Footnote 215:(return)L.K. Anantha Krishna Iyer,The Cochin Tribes and Castes, i. (Madras, 1909) pp. 201-203. As to the seclusion of menstruous women among the Hindoos, see also Sonnerat,Voyage aux Indes Orientates et à la Chine(Paris, 1782), i. 31; J.A. Dubois,Moeurs, Institutions et Cérémonies des Peuples de l'Inde(Paris, 1825), i. 245sq.Nair women in Malabar seclude themselves for three days at menstruation and prepare their food in separate pots and pans. See Duarte Barbosa,Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar in the beginning of the Sixteenth Century(Hakluyt Society, London, 1866), pp. 132sq.
L.K. Anantha Krishna Iyer,The Cochin Tribes and Castes, i. (Madras, 1909) pp. 201-203. As to the seclusion of menstruous women among the Hindoos, see also Sonnerat,Voyage aux Indes Orientates et à la Chine(Paris, 1782), i. 31; J.A. Dubois,Moeurs, Institutions et Cérémonies des Peuples de l'Inde(Paris, 1825), i. 245sq.Nair women in Malabar seclude themselves for three days at menstruation and prepare their food in separate pots and pans. See Duarte Barbosa,Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar in the beginning of the Sixteenth Century(Hakluyt Society, London, 1866), pp. 132sq.
Footnote 216:(return)G. Hoffman,Auszüge aus Syrischen Akten persisischer Martyrer übersetzt(Leipsic, 1880), p. 99. This passage was pointed out to me by my friend Professor A.A. Bevan.
G. Hoffman,Auszüge aus Syrischen Akten persisischer Martyrer übersetzt(Leipsic, 1880), p. 99. This passage was pointed out to me by my friend Professor A.A. Bevan.
Footnote 217:(return)J.B. Tavernier,Voyages en Turquie, en Perse, et aux Indes(The Hague, 1718), i. 488.
J.B. Tavernier,Voyages en Turquie, en Perse, et aux Indes(The Hague, 1718), i. 488.
Footnote 218:(return)Paul Giran,Magie et Religion Annamites(Paris, 1912), pp. 107sq., 112.
Paul Giran,Magie et Religion Annamites(Paris, 1912), pp. 107sq., 112.
Footnote 219:(return)Joseph Gumilla,Histoire Naturelle, Civile, et Géographique de l'Orenoque(Avignon, 1758), i. 249.
Joseph Gumilla,Histoire Naturelle, Civile, et Géographique de l'Orenoque(Avignon, 1758), i. 249.
Footnote 220:(return)Dr. Louis Plassard, "Les Guaraunos et le delta de l'Orénoque,"Bulletin de la Société de Géographie(Paris), v. Série, xv. (1868) p. 584.
Dr. Louis Plassard, "Les Guaraunos et le delta de l'Orénoque,"Bulletin de la Société de Géographie(Paris), v. Série, xv. (1868) p. 584.
Footnote 221:(return)J. Crevaux,Voyages dans l'Amérique du Sud(Paris, 1883), p. 526. As to the customs observed at menstruation by Indian women in South America, see further A. d'Orbigny,L'Homme Americain(Paris, 1839), i. 237.
J. Crevaux,Voyages dans l'Amérique du Sud(Paris, 1883), p. 526. As to the customs observed at menstruation by Indian women in South America, see further A. d'Orbigny,L'Homme Americain(Paris, 1839), i. 237.
Footnote 222:(return)Chas. N. Bell, "The Mosquito Territory,"Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, xxxii. (1862) p. 254.
Chas. N. Bell, "The Mosquito Territory,"Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, xxxii. (1862) p. 254.
Footnote 223:(return)H. Pittier de Fabrega, "Die Sprache der Bribri-Indianer in Costa Rica,"Sitztungsberichte der philosophischen-historischen Classe der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften(Vienna), cxxxviii. (1898) pp. 19sq.
H. Pittier de Fabrega, "Die Sprache der Bribri-Indianer in Costa Rica,"Sitztungsberichte der philosophischen-historischen Classe der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften(Vienna), cxxxviii. (1898) pp. 19sq.
Footnote 224:(return)Gabriel Sagard,Le Grand Voyage du Pays des Hurons, Nouvelle Édition (Paris, 1865), p. 54 (original edition, Paris, 1632); J.F. Lafitau,Moeurs des Sauvages Ameriquains(Paris, 1724), i. 262; Charlevoix,Histoire de la Nouvelle France(Paris, 1744), v. 423sq.; Captain Jonathan Carver,Travels through the Interior Parts of North America, Third Edition (London, 1781), pp. 236sq.; Captains Lewis and Clark,Expedition to the Sources of the Missouri, etc. (London, 1905), iii. 90 (original edition, 1814); Rev. Jedidiah Morse,Report to the Secretary of War of the United States on Indian Affairs(New Haven, 1822), pp. 136sq.;Annales de l'Association de la Propagation de la Foi, iv, (Paris and Lyons, 1830) pp. 483, 494sq.; George Catlin,Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians, Fourth Edition (London, 1844), ii. 233; H.R. Schoolcraft,Indian Tribes of the United States(Philadelphia, 1853-1856), v. 70; A.L. Kroeber, "The Religion of the Indians of California,"University of California Publication in American Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. iv. No. 6 (Berkeley, September, 1907), pp. 323sq.; Frank G. Speck,Ethnology of the Yuchi Indians(Philadelphia, 1909), p. 96. Among the Hurons of Canada women at their periods did not retire from the house or village, but they ate from small dishes apart from the rest of the family at these times (Gabriel Sagard,l.c.).
Gabriel Sagard,Le Grand Voyage du Pays des Hurons, Nouvelle Édition (Paris, 1865), p. 54 (original edition, Paris, 1632); J.F. Lafitau,Moeurs des Sauvages Ameriquains(Paris, 1724), i. 262; Charlevoix,Histoire de la Nouvelle France(Paris, 1744), v. 423sq.; Captain Jonathan Carver,Travels through the Interior Parts of North America, Third Edition (London, 1781), pp. 236sq.; Captains Lewis and Clark,Expedition to the Sources of the Missouri, etc. (London, 1905), iii. 90 (original edition, 1814); Rev. Jedidiah Morse,Report to the Secretary of War of the United States on Indian Affairs(New Haven, 1822), pp. 136sq.;Annales de l'Association de la Propagation de la Foi, iv, (Paris and Lyons, 1830) pp. 483, 494sq.; George Catlin,Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians, Fourth Edition (London, 1844), ii. 233; H.R. Schoolcraft,Indian Tribes of the United States(Philadelphia, 1853-1856), v. 70; A.L. Kroeber, "The Religion of the Indians of California,"University of California Publication in American Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. iv. No. 6 (Berkeley, September, 1907), pp. 323sq.; Frank G. Speck,Ethnology of the Yuchi Indians(Philadelphia, 1909), p. 96. Among the Hurons of Canada women at their periods did not retire from the house or village, but they ate from small dishes apart from the rest of the family at these times (Gabriel Sagard,l.c.).
Footnote 225:(return)James Adair,History of the American Indians(London, 1775), pp. 123sq.
James Adair,History of the American Indians(London, 1775), pp. 123sq.
Footnote 226:(return)Bossu,Nouveaux Voyages aux Indes occidentales(Paris, 1768), ii. 105.
Bossu,Nouveaux Voyages aux Indes occidentales(Paris, 1768), ii. 105.
Footnote 227:(return)Edwin James,Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains(London, 1823), i. 214.
Edwin James,Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains(London, 1823), i. 214.
Footnote 228:(return)William H. Keating,Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peter's River(London, 1825), i. 132.
William H. Keating,Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peter's River(London, 1825), i. 132.
Footnote 229:(return)G.B. Grinnell, "Cheyenne Woman Customs,"American Anthropologist, New Series, iv. (New York, 1902) p. 14.
G.B. Grinnell, "Cheyenne Woman Customs,"American Anthropologist, New Series, iv. (New York, 1902) p. 14.
Footnote 230:(return)C. Hill Tout, "Ethnological Report on the Stseelis and Skaulits Tribes of the Halokmelem Division of the Salish of British Columbia,"Journal of the Anthropological Institute, xxxiv. (1904) p. 320.
C. Hill Tout, "Ethnological Report on the Stseelis and Skaulits Tribes of the Halokmelem Division of the Salish of British Columbia,"Journal of the Anthropological Institute, xxxiv. (1904) p. 320.
Footnote 231:(return)James Teit,The Thompson Indians of British Columbia, pp. 326sq.(The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, April, 1900).
James Teit,The Thompson Indians of British Columbia, pp. 326sq.(The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, April, 1900).
Footnote 232:(return)Samuel Hearne,Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean(London, 1795), pp. 314sq.; Alex. Mackenzie,Voyages through the Continent of North America(London, 1801), p. cxxiii.; E. Petitot,Monographic des Déné-Dindjié(Paris, 1876), pp. 75sq.
Samuel Hearne,Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean(London, 1795), pp. 314sq.; Alex. Mackenzie,Voyages through the Continent of North America(London, 1801), p. cxxiii.; E. Petitot,Monographic des Déné-Dindjié(Paris, 1876), pp. 75sq.
Footnote 233:(return)C. Leemius,De Lapponibus Finmarchiae eorumque lingua vita et religione pristina(Copenhagen, 1767), p. 494.
C. Leemius,De Lapponibus Finmarchiae eorumque lingua vita et religione pristina(Copenhagen, 1767), p. 494.
Footnote 234:(return)E.W. Nelson, "The Eskimo about Bering Strait,"Eighteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Part i. (Washington, 1899) p. 440.
E.W. Nelson, "The Eskimo about Bering Strait,"Eighteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Part i. (Washington, 1899) p. 440.
Footnote 235:(return)The Carriers are a tribe of Déné or Tinneh Indians who get their name from a custom observed among them by widows, who carry, or rather used to carry, the charred bones of their dead husbands about with them in bundles.
The Carriers are a tribe of Déné or Tinneh Indians who get their name from a custom observed among them by widows, who carry, or rather used to carry, the charred bones of their dead husbands about with them in bundles.
Footnote 236:(return)Hence we may conjecture that the similar ornaments worn by Mabuiag girls in similar circumstances are also amulets. See above, p.36. Among the aborigines of the Upper Yarra river in Victoria, a girl at puberty used to have cords tied very tightly round several parts of her body. The cords were worn for several days, causing the whole body to swell very much and inflicting great pain. The girl might not remove them till she was clean. See R. Brough Smyth,Aborigines of Victoria(Melbourne and London, 1878), i. 65. Perhaps the cords were intended to arrest the flow of blood.
Hence we may conjecture that the similar ornaments worn by Mabuiag girls in similar circumstances are also amulets. See above, p.36. Among the aborigines of the Upper Yarra river in Victoria, a girl at puberty used to have cords tied very tightly round several parts of her body. The cords were worn for several days, causing the whole body to swell very much and inflicting great pain. The girl might not remove them till she was clean. See R. Brough Smyth,Aborigines of Victoria(Melbourne and London, 1878), i. 65. Perhaps the cords were intended to arrest the flow of blood.
Footnote 237:(return)Rev. Father A.G. Morice, "The Western Dénés, their Manners and Customs,"Proceedings of the Canadian Institute, Toronto, Third Series, vii. (1888-89) pp. 162-164. The writer has repeated the substance of this account in a later work,Au pays de l'Ours Noir: chez les sauvages de la Colombia Britannique(Paris and Lyons, 1897), pp. 72sq.
Rev. Father A.G. Morice, "The Western Dénés, their Manners and Customs,"Proceedings of the Canadian Institute, Toronto, Third Series, vii. (1888-89) pp. 162-164. The writer has repeated the substance of this account in a later work,Au pays de l'Ours Noir: chez les sauvages de la Colombia Britannique(Paris and Lyons, 1897), pp. 72sq.
Footnote 238:(return)A.G. Morice, "Notes, Archaeological, Industrial, and Sociological, on the Western Dénés,"Transactions of the Canadian Institute, iv. (1892-93) pp. 106sq.Compare Rev. Father Julius Jetté, "On the Superstitions of the Ten'a Indians,"Anthropos, vi. (1911) pp. 703sq., who tells us that Tinneh women at these times may not lift their own nets, may not step over other people's nets, and may not pass in a boat or canoe near a place where nets are being set.
A.G. Morice, "Notes, Archaeological, Industrial, and Sociological, on the Western Dénés,"Transactions of the Canadian Institute, iv. (1892-93) pp. 106sq.Compare Rev. Father Julius Jetté, "On the Superstitions of the Ten'a Indians,"Anthropos, vi. (1911) pp. 703sq., who tells us that Tinneh women at these times may not lift their own nets, may not step over other people's nets, and may not pass in a boat or canoe near a place where nets are being set.
Footnote 239:(return)A.G. Morice, inTransactions of the Canadian Institute, iv. (1892-93) pp. 107, 110.
A.G. Morice, inTransactions of the Canadian Institute, iv. (1892-93) pp. 107, 110.
Footnote 240:(return)James Teit,The Thompson Indians of British Columbia, p. 327 (The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, April 1900).
James Teit,The Thompson Indians of British Columbia, p. 327 (The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, April 1900).
Footnote 241:(return)See above, p.53.
See above, p.53.
Footnote 242:(return)Laws of Manu, translated by G. Buhler (Oxford, 1886), ch. iv. 41sq., p. 135 (Sacred Books of the East, vol. xxv.).
Laws of Manu, translated by G. Buhler (Oxford, 1886), ch. iv. 41sq., p. 135 (Sacred Books of the East, vol. xxv.).
Footnote 243:(return)The Zend-Avesta, translated by J. Darmesteter, i. (Oxford, 1880) p. xcii. (Sacred Books of the East, vol. iv.). Seeid., pp. 9, 181-185,Fargard, i. 18 and 19, xvi. 1-18.
The Zend-Avesta, translated by J. Darmesteter, i. (Oxford, 1880) p. xcii. (Sacred Books of the East, vol. iv.). Seeid., pp. 9, 181-185,Fargard, i. 18 and 19, xvi. 1-18.
Footnote 244:(return)Pliny,Nat. Hist.vii. 64sq., xxviii. 77sqq.CompareGeoponica, xii. 20. 5 and 25. 2; Columella,De re rustica, xi. 357sqq.
Pliny,Nat. Hist.vii. 64sq., xxviii. 77sqq.CompareGeoponica, xii. 20. 5 and 25. 2; Columella,De re rustica, xi. 357sqq.
Footnote 245:(return)August Schleicher,Volkstümliches aus Sonnenberg(Weimar, 1858), p. 134; B. Souché,Croyances, Présages et Traditions diverses(Niort, 1880), p. 11; A. Meyrac,Traditions, Coutumes Légendes et Contes des Ardennes(Charleville, 1890), p. 171; V. Fossel,Volksmedicin und medicinischer Aberglaube in Steiermark,2(Graz, 1886), p. 124. A correspondent, who withholds her name, writes to me that in a Suffolk village, where she used to live some twenty or thirty years ago, "every one pickled their own beef, and it was held that if the pickling were performed by a woman during her menstrual period the meat would not keep. If the cook were incapacitated at the time when the pickling was due, another woman was sent for out of the village rather than risk what was considered a certainty." Another correspondent informs me that in some of the dales in the north of Yorkshire a similar belief prevailed down to recent years with regard to the salting of pork. Another correspondent writes to me: "The prohibition that a menstruating woman must not touch meat that is intended for keeping appears to be common all over the country; at least I have met with it as a confirmed and active custom in widely separated parts of England.... It is in regard to the salting of meat for bacon that the prohibition is most usual, because that is the commonest process; but it exists in regard to any meat food that is required to be kept."
August Schleicher,Volkstümliches aus Sonnenberg(Weimar, 1858), p. 134; B. Souché,Croyances, Présages et Traditions diverses(Niort, 1880), p. 11; A. Meyrac,Traditions, Coutumes Légendes et Contes des Ardennes(Charleville, 1890), p. 171; V. Fossel,Volksmedicin und medicinischer Aberglaube in Steiermark,2(Graz, 1886), p. 124. A correspondent, who withholds her name, writes to me that in a Suffolk village, where she used to live some twenty or thirty years ago, "every one pickled their own beef, and it was held that if the pickling were performed by a woman during her menstrual period the meat would not keep. If the cook were incapacitated at the time when the pickling was due, another woman was sent for out of the village rather than risk what was considered a certainty." Another correspondent informs me that in some of the dales in the north of Yorkshire a similar belief prevailed down to recent years with regard to the salting of pork. Another correspondent writes to me: "The prohibition that a menstruating woman must not touch meat that is intended for keeping appears to be common all over the country; at least I have met with it as a confirmed and active custom in widely separated parts of England.... It is in regard to the salting of meat for bacon that the prohibition is most usual, because that is the commonest process; but it exists in regard to any meat food that is required to be kept."
Footnote 246:(return)R. Andree,Braunschweiger Volkskunde(Brunswick, 1896), p. 291.
R. Andree,Braunschweiger Volkskunde(Brunswick, 1896), p. 291.
Footnote 247:(return)W.R. Paton, inFolk-lore, i. (1890) p. 524.
W.R. Paton, inFolk-lore, i. (1890) p. 524.
Footnote 248:(return)The Greeks and Romans thought that a field was completely protected against insects if a menstruous woman walked round it with bare feet and streaming hair (Pliny,Nat. Hist.xvii. 266, xxviii. 78; Columella,De re rustica, x. 358sq., xi. 3. 64; Palladius,De re rustica, i. 35. 3;Geoponica, xii. 8. 5sq.; Aelian,Nat. Anim.vi. 36). A similar preventive is employed for the same purpose by North American Indians and European peasants. See H.R. Schoolcraft,Indian Tribes of the United States(Philadelphia, 1853-1856), v. 70; F.J. Wiedemann,Aus dem inneren und aüssern Leben der Ehsten(St. Petersburg, 1876), p. 484. Compare J. Haltrich,Zur Volkskunde der Siebenbürger Sachsen(Vienna, 1885), p. 280; Adolph Heinrich,Agrarische Sitten und Gebräuche unter den Sachsen Siebenbürgens(Hermannstadt, 1880), p. 14; J. Grimm,Deutsche Mythologie,4iii. 468; G. Lammert,Volksmedizin und medizinischer Aberglaube aus Bayern(Würzburg, 1869), p. 147. Among the Western Dénés it is believed that one or two transverse lines tattooed on the arms or legs of a young man by a pubescent girl are a specific against premature weakness of these limbs. See A.G. Morice, "Notes, Archaeological, Industrial, and Sociological, on the Western Dénés,"Transactions of the Canadian Institute, iv. (1892-93) p. 182. The Thompson Indians of British Columbia thought that the Dawn of Day could and would cure hernia if only an adolescent girl prayed to it to do so. Just before daybreak the girl would put some charcoal in her mouth, chew it fine, and spit it out four times on the diseased place. Then she prayed: "O Day-dawn! thy child relies on me to obtain healing from thee, who art mystery. Remove thou the swelling of thy child. Pity thou him, Day-Dawn!" See James Teit,The Thompson Indians of British Columbia, pp. 345sq.(The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, April, 1900). To cure the painful and dangerous wound inflicted by a ray-fish, the Indians of the Gran Chaco smoke the wounded limb and then cause a woman in her courses to sit astride of it. See G. Pelleschi,Eight Months on the Gran Chaco of the Argentine Republic(London, 1886), p. 106. An ancient Hindoo method of securing prosperity was to swallow a portion of the menstruous fluid. See W. Caland,Altindisches Zauberritual(Amsterdam, 1900), pp. 57sq.To preserve a new cow from the evil eye Scottish Highlanders used to sprinkle menstruous blood on the animal; and at certain seasons of the year, especially at Beltane (the first of May) and Lammas (the first of August) it was their custom to sprinkle the same potent liquid on the doorposts and houses all round to guard them from harm. The fluid was applied by means of a wisp of straw, and the person who discharged this salutary office went round the house in the direction of the sun. See J.G. Campbell,Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland(Glasgow, 1900), p. 248. These are examples of the beneficent application of the menstruous energy.
The Greeks and Romans thought that a field was completely protected against insects if a menstruous woman walked round it with bare feet and streaming hair (Pliny,Nat. Hist.xvii. 266, xxviii. 78; Columella,De re rustica, x. 358sq., xi. 3. 64; Palladius,De re rustica, i. 35. 3;Geoponica, xii. 8. 5sq.; Aelian,Nat. Anim.vi. 36). A similar preventive is employed for the same purpose by North American Indians and European peasants. See H.R. Schoolcraft,Indian Tribes of the United States(Philadelphia, 1853-1856), v. 70; F.J. Wiedemann,Aus dem inneren und aüssern Leben der Ehsten(St. Petersburg, 1876), p. 484. Compare J. Haltrich,Zur Volkskunde der Siebenbürger Sachsen(Vienna, 1885), p. 280; Adolph Heinrich,Agrarische Sitten und Gebräuche unter den Sachsen Siebenbürgens(Hermannstadt, 1880), p. 14; J. Grimm,Deutsche Mythologie,4iii. 468; G. Lammert,Volksmedizin und medizinischer Aberglaube aus Bayern(Würzburg, 1869), p. 147. Among the Western Dénés it is believed that one or two transverse lines tattooed on the arms or legs of a young man by a pubescent girl are a specific against premature weakness of these limbs. See A.G. Morice, "Notes, Archaeological, Industrial, and Sociological, on the Western Dénés,"Transactions of the Canadian Institute, iv. (1892-93) p. 182. The Thompson Indians of British Columbia thought that the Dawn of Day could and would cure hernia if only an adolescent girl prayed to it to do so. Just before daybreak the girl would put some charcoal in her mouth, chew it fine, and spit it out four times on the diseased place. Then she prayed: "O Day-dawn! thy child relies on me to obtain healing from thee, who art mystery. Remove thou the swelling of thy child. Pity thou him, Day-Dawn!" See James Teit,The Thompson Indians of British Columbia, pp. 345sq.(The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, April, 1900). To cure the painful and dangerous wound inflicted by a ray-fish, the Indians of the Gran Chaco smoke the wounded limb and then cause a woman in her courses to sit astride of it. See G. Pelleschi,Eight Months on the Gran Chaco of the Argentine Republic(London, 1886), p. 106. An ancient Hindoo method of securing prosperity was to swallow a portion of the menstruous fluid. See W. Caland,Altindisches Zauberritual(Amsterdam, 1900), pp. 57sq.To preserve a new cow from the evil eye Scottish Highlanders used to sprinkle menstruous blood on the animal; and at certain seasons of the year, especially at Beltane (the first of May) and Lammas (the first of August) it was their custom to sprinkle the same potent liquid on the doorposts and houses all round to guard them from harm. The fluid was applied by means of a wisp of straw, and the person who discharged this salutary office went round the house in the direction of the sun. See J.G. Campbell,Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland(Glasgow, 1900), p. 248. These are examples of the beneficent application of the menstruous energy.
Footnote 249:(return)Taboo and the Perils of the Soul, pp. 1sqq.
Taboo and the Perils of the Soul, pp. 1sqq.
Footnote 250:(return)For a similar reason, perhaps, ancient Hindoo ritual prescribed that when the hair of a child's head was shorn in the third year, the clippings should be buried in a cow-stable, or near anudumbaratree, or in a clump ofdarbhagrass, with the words, "Where Pushan, Brihaspati, Savitri, Soma, Agni dwell, they have in many ways searched where they should deposit it, between heaven and earth, the waters and heaven." SeeThe Grihya-Sûtras, translated by H. Oldenberg, Part ii. (Oxford, 1892) p. 218 (Sacred Books of the East, vol. xxx.).
For a similar reason, perhaps, ancient Hindoo ritual prescribed that when the hair of a child's head was shorn in the third year, the clippings should be buried in a cow-stable, or near anudumbaratree, or in a clump ofdarbhagrass, with the words, "Where Pushan, Brihaspati, Savitri, Soma, Agni dwell, they have in many ways searched where they should deposit it, between heaven and earth, the waters and heaven." SeeThe Grihya-Sûtras, translated by H. Oldenberg, Part ii. (Oxford, 1892) p. 218 (Sacred Books of the East, vol. xxx.).
Footnote 251:(return)Petronius,Sat.48; Pausanias, x. 12: 8; Justin Martyr,Cohort ad Graecos, 37, p. 34 c (ed. 1742). According to another account, the remains of the Sibyl were enclosed in an iron cage which hung from a pillar in an ancient temple of Hercules at Argyrus (Ampelius,Liber Memorialis, viii. 16).
Petronius,Sat.48; Pausanias, x. 12: 8; Justin Martyr,Cohort ad Graecos, 37, p. 34 c (ed. 1742). According to another account, the remains of the Sibyl were enclosed in an iron cage which hung from a pillar in an ancient temple of Hercules at Argyrus (Ampelius,Liber Memorialis, viii. 16).
Footnote 252:(return)A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz,Nord-deutsche Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche(Leipsic, 1848), p. 70, No. 72. i. This and the following German parallels to the story of the Sibyl's wish were first indicated by Dr. M.R. James (Classical Review, vi. (1892) p. 74). I have already given the stories at length in a note on Pausanias, x. 12. 8 (vol. v. pp. 292sq.).
A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz,Nord-deutsche Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche(Leipsic, 1848), p. 70, No. 72. i. This and the following German parallels to the story of the Sibyl's wish were first indicated by Dr. M.R. James (Classical Review, vi. (1892) p. 74). I have already given the stories at length in a note on Pausanias, x. 12. 8 (vol. v. pp. 292sq.).
Footnote 253:(return)A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz,op. cit.pp. 70sq., No. 72. 2.
A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz,op. cit.pp. 70sq., No. 72. 2.
Footnote 254:(return)A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz,op. cit.p. 71, No. 72. 3.
A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz,op. cit.p. 71, No. 72. 3.
Footnote 255:(return)Karl Müllenhoff,Sagen, Märchen und Lieder der Herzogthümer Holstein und Lauenburg(Kiel, 1845), pp. 158sg., No. 217.
Karl Müllenhoff,Sagen, Märchen und Lieder der Herzogthümer Holstein und Lauenburg(Kiel, 1845), pp. 158sg., No. 217.
[How Balder, the good and beautiful god, was done to death by a stroke of the mistletoe.]
A deity whose life might in a sense be said to be neither in heaven nor on earth but between the two, was the Norse Balder, the good and beautiful god, the son of the great god Odin, and himself the wisest, mildest, best beloved of all the immortals. The story of his death, as it is told in the younger or proseEdda, runs thus. Once on a time Balder dreamed heavy dreams which seemed to forebode his death. Thereupon the gods held a council and resolved to make him secure against every danger. So the goddess Frigg took an oath from fire and water, iron and all metals, stones and earth, from trees, sicknesses and poisons, and from all four-footed beasts, birds, and creeping things, that they would not hurt Balder. When this was done Balder was deemed invulnerable; so the gods amused themselves by setting him in their midst, while some shot at him, others hewed at him, and others threw stones at him. But whatever they did, nothing could hurt him; and at this they were all glad. Only Loki, the mischief-maker, was displeased, and he went in the guise of an old woman to Frigg, who told him that the weapons of the gods could not wound Balder, since she had made them all swear not to hurt him. Then Loki asked, "Have all things sworn to spare Balder?" She answered, "East of Walhalla grows a plant called mistletoe; it seemed to me too young to swear." So Loki went and pulled the mistletoe and took it to the assembly of the gods. There he found the blind god Hother standing at the outside of the circle. Loki asked him, "Why do you not shoot at Balder?" Hother answered, "Because I do not see wherehe stands; besides I have no weapon." Then said Loki, "Do like the rest and shew Balder honour, as they all do. I will shew you where he stands, and do you shoot at him with this twig." Hother took the mistletoe and threw it at Balder, as Loki directed him. The mistletoe struck Balder and pierced him through and through, and he fell down dead. And that was the greatest misfortune that ever befell gods and men. For a while the gods stood speechless, then they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. They took Balder's body and brought it to the sea-shore. There stood Balder's ship; it was called Ringhorn, and was the hugest of all ships. The gods wished to launch the ship and to burn Balder's body on it, but the ship would not stir. So they sent for a giantess called Hyrrockin. She came riding on a wolf and gave the ship such a push that fire flashed from the rollers and all the earth shook. Then Balder's body was taken and placed on the funeral pile upon his ship. When his wife Nanna saw that, her heart burst for sorrow and she died. So she was laid on the funeral pile with her husband, and fire was put to it. Balder's horse, too, with all its trappings, was burned on the pile.256
[Tale of Balder in the olderEdda.]
In the older or poeticEddathe tragic tale of Balder is hinted at rather than told at length. Among the visions which the Norse Sibyl sees and describes in the weird prophecy known as theVoluspais one of the fatal mistletoe. "I behold," says she, "Fate looming for Balder, Woden's son, the bloody victim. There stands the Mistletoe slender and delicate, blooming high above the ground. Out of this shoot, so slender to look on, there shall grow a harmful fateful shaft. Hod shall shoot it, but Frigga in Fen-hall shall weep over the woe of Wal-hall."257Yet looking far intothe future the Sibyl sees a brighter vision of a new heaven and a new earth, where the fields unsown shall yield their increase and all sorrows shall be healed; then Balder will come back to dwell in Odin's mansions of bliss, in a hall brighter than the sun, shingled with gold, where the righteous shall live in joy for ever more.258
[The story of Balder as related by Saxo Grammaticus.]
Writing about the end of the twelfth century, the old Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus tells the story of Balder in a form which professes to be historical. According to him, Balder and Hother were rival suitors for the hand of Nanna, daughter of Gewar, King of Norway. Now Balder was a demigod and common steel could not wound his sacred body. The two rivals encountered each other in a terrific battle, and though Odin and Thor and the rest of the gods fought for Balder, yet was he defeated and fled away, and Hother married the princess. Nevertheless Balder took heart of grace and again met Hother in a stricken field. But he fared even worse than before; for Hother dealt him a deadly wound with a magic sword, which he had received from Miming, the Satyr of the woods; and after lingering three days in pain Balder died of his hurt and was buried with royal honours in a barrow.259
[Balder worshipped in Norway.]
Whether he was a real or merely a mythical personage, Balder was worshipped in Norway. On one of the bays of the beautiful Sogne Fiord, which penetrates far into the depths of the solemn Norwegian mountains, with their sombre pine-forests and their lofty cascades dissolving into spray before they reach the dark water of the fiord far below, Balder had a great sanctuary. It was called Balder's Grove. A palisade enclosed the hallowed ground, and within it stood a spacious temple with the images of many gods, but none of them was worshipped with such devotion as Balder. So great was the awe with which the heathen regarded the place that no man might harm another there, nor steal his cattle, nor defile himself with women. But women cared for the images of the gods in the temple; they warmed them at the fire, anointed them with oil, and dried them with cloths.260
[The legendary death of Balder resembles the legendary death of the Persian hero Isfendiyar in the epic of Firdusi.]
It might be rash to affirm that the romantic figure of Balder was nothing but a creation of the mythical fancy, a radiant phantom conjured up as by a wizard's wand to glitter for a time against the gloomy background of the stern Norwegian landscape. It may be so; yet it is also possible that the myth was founded on the tradition of a hero, popular and beloved in his lifetime, who long survived in the memory of the people, gathering more and more of the marvellous about him as he passed from generation to generation of story-tellers. At all events it is worth while to observe that a somewhat similar story is told of another national hero, who may well have been a real man. In his great poem,The Epic of Kings, which is founded on Persian traditions, the poet Firdusi tells us that in the combat between Rustem and Isfendiyar the arrows of the former did no harm to his adversary, "because Zerdusht had charmed his body against all dangers, so that it was like unto brass." But Simurgh, the bird of God, shewed Rustem the way he should follow in order to vanquish his redoubtable foe. He rode after her, and they halted not till they came to the sea-shore. There she led him into a garden, where grew atamarisk, tall and strong, and the roots thereof were in the ground, but the branches pierced even unto the sky. Then the bird of God bade Rustem break from the tree a branch that was long and slender, and fashion it into an arrow, and she said, "Only through his eyes can Isfendiyar be wounded. If, therefore, thou wouldst slay him, direct this arrow unto his forehead, and verily it shall not miss its aim." Rustem did as he was bid; and when next he fought with Isfendiyar, he shot the arrow at him, and it pierced his eye, and he died. Great was the mourning for Isfendiyar. For the space of one year men ceased not to lament for him, and for many years they shed bitter tears for that arrow, and they said, "The glory of Iran hath been laid low."261
[The myth of Balder was perhaps acted as a magical ceremony. The two chief incidents of the myth, namely the pulling of the mistletoe and the death and burning of the god, have perhaps their counterparts in popular ritual.]
Whatever may be thought of an historical kernel underlying a mythical husk in the legend of Balder, the details of the story suggest that it belongs to that class of myths which have been dramatized in ritual, or, to put it otherwise, which have been performed as magical ceremonies for the sake of producing those natural effects which they describe in figurative language. A myth is never so graphic and precise in its details as when it is, so to speak, the book of the words which are spoken and acted by the performers of the sacred rite. That the Norse story of Balder was a myth of this sort will become probable if we can prove that ceremonies resembling the incidents in the tale have been performed by Norsemen and other European peoples. Now the main incidents in the tale are two—first, the pulling of the mistletoe, and second, the death and burning of the god; and both of them may perhaps be found to have had their counterparts in yearly rites observed, whether separately or conjointly, by people in various parts of Europe. These rites will be described and discussed in the following chapters. We shall begin with the annual festivals of fire and shall reserve the pulling of the mistletoe for consideration later on.
Notes:
Footnote 256:(return)Die Edda, übersetzt von K. Simrock,8(Stuttgart, 1882), pp. 286-288. Compare pp. 8, 34, 264. Balder's story is told in a professedly historical form by the old Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in his third book. See below, p.103. In English the story is told at length by Professor (Sir) John Rhys,Celtic Heathendom(London and Edinburgh, 1888), pp. 529sqq.It is elaborately discussed by Professor F. Knuffmann in a learned monograph,Balder, Mythus und Sage(Strasburg, 1902).
Die Edda, übersetzt von K. Simrock,8(Stuttgart, 1882), pp. 286-288. Compare pp. 8, 34, 264. Balder's story is told in a professedly historical form by the old Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in his third book. See below, p.103. In English the story is told at length by Professor (Sir) John Rhys,Celtic Heathendom(London and Edinburgh, 1888), pp. 529sqq.It is elaborately discussed by Professor F. Knuffmann in a learned monograph,Balder, Mythus und Sage(Strasburg, 1902).
Footnote 257:(return)Gudbrand Vigfusson and F. York Powell,Corpus Poeticum Boreale, i. (Oxford, 1883) p. 197. CompareEdda Rhythmica seu Antiquior, vulgo Saemundina dicta, Pars iii. (Copenhagen, 1828) pp. 39sq.;Die Edda, übersetzt von K. Simrock,8(Stuttgart, 1882), p. 8; K. Müllenhoff,Deutsche Altertumskunde, v. Zweite Abteilung (Berlin, 1891), pp. 78sq.; Fr. Kauffmann,Balder, Mythus und Sage, pp. 20sq.In this passage the words translated "bloody victim" (blaupom tivor) and "fate looming" (ørlog fólgen) are somewhat uncertain and have been variously interpreted. The wordtivor, usually understood to mean "god," seems to be found nowhere else. Professor H.M. Chadwick has kindly furnished me with the following literal translation of the passage: "I saw (or 'have seen') held in safe keeping the life of Balder, the bloody god, Othin's son. High above the fields (i.e.the surface of the earth) grew a mistletoe, slender and very beautiful. From a shaft (or 'stem') which appeared slender, came a dangerous sorrow-bringing missile (i.e.the shaft became a ... missile); Hodr proceeded to shoot. Soon was a brother of Balder born. He, Othin's son, proceeded to do battle when one day old. He did not wash his hands or comb his head before he brought Balder's antagonist on to the pyre. But Frigg in Fen-salir (i.e.the Fen-abode) lamented the trouble of Val-holl." In translating the wordsørlog fólgen"held in safe keeping the life" Professor Chadwick follows Professor F. Kauffmann's rendering ("das Leben verwahrt"); but he writes to me that he is not quite confident about it, as the wordørlogusually means "fate" rather than "life." Several sentences translated by Professor Chadwick ("Soon was a brother of Balder born ... he brought Balder's antagonist on the pyre") are omitted by some editors and translators of theEdda.
Gudbrand Vigfusson and F. York Powell,Corpus Poeticum Boreale, i. (Oxford, 1883) p. 197. CompareEdda Rhythmica seu Antiquior, vulgo Saemundina dicta, Pars iii. (Copenhagen, 1828) pp. 39sq.;Die Edda, übersetzt von K. Simrock,8(Stuttgart, 1882), p. 8; K. Müllenhoff,Deutsche Altertumskunde, v. Zweite Abteilung (Berlin, 1891), pp. 78sq.; Fr. Kauffmann,Balder, Mythus und Sage, pp. 20sq.In this passage the words translated "bloody victim" (blaupom tivor) and "fate looming" (ørlog fólgen) are somewhat uncertain and have been variously interpreted. The wordtivor, usually understood to mean "god," seems to be found nowhere else. Professor H.M. Chadwick has kindly furnished me with the following literal translation of the passage: "I saw (or 'have seen') held in safe keeping the life of Balder, the bloody god, Othin's son. High above the fields (i.e.the surface of the earth) grew a mistletoe, slender and very beautiful. From a shaft (or 'stem') which appeared slender, came a dangerous sorrow-bringing missile (i.e.the shaft became a ... missile); Hodr proceeded to shoot. Soon was a brother of Balder born. He, Othin's son, proceeded to do battle when one day old. He did not wash his hands or comb his head before he brought Balder's antagonist on to the pyre. But Frigg in Fen-salir (i.e.the Fen-abode) lamented the trouble of Val-holl." In translating the wordsørlog fólgen"held in safe keeping the life" Professor Chadwick follows Professor F. Kauffmann's rendering ("das Leben verwahrt"); but he writes to me that he is not quite confident about it, as the wordørlogusually means "fate" rather than "life." Several sentences translated by Professor Chadwick ("Soon was a brother of Balder born ... he brought Balder's antagonist on the pyre") are omitted by some editors and translators of theEdda.
Footnote 258:(return)G. Vigfusson and F. York Powell,Corpus Poeticum Boreale, i. 200sq.;Edda Rhythmica seu Antiquior, vulgo Saemundina dicta, Pars iii. pp. 51-54;Die Edda, übersetzt von K. Simrock,8p. 10sq.; K. Müllenhoff,Deutsche Altertumskunde, v. Zweite Abteilung, pp. 84sq.
G. Vigfusson and F. York Powell,Corpus Poeticum Boreale, i. 200sq.;Edda Rhythmica seu Antiquior, vulgo Saemundina dicta, Pars iii. pp. 51-54;Die Edda, übersetzt von K. Simrock,8p. 10sq.; K. Müllenhoff,Deutsche Altertumskunde, v. Zweite Abteilung, pp. 84sq.
Footnote 259:(return)Saxo Grammaticus,Historia Danica, ed. P.E. Müller (Copenhagen, 1839-1858),lib.iii. vol. i. pp. 110sqq.;The First Nine Books of the Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus, translated by Oliver Elton (London, 1894), pp. 83-93.
Saxo Grammaticus,Historia Danica, ed. P.E. Müller (Copenhagen, 1839-1858),lib.iii. vol. i. pp. 110sqq.;The First Nine Books of the Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus, translated by Oliver Elton (London, 1894), pp. 83-93.
Footnote 260:(return)Fridthjofs Saga, aus dem Alt-isländischen, von J.C. Poestion, (Vienna, 1879), pp. 3sq., 14-17, 45-52.
Fridthjofs Saga, aus dem Alt-isländischen, von J.C. Poestion, (Vienna, 1879), pp. 3sq., 14-17, 45-52.
Footnote 261:(return)The Epic of Kings, Stories retold from Firdusi, by Helen Zimmern (London, 1883), pp. 325-331. The parallel between Balder and Isfendiyar was pointed out in the "Lexicon Mythologicum" appended to theEdda Rhythmifa seu Antiquior, vulgo Saemundina dicta, Pars iii. (Copenhagen, 1828) p. 513 note, with a reference toSchah Namech, verdeutscht von Görres, ii. 324, 327sq.It is briefly mentioned by Dr. P. Wagler,Die Eiche in alter und neuer Zeit, ii. Teil (Berlin, 1891), p. 40.
The Epic of Kings, Stories retold from Firdusi, by Helen Zimmern (London, 1883), pp. 325-331. The parallel between Balder and Isfendiyar was pointed out in the "Lexicon Mythologicum" appended to theEdda Rhythmifa seu Antiquior, vulgo Saemundina dicta, Pars iii. (Copenhagen, 1828) p. 513 note, with a reference toSchah Namech, verdeutscht von Görres, ii. 324, 327sq.It is briefly mentioned by Dr. P. Wagler,Die Eiche in alter und neuer Zeit, ii. Teil (Berlin, 1891), p. 40.
[European custom of kindling bonfires on certain days of the year, dancing round them and leaping over them. Effigies are sometimes burnt in the fires.]
All over Europe the peasants have been accustomed from time immemorial to kindle bonfires on certain days of the year, and to dance round or leap over them. Customs of this kind can be traced back on historical evidence to the Middle Ages,262and their analogy to similar customs observed in antiquity goes with strong internal evidence to prove that their origin must be sought in a period long prior to the spread of Christianity. Indeed the earliest proof of their observance in Northern Europe is furnished by the attempts made by Christian synods in the eighth century to put them down as heathenish rites.263Not uncommonly effigies are burned in these fires, or a pretence is made of burning a living person in them; and there are grounds for believing that anciently human beings were actually burned on these occasions. A general survey of the customs in question will bring out the traces of human sacrifice, and will serve at the same time to throw light on their meaning.264
[Seasons of the year at which the bonfires are lit.]
The seasons of the year when these bonfires are most commonly lit are spring and midsummer; but in some places they are kindled also at the end of autumn or during thecourse of the winter, particularly on Hallow E'en (the thirty-first of October), Christmas Day, and the Eve of Twelfth Day. We shall consider them in the order in which they occur in the calendar year. The earliest of them is the winter festival of the Eve of Twelfth Day (the fifth of January); but as it has been already described in an earlier part of this work265we shall pass it over here and begin with the fire-festivals of spring, which usually fall on the first Sunday of Lent (QuadragesimaorInvocavit),266Easter Eve, and May Day.
[Custom of kindling bonfires on the first Sunday in Lent in the Belgian Ardennes.]
The custom of kindling bonfires on the first Sunday in Lent has prevailed in Belgium, the north of France, and many parts of Germany. Thus in the Belgian Ardennes for a week or a fortnight before the "day of the great fire," as it is called, children go about from farm to farm collecting fuel. At Grand Halleux any one who refuses their request is pursued next day by the children, who try to blacken his face with the ashes of the extinct fire. When the day has come, they cut down bushes, especially juniper and broom, and in the evening great bonfires blaze on all the heights. It is a common saying that seven bonfires should be seen if the village is to be safe from conflagrations. If the Meuse happens to be frozen hard at the time, bonfires are lit also on the ice. At Grand Halleux they set up a pole calledmakralor "the witch," in the midst of the pile, and the fire is kindled by the man who was last married in the village. In the neighbourhood of Morlanwelz a straw man is burnt in the fire. Young people and children dance and sing round the bonfires, and leap over the embers to secure good crops or a happy marriage within the year, or as a means of guarding themselves against colic. In Brabant on the same Sunday, down to the beginning of the nineteenth century, women and men disguised in female attire used to go with burning torches to the fields, where they danced and sang comic songs for the purpose, as they alleged, of driving away "the wicked sower," who is mentioned in the Gospel for the day. At Maeseyck and in many villages of Limburg,on the evening of the day children run through the streets carrying lighted torches; then they kindle little fires of straw in the fields and dance round them. At Ensival old folks tell young folks that they will have as many Easter eggs as they see bonfires on this day.267At Pâturages, in the province of Hainaut, down to about 1840 the custom was observed under the name ofEscouvionorScouvion. Every year on the first Sunday of Lent, which was called the Day of the Little Scouvion, young folks and children used to run with lighted torches through the gardens and orchards. As they ran they cried at the pitch of their voices,
"Bear apples, bear pearsAnd cherries all blackTo Scouvion!"
"Bear apples, bear pearsAnd cherries all blackTo Scouvion!"
"Bear apples, bear pears
And cherries all black
To Scouvion!"
At these words the torch-bearer whirled his blazing brand and hurled it among the branches of the apple-trees, the pear-trees, and the cherry-trees. The next Sunday was called the Day of the Great Scouvion, and the same race with lighted torches among the trees of the orchards was repeated in the afternoon till darkness fell. The same custom was observed on the same two days at Wasmes.268In the neighbourhood of Liège, where the Lenten fires were put down by the police about the middle of the nineteenth century, girls thought that by leaping over the fires without being smirched they made sure of a happy marriage. Elsewhere in order to get a good husband it was necessary to see seven of the bonfires from one spot. In Famenne, a district of Namur, men and cattle who traversed the Lenten fires were thought to be safe from sickness and witchcraft. Anybody who saw seven such fires at once had nothing to fear from sorcerers. An old saying ran, that if you do not light "the great fire," God will light it for you; which seems to imply that the kindling of the bonfires was deemed a protection against conflagrations throughout the year.269
[Bonfires on the first Sunday of Lent in the French department of the Ardennes.]
In the French department of the Ardennes the whole village used to dance and sing round the bonfires which were lighted on the first Sunday in Lent. Here, too, it was the person last married, sometimes a man and sometimes a woman, who put the match to the fire. The custom is still kept up very commonly in the district. Cats used to be burnt in the fire or roasted to death by being held over it; and while they were burning the shepherds drove their flocks through the smoke and flames as a sure means of guarding them against sickness and witchcraft. In some communes it was believed that the livelier the dance round the fire, the better would be the crops that year.270In the Vosges Mountains it is still customary to light great fires on the heights and around the villages on the first Sunday in Lent; and at Rupt and elsewhere the right of kindling them belongs to the person who was last married. Round the fires the people dance and sing merrily till the flames have died out. Then the master of the fire, as they call the man who kindled it, invites all who contributed to the erection of the pile to follow him to the nearest tavern, where they partake of good cheer. At Dommartin they say that, if you would have the hemp tall, it is absolutely necessary that the women should be tipsy on the evening of this day.271At Épinal in the Vosges, on the first Sunday in Lent, bonfires used to be kindled at various places both in the town and on the banks of the Moselle. They consisted of pyramids of sticks and faggots, which had been collected some days earlier by young folks going from door to door. When the flames blazed up, the names of various couples, whether young or old, handsome or ugly, rich or poor, were called out, and the persons thus linked in mock marriage were forced, whether they liked it or not, to march arm in arm round the fire amid the laughter and jests of the crowd. The festivity lasted till the fire died out, and then the spectators dispersed through the streets, stopping under the windows of the houses and proclaiming the names of theféchenotsandféchenottesor Valentines whom the popular voice had assigned to each other. These couples had to exchange presents; the mock bridegroom gave his mock bride something for her toilet, while she in turn presented him with a cockade of coloured ribbon. Next Sunday, if the weather allowed it, all the couples, arrayed in their best attire and attended by their relations, repaired to the wood of Saint Antony, where they mounted a famous stone called thedanserosseordanseresse. Here they found cakes and refreshments of all sorts, and danced to the music of a couple of fiddlers. The evening bell, ringing the Angelus, gave the signal to depart. As soon as its solemn chime was heard, every one quitted the forest and returned home. The exchange of presents between the Valentines went by the name of ransom or redemption (rachat), because it was supposed to redeem the couple from the flames of the bonfire. Any pair who failed thus to ransom themselves were not suffered to share the merrymaking at the great stone in the forest; and a pretence was made of burning them in small fires kindled before their own doors.272