + +Shropshire, the Yule log in, i. 257; + fear of witchcraft in, 342 _n._ 4; + the oak thought to bloom on Midsummer Eve in, ii. 292, 293 + +Shrove Tuesday, effigies burnt on, i. 120; + straw-man burnt on, ii. 22; + wicker giants on, 35; + cats burnt alive on, 40; + the divining-rod cut on, 68; + custom of striking a hen dead on, 279 _n._ + +Shuswap Indians of British Columbia, seclusion of girls at puberty among + the, i. 53 _sq._; + girls at puberty forbidden to eat anything that bleeds, 94; + fence themselves with thorn bushes against ghosts, ii. 174 _n._ 2; + personal totems among the, 276 _n._ 1; + their belief as to trees struck by lightning, 297 _n._ 3 + +Siam, king of, not allowed to set foot on ground, i. 3; + tree-spirit in serpent form in, ii. 44 _n._ 1 + +Siamese, their explanation of a first menstruation, i. 24; + their story of the external soul, ii. 102 + +Siberia, marriage custom in, i. 75; + external souls of shamans in, ii. 196 _sq._ + +Sibyl, the Norse, her prophecy, i. 102 _sq._ + +Sibyl's wish, the, i. 99 + +Sicily, Midsummer fires in, i. 210; + St. John's Day (Midsummer Day) regarded as dangerous and unlucky in, ii. + 29; + bathing at Midsummer in, 29; + St. John's wort in, 55 + +Sickness, bonfires a protection against, i. 108, 109; + transferred to animal, ii. 181 + +Sieg, the Yule log in the valley of the, i. 248 + +Siena, the, of the Ivory Coast, their totemism, ii. 220 _n._ 2 + +Sierck, town on the Moselle, i. 164 + +Sierra Leone, birth-trees in, ii. 160; + secret society in, 260 _sq._ + +Sieve, divination by, i. 236 + +Sikkhim, custom after a funeral in, ii. 18 + +Silence compulsory on girls at puberty, i. 29, 57; + in ritual, 123, 124, ii. 63, 67, 171, 184 + +Silesia, Spachendorf in, i. 119; + fires to burn the witches in, 160; + Midsummer fires in, 170 _sq._, 175; + need-fire in, 278; + witches as cats in, 319 _sq._; + divination by flowers on Midsummer Eve in, ii. 53 + +Silius Italicus, on the fire-walk of the Hirpi Sorani, ii. 14 _n._ 3 + +Sill of door, unlucky children passed under the, ii. 190 + +Silver sixpence or button used to shoot witches with, i. 316 + +Silvia and Mars, story of, ii. 102 + +Simeon, prince of Bulgaria, his life bound up with the capital of a + column, ii. 156 _sq._ + +Simla, i. 12 + +Simurgh and Rustem, i. 104 + +Sin-offering, i. 82 + +Singhalese, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 69 + +Singleton, Miss A. H., ii. 192 _n._ 1 + +Siouan tribes of North America, names of clans not used in ordinary + conversation among the, ii. 224 _n._ 2 + +Sioux or Dacotas, ritual of death and resurrection among the, ii. 268 + _sq._ + +Sipi in Northern India, i. 12 + +Sirius, how the Bushmen warm up the star, i. 332 _sq._ + +Sister's Beam (_Sororium tigillum_) at Rome, ii. 194, 195 _n._ 4 + +Sisyphus, the stone of, i. 298 + +Sixpence, silver, witches shot with a, i. 316 + +Sixth day of the moon, mistletoe cut on the, ii. 77 + +Sixty years, cycles of, ii. 77 _n._ 1 + +Skin disease, traditional cure of, in India, ii. 192; + leaping over ashes of fire as remedy for, 2 + +Sky, girls at puberty not allowed to look at the, i. 43, 45, 46, 69 + +Skye, island of, i. 289; + the need-fire in, 148 + +Slane, the hill of, i. 158 + +Slave Coast, custom of widows on the, ii. 18 _sq._; + use of bull-roarers on the, 229 _n._ + +Slavonia, the Yule log in, i. 262 _sq._; + need-fire in, 282 + +Slavonian (South) peasants, the measures they take to bring down witches + from the clouds, i. 345 + +Slavonic peoples, need-fire among, i. 280 _sqq._, 344 + +---- stories of the external soul, ii. 108 _sqq._ + +Slavs, the oak a sacred tree among the, ii. 89; + oak wood used to kindle sacred fires among the, 91 + +----, the South, Midsummer fires among the, i. 178; + the Yule log among the, 247, 258 _sqq._; + divination from flowers at Midsummer among the, ii. 50; + their belief in the activity of witches at Midsummer, 74 _sq._; + need-fire sometimes kindled by the friction of oak-wood among the, 91 + +Sleep, magic, at initiation, ii. 256 _sq._ + +Sligo, the Druids' Hill in County, i. 229 + +Slope of Big Stones in Harris, i. 227 + +Slovenians, their belief in the activity of witches on Midsummer Eve, ii. + 75 + +Smith, a spectral, i. 136 + +Smoke made in imitation of rain-clouds, i. 133; + used to stupefy witches in the clouds, 345; + used to fumigate sheep and cattle, ii. 12, 13 + +---- of bonfires, omens drawn from the, i. 116, 131, 337; + intended to drive away dragons, 161; + allowed to pass over corn, 201, 337 + +---- of Midsummer bonfires a preservative against ills, i. 188; + a protection against disease, 192; + beneficial effects of, 214 _sq._ + +---- of Midsummer herbs a protection against thunder and lightning, ii. 48; + used to fumigate cattle, 53 + +---- of need-fire used to fumigate fruit-trees, nets, and cattle, i. 280 + +Smyth, R. Brough, on menstruous women in Australia, i. 13 + +Snake said to wound a girl at puberty, i. 56; + seven-headed, external soul of witch in a, ii. 144; + external soul of medicine-man in, 199. + _See also_ Serpent + +---- Stones, superstitions as to, i. 15 _sq._; + belief of the Scottish Highlanders concerning, ii. 311 + +Snakes, fat of, i. 14; + thought to congregate on Midsummer Eve or the Eve of May Day, 15 _sq._; + charm against, 17; + spirits of plants and trees in the form of, ii. 44 _n._; + sympathetically related to human beings, 209 _sq._ + +Snow, external soul of a king in, ii. 102 + +Societies, secret, and clans, totemic, related to each other, ii. 272 + _sq._ + +Sodewa Bai and the golden necklace, story of, ii. 99 _sq._ + +Soemara, in Celebes, were-wolf at, i. 312 + +Sofala in East Africa, i. 135 _n._ 2 + +Sogamoso, heir to the throne of, not allowed to see the sun, i. 19 + +Sogne Fiord in Norway, Balder's Grove on the, i. 104, ii. 315 + +Solar festival in spring, ii. 3 + +---- theory of the fires of the fire-festivals, i. 329, 331 _sqq._, ii. 15 + _sq._, 72 + +Solstice, the summer, new fire kindled at the, i. 132, 133; + its importance for primitive man, 160 _sq._ + +----, the winter, celebrated as the Birthday of the Sun, i. 246; + Persian festival of fire at the, 269 + +Solstices, the old pagan festivals of the two, consecrated as the + birthdays of Christ and St. John the Baptist, i. 181 _sq._; + festivals of fire at the, 246, 247, 331 _sq._; + fern-seed gathered at the, ii. 290 _sq._; + mistletoe gathered at the, 291 _sq._ + +Solstitial fires perhaps sun-charms, ii. 292 + +Soma, Hindoo deity, i. 99 _n._ 2 + +Somme, the river, i. 113; + the department of, mugwort at Midsummer in, ii. 58 + +Somersetshire, Midsummer fires in, i. 199 + +Sonnerat, French traveller, on the fire-walk in India, ii. 6 _sqq._ + +Soosoos of Senegambia, their secret society, ii. 261 _sq._ + +Soracte, fire-walk of the Hirpi Sorani on Mount, ii. 14 _sq._; + the Soranian Wolves at, 91 _n._ 7 + +"Soranian Wolves" (_Hirpi Sorani_), ii. 14; + at Soracte, 91 _n._ 1 + +Soranus, Italian god, ii. 14, 15 _n._ 1, 16 + +Sorcerers, Midsummer herbs a protection against, ii. 45; + detected by St. John's wort, 55; + detected by fern root, 67 + +Sorcery, pointing sticks or bones in, i. 14; + bonfires a protection against, 156; + sprigs of mullein protect cattle against, 190; + mistletoe a protection against, ii. 85; + savage dread of, 224 _sq._ + _See also_ Witchcraft + +---- and witchcraft, Midsummer plants and flowers a protection against, ii. + 45, 46, 49, 54, 55, 59, 60, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 72 + +Sorcha, the King of, in a Celtic tale, ii. 127 _sq._ + +Soul, the notion of, a quasi-scientific hypothesis, ii. 221; + the unity and indivisibility of the, a theological dogma, 221 + +---- of chief in sacred grove, ii. 161 + +Soul of child deposited in a coco-nut, ii. 154 _sq._; + deposited in a bag, 155; + bound up with knife, 157 + +---- of iron, ii. 154 + +---- of ruptured person passes into cleft oak-tree, ii. 172 + +---- of woman at childbirth deposited in a chopping-knife, ii. 153 _sq._ + +---- the external, in folk-tales, ii. 95 _sqq._; + in parrot, 97 _sq._; + in bird, 98 _sq._; + in necklace, 99 _sq._; + in a fish, 99 _sq._, 122 _sq._; + in cock, pigeon, starling, spinning-wheel, pillar, 100 _sq._; + in a bee, 101; + in a lemon, 102; + in a tree, 102; + in a barley plant, 102; + in a box, 102, 117, 143 _n._ 4, 149; + in a firebrand, 103; + in hair, 103 _sq._; + in snow, 103 _sq._; + in two or three doves, 104; + in a ten-headed serpent, 104 _sq._; + in a pumpkin, 105; + in a spear, 105; + in a dragon, 105; + in a gem, 105 _sq._; + in an egg, 107, 125, 127, 140 _sq._; + in a duck's egg, 109 _sq._, 115 _sq._, 116, 119 _sq._, 120, 126, 130, + 132; + in a blue rose-tree, 110; + in a bird, 111, 119, 142, 150; + in a pigeon, 112 _sq._; + in a light, 116; + in a flower, 117 _sq._; + in grain of sand, 120; + in a stone, 125 _n._ 1, 156; + in a thorn, 129; + in a gem, 130; + in a pigeon's egg, 132, 139; + in a dove's egg, 133; + in a box-tree, 133; + in the flower of the acacia, 135 _sq._; + in a sparrow, 137; + in a beetle, 138, 140; + in a bottle, 138; + in a golden cock-chafer, 140; + in a dish, 141 _sq._; + in a precious stone, 142; + in a bag, 142; + in a white herb, 143; + in a wasp, 143 _sq._; + in a twelve-headed serpent, 143; + in a golden ring, 143; + in seven little birds, 144; + in a seven-headed snake, 144; + in a quail, 144 _sq._; + in a vase, 145 _sq._; + in a golden sword and a golden arrow, 145; + in entrails, 147 _sq._; + in a golden fish, 147 _sq._, 220; + in a hair as hard as copper, 148; + in a cat, 150 _sq._; + in a bear, 151; + in a buffalo, 151; + in inanimate things, 153 _sqq._; + in a hemlock branch, 152; + in folk-custom, 153 _sqq._; + in a mountain scaur, 156; + in ox-horns, 156; + in roof of house, 156; + in a tree, 156; + in a spring of water, 156; + in capital of column, 156 _sq._; + in a portrait statue, 157; + in plants, 159 _sqq._; + in animals, 196 _sqq._; + of shaman or medicine-man in animal, 196, 199; + kept in totem, 220 _sqq._ + +---- -boxes, amulets as, ii. 155 + +---- -stones, ii. 156 + +---- -stuff of ghosts, ii. 182 + +Soulless King, whose soul was in a duck's egg, Lithuanian story of the, + ii. 113 _sqq._ + +Souls of dead sit round the Midsummer fire, i. 183, 184; + of people at a house-warming collected in a bag, ii. 153; + male and female, in Chinese philosophy, 221; + the plurality of, 221 _sq._; + human, transmigrate into their totemic animals, 223 + +Sow, the cropped black, at Hallowe'en, i. 239, 240 + +Sower, the Wicked, driving away, i. 107, 118 + +Sowerby, James, on mouse-ear hawk-weed, ii. 57; + on orpine, 61 _n._ 4; + on yellow hoary mullein, 64; + on the Golden Bough, 284 _n._ 3; + on mistletoe, 316 _n._ 5 + +Sowing hemp seed, divination by, i. 235 + +Spachendorf, in Silesia, effigy burnt at, i. 119 + +Spae-wives and Gestr, Icelandic story of the, ii. 125 _sq._ + +Spain, Midsummer fires and customs in, i. 208; + bathing at Midsummer in, ii. 29; + vervain gathered at Midsummer in, 62 + +Spark Sunday in Switzerland, i. 118 + +Sparks of Yule log prognosticate chickens, lambs, foals, calves, etc., i. + 251, 262, 263, 264 + +Sparrow, external soul of a jinnee in a, ii. 137 + +Spear used to help women in hard labour, i. 14; + external soul in a, ii. 105 + +Speicher, in the Eifel, St. John's fires at, i. 169 + +Spell recited at kindling need-fire, i. 290; + of witchcraft broken by suffering, 304 + +Spells cast on cattle, i. 301, 302; + cast by witches on union of man and wife, 346 + +Spencer (B.) and Gillen (F. J.) on initiation of medicine-man, ii. 238 + +Spinning-wheel, external soul of ogress in a, ii. 100 + +Spirit or god of vegetation, effigies of, burnt in spring, ii. 21 _sq._; + reasons for burning, 23; + leaf-clad representative of, burnt, 25 + +Spirits of the hills, their treasures, ii. 69 + +---- of plants and trees in the form of snakes, ii. 44 _n._ 1 + +---- of water propitiated at Midsummer, ii. 31 + +Spree, the river, requires its human victim on Midsummer Day, ii. 26 + +Spreewald, the Wends of the, ii. 48 + +Sprenger, the inquisitor, ii. 158 + +Spring of water, external soul in a, ii. 156 + +Springs, underground, detected by divining-rod, ii. 67 _sq._ + +Springwort, mythical plant, procured at Midsummer, ii. 69 _sqq._; + reveals treasures, opens all locks, and makes the bearer invisible and + invulnerable, 69 _sq._ + +Sproat, G. M., on seclusion of girls at puberty, i. 43 _sq._ + +Spruce trees free from mistletoe, ii. 315 + +Squeals of pigs necessary for fruitfulness of mangoes, i. 9 + +Squirrels burnt in the Easter bonfires, i. 142, ii. 40 + +Stabbing a transformed witch or werewolf in order to compel him or her to + reveal himself or herself, i. 315 + +Staffordshire, the Yule log in, i. 256 + +Stamfordham, in Northumberland, need-fire at, i. 288 _sq._ + +Starling, external soul of ogress in a, ii. 100 + +Stebbing, E. B., on _Loranthus vestitus_ in India, ii. 317 _n._ 2 + +Steinen, Professor K. von den, on the bull-roarer, ii. 233 _n._ 2 + +_Stelis_, a kind of mistletoe, ii. 317, 318 + +Sterile beasts passed through Midsummer fires, i. 203, 338 + +Sternberg, in Mecklenburg, need-fire at, i. 274 + +Stewart, Jonet, a wise woman, ii. 184 + +Stewart, W. Grant, on witchcraft, i. 342 _n._ 4 + +Stheni, near Delphi, ii. 317 + +Sticks, charred, of bonfires, protect fields against hail, i. 144 + +----, charred, of Candlemas bonfires, superstitious uses of, i. 131 + +----, charred, of Easter fire, superstitious uses of, i. 121; + preserve wheat from blight and mildew, 143 + +----, charred, of Midsummer bonfires, planted in the fields, i. 165, 166, + 173, 174; + a charm against lightning and foul weather, 174; + kept to make the cattle thrive, 180; + thrown into wells to improve the water, 184; + a protection against thunder, 184, 192; + a protection against lightning, 187, 188, 190 + +----, sacred, whittled, i. 138 _n._ 1 + +Stiffness of back set down to witchcraft, i. 343 _n._, 345 + +Stinging girls and young men with ants, i. 61, 62 _sq._ + +---- with ants as a form of purification, i. 61 _sqq._ + +_Stipiturus malachurus_, emu-wren, men's "brother" among the Kurnai, ii. + 216 + +Stolen kail, divination by, i. 234 _sq._ + +Stone, look of a girl at puberty thought to turn things to, i. 46; + the Hairy, at Midsummer, 212; + external soul in a, ii. 125 _n._ 1, 156; + precious, external soul of khan in a, 142; + magical, put into body of novice at initiation, 271 + +Stones thrown into Midsummer fire, i. 183, 191, 212; + placed round Midsummer fires, 190; + carried by persons on their heads at Midsummer, 205, 212; + at Hallowe'en fires, divination by, 230 _sq._, 239, 240; + used for curing cattle, 324, 325; + sick people passed through holes in, ii. 186 _sqq._; + magical, inserted by spirits in the body of a new medicine-man, 235 + +Stoole, near Downpatrick, Midsummer ceremony at, i. 205 + +Stow, John, on Midsummer fires in London, i. 196 _sq._ + +Strabo, on the Hirpi Sorani, ii. 14; + on the human sacrifices of the Celts, 32 + +Strackerjan, L., on fear of witchcraft in Oldenburg, i. 343 _n._ + +Strap of wolf's hide used by were-wolves, i. 310 _n._ 1 + +Strathpeffer, in Ross-shire, i. 153 + +Strathspey, sheep passed through a hoop of rowan in, ii. 184 + +Straw tied round trees to make them fruitful, i. 115 + +Streams, menstruous women not allowed to cross running, i. 97; + need-fire kindled between two running, 292 + +Strength of people bound up with their hair, ii. 158 _sq._ + +Striking or throwing blindfold, ii. 279 _n._ 4 + +_Striped Petticoat Philosophy, The_, i. 6. + +Stromberg Hill, burning wheel rolled down the, i. 163 + +Strutt, Joseph, on Midsummer fires in England, i. 196 + +Stseelis Indians of British Columbia, dread and seclusion of menstruous + women among the, i. 89 + +Stuart, Mrs. A., on withered mistletoe, ii. 287 _n._ 1 + +---- Lake in British Columbia, i. 47 + +Stukeley, W., on a Christmas custom at York, ii. 291 _n._ 2 + +Styria, fern-seed on Christmas night in, ii. 289 + +Styx, the passage of Aeneas across the, ii. 294 + +Subincision at initiation of lads in Australia, ii. 227 _sq._, 234, 235 + +Sub-totems in Australia, ii. 275 _n._ 1 + +Sudan, ceremony of new fire in the, i. 134; + human hyaenas in, 313 + +Sudeten mountains in Silesia, i. 170 + +Suffering, intensity of, a means to break the spell of witchcraft, i. 304 + +Suffolk, belief as to menstruous women in, i. 96 _n._ 2; + duck baked alive as a sacrifice in, 303 _sq._ + +Suk of British East Africa, their dread of menstruous women, i. 81 + +"Sultan of the Oleander," i. 18 + +Sumatra, the Minangkabauers of, i. 79; + the Kooboos of, ii. 162 _n._ 2; + the Looboos of, 182 _sq._; + totemism among the Battas of, 222 _sqq._; + use of bull-roarers in, 229 _n._ + +Summer, King of, chosen on St. Peter's Day, i. 195 + +Sun, rule not to see the, i. 18 _sqq._; + priest of the, uses a white umbrella, 20 _n._ 1; + not to shine on girls at puberty, 22, 35, 36, 37, 41, 44, 46, 47, 68; + not to be seen by Brahman boys for three days, 68 _n._ 2; + impregnation of women by the, 74 _sq._; + made to shine on women at marriage, 75; + sheep and lambs sacrificed to the, 132; + temple of the, at Cuzco, 132; + the Birthday of the, at the winter solstice, 246; + Christmas an old heathen festival of the birth of the, 331 _sq._; + symbolized by a wheel, 334 _n._ 1, 335; + in the sign of the lion, ii. 66 _sq._; + magical virtues of plants at Midsummer derived from the, 71 _sq._; + in the sign of Sagittarius, 82; + calls men to himself through death, 173, 174 _n._ 1; + fern-seed procured by shooting at the sun on Midsummer Day, 291; + the ultimate cooling of the, 307 + +Sun-charms, i. 331; + the solstitial and other ceremonial fires perhaps sun-charms, ii. 292 + +---- -god, ii. 1, 16 + +Sundal, in Norway, need-fire in, i. 280 + +Sunday, children born on a Sunday can see treasures in the earth, ii. 288 + _n._ 5 + +---- of the Firebrands, i. 110 + +---- in Lent, the first, fire-festival on the, i. 107 _sqq._ + +Sung-yang, were-tiger in, i. 310 + +Sunless, Prince, i. 21 + +Sunshine, use of fire as a charm to produce, i. 341 _sq._ + +Superb warbler, called women's "sister" among the Kurnai, ii. 215 _n._ 1, + 216, 218 + +Superstitions, Index of, i. 270; + about trees struck by lightning, ii. 296 _sqq._ + +Surenthal in Switzerland, new fire made by friction at Midsummer in the, + i. 169 _sq._ + +Sûrya, the sun-god, ii. 1 + +Sussex, cleft ash-trees used for the cure of rupture in, ii. 169 _sq._ + +Sutherland, the need-fire in, i. 294 _sq._ + +Sutherlandshire, sept of the Mackays, "the descendants of the seal," in, + ii. 131 _sq._ + +Swabia, "burning the witch" in, i. 116; + custom of throwing lighted discs in, 116 _sq._; + Easter fires in, 144 _sq._; + custom at eclipses in, 162 _n._; + the Midsummer fires in, 166 _sq._; + witches as hares and horses in, 318 _sq._; + the divining-rod in, ii. 68 _n._ 4; + fern-seed brought by Satan on Christmas night in, 289 + +Swahili of East Africa, their ceremony of the new fire, i. 133, 140; + birth-trees among the, ii. 160 _sq._; + their story of an African Samson, ii. 314 + +Swallows, stones found in stomachs of, i. 17 + +Swan-woman, Tartar story of the, ii. 144 + +Swan's bone, used by menstruous women to drink out of, i. 48, 49, 50, 90, + 92 + +Swans' song in a fairy tale, ii. 124 + +Swanton, J. R., quoted, i. 45 _n._ 1 + +Sweden, customs observed on Yule Night in, i. 20 _sq._; + Easter bonfires in, 146; + bonfires on the Eve of May Day in, 159, 336; + Midsummer fires in, 172; + the need-fire in, 280; + bathing at Midsummer in, ii. 29; + "Midsummer Brooms" in, 54; + the divining-rod in, 69, 291; + mistletoe to be shot or knocked down with stones in, 82; + mistletoe a remedy for epilepsy in, 83; + medical use of mistletoe in, 84; + mistletoe used as a protection against conflagration in, 85, 293; + mistletoe cut at Midsummer in, 86; + mystic properties ascribed to mistletoe on St. John's Eve in, 86; + Balder's balefires in, 87; + children passed through a cleft oak as a cure for rupture or rickets in, + 170; + crawling through a hoop as a cure in, 184; + superstitions about a parasitic rowan in, 281 + +Switzerland, Lenten fires in, i. 118 _sq._; + new fire kindled by friction of wood in, 169 _sq._; + Midsummer fires in, 172; + the Yule log in, 249; + need-fire in, 279 _sq._, 336; + people warned against bathing at Midsummer in, ii. 27; + the belief in witchcraft in, 42 _n._ 2; + divination by orpine at Midsummer in, 61 + +Sympathetic relation between cleft tree and person who has been passed + through it, ii. 170, 171 _n._ 1, 172; + between man and animal, 272 _sq._ + +Syria, restrictions on menstruous women in, i. 84 + +Syrmia, the Yule log in, i. 262 _sq._ + +Tabari, Arab chronicler, i. 82 + +Taboo conceived as a dangerous physical substance which needs to be + insulated, i. 6 _sq._ + +Tabooed men, i. 7 _sq._ + +---- persons kept from contact with the ground, i. 2 _sqq._ + +---- things kept from contact with the ground, i. 7 _sqq._ + +---- women, i. 8 + +Taboos regulating the lives of divine kings, i. 2; + observed by priest of Earth in Southern Nigeria, 4 + +Tacitus, on human sacrifices offered by the ancient Germans, ii. 28 _n._ + 1; + on the goddess Nerthus, 28 _n._ 1 + +Tahiti, king and queen of, not allowed to set foot on the ground, i. 3; + the fire-walk in, ii. 11 + +Tahitians, the New Year of the, ii. 244 + +Tajan and Landak, districts of Dutch Borneo, i. 5, ii. 164 + +Talbot, P. Amaury, on external human souls in animals, ii. 208 _n._ 1, 209 + _n._ 1 + +_Talegi_, Motlav word for external soul, ii. 198 + +Tales of maidens forbidden to see the sun, i. 70 _sqq._ + +Talismans of cities, i. 83 _n._ 1 + +Talmud, the, on menstruous women, i. 83 + +Tamanaks of the Orinoco, their treatment of girls at puberty, i. 61 _n._ 3 + +_Tamaniu_, external soul in the Mota language, ii. 198 _sq._, 220 + +Tamarisk, Isfendiyar slain with a branch of a, i. 105 + +Tami, the, of German New Guinea, their rites of initiation, ii. 239 _sqq._ + +Tanganyika, Lake, tribes of, i. 24 + +Tanner, John, and the Shawnee sage, ii. 157 + +_Tantad_, Midsummer bonfire, i. 183 + +Taoist treatise on the soul, ii. 221 + +Tapajos, tributary of the Amazon, i. 62 + +Taphos besieged by Amphitryo, ii. 103 + +Tara, new fire in the King's house at, i. 158 + +Tar-barrels, burning, swung round pole at Midsummer, i. 169; + burnt at Midsummer, 180; + procession with lighted, on Christmas Eve, 268 + +Tarbolton, in Ayrshire, annual bonfire at, i. 207 + +Tartar stories of the external soul, ii. 142 _sq._, 144 _sq._ + +Tartars after a funeral leap over fire, ii. 18 + +Tattooing, medicinal use of, i. 98 _n._ 1; + at initiation, ii. 258, 259, 261 _n._ + +Tay, Loch, i. 232 + +Tcheou, dynasty of China, i. 137 + +Teak, _Loranthus_ on, ii. 317 + +Teanlas, Hallowe'en fires in Lancashire, i. 245 + +Teeth filed as preliminary to marriage, i. 68 _n._ 2 + +Tegner, Swedish poet, on the burning of Balder, ii. 87 + +_Tein Econuch_, "forlorn fire," need-fire, i. 292 + +_Tein-eigin_ (_teine-eigin_, _tin-egin_), need-fire, i. 147, 148, 289, + 291, 293 + +_Teine Bheuil_, fire of Beul, need-fire, i. 293 + +Tent burnt at Midsummer, i. 215 + +Termonde in Belgium, Midsummer fires at, i. 194 + +Tessier, on the burning wheel at Konz, i. 164 _n._ 1 + +Tests undergone by girls at puberty, i. 25 + +Teutates, Celtic god, ii. 80 _n._ 3 + +Teutonic stories of the external soul, ii. 116 _sqq._ + +Texas, the Toukaway Indians of, ii. 276 + +_Thahu_, curse or pollution, i. 81 + +Thays of Tonquin, their customs after a burial, ii. 177 _sq._ + +Thebes, in Greece, effigies of Judas burnt at Easter in, i. 130 _sq._ + +Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, his denunciation of a heathen + practice, ii. 190 _sq._ + +Theophrastus on the different kinds of mistletoe, ii. 317 + +Therapia, effigies of Judas burnt at Easter in, i. 131 + +Thief wears a toad's heart to escape detection, i. 302 _n._ 2 + +Thiers, J. B., on the Yule log, i. 250; + on gathering herbs at Midsummer, ii. 45 _n._ 1; + on belief concerning wormwood, 61 _n._ 1 + +Thieves detected by divining-rod, ii. 68 + +Thighs of diseased cattle cut off and hung up as a remedy, i. 296 _n._ 1 + +Thirty years' cycle of the Druids, ii. 77 + +Thlinkeet Indians. _See_ Tlingit + +Thomas, N. W., ii. 210 _n._ 2 + +Thomas the Rhymer, verses ascribed to, ii. 283 _sq._ + +Thompson Indians of British Columbia, seclusion of girls at puberty among + the, i. 49 _sqq._; + their dread of menstruous women, 89 _sq._; + prayer of adolescent girl among the, 98 _n._ 1; + supposed invulnerability of initiated men among the, ii. 275 _sq._; + their ideas as to wood of trees struck by lightning, 297 + +Thomsdorf, in Germany, i. 99 + +Thomson, Basil, ii. 244 _n._ 1, 2 + +Thonga, the, of Delagoa Bay, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. + 29 _sq._; + will not use the wood of trees struck by lightning, ii. 297; + think lightning caused by a bird, 297 _n._ 5 + +Thor, a Norse god, i. 103 + +Thorn, external soul in a, ii. 129; + mistletoe on a, 291 _n._ 3 + +---- bushes used to keep off ghosts, ii. 174 _sq._ + +Thought, the web of, ii. 307 _sq._ + +Threatening fruit-trees, i. 114 + +Three Holy Kings, the divining-rod baptized in the name of the, ii. 68 +---- leaps over bonfire, i. 214, 215 + +Threshold, shavings from the, burnt, ii. 53 + +Thrice to crawl under a bramble as a cure, ii. 180; + to pass through a wreath of woodbine, 184 + +Throwing or striking blindfold, ii. 279 _n._ 4 + +Thrumalun, a mythical being who kills and resuscitates novices at + initiation, ii. 233. + _See also_ Daramulun _and_ Thuremlin + +Thrushes deposit seeds of mistletoe, ii. 316 _n._ 1 + +Thunder associated with the oak, i. 145; + Midsummer fires a protection against, 176; + charred sticks of Midsummer bonfire a protection against, 184, 192; + ashes of Midsummer fires a protection against, 190; + brands from the Midsummer fires a protection against, 191; + certain flowers at Midsummer a protection against, ii. 54, 58, 59; + the sound of bull-roarers thought to imitate, 228 _sqq._ + _See also_ Lightning + +Thunder and lightning, the Yule log a protection against, i. 248, 249, + 250, 252, 253, 254, 258, 264; + bonfires a protection against, 344; + smoke of Midsummer herbs a protection against, ii. 48; + vervain a protection against, 62; + name given to bull-roarers, 231 _sq._ + +---- and the oak, the Aryan god of the, i. 265 + +"---- -besom," name applied to mistletoe and other bushy excrescences on + trees, ii. 85, 301; + a protection against thunderbolts, 85 + +---- -bird, the mythical, i. 44 + +"---- -bolts," name given to celts, i. 14 _sq._ + +"---- -poles," oak sticks charred in Easter bonfires, i. 145 + +Thunderstorms and hail caused by witches, i. 344; + Midsummer flowers a protection against, ii. 48 + +Thuremlin, a mythical being who kills lads at initiation and restores them + to life, ii. 227. + _See also_ Daramulun + +Thuringia, custom at eclipses in, i. 162 _n._; + Midsummer fires in, 169, ii. 40; + Schweina in, i. 265; + belief as to magical properties of the fern in, ii. 66 _sq._ + +Thursday, Maundy, i. 125 _n._ 1 + +Thurso, witches as cats at, i. 317 + +Thurston, E., on the fire-walk, ii. 9 + +Thyme burnt in Midsummer fire, i. 213; + wild, gathered on Midsummer Day, ii. 64 + +Tibet, sixty years' cycle in, ii. 78 _n._ + +Ticunas of the Amazon, ordeal of young men among the, i. 62 _sq._ + +Tiger, a Batta totem, ii. 223 + +Tiger's skin at inauguration of a king, i. 4 + +Timmes of Sierra Leone, their secret society, ii. 260 _n._ 1 + +Tinneh Indians, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 47 _sqq._; + their dread and seclusion of menstruous women, 91 _sqq._ + +Tinnevelly, the Kappiliyans of, i. 69 + +Tipperary, county of, were-wolves in, i. 310 _n._ 1; + woman burnt as a witch in, 323 _sq._ + +Tiree, the need-fire in, i. 148; + the Beltane cake in, 149; + witch as sheep in, 316 + +_Tivor_, god or victim, i. 103 _n._ + +Tiyans of Malabar, their seclusion of girls at puberty, i. 68 _sq._ + +Tlactga or Tlachtga in Ireland, i. 139 + +Tlingit (Thlinkeet) Indians of Alaska, seclusion of girls at puberty among + the, i. 45 _sq._ + +Tlokoala, a secret society of the Nootka Indians, ii. 271 + +Toad, witch in form of a, i. 323 + +---- clan, ii. 273 + +---- -stools thrown into Midsummer bonfires as a charm, i. 172 + +Toad's heart worn by a thief to prevent detection, i. 302 _n._ 2 + +Toads burnt alive in Devonshire, i. 302 + +Toaripi of New Guinea, their rule as to menstruous women, i. 84 + +Tobas, Indian tribe of the Gran Chaco, their custom of secluding girls at + puberty, i. 59 + +Tobelorese of Halmahera, their rites of initiation, ii. 248 + +Toboengkoe, the, of Central Celebes, custom observed by widower among the, + ii. 178 _sq._ + +_Tocandeira_, native name for the _Cryptocerus atratus_, F., ant, i. 62 + +Todas of the Neilgherry Hills, their ceremony of the new fire, i. 136 + +Tokio, the fire-walk at, ii. 9 _sq._ + +Tokoelawi of Central Celebes, custom observed by mourners among the, ii. + 178 + +Tomori, the Gulf of, in Celebes, i. 312 + +Tongue of medicine-man, hole in, ii. 238, 239 + +Tonquin, the Thays of, their burial customs, ii. 177 _sq._ + +_Tonwan_, magical influence of medicine-bag, ii. 268, 269 + +Tooth of novice knocked out at initiation, ii. 227, 235 + +Toradjas of Central Celebes, were-wolves among the, i. 311 _sq._; + their custom at the smelting of iron, ii. 154 + +Torch-races at Easter, i. 142; + at Midsummer, 175 + +Torches interpreted as imitations of lightning, i. 340 _n._ 1 + +----, burning, carried round folds and lands at Midsummer, i. 206; + applied to fruit-trees to fertilize them, 340 + +---- of Demeter, i. 340 + +----, processions with lighted, i. 141, 141 _sq._, 233 _sq._; + through fields, gardens, orchards, and streets, 107 _sq._, 110 _sqq._, + 113 _sqq._, 179, 339 _sq._; + at Midsummer, 179; + on Christmas Eve, 266 + +Torres Straits Islands, seclusion of girls at puberty in the, i. 36 _sq._, + 39 _sqq._; + dread and seclusion of women at menstruation in the, 78 _sq._; + use of bull-roarers in the, ii. 228 _n._ 2, 232 + +Tortoises, external human souls lodged in, ii. 204 + +Torture, judicial, of criminals, witches, and wizards, ii. 158 _sq._ + +Totem, transference of man's soul to his, ii. 219 _n._, 225 _sq._; + supposed effect of killing a, 220; + the receptacle in which a man keeps his external soul, 220 _sqq._; + the individual or personal, 222 _n._ 5, 224 _n._ 1, 226 _n._ 1 + _See also_ Sex totem + +---- animal, artificial, novice at initiation brought back by, ii. 271 + _sq._; + transformation of man into his, 275 + +---- clans and secret societies, related to each other, ii. 272 _sq._ + +---- names kept secret, ii. 225 _n._ + +---- plants among the Fans, ii. 161 + +Totemism, suggested theory of, ii. 218 _sqq._ + +Totems, honorific, of the Carrier Indians, ii. 273 _sqq._; + personal, among the North American Indians, 273, 276 _n._ 1; + multiplex, of the Australians, 275 _n._ 1 + +Touch of menstruous women thought to convey pollution, i. 87, 90 + +Toukaway Indians of Texas, ceremony of mimic wolves among the, ii. 276 + +Toulouse, torture of sorcerers at, ii. 158 + +Touraine, Midsummer fires in, i. 182 + +Train, Joseph, on Beltane fires in Isle of Man, i. 157 + +Transference of a man's soul to his totem, ii. 219 _n._, 225 _sq._ + +Transformation of men into wolves at the full moon, i. 314 _n._ 1; + of witches into animals, 315 _sqq._, ii. 311 _sq._; + of men into animals, 207; + of man into his totem animal, 275 + +Transmigration of soul of ruptured person into cleft oak-tree, ii. 172; + of human souls into totem animals, 223 + +Transylvania, the Roumanians of, i. 13; + story of the external soul among the Saxons of, ii. 116; + belief as to children born on a Sunday in, 288 _n._ 5 + +Travancore, women deemed liable to be attacked by demons in, i. 24 _n._ 2; + the Pulayars of, 69 + +Travexin, in the Vosges, witch as hare at, i. 318 + +Treasures guarded by demons, ii. 65; + found by means of fern-seed, 65, 287; + discovered by divining-rod, 68; + revealed by springwort, 70; + revealed by mistletoe, 287, 291; + bloom in the earth on Midsummer Eve, 288 _n._ 5 + +Trebius, on the springwort, ii. 71 + +Tree burnt in the Midsummer bonfire, i. 173 _sq._, 180, 183; + external soul in a, ii. 102, 156 + +---- -creeper (_Climacteris scandens_), women's "sister" among the Yuin, ii. + 216 + +---- -spirit, effigies of, burnt in bonfires, ii. 21 _sqq._; + human representatives of, put to death, 25; + human representative of the, perhaps originally burnt at the + fire-festivals, 90 + +---- spirits bless women with offspring, ii. 22; + in the form of serpents, 44 _n._ 1 + +Trees, men changed into, by look of menstruous women, i. 79; + burnt in spring fires, 115 _sq._, 116, 142; + burnt in Midsummer fires, 173 _sq._, 185, 192, 193, 209; + burnt at Holi festival in India, ii. 2; + burnt in bonfires, 22; + lives of people bound up with, 159 _sqq._; + hair of children tied to, 165; + the fate of families or individuals bound up with, 165 _sqq._; + creeping through cleft trees as cure for various maladies, 170 _sqq._; + fire thought by savages to be stored like sap in, 295; + struck by lightning, superstitions about, 296 _sqq._ + +---- and plants as life-indices, ii. 160 _sqq._ + +_Tréfoir_, the Yule log, i. 249 + +_Tréfouet_, the Yule log, i. 252 _n._ 2, 253 + +Tregonan, in Cornwall, Midsummer fires on, i. 199 + +Trench cut in ground at Beltane, i. 150, 152 + +Trevelyan, Marie, on Midsummer fires, i. 201; + on Hallowe'en, 226 _n._ 1; + on St. John's wort in Wales, ii. 55 _n._ 2; + on burnt sacrifices in Wales, 301 + +Treves, the archbishop of, i. 118 + +Triangle of reeds, passage of mourners through a, ii. 177 _sq._ + +Trie-Chateau, dolmen near Gisors, ii. 188 + +Trilles, Father H., on the theory of the external soul among the Fans, ii. + 201 + +Trinidad, the fire-walk in, ii. 11 + +Triumphal arch, suggested origin of the, ii. 195 + +Trolls, efforts to keep off the, i. 146; + and evil spirits abroad on Midsummer Eve, 172; + Midsummer flowers a protection against, ii. 54; + rendered powerless by mistletoe, 86, 283, 294 + +True Steel, whose heart was in a bird, ii. 110 _sq._ + +Trumpets sounded at initiation of young men, ii. 249 + +---- penny, at the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin, i. 221, 222 + +Tsetsaut tribe of British Columbia, seclusion of girls at puberty among + the, i. 46 + +Tsimshian girls at puberty, rules observed by, i. 44 _n._ 2 + +Tubuan or Tubuvan, man disguised as cassowary in Duk-duk ceremonies, ii. + 247 + +Tugeri or Kaya-Kaya of Dutch New Guinea, ii. 242; + their use of bull-roarers, 242 _sq._ + +Tui Nkualita, a Fijian chief, founder of the fire-walk, ii. 11 + +_Tulsi_ plant, its miraculous virtue, ii. 5 + +Tummel, the valley of the, i. 231 + +Tunis, New Year fires at, i. 217; + gold sickle and fillet said to be found in, ii. 80 _n._ 3 + +Tunnel, creeping through a, as a remedy for an epidemic, i. 283 _sq._ + +Turf, sick children and cattle passed through holes in, ii. 191 + +Turks of Siberia, marriage custom of the, i. 75 + +Turukhinsk region, Samoyeds of the, ii. 196 + +Tutu, island of Torres Strait, treatment of girls at puberty in, i. 41 + +Twanyirika, a spirit whose voice is heard in the sound of the bull-roarer, + ii. 233 _sq._; + kills and resuscitates lads at initiation, 234 + +Twelfth Day, Eve of, the bonfires of, i. 107; + processions with torches on, 340 + +---- Night, the King of the Bean on, i. 153 _n._ 3; + cake, 184; + the Yule log on, 248, 250, 251; + the divining-rod cut on, ii. 68 + +Twelve Nights, remains of Yule log scattered on fields during the, i. 248; + between Christmas and Epiphany, were-wolves abroad during the, 310 _n._ + 1 + +"Twice born" Brahman, ii. 276 + +Twin brothers in ritual, i. 278 + +---- -producing virtue ascribed to a kind of mistletoe, ii. 79 + +Twins and their afterbirths counted as four children, ii. 162 _n._ 2 + +Twins, father of, i. 24 + +Two Brothers, ancient Egyptian story of the, ii. 134 _sqq._ + +Tyrol, "burning the witch" in the, i. 116; + fires to burn the witches in the, 160; + Midsummer fires in the, 172 _sq._; + magical plants culled on Midsummer Eve in the, ii. 47; + St. John's wort in the, 54; + mountain arnica gathered at Midsummer in the, 58; + use of four-leaved clover in the, 62 _sq._; + dwarf-elder gathered at Midsummer in the, 64; + the divining-rod in the, 68; + mistletoe used to open all locks in the, 85; + belief as to mistletoe growing on a hazel in the, 291 _n._ 3 + +Tyrolese peasants use fern-seed to discover buried gold and to prevent + money from decreasing, ii. 288 + +---- story of a girl who was forbidden to see the sun, i. 72 + +Ualaroi, the, of the Darling River, their belief as to initiation, ii. 233 + +Uaupes of Brazil, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 61 + +Uganda, kings of, not allowed to set foot on ground, i. 3 _sq._; + life of the king of, bound up with barkcloth trees, ii. 160; + passage of sick man through a cleft stick or a narrow opening in, 181 + _sq._; + cure for lightning-stroke in, 298 _n._ 2 + _See also_ Baganda + +Uisnech, in County Meath, great fair at, i. 158 + +Uist, Beltane cakes in, i. 154 + +----, North, need-fire in, i. 293 _sq._ + +----, South, fairies at Hallowe'en in, i. 226; + salt cake at Hallowe'en in, 238 _sq._ + +Uiyumkwi tribe, their treatment of girls at puberty, i. 39 _sq._ + +Ukami, in German East Africa, ii. 313 + +_Ukpong_, external soul in Calabar, ii. 206 + +Ulad Bu Aziz, Arab tribe in Morocco, their Midsummer fires, i. 214 + +Umbrellas in ritual, i. 20 _n._ 1, 31 + +Uncleanness, ceremonial, among the Indians of Costa Rica, i. 65 _n._ 1; + and sanctity not clearly differentiated in the primitive mind, 97 _sq._ + +Uncleanness of women at menstruation, i. 76 _sqq._ + _See also_ Menstruous + +Unguent made from fat of crocodiles and snakes, i. 14 + +Universal healer, name given to mistletoe, ii. 77 + +Unlucky, Midsummer Day regarded as, ii. 29 + +---- children passed through narrow openings, ii. 190 + +Unmasking a were-wolf or witch by wounding him or her, i. 315, 321 + +Unmatjera tribe of Central Australia, their rites of initiation, ii. 234; + initiation of a medicine-man in the, 238 + +Up-helly-a', at Lerwick, i. 269 _n._ + +Uraons. _See_ Oraons + +Urabunna tribe of Central Australia, their rites of initiation, ii. 234 + +_Ustrels_, a species of vampyre in Bulgaria, i. 284 + +Vagney, in the Vosges, Christmas custom at, i. 254 + +Vagueness and inconsistency of primitive thought, ii. 301 _sq._ + +Val di Ledro, effigy burnt in the, at Carnival, i. 120 + +Valais, the canton of, Midsummer fires in, i. 172; + cursing a mist in, 280 + +Valenciennes, Lenten fire-custom at, i. 114 _n._ 4 + +Valentines at bonfires, i. 109 _sq._ + +Vallancey, General Charles, on Hallowe'en customs in Ireland, i. 241 _sq._ + +Vallée des Bagnes, cursing a mist in the, i. 280 + +Vampyres, need-fire kindled as a safeguard against, i. 284 _sqq._, 344 + +Vapour bath, i. 40 + +Var, Midsummer fires in the French department of, i. 193 + +Varro, on the fire-walk of the Hirpi Sorani, ii. 14 _n._ 3 + +Vase, external soul of habitual criminal in a, ii. 145 _sq._ + +Vecoux, in the Vosges, i. 254 + +Vedic hymns, the fire-god Agni in the, ii. 295 _sq._ + +Vegetables at Midsummer, their fertilizing influence on women, ii. 51 + +Vegetation, spirit of, burnt in effigy, ii. 21 _sq._; + reasons for burning, 23; + leaf-clad representative of, burnt, 25 + +---- -spirits, W. Mannhardt's view that the victims burnt by the Druids + represented, ii. 43 + +Velten, C., on an African Balder, ii. 312 _sq._ + +_Verbascum_, mullein, gathered at Midsummer, ii. 63 _sq._; + its relation to the sun, 64 + +_Verbena officinalis_, vervain, gathered at Midsummer, ii. 62 + +Verges, in the Jura, Lenten fire-custom at, i. 114 _sq._ + +Vermin exorcized with torches, i. 340 + +_Versipellis_, a were-wolf, i. 314 _n._ 1 + +Vervain, garlands or chaplets of, at Midsummer, i. 162, 163, 165; + burnt in the Midsummer fires, 195; + used in exorcism, ii. 62 _n._ 4; + a protection against thunder and lightning, sorcerers, demons, and + thieves, 62; + gathered at Midsummer, 62 + +Vespasian family, the oak of the, ii. 168 + +Vesper-bell on Midsummer Eve, ii. 62 + +Vessels, special, used by menstruous women, i. 86, 90; + used by girls at puberty, 93 + +Vesta, sacred fire in the temple of, annually kindled, i. 138; + the fire of, at Rome, fed with oak-wood, ii. 91, 286 + +Vestal Virgins relit the sacred fire of Vesta, i. 138; + their rule of celibacy, 138 _n._ 5 + +Vestini, the ancient, i. 209 + +Veth, P. J., on the Golden Bough, ii. 319 + +Victims, human, claimed by St. John on St. John's Day (Midsummer Day), i. + 27, 29; + claimed by water at Midsummer, ii. 26 _sqq._ + +Victoria, aborigines of, their custom as to emu fat, i. 13; + their dread of women at menstruation, 77 _sq._ + +---- sex totems in, ii. 217 + +Vidovec in Croatia, Midsummer fires at, i. 178 + +Vienne, department of, Midsummer fires in the, i. 191; + the Yule log in, 251 + +_Vilavou_, New Year's Men, name given to newly initiated lads in Fiji, ii. + 244 + +Village surrounded with a ring of fire as a protection against an evil + spirit, i. 282 + +Vimeux, Lenten fires at, i. 113 + +Vintage, omens of, i. 164 + +Vipers sacred to balsam trees in Arabia, ii. 44 _n._ 1 + +Virbius at Nemi interpreted as an oak-spirit, ii. 295 + +Virgil, on the fire-walk of the Hirpi Sorani, ii. 14; + his account of the Golden Bough, 284 _sq._, 286, 293 _sq._, 315 _sqq._ + +Virgin, the, blesses the fruits of the earth, i. 118; + the hair of the Holy, found in ashes of Midsummer fire, 182 _sq._, 191; + feast of the Nativity of the, 220 _sq._; + and child supposed to sit on the Yule log, 253 _sq._ + +Virgins of the Sun at Cuzco, i. 132; + the Vestal, and the sacred fire, 136 + +Virginia, rites of initiation among the Indians of, ii. 266 _sq._ + +Virginity, test of, by blowing up a flame, i. 137 _n._ + +Virility supposed to be lost by contact with menstruous women, i. 81 + +_Viscum album_, common mistletoe, ii. 315 _sqq._; + _Viscum quernum_, 317 + +Visiter, the Christmas, i. 261 _sq._, 263, 264 + +Viti Levu, the largest of the Fijian Islands, ii. 243 + +Vitrolles, bathing at Midsummer in, i. 194 + +Vogel Mountains, i. 118 + +Voigtland, bonfires on Walpurgis Night in, i. 160; + tree and person thrown into water on St. John's Day in, ii. 27 _sq._; + divination by flowers on Midsummer Eve in, 53; + mountain arnica gathered at Midsummer in, 57 _sq._; + wild thyme gathered at Midsummer in, 64; + precautions against witches in, 73 _sq._ + +Volga, the Cheremiss of the, i. 181 + +Volksmarsen in Hesse, Easter fires at, i. 140 + +_Voluspa_, the Sibyl's prophecy in the, i. 102 _sq._ + +Voralberg, in the Tyrol, "burning the witch" at, i. 116 + +Vorges, near Laon, Midsummer fires at, i. 187 + +Vosges, Midsummer fires in the, i. 188, 336; + the Yule log in the, 254; + cats burnt alive on Shrove Tuesday in the, ii. 40 + +---- Mountains, Lenten fires in the, i. 109; + witches as hares in the, 318; + magic herbs culled on Eve of St. John in the, ii. 47 + +_Vrid-eld_, need-fire, i. 280 + +Vultures, lives of persons bound up with those of, ii. 201, 202 + +Wadai, ceremony of the new fire in, i. 134, 140 + +Wadoe, the, of German East Africa, ii. 312 + +Wafiomi, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 28 + +Wagstadt in Silesia, Judas ceremony at, i. 146 _n._ 3 + +Wajagga, the, of German East Africa, birth-plants among the, ii. 160 + +Wakelbura tribe (Australia), dread and seclusion of women at menstruation + in the, i. 78 + +Wakondyo, their custom as to the afterbirth, ii. 162 _sq._ + +Wales, Snake Stones in, i. 15 _sq._; + Beltane fires and cakes in, 155 _sq._; + Midsummer fires in, 200 _sq._; + divination at Hallowe'en in, 229, 240 _sq._; + Hallowe'en fires in, 239 _sq._; + the Yule log in, 258; + burnt sacrifices to stop cattle-disease in, 301; + witches as hares in, 315 _n._ 1; + belief as to witches in, 321 _n._ 2; + bewitched things burnt in, 322; + divination by flowers on Midsummer Eve in, ii. 53; + St. John's wort in, 55; + mistletoe to be shot or knocked down with stones in, 82; + mistletoe cut at Midsummer in, 86; + mistletoe used to make the dairy thrive in, 86; + Beltane fire kindled by the friction of oak-wood in, 91; + mistletoe gathered at Midsummer in, 293 + +Walhalla, i. 101 + +Walking over fire as a rite, ii. 3 _sqq._ + +Walls, fortified, of the ancient Gauls, i. 267 _sq._ + +Walnut, branches of, passed across Midsummer fires and fastened on + cattle-sheds, i. 191 + +Walos of Senegambia, their belief as to a sort of mistletoe, ii. 79 _sq._ + +Walpi, Pueblo Indian village, use of bull-roarers at, ii. 231 + +Walpurgis Day, i. 143 + +---- Night, witches abroad on, i. 159 _sq._; + a witching time, 295; + precautions against witches on, ii. 20 _n._; + witches active on, 73, 74 + +Wangen in Baden, Lenten fire-custom at, i. 117 + +Wanyamwezi, their belief as to wounded crocodiles, ii. 210 _n._ 1 + +Warlock, the invulnerable, stories of, ii. 97 _sqq._ + +Warriors tabooed, i. 5 + +Warwickshire, the Yule log in, i. 257 + +Washamba, the, of German East Africa, their custom at circumcision, ii. + 183 + +Washington State, seclusion of girls at puberty among the Indians of, i. + 43 + +Wasmes, processions with torches at, i. 108 + +Wasp, external soul of enchanter in a, ii. 143 + +Wasps, young men stung with, as an ordeal, i. 63 + +Wassgow mountains, the need-fire in the, i. 271 + +Water from sacred wells, i. 12; + menstruous women not to go near, 77; + consecrated at Easter, 122 _sqq._, 125; + turned to wine at Easter, 124; + improved by charred sticks of Midsummer fires, 184; + at Midsummer, people drenched with, 193 _sq._; + heated in need-fire and sprinkled on cattle, 289; + claims human victims at Midsummer, ii. 26 _sqq._; + supposed to acquire certain marvellous properties at Midsummer, 29 + _sqq._; + haunted and dangerous at Midsummer, 31 + +Water of life, ii. 114 _sq._ + +---- of springs thought to acquire medicinal qualities on Midsummer Eve, i. + 172 + +----, rites of, at Midsummer festival in Morocco, i. 216; + at New Year in Morocco, 218 + +---- spirits, offerings to, at Midsummer, ii. 28 + +Wayanas of French Guiana, ordeals among the, i. 63 _sq._ + +Weariness, magical plants placed in shoes a charm against, ii. 54, 60 + +Weaver, the wicked, of Rotenburg, ii. 289 _sq._ + +Weeks, Rev. John H., on rites of initiation on the Lower Congo, ii. 255 + _n._ 1 + +Weeping of girl at puberty, i. 24, 29 + +Weidenhausen, in Westphalia, the Yule log at, i. 248 + +Wells, sacred, in Scotland, i. 12; + menstruous women kept from, 81, 96 _sq._; + charred sticks of Midsummer fires thrown into, 184; + crowned with flowers at Midsummer, ii. 28 + +----, holy, resorted to on Midsummer Eve in Ireland, i. 205 _sq._ + +----, the Lord of the, ii. 28 + +Welsh cure for whooping-cough, ii. 180, 192 _n._ 1 + +---- name, alleged, for mistletoe, ii. 286 _n._ 3 + _See also_ Wales + +Wends, their faith in Midsummer herbs, ii. 54 + +---- of Saxony, their idea as to wood of trees struck by lightning, ii. 297 + +---- of the Spreewald gather herbs and flowers at Midsummer, ii. 48; + their belief as to the divining-rod, 68 _n._ 4 + +Wensley-dale, the Yule log in, i. 256 + +Were-tigers in China and the East Indies, i. 310 _sq._, 313 _n._ 1 + +---- -wolf, how a man becomes a, i. 310 _n._ 1; + story in Petronius, 313 _sq._ + +---- -wolves compelled to resume their human shape by wounds inflicted on + them, i. 308 _sqq._; + put to death, 311; + and the full moon, 314 _n._ 1; + and witches, parallelism between, 315, 321 + +Werner, Miss Alice, on a soul-box, ii. 156 _n._ 1; + on African Balders, 314 + +Westenberg, J. C., on the Batta theory of souls, ii. 223 _n._ 2 + +Westermarck, Dr. Edward, on New Year rites in Morocco, i. 218; + on Midsummer festival in North Africa, 219; + his theory that the fires of the fire-festivals are purificatory, 329 + _sq._; + on water at Midsummer, ii. 31 + +Westphalia, Easter fires in, i. 140; + the Yule log in, 248; + divination by orpine at Midsummer in, ii. 61; + camomile gathered at Midsummer in, 63; + the Midsummer log of oak in, 92 _n._ 1 + +Wetteren, wicker giants at, ii. 35 + +_Wetterpfähle_, oak sticks charred in Easter bonfires, i. 145 + +Wexford, Midsummer fires in, i. 203 + +Whalton, in Northumberland, Midsummer fires at, i. 198 + +Wheat thrown on the man who brings in the Christmas log, i. 260, 262, 264; + protected against mice by mugwort, ii. 58 _sq._ + +Wheel, fire kindled by the rotation of a, i. 177, 179, 270, 273, 289 + _sq._, 292, 335 _sq._, ii. 91; + as a symbol of the sun, i. 334 _n._ 1, 335; + as a charm against witchcraft, 345 _n._ 3 + +----, burning, rolled down hill, i. 116, 117 _sq._, 119, 141, 143, 161, 162 + _sq._, 163 _sq._, 166, 173, 174, 201, 328, 334, 337 _sq._, + 338; + thrown into the air at Midsummer, 179; + rolled over fields at Midsummer to fertilize them, 191, 340 _sq._; + perhaps intended to burn witches, 345 + +Wherry, Mrs., i. 108 _n._ 2, ii. 36 _n._ 1 + +Whips cracked to drive away witches, ii. 74 + +Whitby, the Yule log at, i. 256 + +White, Rev. G. E., on passing through a ring of red-hot iron, ii. 186; + on passing sheep through a rifted rock, 189 _sq._ + +White birds, ten, external soul in, ii. 142 + +---- bulls sacrificed by Druids at cutting the mistletoe, ii. 77 + +---- chalk, bodies of newly initiated lads coated with, ii. 241 + +---- clay, bodies of novices at initiation smeared with, ii. 255 _n._ 1, 257 + +---- cloth, fern-seed caught in a, i. 65, ii. 291; + springwort caught in a, i. 70; + mistletoe caught in a, ii. 77, 293; + used to catch the Midsummer bloom of the oak, 292, 293 + +---- cock burnt in Midsummer bonfire, ii. 40 + +---- herb, external souls of two brothers in a, ii. 143 + +---- horse, effigy of, carried through Midsummer fire, i. 203 + +---- Sunday, i. 117 _n._ 1 + +Whiteborough, in Cornwall, Midsummer fires on, i. 199 + +Whooping-cough cured by crawling under a bramble, ii. 180; + Bulgarian cure for, 181; + child passed under an ass as a cure for, 192 + +Wicked Sower, driving away the, i. 107, 118 + +Wicken (rowan) tree, a protection against witchcraft, i. 326, 327 _n._ 1 + +Wicker giants at popular festivals in Europe, ii. 33 _sqq._; + burnt in summer bonfires, 38 + +Wiesensteig, in Swabia, witch as horse at, i. 319 + +"Wild fire," the need-fire, i. 272, 273, 277 + +Wilde, Lady, her description of Midsummer fires in Ireland, i. 204 _sq._ + +Wilken, G. A., on the external soul, ii. 96 _n._ 1 + +Wilkes, Charles, on seclusion of girls at puberty, i. 43 + +Will-fire, or need-fire, i. 288, 297 + +Willow, mistletoe growing on, ii. 79, 315, 316; + children passed through a cleft willow-tree as a cure, 170; + crawling through a hoop of willow branches as a cure, 184; + crawling under the root of a willow as a cure, 181; + Orpheus and the, 294 + +Wimmer, F., on the various sorts of mistletoe known to the ancients, ii. + 318 + +Winamwanga, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 24 _sq._; + their custom as to lightning-kindled fire, ii. 297 _sq._ + +Wind, bull-roarers sounded to raise a, ii. 232 + +Window, magic flowers to be passed through the, ii. 52 + +Wine thought to be spoiled by menstruous women, i. 96 + +Winenthal in Switzerland, new fire made by friction at Midsummer in the, + i. 169 _sq._ + +Winnebagoes, ritual of death and resurrection among the, ii. 268 + +Winnowing-basket, divination by, i. 236 + +Winter solstice, Persian festival of fire at the, i. 269 + +"Winter's Grandmother," burning the, i. 116 + +Winterbottom, Thomas, on a secret society of Sierra Leone, ii. 260 + +Wintun Indians of California, seclusion of girls among the, i. 42 _sq._ + +Witch, burning the, i. 116, 118 _sq._; + effigy of, burnt in bonfire, 159; + compelled to appear by burning an animal or part of an animal which she + has bewitched, 303, 305, 307 _sq._, 321 _sq._; + in form of a toad, 323. + _See also_ Witches + +Witch, MacCrauford, the great arch, i. 293 + +"---- -shot," a sudden stiffness in the back, i. 343 _n._, 345 + +Witch's herb, St. John's wort, ii. 56 _n._ 1 + +"---- nest," a tangle of birch-branches, ii. 185 + +Witchcraft, bonfires a protection against, i. 108, 109; + holy water a protection against, 123; + cattle driven through Midsummer fire as a protection against, 175; + burs and mugwort a preservative against, 177, ii. 59 _sq._; + Midsummer fires a protection against, i. 185, 188; + a broom a protection against, 210; + need-fire kindled to counteract, 280, 292 _sq._, 293, 295; + in Devonshire, 302; + great dread of, in Europe, 340; + the fire-festivals regarded as a protection against, 342; + stiffness in the back attributed to, 343 _n._, 345; + colic and sore eyes attributed to, 344; + a wheel a charm against, 345 _n._; + thought to be the source of almost all calamities, ii. 19 _sq._; + leaping over bonfires as a protection against, 40; + its treatment by the Christian Church, 42; + and sorcery, Midsummer herbs and flowers a protection against, 45, 46, + 49, 54, 55, 59, 60, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 72; + St. John's wort a protection against, 54; + dwarf-elder used to detect, 64; + fern root a protection against, 67; + mistletoe a protection against, 85 _sq._, 282, 283, 294; + fatal to milk and butter, 86; + oak log a protection against, 92; + the rowan a protection against, i. 327 _n._ 1, ii. 184 _n._ 4, 185, 281; + children passed through a ring of yarn as a protection against, 185; + a "witch's nest" (tangle of birch-branches) a protection against, 185. + _See also_ Sorcery + +Witches not allowed to touch the bare ground, i. 5 _sq._; + burnt and beheaded, 6; + effigies of, burnt in bonfires, 107, 116 _sq._, 118 _sq._, 342, ii. 43; + charm to protect fields against, i. 121; + Beltane fires a protection against, 154; + cast spells on cattle, 154; + steal milk from cows, 154, 176, 343, ii. 74; + in the form of hares and cats, i. 157, 315 _n._ 1, 316 _sqq._, 317, 318, + 319 _sq._, ii. 41, 311; + burnt on May Day, i. 157, 159, 160; + fires to burn the witches on the Eve of May Day (Walpurgis Night), 159 + _sq._, ii. 20 _n._; + abroad on Walpurgis Night, i. 159 _sq._; + kept out by crosses, 160 _n._ 1; + driving away the, 160, 170, 171; + resort to the Blocksberg, 171; + Midsummer fires a protection against, 176, 180; + steal milk and butter at Midsummer, 185; + on Midsummer Eve, 210, ii. 19; + active on Hallowe'en and May Day, 19, 73 _sqq._, 184 _n._ 4, 185; + burnt in Hallowe'en fires, i. 232 _sq._; + abroad at Hallowe'en, 226, 245; + the Yule log a protection against, 258; + thought to cause cattle disease, 302 _sq._; + transformed into animals, 315 _sqq._; + as cockchafers, 322; + come to borrow, 322, 323, ii. 73; + cause hail and thunder-storms, i. 344; + brought down from the clouds by shots and smoke, 345 _sq._; + burning missiles hurled at, 345; + burnt or banned by fire, ii. 19 _sq._; + gather noxious plants on Midsummer Eve, 47; + gather St. John's wort on St. John's Eve, 56; + purple loosestrife a protection against, 65; + tortured in India, 159; + animal familiars of, 202. + _See also_ "Burning the Witches" + +Witches at Ipswich, i. 304 _sq._ + +---- and hares in Yorkshire, ii. 197 + +---- and were-wolves, parallelism between, i. 315. 321 + +---- and wizards thought to keep their strength in their hair, ii. 158 + _sq._; + put to death by the Aztecs, 159 + +---- and wolves the two great foes dreaded by herdsmen in Europe, i. 343 + +"----, Burning the," a popular name for the fires of the festivals, ii. 43 + +Witches' Sabbath on the Eve of May Day and Midsummer Eve, i. 171 _n._ 3, + 181, ii. 73, 74 + +"Withershins," against the sun, in curses and excommunication, i. 234 + +Witurna, a spirit whose voice is heard in the sound of the bull-roarer, + ii. 234 + +Wizards gather baleful herbs on the Eve of St. John, ii. 47; + gather purple loosestrife at Midsummer, 65; + animal familiars of, 196 _sq._, 201 _sq._ + +Woden, Odin, or Othin, the father of Balder, i. 101, 102, 103 _n._ 1 + +Wolf, Brotherhood of the Green, at Jumièges in Normandy, i. 185 _sq._, ii. + 15 _n._, 25 + +---- clan in North-Western America, ii. 270, 271, 272 _n._ 1 + +---- masks worn by members of a Wolf secret society, ii. 270 _sq._ + +---- society among the Nootka Indians, rite of initiation into the, ii. 270 + _sq._ + +Wolf's hide, strap of, used by were-wolves, i. 310_ n._ 1 + +Wolfeck, in Austria, leaf-clad mummer on Midsummer Day at, ii. 25 _sq._ + +Wolfenbüttel, need-fire near, i. 277 + +Wolves and witches, the two great foes dreaded by herdsmen in Europe, i. + 343 + +Woman burnt alive as a witch in Ireland in 1895, i. 323 _sq._ + +Women in hard labour, charm to help, i. 14; + after childbirth tabooed, 20; + who do not menstruate supposed to make gardens barren, 24; + impregnated by the sun, 74 _sq._; + impregnated by the moon, 75 _sq._; + at menstruation painted red, 78; + leap over Midsummer bonfires to ensure an easy delivery, 194, 339; + fertilized by tree-spirits, ii. 22; + barren, hope to conceive through fertilizing influence of vegetables, + 51; + creep through a rifted rock to obtain an easy delivery, 189; + not allowed to see bull-roarers, 234, 235, 242. + _See also_ Menstruous women + +Wonghi or Wonghibon tribe of New South Wales, ritual of death and + resurrection at initiation among the, ii. 227 + +Wood, the King of the, at Nemi, i. 2, 285, 286, 295, 302, 309 + +Woodbine, sick children passed through a wreath of, ii. 184 + +Woodpecker brings the mythical springwort, ii. 70 _sq._ + +Wootton-Wawen, in Warwickshire, the Yule log at, i. 257 + +"Working for need-fire," a proverb, i. 287 _sq._ + +Worms, popular cure for, i. 17 + +Wormwood (_Artemisia absinthium_), ii. 58 _n._ 3; + burnt to stupefy witches, i. 345; + superstitions concerning, ii. 61_ n._ 1 + +Worship of ancestors in Fiji, ii. 243 _sq._; + of the oak explained by the frequency with which oaks are struck by + lightning, 298 _sqq._ + +Worth, R. N., on burnt sacrifices in Devonshire, i. 302 + +Worthen, in Shropshire, the Yule log at, i. 257 + +Wotjobaluk, of South-Eastern Australia, sex totems among the, ii. 215 + _sq._ + +Wounding were-wolves in order to compel them to resume their human shape, + i. 308 _sqq._ + +Wounds, St. John's wort a balm for, ii. 55 + +Wreath of woodbine, sick children passed through a, ii. 184 + +Wreaths of flowers thrown across the Midsummer fires, i. 174; + superstitious uses made of the singed wreaths, 174; + hung over doors and windows at Midsummer, 201 + +Wurtemberg, Midsummer fires in, i. 166; + leaf-clad mummer at Midsummer in, ii. 26 + +Würzburg, Midsummer fires at, i. 165 + +Yabim, the, of New Guinea, girls at puberty secluded among the, i. 35; + use of bull-roarers among the, ii. 232; + rites of initiation among the, 239 _sqq._ + +Yaguas, Indians of the Amazon, girls at puberty secluded among the, i. 59 + +Yakut shamans keep their external souls in animals, ii. 196 + +Yakuts leap over fire after a burial, ii. 18 + +Yam, island of Torres Strait, treatment of girls at puberty in, i. 41 + +Yap, seclusion of girls at puberty in the island of, i. 36 + +Yaraikanna, the, of Northern Queensland, seclusion of girls at puberty + among the, i. 37 _sq._ + +Yarn, divination by, i. 235, 240, 241, 243; + sick children passed through a ring of, ii. 185 + +Yarra river in Victoria, i. 92 _n._ 1 + +Year called a fire, i. 137 + +Yellow Day of Beltane, i. 293 + +---- snow, the year of the, i. 294 + +Yibai, tribal subdivision of the Coast Murring tribe, ii. 236 + +Yoke, purification by passing under a, ii. 193 _sqq._; + ancient Italian practice of passing conquered enemies under a, 93 _sq._ + +York, custom formerly observed at Christmas in the cathedral at, ii. 291 + _n._ 2 + +Yorkshire, belief as to menstruous women in, i. 96 _n._ 2; + Beal-fires on Midsummer Eve in, 198; + the Yule log in, 256 _sq._; + need-fire in, 286 _sqq._; + witch as hare in, 317, ii. 197 + +Yoruba-speaking negroes of the Slave Coast, use of bull-roarers among the, + ii. 229 _n._ + +Young, Hugh W., on the rampart of Burghead, i. 268 _n._ 1 + +Young, Issobell, buries ox and cat alive, i. 325 + +Ypres, wicker giants at, ii. 35 + +Yucatan, fire-walk among the Indians of, ii. 13 _sq._, 16 + +Yuin, the, of South-Eastern Australia, their sex totems, ii. 216; + totem names kept secret among, 225 _n._ + +Yukon, the Lower, i. 55 + +Yule cake, i. 257, 259, 261 + +---- candle, i. 255, 256, 260 + +---- log, i. 247 _sqq._; + in Germany, 247 _sqq._; + made of oak-wood, 248, 250, 251, 257, 258, 259, 260, 263, 264 _sq._, ii. + 92; + a protection against conflagration, i. 248 _sq._, 250, 255, 256, 258; + a protection against thunder and lightning, 248, 249, 250, 252, 253, + 254, 258, 264; + in Switzerland, 249; + in Belgium, 249; + in France, 249 _sqq._; + helps cows to calve, 250, 338; + in England, 255 _sq._; + in Wales, 258; + among the Servians, 258 _sqq._; + a protection against witches, 258; + in Albania, 264; + privacy of the ceremonial of the, 328; + explained as a sun-charm, 332; + made of fir, beech, holly, yew, crab-tree, or olive, ii. 92 _n._ 2 + +Yule Night in Sweden, customs observed on, i. 20 _sq._ + +Yuracares of Bolivia, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 57 _sq._ + +_Zadrooga,_ Servian house-community, i. 259 + +Zambesi, the Barotse of the, i. 28 + +Zapotecs, supreme pontiff of the, not allowed to set foot on ground, i. 2; + the sun not allowed to shine on him, i. 19; + their belief that their lives were bound up with those of animals, ii. + 212 + +Zemmur, the, of Morocco, their Midsummer custom, i. 215 + +Zerdusht and Isfendiyar, i. 104 + +Zeus and his sacred oak at Dodona, ii. 49 _sq._; + wood of white poplar used at Olympia in sacrificing to, 90 _n._ 1, 91 + _n._ 7 + +---- and Danae, i. 74 + +---- and Hephaestus, i. 136 + +Zimbales, a province of the Philippines, superstition as to a parasitic + plant in, ii. 282 _n._ 1 + +Zoroaster, on the uncleanness of women + at menstruation, i. 95 + +Zoznegg, in Baden, Easter fires at, i. 145 + +Zulus, seclusion of girls at puberty among the, i. 22, 30; + fumigate their gardens with medicated smoke, 337; + their custom of fumigating sick cattle, ii. 13; + their belief as to ancestral spirits incarnate in serpents, 211 + +Zülz, in Silesia, Midsummer fires at, i. 170 + +Zuñi Indians of New Mexico, their new fires at the solstices, i. 132 + _sq._; + use of bull-roarers among the, ii. 230 _n._, 231 + +Zurich, effigies burnt at, i. 120 + + + + + + +FOOTNOTES + + + M1 Bonfires at the Pongol festival in Southern India. + + 1 Ch. E. Gover, "The Pongol Festival in Southern India," _Journal of + the Royal Asiatic Society_, N.S., v. (1870) pp. 96 _sq._ + + M2 Bonfires at the Holi festival in Northern India. The village priest + expected to pass through the fire. Leaping over the ashes of the + fire to get rid of disease. + + 2 W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India_ + (Westminster, 1896), ii. 314 _sqq._; Captain G. R. Hearn, "Passing + through the Fire at Phalon," _Man_, v. (1905) pp. 154 _sq._ On the + custom of walking through fire, or rather over a furnace, see Andrew + Lang, _Modern Mythology_ (London, 1897), pp. 148-175; _id._, in + _Athenaeum_, 26th August and 14th October, 1899; _id._, in + _Folk-lore_, xii. (1901) pp. 452-455; _id._, in _Folk-lore_, xiv. + (1903) pp. 87-89. Mr. Lang was the first to call attention to the + wide prevalence of the rite in many parts of the world. + + 3 Pandit Janardan Joshi, in _North Indian Notes and Queries_, iii. pp. + 92 _sq._, § 199 (September, 1893); W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and + Folk-lore of Northern India_ (Westminster, 1896), ii. 318 _sq._ + + 4 E. T. Atkinson, "Notes on the History of Religion in the Himalayas + of the N.W. Provinces," _Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal_, + liii. Part i. (Calcutta, 1884) p. 60. Compare W. Crooke, _Popular + Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India_ (Westminster, 1896), ii. + 313 _sq._ + + M3 Vernal festival of fire in China. Ceremony to ensure an abundant + year. Walking through the fire. Ashes of the fire mixed with the + fodder of the cattle. + + 5 See above, vol. i. pp. 136 _sq._ + + 6 G. Schlegel, _Uranographie Chinoise_ (The Hague and Leyden, 1875), + pp. 143 _sq._; _id._, "La fête de fouler le feu célébrée en Chine et + par les Chinois à Java," _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, + ix. (1896) pp. 193-195. Compare J. J. M. de Groot, _The Religious + System of China_, vi. (Leyden, 1910) pp. 1292 _sq._ According to + Professor Schlegel, the connexion between this festival and the old + custom of solemnly extinguishing and relighting the fire in spring + is unquestionable. + + M4 Passage of the image of the deity through the fire. Passage of + inspired men through the fire in India. + +_ 7 The Dying God_, p. 262. + + 8 (Sir) H. H. Risley, _Tribes and Castes of Bengal, Ethnographic + Glossary_ (Calcutta, 1891-1892), i. 255 _sq._ Compare W. Crooke, + _Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India_ (Westminster, + 1896), i. 19; _id._, _Tribes and Castes of the North-Western + Provinces and Oudh_ (Calcutta, 1896), ii. 355. According to Sir + Herbert Risley, the trench filled with smouldering ashes is so + narrow (only a span and a quarter wide) "that very little dexterity + would enable a man to walk with his feet on either edge, so as not + to touch the smouldering ashes at the bottom." + + 9 W. Crooke, _Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and + Oudh_, ii. 82. + + 10 M. J. Walhouse, "Passing through the Fire," _Indian Antiquary_, vii. + (1878) pp. 126 _sq._ Compare J. A. Dubois, _Moeurs, Institutions et + Cérémonies des Peuples de l'Inde_ (Paris, 1825), ii. 373; E. + Thurston, _Ethnographic Notes in Southern India_ (Madras, 1906), pp. + 471-486; G. F. D'Penha, in _Indian Antiquary_, xxxi. (1902) p. 392; + "Fire-walking in Ganjam," _Madras Government Museum Bulletin_, vol. + iv. No. 3 (Madras, 1903), pp. 214-216. At Akka timanhully, one of + the many villages which help to make up the town of Bangalore in + Southern India, one woman at least from every house is expected to + walk through the fire at the village festival. Captain J. S. F. + Mackenzie witnessed the ceremony in 1873. A trench, four feet long + by two feet wide, was filled with live embers. The priest walked + through it thrice, and the women afterwards passed through it in + batches. Capt. Mackenzie remarks: "From the description one reads of + walking through fire, I expected something sensational. Nothing + could be more tame than the ceremony we saw performed; in which + there never was nor ever could be the slightest danger to life. Some + young girl, whose soles were tender, might next morning find that + she had a blister, but this would be the extent of harm she could + receive." See Captain J. S. F. Mackenzie, "The Village Feast," + _Indian Antiquary_, iii. (1874) pp. 6-9. But to fall on the hot + embers might result in injuries which would prove fatal, and such an + accident is known to have occurred at a village in Bengal. See H. J. + Stokes, "Walking through Fire," _Indian Antiquary_, ii. (1873) pp. + 190 _sq._ At Afkanbour, five days' march from Delhi, the Arab + traveller Ibn Batutah saw a troop of fakirs dancing and even rolling + on the glowing embers of a wood fire. See _Voyages d'Ibn Batoutah_ + (Paris, 1853-1858), ii. 6 _sq._, iii. 439. + + M5 Hindoo fire-festival in honour of Darma Rajah and Draupadi. + Worshippers walking through the fire. + + 11 Sonnerat, _Voyage aux Indes orientales et à la Chine_ (Paris, 1782), + i. 247 _sq._ + +_ 12 Madras Government Museum, Bulletin_, vol. iv. No. 1 (Madras, 1901), + pp. 55-59; E. Thurston, _Ethnographic Notes in Southern India_ + (Madras, 1906), pp. 471-474. One of the places where the + fire-festival in honour of Draupadi takes place annually is the + Allandur Temple, at St. Thomas's Mount, near Madras. Compare + "Fire-walking Ceremony at the Dharmaraja Festival," _The Quarterly + Journal of the Mythic Society_, vol. ii. No. 1 (October, 1910), pp. + 29-32. + + M6 Fire-festival of the Badagas in Southern India. Sacred fire made by + friction. Walking through the fire. Cattle driven over the hot + embers. The fire-walk preceded by a libation of milk and followed by + ploughing and sowing. + + 13 E. Thurston, _Castes and Tribes of Southern India_ (Madras, 1909), + i. 98 _sq._; _id._, _Ethnographic Notes in Southern India_ (Madras, + 1906), pp. 476 _sq._ + + 14 E. Thurston, _Castes and Tribes of Southern India_ (Madras, 1909), + i. 100 _sq._ + + 15 F. Metz, _The Tribes inhabiting the Neilgherry Hills_, Second + Edition (Mangalore, 1864), p. 55. + + M7 The fire-walk in Japan. + + 16 "A Japanese Fire-walk," _American Anthropologist_, New Series, v. + (1903) pp. 377-380. The ceremony has been described to me by two + eye-witnesses, Mr. Ernest Foxwell of St. John's College, Cambridge, + and Miss E. P. Hughes, formerly Principal of the Teachers' Training + College, Cambridge. Mr. Foxwell examined the feet of the performers + both before and after their passage through the fire and found no + hurt. The heat was so great that the sweat ran down him as he stood + near the bed of glowing charcoal. He cannot explain the immunity of + the performers. He informs me that the American writer Percival + Lowell walked in the fire and was burned so severely that he was + laid up in bed for three weeks; while on the other hand a Scotch + engineer named Hillhouse passed over the hot charcoal unscathed. + Several of Miss Hughes's Japanese pupils also went through the + ordeal with impunity, but one of them burned a toe. Both before and + after walking through the fire the people dipped their feet in a + white stuff which Miss Hughes was told was salt. Compare W. G. + Aston, _Shinto_ (London, 1905), p. 348: "At the present day plunging + the hand into boiling water, walking barefoot over a bed of live + coals, and climbing a ladder formed of sword-blades set edge upwards + are practised, not by way of ordeal, but to excite the awe and + stimulate the piety of the ignorant spectators." + + M8 The fire-walk in Fiji, Tahiti, the Marquesas Islands, and Trinidad. + + 17 Basil Thomson, _South Sea Yarns_ (Edinburgh and London, 1894), pp. + 195-207. Compare F. Arthur Jackson, "A Fijian Legend of the Origin + of the _Vilavilairevo_ or Fire Ceremony," _Journal of the Polynesian + Society_, vol. iii. No. 2 (June, 1894), pp. 72-75; R. Fulton, "An + Account of the Fiji Fire-walking Ceremony, or _Vilavilairevo_, with + a probable explanation of the mystery," _Transactions and + Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute_, xxxv. (1902) pp. 187-201; + Lieutenant Vernon H. Haggard, in _Folk-lore_, xiv. (1903) pp. 88 + _sq._ + + 18 S. P. Langley, "The Fire-walk Ceremony in Tahiti," _Report of the + Smithsonian Institution for 1901_ (Washington, 1902), pp. 539-544; + _id._, in _Folk-lore_, xiv. (1901) pp. 446-452; "More about + Fire-walking," _Journal of the Polynesian Society_, vol. x. No. 1 + (March, 1901), pp. 53 _sq._ In his _Modern Mythology_ (pp. 162-165) + Andrew Lang quotes from _The Polynesian Society's Journal_, vol. ii. + No. 2, pp. 105-108, an account of the fire-walk by Miss Tenira + Henry, which seems to refer to Raiatea, one of the Tahitian group of + islands. + +_ 19 Annales de l'Association de la Propagation de la Foi_, lxix. (1897) + pp. 130-133. But in the ceremony here described the chief performer + was a native of Huahine, one of the Tahitian group of islands. The + wood burned in the furnace was hibiscus and native chestnut + (_Inocarpus edulis_). Before stepping on the hot stones the + principal performer beat the edge of the furnace twice or thrice + with _ti_ leaves (dracaena). + +_ 20 Les Missions Catholiques_, x. (1878) pp. 141 _sq._; A. Lang, + _Modern Mythology_, p. 167, quoting Mr. Henry R. St. Clair. + + M9 Hottentot custom of driving their sheep through fire and smoke. + + 21 Peter Kolben, _The Present State of the Cape of Good Hope_, Second + Edition (London, 1738), i. 129-133. + + M10 Fire applied to sick cattle by the Nandi and Zulus. + + 22 A. C. Hollis, _The Nandi_ (Oxford, 1909), pp. 45 _sq._ + + 23 Rev. Joseph Shooter, _The Kafirs of Natal_ (London, 1857), p. 35. + + M11 Indians of Yucatan walk over hot embers in order to avert + calamities. + + 24 Diego de Landa, _Relation des choses de Yucatan_ (Paris, 1864), pp. + 231, 233. + + M12 The fire-walk in antiquity, at Castabala in Cappadocia and at Mount + Soracte near Rome. + + 25 Strabo, xii. 2. 7, p. 537. Compare _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second + Edition, pp. 89, 134 _sqq._ + + 26 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ vii. 19; Virgil, _Aen._ xi. 784 _sqq._ with the + comment of Servius; Strabo, v. 2. 9, p. 226; Dionysius + Halicarnasensis, _Antiquit. Rom._ iii. 32. From a reference to the + custom in Silius Italicus (v. 175 _sqq._) it seems that the men + passed thrice through the furnace holding the entrails of the + sacrificial victims in their hands. The learned but sceptical Varro + attributed their immunity in the fire to a drug with which they took + care to anoint the soles of their feet before they planted them in + the furnace. See Varro, cited by Servius, on Virgil, _Aen._ xi. 787. + The whole subject has been treated by W. Mannhardt (_Antike Wald- + und Feldkulte_, Berlin, 1877, pp. 327 _sqq._), who compares the + rites of these "Soranian Wolves" with the ceremonies performed by + the brotherhood of the Green Wolf at Jumièges in Normandy. See + above, vol. i. pp. 185 _sq._ + + 27 L. Preller (_Römische Mythologie_,3 i. 268), following G. Curtius, + would connect the first syllable of Soranus and Soracte with the + Latin _sol_, "sun." However, this etymology appears to be at the + best very doubtful. My friend Prof. J. H. Moulton doubts whether + _Soranus_ can be connected with _sol_; he tells me that the + interchange of _l_ and _r_ is rare. He would rather connect + _Soracte_ with the Greek {~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH DASIA AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER XI~}, "a shrew-mouse." In that case Apollo + Soranus might be the equivalent of the Greek Apollo Smintheus, "the + Mouse Apollo." Professor R. S. Conway also writes to me (11th + November 1902) that _Soranus_ and _Soracte_ "have nothing to do with + _sol_; _r_ and _l_ are not confused in Italic." + + 28 Livy, xxvi. 11. About this time the Carthaginian army encamped only + three miles from Rome, and Hannibal in person, at the head of two + thousand cavalry, rode close up to the walls and leisurely + reconnoitered them. See Livy, xxvi. 10; Polybius, ix. 5-7. + + M13 Little evidence to shew that the fire-walk is a sun-charm. + + 29 Above, p. 1. + + 30 Above, p. 15. + + 31 Above, pp. 13 _sq._ + + M14 On the other hand there is much to be said for the view that the + fire-walk is a form of purification, the flames being thought either + to burn up or repel the powers of evil. Custom of stepping over fire + for the purpose of getting rid of a ghost. Widows fumigated to free + them from their husbands' ghosts. + + 32 Above, p. 8, compare p. 3. + + 33 J. J. M. de Groot, _The Religious System of China_, i. (Leyden, + 1892), p. 355; _id._ vi. (Leyden, 1910) p. 942. + + 34 Rev. J. H. Gray, _China_ (London, 1878), i. 287, 305; J. J. M. de + Groot, _op. cit._ i. 32, vi. 942. + + 35 J. J. M. de Groot, _op. cit._ i. 137, vi. 942. + + 36 J. G. Gmelin, _Reise durch Sibirien_ (Göttingen, 1751-1752), i. 333. + + 37 W. L. Priklonski, "Ueber das Schamenthum bei den Jakuten," in A. + Bastian's _Allerlei aus Volks- und Menschenkunde_ (Berlin, 1888), i. + 219. Compare Vasilij Priklonski, "Todtengebräuche der Jakuten," + _Globus_, lix. (1891) p. 85. + + 38 J. A. H. Louis, _The Gates of Thibet_ (Calcutta, 1894), p. 116. + + 39 E. Allegret, "Les Idées religieuses des Fañ (Afrique Occidentale)," + _Revue de l'Histoire des Religions_, l. (1904) p. 220. + + 40 A. B. Ellis, _The Ewe-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West + Africa_ (London, 1890), p. 160. + + M15 Hence it seems probable that the chief use of the fire in the + fire-festivals of Europe was to destroy or repel the witches, to + whose maleficent arts the people ascribed most of their troubles. + + 41 Above, pp. 162, 163, 211, 212, 214, 215, 217. + + 42 See the references above, vol. i. p. 342 note 2. + + 43 See the references above, vol. i. p. 342 note 3. + + 44 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 52 _sqq._, 127; + _The Scapegoat_, pp. 157 _sqq._ Compare R. Kühnau, _Schlesische + Sagen_ (Berlin, 1910-1913), iii. p. 69, No. 1428: "In the county of + Glatz the people believe that on Walpurgis Night (the Eve of May + Day) the witches under cover of the darkness seek to harm men in all + sorts of ways. To guard themselves against them the people set small + birch trees in front of the house-door on the previous day, and are + of opinion that the witches must count all the leaves on these + little trees before they can get into the house. While they are + still at this laborious task, the day dawns and the dreaded guests + must retire to their own realm"; _id._, iii. p. 39, No. 1394: "On + St. John's Night (between the 23rd and 24th of June) the witches + again busily bestir themselves to force their way into the houses of + men and the stalls of cattle. People stick small twigs of oak in the + windows and doors of the houses and cattle-stalls to keep out the + witches. This is done in the neighbourhood of Patschkau and + generally in the districts of Frankenstein, Münsterberg, Grottkau, + and Neisse. In the same regions they hang garlands, composed of oak + leaves intertwined with flowers, at the windows. The garland must be + woven in the house itself and may not be carried over any threshold; + it must be hung out of the window on a nail, which is inserted + there." Similar evidence might be multiplied almost indefinitely. + + M16 The effigies burnt in the fires probably represent witches. + M17 Possibly some of the effigies burnt in the fires represent + tree-spirits or spirits of vegetation. + +_ 45 The Golden Bough_, Second Edition (London, 1900), ii. 314-316. + +_ 46 The Dying God_, pp. 249 _sqq._ + + 47 Above, vol. i. p. 117, compare pp. 143, 144. + + 48 See above, vol. i. p. 120. + +_ 49 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 56 _sqq._ + + 50 Above, vol. i. pp. 120, 167. + + 51 Above, vol. i. pp. 115 _sq._, 116, 142, 173 _sq._, 185, 191, 192, + 193, 209. + + 52 Above, vol. i. p. 120. + + 53 Above, vol. i. p. 116. But the effigy is called the Witch. + + M18 Reasons for burning effigies of the spirit of vegetation or for + passing them through the fire. + + 54 The chapter has since been expanded into the four volumes of _The + Dying God_, _Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, and _The + Scapegoat_. + +_ 55 The Dying God_, p. 262. + + M19 The custom of passing images of gods or their living representatives + through the fires may be simply a form of purification. + + 56 Above, pp. 9, 10, 14. + + 57 Among the Klings of Southern India the ceremony of walking over a + bed of red-hot ashes is performed by a few chosen individuals, who + are prepared for the rite by a devil-doctor or medicine-man. The + eye-witness who describes the ceremony adds: "As I understood it, + they took on themselves and expiated the sins of the Kling community + for the past year." See the letter of Stephen Ponder, quoted by + Andrew Lang, _Modern Mythology_ (London, 1897), p. 160. + + M20 Yet at some of the fire-festivals the pretence of burning live + persons in the fires points to a former custom of human sacrifice. + +_ 58 The Dying God_, pp. 205 _sqq._; _Spirits of the Corn and of the + Wild_, i. 216 _sqq._ + + 59 Above, vol. i. p. 120. + + 60 Above, vol. i. p. 186. + + 61 Above, vol. i. p. 148. + + 62 Above, vol. i. p. 233. + + 63 Above, vol. i. p. 194. + + 64 W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 524. + +_ 65 Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_ (Munich, + 1860-1867), iii. 956; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 524. In the + neighbourhood of Breitenbrunn the lad who collects fuel at this + season has his face blackened and is called "the Charcoal Man" + (_Bavaria_, etc., ii. 261). + + 66 A. Birlinger, _Volksthümliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau, + 1861-1862), ii. 121 _sq._, § 146; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp. + 524 _sq._ + + M21 In pagan Europe the water as well as the fire seems to have claimed + its human victim on Midsummer Day. Custom of throwing a man and a + tree into the water on St. John's Day. + + 67 E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_ + (Stuttgart, 1852), pp. 428 _sq._, §§ 120, 122; O. Freiherr von + Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Das festliche Jahr_ (Leipsic, 1863), p. 194; + J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch, Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte + Ueberlieferungen im Voigtlande_ (Leipsic, 1867), p. 176; J. V. + Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_ (Prague + and Leipsic, 1864), p. 49, § 311; W. J. A. Tettau und J. D. H. + Temme, _Die Volkssagen Ost-preussens, Litthauens und West-preussens_ + (Berlin, 1837), pp. 277 _sq._; K. Haupt, _Sagenbuch der Lausitz_ + (Leipsic, 1862-1863), i. 48; R. Eisel, _Sagenbuch des Voigtlandes_ + (Gera, 1871), p. 31, Nr. 62. + + 68 Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbräuche und deutscher + Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), p. 34. + + 69 E. Hoffmann-Krayer, _Feste und Bräuche des Schweizervolkes_ (Zurich, + 1913), p. 163. + + 70 E. H. Meyer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), p. 507. + + 71 J. A. E. Köhler, _loc. cit._ Tacitus tells us that the image of the + goddess Nerthus, her vestments, and chariot were washed in a certain + lake, and that immediately afterwards the slaves who ministered to + the goddess were swallowed by the lake (_Germania_, 40). The + statement may perhaps be understood to mean that the slaves were + drowned as a sacrifice to the deity. Certainly we know from Tacitus + (_Germania_, 9 and 39) that the ancient Germans offered human + sacrifices. + + M22 Loaves and flowers thrown into the water on St. John's Day, perhaps + as substitutes for human beings. + + 72 E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_ + (Stuttgart, 1852), p. 429, § 121. + + 73 O. Frh. von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Fest-Kalender aus Böhmen_ + (Prague, N.D.), p. 311. + + 74 Karl Lynker, _Deutsche Sagen und Sitten in hessischen Gauen_2 + (Cassel and Göttingen, 1860), pp. 253, 254, §§ 335, 336. + + M23 Midsummer Day deemed unlucky and dangerous. + + 75 E. H. Meyer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), p. 506. + + 76 Giuseppe Pitrè, _Spettacoli e Feste Popolari Siciliane_ (Palermo, + 1881), p. 313. + + M24 In Europe people used to bathe on Midsummer Eve or Midsummer Day, + because water was thought to acquire wonderful medicinal virtues at + that time. + + 77 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 489 _sq._, iii. 487; A. Wuttke, + _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 77 § 92; O. + Freiherr von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Das festliche Jahr_ (Leipsic, + 1863), p. 193; F. J. Vonbun, _Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_ + (Chur, 1862), p. 133; P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube + in Schlesien_ (Leipsic, 1903-1906), i. 143 § 161; Karl Haupt, + _Sagenbuch der Lausitz_ (Leipsic, 1862-1863), i. 248, No. 303; F. J. + Wiedemann, _Aus dem inneren und äusseren Leben der Ehsten_ (St. + Petersburg, 1876), p. 415; L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ + (London, 1870), pp. 261 _sq._; Paul Sébillot, _Le Folk-lore de + France_ (Paris, 1904-1907), ii. 160 _sq._; T. F. Thiselton Dyer, + _British Popular Customs_ (London, 1876), pp. 322 _sq._, 329 _sq._ + For more evidence, see above, vol. i. pp. 193, 194, 205 _sq._, 208, + 210, 216; _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 204 _sqq._ + + 78 Le Baron de Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels, + 1861-1862), i. 420 _sq._; E. Monseur, _Le Folklore Wallon_ + (Brussels, N.D.), p. 130; P. Sébillot, _Le Folk-lore de France_, ii. + 374 _sq._ + + 79 E. Hoffmann-Krayer, _Feste und Bräuche des Schweizervolkes_ (Zurich, + 1913), p. 163. See above, p. 27. + + M25 Similar customs and beliefs as to water at Midsummer in Morocco. + + 80 E. Westermarck, "Midsummer Customs in Morocco," _Folk-lore_, xvi. + (1905) pp. 31 _sq._; _id._, _Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with + Agriculture, certain Dates of the Solar Year, and the Weather in + Morocco_ (Helsingfors, 1913), pp. 84-86; E. Doutté, _Magie et + Religion dans l'Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers, 1908), pp. 567 _sq._ See + also above, vol. i. p. 216. + + 81 See above, vol. i. pp. 213-219. + + 82 E. Westermarck, _Ceremonies and Beliefs connected with Agriculture, + certain Dates of the Solar Year, and the Weather in Morocco_ + (Helsingfors, 1913), pp. 94 _sq._ + + 83 This has been rightly pointed out by Dr. Edward Westermarck + ("Midsummer Customs in Morocco," _Folk-lore_, xvi. (1905) p. 46). + + M26 Human sacrifices by fire among the ancient Gauls. Men and animals + enclosed in great wicker-work images and burnt alive. + + 84 Caesar, _Bell. Gall._ vi. 15; Strabo, iv. 4. 5, p. 198; Diodorus + Siculus, v. 32. See W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp. 525 _sqq._ + + 85 Strabo, iv. 4. 4, p. 197: {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} + [_i.e._ the Druids] {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ZETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH DASIA AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH PSILI AND PERISPOMENI AND YPOGEGRAMMENI~}, + {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ZETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH DASIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}. On this passage see W. + Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp. 529 _sqq._; and below, pp. 42 _sq._ + + M27 As the fertility of the land was supposed to depend on these + sacrifices, Mannhardt interpreted the victims as representatives of + tree-spirits or spirits of vegetation. + +_ 86 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 80 _sqq._ + + M28 Wicker-work giants at popular festivals in modern Europe. The giant + at Douay on July the seventh. The giants at Dunkirk on Midsummer + Day. + + 87 Madame Clément, _Histoire des fêtes civiles et religieuses du + département du Nord_2 (Cambrai, 1836), pp. 193-200; A. de Nore, + _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de France_, (Paris and + Lyons, 1846), pp. 323 _sq._; F. W. Fairholt, _Gog and Magog, the + Giants in Guildhall, their real and legendary History_ (London, + 1859), pp. 78-87; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 523, note. It is + said that the giantess made her first appearance in 1665, and that + the children were not added to the show till the end of the + seventeenth century. In the eighteenth century the procession took + place on the third Sunday in June, which must always have been + within about a week of Midsummer Day (H. Gaidoz, "Le dieu gaulois du + soleil et le symbolisme de la roue," _Revue Archéologique_, iii. + série iv. 32 _sq._). + +_ 88 The Gentleman's Magazine_, xxix. (1759), pp. 263-265; Madame + Clément, _Histoire des fêtes civiles et religieuses du département + du Nord_,2 pp. 169-175; A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions + des Provinces de France_, pp. 328-332. Compare John Milner, _The + History, Civil and Ecclesiastical, and Survey of the Antiquities of + Winchester_ (Winchester, N.D.), i. 8 _sq._ note 6; John Brand, + _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1882-1883), i. 325 + _sq._; James Logan, _The Scottish Gael or Celtic Manners_, edited by + Rev. Alex. Stewart (Inverness, N.D.), ii. 358. According to the + writer in _The Gentleman's Magazine_ the name of the procession was + the Cor-mass. + + M29 Wicker-work giants in Brabant and Flanders. + + 89 Madame Clément, _Histoire des fêtes civiles et religieuses_, etc., + _de la Belgique méridionale_, etc. (Avesnes, 1846), p. 252; Le Baron + de Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels, 1861-1862), + i. 123-126. We may conjecture that the Flemish _Reuze_, like the + _Reuss_ of Dunkirk, is only another form of the German _Riese_, + "giant." + + 90 F. W. Fairholt, _Gog and Magog, the Giants in Guildhall, their real + and legendary History_ (London, 1859), pp. 64-78. For the loan of + this work and of the one cited in the next note I have to thank Mrs. + Wherry, of St. Peter's Terrace, Cambridge. + + 91 E. Fourdin, "La foire d'Ath," _Annales du Cercle Archéologique de + Mons_, ix. (Mons, 1869) pp. 7, 8, 12, 36 _sq._ The history of the + festival has been carefully investigated, with the help of documents + by M. Fourdin. According to him, the procession was religious in its + origin and took its rise from a pestilence which desolated Hainaut + in 1215 (_op. cit._ pp. 1 _sqq._). He thinks that the effigies of + giants were not introduced into the procession till between 1450 and + 1460 (_op. cit._ p. 8). + + M30 Midsummer giants in England. + + 92 George Puttenham, _The Arte of English Poesie_ (London, 1811, + reprint of the original edition of London, 1589), book iii. chapter + vi. p. 128. On the history of the English giants and their relation + to those of the continent, see F. W. Fairholt, _Gog and Magog, the + Giants in Guildhall, their real and legendary History_ (London, + 1859). + + 93 Joseph Strutt, _The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England_, + New Edition, by W. Hone (London, 1834), pp. xliii.-xlv.; F. W. + Fairholt, _Gog and Magog, the Giants in Guildhall_ (London, 1859), + pp. 52-59. + + 94 F. W. Fairholt, _op. cit._ pp. 59-61. + + 95 F. W. Fairholt, _op. cit._ pp. 61-63. + + M31 Wicker-work giants burnt at or near Midsummer. + + 96 Felix Liebrecht, _Des Gervasius von Tilbury Otia Imperialia_ + (Hanover, 1856), pp. 212 _sq._; A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes, et + Traditions des Provinces de France_, pp. 354 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, + _Baumkultus_, p. 514. + + 97 W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp. 514, 523. + + M32 Animals burnt in the Midsummer bonfires. Serpents formerly burnt in + the Midsummer fire at Luchon. Cats formerly burnt in the Midsummer, + Easter, and Lenten bonfires. + +_ 98 Athenaeum_, 24th July 1869, p. 115; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp. + 515 _sq._ From a later account we learn that about the year 1890 the + custom of lighting a bonfire and dancing round it was still observed + at Bagnères de Luchon on Midsummer Eve, but the practice of burning + live serpents in it had been discontinued. The fire was kindled by a + priest. See _Folk-lore_, xii. (1901) pp. 315-317. + + 99 A. Breuil, "Du culte de St.-Jean Baptiste," _Mémoires de la Société + des Antiquaires de Picardie_, viii. (1845) pp. 187 _sq._; Collin de + Plancy, _Dictionnaire Infernal_ (Paris, 1825-1826), iii. 40; A. de + Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de France_, pp. + 355 _sq._; J. W. Wolf, _Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_ + (Göttingen and Leipsic, 1852-1857), ii. 388; E. Cortet, _Essai sur + les Fêtes Religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), pp. 213 _sq._; Laisnel de la + Salle, _Croyances et Légendes du Centre de la France_ (Paris, 1875), + i. 82; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 515. + + 100 Tessier, in _Mémoires et Dissertations publiés par la Société Royale + des Antiquaires de France_, v. (1823) p. 388; W. Mannhardt, + _Baumkultus_, p. 515. + + 101 Alexandre Bertrand, _La Religion des Gaulois_ (Paris, 1897), p. 407. + + 102 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 519; W. Mannhardt, + _Baumkultus_, p. 515. + + 103 W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 515; Montanus, _Die deutschen + Volksfesten, Volksbräuche und deutscher Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, + N.D.), p. 34. + + 104 W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 515. + + 105 A. Meyrac, _Traditions, Coutumes, Légendes, et Contes des Ardenness_ + (Charleville, 1890), p. 68. + + 106 Above, vol. i. p. 142. + + M33 Thus the sacrificial rites of the ancient Gauls have their + counterparts in the popular festivals of modern Europe. + M34 The men, women, and animals burnt at these festivals were perhaps + thought to be witches or wizards in disguise. + + 107 Strabo, iv. 4. 5, p. 198, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}; + {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER XI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH DASIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH VARIA~} + {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER XI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} + {~GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA WITH DASIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}. + + 108 Above, p. 39. + + 109 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, + 1909), pp. 214, 301 _sq._; Ulrich Jahn, _Hexenwesen und Zauberei in + Pommern_ (Breslau, 1886), p. 7; _id._, _Volkssagen aus Pommern und + Rügen_ (Stettin, 1886), p. 353, No. 446. + + 110 See above, vol. i. p. 315 _n._ 1. + + 111 The treatment of magic and witchcraft by the Christian Church is + described by W. E. H. Lecky, _History of the Rise and Influence of + the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe_, New Edition (London, 1882), i. + 1 _sqq._ Four hundred witches were burned at one time in the great + square of Toulouse (W. E. H. Lecky, _op. cit._ ii. 38). Writing at + the beginning of the eighteenth century Addison observes: "Before I + leave Switzerland I cannot but observe, that the notion of + witchcraft reigns very much in this country. I have often been tired + with accounts of this nature from very sensible men, who are most of + them furnished with matters of fact which have happened, as they + pretend, within the compass of their own knowledge. It is certain + there have been many executions on this account, as in the canton of + Berne there were some put to death during my stay at Geneva. The + people are so universally infatuated with the notion, that if a cow + falls sick, it is ten to one but an old woman is clapt up in prison + for it, and if the poor creature chance to think herself a witch, + the whole country is for hanging her up without mercy." See _The + Works of Joseph Addison_, with notes by R. Hurd, D.D. (London, + 1811), vol. ii., "Remarks on several Parts of Italy," p. 196. + + 112 Strabo, iv. 4. 4, p. 197. See the passage quoted above, p. 32, note + 2. + + M35 Mannhardt thought that the men and animals whom the Druids burned in + wickerwork images represented spirits of vegetation, and that the + burning of them was a charm to secure a supply of sunshine for the + crops. + + 113 W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp. 532-534. + +_ 114 Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, i. 270-305. + + 115 Some of the serpents worshipped by the old Prussians lived in hollow + oaks, and as oaks were sacred among the Prussians, the serpents may + possibly have been regarded as genii of the trees. See Simon Grunau, + _Preussischer Chronik_, herausgegeben von Dr. M. Perlbach, i. + (Leipsic, 1876) p. 89; Christophor Hartknoch, _Alt und Neues + Preussen_ (Frankfort and Leipsic, 1684), pp. 143, 163. Serpents + played an important part in the worship of Demeter, but we can + hardly assume that they were regarded as embodiments of the goddess. + See _Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, ii. 17 _sq._ + + 116 For example, in China the spirits of plants are thought to assume + the form of snakes oftener than that of any other animal. Chinese + literature abounds with stories illustrative of such + transformations. See J. J. M. de Groot, _The Religious System of + China_, iv. (Leyden, 1901) pp. 283-286. In Siam the spirit of the + _takhien_ tree is said to appear sometimes in the shape of a serpent + and sometimes in that of a woman. See Adolph Bastian, _Die Voelker + des Oestlichen Asien_, iii. (Jena, 1867) p. 251. The vipers that + haunted the balsam trees in Arabia were regarded by the Arabs as + sacred to the trees (Pausanias, ix. 28. 4); and once in Arabia, when + a wood hitherto untouched by man was burned down to make room for + the plough, certain white snakes flew out of it with loud + lamentations. No doubt they were supposed to be the dispossessed + spirits of the trees. See J. Wellhausen, _Reste Arabischen + Heidentums_2 (Berlin, 1897), pp. 108 _sq._ + + M36 It is a common belief in Europe that plants acquire certain magical, + but transient, virtues on Midsummer Eve. Magical plants culled on + Midsummer Eve (St. John's Eve) or Midsummer Day (St. John's Day) in + France. St. John's herb. + + 117 J. L. M. Noguès, _Les moeurs d'autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_ + (Saintes, 1891), p. 71. Amongst the superstitious practices + denounced by the French writer J. B. Thiers in the seventeenth + century was "the gathering of certain herbs between the Eve of St. + John and the Eve of St. Peter and keeping them in a bottle to heal + certain maladies." See J. B. Thiers, _Traité des Superstitions_ + (Paris, 1679), p. 321. + + 118 A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de France_ + (Paris and Lyons, 1846), pp. 150 _sq._ + + 119 Jules Lecoeur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau, + 1883-1887), ii. 8, 244; Amélie Bosquet, _La Normandie romanesque et + merveilleuse_ (Paris and Rouen, 1845), p. 294. + + 120 De la Loubere, _Du Royaume de Siam_ (Amsterdam, 1691), i. 202. The + writer here mentions an Italian mode of divination practised on + Midsummer Eve. People washed their feet in wine and threw the wine + out of the window. After that, the first words they heard spoken by + passers-by were deemed oracular. + + 121 Aubin-Louis Millin, _Voyage dans les Départements du Midi de la + France_ (Paris, 1807-1811), iii. 344 _sq._ + + 122 Alexandre Bertrand, _La Religion des Gaulois_ (Paris, 1897), p. 124. + In French the name of St. John's herb (_herbe de la Saint-Jean_) is + usually given to _millepertius_, that is, St. John's wort, which is + quite a different flower. See below, pp. 54 _sqq._ But "St. John's + herb" may well be a general term which in different places is + applied to different plants. + + 123 Bruno Stehle, "Aberglauben, Sitten und Gebräuche in Lothringen," + _Globus_, lix. (1891) p. 379. + + 124 L. F. Sauvé, _Le Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), pp. 168 + _sq._ + + M37 Magical plants culled on Midsummer Eve or Midsummer Day in the Tyrol + and Germany. + + 125 I. V. Zingerle, "Wald, Bäume, Kräuter," _Zeitschrift für deutsche + Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, i. (1853) pp. 332 _sq._; _id._, + _Sitten, Bräuche und Meinungen des Tiroler Volkes_2 (Innsbruck, + 1871), p. 158, §§ 1345, 1348. + + 126 Christian Schneller, _Märchen und Sagen aus Wälschtirol_ (Innsbruck, + 1867), p. 237, § 24. + + 127 J. H. Schmitz, _Sitten und Bräuche, Lieder, Sprüchwörter und Räthsel + des Eifler Volkes_ (Treves, 1856-1858), i. 40. + + 128 J. H. Schmitz, _op. cit._ i. 42. + + 129 A. Kuhn, _Märkische Sagen und Märchen_ (Berlin, 1843), p. 330. + + 130 K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg_ (Vienna, + 1879-1880), ii. p. 287, § 1436. + + 131 W. von Schulenburg, _Wendische Volkssagen und Gebräuche aus dem + Spreewald_ (Leipsic, 1880), p. 254. + + 132 M. Prätorius, _Deliciae Prussicae_ (Berlin, 1871), pp. 24 _sq._ + Kaupole is probably identical in name with Kupole or Kupalo, as to + whom see _The Dying God_, pp. 261 _sq._ + + M38 Magical plants culled on Midsummer Eve (St. John's Eve) or Midsummer + Day in Austria and Russia. + + 133 Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_ + (Prague, 1905), p. 86. + + 134 R. F. Kaindl, _Die Huzulen_ (Vienna, 1894), pp. 78, 90, 93, 105; + _id._, "Zauberglaube bei den Huzulen," _Globus_, lxxvi. (1899) p. + 256. + + 135 Dr. F. Tetzner, "Die Tschechen und Mährer in Schlesien," _Globus_, + lxxviii. (1900) p. 340. + + 136 J. B. Holzmayer, "Osiliana," _Verhandlungen der gelehrten Estnischen + Gesellschaft_, vii. Heft 2 (Dorpat, 1872), p. 62. + + 137 P. Einhorn, "Wiederlegunge der Abgötterey: der ander (_sic_) Theil," + printed at Riga in 1627, and reprinted in _Scriptores rerum + Livonicarum_, ii. (Riga and Leipsic, 1848) pp. 651 _sq._ + + 138 J. G. Kohl, _Die deutsch-russischen Ostseeprovinzen_ (Dresden and + Leipsic, 1841), ii. 26. + + M39 Magical plants culled on St. John's Eve or St. John's Day among the + South Slavs, in Macedonia, and Bolivia. + + 139 A. Strausz, _Die Bulgaren_ (Leipsic, 1898), pp. 348, 386. + + 140 F. S. Krauss, _Volksglaube und religiöser Brauch der Südslaven_ + (Münster i. W., 1890), p. 34. + + 141 G. F. Abbott, _Macedonian Folk-lore_ (Cambridge, 1903), pp. 54, 58. + + 142 H. A. Weddell, _Voyage dans le Nord de la Bolivie et dans les + parties voisines du Pérou_ (Paris and London, 1853), p. 181. + + M40 Magical plants culled at Midsummer among the Mohammedans of Morocco. + + 143 W. 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._ + + M41 Seven different sorts of magical plants gathered at Midsummer. Nine + different sorts of plants gathered at Midsummer. Dreams of love on + flowers at Midsummer Eve. Love's watery mirror at Midsummer Eve. + + 144 J. Lecoeur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau, + 1883-1887), ii. 9. + + 145 K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg_ (Vienna, + 1879-1890), ii. 285. + + 146 J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch, Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte + Ueberlieferungen im Voigtlande_ (Leipsic, 1867), p. 376. + + 147 O. Freiherr von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Fest-Kalender aus Böhmen_ + (Prague, N.D.), p. 312. + + 148 Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _loc. cit._ + + 149 M. Töppen, _Aberglauben aus Masuren_2 (Danzig, 1867), p. 72. + + M42 Garlands of flowers of nine sorts gathered at Midsummer and used in + divination and medicine. + + 150 Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _loc. cit._ + + 151 J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch_, etc., _im Voigtlande_, p. 376. + + 152 C. Lemke, _Volksthümliches in Ostpreussen_ (Mohrungen, 1884-1887), + i. 20. + + 153 P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic, + 1903-1906), i. 144 _sq._ + + 154 Le Baron de Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels, + 1861-1862), i. 423. + + 155 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, + 1909), p. 252. + + 156 M. Töppen, _Aberglauben aus Masuren_,2 p. 72. + + 157 M. Töppen, _op. cit._ p. 71. + + 158 A. Wiedemann, _Aus dem inneren und äussern Leben der Ehsten_ (St. + Petersburg, 1876), pp. 362 _sq._ + + 159 L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), pp. 267 _sq._ + + 160 Willibald Müller, _Beiträge zur Volkskunde der Deutschen in Mähren_ + (Vienna and Olmütz, 1893), p. 264. + + 161 W. von Schulenburg, _Wendisches Volksthum_ (Berlin, 1882), p. 145. + + M43 St. John's wort (_Hypericum perforatum_) gathered for magical + purposes at Midsummer. St. John's blood on St. John's Day. + + 162 Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbräuche und deutscher + Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), p. 145; A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche + Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 100, § 134; I. V. Zingerle, + "Wald, Bäume, Kräuter," _Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und + Sittenkunde_, i. (1853) p. 329; A. Schlossar, "Volksmeinung und + Volksaberglaube aus der deutschen Steiermark," _Germania_, N.R., + xxiv. (1891) p. 387; E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche + aus Schwaben_ (Stuttgart, 1852), p. 428; J. Brand, _Popular + Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1882-1883), i. 307, 312; T. + F. Thiselton Dyer, _Folk-lore of Plants_ (London, 1889), pp. 62, + 286; Rev. Hilderic Friend, _Flowers and Flower Lore_, Third Edition + (London, 1886), pp. 147, 149, 150, 540; G. Finamore, _Credenze, Usi + e Costumi Abruzzesi_ (Palermo, 1890), pp. 161 _sq._; G. Pitrè, + _Spettacoli e Feste Popolari Siciliane_ (Palermo, 1881), p. 309. One + authority lays down the rule that you should gather the plant + fasting and in silence (J. Brand, _op. cit._ p. 312). According to + Sowerby, the _Hypericum perforatum_ flowers in England about July + and August (_English Botany_, vol. v. London, 1796, p. 295). We + should remember, however, that in the old calendar Midsummer Day + fell twelve days later than at present. The reform of the calendar + probably put many old floral superstitions out of joint. + + 163 Bingley, _Tour round North Wales_ (1800), ii. 237, quoted by T. F. + Thiselton Dyer, _British Popular Customs_ (London, 1876), p. 320. + Compare Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ + (London, 1909), p. 251: "St. John's, or Midsummer Day, was an + important festival. St. John's wort, gathered at noon on that day, + was considered good for several complaints. The old saying went that + if anybody dug the devil's bit at midnight on the eve of St. John, + the roots were then good for driving the devil and witches away." + Apparently by "the devil's bit" we are to understand St. John's + wort. + + 164 J. L. M. Noguès, _Les moeurs d'autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_ + (Saintes, 1891), pp. 71 _sq._ + + 165 Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_ + (Prague, 1905), p. 84. They call the plant "witch's herb" + (_Hexenkraut_). + + 166 James Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. v. (London, 1796), p. 295. + + 167 Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste, Volksbräuche und deutscher + Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), p. 35. + + 168 T. F. Thiselton Dyer, _Folk-lore of Plants_ (London, 1889), p. 286; + K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg_, ii. p. + 291, § 1450_a_. The Germans of Bohemia ascribe wonderful virtues to + the red juice extracted from the yellow flowers of St. John's wort + (W. Müller, _Beiträge zur Volkskunde der Deutschen in Mähren_, + Vienna and Olmütz, 1893, p. 264). + + 169 K. Bartsch, _op. cit._ ii. p. 286, § 1433. The blood is also a + preservative against many diseases (_op. cit._ ii. p. 290, § 1444). + + 170 A. Kuhn, _Märkische Sagen und Märchen_ (Berlin, 1843), p. 387, § + 105. + +_ 171 Die gestriegelte Rockenphilosophie_5 (Chemnitz, 1759), pp. 246 + _sq._; Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfesten, Volksbräuche und + deutscher Volksglaube_, p. 147. + + 172 Berthold Seeman, _Viti, An Account of a Government Mission to the + Vitian or Fijian Islands in the years 1860-61_ (Cambridge, 1862), p. + 63. + + M44 Mouse-ear hawkweed (_Hieracium pilosella_) gathered for magical + purposes at Midsummer. + + 173 James Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. xvi. (London, 1803) p. 1093. + + 174 K. Seifart, _Sagen, Märchen, Schwänke und Gebräuche aus Stadt und + Stift Hildesheim_2 (Hildesheim, 1889), p. 177, § 12. + + 175 C. L. Rochholz, _Deutscher Glaube und Brauch_ (Berlin, 1867), i. 9. + + 176 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_ + (Prague and Leipsic, 1864), p. 98, § 681. + + 177 A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 100, § + 134. + + M45 Mountain arnica gathered for magical purposes at Midsummer. + + 178 J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch, Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte + Ueberlieferungen im Voigtlande_ (Leipsic, 1867), p. 376. The belief + and practice are similar at Grün, near Asch, in Western Bohemia. See + Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_ + (Prague, 1905), p. 84. + + 179 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), + ii. 299; _Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_, + iii. (Munich, 1865), p. 342; I. V. Zingerle, _Sitten, Bräuche und + Meinungen des Tiroler Volkes_2 (Innsbruck, 1871), p. 160, § 1363. + + M46 Mugwort (_Artemisia vulgaris_) gathered for magical purposes at + Midsummer. Mugwort in China and Japan. + + 180 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. 1013; A. de Gubernatis, + _Mythologie des Plantes_ (Paris, 1878-1882), i. 189 _sq._; Rev. + Hilderic Friend, _Flowers and Flower Lore_, Third Edition (London, + 1886), p. 75. In England mugwort is very common in waste ground, + hedges, and the borders of fields. It flowers throughout August and + later. The root is woody and perennial. The smooth stems, three or + four feet high, are erect, branched, and leafy, and marked by many + longitudinal purplish ribs. The pinnatified leaves alternate on the + stalk; they are smooth and dark green above, cottony and very white + below. The flowers are in simple leafy spikes or clusters; the + florets are purplish, furnished with five stamens and five + awl-shaped female flowers, which constitute the radius. The whole + plant has a weak aromatic scent and a slightly bitter flavour. Its + medical virtues are of no importance. See James Sowerby, _English + Botany_, xiv. (London, 1802) p. 978. Altogether it is not easy to + see why such an inconspicuous and insignificant flower should play + so large a part in popular superstition. Mugwort (_Artemisia + vulgaris_) is not to be confounded with wormwood (_Artemisia + absinthium_), which is quite a different flower in appearance, + though it belongs to the same genus. Wormwood is common in England, + flowering about August. The flowers are in clusters, each of them + broad, hemispherical, and drooping, with a buff-coloured disc. The + whole plant is of a pale whitish green and clothed with a short + silky down. It is remarkable for its intense bitterness united to a + peculiar strong aromatic odour. It is often used to keep insects + from clothes and furniture, and as a medicine is one of the most + active bitters. See James Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. xviii. + (London, 1804) p. 1230. + + 181 Breuil, "Du culte de St.-Jean-Baptiste," _Mémoires de la Société des + Antiquaires de Picardie_, viii. (1845) p. 224, note 1, quoting the + curé of Manancourt, near Péronne. + + 182 L. Pineau, _Le folk-lore du Poitou_ (Paris, 1892), p. 499. + + 183 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_ + (Prague and Leipsic, 1864), pp. 90 _sq._, §§ 635-637. + + 184 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_, i. p. 249, § 283; J. + Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. 1013; I. V. Zingerle, in + _Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, i. (1853) p. + 331. and _ib._ iv. (1859) p. 42 (quoting a work of the seventeenth + century); F. J. Vonbun, _Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Chur, + 1862), p. 133, note 1. See also above, vol. i. pp. 162, 163, 165, + 174, 177. + + 185 A. de Gubernatis, _Mythologie der Plantes_ (Paris, 1878-1882), i. + 190, quoting Du Cange. + + 186 A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de France_ + (Paris and Lyons, 1846), p. 262. + + 187 Jules Lecoeur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau, + 1883-1886), ii. 8. + + 188 Joseph Train, _Historical and Statistical Account of the Isle of + Man_ (Douglas, Isle of Man, 1845), ii. 120. + + 189 Le Baron de Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels, + 1861-1862), i. 422. + + 190 J. J. M. de Groot, _The Religious System of China_, vi. (Leyden, + 1910) p. 1079, compare p. 947. + + 191 J. J. M. de Groot, _op. cit._ vi. 947. + + 192 J. J. M. de Groot, _op. cit._ vi. 946 _sq._ + + 193 Rev. John Batchelor, _The Ainu and their Folk-lore_ (London, 1901), + p. 318, compare pp. 315 _sq._, 329, 370, 372. + +_ 194 Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, iv. (1859) p. + 42; Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste_, p. 141. The German name of + mugwort (_Beifuss_) is said to be derived from this superstition. + + 195 K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen, und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg_ (Vienna, + 1879-1880), ii. 290, § 1445. + + 196 Montanus, _Die deutschen Volksfeste_, p. 141. + + 197 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, + 1882-1883), i. 334 _sq._, quoting Lupton, Thomas Hill, and Paul + Barbette. A precisely similar belief is recorded with regard to + wormwood (_armoise_) by the French writer J. B. Thiers, who adds + that only small children and virgins could find the wonderful coal. + See J. B. Thiers, _Traité des Superstitions_5 (Paris, 1741), i. 300. + In Annam people think that wormwood puts demons to flight; hence + they hang up bunches of its leaves in their houses at the New Year. + See Paul Giran, _Magie et Religion Annamites_ (Paris, 1912), p. 118, + compare pp. 185, 256. + + 198 C. Lemke, _Volksthümliches in Ostpreussen_ (Mohrungen, 1884-1887), + i. 21. As to mugwort (German _Beifuss_, French _armoise_), see + further A. de Gubernatis, _Mythologie des Plantes_, ii. 16 _sqq._; + J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 iii. 356 _sq._ + + M47 Orpine (_Sedum telephium_) used in divination at Midsummer. + + 199 James Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. xix. (London, 1804) p. 1319. + + 200 John Aubrey, _Remains of Gentilisme and Judaisme_ (London, 1881), + pp. 25 _sq._; J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ + (London, 1882-1883), i. 329 _sqq._; Rev. Hilderic Friend, _Flowers + and Flower Lore_, Third Edition (London, 1886), p. 136; D. H. + Moutray Read, "Hampshire Folk-lore," _Folk-lore_, xxii. (1911) p. + 325. Compare J. Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. xix. (London, 1804), + p. 1319: "Like all succulent plants this is very tenacious of life, + and will keep growing long after it has been torn from its native + spot. The country people in Norfolk sometimes hang it up in their + cottages, judging by its vigour of the health of some absent + friend." It seems that in England the course of love has sometimes + been divined by means of sprigs of red sage placed in a basin of + rose-water on Midsummer Eve (J. Brand, _op. cit._ i. 333). + + 201 M. Töppen, _Aberglauben aus Masuren_2 (Danzig, 1867), pp. 71 _sq._; + A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebräuche und Märchen aus Westfalen_ (Leipsic, + 1859), ii. 176, § 487; E. Hoffmann-Krayer, _Feste und Bräuche des + Schweizervolkes_ (Zurich, 1913), p. 163. In Switzerland the species + employed for this purpose on Midsummer day is _Sedum reflexum_. The + custom is reported from the Emmenthal. In Germany a root of orpine, + dug up on St. John's morning and hung between the shoulders, is + sometimes thought to be a cure for hemorrhoids (Montanus, _Die + deutschen Volksfeste_, p. 145). Perhaps the "oblong, tapering, + fleshy, white lumps" of the roots (J. Sowerby, _English Botany_, + vol. xix. London, 1804, p. 1319) are thought to bear some likeness + to the hemorrhoids, and to heal them on the principle that the + remedy should resemble the disease. + + M48 Vervain gathered for magical purposes at Midsummer. Magical virtue + of four-leaved clover on Midsummer Eve. + + 202 See above, vol. i. pp. 162, 163, 165. In England vervain (_Verbena + officinalis_) grows not uncommonly by road sides, in dry sunny + pastures, and in waste places about villages. It flowers in July. + The flowers are small and sessile, the corolla of a very pale lilac + hue, its tube enclosing the four short curved stamens. The root of + the plant, worn by a string round the neck, is an old superstitious + medicine for scrofulous disorders. See James Sowerby, _English + Botany_, vol. xi. (London, 1800) p. 767. + + 203 Dr. Otero Acevado, in _Le Temps_, September 1898. See above, vol. i. + p. 208, note 1. + + 204 Le Baron de Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels, + 1861-1862), i. 422. + + 205 A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de + France_, p. 262; Amélie Bosquet, _La Normandie romanesque et + merveilleuse_, p. 294; J. Lecoeur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_, i. + 287, ii. 8. In Saintonge and Aunis the plant was gathered on + Midsummer Eve for the purpose of evoking or exorcising spirits (J. + L. M. Noguès, _Les moeurs d'autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_, p. + 72). + + 206 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_, + p. 207, § 1437. + + 207 A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebräuche und Märchen aus Westfalen_ (Leipsic, + 1859), ii. 177, citing Chambers, _Edinburgh Journal_, 2nd July 1842. + + 208 I. V. Zingerle, _Sitten, Bräuche und Meinungen des Tiroler Volkes_2 + (Innsbruck, 1871), p. 107, § 919. + + 209 Laisnel de la Salle, _Croyances et Légendes du Centre de la France_ + (Paris, 1875), i. 288. + + 210 J. L. M. Noguès, _Les moeurs d'autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_, + pp. 71 _sq._ + + 211 Le Baron de Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_, i. 423. + + M49 Camomile gathered for magical purposes at Midsummer. + + 212 W. Kolbe, _Hessische Volks-Sitten und Gebräuche_2 (Marburg, 1888), + p. 72; Sophus Bugge, _Studien über die Entstehung der nordischen + Götter- und Heldensagen_ (Munich, 1889), pp. 35, 295 _sq._; Fr. + Kauffmann, _Balder_ (Strasburg, 1902), pp. 45, 61. The flowers of + common camomile (_Anthemis nobilis_) are white with a yellow disk, + which in time becomes conical. The whole plant is intensely bitter, + with a peculiar but agreeable smell. As a medicine it is useful for + stomachic troubles. In England it does not generally grow wild. See + James Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. xiv. (London, 1802) p. 980. + + 213 A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebräuche und Märchen aus Westfalen_ (Leipsic, + 1859), ii. 177, § 488. + + 214 M. Töppen, _Aberglauben aus Masuren_2 (Danzig, 1867), p. 71. + + M50 Mullein (_Verbascum_) gathered for magical purposes at Midsummer. + + 215 A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_ (Vienna, + 1878), p. 289, § 139. + + 216 W. J. A. von Tettau und J. D. H. Temme, _Volkssagen Ostpreussens, + Litthauens und Westpreussens_ (Berlin, 1837), p. 283. + + 217 James Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. vii. (London, 1798), p. 487. + As to great mullein or high taper, see _id._, vol. viii. (London, + 1799), p. 549. + + 218 Tettau und Temme, _loc. cit._ As to mullein at Midsummer, see also + above, vol. i. pp. 190, 191. + + M51 Seeds of fir-cones, wild thyme, elder-flowers, and purple + loosestrife gathered for magical purposes at Midsummer. + + 219 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_, + p. 205, § 1426. + + 220 J. V. Grohmann, _op. cit._ p. 93, § 648. + + 221 J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch, Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte + Ueberlieferungen im Voigtlande_ (Leipsic, 1867), p. 377. + + 222 Alois John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_ + (Prague, 1905), p. 84. + + 223 J. N. Ritter von Alpenburg, _Mythen und Sagen Tirols_ (Zurich, + 1857), p. 397. + + 224 C. Russwurm, "Aberglaube aus Russland," _Zeitschrift für deutsche + Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, iv. (1859) pp. 153 _sq._ The purple + loosestrife is one of our most showy English wild plants. In July + and August it may be seen flowering on the banks of rivers, ponds, + and ditches. The separate flowers are in axillary whorls, which + together form a loose spike of a reddish variable purple. See James + Sowerby, _English Botany_, vol. xv. (London, 1802) p. 1061. + + M52 Magical properties attributed to fern seed at Midsummer. + + 225 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, i. 314 _sqq._; Hilderic Friend, + _Flowers and Flower Lore_, Third Edition (London, 1886), pp. 60, 78, + 150, 279-283; Miss C. S. Burne and Miss G. F. Jackson, _Shropshire + Folk-lore_ (London, 1883), p. 242; Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and + Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, 1909), pp. 89 _sq._; J. B. Thiers, + _Traité des Superstitions_ (Paris, 1679), p. 314; J. Lecoeur, + _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_, i. 290; P. Sébillot, _Coutumes + populaires de la Haute-Bretagne_ (Paris, 1886), p. 217; _id._, + _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute-Bretagne_ (Paris, 1882), + ii. 336; A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), + pp. 94 _sq._, § 123; F. J. Vonbun, _Beiträge zur deutschen + Mythologie_ (Chur, 1862), pp. 133 _sqq._; Montanus, _Die deutschen + Volksfesten_, p. 144; K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus + Mecklenburg_, ii. 288, § 1437; M. Töppen, _Aberglauben aus + Masuren_,2 p. 72; A. Schlossar, "Volksmeinung und Volksaberglaube + aus der deutschen Steiermark," _Germania_, N.R., xxiv. (1891) p. + 387; Theodor Vernaleken, _Mythen und Bräuche des Volkes in + Oesterreich_ (Vienna, 1859), p. 309; J. N. Ritter von Alpenburg, + _Mythen und Sagen Tirols_ (Zurich, 1857), pp. 407 _sq._; I. V. + Zingerle, _Sitten, Bräuche und Meinungen des Tiroler Volkes_2 + (Innsbruck, 1871), p. 103, § 882, p. 158, § 1350; Christian + Schneller, _Märchen und Sagen aus Wälschtirol_ (Innsbruck, 1867), p. + 237; J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und + Mähren_, p. 97, §§ 673-677; Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Fest-Kalendar + aus Böhmen_ (Prague, N.D.), pp. 311 _sq._; W. Müller, _Beiträge zur + Volkskunde der Deutschen in Mähren_ (Vienna and Olmutz, 1893), p. + 265; R. F. Kaindl, _Die Huzulen_ (Vienna, 1894), p. 106; _id._, + "Zauberglaube bei den Huzulen," _Globus_, lxxvi. (1899) p. 275; P. + Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic, + 1903-1906), i. 142, § 159; G. Finamore, _Credenze, Usi e Costumi + Abruzzesi_ (Palermo, 1890), p. 161; C. Russwurm, "Aberglaube in + Russland," _Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, + iv. (1859) pp. 152 _sq._; A. de Gubernatis, _Mythologie des Plantes_ + (Paris, 1878-1882), ii. 144 _sqq._ The practice of gathering ferns + or fern seed on the Eve of St. John was forbidden by the synod of + Ferrara in 1612. See J. B. Thiers, _Traité des Superstitions_5 + (Paris, 1741), i. 299 _sq._ In a South Slavonian story we read how a + cowherd understood the language of animals, because fern-seed + accidentally fell into his shoe on Midsummer Day (F. S. Krauss, + _Sagen und Märchen der Südslaven_, Leipsic, 1883-1884, ii. 424 + _sqq._, No. 159). On this subject I may refer to my article, "The + Language of Animals," _The Archaeological Review_, i. (1888) pp. 164 + _sqq._ + + 226 J. V. Grohmann, _op. cit._ p. 97, §§ 673, 675. + +_ 227 Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, iv. (1859) + pp. 152 _sq._; A. de Gubernatis, _Mythologie des Plantes_, ii. 146. + + 228 M. Longworth Dames and E. Seemann, "Folk-lore of the Azores," + _Folk-lore_, xiv. (1903) pp. 142 _sq._ + + 229 August Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_ + (Vienna, 1878), p. 275, § 82. + + M53 Branches of hazel cut at Midsummer to serve as divining-rods. + + 230 W. Müller, _Beiträge zur Volkskunde der Deutschen in Mähren_ (Vienna + and Olmutz, 1893), p. 265; K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche + aus Mecklenburg_, ii. p. 285, § 1431, p. 288, § 1439; J. Napier, + _Folk-lore, or Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland_ + (Paisley, 1879), p. 125. + + 231 A. Kuhn, _Märkische Sagen und Märchen_ (Berlin, 1843), p. 330. As to + the divining-rod in general, see A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers + und des Göttertranks_2 (Gütersloh, 1886), pp. 181 _sqq._; J. Grimm, + _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. 813 _sqq._; S. Baring-Gould, _Curious + Myths of the Middle Ages_ (London, 1884), pp. 55 _sqq._ Kuhn + plausibly suggests that the forked shape of the divining-rod is a + rude representation of the human form. He compares the shape and + magic properties of mandragora. + + 232 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), + i. 296 _sq._ + + 233 E. Krause, "Abergläubische Kuren und sonstiger Aberglaube in Berlin + und nächster Umgebung," _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, xv. (1883) p. + 89. + + 234 J. N. Ritter von Alpenburg, _Mythen und Sagen Tirols_ (Zurich, + 1857), p. 393. + + 235 Karl Freiherr von Leoprechting, _Aus dem Lechrain_ (Munich, 1855), + p. 98. Some people in Swabia say that the hazel branch which is to + serve as a divining-rod should be cut at midnight on Good Friday, + and that it should be laid on the altar and mass said over it. If + that is done, we are told that a Protestant can use it to quite as + good effect as a Catholic. See E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und + Gebräuche aus Schwaben_ (Stuttgart, 1852), pp. 244 _sq._, No. 268. + Some of the Wends of the Spreewald agree that the divining-rod + should be made of hazel-wood, and they say that it ought to be wrapt + in swaddling-bands, laid on a white plate, and baptized on Easter + Saturday. Many of them, however, think that it should be made of + "yellow willow." See Wilibald von Schulenburg, _Wendische Volkssagen + und Gebräuche aus dem Spreewald_ (Leipsic, 1880), pp. 204 _sq._ A + remarkable property of the hazel in the opinion of Bavarian peasants + is that it is never struck by lightning; this immunity it has + enjoyed ever since the day when it protected the Mother of God + against a thunderstorm on her flight into Egypt. See _Bavaria, + Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_, i. (Munich, 1860) p. + 371. + + M54 The divining-rod in Sweden obtained on Midsummer Eve. + + 236 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 iii. 289, referring to Dybeck's + _Runa_, 1844, p. 22, and 1845, p. 80. + + 237 L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), pp. 266 _sq._ + + M55 The mythical springwort supposed to bloom on Midsummer Eve. + + 238 Heinrich Pröhle, _Harzsagen_ (Leipsic, 1859), i. 99, No. 23. + + M56 Another way of catching the springwort. The white bloom of chicory. + + 239 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. 812 _sq._, iii. 289; A. Kuhn, + _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Göttertranks_2 (Gütersloh, 1886), + pp. 188-193; Walter K. Kelly, _Curiosities of Indo-European + Tradition and Folk-lore_ (London, 1863), pp. 174-178; J. F. L. + Woeste, _Volksüberlieferungen in der Grafschaft Mark_ (Iserlohn, + 1848), p. 44; A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, Märchen + und Gebräuche_ (Leipsic, 1848), p. 459, No. 444; Ernst Meier, + _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_ (Stuttgart, + 1852), pp. 240 _sq._, No. 265; C. Russwurm, "Aberglaube in + Russland," _Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, + iv. (Göttingen, 1859) p. 153; J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und + Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_ (Prague and Leipsic, 1864), p. 88, + No. 623; Paul Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in + Schlesien_ (Leipsic, 1903-1906), ii. 207 _sq._ In Swabia some people + say that the bird which brings the springwort is not the woodpecker + but the hoopoe (E. Meier, _op. cit._ p. 240). Others associate the + springwort with other birds. See H. Pröhle, _Harzsagen_ (Leipsic, + 1859), ii. 116, No. 308; A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers_,2 p. + 190. It is from its power of springing or bursting open all doors + and locks that the springwort derives its name (German + _Springwurzel_). + + 240 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ x. 40. + + 241 Ernst Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_ + (Stuttgart, 1852), pp. 238 _sq._, No. 264. + + M57 The magical virtues ascribed to plants at Midsummer may be thought + to be derived from the sun, then at the height of his power and + glory. Hence it is possible that the Midsummer bonfires stand in + direct relation to the sun. + M58 This consideration tends to bring us back to an intermediate + position between the rival theories of Mannhardt and Westermarck. + + 242 See above, pp. 45, 46, 49, 54, 55, 59, 60, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67. + + M59 Miscellaneous examples of the baleful activity of witches at + Midsummer and of the precautions which it is necessary to take + against them at that time. Witches in Voigtland. The witches' + Sabbath in Prussia on Walpurgis Night and Midsummer Eve. Midsummer + Eve a witching time among the South Slavs. + + 243 Le Baron de Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Calendrier Belge_ (Brussels, + 1861-1862), i. 423 _sq._ + + 244 Anton Birlinger, _Völksthumliches aus Schwaben_, Freiburg im + Breisgau, (1861-1862), i. 278, § 437. + + 245 Robert Eisel, _Sagenbuch des Voigtlandes_ (Gera, 1871), p. 210, Nr. + 551. + + 246 W. J. A. von Tettau und J. D. H. Temme, _Die Volkssagen + Ostpreussens, Litthauens und Westpreussens_ (Berlin, 1837), pp. 263 + _sq._ + + 247 F. S. Krauss, _Volksglaube und religiöser Brauch der Südslaven_ + (Münster i. W., 1890), p. 128. + + M60 Relation of the fire-festivals to the myth of Balder. + M61 Veneration of the Druids for the mistletoe. + + 248 Pliny derives the name Druid from the Greek _drus_, "oak." He did + not know that the Celtic word for oak was the same (_daur_), and + that therefore Druid, in the sense of priest of the oak, might be + genuine Celtic, not borrowed from the Greek. This etymology is + accepted by some modern scholars. See G. Curtius, _Grundzüge der + Griechischen Etymologie_5 (Leipsic, 1879), pp. 238 _sq._; A. + Vanicek, _Griechisch-Lateinisch Etymologisches Wörterbuch_ (Leipsic, + 1877), pp. 368 _sqq._; (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_ (London + and Edinburgh, 1888), pp. 221 _sqq._ However, this derivation is + disputed by other scholars, who prefer to derive the name from a + word meaning knowledge or wisdom, so that Druid would mean "wizard" + or "magician." See J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 iii. 305; Otto + Schrader, _Reallexikon der Indogermanischen Altertumskunde_ + (Strasburg, 1901), pp. 638 _sq._; H. D'Arbois de Jubainville, _Les + Druides et les Dieux Celtiques à forme d'animaux_ (Paris, 1906), pp. + 1, 11, 83 _sqq._ The last-mentioned scholar formerly held that the + etymology of Druid was unknown. See his _Cours de Littérature + Celtique_, i. (Paris, 1883) pp. 117-127. + + 249 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xvi. 249-251. In the first edition of this book + I understood Pliny to say that the Druidical ceremony of cutting the + mistletoe fell in the sixth month, that is, in June; and hence I + argued that it probably formed part of the midsummer festival. But + in accordance with Latin usage the words of Pliny (_sexta luna_, + literally "sixth moon") can only mean "the sixth day of the month." + I have to thank my friend Mr. W. Warde Fowler for courteously + pointing out my mistake to me. Compare my note in the _Athenaeum_, + November 21st, 1891, p. 687. I also misunderstood Pliny's words, + "_et saeculi post tricesimum annum, quia jam virium abunde habeat + nec sit sui dimidia_," applying them to the tree instead of to the + moon, to which they really refer. After _saeculi_ we must understand + _principium_ from the preceding _principia_. With the thirty years' + cycle of the Druids we may compare the sixty years' cycle of the + Boeotian festival of the Great Daedala (Pausanias, ix. 3. 5; see + _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 140 _sq._), which, + like the Druidical rite in question, was essentially a worship, or + perhaps rather a conjuration, of the sacred oak. Whether any deeper + affinity, based on common Aryan descent, may be traced between the + Boeotian and the Druidical ceremony, I do not pretend to determine. + In India a cycle of sixty years, based on the sidereal revolution of + Jupiter, has long been in use. The sidereal revolution of Jupiter is + accomplished in approximately twelve solar years (more exactly 11 + years and 315 days), so that five of its revolutions make a period + of approximately sixty years. It seems, further, that in India a + much older cycle of sixty lunar years was recognized. See Christian + Lassen, _Indische Alter-thumskunde_, i.2 (Leipsic, 1867), pp. 988 + _sqq._; Prof. F. Kielhorn (Göttingen), "The Sixty-year Cycle of + Jupiter," _The Indian Antiquary_, xviii. (1889) pp. 193-209; J. F. + Fleet, "A New System of the Sixty-year Cycle of Jupiter," _ibid._ + pp. 221-224. In Tibet the use of a sixty-years' cycle has been + borrowed from India. See W. Woodville Rockhill, "Tibet," _Journal of + the Royal Asiatic Society for 1891_ (London, 1891), p. 207 note 1. + + M62 Medical and magical virtues ascribed to mistletoe in ancient Italy. + + 250 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxiv. 11 _sq._ + + 251 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxxiii. 94. + + M63 Agreement between the Druids and the ancient Italians as to the + valuable properties of mistletoe. + M64 Similar beliefs as to mistletoe among the Ainos of Japan. + + 252 Rev. John Batchelor, _The Ainu and their Folk-lore_ (London, 1901), + p. 222. + + M65 Similar beliefs as to mistletoe among the Torres Straits Islanders + and the Walos of Senegambia. These beliefs perhaps originate in a + notion that the mistletoe has fallen from heaven. + +_ 253 Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres + Straits_, v. (Cambridge, 1904) pp. 198 _sq._ + + 254 M. le baron Roger (ancien Gouverneur de la Colonie française du + Sénégal), "Notice sur le Gouvernement, les Moeurs, et les + Superstitions des Nègres du pays de Walo," _Bulletin de la Société + de Géographie_, viii. (Paris, 1827) pp. 357 _sq._ + + M66 Such a notion would explain the ritual used in cutting mistletoe and + other parasites. + + 255 Above, p. 77. + + 256 Compare _The Times_, 2nd April, 1901, p. 9: "The Tunis correspondent + of the _Temps_ reports that in the course of certain operations in + the Belvedere Park in Tunis the workmen discovered a huge circle of + enormous stumps of trees ranged round an immense square stone + showing signs of artistic chisel work. In the neighbourhood were + found a sort of bronze trough containing a gold sickle in perfect + preservation, and a sarcophagus containing a skeleton. About the + forehead of the skeleton was a gold band, having in the centre the + image of the sun, accompanied by hieratic signs, which are + provisionally interpreted as the monogram of Teutates. The discovery + of such remains in North Africa has created a sensation." As to the + Celtic god Teutates and the human sacrifices offered to him, see + Lucan, _Pharsalia_, i. 444 _sq._: + + "_Et quibus immitis placatur sanguine diro_ + _ Teutates horrensque feris altaribus Hesus._" + + Compare (Sir) John Rhys, _Celtic Heathendom_ (London and Edinburgh, + 1888), pp. 44 _sqq._, 232. Branches of the sacred olive at Olympia, + which were to form the victors' crowns, had to be cut with a golden + sickle by a boy whose parents were both alive. See the Scholiast on + Pindar, _Olymp._ iii. 60, p. 102, ed. Aug. Boeck (Leipsic, 1819). In + Assyrian ritual it was laid down that, before felling a sacred + tamarisk to make magical images out of the wood, the magician should + pray to the sun-god Shamash and touch the tree with a golden axe. + See C. Fossey, _La Magie Assyrienne_ (Paris, 1902), pp. 132 _sq._ + Some of the ancients thought that the root of the marsh-mallow, + which was used in medicine, should be dug up with gold and then + preserved from contact with the ground (Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xx. 29). + At the great horse-sacrifice in ancient India it was prescribed by + ritual that the horse should be slain by a golden knife, because + "gold is light" and "by means of the golden light the sacrificer + also goes to the heavenly world." See _The Satapatha-Brâhmana_, + translated by Julius Eggeling, Part v. (Oxford, 1900) p. 303 + (_Sacred Books of the East_, vol. xliv.). It has been a rule of + superstition both in ancient and modern times that certain plants, + to which medical or magical virtues were attributed, should not be + cut with iron. See the fragment of Sophocles's _Root-cutters_, + quoted by Macrobius, _Saturn_. v. 19. 9 _sq._; Virgil, _Aen._ iv. + 513 _sq._; Ovid, _Metamorph._ vii. 227; Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxiv. + 68, 103, 176; and above, p. 65 (as to purple loosestrife in Russia). + On the objection to the use of iron in such cases compare F. + Liebrecht, _Des Gervasius von Tilbury Otia Imperialia_ (Hanover, + 1856), pp. 102 _sq._; _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 225 + _sqq._ + + 257 Étienne Aymonier, "Notes sur les Coutumes et Croyances + Superstitieuses des Cambodgiens," _Cochinchine Française, Excursions + et Reconnaissance_ No. 16 (Saigon, 1883), p. 136. + + 258 See above, vol. i. pp. 2 _sqq._ + + M67 The ancient beliefs and practices concerning mistletoe have their + analogies in modern European folk-lore. + + 259 Ernst Meier, "Über Pflanzen und Kräuter," _Zeitschrift für deutsche + Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, i. (Göttingen, 1853), pp. 443 _sq._ The + sun enters the sign of Sagittarius about November 22nd. + + 260 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 iii. 533, referring to Dybeck, + _Runa_, 1845, p. 80. + + 261 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, + 1909), p. 87. + + M68 Medicinal virtues ascribed to mistletoe by ancients and moderns. + Mistletoe as a cure for epilepsy. + + 262 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xvi. 250, "_Omnia sanantem appellantes suo + vocabulo_." See above, p. 77. + + 263 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. 1009: "_Sonst aber wird das + welsche_ olhiach, _bretagn._ ollyiach, _ir._ uileiceach, _gal._ + uileice, _d. i. allheiland_, _von_ ol, uile universalis, _als + benennung des mistels angegeben_." My lamented friend, the late R. + A. Neil of Pembroke College, Cambridge, pointed out to me that in N. + M'Alpine's _Gaelic Dictionary_ (Seventh Edition, Edinburgh and + London, 1877, p. 432) the Gaelic word for mistletoe is given as _an + t' uil_, which, Mr. Neil told me, means "all-healer." + + 264 A. de Gubernatis, _La Mythologie des Plantes_ (Paris, 1878-1882), + ii. 73. + + 265 Rev. Hilderic Friend, _Flowers and Flower Lore_, Third Edition + (London, 1886), p. 378. Compare A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers + und des Göttertranks_2 (Gütersloh, 1886), p. 206, referring to + Keysler, _Antiq. Sept._ p. 308. + + 266 A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de France_ + (Paris and Lyons, 1846), pp. 102 _sq._ The local name for mistletoe + here is _besq_, which may be derived from the Latin _viscum_. + + 267 A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Göttertranks_2 + (Gütersloh, 1886), p. 205; Walter K. Kelly, _Curiosities of + Indo-European Tradition and Folk-lore_ (London, 1863), p. 186. + + 268 "Einige Notizen aus einem alten Kräuterbuche," _Zeitschrift für + deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, iv. (Göttingen, 1859) pp. 41 + _sq._ + + 269 Francis Pérot, "Prières, Invocations, Formules Sacrées, Incantations + en Bourbonnais," _Revue des Traditions Populaires_, xviii. (1903) p. + 299. + +_ 270 County Folk-lore_, v. _Lincolnshire_, collected by Mrs. Gutch and + Mabel Peacock (London, 1908), p. 120. + + 271 Prof. P. J. Veth, "De Leer der Signatuur, iii. De Mistel en de + Riembloem," _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, vii. (1894) + p. 111. He names Ray in England (about 1700), Boerhaave in Holland + (about 1720), and Van Swieten, a pupil of Boerhaave's (about 1745). + +_ 272 County Folk-lore_, vol. v. _Lincolnshire_, collected by Mrs. Gutch + and Mabel Peacock (London, 1908), p. 120. + + 273 Rev. Mr. Shaw, Minister of Elgin, quoted by Thomas Pennant in his + "Tour in Scotland, 1769," printed in J. Pinkerton's _Voyages and + Travels_, iii. (London, 1809) p. 136; J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities + of Great Britain_ (London, 1882-1883), iii. 151. + + 274 Walter K. Kelly, _Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and + Folk-lore_ (London, 1863), p. 186. + + M69 The medicinal virtues ascribed to mistletoe seem to be mythical, + being fanciful inferences from the parasitic nature of the plant. + + 275 On this point Prof. P. J. Veth ("De Leer der Signatuur," + _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, vii. (1894) p. 112) + quotes Cauvet, _Eléments d'Histoire naturelle medicale_, ii. 290: + "_La famille des Loranthacées ne nous offre aucun intéret._" + + M70 The belief that mistletoe extinguishes fire seems based on a fancy + that it falls on the tree in a flash of lightning. + + 276 A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Göttertranks_2 + (Gütersloh, 1886), p. 205, referring to Dybeck, _Runa_, 1845, p. 80. + + 277 A. Kuhn, _op. cit._ p. 204, referring to Rochholz, _Schweizersagen + aus d. Aargau_, ii. 202. + + 278 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 153. + + 279 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_ + (Prague and Leipsic, 1864), p. 37, § 218. In Upper Bavaria the + mistletoe is burned for this purpose along with the so-called + palm-branches which were consecrated on Palm Sunday. See _Bavaria, + Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_, i. (Munich, 1860), + p. 371. + + M71 Other wonderful properties ascribed to mistletoe; in particular it + is thought to be a protection against witchcraft. + + 280 A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Göttertranks_,2 p. 206, + referring to Albertus Magnus, p. 155; Prof. P. J. Veth, "De Leer der + Signatuur," _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, vii. (1904) + p. 111. + + 281 J. N. Ritter von Alpenburg, _Mythen und Sagen Tirols_ (Zurich, + 1857), p. 398. + + 282 A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 97, § + 128; Prof. P. J. Veth, "De Leer der Signatuur," _Internationales + Archiv für Ethnographie_, vii. (1894) p. 111. + + 283 A. Wuttke, _op. cit._ p. 267, § 419. + + 284 W. Henderson, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the Northern Counties of + England and the Borders_ (London, 1879), p. 114. + + 285 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, + 1909), p. 88. + + 286 L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), p. 269. + + M72 A favourite time for gathering mistletoe is Midsummer Eve. + + 287 Above, pp. 77, 78. + + 288 Above, pp. 82, 84. + + 289 Above, pp. 83, 86. + + 290 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 iii. 353, referring to Dybeck, + _Runa_, 1844, p. 22. + + 291 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, + 1909), p. 88. + + M73 The two main incidents of Balder's myth, namely the pulling of the + mistletoe and the lighting of the bonfire, are reproduced in the + great Midsummer celebration of Scandinavia. + + 292 See above, p. 86. + + 293 G. Wahlenberg, _Flora Suecica_ (Upsala, 1824-1826), ii. No. 1143 + _Viscum album_, pp. 649 _sq._: "_Hab. in sylvarum densiorum et + humidiorum arboribus frondosis, ut Pyris, Quercu, Fago etc. per + Sueciam temperatiorem passim_." + + 294 Above, vol. i. pp. 171 _sq._ + + 295 L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), p. 259. + + 296 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 iii. 78, who adds, "_Mahnen die + Johannisfeuer an Baldrs Leichenbrand?_" This pregnant hint perhaps + contains in germ the solution of the whole myth. + + M74 Hence the myth of Balder was probably the explanation given of a + similar rite. + + 297 Above, vol. i. p. 148. + + 298 Above, vol. i. p. 186. + + 299 Above, p. 26. + + M75 If a human representative of a tree-spirit was burned in the + bonfires, what kind of tree did he represent? The oak the principal + sacred tree of the Aryans. + + 300 As to the worship of the oak in Europe, see _The Magic Art and the + Evolution of Kings_, ii. 349 _sqq._ Compare P. Wagler, _Die Eiche in + alter und neuer Zeit_, in two parts (Wurzen, N.D., and Berlin, + 1891). + + 301 Strabo, xii. 5.1, p. 567. The name is a compound of _dryu_, "oak," + and _nemed_, "temple" (H. F. Tozer, _Selections from Strabo_, + Oxford, 1893, p. 284). We know from Jerome (_Commentar. in Epist. ad + Galat._ book ii. praef.) that the Galatians retained their native + Celtic speech as late as the fourth century of our era. + +_ 302 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 365. + + 303 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 55 _sq._, 58 _sq._, ii. 542, + iii. 187 _sq._; P. Wagler, _Die Eiche in alter und neuer Zeit_ + (Berlin, 1891), pp. 40 _sqq._; _The Magic Art and the Evolution of + Kings_, ii. 363 _sqq._, 371. + + 304 L. Preller, _Römische Mythologie_3 (Berlin, 1881-1883), i. 108. + + 305 Livy, i. 10. Compare C. Bötticher, _Der Baumkultus der Hellenen_ + (Berlin, 1856), pp. 133 _sq._ + + 306 C. Bötticher, _op. cit._ pp. 111 _sqq._; L. Preller, _Griechische + Mythologie_,4 ed. C. Robert, i. (Berlin, 1894) pp. 122 _sqq._; P. + Wagler, _Die Eiche in alter und neuer Zeit_ (Berlin, 1891), pp. 2 + _sqq._ It is noteworthy that at Olympia the only wood that might be + used in sacrificing to Zeus was the white poplar (Pausanias, v. 14. + 2). But it is probable that herein Zeus, who was an intruder at + Olympia, merely accepted an old local custom which, long before his + arrival, had been observed in the worship of Pelops (Pausanias, v. + 13. 3). + + 307 Without hazarding an opinion on the vexed question of the cradle of + the Aryans, I may observe that in various parts of Europe the oak + seems to have been formerly more common than it is now. See the + evidence collected in _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, + ii. 349 _sqq._ + + M76 Hence the tree represented by the human victim who was burnt at the + fire-festivals was probably the oak. + + 308 However, some exceptions to the rule are recorded. See above, vol. + i. pp. 169, 278 (oak and fir), 220 (plane and birch), 281, 283, 286 + (limewood), 282 (poplar and fir), 286 (cornel-tree), 291 (birch or + other hard wood), 278, 280 (nine kinds of wood). According to + Montanus, the need-fire, Easter, and Midsummer fires were kindled by + the friction of oak and limewood. See Montanus, _Die deutschen + Volksfeste, Volksbräuche und deutscher Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, + N.D.), p. 159. But elsewhere (pp. 33 _sq._, 127) the same writer + says that the need-fire and Midsummer fires were produced by the + friction of oak and fir-wood. + + 309 Above, vol. i. p. 177. + + 310 M. Prätorius, _Deliciae Prussicae_, herausgegeben von Dr. William + Pierson (Berlin, 1871), pp. 19 _sq._ W. R. S. Ralston says (on what + authority I do not know) that if the fire maintained in honour of + the Lithuanian god Perkunas went out, it was rekindled by sparks + struck from a stone which the image of the god held in his hand + (_Songs of the Russian People_, London, 1872, p. 88). + + 311 See above, vol. i. pp. 148, 271, 272, 274, 275, 276, 281, 289, 294. + + 312 Above, vol. i. pp. 148, 155. + +_ 313 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 186. + +_ 314 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 366. However, sacred + fires of other wood than oak are not unknown among Aryan peoples. + Thus at Olympia white poplar was the wood burnt in sacrifices to + Zeus (above, p. 90 _n._1); at Delphi the perpetual fire was fed with + pinewood (Plutarch, _De EI apud Delphos_, 2), and it was over the + glowing embers of pinewood that the Soranian Wolves walked at + Soracte (above, p. 14). + + 315 Montanus, _Diedeutschen Volksfeste, Volksbräuche und deutscher + Volksglaube_ (Iserlohn, N.D.), pp. 127, 159. The log is called in + German _Sckarholz_. The custom appears to have prevailed + particularly in Westphalia, about Sieg and Lahn. Compare Montanus, + _op. cit._ p. 12, as to the similar custom at Christmas. The use of + the _Scharholz_ is reported to be found also in Niederlausitz and + among the neighbouring Saxons. See Paul Wagler, _Die Eiche in alter + und neuer Zeit_ (Berlin, 1891), pp. 86 _sq._ + + 316 Above, vol. i. pp. 248, 250, 251, 257, 258, 260, 263. Elsewhere the + Yule log has been made of fir, beech, holly, yew, crab-tree, or + olive. See above, vol. i. pp. 249, 257, 263. + +_ 317 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 140 _sq._ + + 318 A curious use of an oak-wood fire to detect a criminal is reported + from Germany. If a man has been found murdered and his murderer is + unknown, you are recommended to proceed as follows. You kindle a + fire of dry oak-wood, you pour some of the blood from the wounds on + the fire, and you change the poor man's shoes, putting the right + shoe on the left foot, and _vice versa_. As soon as that is done, + the murderer is struck blind and mad, so that he fancies he is + riding up to the throat in water; labouring under this delusion he + returns to the corpse, when you can apprehend him and deliver him up + to the arm of justice with the greatest ease. See Montanus, _op. + cit._ pp. 159 _sq._ + + M77 If the human victims burnt at the fire-festival represented the oak, + the reason for pulling the mistletoe may have been a belief that the + life of the oak was in the mistletoe, and that the tree could not + perish either by fire or water so long as the mistletoe remained + intact among its boughs. + M78 Ancient Italian belief that mistletoe could not be destroyed by fire + or water. + + 319 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xiii. 119: "_Alexander Cornelius arborem leonem + appellavit ex qua facta esset Argo, similem robori viscum ferenti, + quae neque aqua neque igni possit corrumpi, sicuti nec viscum, nulli + alii cognitam, quod equidem sciam._" Here the tree out of which the + ship Argo was made is said to have been destructible neither by fire + nor water; and as the tree is compared to a mistletoe-bearing oak, + and the mistletoe itself is said to be indestructible by fire and + water, it seems to follow that the same indestructibility may have + been believed to attach to the oak which bore the mistletoe, so long + at least as the mistletoe remained rooted on the boughs. + + M79 Conception of a being whose life is outside himself. + M80 Belief that a man's soul may be deposited for safety in a secure + place outside his body, and that so long as it remains there intact + he himself is invulnerable and immortal. + +_ 320 Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 26 _sqq._ + + M81 This belief is illustrated by folk-tales told by many peoples. + + 321 A number of the following examples were collected by Mr. E. Clodd in + his paper, "The Philosophy of Punchkin," _Folk-lore Journal_, ii. + (1884) pp. 288-303; and again in his _Myths and Dreams_ (London, + 1885), pp. 188-198. The subject of the external soul, both in + folk-tales and in custom, has been well handled by G. A. Wilken in + his two papers, "De betrekking tusschen menschen- dieren- en + plantenleven naar het volksgeloof," _De Indische Gids_, November + 1884, pp. 595-612, and "De Simsonsage," _De Gids_, 1888, No. 5. In + "De Simsonsage" Wilken has reproduced, to a great extent in the same + words, most of the evidence cited by him in "De betrekking," yet + without referring to that paper. When I wrote this book in 1889-1890 + I was unacquainted with "De betrekking," but used with advantage "De + Simsonsage," a copy of it having been kindly sent me by the author. + I am the more anxious to express my obligations to "De Simsonsage," + because I have had little occasion to refer to it, most of the + original authorities cited by the author being either in my own + library or easily accessible to me in Cambridge. It would be a + convenience to anthropologists if Wilken's valuable papers, + dispersed as they are in various Dutch periodicals which are seldom + to be met with in England, were collected and published together. + After the appearance of my first anthropological essay in 1885, + Professor Wilken entered into correspondence with me, and + thenceforward sent me copies of his papers as they appeared; but of + his papers published before that date I have not a complete set. + (Note to the Second Edition.) The wish expressed in the foregoing + note has now been happily fulfilled. Wilken's many scattered papers + have been collected and published in a form which leaves nothing to + be desired (_De verspreide Geschriften van Prof. Dr. G. A. Wilken_, + verzameld door Mr. F. D. E. van Ossenbruggen, in four volumes, The + Hague, 1912). The two papers "De betrekking" and "De Simsonsage" are + reprinted in the third volume, pp. 289-309 and pp. 551-579. The + subject of the external soul in relation to Balder has been fully + illustrated and discussed by Professor F. Kauffmann in his _Balder, + Mythus und Sage_ (Strasburg, 1902), pp. 136 _sqq._ Amongst the first + to collect examples of the external soul in folk-tales was the + learned Dr. Reinhold Köhler (in _Orient und Occident_, ii., + Göttingen, 1864, pp. 100-103; reprinted with additional references + in the writer's _Kleinere Schriften_, i., Weimar, 1898, pp. + 158-161). Many versions of the tale were also cited by W. R. S. + Ralston (_Russian Folk-tales_, London, 1873, pp. 109 _sqq._). (Note + to the Third Edition.) + + M82 Stories of an external soul common among Aryan peoples. The external + soul in Hindoo stories. Punchkin and the parrot. The ogre whose soul + was in a bird. + + 322 Mary Frere, _Old Deccan Days_, Third Edition (London, 1881), pp. + 12-16. + + 323 Maive Stokes, _Indian Fairy Tales_ (London, 1880), pp. 58-60. For + similar Hindoo stories, see _id._, pp. 187 _sq._; Lai Behari Day, + _Folk-tales of Bengal_ (London, 1883), pp. 121 _sq._; F. A. Steel + and R. C. Temple, _Wide-awake Stories_ (Bombay and London, 1884), + pp. 58-60. + + M83 The princess whose soul was in a golden necklace. The prince whose + soul was in a fish. + + 324 Mary Frere, _Old Deccan Days_, pp. 239 _sqq._ + + 325 Lal Behari Day, _Folk-tales of Bengal_, pp. 1 _sqq._ For similar + stories of necklaces, see Mary Frere, _Old Deccan Days_, pp. 233 + _sq._; F. A. Steel and R. C. Temple, _Wide-awake Stories_, pp. 83 + _sqq._ + + M84 Cashmeer stories of ogres whose lives were in cocks, a pigeon, a + starling, a spinning-wheel, and a pillar. Cashmeer and Bengalee + stories of ogres whose lives were in bees. + + 326 J. H. Knowles, _Folk-tales of Kashmir_, Second Edition (London, + 1893), pp. 49 _sq._ + + 327 J. H. Knowles, _op. cit._ p. 134. + + 328 J. H. Knowles, _op. cit._ pp. 382 _sqq._ + + 329 Lal Behari Day, _Folk-tales of Bengal_, pp. 85 _sq._; compare _id._, + pp. 253 _sqq._; _Indian Antiquary_, i. (1872) p. 117. For an Indian + story in which a giant's life is in five black bees, see W. A. + Clouston, _Popular Tales and Fictions_ (Edinburgh and London, 1887), + i. 350. + +_ 330 Indian Antiquary_, i. (1872), p. 171. + + M85 The external soul in a Siamese or Cambodian story. Indian stories of + a tree and a barley plant that were life-tokens. + + 331 A. Bastian, _Die Voelker des oestlichen Asien_, iv. (Jena, 1868) pp. + 304 _sq._ + + 332 Lal Behari Day, _Folk-tales of Bengal_, p. 189. + + 333 F. A. Steel and R. C. Temple, _Wide-awake Stories_ (Bombay and + London, 1884), pp. 52, 64. In the Indian _Jataka_ there is a tale + (book ii. No. 208) which relates how Buddha in the form of a monkey + deceived a crocodile by pretending that monkeys kept their hearts in + figs growing on a tree. See _The Jataka or Stories of the Buddha's + former Births_ translated from the Pali by various hands, vol. ii. + translated by W. H. D. Rouse (Cambridge, 1895), pp. 111 _sq._ + + 334 G. W. Leitner, _The Languages and Races of Dardistan_, Third Edition + (Lahore, 1878), p. 9. + + M86 The external soul in Greek stories. Meleager and the firebrand. + Nisus and his purple or golden hair. Pterelaus and his golden hair. + Modern Greek parallels. The external soul in doves. + + 335 Apollodorus, _Bibliotheca_, i. 8; Diodorus Siculus, iv. 34; + Pausanias, x. 31. 4; Aeschylus, _Choeph._ 604 _sqq._; Antoninus + Liberalis, _Transform._ ii.; Dio Chrysostom, _Or._ lxvii. vol. ii. + p. 231, ed. L. Dindorf (Leipsic, 1857); Hyginus, _Fab._ 171, 174; + Ovid, _Metam._ viii. 445 _sqq._ In his play on this theme Euripides + made the life of Meleager to depend on an olive-leaf which his + mother had given birth to along with the babe. See J. Malalas, + _Chronographia_, vi. pp. 165 _sq._ ed. L. Dindorf (Bonn, 1831); J. + Tzetzes, _Scholia on Lycophron_, 492 _sq._ (vol. ii. pp. 646 _sq._, + ed. Chr. G. Müller, Leipsic, 1811); G. Knaack, "Zur Meleagersage," + _Rheinisches Museum_, N. F. xlix. (1894) pp. 310-313. + + 336 Apollodorus, _Bibliotheca_, iii. 15. 8; Aeschylus, _Choeph._ 612 + _sqq._; Pausanias, i. 19. 4; _Ciris_, 116 _sqq._; Ovid, _Metam._ + viii. 8 _sqq._ According to J. Tzetzes (_Schol. on Lycophron_, 650) + not the life but the strength of Nisus was in his golden hair; when + it was pulled out, he became weak and was slain by Minos. According + to Hyginus (_Fab._ 198) Nisus was destined to reign only so long as + he kept the purple lock on his head. + + 337 Apollodorus, _Bibliotheca_, ii. 4. 5 and 7. + + 338 J. G. von Hahn, _Griechische und albanesische Märchen_ (Leipsic, + 1864), i. 217; a similar story, _ibid._ ii. 282. + + 339 B. Schmidt, _Griechische Märchen, Sagen und Volkslieder_ (Leipsic, + 1877), pp. 91 _sq._ The same writer found in the island of Zacynthus + a belief that the whole strength of the ancient Greeks resided in + three hairs on their breasts, and that it vanished whenever these + hairs were cut; but if the hairs were allowed to grow again, their + strength returned (B. Schmidt, _Das Volksleben der Neugriechen_, + Leipsic, 1871, p. 206). The Biblical story of Samson and Delilah + (Judges xvi.) implies a belief of the same sort, as G. A. Wilken + abundantly shewed in his paper, "De Simsonsage," _De Gids_, 1888, + No. 5 (reprinted in his _Verspreide Geschriften_, The Hague, 1912, + vol. iii. pp. 551-579). + + 340 J. G. von Hahn, _op. cit._ ii. 215 _sq._ + +_ 341 Ibid._ ii. 275 _sq._ Similar stories, _ibid._ ii. 204, 294 _sq._ In + an Albanian story a monster's strength is in three pigeons, which + are in a hare, which is in the silver tusk of a wild boar. When the + boar is killed, the monster feels ill; when the hare is cut open, he + can hardly stand on his feet; when the three pigeons are killed, he + expires. See Aug. Dozon, _Contes albanais_ (Paris, 1881), pp. 132 + _sq._ + + 342 J. G. von Hahn, _op. cit._ ii. 260 _sqq._ + +_ 343 Ibid._ i. 187. + +_ 344 Ibid._ ii. 23 _sq._ + + 345 Émile Legrand, _Contes populaires grecs_ (Paris, 1881), pp. 191 + _sqq._ + + M87 The external soul in Italian stories. Silvia's son. The dragon twin. + The soul in a gem. + + 346 Plutarch, _Parallela_, 26. In both the Greek and Italian stories the + subject of quarrel between nephew and uncles is the skin of a boar, + which the nephew presented to his lady-love and which his uncles + took from her. + + 347 G. Basile, _Pentamerone_, übertragen von Felix Liebrecht (Breslau, + 1846), ii. 60 _sq._ + + 348 R. H. Busk, _Folk-lore of Rome_ (London, 1874), pp. 164 _sqq._ + + M88 Italian story of a wicked fairy whose death was in an egg. A + sorcerer Body-without-Soul whose death was in an egg. + + 349 T. F. Crane, _Italian Popular Tales_ (London, 1885), pp. 31-34. The + hero had acquired the power of turning himself into an eagle, a + lion, and an ant from three creatures of these sorts whose quarrel + about their shares in a dead ass he had composed. This incident + occurs in other tales of the same type. See below, note 2 and pp. + 120 with note 2, 132, 133 with note 1. + + 350 J. B. Andrews, _Contes Ligures_ (Paris, 1892), No. 46, pp. 213 + _sqq._ In a parallel Sicilian story the hero Beppino slays a + sorcerer in the same manner after he had received from an eagle, a + lion, and an ant the same gift of transformation in return for the + same service. See G. Pitrè, _Fiabe, Novelle e Racconti popolari + Siciliani_, ii. (Palermo, 1875) p. 215; and for another Sicilian + parallel, Laura Gonzenbach, _Sicilianische Märchen_ (Leipsic, 1870), + No. 6, pp. 34-38. + + M89 The external soul in Slavonic stories. Russian story of Koshchei the + Deathless, whose death was in an egg. + + 351 Anton Dietrich, _Russian Popular Tales_ (London, 1857), pp. 21-24. + + M90 Other versions of the story of Koshchei the Deathless. Death in the + blue rose-tree. + + 352 Jeremiah Curtin, _Myths and Folk-tales of the Russians, Western + Slavs, and Magyars_ (London, 1891), pp. 119-122. Compare W. R. S. + Ralston, _Russian Folk-tales_ (London, 1873), pp. 100-105. + + 353 W. R. S. Ralston, _op. cit._ p. 109. + + 354 W. R. S. Ralston, _Russian Folk-tales_, pp. 113 _sq._ + +_ 355 Id._, p. 114. + + M91 The external soul in Bohemian and Servian stories. True Steel, whose + strength was in a bird. + +_ 356 Id._, p. 110. + + 357 Madam Csedomille Mijatovies, _Serbian Folk-lore_, edited by the Rev. + W. Denton (London, 1874), pp. 167-172; F. S. Krauss, _Sagen und + Märchen der Südslaven_ (Leipsic, 1883-1884), i. 164-169. + + M92 Servian story of the dragon of the water-mill whose strength was in + a pigeon. The fight with the dragon. + + 358 A. H. Wratislaw, _Sixty Folk-tales from exclusively Slavonic + Sources_ (London, 1889), pp. 224-231. + + M93 The external soul in a Lithuanian story. The Soulless King whose + soul was in a duck's egg. The Soulless King. The water of life. The + soul in the duck's egg. + + 359 A. Leskien und K. Brugmann, _Litauische Volkslieder und Märchen_ + (Strasburg, 1882), pp. 423-430; compare _id._, pp. 569-571. + + M94 The external soul in Teutonic stories. Transylvanian story of a + witch whose life was in a light. German story of Soulless the + cannibal, whose soul was in a box. The helpful animals. + + 360 Josef Haltrich, _Deutsche Volksmärchen aus dem Sachsenlande in + Siebenbürgen_4 (Vienna, 1885), No. 34 (No. 33 of the first edition), + pp. 149 _sq._ + + 361 J. W. Wolf, _Deutsche Märchen und Sagen_ (Leipsic, 1845), No. 20, + pp. 87-93. + + M95 German story of flowers that were life-tokens. + + 362 L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_ + (Oldenburg, 1867), ii. 306-308, § 622. In this story the flowers are + rather life-tokens than external souls. The life-token has been + carefully studied by Mr. E. S. Hartland in the second volume of his + learned work _The Legend of Perseus_ (London, 1895). + + M96 The warlock in the wood, whose heart was in a bird. + + 363 K. Müllenhoff, _Sagen, Märchen und Lieder der Herzogthümer Schleswig + Holstein und Lauenburg_ (Kiel, 1845), pp. 404 _sqq._ + + M97 The external soul in Norse stories. The giant whose heart was in a + duck's egg. + + 364 P. Chr. Asbjörnsen og J. Moe, _Norske Folke-Eventyr_ (Christiania, + N.D.), No. 36, pp. 174-180; G. W. Dasent, _Popular Tales from the + Norse_ (Edinburgh, 1859), pp. 55 _sqq._ + + 365 P. Chr. Asbjörnsen, _Norske Folke-Eventyr_, Ny Samling (Christiania, + 1871), No. 70, pp. 35-40; G. W. Dasent, _Tales from the Fjeld_ + (London, 1874), pp. 223-230 ("Boots and the Beasts"). As in other + tales of this type, it is said that the hero found three animals (a + lion, a falcon, and an ant) quarrelling over a dead horse, and + received from them the power of transforming himself into animals of + these species as a reward for dividing the carcase fairly among + them. + + M98 The external soul in Danish stories. The warlock whose heart was in + a duck's egg. The helpful animals. + + 366 Svend Grundtvig, _Dänische Volksmärchen_, übersetzt von A. + Strodtmann, Zweite Sammlung (Leipsic, 1879), pp. 194-218. + + M99 Danish story of the magician whose heart was in a fish. The + magician's heart. + + 367 Svend Grundtvig, _Dänische Volksmärchen_, übersetzt von Willibald + Leo (Leipsic, 1878), pp. 29-45. + + M100 The external soul in Icelandic stories. The king's son in the cave + of the giantesses whose life was in an egg. The swans' song. The + life-egg. An Icelandic parallel to Meleager. + + 368 J. C. Poestion, _Isländische Märchen_ (Vienna, 1884), No. vii. pp. + 49-55. The same story is told with minor variations by Konrad Maurer + in his _Isländische Volkssagen der Gegenwart_ (Leipsic, 1860), pp. + 277-280. In his version a giant and giantess, brother and sister, + have their life in one stone, which they throw backwards and + forwards to each other; when the stone is caught and broken by the + heroine, the giant and giantess at once expire. The tale was told to + Maurer when he was crossing an arm of the sea in a small boat; and + the waves ran so high and broke into the boat so that he could not + write the story down at the time but had to trust to his memory in + recording it afterwards. + + 369 W. Mannhardt, _Germanische Mythen_ (Berlin, 1858), p. 592; John + Jamieson, _Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language_, New + Edition, revised by J. Longmuir and D. Donaldson (Paisley, + 1879-1882), iv. 869, _s.v._ "Yule." + + M101 The external soul in Celtic stories. The giant whose soul was in a + duck's egg. + + 370 J. F. Campbell, _Popular Tales of the West Highlands_, New Edition + (Paisley and London, 1890), i. 7-11. + + 371 J. F. Campbell, _Popular Tales of the West Highlands_, New Edition, + i. 80 _sqq._ + + M102 The herdsman of Cruachan and the helpful animals. The simple giant + and the wily woman. + + 372 Compare _Taboo and the Perils of Soul_, p. 12. + + 373 Rev. D. MacInnes, _Folk and Hero Tales_ (London, 1890), pp. 103-121. + + M103 Argyleshire story of the Bare-Stripping Hangman whose soul was in a + duck's egg. + + 374 Rev. J. Macdougall, _Folk and Hero Tales_ (London, 1891), pp. 76 + _sqq._ (_Waifs and Strays of Celtic Tradition_, No. iii.). + + M104 Highland story of Headless Hugh. + + 375 Rev. James Macdonald, _Religion and Myth_ (London, 1893), pp. 187 + _sq._ The writer tells us that in his youth a certain old Betty + Miles used to terrify him with this tale. For the tradition of + Headless Hugh, who seems to have been the only son of Hector, first + chief of Lochbuy, in the fourteenth century, see J. G. Campbell, + _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of + Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), pp. III _sqq._ India also has its stories + of headless horsemen. See W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folk-lore + of Northern India_ (London, 1896), i. 256 _sqq._ + + M105 The Mackays the descendants of the seal. + + 376 Rev. James Macdonald, _Religion and Myth_, pp. 191 _sq._, from + information furnished by the Rev. A. Mackay. In North Uist there is + a sept known as "the MacCodrums of the seals." and a precisely + similar legend is told to explain their descent from seals. See J. + G. Campbell, _Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of + Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1900), p. 284. + + M106 The external soul in Irish and Breton stories. The giant and the + egg. The helpful animals. Body-without-Soul. The helpful animals. + The giant whose life was in a box-tree. + + 377 Jeremiah Curtin, _Myths and Folk-tales of Ireland_ (London, N.D.), + pp. 71 _sqq._ + + 378 P. Sébillot, _Contes populaires de la Haute-Bretagne_ (Paris, 1885), + pp. 63 _sqq._ + + 379 F. M. Luzel, _Contes populaires de Basse-Bretagne_ (Paris, 1887), i. + 435-449. Compare _id._, _Veillées Bretonnes_ (Morlaix, 1879), pp. + 133 _sq._ For two other French stories of the same type, taken down + in Lorraine, see E. Cosquin, _Contes populaires de Lorraine_ (Paris, + N.D.), Nos. 15 and 50 (vol. i. pp. 166 _sqq._, vol. ii. pp. 128 + _sqq._). In both of them there figures a miraculous beast which can + only be slain by breaking a certain egg against its head; but we are + not told that the life of the beast was in the egg. In both of them + also the hero receives from three animals, whose dispute about the + carcase of a dead beast he has settled, the power of changing + himself into animals of the same sort. See the remarks and + comparisons of the learned editor, Monsieur E. Cosquin, _op. cit._ + i. 170 _sqq._ + + 380 F. M. Luzel, _Veillées Bretonnes_ pp. 127 _sqq._ + + M107 The external soul in stories of non-Aryan peoples. The ancient + Egyptian story of the Two Brothers. The heart in the flower of the + Acacia. + M108 Bata in the Valley of the Acacia. How Bata died and was brought to + life again. + + 381 (Sir) Gaston Maspero, _Contes populaires de l'Égypte ancienne_3 + (Paris, N.D.), pp. 1 _sqq._; W. M. Flinders Petrie, _Egyptian + Tales_, Second Series (London, 1895), pp. 36 _sqq._; Alfred + Wiedemann, _Altägyptische Sagen und Märchen_ (Leipsic, 1906), pp. + 58-77. Compare W. Mannhardt, "Das älteste Märchen," _Zeitschrift für + deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, iv. (1859) pp. 232-259. The + manuscript of the story, which is now in the British Museum, + belonged to an Egyptian prince, who was afterwards King Seti II. and + reigned about the year 1300 B.C. It is beautifully written and in + almost perfect condition. + + M109 The external soul in Arabian stories. The jinnee and the sparrow. + The ogress and the bottle. + +_ 382 The Thousand and One Nights, commonly called, in England, The + Arabian Nights' Entertainments_, translated by E. W. Lane (London, + 1839-1841), iii. 339-345. + + 383 G. Spitta-Bey, _Contes arabes modernes_ (Leyden and Paris, 1883), + No. 2, pp. 12 _sqq._ The story in its main outlines is identical + with the Cashmeer story of "The Ogress Queen" (J. H. Knowles, + _Folk-tales of Kashmir_, pp. 42 _sqq._) and the Bengalee story of + "The Boy whom Seven Mothers Suckled" (Lal Behari Day, _Folk-tales of + Bengal_, pp. 117 _sqq._; _Indian Antiquary_, i. 170 _sqq._). In + another Arabian story the life of a witch is bound up with a phial; + when it is broken, she dies (W. A. Clouston, _A Group of Eastern + Romances and Stories_, Privately printed, 1889, p. 30). A similar + incident occurs in a Cashmeer story (J. H. Knowles, _op. cit._ p. + 73). In the Arabian story mentioned in the text, the hero, by a + genuine touch of local colour, is made to drink the milk of an + ogress's breasts and hence is regarded by her as her son. The same + incident occurs in Kabyle and Berber tales. See J. Rivière, _Contes + populaires de la Kabylie du Djurdjura_ (Paris, 1882), p. 239; R. + Basset, _Nouveaux Contes Berbères_ (Paris, 1897), p. 128, with the + editor's note, pp. 339 _sqq._ In a Mongolian story a king refuses to + kill a lad because he has unwittingly partaken of a cake kneaded + with the milk of the lad's mother (B. Jülg, _Mongolische + Märchen-Sammlung, die neun Märchen des Siddhi-Kür_, Innsbruck, 1868, + p. 183). Compare W. Robertson Smith, _Kinship and Marriage in Early + Arabia_, New Edition (London, 1903), p. 176; and for the same mode + of creating kinship among other races, see A. d'Abbadie, _Douze ans + dans la Haute Ethiopie_ (Paris, 1868), pp. 272 _sq._; Tausch, + "Notices of the Circassians," _Journal of the Royal Asiatic + Society_, i. (1834) p. 104; J. Biddulph, _Tribes of the Hindoo + Koosh_ (London, 1880), pp. 77, 83 (compare G. W. Leitner, _Languages + and Races of Dardistan_, Lahore, 1878, p. 34); Denzil C. J. + Ibbetson, _Settlement Report of the Panipat, Tahsil, and Karnal + Parganah of the Karnal District_ (Allahabad, 1883), p. 101; J. + Moura, _Le Royaume du Cambodge_ (Paris, 1883), i. 427; F. S. Krauss, + _Sitte und Brauch der Südslaven_ (Vienna, 1885), p. 14; J. H. Weeks, + _Among Congo Cannibals_ (London, 1913), p. 132. When the Masai of + East Africa make peace with an enemy, each tribe brings a cow with a + calf and a woman with a baby. The two cows are exchanged, and the + enemy's child is suckled at the breast of the Masai woman, and the + Masai baby is suckled at the breast of the woman belonging to the + enemy. See A. C. Hollis, _The Masai_ (Oxford, 1905), pp. 321 _sq._ + + M110 The external soul in Basque, Kabyle, and Magyar stories. + + 384 W. Webster, _Basque Legends_ (London, 1877), pp. 80 _sqq._; J. + Vinson, _Le folk-lore du pays Basque_ (Paris, 1883), pp. 84 _sqq._ + As so often in tales of this type, the hero is said to have received + his wonderful powers of metamorphosis from animals whom he found + quarrelling about their shares in a dead beast. + + 385 J. Rivière, _Contes populaires de la Kabylie du Djurdjura_ (Paris, + 1882), p. 191. + + 386 W. H. Jones and L. L. Kropf, _The Folk-tales of the Magyar_ (London, + 1889), pp. 205 _sq._ + + 387 R. H. Busk, _The Folk-lore of Rome_ (London, 1874), p. 168. + + M111 The external soul in a Lapp story. The giant whose life was in a + hen's egg. The helpful animals. + + 388 F. Liebrecht, "Lappländische Märchen," _Germania_, N.R., iii. (1870) + pp. 174 _sq._; F. C. Poestion, _Lappländische Märchen_ (Vienna, + 1886), No. 20, pp. 81 _sqq._ + + M112 The external soul in Samoyed and Kalmuck stories. + + 389 A. Castren, _Ethnologische Vorlesungen über die altaischen Völker_ + (St. Petersburg, 1857), pp. 173 _sqq._ + + 390 B. Jülg, _Kalmückische Märchen_ (Leipsic, 1866), No. 12, pp. 58 + _sqq._ + + M113 The external soul in Tartar poems. + + 391 Anton Schiefner, _Heldensagen der Minussinschen Tataren_ (St. + Petersburg, 1859), pp. 172-176. + + 392 A. Schiefner, _op. cit._ pp. 108-112. + + 393 A. Schiefner, _op. cit._ pp. 360-364; A. Castren, _Vorlesungen über + die finnische Mythologie_ (St. Petersburg, 1857), pp. 186 _sq._ + + 394 A. Schiefner, _op. cit._ pp. 189-193. In another Tartar poem + (Schiefner, _op. cit._ pp. 390 _sq._) a boy's soul is shut up by his + enemies in a box. While the soul is in the box, the boy is dead; + when it is taken out, he is restored to life. In the same poem (p. + 384) the soul of a horse is kept shut up in a box, because it is + feared the owner of the horse will become the greatest hero on + earth. But these cases are, to some extent, the converse of those in + the text. + + M114 The external soul in a Mongolian story and Tartar poems. + + 395 Schott, "Ueber die Sage von Geser-Chan," _Abhandlungen der + königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin_, 1851, p. 269. + + 396 W. Radloff, _Proben der Volkslitteratur der türkischen Stämme + Süd-Sibiriens_, ii. (St. Petersburg, 1868), pp. 237 _sq._ + + 397 W. Radloff, _op. cit._ ii. 531 _sqq._ + + 398 W. Radloff, _op. cit._ iv. (St. Petersburg, 1872) pp. 88 _sq._ + + 399 W. Radloff, _op. cit._ i. (St. Petersburg, 1866) pp. 345 _sq._ + + M115 The external soul in a Chinese story. + + 400 J. J. M. de Groot, _The Religious System of China_, iv. (Leyden, + 1901) pp. 105 _sq._ + + M116 The external soul in a story told by the Khasis of Assam. + + 401 Major P. R. T. Gurdon, _The Khasis_ (London, 1907), pp. 181-184. + + M117 The external soul in a Malay poem. Bidasari and the golden fish. + + 402 G. A. Wilken, "De betrekking tusschen menschen- dieren- en + plantenleven naar het volksgeloof," _De Indische Gids_, November + 1884, pp. 600-602; _id._, "De Simsonsage," _De Gids_, 1888, No. 5, + pp. 6 _sqq._ (of the separate reprint); _id._, _Verspreide + Geschriften_ (The Hague, 1912), iii. 296-298, 559-561. Compare L. de + Backer, _L'Archipel Indien_ (Paris, 1874), pp. 144-149. The Malay + text of the long poem was published with a Dutch translation and + notes by W. R. van Hoëvell ("Sjaïr Bidasari, een oorspronkelijk + Maleisch Gedicht, uitgegeven en van eene Vertaling en Aanteekeningen + voorzien," _Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van + Kunsten en Wetenschappen_, xix. (Batavia, 1843) pp. 1-421). + + M118 The external soul in a story told in Nias. + + 403 J. T. Nieuwenhuisen en H. C. B. von Rosenberg, "Verslag omtrent het + eiland Nias," _Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van + Kunsten en Wetenschappen_, xxx. (Batavia, 1863) p. 111; H. + Sundermann, "Die Insel Nias," _Allgemeine Missions-Zeitschrift_, xi. + (1884) p. 453; _id._, _Die Insel Nias und die Mission daselbst_ + (Barmen, 1905), p. 71. Compare E. Modigliani, _Un Viaggio a Nías_ + (Milan, 1890), p. 339. + + M119 The external soul in a Hausa story. The king whose life was in a + box. The helpful animals. + + 404 Major A. J. N. Tremearne, _Hausa Superstitions and Customs_ (London, + 1913), pp. 131 _sq._ The original Hausa text of the story appears to + be printed in Major Edgar's _Litafi na Tatsuniyoyi na Hausa_ (ii. + 27), to which Major Tremearne refers (p. 9). + + M120 The external soul in a South Nigerian story. The external soul in a + story told by the Ba-Ronga of South Africa. The Clan of the Cat. + + 405 Major A. G. Leonard, _The Lower Niger and its Tribes_ (London, + 1906), pp. 319-321. + + 406 Henri A. Junod, _Les Chants et les Contes des Ba-ronga_ (Lausanne, + N.D.), pp. 253-256; _id._, _The Life of a South African Tribe_ + (Neuchatel, 1912-1913), i. 338 _sq._ + + M121 The external soul in stories told by the North American Indians. The + ogress whose life was in a hemlock branch. + + 407 J. Curtin, _Myths and Folk-tales of the Russians, Western Slavs, and + Magyars_ (London, 1891), p. 551. The writer does not mention his + authorities. + + 408 G. B. Grinnell, _Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk-tales_ (New York, + 1889), pp. 121 _sqq._, "The Bear Man." + + 409 Washington Matthews, "The Mountain Chant: a Navajo Ceremony," _Fifth + Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_ (Washington, 1887), pp. + 406 _sq._ + + 410 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. 373. + + M122 The external soul in folk-custom. + M123 The soul removed from the body as a precaution in seasons of danger. + Souls of people collected in a bag at a house-warming. Soul of a + woman put in a chopping-knife at childbirth. + +_ 411 Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 63 _sq._ + + 412 B. F. Matthes, _Bijdragen tot de Ethnologie van Zuid-Celebes_ (The + Hague, 1875), p. 54. + + 413 A. C. Kruijt, "Een en ander aangaande het geestelijk en + maatschappelijk leven van den Poso-Alfoer," _Mededeelingen van wege + het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xxxix. (1895) pp. 23 _sq._; + _id._, "Van Paloppo naar Posso," _Mededeelingen van wege het + Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xlii. (1898) p. 72. As to the + _lamoa_ in general, see A. C. Kruijt, _op. cit._ xl. (1896) pp. 10 + _sq._ + + 414 A. C. Kruijt, "Het koppensnellen der Toradja's van Midden-Celebes, + en zijne beteekenis," _Verslagen en Mededeelingen der koninklijke + Akademie der Wetenschappen_, Afdeeling Letterkunde, iv. Reeks, iii. + (Amsterdam, 1899) pp. 201 _sq._; _id._, "Het ijzer in + Midden-Celebes," _Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde van + Nederlandsch- Indië_, liii. (1901) pp. 156 _sq._ Both the + interpretations in the text appear to be inferences drawn by Mr. + Kruijt from the statement of the natives, that, if they did not hang + up these wooden models in the smithy, "the iron would flow away and + be unworkable" ("_zou het ijzer vervloeien en onbewerkbaar + worden_"). + + M124 Soul of a child put for safety in an empty coco-nut or a bag. Souls + of people in ornaments, horns, a column, and so forth. The souls of + Egyptian kings in portrait statues. A man's life bound up with the + fire in his lodge. + + 415 A. H. B. Agerbeek, "Enkele gebruiken van de Dajaksche bevolking der + Pinoehlanden," _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en + Volkenkunde_, li. (1909) pp. 447 _sq._ + + 416 J. A. Jacobsen, _Reisen in die Inselwelt des Banda-Meeres_ (Berlin, + 1896), p. 199. + + 417 In a long list of female ornaments the prophet Isaiah mentions (iii. + 20) "houses of the soul" ({~HEBREW LETTER BET~}{~HEBREW LETTER TAV~} {~HEBREW LETTER HE~}{~HEBREW LETTER NUN~}{~HEBREW LETTER PE~}{~HEBREW LETTER SHIN~}) or ({~HEBREW LETTER SHIN~}{~HEBREW LETTER PE~}{~HEBREW LETTER NUN~}{~HEBREW LETTER HE~} {~HEBREW LETTER TAV~}{~HEBREW LETTER BET~}), which modern + scholars suppose to have been perfume boxes, as the Revised English + Version translates the phrase. The name, literally translated + "houses of the soul," suggests that these trinkets were amulets of + the kind mentioned in the text. See my article, "Folk-lore in the + Old Testament," _Anthropological Essays presented to E. B. Tylor_ + (Oxford, 1907), pp. 148 _sqq._ In ancient Egyptian tombs there are + often found plaques or palettes of schist bearing traces of paint; + some of them are decorated with engravings of animals or historical + scenes, others are modelled in the shape of animals of various + sorts, such as antelopes, hippopotamuses, birds, tortoises, and + fish. As a rule only one such plaque is found in a tomb, and it lies + near the hands of the mummy. It has been conjectured by M. Jean + Capart that these plaques are amulets or soul-boxes, in which the + external souls of the dead were supposed to be preserved. See Jean + Capart, _Les Palettes en schiste de L'Égypte primitive_ (Brussels, + 1908), pp. 5 _sqq._, 19 _sqq._ (separate reprint from the _Revue des + Questions Scientifiques_, avril, 1908). For a full description of + these plaques or palettes, see Jean Capart, _Les Débuts de l'Art en + Égypte_ (Brussels, 1904), pp. 76 _sqq._, 221 _sqq._ + + 418 Miss Alice Werner, in a letter to the author, dated 25th September + 1899. Miss Werner knew the old woman. Compare _Contemporary Review_, + lxx. (July-December 1896), p. 389, where Miss Werner describes the + ornament as a rounded peg, tapering to a point, with a neck or notch + at the top. + + 419 Rev. James Macdonald, _Religion and Myth_ (London, 1893), p. 190. + Compare Dudley Kidd, _The Essential Kafir_ (London, 1904), p. 83: + "The natives occasionally fix ox-horns in their roofs and say that + the spirit of the chief lives in these horns and protects the hut; + these horns also protect the hut from lightning, though not in + virtue of their spiritual connections. (They are also used simply as + ornaments.)" No doubt amulets often degenerate into ornaments. + + 420 R. Thurnwald, "Im Bismarckarchipel und auf den Salomo-inseln," + _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, xlii. (1910) p. 136. As to the + Ingniet, Ingiet, or Iniet Society see P. A. Kleintitschen, _Die + Küstenbewohner der Gazellehalbinsel_ (Hiltrup bei Münster, N.D.), + pp. 354 _sqq._; R. Parkinson, _Dreissig Jahre in der Südsee_ + (Stuttgart, 1907), pp. 598 _sqq._ + + 421 G. Cedrenus, _Historiarum Compendium_, p. 625B, vol. ii. p. 308, ed. + Im. Bekker (Bonn, 1838-1839). + + 422 Alexandre Moret, _Du caractère religieux de la Royauté Pharaonique_ + (Paris, 1902), pp. 224 _sqq._ As to the Egyptian doctrine of the + spiritual double or soul (_ka_), see A. Wiedemann, _The Ancient + Egyptian Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul_ (London, 1895), + pp. 10 _sqq._; A. Erman, _Die ägyptische Religion_ (Berlin, 1905), + p. 88; A. Moret, _Mystères Égyptiens_ (Paris, 1913), pp. 199 _sqq._ + + 423 F. Mason, "Physical Character of the Karens," _Journal of the + Asiatic Society of Bengal_, 1866, Part ii. No. 1, p. 9. + +_ 424 A Narrative of the Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner, during + Thirty Years' Residence among the Indians_, prepared for the press + by Edwin James, M.D. (London, 1830), pp. 155 _sq._ The passage has + been already quoted by Sir John Lubbock (Lord Avebury) in his + _Origin of Civilisation_4 (London, 1882), p. 241. + + M125 Strength of people supposed to reside in their hair. + + 425 François Valentijn, _Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën_ (Dordrecht and + Amsterdam, 1724-1726), ii. 143 _sq._; G. A. Wilken, "De Simsonsage," + _De Gids_, 1888, No. 5, pp. 15 _sq._ (of the separate reprint); + _id._, _Verspreide Geschriften_ (The Hague, 1912), iii. 569 _sq._ + + 426 J. G. F. Riedel, _De sluik- en kroesharige rassen tusschen Selebes + en Papua_ (The Hague, 1886), p. 137. + + M126 Witches and wizards shaved to deprive them of their power. + + 427 J. G. Dalyell, _The darker Superstitions of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, + 1834), pp. 637-639; C. de Mensignac, _Recherches ethnographiques sur + la Salive et le Crachat_ (Bordeaux, 1892), p. 49 note. + + 428 W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India_ + (Westminster, 1896), ii. 281. + + 429 W. Crooke, _op. cit._ ii. 281 _sq._ + + 430 B. de Sahagun, _Histoire des choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_, + traduite par D. Journdanet et R. Siméon (Paris, 1880), p. 274. + + M127 Life of a person supposed to be bound up with that of a tree or + plant. Birth-trees in Africa. + + 431 Above, pp. 102, 110, 117 _sq._, 135, 136. + + 432 Walter E. Roth, _North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin, No. 5, + Superstition, Magic, and Medicine_ (Brisbane, 1903), p. 27. + + 433 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), p. 202. + + 434 G. Duloup, "Huit jours chez les M'Bengas," _Revue d'Ethnographie_, + ii. (1883), p. 223; compare P. Barret, _L'Afrique Occidentale_ + (Paris, 1888), ii. 173. + + 435 Fr. Kunstmann, "Valentin Ferdinand's Beschreibung der Serra Leoa," + _Abhandlungen der histor. Classe der könig. Bayer. Akad. der + Wissenschaften_, ix. (1866) pp. 131 _sq._ + + 436 Bruno Gutmann, "Feldbausitten und Wachstumsbräuche der Wadschagga," + _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, xlv. (1913), p. 496. + + 437 C. Velten, _Sitten und Gebräuche der Suaheli_ (Göttingen, 1903), pp. + 8 _sq._ In Java it is customary to plant a tree, for example, a + coco-nut palm, at the birth of a child, and when he grows up he + reckons his age by the age of the tree. See _Annales de la + Propagation de la Foi_, iii. (Lyons and Paris, 1830) pp. 400 _sq._ + + 438 A. Bastian, _Die deutsche Expedition an der Loango-Küste_ (Jena, + 1874-1875), i. 165. + + 439 Rev. J. Macdonald, _Religion and Myth_ (London, 1893), p. 178. + + 440 H. Trilles, _Le Totémisme chez les Fân_ (Münster i. W., 1912), p. + 570. + + 441 Rev. John H. Weeks, _Among Congo Cannibals_ (London, 1913), p. 295. + + 442 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), pp. 52, 54 _sq._ + Compare _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 295 _sq._; + and for other examples of burying the afterbirth or navel-string at + the foot of a tree or planting a young tree over these remains, see + _id._, pp. 182 _sqq._ In Kiziba, a district to the west of Lake + Victoria Nyanza, the afterbirth is similarly regarded as a sort of + human being. Hence when twins are born the people speak of four + children instead of two, reckoning the two afterbirths as two + children. See H. Rehse, _Kiziba, Land und Leute_ (Stuttgart, 1910), + p. 117. The conception of the afterbirth and navel-string as + spiritual doubles of the child with whom they are born is held very + firmly by the Kooboos, a primitive tribe of Sumatra. We are told + that among these people "a great vital power is ascribed to the + navel-string and afterbirth; because they are looked upon as brother + or sister of the infant, and though their bodies have not come to + perfection, yet their soul and spirit are just as normal as those of + the child and indeed have even reached a much higher stage of + development. The navel-string (_oeri_) and afterbirth (_tem-boeni_) + visit the man who was born with them thrice a day and thrice by + night till his death, or they hover near him ('_zweven voorbij hem + heen_'). They are the good spirits, a sort of guardian angels of the + man who came into the world with them and who lives on earth; they + are said to guard him from all evil. Hence it is that the Kooboo + always thinks of his navel-string and afterbirth (_oeri-temboeni_) + before he goes to sleep or to work, or undertakes a journey, and so + on. Merely to think of them is enough; there is no need to invoke + them, or to ask them anything, or to entreat them. By not thinking + of them a man deprives himself of their good care." Immediately + after the birth the navel-string and afterbirth are buried in the + ground close by the spot where the birth took place; and a ceremony + is performed over it, for were the ceremony omitted, the + navel-string and afterbirth, "instead of being a good spirit for the + newly born child, might become an evil spirit for him and visit him + with all sorts of calamities out of spite for this neglect." The + nature of the ceremony performed over the spot is not described by + our authority. The navel-string and afterbirth are often regarded by + the Kooboos as one; their names are always mentioned together. See + G. J. van Dongen, "De Koeboe in de Onderafdeeling Koeboe-streken der + Residentie Palembang," _Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde + van Nederlandsch-Indië_, lxiii. (1910) pp. 229 _sq._ + + 443 Franz Stuhlmann, _Mit Emin Pascha ins Herz von Afrika_ (Berlin, + 1894), p. 653. + + M128 Birth-trees among the Papuans, Maoris, Fijians, Dyaks, and others. + + 444 A. Bastian, _Ein Besuch in San Salvador_ (Bremen, 1859), pp. 103 + _sq._; _id._, _Der Mensch in der Geschichte_ (Leipsic, 1860), iii. + 193. + + 445 R. Taylor, _Te Ika a Maui, or New Zealand and its Inhabitants_2 + (London, 1870), p. 184; Dumont D'Urville, _Voyage autour du monde et + à la recherche de La Pérouse sur la corvette Astrolabe_, ii. 444. + + 446 W. T. L. Travers, "Notes of the traditions and manners and customs + of the Mori-oris," _Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand + Institute_, ix. (1876) p. 22. + + 447 The late Rev. Lorimer Fison, in a letter to me dated May 29th, 1901. + Compare _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 184. + + 448 N. Annandale, "Customs of the Malayo-Siamese," _Fasciculi + Malayenses_, Anthropology, part ii. (a) (May, 1904), p. 5. + + 449 B. F. Matthes, _Bijdragen tot de Ethnologie van Zuid-Celebes_ (The + Hague, 1875), p. 59. + + 450 R. van Eck, "Schetsen van het eiland Bali," _Tijdschrift voor + Nederlandsch Indië_, N.S., ix. (1880) pp. 417 _sq._ + + 451 G. A. Wilken, "De Simsonsage," _De Gids_, 1888, No. 5, p. 26 (of the + separate reprint); _id._, _Verspreide Geschriften_ (The Hague, + 1912), iii. 562. + + 452 M. C. Schadee, "Het familieleven en familierecht der Dajaks van + Landak en Tajan," _Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde van + Nederlandsch-Indië_, lxiii. (1910) p. 416. + + 453 F. Grabowsky, "Die Theogenie der Dajaken auf Borneo," + _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, v. (1892) p. 133. + + 454 J. Perham, "Manangism in Borneo," _Journal of the Straits Branch of + the Royal Asiatic Society_, No. 19 (Singapore, 1887), p. 97; _id._, + in H. Ling Roth, _The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo_ + (London, 1896), i. 278. + + M129 Birth-trees in Europe. Marriage oaks. Trees with which the fate of + families or individuals is thought to be bound up. The Edgewell oak. + The old tree at Howth Castle. The oak of the Guelphs. + + 455 Angelo de Gubernatis, _Mythologie des Plantes_ (Paris, 1878-1882), + i. pp. xxviii. _sq._ + + 456 W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 50; H. Ploss, _Das Kind_2 (Leipsic, + 1884), i. 79. + + 457 K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg_ (Vienna, + 1879-1880), ii. p. 43, § 63. + + 458 F. S. Krauss, "Haarschurgodschaft bei den Südslaven," + _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, vii. (1894) p. 193. + + 459 Karl Haupt, _Sagenbuch der Lausitz_ (Leipsic, 1862-1863), ii. 129, + No. 207. + + 460 "Heilige Haine und Bäume der Finnen," _Globus_, lix. (1891) p. 350. + Compare K. Rhamm, "Der heidenische Gottesdienst des finnischen + Stammes," _Globus_, lxvii. (1891) p. 344. + + 461 Thomas Moore, _Life of Lord Byron_, i. 101 (i. 148, in the collected + edition of Byron's works, London, 1832-1833). + + 462 J. G. Lockhart, _Life of Sir Walter Scott_ (First Edition), vi. 283 + (viii. 317, Second Edition, Edinburgh, 1839). + + 463 Sir Walter Scott's _Journal_ (First Edition, Edinburgh, 1890), ii. + 282, with the editor's note. + + 464 Letter of Miss A. H. Singleton to me, dated Rathmagle House, Abbey + Leix, Ireland, 24th February, 1904. + + 465 P. Wagler, _Die Eiche in alter und neuer Zeit_, ii. (Berlin, 1891) + pp. 85 _sq._ + + M130 The Life-tree of the Manchu dynasty. + +_ 466 Die Woche_, Berlin, 31 August, 1901, p. 3, with an illustration + shewing the garden and the tree. + + M131 The myrtle-trees of the patricians and plebeians at Rome. The oak of + the Vespasian family. + + 467 Pliny, _Natur. Hist._ xv. 120 _sq._ + + 468 Suetonius, _Divus Vespasianus_, 5. + + M132 Life of persons supposed to be bound up with that of the cleft trees + through which in their youth they were passed as a cure for rupture. + In England ruptured children are passed through cleft ash-trees. + +_ 469 The Gentleman's Magazine_, 1804, p. 909; John Brand, _Popular + Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1882-1883), iii. 289. + + 470 Gilbert White, _The Natural History of Selborne_, Part II. Letter 28 + (Edinburgh, 1829), pp. 239 _sq._; Francis Grose, _A Provincial + Glossary_ (London, 1811), p. 290; J. Brand, _op. cit._ iii. 287-292; + R. Hunt, _Popular Romances of the West of England_3 (London, 1881), + pp. 415, 421; W. G. Black, _Folk-medicine_ (London, 1883), pp. 67 + _sq._; W. Wollaston Groome, "Suffolk Leechcraft," _Folk-lore_, vi. + (1895) pp. 123 _sq._; E. S. Hartland, in _Folk-lore_, vii. (1896) + pp. 303-306; _County Folk-lore, Suffolk_, edited by Lady E. C. + Gurdon (London, 1893) pp. 26-28; Beatrix A. Wherry, "Miscellaneous + Notes from Monmouthshire," _Folk-lore_, xvi. (1905) p. 65; Marie + Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, 1909), p. + 320. Sometimes the tree was an oak instead of an ash (M. Trevelyan, + _l.c._). To ensure the success of the cure various additional + precautions are sometimes recommended, as that the ash should be a + maiden, that is a tree that has never been topped or cut; that the + split should be made east and west; that the child should be passed + into the tree by a maiden and taken out on the other side by a boy; + that the child should always be passed through head foremost (but + according to others feet foremost), and so forth. In Surrey we hear + of a holly-tree being used instead of an ash (_Notes and Queries_, + Sixth Series, xi. Jan.-Jun. 1885, p. 46). + + M133 The practice in Sussex. + + 471 "Some West Sussex superstitions lingering in 1868, collected by + Charlotte Latham, at Fittleworth," _Folk-lore Record_, i. (1878) pp. + 40 _sq._ + + M134 Sick children passed through cleft trees, especially oaks, as a cure + in Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden, and Greece. + + 472 For the custom in Germany and Austria, see J. Grimm, _Deutsche + Mythologie_,4 ii. 975 _sq._; A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche + Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 317, § 503; A. Kuhn und W. + Schwartz, _Nord-deutsche Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche_ (Leipsic, + 1848), pp. 443 _sq._; J. F. L. Woeste, _Volksüberlieferungen in der + Grafschaft Mark_ (Iserlohn, 1848), p. 54; E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, + Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_ (Stuttgart, 1852), p. 390, § 56; + F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), + ii. 301; _Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_, + ii. (Munich, 1863) p. 255; J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch, + Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte Ueberlieferungen im Voigtlande_ + (Leipsic, 1867), pp. 415 _sq._; L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und + Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), i. 72 _sq._, + § 88; K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg_ + (Vienna, 1879-1880), ii. 290 _sq._, § 1447; J. Haltrich, _Zur + Volkskunde der Siebenbürger Sachsen_ (Vienna, 1885), p. 264; P. + Wagler, _Die Eiche in alter und neuer Zeit_, i. (Wurzen, 1891) pp. + 21-23. As to the custom in France, see Marcellus, _De medicamentis_, + xxxiii. 26 (where the tree is a cherry); J. B. Thiers, _Traité des + Superstitions_ (Paris, 1679), pp. 333 _sq._; A. de Nore, _Coutumes, + Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de France_ (Paris and Lyons, + 1846), p. 231; L. J. B. Bérenger-Féraud, in _Bullétins de la Société + d'Anthropologie de Paris_, iv. série, i. (1890) pp. 895-902; _id._, + _Superstitions et Survivances_ (Paris, 1896), i. 523 _sqq._ As to + the custom in Denmark and Sweden, see J. Grimm, _Deutsche + Mythologie_,4 ii. 976; H. F. Feilberg, "Zwieselbäume nebst + verwandtem Aberglauben in Skandinavien," _Zeitschrift des Vereins + für Volkskunde_, vii. (1897) pp. 42 _sqq._ In Mecklenburg it is + sometimes required that the tree should have been split by lightning + (K. Bartsch, _l.c._). The whole subject of passing sick people + through narrow apertures as a mode of cure has been well handled in + an elegant little monograph (_Un Vieux Rite médical_, Paris, 1892) + by Monsieur H. Gaidoz, who rightly rejects the theory that all such + passages are symbols of a new birth. But I cannot agree with him in + thinking that the essence of the rite consists in the transference + of the disease from the person to the tree; rather, it seems to me, + the primary idea is that of interposing an impassable barrier + between a fugitive and his pursuing foe, though no doubt the enemy + thus left behind is apparently supposed to adhere to the further + side of the obstacle (whether tree, stone, or what not) through + which he cannot pass. However, the sympathetic relation supposed to + exist between the sufferer and the tree through which he has been + passed certainly favours the view that he has left some portion of + himself attached to the tree. But in this as in many similar cases, + the ideas in the minds of the persons who practise the custom are + probably vague, confused, and inconsistent; and we need not attempt + to define them precisely. Compare also R. Andree, _Ethnographische + Parallelen und Vergleiche_ (Stuttgart, 1878), pp. 31 _sq._; E. S. + Hartland, _The Legend of Perseus_ (London, 1894-1896), ii. 146 + _sq._; L. J. B. Bérenger-Féraud, _Superstitions et Survivances_ + (Paris, 1896), i. 523-540. + + 473 L. Strackerjan, _l.c._; K. Bartsch, _l.c._ + + 474 E. Meier, _l.c._; _Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs + Bayern_, ii. 255; A. Wuttke, _l.c._ + + 475 H. F. Feilberg, "Zwieselbäume nebst verwandtem Aberglauben in + Skandinavien," _Zeitschrift des Vereins für Volkskunde_, vii. (1897) + p. 44. + + 476 J. Theodore Bent, _The Cyclades_ (London, 1885), pp. 457 _sq._ + + M135 Sympathetic relation thought to exist between the child and the tree + through which it has been passed. The disease is apparently thought + to be left behind on the farther side of the cleft tree. + + 477 H. Ploss, _Das Kind_2 (Leipsic, 1884), ii. 221. + + 478 R. Baier, "Beiträge von der Insel Rügen," _Zeitschrift für deutsche + Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, ii. (1855) p. 141. + + M136 Creeping through cleft trees to get rid of spirits in Armenia and + Nias. Among the Bella Coola Indians mourners creep through cleft + trees to get rid of the ghost. + + 479 Manuk Abeghian, _Der armenische Volksglaube_ (Leipsic, 1899), p. 58. + + 480 Fr. Kramer, "Der Götzendienst der Niasser," _Tijdschrift voor + Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xxxiii. (1890) pp. 478-480; H. + Sundermann, _Die Insel Nias und die Mission daselbst_ (Barmen, + 1905), pp. 81-83. According to the latter writer the intention of + passing through the cleft stick is "to strip off from himself (_von + zich abzustreifen_) the last spirit that may have followed him." The + notion that the sun causes death by drawing away the souls of the + living is Indian. See _The Satapatha Brâhmana_, ii. 3. 3. 7-8, + translated by Julius Eggeling, Part I. (Oxford, 1882) p. 343 + (_Sacred Books of the East_, vol. xii.): "Now yonder burning (sun) + doubtless is no other than Death; and because he is Death, therefore + the creatures that are on this side of him die. But those that are + on the other side of him are the gods, and they are therefore + immortal.... And the breath of whomsoever he (the sun) wishes he + takes and rises, and that one dies." + + 481 Fr. Boas, in _Seventh Report on the North-Western Tribes of Canada_, + p. 13 (separate reprint from the _Report of the British + Association_, Cardiff meeting, 1891). The Shuswap Indians of the + same region also fence their beds against ghosts with a hedge of + thorn bushes. See _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, p. 142. + + M137 The Madangs of Borneo creep through a cleft stick after a funeral in + order to rid themselves of the ghost. + + 482 C. Hose, "In the heart of Borneo," _The Geographical Journal_, xvi. + (1900) pp. 45 _sq._ Compare C. Hose and W. McDougall, _The Pagan + Tribes of Borneo_ (London, 1912), ii. 36 _sq._, where, after + describing the ceremony of passing through the cloven stick, the + writers add: "In this way the Kayans symbolically prevent any of the + uncanny influences of the graveyard following the party back to the + house; though they do not seem to be clear as to whether it is the + ghosts of the dead, or the _Toh_ of the neighbourhood, or those + which may have contributed to his death, against whom these + precautions are taken." + + M138 The cleft stick or tree through which a person passes is a barrier + to part him from a dangerous foe; the closing of the cleft is like + shutting the door in the face of a pursuer. But combined with this + in the case of ruptured patients seems to be the idea that the + rupture heals sympathetically as the cleft in the tree closes. + Analogous Roman cure for dislocation. + + 483 Cato, _De agri cultura_, 159 (pp. 106 sq. ed. H. Keil, Leipsic, + 1884): "_Luxum siquod est, hac cantione sanum fiet. Harundinem + prende tibi viridem P. III. aut quinque longam, mediam diffinde, et + duo homines teneant ad coxendices. Incipe cantare in alio s. f. + moetas vaeta daries dardaries asiadarides una petes, usque dum + coeant. Motas vaeta daries dardares astataries dissunapiter, usque + dum coeant. Ferrum insuper jactato. Ubi coierint et altera alteram + tetigerint, id manu prehende et dextera sinistra praecide, ad luxum + aut ad fracturam alliga, sanum fiet._" The passage is obscure and + perhaps corrupt. It is not clear whether "_usque dum coeant_" and + "_ubi coierint_" refer to the drawing together of the bones or of + the split portions of the reed, but apparently the reference is to + the reed. The charm is referred to by Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xvii. + 267: "_Quippe cum averti grandines carmine credant plerique, cujus + verba inserere non equidem serio ausim, quamquam a Catone proditis + contra luxata membra jungenda harundinum fissurae._" Compare J. + Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 186, ii. 1031 _sq._ + + M139 Other examples of creeping through narrow openings after a death. + + 484 Pinabel, "Notes sur quelques peuplades dépendant du Tong-King," + _Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_, Septième Série, v. (Paris, + 1884) p. 430; A. Bourlet, "Funérailles chez les Thay," _Anthropos_, + viii. (1913) p. 45. + + 485 S. Krascheninnikow, _Beschreibung des Landes Kamtschatka_ (Lemgo, + 1766), pp. 268, 282. + + 486 N. Adriani en Alb. C. Kruijt, "Van Posso naar Parigi, Sigi en + Lindoe," _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche + Zendelinggenootschap_, xlii. (1898) p. 502. The poles are of a + certain plant or tree called _bomba_. + + 487 Alb. C. Kruijt, "Eenige ethnografische aanteekeningen omtrent de + Toboengkoe en de Tomori," _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche + Zendelinggenootschap_, xliv. (1900) p. 223. + + M140 The intention of the custom probably is to escape from the ghost of + the dead. + + 488 For examples of these ceremonies I may refer to my article, "On + certain burial customs as illustrative of the primitive theory of + the soul," _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xv. (1886) + pp. 64 _sqq._ + + M141 Passing through an archway in order to escape from demons. Crawling + under an arch of bramble as a cure for various maladies. Crawling + under arches of various sorts as a cure or preventive of sickness. + + 489 S. Krascheninnikow, _Beschreibung des Landes Kamtschatka_ (Lemgo, + 1766), pp. 277 _sq._ + + 490 W. H. Furness, _Folk-lore in Borneo, a Sketch_, p. 28 (Wallingford, + Pennsylvania, 1899, privately printed). Compare _id._, _The + Home-life of Borneo Head-hunters_ (Philadelphia, 1902), p. 28: "Here + a halt for final purification was made. An arch of boughs about five + feet high was erected on the beach, and beneath it a fire was + kindled, and then Tama Bulan, holding a young chicken, which he + waved and brushed over every portion of the arch, invoked all evil + spirits which had been accompanying us, and forbade them to follow + us further through the fire. The fowl was then killed, its blood + smeared all over the archway and sprinkled in the fire; then, led by + Tama Bulan, the whole party filed under the arch, and as they + stepped over the fire each one spat in it vociferously and + immediately took his place in the boats." + + 491 T. F. Thiselton Dyer, _English Folk-lore_ (London, 1884), pp. 171 + _sq._; W. G. Black, _Folk-medicine_ (London, 1883), p. 70; R. Hunt, + _Popular Romances of the West of England_, Third Edition (London, + 1881), pp. 412, 415; Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of + Wales_ (London, 1909), p. 320. + + 492 A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de France_ + (Paris and Lyons, 1846), p. 152; H. Gaidoz, _Un Vieux Rite médical_ + (Paris, 1892), pp. 7 _sq._ + + 493 A. Strausz, _Die Bulgaren_ (Leipsic, 1898), p. 414. + + 494 A. Strausz, _op. cit._ p. 404. As to the Bulgarian custom of + creeping through a tunnel in a time of epidemic, see above, vol. i. + pp. 282-284. + +_ 495 Last Journals of David Livingstone in Central Africa_ (London, + 1874), i. 60. + + M142 Custom in Uganda of causing a sick man to pass through a cleft stick + or a narrow opening in the doorway. + + 496 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), p. 343. Compare _id._, + "Notes on the Manners and Customs of the Baganda," _Journal of the + Anthropological Institute_, xxxi. (1901) p. 126; id., "Further Notes + on the Manners and Customs of the Baganda," _Journal of the + Anthropological Institute_, xxxii. (1902) pp. 42 _sq._ + + M143 Similar custom practised by the Kai of New Guinea and the Looboos of + Sumatra for the purpose of giving the slip to spiritual pursuers. + + 497 Ch. Keysser, "Aus dem Leben der Kaileute," in R. Neuhauss's _Deutsch + Neu-Guinea_, iii. (Berlin, 1911) pp. 141 _sq._ + + 498 J. Kreemer, "De Loeboes in Mandailing," _Bijdragen tot de Taal- + Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indie_, lxvi. (1912) p. 327. + + M144 Passing through cleft sticks in connexion with puberty and + circumcision. + + 499 Hermann Tönjes, _Ovamboland, Land, Leute, Mission_ (Berlin, 1911), + pp. 139 _sq._ The writer was unable to ascertain the meaning of the + rite; the natives would only say that it was their custom. + + 500 A. Karasek, "Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Waschambo," + _Baessler-Archiv_, i. (Leipsic and Berlin, 1911) p. 192. + + M145 Crawling through a ring or hoop as a cure or preventive of disease. + Passing sheep through a hoop of rowan. Milking a cow through a + natural wooden ring or a "witch's nest." Passing sick persons or + animals through a ring of yarn. Passing diseased children through a + coil. Passing through a hemlock ring during an epidemic. Passing + through a ring of red-hot iron to escape an evil spirit. + + 501 H. F. Feilberg, "Zwieselbäume nebst verwandtem Aberglauben in + Skandinavien," _Zeitschrift des Vereins für Volkskunde_, vii. (1897) + pp. 49 _sq._ + + 502 H. F. Feilberg, _op. cit._ p. 44. + + 503 J. G. Dalyell, _The Darker Superstitions of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, + 1834), p. 121; Ch. Rogers, _Social Life in Scotland_ (Edinburgh, + 1884-1886), iii. 239. + + 504 John Ramsay of Ochtertyre, _Scotland and Scotsmen in the Eighteenth + Century_, edited by A. Allardyce, (Edinburgh and London, 1888), ii. + 454. Immediately after mentioning this custom the writer adds: "And + in Breadalbane it is the custom for the dairymaid to drive the + cattle to the sheals with a wand of that tree [the rowan] cut upon + the day of removal, which is laid above the door until the cattle be + going back again to the winter-town. This was reckoned a + preservative against witchcraft." As to the activity of witches and + fairies on Hallowe'en and the first of May, see above, vol. i. pp. + 226 _sqq._, 295; _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 52 + _sqq._; J. G. Campbell, _Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands + of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1900), p. 18; _id._, _Witchcraft and Second + Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), p. + 270. As to the power of the rowan-tree to counteract their spells, + see W. Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of + Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 188; J. C. Atkinson, _Forty Years in a + Moorland Parish_ (London, 1891), pp. 97 _sqq._; _The Scapegoat_, pp. + 266 _sq._ + + 505 L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_ + (Oldenburg, 1867), i. p. 364, § 241. + + 506 L. Strackerjan, _op. cit._ i. p. 364, § 240. + + 507 Lieutenant-Colonel H. W. G. Cole, "The Lushais," in _Census of + India_, 1911, vol. iii. _Assam_, Part i. _Report_ (Shillong, 1912), + p. 140. + + 508 Franz Boas, in _Eleventh Report on the North-Western Tribes of + Canada_, pp. 3 _sq._ (separate reprint from the _Report of the + British Association for the Advancement of Science_, Liverpool + meeting, 1896). + + 509 Rev. G. E. White, Dean of Anatolia College, _Survivals of Primitive + Religion among the People of Asia Minor_, p. 12 (paper read before + the Victoria Institute or Philosophical Society of Great Britain, 6 + Adelphi Terrace, Strand, London). + + M146 Crawling through holed stones as a cure in Scotland and Cornwall. + + 510 John Ramsay, _Scotland and Scotsmen in the Eighteenth Century_, + edited by Alex. Allardyce (Edinburgh, 1888), ii. 451 _sq._ + + 511 J. G. Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and + Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), p. 100. + + 512 Mr. James S. Greig, in a letter to me dated Lindean, Perth Road, + Dundee, 17th August, 1913. + + 513 W. Borlase, _Antiquities, historical and monumental, of the County + of Cornwall_ (London, 1769), pp. 177 _sq._ + + 514 Robert Hunt, _Popular Romances of the West of England_, Third + Edition (London, 1881), pp. 176, 415. + + M147 Crawling through holed stones as a cure in France. + + 515 Thomas-de-Saint-Mars, "Fête de Saint Estapin," _Mémoires de la + Société Royale des Antiquaires de France_, i. (1817) pp. 428-430. + + 516 J. Deniker, "Dolmen et superstitions," _Bulletins et Mémoires de la + Société d'Anthropologie de Paris_, v. série, i. (1900) p. 111. + Compare H. Gaidoz, _Un Vieux Rite médical_ (Paris, 1892), pp. 26 + _sq._; G. Fouju, "Légendes et Superstitions préhistoriques," _Revue + des Traditions Populaires_, xiv. (1899) pp. 477 _sq._ + + M148 Crawling through holed stones as a cure in Bavaria, Austria, and + Greece. + + 517 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), + ii. 48 § 61. + + 518 F. Panzer, _op. cit._ ii. 431 _sq._ + + 519 Marie Andree-Eysn, _Volkskundliches aus dem + bayrisch-österreichischen Alpengebiet_ (Brunswick, 1910), pp. 1, 9, + with the illustrations on pp. 10, 11. + + 520 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_, ii. 431. + + 521 J. Theodore Bent, _The Cyclades_ (London, 1885), p. 437. + + M149 Crawling through holed stones as a cure in Asia Minor. Passing + through various narrow openings as a cure or preventive in India and + Ireland. + + 522 E. H. Carnoy et J. Nicolaides, _Traditions populaires de l'Asie + Mineure_ (Paris, 1889), p. 338. + + 523 Rev. George E. White (of Marsovan, Turkey), _Present Day Sacrifices + in Asia Minor_, p. 3 (reprinted from _The Hartford Seminary Record_, + February 1906). + +_ 524 Central Provinces, Ethnographic Survey_, vii. _Draft Articles on + Forest Tribes_ (Allahabad, 1911), p. 46. + + 525 So my friend Dr. G. W. Prothero informs me in a letter. + +_ 526 Census of India, 1911_, vol. xiv. _Punjab_, Part i. _Report_, by + Pandit Harikishan Kaul (Lahore, 1912), p. 302. + + M150 Crawling through holes in the ground as a cure for disease. Passing + through the yoke of a chariot as a cure for skin disease. + + 527 H. Gaidoz, _Un Vieux Rite médical_ (Paris, 1892), p. 10. + + 528 H. Gaidoz, _op. cit._ p. 21. + + 529 H. Gaidoz, _Un Vieux Rite médical_ (Paris, 1892), p. 21. Compare J. + Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. 975 _sq._ + + 530 H. F. Feilberg, "Zwieselbäume nebst verwandtem Aberglaube in + Skandinavien," _Zeitschrift des Vereins für Volkskunde_, vii. (1897) + p. 45. + + 531 H. Gaidoz, _Un Vieux Rite médical_ (Paris, 1892), pp. 22 _sq._, + referring to Nyrop, in _Dania_, i. No. 1 (Copenhagen, 1890), pp. 5 + _sqq._ + + 532 Rev. John Campbell, _Travels in South Africa, Second Journey_ + (London, 1822), ii. 346. Among the same people "when a person is + ill, they bring an ox to the place where he is laid. Two cuts are + then made in one of its legs, extending down the whole length of it. + The skin in the middle of the leg being raised up, the operator + thrusts in his hand, to make way for that of the sick person, whose + whole body is afterwards rubbed over with the blood of the animal. + The ox after enduring this torment is killed, and those who are + married and have children, as in the other case, are the only + partakers of the feast." (J. Campbell, _op. cit._ ii. 346 _sq._). + Here the intention seems to be not so much to transfer the disease + to the ox, as to transfuse the healthy life of the beast into the + veins of the sick man. The same is perhaps true of the Welsh and + French cure for whooping-cough, which consists in passing the little + sufferer several times under an ass. See J. Brand, _Popular + Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1882-1883), iii. 288; L. J. + B. Bérenger-Féraud, in _Bulletins de la Société d'Anthropologie de + Paris_, Quatrième Série, i. (1890) p. 897; _id._, _Superstitions et + Survivances_ (Paris, 1896), i. 526. The same cure for whooping-cough + "is also practised in Ireland; only here the sufferer is passed + round, that is, over and under, the body of an ass" (letter of Miss + A. H. Singleton to me, dated Rathmagle House, Abbey-Leix, Ireland, + 24th February 1904). But perhaps the intention rather is to give the + whooping-cough to the animal; for it might reasonably be thought + that the feeble whoop of the sick child would neither seriously + impair the lungs, nor perceptibly augment the stentorian bray, of + the donkey. + + 533 H. Oldenberg, _Die Religion des Veda_ (Berlin, 1894), p. 495. + According to a fuller account, Indra drew her through three holes, + that of a war-chariot, that of a cart, and that of a yoke. See W. + Caland, _Altindisches Zauberritual_ (Amsterdam, 1900), p. 31 note 5. + + M151 Passing under a yoke or arch as a rite of initiation. + + 534 Dr. E. Werner, "Im westlichen Finsterregebirge und an der Nordküste + von Deutsch-Neuginea," _Petermanns Mitteilungen_, lv. (1909) pp. 74 + _sq._ Among some tribes of South-Eastern Australia it was customary + at the ceremonies of initiation to bend growing saplings into arches + and compel the novices to pass under them; sometimes the youths had + to crawl on the ground to get through. See A. W. Howitt, "On some + Australian ceremonies of Initiation," _Journal of the + Anthropological Institute_, xiii. (1884) p. 445; _id._, _Native + Tribes of South-East Australia_ (London, 1904), p. 536. + + M152 The ancient Roman custom of passing enemies under a yoke was + probably in origin a ceremony of purification rather than of + degradation. + + 535 Livy iii. 28, ix. 6, x. 36; Dionysius Halicarnasensis, _Antiquit. + Roman._ iii. 22. 7. The so-called yoke in this case consisted of two + spears or two beams set upright in the ground, with a third spear or + beam laid transversely across them. See Livy iii. 28; Dionysius + Halicarnasensis, _l.c._ + + 536 Livy i. 26: "_Itaque, ut caedes manifesta aliquo tamen piaculo + lueretur, imperatum patri, ut filium expiaret pecunia publica. Is + quibusdam piacularibus sacrificiis factis, quae deinde genti + Horatiae tradita sunt, transmisso per viam tigillo capite adoperto + velut sub jugum misit juvenem. Id hodie quoque publice semper + refectum manet; sororium tigillum vocant_;" Festus, _s.v._ "Sororium + Tigillum," pp. 297, 307, ed. C. O. Müller (Leipsic, 1839); Dionysius + Halicarnasensis, _Antiquit. Roman._ iii. 22. The position of the + beam is described exactly by the last of these writers, who had + evidently seen it. According to Festus, the yoke under which + Horatius passed was composed of three beams, two uprights, and a + cross-piece. The similarity of the ceremony to that which was + exacted from conquered foes is noted by Dionysius Halicarnasensis as + well as by Livy. The tradition of the purification has been rightly + explained by Dr. W. H. Roscher with reference to the custom of + passing through cleft trees, holed stones, and so on. See W. H. + Roscher, _Ausführliches Lexikon der griech. und röm. Mythologie_, + ii. (Leipsic, 1890-1897) col. 21. Compare G. Wissowa, _Religion und + Kultus der Römer_2 (Munich, 1912), p. 104. + + M153 Similarly the passage of a victorious Roman army under a triumphal + arch may have been intended to purify the men from the stain of + bloodshed by interposing a barrier between the slayers and the angry + ghosts of the slain. + +_ 537 Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 165 _sqq._ + + 538 Pliny, _Natur. Histor._ xv. 135: "_Quia suffimentum sit caedis + hostium et purgatio_." + + 539 Cicero, _In Pisonem_, xxiii. 55; Josephus, _Bellum Judaicum_, vii. + 5. 4. + + 540 It was not till after I had given this conjectural explanation of + the "Sister's Beam" and the triumphal arch at Rome that I read the + article of Mr. W. Warde Fowler, "Passing under the Yoke" (_The + Classical Review_, March 1913, pp. 48-51), in which he quite + independently suggests practically the same explanation of both + these Roman structures. I have left my exposition, except for one or + two trivial verbal changes, exactly as it stood before I was aware + that my friend had anticipated me in both conjectures. The closeness + of the coincidence between our views is a welcome confirmation of + their truth. As to the _Porta Triumphalis_, the exact position of + which is uncertain, Mr. Warde Fowler thinks that it was not a gate + in the walls, but an archway standing by itself in the Campus + Martius outside the city walls. He points out that in the oldest + existing triumphal arch, that of Augustus at Ariminum, the most + striking part of the structure consists of two upright Corinthian + pillars with an architrave laid horizontally across them; and he + ingeniously conjectures that we have here a reminiscence of the two + uprights and the cross-piece, which, if our theory is correct, was + the original form both of the triumphal arch and of the yoke. + + M154 Belief in a sympathetic relation between a man and an animal such + that the fate of the one depends on that of the other. The external + souls of Yakut shamans in animals. Sympathetic relation between + witches and hares. + + 541 Professor V. M. Mikhailoviskij, "Shamanism in Siberia and European + Russia," _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxiv. (1895) + pp. 133, 134. + + 542 Th. Parkinson, _Yorkshire Legends and Traditions_, Second Series + (London, 1889), pp. 160 _sq._ + + 543 See above, vol. i. pp. 315 _sqq._ + + 544 B. F. Matthes, _Makassaarsch-Hollandsch Woordenboek_ (Amsterdam, + 1859), _s.v._ _soemañgá_, p. 569; G. A. Wilken, "Het animisme bij de + volken van den Indischen Archipel," _De Indische Gids_, June 1884, + p. 933; _id._, _Verspreide Geschriften_ (The Hague, 1912), iii. 12. + + M155 Melanesian conception of the _tamaniu_, a person's external soul + lodged in an animal or other object. + + 545 R. H. Codrington, D.D., _The Melanesians_ (Oxford, 1891), pp. 250 + _sq._ Compare _id._, "Notes on the Customs of Mota, Banks Islands," + _Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria_, + xvi. (1880) p. 136. + + M156 Sympathetic relation between a man and his _tamaniu_ (external + soul). + + 546 W. H. R. Rivers, "Totemism in Polynesia and Melanesia," _Journal of + the Royal Anthropological Institute_, xxxix. (1909) p. 177. Dr. + Rivers cites a recent case of a man who had a large lizard for his + _tamaniu_. The animal lived in the roots of a big banyan-tree; when + the man was ill, the lizard also seemed unwell; and when the man + died, the tree fell, which was deemed a sign that the lizard also + was dead. + + M157 Soul of a Melanesian doctor in an eagle-hawk and a rat. + + 547 George Brown, D.D., _Melanesians and Polynesians_ (London, 1910), p. + 177. The case was known to Dr. Brown, who made notes of it. The part + of Melanesia where it happened was probably the Duke of York Island + or New Britain. + + 548 "Totemismus auf den Marshall-Inseln (Südsee)," _Anthropos_, viii. + (1913) p. 251. + + M158 The theory of an external soul lodged in an animal is very prevalent + in West Africa. The soul of a chief in a hippopotamus or a black + snake. Belief of the Fans that every wizard unites his life to that + of a wild animal by a rite of blood brotherhood. + + 549 Much of the following evidence has already been cited by me in + _Totemism and Exogamy_, ii. 593 _sqq._ + + 550 Herbert Ward, _Five Years with the Congo Cannibals_ (London, 1890), + p. 53. + +_ 551 Notes Analytiques sur les Collections ethnographiques du Musée du + Congo_, i. (Brussels, 1902-1906) p. 150. + + 552 Father H. Trilles, "Chez les Fangs," _Les Missions Catholiques_, + xxx. (1898) p. 322; _id._, _Le Totémisme chez les Fân_ (Münster i. + W. 1912), pp. 473 _sq._ + + 553 Father H. Trilles, _Le Totémisme chez les Fân_ (Münster i. W. 1912), + pp. 167 _sq._, 438 _sq._, 484-489. The description of the rite of + blood-brotherhood contracted with the animal is quoted by Father + Trilles (pp. 486 _sq._) from a work by Mgr. Buléon, _Sous le ciel + d'Afrique, Récits d'un Missionnaire_, pp. 88 _sqq._ Father Trilles's + own observations and enquiries confirm the account given by Mgr. + Buléon. But the story of an alliance contracted between a man or + woman and a ferocious wild beast and cemented by the blood of the + high contracting parties is no doubt a mere fable devised by wizards + and witches in order to increase their reputation by imposing on the + credulity of the simple. + + M159 Belief of the natives of the Cross River that they stand in a vital + relation to certain wild animals, so that when the animal dies the + man dies also. + + 554 Alfred Mansfeld, _Urwald-Dokumente, vier Jahre unter den + Crossflussnegern Kameruns_ (Berlin, 1908), pp. 220 _sq._ + + M160 Similar belief of the Balong in the Cameroons. + + 555 J. Keller (missionary), "Ueber das Land und Volk der Balong," + _Deutsches Kolonialblatt_, 1 Oktober 1895, p. 484; H. Seidel, + "Ethnographisches aus Nordost Kamerun," _Globus_, lxix. (1896) p. + 277. + + M161 Belief of the Ibos in external human souls which are lodged in + animals. + + 556 John Parkinson, "Note on the Asaba People (Ibos) of the Niger," + _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxvi. (1906) pp. 314 + _sq._ + + 557 Charles Partridge, _Cross River Natives_ (London, 1905), pp. 225 + _sq._ + + M162 Belief of the negroes of Calabar that every person has an external + or bush soul lodged in a wild beast. + + 558 Miss Mary H. Kingsley, _Travels in West Africa_ (London, 1897), pp. + 459-461. The lamented authoress was kind enough to give me in + conversation (1st June 1897) some details which do not appear in her + book; among these are the statements, which I have embodied in the + text, that the bush soul is never a domestic animal, and that when a + man knows what kind of creature his bush soul is, he will not kill + an animal of that species and will strongly object to any one else + doing so. Miss Kingsley was not able to say whether persons who have + the same sort of bush soul are allowed or forbidden to marry each + other. + + M163 Further particulars as to the Calabar belief in bush souls. + + 559 John Parkinson, "Notes on the Efik Belief in 'Bush-soul,' " _Man_, + vi. (1906) pp. 121 _sq._, No. 80. Mr. Henshaw is a member of the + highest grade of the secret society of Egbo. + + 560 Rev. Hugh Goldie, _Calabar and its Mission_, New Edition (Edinburgh + and London, 1901), pp. 51 _sq._ Compare Major A. G. Leonard, _The + Lower Niger and its Tribes_ (London, 1906), p. 217: "When Efik or + waterside Ibo see a dead fish floating in the water of the kind + called _Edidim_ by the former and _Elili_ by the latter--a variety of + the electric species--they believe it to be a bad omen, generally + signifying that some one belonging to the house will die, the man + who first sees it becoming the victim according to Ibo belief. The + only reason that is assigned for this lugubrious forecast is the + fact that one of the souls of the departed is in the dead fish--that, + in fact, the relationship or affinity existing between the soul + essence that had animated the fish and that of one of the members of + the household was so intimate that the death of the one was bound to + effect the death of the other." + + M164 Belief of the Ekoi of Southern Nigeria in external souls lodged in + animals. Case of a chief whose external soul was in a buffalo. + + 561 P. Amaury Talbot, _In the Shadow of the Bush_ (London, 1912), pp. + 80-87. The Ekoi name for a man who has the power of sending out his + spirit into the form of some animal is _efumi_ (_id._, p. 71 note). + A certain chief named Agbashan, a great elephant hunter, is believed + to have the power of transforming himself into an elephant; and "a + man of considerable intelligence, educated in England, the brother + of a member of the Legislative Council for one of the West African + Colonies, offered to take oath that he had seen Agbashan not only in + his elephant form, but while actually undergoing the metamorphosis" + (_id._, pp. 82 _sq._). In this case, therefore, the man seems to + have felt no scruples at hunting the animals in one of which his own + bush soul might be lodged. + + M165 Belief of other tribes of Nigeria in external souls lodged in + animals. + + 562 Letter of Mr. P. Amaury Talbot to me, dated Eket, North Calabar, + Southern Nigeria, April 3d, 1913. + + 563 Miss Mary H. Kingsley, _Travels in West Africa_ (London, 1897), pp. + 538 _sq._ + + 564 C. H. Robinson, _Hausaland_ (London, 1896), pp. 36 _sq._ + + 565 J. F. J. Fitzpatrick (Assistant Resident, Northern Nigeria), "Some + Notes on the Kwolla District and its Tribes," _Journal of the + African Society_, No. 37, October, 1910, p. 30. + + 566 Extract from a Report by Captain Foulkes to the British Colonial + Office. My thanks are due to Mr. N. W. Thomas for sending me the + extract and to the authorities of the Colonial Office for their + permission to publish it. + +_ 567 The Daily Graphic_, Tuesday, October 7th, 1902, p. 3. + + M166 The conception of an external soul lodged in an animal appears to be + absent in South Africa. + + 568 Rev. W. C. Willoughby, "Notes on the Totemism of the Becwana," + _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxv. (1905) p. 300. The + writer adds that he found a similar belief as to the sympathetic + relation between a wounded crocodile and the man who wounded it very + general among the Wanyamwezi, who, in 1882, were living under + Mirambo about two hundred miles south of Lake Victoria Nyanza and a + hundred miles east of Lake Tanganyika. + + 569 F. Speckmann, _Die Hermannsburger Mission in Africa_ (Hermannsburg, + 1876) p. 167. Compare David Leslie, _Among the Zulus and Amatongas_, + Second Edition (Edinburgh, 1875) pp. 47 _sq._; "The Kaffirs believe + that after death their spirits turn into a snake, which they call + _Ehlose_, and that every living man has two of these familiar + spirits--a good and a bad. When everything they undertake goes wrong + with them, such as hunting, cattle-breeding, etc., they say they + know that it is their enemies who are annoying them, and that they + are only to be appeased by sacrificing an animal; but when + everything prospers, they ascribe it to their good _Ehlose_ being in + the ascendant"; _id._, _op. cit._ p. 148: "When in battle two men + are fighting, their snakes (_Mahloze_) are poetically said to be + twisting and biting each other overhead. One 'softens' and goes + down, and the man, whose attendant it is, goes down with it. + Everything is ascribed to _Ehlose_. If he fails in anything, his + _Ehlose_ is bad; if successful, it is good.... It is this thing + which is the inducing cause of everything. In fact, nothing in Zulu + is admitted to arise from natural causes; everything is ascribed to + witchcraft or the _Ehlose_." + + It is not all serpents that are _amadhlozi_ (plural of _idhlozi_), + that is, are the transformed spirits of the dead. Serpents which are + dead men may easily be distinguished from common snakes, for they + frequent huts; they do not eat mice, and they are not afraid of + people. If a man in his life had a scar, his serpent after his death + will also have a scar; if he had only one eye, his serpent will have + only one eye; if he was lame, his serpent will be lame too. That is + how you can recognise So-and-So in his serpent form. Chiefs do not + turn into the same kind of snakes as ordinary people. For common + folk become harmless snakes with green and white bellies and very + small heads; but kings become boa-constrictors or the large and + deadly black _mamba_. See Rev. Henry Callaway, M.D., _The Religions + System of the Amazulu_, Part ii. (Capetown, London, etc., 1869) pp. + 134 _sq._, 140, 196-202, 205, 208-211, 231. "The _Ehlose_ of Chaka + and other dead kings is the Boa-constrictor, or the large and deadly + black Mamba, whichever the doctors decide. That of dead Queens is + the tree Iguana" (David Leslie, _op. cit._ p. 213). Compare Rev. + Joseph Shooter, _The Kafirs of Natal and the Zulu Country_ (London, + 1857), pp. 161 _sq._; W. R. Gordon, "Words about Spirits," (_South + African_) _Folk-lore Journal_, ii. (Cape Town, 1880) pp. 101-103; W. + Grant, "Magato and his Tribe," _Journal of the Anthropological + Institute_, xxxv. (1905) p. 270. A word which is sometimes + confounded with _idhlozi_ is _itongo_ (plural _amatongo_); but the + natives themselves when closely questioned distinguish between the + two. See Dudley Kidd, _Savage Childhood, a Study of Kafir Children_ + (London, 1906), pp. 14 _sq._, 281-286. The notion that the spirits + of the dead appear in the form of serpents is widespread in Africa. + See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 73 _sqq._ Dr. F. B. + Jevons has suggested that the Roman _genius_, the guardian-spirit + which accompanied a man from birth to death (Censorinus, _De die + natali_, 3) and was commonly represented in the form of a snake, may + have been an external soul. See F. B. Jevons, _Plutarch's Romane + Questions_ (London, 1892) pp. xlvii. _sq._; _id._, _Introduction to + the History of Religion_ (London, 1896), pp. 186 _sq._; L. Preller, + _Römische Mythologie_3 (Berlin, 1881-1883), ii. 195 _sqq._; G. + Wissowa, _Religion und Kultus der Römer_2 (Munich, 1912), pp. 176 + _sq._ + + M167 The conception of an external soul lodged in an animal occurs among + the Indians of Central America, some of whom call such a soul a + _nagual_. + + 570 H. H. Bancroft, _The Native Races of the Pacific Coast_ (London, + 1875-1876), i. 661. The words quoted by Bancroft (p. 662, note), + "_Consérvase entre ellos la creencia de que su vida está unida à la + de un animal, y que es forzoso que mueran ellos cuando éste muere_," + are not quite accurately represented by the statement of Bancroft in + the text. Elsewhere (vol. ii. p. 277) the same writer calls the + "second self" of the Zapotecs a "_nagual_, or tutelary genius," + adding that the fate of the child was supposed to be so intimately + bound up with the fortune of the animal that the death of the one + involved the death of the other. Compare Daniel G. Brinton, + "Nagualism, a Study in American Folk-lore and History," _Proceedings + of the American Philosophical Society held at Philadelphia_, vol. + xxxiii. No. 144 (Philadelphia, January, 1894), pp. 11-73. According + to Professor E. Seler the word _nagual_ is akin to the Mexican + _naualli_, "a witch or wizard," which is derived from a word meaning + "hidden" with reference to the power attributed to sorcerers of + transforming themselves into animals. See E. Seler, "Altmexikanische + Studien, II." _Veröffentlichungen aus dem Königlichen Museum für + Völkerkunde_, vi. heft 2/4 (Berlin, 1899), pp. 52-57. + + 571 Otto Stoll, _Die Ethnologie der Indianerstämme von Guatemala_ + (Leyden, 1889), p. 57. + + 572 Thomas Gage, _A New Survey of the West Indies_, Third Edition + (London, 1677), p. 334. The same writer relates how a certain Indian + named Gonzalez was reported to have the power of turning himself + into a lion or rather a puma. Once when a Spaniard had shot a puma + in the nose, Gonzalez was found with a bruised face and accused the + Spaniard of having shot him. Another Indian chief named Gomez was + said to have transformed himself into a puma, and in that shape to + have fought a terrific battle with a rival chief named Lopez, who + had changed himself into a jaguar. See Gage, _op. cit._ pp. 383-389. + + 573 Antonio de Herrera, _General History of the Vast Continent and + Islands of America_, translated by Capt. John Stevens (London, + 1725-1726), iv. 138 _sq._ The Spanish original of Herrera's history, + a work based on excellent authorities, was first published at Madrid + in 1601-1615. The Indians of Santa Catalina Istlavacan still receive + at birth the name of some animal, which is commonly regarded as + their guardian spirit for the rest of their life. The name is + bestowed by the heathen priest, who usually hears of a birth in the + village sooner than his Catholic colleague. See K. Scherzer, "Die + Indianer von Santa Catalina Istlávacana (Frauenfuss), ein Beitrag + zur Culturgeschichte der Urbewohner Central-Amerikas," + _Sitzungsberichte der philos. histor. Classe der kais. Akademie der + Wissenschaften_ (Vienna), xviii. (1856) p. 235. + + 574 Otto Stoll, _Die Ethnologie der Indianerstämme von Guatemala_ + (Leyden, 1889), pp. 57 _sq._; _id._, _Suggestion und Hypnotism_2 + (Leipsic, 1904), p. 170. + + M168 In some tribes of South-Eastern Australia the lives of the two sexes + are thought to be bound up with the lives of two different kinds of + animals, as bats and owls. + + 575 A. W. Howitt, "Further Notes on the Australian Class Systems," + _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xviii. (1889) pp. 57 + _sq._ Compare _id._, _Native Tribes of South-East Australia_ + (London, 1904), pp. 148, 150. It is very remarkable that among the + Kurnai these fights had a special connexion with marriage. When + young men were backward of taking wives, the women used to go out + into the forest and kill an emu-wren, which was the men's "brother"; + then returning to the camp they shewed the dead bird to the men. The + result was a fight between the young men and the young women, in + which, however, lads who were not yet marriageable might not take + part. Next day the marriageable young men went out and killed a + superb warbler, which was the women's "sister," and this led to a + worse fight than before. Some days afterwards, when the wounds and + bruises were healed, one of the marriageable young men met one of + the marriageable young women, and said, "Superb warbler!" She + answered, "Emu-wren! What does the emu-wren eat?" To which the young + man answered, "He eats so-and-so," naming kangaroo, opossum, emu, or + some other game. Then they laughed, and she ran off with him without + telling any one. See L. Fison and A. W. Howitt, _Kamilaroi and + Kurnai_ (Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane, 1880), pp. 201 + _sq._; A. W. Howitt, _Native Tribes of South-East Australia_, pp. + 149, 273 _sq._ Perhaps this killing of the sex-totem before marriage + may be related to the pretence of killing young men and bringing + them to life again at puberty. See below, pp. 225 _sqq._ + + 576 Gerard Krefft, "Manners and Customs of the Aborigines of the Lower + Murray and Darling," _Transactions of the Philosophical Society of + New South Wales_, 1862-65, pp. 359 _sq._ + + 577 A. W. Howitt, "Further Notes on the Australian Class Systems," + _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xviii. (1889) pp. 56 + _sq._ + + 578 A. W. Howitt, _op. cit._ p. 57; _id._, _Native Tribes of South-East + Australia_, p. 150. + + 579 A. W. Howitt, "On the Migrations of the Kurnai Ancestors," _Journal + of the Anthropological Institute_, xv. (1886) p. 416. + + 580 C. W. Schürmann, "The Aboriginal Tribes of Port Lincoln," in _Native + Tribes of South Australia_ (Adelaide, 1879), p. 241. Compare G. F. + Angas, _Savage Life and Scenes in Australia and New Zealand_ + (London, 1847), i. 109. + + 581 A. W. Howitt, "Further Notes on the Australian Class Systems," + _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xviii. (1889) p. 58. + Compare _id._, _Native Tribes of South-East Australia_ (London, + 1904), pp. 148-151. + + 582 James Dawson, _Australian Aborigines_ (Melbourne, Sydney, and + Adelaide, 1881), p. 52. + + M169 Bats regarded as the brothers of men, and owls as the sisters of + women. + + 583 See _Totemism and Exogamy_, i. 47 _sq._ It is at least remarkable + that both the creatures thus assigned to the two sexes should be + nocturnal in their habits. Perhaps the choice of such creatures is + connected with the belief that the soul is absent from the body in + slumber. On this hypothesis bats and owls would be regarded by these + savages as the wandering souls of sleepers. Such a belief would + fully account for the reluctance of the natives to kill them. The + Kiowa Indians of North America think that owls and other night birds + are animated by the souls of the dead. See James Mooney, "Calendar + History of the Kiowa Indians," _Seventeenth Annual Report of the + Bureau of American Ethnology_, Part i. (Washington, 1898) p. 237. + + 584 A. L. P. Cameron, "Notes on some Tribes of New South Wales," + _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xiv. (1885) p. 350 note + 1; A. W. Howitt, "On the Migrations of the Kurnai Ancestors," + _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xv. (1886) p. 416; + _id._, "Further Notes on the Australian Class Systems," _Journal of + the Anthropological Institute_, xviii. (1889) p. 57. + + 585 L. Fison and A. W. Howitt, _Kamilaroi and Kurnai_, pp. 194, 201, + _sq._, 215; _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xv. 416, + xviii. 56 _sq._; A. W. Howitt, _Native Tribes of South-East + Australia_ (London, 1904), pp. 148-151. + + 586 The following suggestion as to the origin of totemism was made in + the first edition of this book (published in 1890) and is here + reprinted without any substantial change. In the meantime much + additional evidence as to the nature and prevalence of totemism has + come to light, and with the new evidence my opinions, or rather + conjectures, as to the origin of the institution have repeatedly + changed. If I here reprint my earliest conjecture, it is partly + because I still think it may contain an element of truth, and partly + because it serves as a convenient peg on which to hang a collection + of facts which are much more valuable than any theories of mine. The + reader who desires to acquaint himself more fully with the facts of + totemism and with the theories that have been broached on the + subject, will find them stated at length in my _Totemism and + Exogamy_ (London, 1910). Here I will only call attention to the + Arunta legend that the ancestors of the tribe kept their spirits in + certain sacred sticks and stones (_churinga_), which bear a close + resemblance to the well-known bull-roarers, and that when they went + out hunting they hung these sticks or stones on certain sacred poles + (_nurtunjas_) which represented their totems. See Baldwin Spencer + and F. J. Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central Australia_ (London, + 1899), pp. 137 _sq._, 629. This tradition appears to point to a + custom of transferring a man's soul or spirit temporarily to his + totem. Conversely when an Arunta is sick he scrapes his _churinga_ + and swallows the scrapings, as if to restore to himself the + spiritual substance deposited in the instrument. See Baldwin Spencer + and F. J. Gillen, _op. cit._ p. 135 note 1. + + M170 Sex totems and clan totems may both be based on the notion that men + and women keep their external souls in their totems, whether these + are animals, plants, or what not. + + 587 (Sir) George Grey, _Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in + North-West and Western Australia_ (London, 1841), ii. 228 _sq._ + + 588 L. Fison and A. W. Howitt, _Kamilaroi and Kurnai_, p. 169. According + to Dr. Howitt, it is a serious offence to kill the totem of another + person "with intent to injure him" (_Journal of the Anthropological + Institute_, xviii. (1889) p. 53). Such an intention seems to imply a + belief in a sympathetic connexion between the man and the animal. + Similarly the Siena of the Ivory Coast, in West Africa, who have + totemism, believe that if a man kills one of his totemic animals, a + member of his totemic clan dies instantaneously. See Maurice + Delafosse, "Le peuple Siéna ou Sénoufo," _Revue des Études + Ethnographiques et Sociologiques_, i. (1908) p. 452. + + M171 The savage may imagine his life to be bound up with that of more + animals than one at the same time; for many savages think that every + person has more souls than one. + + 589 According to Plato, the different parts of the soul were lodged in + different parts of the body (_Timaeus_, pp. 69C-72D), and as only + one part, on his theory, was immortal, Lucian seems not unnaturally + to have interpreted the Platonic doctrine to mean that every man had + more than one soul (_Demonax_, 33). + + 590 J. J. M. de Groot, _The Religious System of China_, iv. (Leyden, + 1901) pp. 3 _sq._, 70-75. + + 591 Le sieur de la Borde, "Relation de l'Origine, Moeurs, Coustumes, + Religion, Guerres et Voyages des Caraibes sauvages des Isles + Antilles de l'Amerique," p. 15, in _Recueil de divers Voyages faits + en Afrique et en l'Amerique_ (Paris, 1684). + + 592 Washington Matthews, _The Hidatsa Indians_ (Washington, 1877), p. + 50. + + 593 H. Ling Roth, "Low's Natives of Borneo," _Journal of the + Anthropological Institute_, xxi. (1892) p. 117; W. W. Skeat, _Malay + Magic_ (London, 1900), p. 50. + + 594 A. C. Kruijt, "Een en ander aangaande het geestelijk en + maatschappelijk leven van den Poso-Alfoer," _Mededeelingen van wege + het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xxxix. (1895) pp. 3 _sq._ + + 595 A. Bastian, _Die Völker des östlichen Asien_, iii. (Jena, 1867) p. + 248. + + 596 In some tribes, chiefly of North American Indians, every man has an + individual or personal totem in addition to the totem of his clan. + This personal totem is usually the animal of which he dreamed during + a long and solitary fast at puberty. See _Totemism and Exogamy_, i. + 49-52, iii. 370-456, where the relation of the individual or + personal totem (if we may call it so) to the clan totem is + discussed. It is quite possible that, as some good authorities + incline to believe, the clan totem has been developed out of the + personal totem by inheritance. See Miss Alice C. Fletcher, _The + Import of the Totem_, pp. 3 _sqq._ (paper read before the American + Association for the Advancement of Science, August 1887, separate + reprint); Fr. Boas, "The Social Organization and the Secret + Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians," _Report of the United States + National Museum for 1895_ (Washington, 1897), pp. 323 _sq._, + 336-338, 393. In the bush souls of the Calabar negroes (see above, + pp. 204 _sqq._) we seem to have something like the personal totem on + its way to become hereditary and so to grow into the totem of a + clan. + + M172 The Battas of Sumatra, who have totemism, believe that every person + has a soul which is always outside of his body. + + 597 J. B. Neumann, "Het Pane- en Bila-stroomgebied op het eiland + Sumatra," _Tijdschrift van het Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig + Genootschap_, Tweede Serie, dl. iii. Afdeeling, meer uitgebreide + artikelen, No. 2 (1886), pp. 311 _sq._; _id._, dl. iv. No. 1 (1887), + pp. 8 _sq._; Van Hoëvell, "Iets over 't oorlogvoeren der Batta's," + _Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië_, N.S., vii. (1878) p. 434; G. + A. Wilken, _Verspreide Geschriften_ (The Hague, 1912), i. 296, 306 + _sq._, 309, 325 _sq._; L. de Backer, _L'Archipel Indien_ (Paris, + 1874), p. 470; Col. Yule, in _Journal of the Anthropological + Institute_, ix. (1880) p. 295; Joachim Freiherr von Brenner, _Besuch + bei den Kannibalen Sumatras_ (Würzburg, 1894), pp. 197 _sqq._; P. A. + L. E. van Dijk, "Eenige aanteekeningen omtrent de verschillenden + stammen (_Margas_) en de stamverdeling bij de Battaks," _Tijdschrift + voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xxxviii. (1895) pp. 296 + _sq._; M. Joustra, "Naar het landschap Goenoeng," _Mededeelingen van + wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xlv. (1901) pp. 80 + _sq._; _id._, "Het leven, de zeden en gewoonten der Bataks," + _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, + xlvi. (1902) pp. 387 _sqq._; J. E. Neumann, "Kemali, Pantang, en + Reboe bij de Karo-Bataks," _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en + Volkenkunde_, xlviii. (1906) p. 512. See further _Totemism and + Exogamy_, ii. 185 _sqq._ + + 598 B. Hagen, "Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Battareligion," _Tijdschrift + voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xxviii. (1883) p. 514. J. + B. Neumann (_op. cit._ dl. iii. No. 2, pp. 299) is the authority for + the seven souls. According to another writer, six out of the seven + souls reside outside of the body; one of them dwells in heaven, the + remaining five have no definite place of abode, but are so closely + related to the man that were they to abandon him his health would + suffer. See J. Freiherr von Brenner, _Besuch bei den Kannibalen + Sumatras_, pp. 239 _sq._ A different account of Batta psychology is + given by Mr. Westenberg. According to him, each Batta has only one + _tendi_ (not three or seven of them); and the _tendi_ is something + between a soul and a guardian spirit. It always resides outside of + the body, and on its position near, before, behind, above, or below, + the welfare of its owner is supposed in great measure to depend. But + in addition each man has two invisible guardian spirits (his _kaka_ + and _agi_) whose help he invokes in great danger; one is the seed by + which he was begotten, the other is the afterbirth, and these he + calls respectively his elder and his younger brother. Mr. + Westenberg's account refers specially to the Karo-Battas. See C. J. + Westenberg, "Aanteekeningen omtrent de godsdienstige begrippen der + Karo-Bataks," _Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde van + Nederlandsch Indië_, xli. (1892) pp. 228 _sq._ + + M173 If a totem is the receptacle in which a man keeps his external soul, + it is no wonder that savages should conceal the secret from + strangers. + + 599 Compare Ch. Hose and W. McDougall, _The Pagan Tribes of Borneo_ + (London, 1912), ii. 90 _sqq._: "An important institution among some + of the Ibans, which occurs but in rare instances among the other + peoples, is the _ngarong_ or secret helper. The _ngarong_ is one of + the very few topics in regard to which the Ibans display any + reluctance to speak freely. So great is their reserve in this + connection that one of us lived for fourteen years on friendly terms + with Ibans of various districts without ascertaining the meaning of + the word _ngarong_, or suspecting the great importance of the part + played by the notion in the lives of some of these people. The + _ngarong_ seems to be usually the spirit of some ancestor or dead + relative, but not always so, and it is not clear that it is always + conceived as the spirit of a deceased human being. This spirit + becomes the special protector of some individual Iban, to whom in a + dream he manifests himself, in the first place in human form, and + announces that he will be his secret helper.... When, as is most + commonly the case, the secret helper takes on the form of some + animal, all individuals of that species become objects of especial + regard to the fortunate Iban; he will not kill or eat any such + animal, and he will as far as possible restrain others from doing + so." Thus the _ngarong_ or secret helper of the Ibans closely + resembles what I have called the individual or personal totem. + + 600 It is not merely the personal name which is often shrouded in + mystery (see _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 318 _sqq._); + the names of the clans and their subdivisions are objects of + mysterious reverence among many, if not all, of the Siouan tribes of + North America, and are never used in ordinary conversation. See J. + Owen Dorsey, "Osage Traditions," _Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau + of Ethnology_ (Washington, 1888), p. 396. Among the Yuin of + South-Eastern Australia "the totem name was called _Budjan_, and it + was said to be more like _Joïa_, or magic, than a name; and it was + in one sense a secret name, for with it an enemy might cause injury + to its bearer by magic. Thus very few people knew the totem names of + others, the name being told to a youth by his father at his + initiation" (A. W. Howitt, _Native Tribes of South-East Australia_, + London, 1904, p. 133). + + M174 This view of totemism may help to explain the rite of death and + resurrection which forms part of many initiatory ceremonies among + savages. + + 601 Theodor Benfey, _Pantschatantra_ (Leipsic, 1859), i. 128 _sq._ + Similarly a man of the Kulin tribe in Victoria was called Kurburu, + that is, "native bear," because the spirit of a native bear was + supposed to have entered into him when he killed the animal, and to + have endowed him with its wonderful cleverness. This I learn from + Miss E. B. Howitt's _Folklore and Legends of some Victorian Tribes_ + (chapter vi.), which I have been privileged to see in manuscript. + Among the Chiquites Indians of Paraguay sickness was sometimes + accounted for by supposing that the soul of a deer or a turtle had + entered into the patient. See _Lettres Édifiantes et Curieuses_, + Nouvelle Édition, viii. (Paris, 1781) p. 339. We have seen (pp. 213 + _sq._) that the Indians of Honduras made an alliance with the animal + that was to be their _nagual_ by offering some of their own blood to + it. Conversely the North American Indian kills the animal which is + to be his personal totem, and thenceforth wears some part of the + creature as an amulet (_Totemism and Exogamy_, i. 50). These facts + seem to point to the establishment of a blood covenant, involving an + interchange of life between a man and his personal totem or + _nagual_; and among the Fans of West Africa, as we saw (above, p. + 201), such a covenant is actually supposed to exist between a + sorcerer and his _elangela_. + + M175 The rite of death and resurrection among the Wonghi of New South + Wales. + + 602 A. L. P. Cameron, "Notes on some Tribes of New South Wales," + _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xiv. (1885) pp. 357 + _sq._ Compare A. W. Howitt, _Native Tribes of South-East Australia_ + (London, 1904), pp. 588 _sq._ + + M176 Use of the bull-roarer at initiatory ceremonies in Australia. The + sound of the bull-roarer compared to thunder. Belief of the Dieri + that by sounding a bull-roarer a newly initiated young man produces + a supply of edible snakes and lizards. + + 603 Baldwin Spencer and F. J. Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central + Australia_ (London, 1899), pp. 213, 453. + + 604 A. W. Howitt, _Native Tribes of South-East Australia_ (London, + 1904), p. 538. As to Daramulun (of whose name Thuremlin is no doubt + only a dialectical variation) see _id._, pp. 407, 493, 494 _sq._, + 497, 499, 500, 507, 523 _sq._, 526, 528, 529 _sq._, 535, 540, 541, + 585 _sq._, 587; _id._, "On some Australian Ceremonies of + Initiation," _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xiii. + (1884) pp. 442, 443, 446, 447, 448, 450, 451, 452, 455, 456, 459. On + the bull-roarer see Andrew Lang, _Custom and Myth_ (London, 1884), + pp. 29-44; J. D. E. Schmeltz, _Das Schwirrholz_ (Hamburg, 1896); A. + C. Haddon, _The Study of Man_ (London and New York, 1898), pp. + 277-327; J. G. Frazer, "On some Ceremonies of the Central Australian + Aborigines," _Proceedings of the Australasian Association for the + Advancement of Science for the Year 1900_ (Melbourne, 1901), pp. + 317-322. The religious or magical use of the bull-roarer is best + known in Australia. See, for example, L. Fison and A. W. Howitt, + _Kamilaroi and Kurnai_ (Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane, + 1880), pp. 267-269; A. W. Howitt, _Native Tribes of South-East + Australia_, pp. 354, 509 _sq._, 514, 515, 517, 569, 571, 575, 578, + 579, 582, 583, 584, 589, 592, 594, 595, 606, 659 _sq._, 670, 672, + 696, 715; Baldwin Spencer and F. J. Gillen, _Native Tribes of + Central Australia_ (London, 1899), pp. 246, 344, 347; W. Baldwin + Spencer, _Introduction to the Study of Certain Native Tribes of the + Northern Territory_ (_Bulletin of the Northern Territory_, No. 2) + (Melbourne, 1912), pp. 19 _sq._, 23, 24, 31 _sq._, 37 _sqq._; A. R. + Brown, "Three Tribes of Western Australia," _Journal of the Royal + Anthropological Institute_, xliii. (1913) pp. 168, 174; R. + Pettazzoni, "Mythologie Australienne du Rhombe," _Revue de + l'Histoire des Religions_, lxv. (1912) pp. 149-170. But in the essay + just referred to Mr. Andrew Lang shewed that the instrument has been + similarly employed not only by savages in various parts of the + world, but also by the ancient Greeks in their religious mysteries. + In the Torres Straits Islands it is used both at the initiation of + young men and as a magical instrument. See _Reports of the Cambridge + Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits_, v. (Cambridge, 1904) + pp. 217, 218, 219, 328, 330-333, 346, 352. In various parts of New + Guinea it is sounded at the initiation of young men and is carefully + concealed from women; the sound is thought to be the voice of a + spirit. See Rev. J. Chalmers, _Pioneering in New Guinea_ (London, + 1887), p. 85; _id._, "Toaripi," _Journal of the Anthropological + Institute_, xxvii. (1898) p. 329; Rev. J. Holmes, "Initiation + Ceremonies of Natives of the Papuan Gulf," _Journal of the + Anthropological Institute_, xxxii. (1902) pp. 420, 424 _sq._; O. + Schellong, "Das Barlum-fest der Gegend Finsch-hafens," + _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, ii. (1889) pp. 150 _sq._, + 154 _sq._; F. Grabowsky, "Der Bezirk von Hatzfeldthafen und seine + Bewohner," _Petermanns Mitteilungen_, xli. (1895) p. 189; B. Hagen, + _Unter den Papua's_ (Wiesbaden, 1899), pp. 188 _sq._; Max Krieger, + _Neu-Guinea_ (Berlin, preface dated 1899), pp. 168 _sqq._; J. + Vetter, in _Mitteilungen der Geographischen Gesellschaft zu Jena_, + xi. (1892) p. 105; K. Vetter, in _Nachrichten über Kaiser + Wilhelms-Land und den Bismarck-Archipel, 1897_ (Berlin), p. 93; R. + Neuhauss, _Deutsch Neu-Guinea_ (Berlin, 1911), pp. 36, 297, 403, 406 + _sq._, 410-412, 494 _sqq._; Otto Reche, _Der Kaiserin-Augusta-Fluss_ + (Hamburg, 1913), pp. 349 _sqq._ (_Ergebnisse der Südsee-Expedition + 1908-1910_, herausgegeben von G. Thilenius). It is similarly used at + the circumcision-festivals in the French Islands, to the west of New + Britain (R. Parkinson, _Dreissig Jahre in der Südsee_, Stuttgart, + 1907, pp. 640 _sq._), and it is employed at mysteries or mourning + ceremonies in Bougainville and other Melanesian Islands. See R. + Parkinson, _op. cit._ pp. 658 _sq._; _id._, _Zur Ethnographie der + Nordwestlichen Salomo Inseln_ (Berlin, 1899), p. 11; R. H. + Codrington, _The Melanesians_ (Oxford, 1891), pp. 98 _sq._, 342. + Among the Minangkabauers of Sumatra the bull-roarer (_gasieng_) is + used by a rejected lover to induce the demons to carry off the soul + of the jilt and so drive her mad. It is made of the frontal bone of + a brave or skilful man, and some of the intended victim's hair is + attached to it. See J. L. van der Toorn, "Het animisme bij den + Minangkabauer in der Padangsche Bovenlanden," _Bijdragen tot de + Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch Indië_, xxxix. (1890) + pp. 55 _sq._ Among the Yoruba-speaking negroes of the Slave Coast in + West Africa, particularly at Abeokuta, the sound of the bull-roarer + is supposed to be the voice of a great bogey named Oro, whose + votaries compose a secret society under the name of Ogboni. When the + sound of the bull-roarer is heard in the streets, every woman must + shut herself up in her house and not look out of the window under + pain of death. See R. F. Burton, _Abeokuta and the Cameroons + Mountains_ (London, 1863), i. 197 _sq._;, Missionary Chautard, in + _Annales de la Propagation de la Foi_, lv. (Lyons, 1883) pp. + 192-198; Missionary Baudin, "Le Fétichisme," _Les Missions + Catholiques_, xvi. (1884) p. 257; P. Bouche, _La Côte des Esclaves + et le Dahomey_ (Paris, 1885), p. 124; Mrs. R. B. Batty and Governor + Moloney, "Notes on the Yoruba Country," _Journal of the + Anthropological Institute_, xix. (1890) pp. 160-164; A. B. Ellis, + _The Yoruba-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa_ + (London, 1894), pp. 110 _sq._; R. H. Stone, _In Afric's Forest and + Jungle_ (Edinburgh and London, 1900), p. 88; L. Frobenius, _Die + Masken und Geheimbünde Afrikas_ (Halle, 1898), pp. 95 _sqq._ (_Nova + Acta, Abh. der Kaiserl. Leop.-Carol. Deutschen Akademie der + Naturforscher_, vol. lxxiv. No. 1). Among the Nandi of British East + Africa and the Bushongo of the Congo region bull-roarers are sounded + by men to frighten novices at initiation. See A. C. Hollis, _The + Nandi_ (Oxford, 1909), pp. 40, 56; E. Torday and T. A. Joyce, _Les + Bushongo_ (Brussels, 1910), p. 82. Among the Caffres of South Africa + and the Boloki of the Upper Congo the bull-roarer is a child's toy, + but yet is thought to be endowed with magical virtue. See below, p. + 232 note 3. Among the Koskimo Indians of British Columbia the sound + of the bull-roarers is supposed to be the voice of a spirit who + comes to fetch away the novices. See Franz Boas, "The Social + Organization and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians," + _Report of the United States National Museum_ (Washington, 1897), p. + 610. The bull-roarer is used as a sacred or magical instrument for + the making of rain by the Zuñi and other Pueblo Indians of Arizona + and New Mexico, also by the Navajos and Apaches of the same region, + and by the Utes of Nevada and Utah. See Dr. Washington Matthews, + "The Mountain Chant, a Navajo Ceremony," _Fifth Annual Report of the + Bureau of Ethnology_ (Washington, 1887), pp. 435, 436; Captain J. G. + Bourke, "The Medicine-men of the Apache," _Ninth Annual Report of + the Bureau of Ethnology_ (Washington, 1892), pp. 476-479; Mrs. + Matilda Coxe Stevenson, "The Zuñi Indians," _Twenty-third Report of + the Bureau of American Ethnology_ (Washington, 1904), pp. 115, 117, + 128 _sq._, 175, 177, 355. The Guatusos of Costa Rica ascertain the + will of the deity by listening to the humming sound of the + bull-roarer. See Dr. C. Sapper, "Ein Besuch bei den Guatusos in + Costarica," _Globus_, lxxvi. (1899) p. 352; _id._, "Beiträge zur + Ethnographie des südlichen Mittelamerika," _Petermanns + Mitteilungen_, xlvii. (1901) p. 36. The Caripunas Indians of the + Madeira River, in Brazil, sound bull-roarers in lamentations for the + dead. See Franz Keller, _The Amazon and Madeira Rivers_ (London, + 1874), p. 124. The Bororo of Brazil also swing bull-roarers at their + festivals of the dead; the sound of them is the signal for the women + to hide themselves; it is believed that women and children would die + if they saw a bull-roarer. See K. von den Steinen, _Unter den + Naturvölkern Zentral-Brasilien's_ (Berlin, 1894), pp. 497-499. The + Nahuqua and other Brazilian tribes use bull-roarers in their masked + dances, but make no mystery of them. See K. von den Steinen, _op. + cit._ pp. 327 _sq._ As to the magical use of the bull-roarer, see + pp. 230 _sqq._ + + 605 A. W. Howitt, "The Dieri and other Kindred Tribes of Central + Australia," _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xx. (1891) + p. 83; _id._, _Native Tribes of South-East Australia_, p. 660. In + the latter passage Dr. Howitt omits the not unimportant particular + that the bull-roarer is swung for this purpose by the young man + _before his wounds are healed_. + + 606 On the desert nature of Central Australia and the magical-like + change wrought in its fauna and flora by heavy rain, see Baldwin + Spencer and F. J. Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central Australia_ + (London, 1899), pp. 4 _sq._; _Totemism and Exogamy_, i. 170 _sqq._, + 316 _sqq._, 341 _sq._; J. G. Frazer, "Howitt and Fison," + _Folk-lore_, xx. (1909) pp. 160, 162 _sq._, 164. + + M177 The bull-roarer used by the Indians of New Mexico and Arizona to + procure rain. The bull-roarer used in Torres Straits Islands to + produce wind and good crops. + + 607 Captain J. G. Bourke, "The Medicine-men of the Apache," _Ninth + Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_ (Washington, 1892), pp. + 476 _sq._ + + 608 Mrs. Matilda Coxe Stevenson, "The Zuñi Indians," _Twenty-third + Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology_ (Washington, + 1904), pp. 115, 355. + + 609 Mrs. Matilda Coxe Stevenson, _op. cit._ p. 175; compare _id._, pp. + 128 _sq._, 177. + + 610 Dr. Washington Matthews, "The Navajo Chant," _Fifth Annual Report of + the Bureau of Ethnology_ (Washington, 1887), p. 436; compare _id._, + p. 435, where the sound of the bull-roarer is said to be "like that + of a rain storm." + + 611 Karl von den Steinen, _Unter den Naturvölkern Zentral-Brasiliens_ + (Berlin, 1894), p. 328. + +_ 612 Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres + Straits_, v. (Cambridge, 1904) p. 352. + + 613 G. McCall Theal, _Kaffir Folk-lore_ (London, 1886), pp. 222 _sq._; + _id._, _Records of South-Eastern Africa_, vii. (1901) p. 456; Dudley + Kidd, _The Essential Kafir_ (London, 1904), p. 333. For an analogous + reason among the Boloki of the Upper Congo the elders do not like + when boys play with bull-roarers, because the sound resembles the + growl of a leopard and will attract these ferocious animals. See + Rev. John H. Weeks, _Among Congo Cannibals_ (London, 1913), p. 157. + + 614 A. C. Haddon, _Head-hunters, Black, White, and Brown_ (London, + 1901), p. 104; _Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition + to Torres Straits_, v. (Cambridge, 1904) pp. 218, 219; Rev. J. + Chalmers, "Notes on the Natives of Kiwai Island," _Journal of the + Anthropological Institute_, xxxiii. (1903) p. 119. + + 615 H. Zahn, "Die Jabim," in R. Neuhauss's _Deutsch Neu-Guinea_ (Berlin, + 1911), iii. 333. + + M178 The whirling of bull-roarers by young men with bleeding backs in + Australia seems to have been a rain-making ceremony. + +_ 616 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 256-258. + + 617 This appears to be the view also of Professor K. von den Steinen + (_Unter den Naturvölkern Zentral-Brasiliens_, pp. 327 _sq._), who is + probably right in thinking that the primary intention of the + instrument is to make thunder, and that the idea of making rain is + secondary. + + M179 The sound of the bull-roarer at initiation is believed by Australian + women and children to be the voice of a spirit, who carries away the + novices. + + 618 A. W. Howitt, "On Australian Medicine Men," _Journal of the + Anthropological Institute_, xvi. (1887) pp. 47 _sq._; compare _id._, + _Native Tribes of South-East Australia_, p. 596. + + 619 Baldwin Spencer and F. J. Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central + Australia_, p. 246 note 1; _id._, _Northern Tribes of Central + Australia_ (London, 1904), p. 497. According to the classificatory + system of relationship, which prevails among all the aborigines of + Australia, a man may have, and generally has, a number of women who + stand to him in the relation of mother as well as of sister, though + there need not be a drop of blood in common between them, as we + count kin. This explains the reference in the text to a boy's + "mothers." + + M180 In some Australian tribes the women believe that lads at initiation + are killed and brought to life again by a spirit, whose voice is + heard in the sound of the bull-roarer. + + 620 B. Spencer and F. J. Gillen, _Northern Tribes of Central Australia_, + pp. 342 _sq._, 498. + + 621 Spencer and Gillen, _op. cit._ p. 498. + + 622 Spencer and Gillen, _op. cit._ pp. 366 _sq._, 501. + + 623 Spencer and Gillen, _op. cit._ pp. 373, 501. + + M181 A drama of resurrection from the dead used to be shewn to novices at + initiation in some tribes of New South Wales. Dr. Howitt's + description of the scene. The seeming dead man in the grave. The + resurrection from the grave. + + 624 A. W. Howitt, _Native Tribes of South-East Australia_, pp. 554-556. + Compare _id._, "On some Australian Ceremonies of Initiation," + _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xiii. (1884) pp. 453 + _sq._ + + M182 In some Australian tribes a medicine-man at his initiation is + thought to be killed and raised again from the dead. + + 625 B. Spencer and F. J. Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central Australia_, + pp. 523-525; _id._, _Northern Tribes of Central Australia_, 480 + _sq._, 484, 485, 487, 488; _id._, _Across Australia_ (London, 1912), + ii. 334 _sqq._ + + 626 Spencer and Gillen, _Northern Tribes of Central Australia_, pp. 480 + _sq._ + + 627 F. J. Gillen, "Notes on some Manners and Customs of the Aborigines + of the McDonnel Ranges belonging to the Arunta Tribe," in _Report on + the Work of the Horn Scientific Expedition to Central Australia_, + Part iv. _Anthropology_ (London and Melbourne, 1896), pp. 180 _sq._; + B. Spencer and F. J. Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central Australia_ + (London, 1899), pp. 523 _sq._; _id._, _Across Australia_ (London, + 1912), ii. 335. + + M183 Notable features in the initiation of Australian medicine-men. + + 628 B. Spencer and F. J. Gillen, _Northern Tribes of Central Australia_, + pp. 487, 488; _id._, _Across Australia_, ii. 481 _sq._ + + M184 Rites of initiation in some tribes of German New Guinea. The novices + thought to be swallowed and disgorged by a monster, whose voice is + heard in the hum of the bull-roarers. + M185 The return of the novices after initiation. + + 629 As to the initiatory rites among the Yabim, see K. Vetter, in + _Nachrichten über Kaiser Wilhelms-Land und den Bismarck-Archipel_, + 1897, pp. 92 _sq._; _id._, in _Mitteilungen der Geographischen + Gesellschaft zu Jena_, xi. (1892) p. 105; _id._, _Komm herüber und + hilf uns!_ ii. (Barmen, 1898) p. 18; _id._, cited by M. Krieger, + _Neu-Guinea_ (Berlin, preface dated 1899), pp. 167-170; O. + Schellong, "Das Barlum-fest der Gegend Finschhafens," + _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, ii. (1889) pp. 145-162; + H. Zahn, "Die Jabim," in R. Neuhauss's _Deutsch Neu-Guinea_ (Berlin, + 1911), iii. 296-298. As to the initiatory rites among the Bukaua, + see S. Lehner, "Bukaua," in R. Neuhauss's _Deutsch Neu-Guinea_, iii. + 402-410; among the Kai, see Ch. Keysser, "Aus dem Kai-Leute," + _ibid._ pp. 34-40; among the Tami, see G. Bamler, "Tami," _ibid._ + pp. 493-507. I have described the rites of the various tribes more + in detail in _The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the + Dead_, i. 250-255, 260 _sq._, 290 _sq._, 301 _sq._ In the Bukaua and + Tami tribes the initiation ceremonies are performed not in the + forest but in a special house built for the purpose in the village, + which the women are obliged to vacate till the rites are over. + + M186 The monster who is supposed to swallow the novices is apparently + conceived as a ghost or ancestral spirit. + +_ 630 The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead_, i. 250, + 251, 255, 261, 290 _sq._, 301. Among the Bukaua not only does the + bull-roarer bear the general name for a ghost (_balum_), but each + particular bull-roarer bears in addition the name of a particular + dead man, and varies in dignity and importance with the dignity and + importance of the deceased person whom it represents. And besides + the big bull-roarers with gruff voices there are little bull-roarers + with shrill voices, which represent the shrill-voiced wives of the + ancient heroes. See S. Lehner, "Bukaua," in R. Neuhauss's _Deutsch + Neu-Guinea_, iii. 410-412. + + 631 R. Pöch, "Vierter Bericht über meine Reise nach Neu-Guinea," + _Sitzungsberichte der mathematischen-naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse + der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften_ (Vienna), cxv. (1906) + Abteilung i. pp. 901, 902. + + M187 The drama of death and resurrection used to be enacted before young + men at initiation in some parts of Fiji. + + 632 Rev. Lorimer Fison, "The _Nanga_ or Sacred Stone Enclosure of + Wainimala, Fiji," _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xiv. + (1885) p. 27. The _Nanga_ or sacred enclosure of stones, with its + sacred rites, was known only to certain tribes of Fiji (the Nuyaloa, + Vatusila, Mbatiwai, and Mdavutukia), who inhabited a comparatively + small area, barely a third, of the island of Viti Levu. As to the + institution in general, see Rev. Lorimer Fison, _op. cit._ pp. + 14-31; A. B. Joske, "The Nanga of Viti-levu," _Internationales + Archiv für Ethnographie_, ii. (1889) pp. 254-266; Basil Thomson, + _The Fijians_ (London, 1908), pp. 146-157. Compare _The Belief in + Immortality and the Worship of the Dead_, i. 427-438. + + 633 Rev. Lorimer Fison, _op. cit._ p. 26; Basil Thomson, _op. cit._ 147. + + 634 Rev. Lorimer Fison, _op. cit._ pp. 27 _sq._ The phrase "the + ancestral gods" is used by Mr. Fison, one of our best authorities on + Fijian religion. Mr. Basil Thomson (_op. cit._ p. 157) questions the + accuracy of Mr. Fison's account of this vicarious sacrifice on the + ground that every youth was regularly circumcised as a matter of + course. But there seems to be no inconsistency between the two + statements. While custom required that every youth should be + circumcised, the exact time for performing the ceremony need not + have been rigidly prescribed; and if a saving or atoning virtue was + attributed to the sacrifice of foreskins, it might be thought + desirable in cases of emergency, such as serious illness, to + anticipate it for the benefit of the sufferer. + + 635 According to Mr. Fison, the enclosure was divided into three + compartments; Mr. Basil Thomson describes only two, though by + speaking of one of them as the "Middle Nanga" he seems to imply that + there were three. The structure was a rough parallelogram lying east + and west, about a hundred feet long by fifty feet broad, enclosed by + walls or rows of stone slabs embedded endwise in the earth. See + Basil Thomson, _op. cit._ pp. 147 _sq._ + + M188 Description of the rite. The mimic death. The mimic resurrection. + The sacramental meal. The intention of the rite. + + 636 A. B. Joske, "The Nanga of Vitilevu," _Internationales Archiv für + Ethnographie_, ii. (1889) p. 259; Basil Thomson, _The Fijians_, pp. + 150 _sq._ According to Mr. Fison (_op. cit._ p. 19) the initiatory + ceremonies were held as a rule only every second year; but he adds: + "This period, however, is not necessarily restricted to two years. + There are always a number of youths who are growing to the proper + age, and the length of the interval depends upon the decision of the + elders." Perhaps the seeming discrepancy between our authorities on + this point may be explained by Mr. Joske's statement (p. 259) that + the rites are held in alternate years by two different sets of men, + the Kai Vesina and the Kai Rukuruku, both of whom claim to be + descended from the original founders of the rites. The custom of + dating the New Year by observation of the Pleiades was apparently + universal among the Polynesians. See _The Spirits of the Corn and of + the Wild_, i. 312 _sq._ + + 637 Rev. Lorimer Fison, _op. cit._ pp. 20-23; A. B. Joske, _op. cit._ + pp. 264 _sq._; Basil Thomson, _The Fijians_, pp. 150-153. The + sacramental character of the meal is recognized by Mr. Fison, who + says (p. 23) that after the performance of the rites the novices + "are now _Vilavóu_, accepted members of the _Nanga_, qualified to + take their place among the men of the community, though still only + on probation. As children--their childhood being indicated by their + shaven heads--they were presented to the ancestors, and their + acceptance was notified by what (looking at the matter from the + natives' standpoint) we might, without irreverance, almost call the + _sacrament_ of food and water, too sacred even for the elders' hands + to touch." + + M189 Initiatory rite in the island of Rook: pretence that the novices are + swallowed by the devil. Secret society of the Duk-duk in New + Britain. Novices supposed to be killed. The new birth. + + 638 Paul Reina, "Ueber die Bewohner der Insel Rook," _Zeitschrift für + allgemeine Erdkunde_, N.F., iv. (1858) pp. 356 _sq._ + + 639 R. Parkinson, _Im Bismarck Archipel_ (Leipsic, 1887), pp. 129-134; + _id._ _Dreissig Jahre in der Südsee_ (Stuttgart, 1907), pp. 567 + _sqq._; Rev. G. Brown, "Notes on the Duke of York Group, New + Britain, and New Ireland," _Journal of the Royal Geographical + Society_, xlvii. (1878) pp. 148 _sq._; H. H. Romilly, "The Islands + of the New Britain Group," _Proceedings of the Royal Geographical + Society_, N.S., ix. (1887) pp. 11 _sq._; Rev. G. Brown, _ibid._ p. + 17; _id._, _Melanesians and Polynesians_ (London, 1910), pp. 60 + _sqq._; W. Powell, _Wanderings in a Wild Country_ (London, 1883), + pp. 60-66; C. Hager, _Kaiser Wilhelm's Land und der Bismarck + Archipel_ (Leipsic, N.D.), pp. 115-128; Hubner, quoted by W. H. + Dall, "On masks, labrets, and certain aboriginal customs," _Third + Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_ (Washington, 1884), p. + 100; P. A. Kleintitschen, _Die Küstenbewohner der Gazellehalbinsel_ + (Hiltrup bei Münster, N.D.), pp. 350 _sqq._; H. Schurtz, + _Altersklassen und Männerbünde_ (Berlin, 1902), pp. 369-377. The + inhabitants of these islands are divided into two exogamous classes, + which in the Duke of York Island have two insects for their totems. + One of the insects is the _mantis religiosus_; the other is an + insect that mimics the leaf of the horse-chestnut tree very closely. + See Rev. B. Danks, "Marriage Customs of the New Britain Group," + _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xviii. (1889) pp. 281 + _sq._; _Totemism and Exogamy_, ii. 118 _sqq._ + + M190 Initiatory rite in Halmahera: pretence of begetting the novices + anew. + + 640 J. G. F. Riedel, "Galela und Tobeloresen," _Zeitschrift für + Ethnologie_, xvii. (1885) pp. 81 _sq._ + + M191 The Kakian association in Ceram. The rite of initiation: pretence of + killing the novices. + + 641 The Kakian association and its initiatory ceremonies have often been + described. See François Valentyn, _Oud en nieuw Oost-Indiën_ + (Dordrecht and Amsterdam, 1724-1726), iii. 3 _sq._; Von Schmid, "Het + Kakihansch Verbond op het eiland Ceram," _Tijdschrift voor Neérlands + Indië_ (Batavia, 1843), dl. ii. pp. 25-38; A. van Ekris, "Het + Ceramsche Kakianverbond," _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche + Zendelinggenootschap_, ix. (1865) pp. 205-226 (repeated with slight + changes in _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, + xvi. (1867) pp. 290-315); P. Fournier, "De Zuidkust van Ceram," + _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xvi. (1867) + pp. 154-156; W. A. van Rees, _Die Pionniers der Beschaving in + Neêrlands Indië_ (Arnheim, 1867), pp. 92-106; G. W. W. C. Baron van + Hoëvell, _Ambon en meer bepaaldelijk de Oeliasers_ (Dordrecht, + 1875), pp. 153 _sqq._; Schulze, "Ueber Ceram und seine Bewohner," + _Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, + Ethnologie, und Urgeschichte_ (1877), p. 117; W. Joest, "Beiträge + zur Kenntniss der Eingebornen der Insel Formosa und Ceram," _ibid._ + (1882) p. 64; H. von Rosenberg, _Der Malayische Archipel_ (Leipsic, + 1878), p. 318; A. Bastian, _Indonesien_, i. (Berlin, 1884) pp. + 145-148; J. G. F. Riedel, _De sluik- en kroesharige rassen tusschen + Selebes en Papua_ (The Hague, 1886), pp. 107-111; O. D. Tauern, + "Ceram," _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, xlv. (1913) pp. 167 _sq._ The + best accounts are those of Valentyn, Von Schmid, Van Ekris, Van + Rees, and Riedel, which are accordingly followed in the text. + + M192 The resurrection of the novices. + M193 The secret society of _Ndembo_ in the valley of the Lowe Congo. + + 642 No reason is assigned for this curious choice of a president. Can it + have been that, because negro children are born pale or nearly + white, an albino was deemed a proper president for a society, all + the initiated members of which claimed to have been born again? + Speaking of the people of the Lower Congo the old English traveller + Andrew Battel observes that "the children of this country are born + white, but change their colour in two days' time to a perfect black" + ("Adventures of Andrew Battel," in J. Pinkerton's _Voyages and + Travels_, xvi. London, 1814, p. 331). + + M194 Pretence of death as a preliminary to resurrection. + M195 Seclusion of the novices. + M196 Resurrection of the novices. Pretence of the novices that they have + forgotten everything. + + 643 Rev. J. H. Weeks, "Notes on some Customs of the Lower Congo People," + _Folk-lore_, xx. (1909) pp. 189-198; Rev. W. H. Bentley, _Life on + the Congo_ (London, 1887), pp. 78 _sq._; _id._, _Pioneering on the + Congo_ (London, 1900), i. 284-287. Mr. Weeks's description of the + institution is the fullest and I have followed it in the text. The + custom was in vogue down to recent years, but seems to have been + suppressed chiefly by the exertions of the missionaries. Besides the + _ndembo_ guild there is, or was, in these regions another secret + society known as the _nkimba_, which some writers have confused with + the _ndembo_. The _nkimba_ was of a more harmless character than the + other; indeed it seems even to have served some useful purposes, + partly as a kind of freemasonry which encouraged mutual help among + its members, partly as a system of police for the repression of + crime, its professed object being to put down witchcraft and punish + witches. Only males were admitted to it. Candidates for initiation + were stupefied by a drug, but there was apparently no pretence of + killing them and bringing them to life again. Members of the society + had a home in the jungle away from the town, where the novices lived + together for a period varying from six months to two years. They + learned a secret language, and received new names; it was afterwards + an offence to call a man by the name of his childhood. Instead of + the red dye affected by members of the _ndembo_ guild, members of + the _nkimba_ guild whitened their bodies with pipe clay and wore + crinolines of palm frondlets. See Rev. W. H. Bentley, _Life on the + Congo_, pp. 80-83; _id._, _Pioneering on the Congo_, i. 282-284; + Rev. J. H. Weeks, _op. cit._ pp. 198-201; (Sir) H. H. Johnston, "A + Visit to Mr. Stanley's Stations on the River Congo," _Proceedings of + the Royal Geographical Society_, N. S. v. (1883) pp. 572 _sq._; E. + Delmar Morgan, "Notes on the Lower Congo," _id._, N.S. vi. (1884) p. + 193. As to these two secret societies on the Lower Congo, see + further (Sir) H. H. Johnston, "On the Races of the Congo," _Journal + of the Anthropological Institute_, xiii. (1884) pp. 472 sq.; É. + Dupont, _Lettres sur le Congo_ (Paris, 1889), pp. 96-100; Herbert + Ward, _Five Years with the Congo Cannibals_ (London, 1890), pp. 54 + _sq._; _id._ "Ethnographical Notes relating to the Congo Tribes," + _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxiv. (1895) pp. 288 + _sq._; E. J. Glave, _Six Years of Adventure in Congo Land_ (London, + 1893), pp. 80-83; L. Frobenius, _Die Masken und Geheimbünde Afrikas_ + (Halle, 1898), pp. 43-54 (_Nova Acta. Abh. der Kaiserl. Leop. Carol. + Deutschen Akademie der Naturforscher_, vol. lxxiv. No. 1); H. + Schurtz, _Altersklassen und Männerbünde_ (Berlin, 1902), pp. + 433-437; _Notes Annalytiques sur les Collections Ethnographiques du + Musée du Congo_ (Brussels, 1902-1906), pp. 199-206; Ed. de Jonghe, + _Les Sociétés Secrètes au Bas-Congo_ (Brussels, 1907), pp. 15 _sqq._ + (extract from the _Revue des Questions Scientifiques_, October + 1907). Some of these writers do not discriminate between the two + societies, the _ndembo_ and the _nkimba_. According to our best + authorities (Messrs. Bentley and Weeks) the two societies are quite + distinct and neither of them has anything to do with circumcision, + which is, however, prevalent in the region. See Rev. J. H. Weeks, + "Notes on some Customs of the Lower Congo People," _Folk-lore_, xx. + (1909) pp. 304 _sqq._ A secret society of the Lower Congo which + Adolf Bastian has described under the name of _quimba_ is probably + identical with the _nkimba_. He speaks of a "Secret Order of those + who have been born again," and tells us that the candidates "are + thrown into a death-like state and buried in the fetish house. When + they are wakened to life again, they have (as in the Belliparo) lost + their memory of everything that is past, even of their father and + mother, and they can no longer remember their own name. Hence new + names are given them according to the titles or ranks to which they + are advanced." See A. Bastian, _Die deutsche Expedition an der + Loango-Küste_ (Jena, 1874-1875), ii. 15 _sqq._ + + M197 Bastian's account of the ritual of death and resurrection in West + Africa. + + 644 A. Bastian, _Ein Besuch in San Salvador_ (Bremen, 1859), pp. 82 + _sq._ + + M198 Acquisition of a patron animal or guardian spirit in a dream. + + 645 A. Bastian, _Die deutsche Expedition an der Loango-Küste_, ii. 183. + Elsewhere Bastian says that about San Salvador lads at puberty are + secluded in the forest and circumcised, and during their seclusion + "each of them is mystically united to the fetish by which his life + is henceforth determined, as the Brahman whispers the secret charm + in the ear of him who has been born again." See A. Bastian, _Ein + Besuch in San Salvador_ (Bremen, 1859), pp. 85 _sq._ + + 646 H. Trilles, _Le Totémisme chez les Fân_ (Münster i. W., 1912), pp. + 479 _sq._ The writer speaks of the guardian spirit as the individual + totem of the young warrior. + + M199 Dapper's account of the ritual of death and resurrection in the + Belli-Paaro society. + + 647 O. Dapper, _Description de l'Afrique_ (Amsterdam, 1686), pp. 268 + _sq._ Dapper's account has been abridged in the text. + + M200 Miss Kingsley on the rites of initiation into secret societies in + West Africa. + + 648 Miss Mary H. Kingsley, _Travels in West Africa_ (London, 1867), p. + 531. Perhaps the smearing with clay may be intended to indicate that + the novices have undergone the new birth; for the negro child, + though born reddish-brown, soon turns slaty-grey (E. B. Tylor, + _Anthropology_, London, 1881, p. 67), which would answer well enough + to the hue of the clay-bedaubed novices. + + M201 The _purra_ or _poro_, a secret society of Sierra Leone. The new + birth. The _semo_, a secret society of Senegambia. Death and + resurrection at initiation. + + 649 Thomas Winterbottom, _An Account of the Native Africans in the + Neighbourhood of Sierra Leone_ (London, 1803), pp. 135 _sq._ Compare + John Matthews, _A Voyage to the River Sierra-Leone_ (London, 1791), + pp. 82-85; J. B. L. Durand, _Voyage au Sénégal_ (Paris, 1802), pp. + 183 _sq._ (whose account is copied without acknowledgment from + Matthews). The _purra_ or _poro_ society also exists among the + Timmes of Sierra Leone; in this tribe the novices are sometimes + secluded from their families for ten years in the wood, they are + tattooed on their backs and arms, and they learn a language which + consists chiefly of names of plants and animals used in special + senses. Women are not admitted to the society. See Zweifel et + Moustier, "Voyage aux sources du Niger," _Bulletin de la Société de + Géographie_ (Paris), VI. Série, xv. (1878) pp. 108 _sq._ + + 650 T. J. Alldridge, _The Sherbro and its Hinterland_ (London, 1901), p. + 130. This work contains a comparatively full account of the _purra_ + or _poro_ society (pp. 124-131) and of the other secret societies of + the country (pp. 131-149, 153-159). Compare L. Frobenius, _Die + Masken und Geheimbünde Afrikas_ (Halle, 1898), pp. 138-144 (_Nova + Acta, Abh. der Kaiserl. Leop.-Carol. Deutschen Akademie der + Naturforscher_, vol. lxxiv. No. 1). + + 651 Thomas Winterbottom, _An Account of the Native Africans in the + Neighbourhood of Sierra Leone_ (London, 1803), pp. 137-139. As to + the _semo_ or _simo_ society see further L. Frobenius, _op. cit._ + pp. 130-138. + + M202 Ritual of the new birth among the Akikuyu of British East Africa. + + 652 Extract from a letter of Mr. A. C. Hollis to me. Mr. Hollis's + authority is Dr. T. W. W. Crawford of the Kenia Medical Mission. + + 653 W. Scoresby Routledge and Katherine Routledge, _With a Prehistoric + People, the Akikuyu of British East Africa_ (London, 1910), p. 152. + Compare C. W. Hobley, "Kikuyu Customs and Beliefs," _Journal of the + Royal Anthropological Institute_, xl. (1910) p. 441. + + 654 Mr. A. W. McGregor, of the Church Missionary Society, quoted by W. + S. Routledge and K. Routledge, _With a Prehistoric People_, p. 151, + note. 1. Mr. McGregor "has resided amongst the Akikuyu since 1901. + He has by his tact and kindness won the confidence of the natives, + and is the greatest authority on their language" (_id._, p. xxi). + + 655 W. S. Routledge and K. Routledge, _op. cit._ p. 151. + + M203 Rites of initiation among the Bondeis of East Africa. Rites of + initiation among the Bushongo of the Congo. The first ordeal. The + second ordeal. The last ordeal: the descent from the tree. + + 656 Rev. G. Dale, "An Account of the principal Customs and Habits of the + Natives inhabiting the Bondei Country," _Journal of the + Anthropological Institute_, xxv. (1896) p. 189. + + 657 E. Torday et T. A. Joyce, _Les Bushongo_ (Brussels, 1910), pp. + 82-85. As for the title "God on Earth," applied to the principal + chief or king, see _id._, p. 53. + + M204 Rites of initiation among the Indians of Virginia: pretence of the + novices that they have forgotten their former life. + + 658 (Beverley's) _History of Virginia_ (London, 1722), pp. 177 _sq._ + Compare J. Bricknell, _The Natural History of North Carolina_ + (Dublin, 1737), pp. 405 _sq._ + + M205 Ritual of death and resurrection at initiation into the secret + societies of North America. The medicine-bag as an instrument of + death and resurrection. Ritual of death and resurrection at + initiation among the Dacotas. + + 659 J. Carver, _Travels through the Interior Parts of North America_, + Third Edition (London, 1781), pp. 271-275. The thing thrown at the + man and afterwards vomited by him was probably not a bean but a + small white sea-shell (_Cypraea moneta_). See H. R. Schoolcraft, + _Indian Tribes of the United States_ (Philadelphia, 1853-1856), iii. + 287; J. G. Kohl, _Kitschi-Gami_ (Bremen, 1859), i. 71; _Seventh + Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_ (Washington, 1891), pp. + 191, 215; _Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_ + (Washington, 1896), p. 101. + + 660 J. Carver, _op. cit._ pp. 277 _sq._; H. R. Schoolcraft, _Indian + Tribes of the United States_, iii. 287 (as to the Winnebagoes), v. + 430 _sqq._ (as to the Chippeways and Sioux); J. G. Kohl, + _Kitschi-Gami_, i. 64-70 (as to the Ojebways). For a very detailed + account of the Ojebway ceremonies, see W. J. Hoffman, "The Midewiwin + or Grand Medicine Society of the Ojibwa," _Seventh Annual Report of + the Bureau of Ethnology_ (Washington, 1891), especially pp. 215 + _sq._, 234 _sq._, 248, 265. For similar ceremonies among the + Menomini, see _id._, "The Menomini Indians," _Fourteenth Annual + Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_ (Washington, 1896), pp. 99-102; + and among the Omahas, see J. Owen Dorsey, "Omaha Sociology," _Third + Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_ (Washington, 1884), pp. + 342-346. I have dealt more fully with the ritual in _Totemism and + Exogamy_, iii. 462 _sqq._ Compare also P. Radin, "Ritual and + Significance of the Winnebago Medicine Dance," _Journal of American + Folk-lore_, xxiv. (1911) pp. 149-208. + + 661 G. H. Pond, "Dakota superstitions," _Collections of the Minnesota + Historical Society for the year 1867_ (Saint Paul, 1867), pp. 35, + 37-40. A similar but abridged account of the Dakota tradition and + usage is given by S. R. Riggs in his _Dakota Grammar, Texts, and + Ethnography_ (Washington, 1893), pp. 227-229 (_Contributions to + North American Ethnology_, vol. ix.). + + M206 Ritual of mimic death among the Indians of Nootka Sound. + +_ 662 Narrative of the Adventures and Sufferings of John R. Jewitt_ + (Middletown, 1820), p. 119. + +_ 663 Id._, p. 44. For the age of the prince, see _id._, p. 35. + + 664 H. J. Holmberg, "Ueber die Völker des russischen Amerika," _Acta + Societatis Scientiarum Fennicae_, iv. (Helsingfors, 1856) pp. 292 + _sqq._, 328; Ivan Petroff, _Report on the Population, Industries and + Resources of Alaska_, pp. 165 _sq._; A. Krause, _Die + Tlinkit-Indianer_ (Jena, 1885), p. 112; R. C. Mayne, _Four Years in + British Columbia and Vancouver Island_ (London, 1862), pp. 257 + _sq._, 268; _Totemism and Exogamy_, iii. 264 _sqq._ + + M207 Rite of death and resurrection at initiation into the Nootka society + of human wolves. Novice brought back by an artificial totemic animal + among the Niska Indians. + + 665 Fr. Boas, in _Sixth Report on the North-Western Tribes of Canada_, + pp. 47 _sq._ (separate reprint from the _Report of the British + Association_, Leeds meeting, 1890); _id._, "The Social Organization + and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians," _Report of the + United States National Museum for 1895_; (Washington, 1897), pp. 632 + _sq._ But while the initiation described in the text was into a wolf + society, not into a wolf clan, it is to be observed that the wolf is + one of the regular totems of the Nootka Indians. See Fr. Boas, in + _Sixth Report on the North-Western Tribes of Canada_, p. 32. + + 666 Fr. Boas, in _Tenth Report on the North-Western Tribes of Canada_, + pp. 49 _sq._, 58 _sq._ (separate reprint from the _Report of the + British Association_, Ipswich meeting, 1895). It is remarkable, + however, that in this tribe persons who are being initiated into the + secret societies, of which there are six, are not always or even + generally brought back by an artificial animal which represents + their own totem. Thus while men of the eagle totem are brought back + by an eagle which rises from underground, men of the bear clan + return on the back of an artificial killer-whale which is towed + across the river by ropes. Again, members of the wolf clan are + brought back by an artificial bear, and members of the raven clan by + a frog. In former times the appearance of the artificial totem + animal, or of the guardian spirit, was considered a matter of great + importance, and any failure which disclosed the deception to the + uninitiated was deemed a grave misfortune which could only be atoned + for by the death of the persons concerned in the disclosure. + + M208 In these initiatory rites the novice seems to be killed as a man and + restored to life as an animal. + + 667 See above, p. 213. + + 668 This is the opinion of Dr. F. Boas, who writes: "The close + similarity between the clan legends and those of the acquisition of + spirits presiding over secret societies, as well as the intimate + relation between these and the social organizations of the tribes, + allow us to apply the same argument to the consideration of the + growth of the secret societies, and lead us to the conclusion that + the same psychical factor that molded the clans into their present + shape molded the secret societies" ("The Social Organization and the + Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians," _Report of the United + States National Museum for 1895_, p. 662). Dr. Boas would see in the + acquisition of a _manitoo_ or personal totem the origin both of the + secret societies and of the totem clans; for according to him the + totem of the clan is merely the _manitoo_ or personal totem of the + ancestor transmitted by inheritance to his descendants. As to + personal totems or guardian spirits (_manitoos_) among the North + American Indians, see _Totemism and Exogamy_, iii. 370 _sqq._; as to + their secret societies, see _id._, iii. 457 _sqq._; as to the theory + that clan totems originated in personal or individual totems, see + _id._, iv. 48 _sqq._ + + M209 Honorific totems among the Carrier Indians. Initiatory rites at the + adoption of a honorific totem. Simulated transformation of a novice + into a bear. Pretence of death and resurrection at initiation. + + 669 A. G. Morice, "Notes, archaeological, industrial, and sociological, + on the Western Dénés," _Transactions of the Canadian Institute_, iv. + (1892-93) pp. 203-206. The honorific totems of the Carrier Indians + may perhaps correspond in some measure to the sub-totems or + multiplex totems of the Australians. As to these latter see + _Totemism and Exogamy_, i. 78 _sqq._, 133 _sqq._ + + M210 Significance of these initiatory rites. Supposed invulnerability of + men who have weapons for their guardian spirits. + + 670 See above, pp. 153 _sq._ + + 671 James Teit, _The Thompson Indians of British Columbia_, p. 357 (_The + Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum of + Natural History_, April, 1900). Among the Shuswap of British + Columbia, when a young man has obtained his personal totem or + guardian spirit, he is supposed to become proof against bullets and + arrows (Fr. Boas, in _Sixth Report of the Committee on the + North-Western Tribes of Canada_, p. 93, separate reprint from the + _Report of the British Association_, Leeds meeting, 1890). + + M211 Initiatory rite of the Toukaway Indians. + + 672 H. R. Schoolcraft, _Indian Tribes of the United States_ + (Philadelphia, 1853-1856), v. 683. In a letter dated 16th Dec. 1887, + Mr. A. S. Gatschet, formerly of the Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, + wrote to me: "Among the Toukawe whom in 1884 I found at Fort Griffin + [?], Texas, I noticed that they never kill the big or grey wolf, + _hatchukunän_, which has a mythological signification, 'holding the + earth' (_hatch_). He forms one of their totem clans, and they have + had a dance in his honor, danced by the males only, who carried + sticks." + + M212 Traces of the rite of death and resurrection among more advanced + peoples. + +_ 673 The Laws of Manu_, ii. 169, translated by G. Bühler (Oxford, 1886), + p. 61 (_The Sacred Books of the East_, vol. xxv.); J. A. Dubois, + _Moeurs, Institutions et Cérémonies des Peuples de l'Inde_ (Paris, + 1825), i. 125; Monier Williams, _Religious Thought and Life in + India_ (London, 1883), pp. 360 _sq._, 396 _sq._; H. Oldenberg, _Die + Religion des Veda_ (Berlin, 1894), pp. 466 _sqq._ + + 674 Lampridius, _Commodus_, 9; C. W. King, _The Gnostics and their + Remains_, Second Edition (London, 1887), pp. 127, 129. Compare Fr. + Cumont, _Textes et Monuments figurés relatifs aux mystères de + Mithra_, i. (Brussels, 1899) pp. 69 _sq._, 321 _sq._; E. Rohde, + _Psyche_3 (Tübingen and Leipsic, 1903), ii. 400 n. 1; A. Dieterich, + _Eine Mithrasliturgie_ (Leipsic, 1903), pp. 91, 157 _sqq._ + + M213 The motive for attempting to deposit the soul in a safe place + outside of the body at puberty may have been a fear of the dangers + which, according to primitive notions, attend the union of the + sexes. + M214 Balder's life or death in the mistletoe. + + 675 Above, p. 110; compare pp. 107, 120 _sq._, 132, 133. + + 676 Above, p. 120. + + 677 Above, p. 106. + + 678 Above, p. 145. In the myth the throwing of the weapons and of the + mistletoe at Balder and the blindness of Hother who slew him remind + us of the custom of the Irish reapers who kill the corn-spirit in + the last sheaf by throwing their sickles blindfold at it. See + _Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, i. 144. In Mecklenburg a cock + is sometimes buried in the ground and a man who is blindfolded + strikes at it with a flail. If he misses it, another tries, and so + on till the cock is killed. See K. Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und + Gebräuche aus Mecklenburg_ (Vienna, 1879-1880), ii. 280. In England + on Shrove Tuesday a hen used to be tied upon a man's back, and other + men blindfolded struck at it with branches till they killed it. See + T. F. Thiselton Dyer, _British Popular Customs_ (London, 1876), p. + 68. W. Mannhardt (_Die Korndämonen_, Berlin, 1868, pp. 16 _sq._) has + made it probable that such sports are directly derived from the + custom of killing a cock upon the harvest-field as a representative + of the corn-spirit. See _Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, i. + 277 _sq._ These customs, therefore, combined with the blindness of + Hother in the myth, suggest that the man who killed the human + representative of the oak-spirit was blindfolded, and threw his + weapon or the mistletoe from a little distance. After the Lapps had + killed a bear--which was the occasion of many superstitious + ceremonies--the bear's skin was hung on a post, and the women, + blindfolded, shot arrows at it. See J. Scheffer, _Lapponia_ + (Frankfort, 1673), p. 240. + + M215 The view that the mistletoe contained the life of the oak may have + been suggested by the position of the parasite among the boughs. + Indian parallel to Balder and the mistletoe. + + 679 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxiv. 12; J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. + 1010. Compare below, p. 282. + +_ 680 The Satapatha Brahmana_, xii. 7. 3. 1-3, translated by J. Eggeling, + Part v. (Oxford, 1900) pp. 222 _sq._ (_The Sacred Books of the + East_, vol. xliv.); Denham Rouse, in _Folk-lore Journal_, vii. + (1889) p. 61, quoting _Taittirya Brahmana_, I. vii. 1. + + 681 Col. E. T. Dalton, "The Kols of Chota-Nagpore," _Transactions of the + Ethnological Society_, N.S. vi. (1868) p. 36. + + M216 Analogous superstitions attaching to a parasitic rowan. + + 682 Jens Kamp, _Danske Folkeminder_ (Odense, 1877), pp. 172, 65 _sq._, + referred to in Feilberg's _Bidrag til en Ordbog over Jyske + Almuesmål_, Fjerde hefte (Copenhagen, 1888), p. 320. For a sight of + Feilberg's work I am indebted to the kindness of the late Rev. + Walter Gregor, M.A., of Pitsligo, who pointed out the passage to me. + + 683 E. T. Kristensen, _Iydske Folkeminder_, vi. 380, referred to by + Feilberg, _l.c._ According to Marcellus (_De Medicamentis_, xxvi. + 115), ivy which springs from an oak is a remedy for stone, provided + it be cut with a copper instrument. + + 684 A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Göttertranks_2 + (Gütersloh, 1886), pp. 175 _sq._, quoting Dybeck's _Runa_, 1845, pp. + 62 _sq._ + + 685 A. Kuhn, _op. cit._ p. 176. + + 686 Quoted by A. Kuhn, _op. cit._ pp. 180 _sq._ In Zimbales, a province + of the Philippine Islands, "a certain parasitic plant that much + resembles yellow moss and grows high up on trees is regarded as a + very powerful charm. It is called _gay-u-ma_, and a man who + possesses it is called _nanara gayuma_. If his eyes rest on a person + during the new moon he will become sick at the stomach, but he can + cure the sickness by laying hands on the afflicted part." See W. A. + Reed, _Negritos of Zambales_ (Manilla, 1904), p. 67 (_Department of + the Interior, Ethnological Survey Publications_, vol. ii. part i.). + Mr. Reed seems to mean that if a man who possesses this parasitic + plant sees a person at the new moon, the person on whom his eye + falls will be sick in his stomach, but that the owner of the + parasite can cure the sufferer by laying his (the owner's) hands on + his (the patient's) stomach. It is interesting to observe that the + magical virtue of the parasitic plant appears to be especially + effective at the new moon. + + 687 A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 97 § + 128; L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), p. 269. See + above, p. 86. + + M217 The fate of the Hays believed to be bound up with the mistletoe on + Errol's oak. + + 688 John Hay Allan, _The Bridal of Caölchairn_ (London, 1822), pp. 337 + _sq._ + + 689 Rev. John B. Pratt, _Buchan_, Second Edition (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, + and London, 1859), p. 342. "_The corbie roup_" means "the raven + croak." In former editions of this work my only source of + information as to the mistletoe and oak of the Hays was an extract + from a newspaper which was kindly copied and sent to me, without the + name of the newspaper, by the late Rev. Walter Gregor, M.A., of + Pitsligo. For my acquaintance with the works of J. H. Allan and J. + B. Pratt I am indebted to the researches of my learned friend Mr. A. + B. Cook, who has already quoted them in his article "The European + Sky-God," _Folk-lore_, xvii. (1906) pp. 318 _sq._ + + M218 The life of the Lachlins and the deer of Finchra. + + 690 M. Martin, "Description of the Western Islands of Scotland," in J. + Pinkerton's _Voyages and Travels_ (London, 1808-1814), iii. 661. + + M219 The Golden Bough seems to have been a glorified mistletoe. + + 691 See James Sowerby, _English Botany_, xxi. (London, 1805), p. 1470: + "The Misseltoe is celebrated in story as the sacred plant of the + Druids, and the Golden Bough of Virgil, which was Aeneas's passport + to the infernal regions." Again, the author of the _Lexicon + Mythologicum_ concludes, "_cum Jonghio nostro_," that the Golden + Bough "was nothing but the mistletoe glorified by poetical license." + See _Edda Rhythmica seu Antiquior, vulgo Saemundina dicta_, iii. + (Copenhagen, 1828) p. 513 note. C. L. Rochholz expresses the same + opinion (_Deutscher Glaube und Brauch_, Berlin, 1867, i. 9). The + subject is discussed at length by E. Norden, _P. Vergilius Maro, + Aeneis Buch VI._ (Leipsic, 1903) pp. 161-171, who, however, does not + even mention the general or popular view (_publica opinio_) current + in the time of Servius, that the Golden Bough was the branch which a + candidate for the priesthood of Diana had to pluck in the sacred + grove of Nemi. I confess I have more respect for the general opinion + of antiquity than to dismiss it thus cavalierly without a hearing. + + 692 Virgil, _Aen._ vi. 203 _sqq._, compare 136 _sqq._ See Note IV. "The + Mistletoe and the Golden Bough" at the end of this volume. + + M220 If the Golden Bough was the mistletoe, the King of the Wood at Nemi + may have personated an oak spirit and perished in an oak fire. + +_ 693 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 40 _sqq._, ii. 378 + _sqq._ Virgil (_Aen._ vi. 201 _sqq._) places the Golden Bough in the + neighbourhood of Lake Avernus. But this was probably a poetical + liberty, adopted for the convenience of Aeneas's descent to the + infernal world. Italian tradition, as we learn from Servius (on + Virgil, _Aen._ vi. 136), placed the Golden Bough in the grove at + Nemi. + +_ 694 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 12. + +_ 695 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 186, 366 note 2. + + M221 A similar tragedy may have been enacted over the human + representative of Balder in Norway. + + 696 A custom of annually burning or otherwise sacrificing a human + representative of the corn-spirit has been noted among the + Egyptians, Pawnees, and Khonds. See _Spirits of the Corn and of the + Wild_, i. 238 _sq._, 245 _sqq._, 259 _sq._ We have seen that in + Western Asia there are strong traces of a practice of annually + burning a human god. See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, + pp. 84 _sqq._, 98 _sq._, 137 _sq._, 139 _sqq._, 155 _sq._ The Druids + appear to have eaten portions of the human victim (Pliny, _Nat. + Hist._ xxx. 13). Perhaps portions of the flesh of the King of the + Wood were eaten by his worshippers as a sacrament. We have found + traces of the use of sacramental bread at Nemi. See _Spirits of the + Corn and of the Wild_, ii. 94 _sqq._ + + M222 The name of the Golden Bough may have been applied to the mistletoe + on account of the golden tinge which the plant assumes in withering. + + 697 It has been said that in Welsh a name for mistletoe is "the tree of + pure gold" (_pren puraur_). See J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 + ii. 1009, referring to Davies. But my friend Sir John Rhys tells me + that the statement is devoid of foundation. + + 698 Virgil, _Aen._ vi. 137 _sq._:-- + + "_Latet arbore opaca_ + _ Aureus et foliis et lento vimine ramus._" + + 699 This suggestion as to the origin of the name has been made to me by + two correspondents independently. Miss Florence Grove, writing to me + from 10 Milton Chambers, Cheyne Walk, London, on May 13th, 1901, + tells me that she regularly hangs up a bough of mistletoe every year + and allows it to remain till it is replaced by the new branch next + year, and from her observation "the mistletoe is actually a golden + bough when kept a sufficiently long time." She was kind enough to + send me some twigs of her old bough, which fully bore out her + description. Again, Mrs. A. Stuart writes to me from Crear Cottage, + Morningside Drive, Edinburgh, on June 26th, 1901: "As to why the + mistletoe might be called the Golden Bough, my sister Miss Haig + wishes me to tell you that last June, when she was in Brittany, she + saw great bunches of mistletoe hung up in front of the houses in the + villages. The leaves were _bright golden_. You should hang up a + branch next Christmas and keep it till June!" The great hollow oak + of Saint-Denis-des-Puits, in the French province of Perche, is + called "the gilded or golden oak" (_Chêne-Doré_) "in memory of the + Druidical tradition of the mistletoe cut with a golden sickle." See + Felix Chapiseau, _Le Folk-lore de la Beauce et du Perche_ (Paris, + 1902), i. 97. Perhaps the name may be derived from bunches of + withered mistletoe shining like gold in the sunshine among the + branches. + + 700 H. Gaidoz, "Bulletin critique de la Mythologie Gauloise," _Revue de + l'Histoire des Religions_, ii. (Paris, 1880) p. 76. + + M223 The yellow hue of withered mistletoe may partly explain why the + plant is thought to disclose yellow gold in the earth. Similarly + fern-seed is thought to bloom like gold or fire and to reveal buried + treasures on Midsummer Eve. Sometimes fern-seed is thought to bloom + on Christmas night. The wicked weaver of Rotenburg. + + 701 See below, pp. 291 _sq._ + + 702 See above, pp. 65 _sq._ + + 703 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_ + (Prague and Leipsic, 1864), p. 97, § 673. + + 704 J. V. Grohmann, _op. cit._ p. 97, § 676; A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche + Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 94, § 123; I. V. Zingerle, + _Sitten, Bräuche und Meinungen des Tiroler Volkes_2 (Innsbruck, + 1871), p. 158, § 1350. + + 705 C. Russwurm, "Aberglaube in Russland," _Zeitschrift für deutsche + Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, iv. (1859), pp. 152 _sq._; Angelo de + Gubernatis, _Mythologie des Plantes_ (Paris, 1878-1882), ii. 146. + + 706 P. Sébillot, _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute-Bretagne_ + (Paris, 1882), ii. 336; _id._, _Coutumes populaires de la + Haute-Bretagne_ (Paris, 1886), p. 217. + + 707 J. E. Waldfreund, "Volksgebräuche und Aberglauben in Tirol und dem + Salzburger Gebirg," _Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und + Sittenkunde_, iii. (1855), p. 339. + + 708 H. Runge, "Volksglaube in der Schweiz," _Zeitschrift für deutsche + Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, iv. (1859), p. 175. + + 709 O. Frh. von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Fest-Kalendar aus Böhmen_ + (Prague, N.D.), pp. 311 _sq._ Compare Theodor Vernaleken, _Mythen + und Bräuche des Volkes in Oesterreich_ (Vienna, 1859), pp. 309 + _sq._; M. Töppen, _Aberglauben aus Masuren_2 (Danzig, 1867), pp. 72 + _sq._ Even without the use of fern-seed treasures are sometimes said + to bloom or burn in the earth, or to reveal their presence by a + bluish flame, on Midsummer Eve; in Transylvania only children born + on a Sunday can see them and fetch them up. See J. Haltrich, _Zur + Volkskunde der Siebenbürger Sachsen_ (Vienna, 1885), p. 287; I. V. + Zingerle, _Sitten, Bräuche und Meinungen des Tiroler Volkes_2 + (Innsbruck, 1871), p. 159, §§ 1351, 1352; K. Bartsch, _Sagen, + Märchen und Gebrauche aus Mecklenburg_ (Vienna, 1879-1880), ii. 285, + § 1431; E. Monseur, _Folklore Wallon_ (Brussels, N.D.), p. 6, § + 1789; K. Haupt, _Sagenbuch der Lausitz_ (Leipsic, 1862-1863), i. 231 + _sq._, No. 275; A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, + 1869), p. 76, § 92; F. J. Wiedemann, _Aus dem inneren und äusseren + Leben der Ehsten_ (St. Petersburg, 1876), p. 363. + + 710 I. V. Zingerle, _op. cit._ p. 103, § 882; _id._, in _Zeitschrift für + deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, i. (1853), p. 330; W. Müller, + _Beiträge zur Volkskunde der Deutschen in Mähren_ (Vienna and + Olmütz, 1893), p. 265. At Pergine, in the Tyrol, it was thought that + fern-seed gathered with the dew on St. John's night had the power of + transforming metals (into gold?). See Ch. Schneller, _Märchen und + Sagen aus Wälschtirol_ (Innsbruck, 1867), p. 237, § 23. + + 711 I. V. Zingerle, _Sitten, Bräuche und Meinungen des Tiroler Volkes_,2 + pp. 190 _sq._, § 1573. + + 712 A. Schlossar, "Volksmeinung und Volksaberglaube aus der deutschen + Steiermark," _Germania_, N.R., xxiv. (1891) p. 387. + + 713 Ernst Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Schwaben_ + (Stuttgart, 1852), pp. 242-244. + + M224 The golden or fiery fern-seed appears to be an emanation of the + sun's fire. + + 714 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_, + p. 97, § 675; W. R. S. Ralston, _Songs of the Russian People_, + Second Edition (London, 1872), p. 98; C. Russwurm, "Aberglaube in + Russland," _Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_, + iv. (1859) p. 152. + + 715 L. Bechstein, _Deutsches Sagenbuch_ (Leipsic, 1853), p. 430, No. + 500; _id._, _Thüringer Sagenbuch_ (Leipsic, 1885), ii. pp. 17 _sq._, + No. 161. + + M225 Like fern-seed the mistletoe is gathered at the solstices (Midsummer + and Christmas) and is supposed to reveal treasures in the earth; + perhaps, therefore, it too is deemed an emanation of the sun's + golden fire. The bloom of the oak on Midsummer Eve. + + 716 For gathering it at midsummer, see above, pp. 86 _sq._ The custom of + gathering it at Christmas still commonly survives in England. At + York "on the eve of Christmas-day they carry mistletoe to the high + altar of the cathedral, and proclaim a public and universal liberty, + pardon and freedom to all sorts of inferior and even wicked people + at the gates of the city, toward the four quarters of heaven." See + W. Stukeley, _The Medallic History of Marcus Aurelius Valerius + Carausius, Emperor in Britain_ (London, 1757-1759), ii. 164; J. + Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_ (London, 1882-1883), + i. 525. This last custom, which is now doubtless obsolete, may have + been a relic of an annual period of license like the Saturnalia. The + traditional privilege accorded to men of kissing any woman found + under mistletoe is probably another relic of the same sort. See + Washington Irving, _Sketch-Book_, "Christmas Eve," p. 147 (Bohn's + edition); Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ + (London, 1909), p. 88. + + 717 A. A. Afzelius, _Volkssagen und Volkslieder aus Schwedens älterer + und neuerer Zeit_ (Leipsic, 1842), i. 41 _sq._; J. Grimm, _Deutsche + Mythologie_,4 iii. 289; L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, + 1870), pp. 266 _sq._ See above, p. 69. In the Tyrol they say that if + mistletoe grows on a hazel-tree, there must be a treasure under the + tree. See J. N. Ritter von Alpenburg, _Mythen und Sagen Tirols_ + (Zurich, 1857), p. 398. In East Prussia a similar belief is held in + regard to mistletoe that grows on a thorn. See C. Lemke, + _Volksthümliches in Ostpreussen_ (Mohrungen, 1884-1887), ii. 283. We + have seen that the divining-rod which reveals treasures is commonly + cut from a hazel (above, pp. 67 _sq._). + + 718 Above, pp. 90-92. + + 719 Fern-seed is supposed to bloom at Easter as well as at Midsummer and + Christmas (W. R. S. Ralston, _Songs of the Russian People_, pp. 98 + _sq._); and Easter, as we have seen, is one of the times when fires + are ceremonially kindled, perhaps to recruit the fire of the sun. + + 720 Miss C. S. Burne and Miss G. F. Jackson, _Shropshire Folk-lore_ + (London, 1883), p. 242. + + 721 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, + 1909), p. 88. + + 722 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xvi. 251. + + 723 Above, pp. 82 _sq._ + + 724 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxxiii. 94: "_Calx aqua accenditur et Thracius + lapis, idem oleo restinguitur, ignis autem aceto maxime et visco et + ovo._" + + 725 See above, p. 85. + + M226 Aeneas and the Golden Bough. Orpheus and the willow. + + 726 Virgil, _Aen._ vi. 179-209. + + 727 Virgil, _Aen._ vi. 384-416. + + 728 Above, pp. 86, 282. + + 729 Above, p. 85. + + 730 Pausanias, x. 30. 6. + + 731 J. Six, "Die Eriphyle des Polygnot," _Mittheilungen des kaiserlich + deutschen Archaeologischen Instituts, Athenische Abtheilung_, xix. + (1894) pp. 338 _sq._ Compare my commentary on Pausanias, vol. v. p. + 385. + + 732 The sarcophagus is in the Lateran Museum at Rome. See W. Helbig, + _Führer durch die öffentlichen Sammlungen Klassischer Altertümer in + Rom_2 (Leipsic, 1899), ii. 468. + + M227 Trees thought by the savage to be the seat of fire because he + elicits it by friction from their wood. + + 733 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 19 _sqq._ + +_ 734 Die Edda_, übersetzt von K. Simrock8 (Stuttgart, 1882), p. 264. + + 735 S. Powers, _Tribes of California_ (Washington, 1877), p. 171. + + 736 S. Powers, _Tribes of California_, p. 287. + + 737 Max Girschner, "Die Karolineninsel Namöluk und ihre Bewohner," + _Baessler-Archiv_, ii. (1912) p. 141. + + 738 A. A. Macdonell, _Vedic Mythology_ (Strasburg, 1897), pp. 91 _sq._, + referring to _Rigveda_, vi. 3. 3, x. 79. 7, ii. 1. 14, iii. 1. 13, + x. 1. 2, viii. 43. 9, i. 70. 4, ii. 1. 1. Compare H. Oldenberg, _Die + Religion des Veda_ (Berlin, 1894), pp. 120 _sq._ + + 739 Edward M. Curr, _The Australian Race_ (Melbourne and London, + 1886-1887), i. 9, 18. + + M228 Trees that have been struck by lightning are deemed by the savage to + be charged with a double portion of fire. + + 740 James Mooney, "Myths of the Cherokee," _Nineteenth Annual Report of + the Bureau of American Ethnology_, Part i. (Washington, 1900) p. + 422, compare p. 435. + + 741 James Teit, _The Thompson Indians of British Columbia_, p. 346 (_The + Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum of + Natural History_, April, 1900). + + 742 J. Teit, _op. cit._ p. 374. + + 743 The Shuswap Indians of British Columbia entertain a similar belief. + It has been suggested that the fancy may be based on the observation + that cold follows a thunder-storm. See G. M. Dawson, "Notes on the + Shuswap people of British Columbia," _Transactions of the Royal + Society of Canada_, ix. (1891) Section ii. p. 38. + + 744 R. Wuttke, _Sächsische Volkskunde_2 (Dresden, 1901), p. 369. + + 745 Henri A. Junod, _The Life of a South African Tribe_ (Neuchatel, + 1912-1913), ii. 291. The Thonga imagine that lightning is caused by + a great bird, which sometimes buries itself in the ground to a depth + of several feet. See H. A. Junod, _op. cit._ ii. 290 _sq._ + + 746 Dr. James A. Chisholm (of the Livingstonia Mission, Mwenzo, N.E. + Rhodesia), "Notes on the Manners and Customs of the Winamwanga and + Wiwa," _Journal of the African Society_, No. 36 (July, 1910), p. + 363. + + 747 S. Powers, _Tribes of California_ (Washington, 1877), p. 287. The + dread of lightning is prominent in some of the customs observed in + Patiko, a district of the Uganda Protectorate. If a village has + suffered from lightning, ropes made of twisted grass are strung from + peak to peak of the houses to ward off further strokes. And if a + person has been struck or badly shaken, "an elaborate cure is + performed upon him. A red cock is taken, his tongue torn out, and + his body dashed upon the house where the stroke fell. Then the scene + changes to the bank of a small running stream, where the patient is + made to kneel while the bird is sacrificed over the water. A raw egg + is next given to the patient to swallow, and he is laid on his + stomach and encouraged to vomit. The lightning is supposed to be + vomited along with the egg, and all ill effects prevented." See Rev. + A. L. Kitching, _On the Backwaters of the Nile_ (London, 1912), p. + 263. + + M229 Theory that the sanctity of the oak and the relation of the tree to + the sky-god were suggested by the frequency with which oaks are + struck by lightning. + + 748 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 349 _sqq._ + + 749 W. Warde Fowler, "The Oak and the Thunder-god," _Archiv für + Religionswissenschaft_, xvi. (1913) pp. 318 _sq._ My friend Mr. + Warde Fowler had previously called my attention to the facts in a + letter dated September 17th, 1912. + + 750 Dr. W. Schlich's _Manual of Forestry_, vol. iv. _Forest Protection_, + by W. R. Fisher, Second Edition (London, 1907), pp. 662 _sq._ Mr. W. + Warde Fowler was the first to call the attention of mythologists to + this work. + + 751 Experiments on the conductivity of electricity in wood go to shew + that starchy trees (oak, poplar, maples, ash, elm, _sorbus_) are + good conductors, that oily trees (beech, walnut, birch, lime) are + bad conductors, and that the conifers are intermediate, the Scotch + pine in summer being as deficient in oil as the starchy trees, but + rich in oil during winter. It was found that a single turn of Holz's + electric machine sufficed to send the spark through oakwood, but + that from twelve to twenty turns were required to send it through + beech-wood. Five turns of the machine were needed to send the spark + through poplar and willow wood. See Dr. W. Schlich, _Manual of + Forestry_, vol. iv. _Forest Protection_, Second Edition (London, + 1907), p. 664. In the tropics lightning is said to be especially + attracted to coco-nut palms. See P. Amaury Talbot, _In the Shadow of + the Bush_ (London, 1913), p. 73. + + 752 As to the Greek belief and custom, see H. Usener, _Kleine + Schriften_, iv. (Leipsic and Berlin, 1913), "Keraunos," pp. 471 + _sqq._; _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 361. As to + the Roman belief and custom, see Festus, _svv._ _Fulguritum and + Provorsum fulgur_, pp. 92, 229, ed. C. O. Müller (Leipsic, 1839); H. + Dessau, _Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae_, vol. ii. pars i. (Berlin, + 1902) pp. 10 _sq._, Nos. 3048-3056; L. Preller, _Römische + Mythologie_3 (Berlin, 1881-1883), i. 190-193; G. Wissowa, _Religion + und Kultus der Römer_2 (Munich, 1912), pp. 121 _sq._ By a curious + refinement the Romans referred lightning which fell by day to + Jupiter, but lightning which fell by night to a god called Summanus + (Festus, p. 229). + + M230 This explanation of the Aryan worship of the oak is preferable to + the one formerly adopted by the author. + + 753 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 iii. 64, citing a statement that + lightning strikes twenty oaks for one beech. The statistics adduced + by Mr. W. Warde Fowler seem to shew that this statement is no + exaggeration but rather the contrary. + + 754 W. Warde Fowler, "The Oak and the Thunder-god," _Archiv für + Religionswissenschaft_, xvi. (1913) pp. 317-320. + +_ 755 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 356 _sqq._ + + 756 The suggestion is Mr. W. Warde Fowler's (_op cit._ pp. 319 _sq._). + + M231 The sacredness of mistletoe was perhaps due to a belief that the + plant fell on the tree in a flash of lightning. + + 757 Pliny, _Natur. Hist._ xvi. 249. + + 758 See above, p. 85. + + 759 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 i. 153. See above, p. 85. + + M232 Hence the stroke of mistletoe that killed Balder may have been a + stroke of lightning. + + 760 This interpretation of Balder's death was anticipated by W. Schwartz + (_Der Ursprung der Mythologie_, Berlin, 1860, p. 176), who cut the + whole knot by dubbing Balder "the German thunder-and-lightning god" + and mistletoe "the wonderful thunder-and-lightning flower." But as + this learned writer nursed a fatal passion for thunder and + lightning, which he detected lurking in the most unlikely places, we + need not wonder that he occasionally found it in places where there + were some slight grounds for thinking that it really existed. + + M233 The King of the Wood and the Golden Bough. + + 761 On the relation of the priest to Jupiter, and the equivalence of + Jupiter and Juno to Janus (Dianus) and Diana, see _The Magic Art and + the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 376 _sqq._ + + M234 Looking back at the end of the journey. + M235 The movement of human thought in the past from magic to religion. + M236 The movement of thought from religion to science. + M237 Contrast between the views of natural order postulated by magic and + by science respectively. + M238 The scientific theory of the world not necessarily final. + M239 The shadow across the path. + + 762 "I quite agree how humiliating the slow progress of man is, but + every one has his own pet horror, and this slow progress or even + personal annihilation sinks in my mind into insignificance compared + with the idea or rather I presume certainty of the sun some day + cooling and we all freezing. To think of the progress of millions of + years, with every continent swarming with good and enlightened men, + all ending in this, and with probably no fresh start until this our + planetary system has been again converted into red-hot gas. _Sic + transit gloria mundi_, with a vengeance" (_More Letters of Charles + Darwin_, edited by Francis Darwin, London, 1903, i. 260 _sq._). + + 763 Since this passage was written the hope which it expresses has been + to some extent strengthened by the discovery of radium, which + appears to prolong indefinitely the prospect of the duration of the + sun's heat, and with it the duration of life on its attendant + planets. See (Sir) George Howard Darwin's Presidential Address to + the British Association, _Report of the 75th Meeting of the British + Association for the Advancement of Science_ (South Africa, 1905), + pp. 28 _sq._; F. Soddy, _The Interpretation of Radium_, Third + Edition (London, 1912), pp. 240 _sqq._; E. Rutherford, _Radio-active + Substances and their Radiations_ (Cambridge, 1913), pp. 653-656. At + the same time it should be borne in mind that even if the atomic + disintegration and accompanying liberation of energy, which + characterize radium and kindred elements, should prove to be common + in different degrees to all the other elements and to form a vast + and till lately unsuspected store of heat to the sun, this enormous + reserve of fuel would only defer but could not avert that final + catastrophe with which the solar system and indeed the whole + universe is remorselessly threatened by the law of the dissipation + of energy. + + M240 The web of thought. + M241 Nemi at evening: the _Ave Maria_ bell. + + 764 See above, vol. i. pp. 15 _sq._ + + M242 Snake Stones in the Highlands. + + 765 Alexander Carmichael, _Carmina Gadelica, Hymns and Incantations with + Illustrative Notes on Words, Rites, and Customs, dying and obsolete: + orally collected in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and + translated into English_ (Edinburgh, 1900), ii. 312. + + M243 Witches as cats among the Oraons. + + 766 Above, vol. i. pp. 315 _sqq._ + + 767 The late Rev. P. Dehon, S.J., "Religion and Customs of the Uraons," + _Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal_, vol. i. No. 9 (Calcutta, + 1906), p. 141. + + M244 African parallels to Balder. + M245 The worshipful ghost in the cave. + M246 The man who could only be killed by the stalk of a gourd. + + 768 "Every clan (_Familienstamm_) has a definite thing which is + forbidden to all the members of the clan, whether it be a particular + kind of meat, or a certain fish, or as here the stalk of a gourd." + + 769 "The place in Nguu, where the ghost is said to dwell." + + 770 "In Ukami." + + 771 C. Velten, _Schilderungen der Suaheli_ (Göttingen, 1901), pp. + 195-197. + + M247 The man who could only be killed by a splinter of bamboo. + + 772 Miss Alice Werner, _The Natives of British Central Africa_ (London, + 1906), p. 82. In a letter Miss Werner tells me that she learned + these particulars at Blantyre in 1893, and that the chief lived in + the neighbourhood of Mlanje. + + 773 Rev. Henry Rowley, _Twenty Years in Central Africa_ (London, N.D.), + pp. 36 _sqq._ For a reference to this and all the other works cited + in this Note I am indebted to the kindness of Miss Alice Werner. + + 774 Rev. David Clement Scott, _A Cyclopaedic Dictionary of the Mang'anja + Language spoken in British Central Africa_ (Edinburgh, 1892), p. + 315. + + M248 The man who could only be killed by a copper needle. + + 775 Edward Steere, _Swahili Tales_ (London, 1870), pp. 441-453. The + young man in the story is spoken of now as the nephew and now as the + son of the man he murdered. Probably he was what we should call a + nephew or brother's son of his victim; for under the classificatory + system of relationship, which seems to prevail among the Bantu + stock, to whom the Swahili belong, a man regularly calls his + paternal uncle his father. + + M249 These stories confirm the view that Balder may have been a real man + who was deified after death. + + 776 Above, vol. i. pp. 104 _sq._ + + M250 Two species of mistletoe, the _Viscum album_ and the _Loranthus + europaeus_. Common mistletoe (_Viscum album_). + + 777 Virgil, Aen. vi. 205 _sqq._:-- + + "_Quale solet silvis brumali frigore viscum_ + _ Fronde virere nova, quod non sua seminat arbos,_ + _ Et croceo fetu teretis circumdare truncos:_ + _ Talis erat species auri frondentis opaca_ + _ Ilice, sic leni crepitabat bractea vento._" + + 778 W. Schlich, _Manual of Forestry_, vol. iv. _Forest Protection_, by + W. R. Fisher, M.A., Second Edition (London, 1907), p. 412. French + peasants about Coulommiers think that mistletoe springs from birds' + dung. See H. Gaidoz, "Bulletin critique de la Mythologie Gauloise," + _Revue de l'Histoire des Religions_, ii. (1880) p. 76. The ancients + were well aware that mistletoe is propagated from tree to tree by + seeds which have been voided by birds. See Theophrastus, _De Causis + Plantarum_, ii. 17. 5; Pliny, _Naturalis Historia_, xvi. 247. Pliny + tells us that the birds which most commonly deposited the seeds were + pigeons and thrushes. Can this have been the reason why Virgil + (_Aen._ vi. 190 _sqq._) represents Aeneas led to the Golden Bough by + a pair of doves? + + 779 James Sowerby, _English Botany_, xxi. (London, 1805) p. 1470. + + 780 C. Fraas, _Synopsis Plantarum Florae Classicae_ (Munich, 1845), p. + 152. + + 781 H. O. Lenz, _Botanik der alten Griechen und Römer_ (Gotha, 1859), p. + 597, quoting Pollini. + + 782 J. Lindley and T. Moore, _The Treasury of Botany_, New Edition + (London, 1874), ii. 1220. A good authority, however, observes that + mistletoe is "frequently to be observed on the branches of old + apple-trees, hawthorns, lime-trees, oaks, etc., where it grows + parasitically." See J. Sowerby, _English Botany_, xxi. (London, + 1805) p. 1470. + +_ 783 Encyclopaedia Britannica_, Ninth Edition, x. 689, _s.v._ + "Gloucester." + + 784 H. Gaidoz, "Bulletin critique de la Mythologie Gauloise," _Revue de + l'Histoire des Religions_, ii. (1880) pp. 75 _sq._ + + 785 Angelo de Gubernatis, _La Mythologie des Plantes_ (Paris, + 1878-1882), ii. 216 _sq._ As to the many curious superstitions that + have clustered round mandragora, see P. J. Veth, "De Mandragora," + _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, vii. (1894) pp. 199-205; + C. B. Randolph, "The Mandragora of the Ancients in Folk-lore and + Medicine," _Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and + Sciences_, vol. xl. No. 12 (January, 1905), pp. 487-537. + +_ M251 Loranthus europaeus._ + + 786 W. Schlich, _Manual of Forestry_, vol. iv. _Forest Protection_, + Second Edition (London, 1907), pp. 415-417. + + 787 E. B. Stebbing, "The Loranthus Parasite of the Moru and Ban Oaks," + _Journal and Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal_, New + Series, v. (Calcutta, 1910) pp. 189-195. The _Loranthus vestitus_ + "is a small branching woody plant with dirty yellowish green leaves + which are dark shining green above. It grows in great clumps and + masses on the trees, resembling a giant mistletoe. The fruit is + yellowish and fleshy, and is almost sessile on the stem, which it + thickly studs" (_ib._, p. 192). The writer shews that the parasite + is very destructive to oaks in India. + + 788 H. O. Lenz, _Botanik der alten Griechen und Römer_ (Gotha, 1859), p. + 598, notes 151 and 152. + + 789 C. Fraas, _Synopsis Plantarum Florae Classicae_ (Munich, 1845), p. + 152. + + 790 H. O. Lenz, _Botanik der alten Griechen und Römer_ (Gotha, 1859), + pp. 599 _sq._ + + M252 Both sorts of mistletoe known to the ancients and designated by + different words. + + 791 Theophrastus, _Historia Plantarum_, iii. 7. 5, iii. 16. 1, _De + Causis Plantarum_, ii. 17; Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xvi. 245-247. Compare + Dioscorides, _De materia medica_, ii. 93 (103), vol. i. pp. 442 + _sq._, ed. C. Sprengel (Leipsic, 1829-1830), who uses the form + _ixos_ instead of _ixia_. Both Dioscorides (_l.c._) and Plutarch + (_Coriolanus_, 3) affirm that mistletoe (_ixos_) grows on the oak + ({~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}); and Hesychius quotes from Sophocles's play _Meleager_ the + expression "mistletoe-bearing oaks" ({~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER XI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, Hesychius, + _s.v._). + + M253 Doubts as to the identification of the ancient names for mistletoe. + + 792 Theophrastus, _Opera quae supersunt omnia_, ed. Fr. Wimmer (Paris, + 1866), pp. 537, 545, 546, _s.vv._ {~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER XI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH DASIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}. + + 793 F. Fraas, _Synopsis Plantarum Florae Classicae_ (Munich, 1845), p. + 152. + + 794 H. O. Lenz, _Botanik der alten Griechen und Römer_ (Gotha, 1859), p. + 597, notes 147 and 148. + + 795 Theophrastus, _De Causis Plantarum_, ii. 17. 2, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} + {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI AND PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER XI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} ({~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}) {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI AND VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH DASIA~} + {~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} ({~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}) {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH DASIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA WITH OXIA AND YPOGEGRAMMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~}. + + M254 Did Virgil compare the Golden Bough to common mistletoe or to + _Loranthus_? Some enquirers decide in favour of _Loranthus_. + + 796 His letter is undated, but the postmark is April 28th, 1889. Sir + Francis Darwin has since told me that his authority is Kerner von + Marilaun, _Pflanzenleben_ (1888), vol. i. pp. 195, 196. See Anton + Kerner von Marilaun, _The Natural History of Plants_, translated and + edited by F. W. Oliver (London, 1894-1895), i. 204 _sqq._ According + to this writer "the mistletoe's favourite tree is certainly the + Black Poplar (_Populus nigra_). It flourishes with astonishing + luxuriance on the branches of that tree.... Mistletoe has also been + found by way of exception upon the oak and the maple, and upon old + vines" (_op. cit._ i. 205). + + 797 Prof. P. J. Veth, "De leer der signatuur, III. De mistel en de + riembloem," _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, vii. (1894) + p. 105. The Dutch language has separate names for the two species: + mistletoe is _mistel_, and _Loranthus_ is _riembloem_. + + 798 His letter is dated 18th February, 1908. + + M255 Reason for preferring common mistletoe. Perhaps Virgil confused the + two species. + + 799 But Sir Francis Darwin writes to me:--"I do not quite see why + _Loranthus_ should not put out leaves in winter as easily as + _Viscum_, in both cases it would be due to unfolding leaf buds; the + fact that _Viscum_ has adult leaves at the time, while _Loranthus_ + has not, does not really affect the matter." However, Mr. Paton + tells us, as we have just seen, that in winter the _Loranthus_ + growing on the oaks of Mount Athos has no leaves, though its yellow + berries are very conspicuous. + + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN BOUGH: A STUDY IN MAGIC AND RELIGION (THIRD EDITION, VOL. 11 OF 12)*** + + + +CREDITS + + +July 9, 2013 + + Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1 + Produced by David Edwards, David King, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. 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