Chapter 17

[297]Codrington,The Melanesians, p. 145.[298]S. H. C. Hawtrey, “The Lengua Indians,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 1901.[299]“Shamanism,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, XXIV. (1894-5).[300]Comparetti,The Traditionary Poetry of the Finns, p. 184.[301]Howitt,op. cit., p. 404. Is this type of the neophyte’s behaviour, which is conformed to on certain occasions by magicians and inspired priests in every age and country, itself conformed to the natural type of insanity or epilepsy; and, if so, consciously or unconsciously?[302]J. H. Weeks,Among Congo Cannibals, pp. 145 and 276.[303]Grey,Polynesian Mythology, chs. i. and vii.[304]Origin and Growth of Religion as illustrated by Celtic Heathendom, p. 225.[305]Corpus Poeticum Boreale, pp. 24, 34, 181, 196.[306]Heimskringla Saga, Yuglingasaga, chs. xvii.-xviii.[307]“Shamanism,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, X., XIV. p. 85.[308]Weeks,Congo Cannibals, p. 265.[309]The fullest and most dramatic account of such possession may be found in Williams’Fiji and the Fijians, p. 190. See below, p. 243.[310]Weeks,Primitive Bokongo, p. 215.[311]Spencer and Gillen,Native Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 480-8.[312]“Shamanism,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, XXIV. p. 130.[313]Howitt,op. cit., p. 374.[314]Ibid., p. 437.[315]P. A. Talbot,In the Shadow of the Bush, p. 230.[316]G. Borrow,Wild Wales, ch. lxxxviii.[317]Spencer and Gillen,op. cit., p. 388.[318]H. Spencer,Principles of Sociology, § 55.[319]E. B. Tylor,Primitive Culture, I. 308et seq.[320]In a paper onLeopard Men of the Naga Hills, read at a meeting of the R.A.I. (December 9, 1919), Mr. J. J. H. Hutton reported that such men do not change into leopards; but sometimes their souls involuntarily pass into them. If the leopard be injured or killed he whose soul was in it suffers or dies—when he hears of it. Such men are not feared, because their leopards do very little harm.For this reason (I suppose) the belief is not exploited by wizards, who have no use for innocent superstition, and it remains pure folklore. There may not be any connexion between this animistic doctrine of human souls possessing animals and the magical doctrine of shape-changing. If they are connected, it is easy to see that in a certain atmosphere of popular philosophy, if shape-changing were believed in, the possession theory might be accepted as the true explanation upon merely being proposed. Indeed, it would make intelligible such a case as this: a man’s leopard is seen on the skirts of the village; but he himself is known to be in his hut.Animistic explanation does not always follow culture: Europe adheres to shape-changing. Yet in theVolsung Sagathe superstition is already degenerate: Sigmund and his son change into wolves by putting on wolf-skins belonging to two were-wolves whom they find asleep. This is a rationalisation—disguise as a step toward change. An earlier step is to say a man who would change must put on a belt of wolf-skin.[321]Haddon,Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. p. 329.[322]Grey,op. cit., “Legends of Maui and Tawhaki.”[323]Wiedemann,Religion of the Ancient Egyptians, pp. 54-8.[324]M. C. Stevenson, “The Sia,”Am. B. of Ethn., XI. p. 118.[325]W. Grube,Rel. u. K. d. Chinese, p. 132.[326]“Shamanism,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, ch. xxiv. p. 133.[327]Stephánsen,My Life with the Eskimo, p. 391.[328]D. Comparetti,The Traditional Poetry of the Finns, p. 26.[329]Natural and Social Morals, ch. ii. § 4.[330]See many examples in J. G. Frazer’sTaboo and the Perils of the Soul, ch. i.[331]Ch. vi.[332]III. p. 31.[333]Macdonell,Sanskrit Literature, pp. 73 and 183.[334]Maspero,The Dawn of Civilization, p. 124.[335]A. H. Sayce,Religion of the Ancient Babylonians, p. 319.[336]Religious Experience of the Roman People, p. 202.[337]Alfred Lyall,Asiatic Studies, essays onThe State and Religion in China. In a milder form this system has been adopted by Japan; W. E. Aston,Shinto, p. 237.[338]Franz Cumont,Astrology and Religion.[339]VI. c. 27 (Rawlinson’s Translation).[340]Williams,Fiji and the Fijians, p. 152.[341]De Acosta,History of the Indies, VII. c. 23 (translated by C. R. Markham).[342]Spencer and Gillen,Across Australia, p. 220.[343]Book I. cc. 7-10.[344]Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, VI. p. 260.[345]W. R. Halliday,Greek Divination, p. 15.[346]Historia Naturalis, XXVII. p. 4.[347]Suetonius:Julius, c. 59.[348]Hose and McDougall,Pagan Tribes of Borneo, II. pp. 56-64.[349]Northern Tribes of Central Australia, p. 266.[350]Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. p. 361; VI. p. 259.[351]Seligman,Mel. of B. N. G., p. 309.[352]De Divinatione, I. c. 19.[353]An infallible sign is, in Formal Logic, the same as a cause, according to the schemeIf A, then B; and it is conceivable that, with strict thinking, a belief in an Omen may give rise to a magical practice. “For,” says Lord Avebury, “granted that the fall of a stick certainly preludes that of the person it represents, it follows that by upsetting the stick his death can be caused” (Origin of Civilisation, p. 166). I do not see why such an inference should not be drawn, but can give no example of it. The possibility shows how much community there is between Magic and the lore of Omens; but as to this particular case, the magical cast of mind is already implied in the original setting up of the stick whose fall should prelude that of a given individual.[354]Coddrington,The Melanesians, p. 123.[355]A. W. Howitt,Native Tribes of South-East Australia, p. 401.[356]Quoted by Frazer,Totemism and Exogamy, I. pp. 489 and 495.[357]A. W. Howitt,op. cit., p. 389.[358]C. G. Seligman,op. cit., p. 188.[359]VII. c. 16.[360]The poet is closely allied at first to the wizard; for (besides that the greatest spells and oracles are versified) the poet is inspired. In Australia poets are sometimes carried by ghosts into skyland, where they learn songs and dances. Some compose awake; but the belief prevails that they are inspired in dreams by dead and kindred spirits. Their songs travel far amongst tribes that no longer understand the language. (Howitt,Native Tribes of South-East Australia, pp. 389 and 413.) Similarly in Fiji (Fiji and the Fijians, p. 98). “The poem is too wonderful for me”—such is the poet’s humility; “it was made by the gods”—such is his arrogance.[361]Spencer and Gillen,Native Tribes of Central Australia, p. 526.[362]Tylor,Primitive Culture, I. p. 125.[363]Casalis,Les Bassoutos, pp. 299 and 340.[364]Jounod,Life of a South African Tribe, I. 361. This “medicine” is the chief’s great store of magical force: its principal ingredients are the nails and hair of chiefs deceased, fixed together by a kind of wax.[365]Callaway,Religion of the Amazulu, p. 417.[366]W. Ellis,Polynesian Researches, II. p. 235.[367]De Div., II. c. 57.[368]Thomas Williams,Fiji and the Fijians, p. 190.[369]Pausanias, IX. c. 10 (Frazer’s Translation).[370]Pausanias, I. p. 34.[371]Ibid., IX. p. 30.[372]Spencer and Gillen,Native Tribes of Central Australia, p. 523.[373]A. W. Howitt,op. cit., p. 404.[374]Langloh Parker,The Euahlayi, p. 25.[375]Northern Tribes of Central Australia, p. 181.[376]Native Tribes of South-East Australia, p. 367.[377]This is unjust to the Australians. Amongst the Dieri (L. Eyre) wizards with renewed entrails communicate with supernatural beings, interpret dreams and discover murderers; but they also recognise spiritual communication with ordinary men in visions; not ordinary dreams, which are mere fancies, but those that are repeated; and these come from Kutchi, an evil spirit (Howitt,op. cit., p. 358). We may be sure the Greeks were mistaken in supposing that it was Amphiaraus who instituted divination by dreams.[378]Herodotus, I. cc. 107, 28.[379]W. E. Roth,Ethnological Studies, p. 154.[380]Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 193.[381]De Div., II. cc. 33, 35.[382]Polybius, VI. c. 2.[383]Discourses, II. c. 7.[384]De Div., II. c. 17; cf. c. 49.[385]Life of a South African Tribe, p. 521.[386]Questiones Naturales, II. c. 32.[387]De Div., I. c. 15.[388]Les Bassoutos, p. 248.[389]Ling Roth,The Aborigines of Tasmania, p. 65.[390]Spencer and Gillen,Across Australia, p. 336.[391]Czaplicka,Aboriginal Siberia, p. 177.[392]The political importance of the wizard seems to have been first noticed by Spencer,Principles of Sociology, II. p. 178 (§ 474).[393]Bellamy, quoted by Seligman,Melanesians of British North Guinea, p. 694.[394]Religion of the Amazulu, p. 40.[395]Dudley Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 114.[396]Czaplicka,Aboriginal Siberia, p. 191.[397]E. Westermarck,The Origin and Development of Moral Ideas, ch. xlix.[398]The Sacred Shrine.[399]Report of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. pp. 322-3.[400]Rivers,History of Melanesian Sociology.[401]Am. B. of Ethn., VII., “Ojibway Medicine,” by W. J. Hoffman; XI., “The Sia,” by M. C. Stevenson; XIV., “The Menomini Indians,” by W. Hoffman. For a collection of the facts see Frazer,Totemism and Exogamy, IV. ch. xix; and Hutton Webster,Primitive Secret Societies.[402]Report of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, VI. p. 200.[403]Op. cit., p. 278.[404]Among Congo Cannibals, p. 251.[405]Spencer and Gillen,Across Australia, p. 326.[406]Book VII. The witch, imitated from Circe and Medea by Ariosto, Tasso, Spenser, became a traditionary, romantic motive.[407]Howitt,Native Tribes of South-East Australia, p. 388.[408]Stefánson,op. cit., p. 403.[409]Czaplicka,op. cit., p. 240.[410]Across Australia, p. 51.[411]Op. cit., p. 184.[412]Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle, II. p. 178.[413]The Primitive Bakongo, p. 216.[414]Journal of the Anthropological Institute, XXIV., “Shamanism,” p. 144.[415]Among the Indians of Guiana, p. 335.[416]Am. B. of Ethn., “Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees,” by J. Mooney, p. 323.[417]W. Mariner’sAccount of the Tonga Islands, ch. xxi.[418]Am. B. of Ethn., IX., “Medicine Men of the Apache,” by J. E. Bourke, p. 471.[419]Dudley Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 135.[420]Travels and Researches in South Africa, ch. i.[421]J. Shakespeare,The Lushai Kuki Clans, p. 80.[422]Hose and McDougall,Pagan Tribes of Borneo, p. 120, andAm. B. of Ethn., XI. p. 417; XIV. pp. 97, 148.[423]D. Comparetti,The Traditional Poetry of the Finns, pp. 27 and 25.[424]Rhys,Celtic Heathendom, pp. 548-50.[425]The crystals forced into a wizard’s body, whether by spirits or by other wizards, are essential to his profession, and if they leave him his power is lost. “It is the possession of these stones which gives his virtue to the medicine-man” (Spencer and Gillen,Northern Tribes of Central Australia, p. 480 note). John Mathew says that, according to the belief of the Kabi (Queensland): “A man’s power in the occult art would appear to be proportioned to his vitality, and the degree of vitality which he possessed depended upon the number of sacred pebbles and the quantity ofyurru(rope) which he carried within him” (Eagle-hawk and Crow, p. 143). “Rope” was the property of the higher grade of medicine-men (substitute for snakes?), who had obtained it from the Rainbow in exchange for some of their pebbles. Certain pebbles, especially crystals, are independent magic-powers throughout Australasia and elsewhere, probably of much older repute than the profession of wizardry; and the wizard gets his personal power by having them inside him. Similarly, Jounod describes Bantu wizards as “endowed with magical power, or rather possessing enchanted drugs” (Life of a South African Tribe, p. 293): whereas we are often told that the occult art begins with the extraordinary personality of the wizard.[426]Native Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 522-9.[427]Spencer and Gillen,Northern Tribes of Central Australia, p. 485.[428]Haddon,Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. p. 321.[429]E. im Thurn,The Indians of Guiana, p. 334.[430]Thomas Whiffen,The North-West Amazons, p. 181.[431]Dudley Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 156.[432]Journal of the Anthropological Institute, XXIV., “Shamanism,” pp. 87-90.[433]Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. p. 322.[434]J. G. Frazer,Belief in Immortality, p. 334.[435]W. H. R. Rivers,The Todas, pp. 256-7.[436]Belief in Immortality, pp. 249, 269.[437]For examples see Weeks,The Primitive Bakongo, p. 204; Dudley Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 149; Callaway,Religion of the Amazulu, p. 391; Hose and McDougall,The Pagan Tribes of Borneo, II. p. 115; Turner,Samoa, p. 342;Shamanism, p. 130; Carl Lumholtz,New Trails in Mexico, p. 24; T. A. Joyce,South American Archæology, p. 245; E. Westermarck,Origin and Development of Moral Ideas, II. pp. 650-2.[438]Callaway,Religion of the Amazulu, pp. 384-6 and 404.[439]Franz Boas, “The Central Esquimo,”Am. B. of Ethn., VI. (1884-5), p. 603.[440]W. W. Skeat,Malay Magic, p. 571.[441]A. Wiedemann,The Religion of the Egyptians, pp. 273-4.[442]A. M. Czaplicka,Aboriginal Siberia, p. 178.[443]J. G. Frazer,Psyche’s Task.[444]Pp. 138-9.[445]Rivers,History of Melanesian Sociology, II. p. 156.

[297]Codrington,The Melanesians, p. 145.

[297]Codrington,The Melanesians, p. 145.

[298]S. H. C. Hawtrey, “The Lengua Indians,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 1901.

[298]S. H. C. Hawtrey, “The Lengua Indians,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 1901.

[299]“Shamanism,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, XXIV. (1894-5).

[299]“Shamanism,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, XXIV. (1894-5).

[300]Comparetti,The Traditionary Poetry of the Finns, p. 184.

[300]Comparetti,The Traditionary Poetry of the Finns, p. 184.

[301]Howitt,op. cit., p. 404. Is this type of the neophyte’s behaviour, which is conformed to on certain occasions by magicians and inspired priests in every age and country, itself conformed to the natural type of insanity or epilepsy; and, if so, consciously or unconsciously?

[301]Howitt,op. cit., p. 404. Is this type of the neophyte’s behaviour, which is conformed to on certain occasions by magicians and inspired priests in every age and country, itself conformed to the natural type of insanity or epilepsy; and, if so, consciously or unconsciously?

[302]J. H. Weeks,Among Congo Cannibals, pp. 145 and 276.

[302]J. H. Weeks,Among Congo Cannibals, pp. 145 and 276.

[303]Grey,Polynesian Mythology, chs. i. and vii.

[303]Grey,Polynesian Mythology, chs. i. and vii.

[304]Origin and Growth of Religion as illustrated by Celtic Heathendom, p. 225.

[304]Origin and Growth of Religion as illustrated by Celtic Heathendom, p. 225.

[305]Corpus Poeticum Boreale, pp. 24, 34, 181, 196.

[305]Corpus Poeticum Boreale, pp. 24, 34, 181, 196.

[306]Heimskringla Saga, Yuglingasaga, chs. xvii.-xviii.

[306]Heimskringla Saga, Yuglingasaga, chs. xvii.-xviii.

[307]“Shamanism,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, X., XIV. p. 85.

[307]“Shamanism,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, X., XIV. p. 85.

[308]Weeks,Congo Cannibals, p. 265.

[308]Weeks,Congo Cannibals, p. 265.

[309]The fullest and most dramatic account of such possession may be found in Williams’Fiji and the Fijians, p. 190. See below, p. 243.

[309]The fullest and most dramatic account of such possession may be found in Williams’Fiji and the Fijians, p. 190. See below, p. 243.

[310]Weeks,Primitive Bokongo, p. 215.

[310]Weeks,Primitive Bokongo, p. 215.

[311]Spencer and Gillen,Native Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 480-8.

[311]Spencer and Gillen,Native Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 480-8.

[312]“Shamanism,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, XXIV. p. 130.

[312]“Shamanism,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, XXIV. p. 130.

[313]Howitt,op. cit., p. 374.

[313]Howitt,op. cit., p. 374.

[314]Ibid., p. 437.

[314]Ibid., p. 437.

[315]P. A. Talbot,In the Shadow of the Bush, p. 230.

[315]P. A. Talbot,In the Shadow of the Bush, p. 230.

[316]G. Borrow,Wild Wales, ch. lxxxviii.

[316]G. Borrow,Wild Wales, ch. lxxxviii.

[317]Spencer and Gillen,op. cit., p. 388.

[317]Spencer and Gillen,op. cit., p. 388.

[318]H. Spencer,Principles of Sociology, § 55.

[318]H. Spencer,Principles of Sociology, § 55.

[319]E. B. Tylor,Primitive Culture, I. 308et seq.

[319]E. B. Tylor,Primitive Culture, I. 308et seq.

[320]In a paper onLeopard Men of the Naga Hills, read at a meeting of the R.A.I. (December 9, 1919), Mr. J. J. H. Hutton reported that such men do not change into leopards; but sometimes their souls involuntarily pass into them. If the leopard be injured or killed he whose soul was in it suffers or dies—when he hears of it. Such men are not feared, because their leopards do very little harm.For this reason (I suppose) the belief is not exploited by wizards, who have no use for innocent superstition, and it remains pure folklore. There may not be any connexion between this animistic doctrine of human souls possessing animals and the magical doctrine of shape-changing. If they are connected, it is easy to see that in a certain atmosphere of popular philosophy, if shape-changing were believed in, the possession theory might be accepted as the true explanation upon merely being proposed. Indeed, it would make intelligible such a case as this: a man’s leopard is seen on the skirts of the village; but he himself is known to be in his hut.Animistic explanation does not always follow culture: Europe adheres to shape-changing. Yet in theVolsung Sagathe superstition is already degenerate: Sigmund and his son change into wolves by putting on wolf-skins belonging to two were-wolves whom they find asleep. This is a rationalisation—disguise as a step toward change. An earlier step is to say a man who would change must put on a belt of wolf-skin.

[320]In a paper onLeopard Men of the Naga Hills, read at a meeting of the R.A.I. (December 9, 1919), Mr. J. J. H. Hutton reported that such men do not change into leopards; but sometimes their souls involuntarily pass into them. If the leopard be injured or killed he whose soul was in it suffers or dies—when he hears of it. Such men are not feared, because their leopards do very little harm.

For this reason (I suppose) the belief is not exploited by wizards, who have no use for innocent superstition, and it remains pure folklore. There may not be any connexion between this animistic doctrine of human souls possessing animals and the magical doctrine of shape-changing. If they are connected, it is easy to see that in a certain atmosphere of popular philosophy, if shape-changing were believed in, the possession theory might be accepted as the true explanation upon merely being proposed. Indeed, it would make intelligible such a case as this: a man’s leopard is seen on the skirts of the village; but he himself is known to be in his hut.

Animistic explanation does not always follow culture: Europe adheres to shape-changing. Yet in theVolsung Sagathe superstition is already degenerate: Sigmund and his son change into wolves by putting on wolf-skins belonging to two were-wolves whom they find asleep. This is a rationalisation—disguise as a step toward change. An earlier step is to say a man who would change must put on a belt of wolf-skin.

[321]Haddon,Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. p. 329.

[321]Haddon,Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. p. 329.

[322]Grey,op. cit., “Legends of Maui and Tawhaki.”

[322]Grey,op. cit., “Legends of Maui and Tawhaki.”

[323]Wiedemann,Religion of the Ancient Egyptians, pp. 54-8.

[323]Wiedemann,Religion of the Ancient Egyptians, pp. 54-8.

[324]M. C. Stevenson, “The Sia,”Am. B. of Ethn., XI. p. 118.

[324]M. C. Stevenson, “The Sia,”Am. B. of Ethn., XI. p. 118.

[325]W. Grube,Rel. u. K. d. Chinese, p. 132.

[325]W. Grube,Rel. u. K. d. Chinese, p. 132.

[326]“Shamanism,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, ch. xxiv. p. 133.

[326]“Shamanism,”Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, ch. xxiv. p. 133.

[327]Stephánsen,My Life with the Eskimo, p. 391.

[327]Stephánsen,My Life with the Eskimo, p. 391.

[328]D. Comparetti,The Traditional Poetry of the Finns, p. 26.

[328]D. Comparetti,The Traditional Poetry of the Finns, p. 26.

[329]Natural and Social Morals, ch. ii. § 4.

[329]Natural and Social Morals, ch. ii. § 4.

[330]See many examples in J. G. Frazer’sTaboo and the Perils of the Soul, ch. i.

[330]See many examples in J. G. Frazer’sTaboo and the Perils of the Soul, ch. i.

[331]Ch. vi.

[331]Ch. vi.

[332]III. p. 31.

[332]III. p. 31.

[333]Macdonell,Sanskrit Literature, pp. 73 and 183.

[333]Macdonell,Sanskrit Literature, pp. 73 and 183.

[334]Maspero,The Dawn of Civilization, p. 124.

[334]Maspero,The Dawn of Civilization, p. 124.

[335]A. H. Sayce,Religion of the Ancient Babylonians, p. 319.

[335]A. H. Sayce,Religion of the Ancient Babylonians, p. 319.

[336]Religious Experience of the Roman People, p. 202.

[336]Religious Experience of the Roman People, p. 202.

[337]Alfred Lyall,Asiatic Studies, essays onThe State and Religion in China. In a milder form this system has been adopted by Japan; W. E. Aston,Shinto, p. 237.

[337]Alfred Lyall,Asiatic Studies, essays onThe State and Religion in China. In a milder form this system has been adopted by Japan; W. E. Aston,Shinto, p. 237.

[338]Franz Cumont,Astrology and Religion.

[338]Franz Cumont,Astrology and Religion.

[339]VI. c. 27 (Rawlinson’s Translation).

[339]VI. c. 27 (Rawlinson’s Translation).

[340]Williams,Fiji and the Fijians, p. 152.

[340]Williams,Fiji and the Fijians, p. 152.

[341]De Acosta,History of the Indies, VII. c. 23 (translated by C. R. Markham).

[341]De Acosta,History of the Indies, VII. c. 23 (translated by C. R. Markham).

[342]Spencer and Gillen,Across Australia, p. 220.

[342]Spencer and Gillen,Across Australia, p. 220.

[343]Book I. cc. 7-10.

[343]Book I. cc. 7-10.

[344]Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, VI. p. 260.

[344]Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, VI. p. 260.

[345]W. R. Halliday,Greek Divination, p. 15.

[345]W. R. Halliday,Greek Divination, p. 15.

[346]Historia Naturalis, XXVII. p. 4.

[346]Historia Naturalis, XXVII. p. 4.

[347]Suetonius:Julius, c. 59.

[347]Suetonius:Julius, c. 59.

[348]Hose and McDougall,Pagan Tribes of Borneo, II. pp. 56-64.

[348]Hose and McDougall,Pagan Tribes of Borneo, II. pp. 56-64.

[349]Northern Tribes of Central Australia, p. 266.

[349]Northern Tribes of Central Australia, p. 266.

[350]Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. p. 361; VI. p. 259.

[350]Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. p. 361; VI. p. 259.

[351]Seligman,Mel. of B. N. G., p. 309.

[351]Seligman,Mel. of B. N. G., p. 309.

[352]De Divinatione, I. c. 19.

[352]De Divinatione, I. c. 19.

[353]An infallible sign is, in Formal Logic, the same as a cause, according to the schemeIf A, then B; and it is conceivable that, with strict thinking, a belief in an Omen may give rise to a magical practice. “For,” says Lord Avebury, “granted that the fall of a stick certainly preludes that of the person it represents, it follows that by upsetting the stick his death can be caused” (Origin of Civilisation, p. 166). I do not see why such an inference should not be drawn, but can give no example of it. The possibility shows how much community there is between Magic and the lore of Omens; but as to this particular case, the magical cast of mind is already implied in the original setting up of the stick whose fall should prelude that of a given individual.

[353]An infallible sign is, in Formal Logic, the same as a cause, according to the schemeIf A, then B; and it is conceivable that, with strict thinking, a belief in an Omen may give rise to a magical practice. “For,” says Lord Avebury, “granted that the fall of a stick certainly preludes that of the person it represents, it follows that by upsetting the stick his death can be caused” (Origin of Civilisation, p. 166). I do not see why such an inference should not be drawn, but can give no example of it. The possibility shows how much community there is between Magic and the lore of Omens; but as to this particular case, the magical cast of mind is already implied in the original setting up of the stick whose fall should prelude that of a given individual.

[354]Coddrington,The Melanesians, p. 123.

[354]Coddrington,The Melanesians, p. 123.

[355]A. W. Howitt,Native Tribes of South-East Australia, p. 401.

[355]A. W. Howitt,Native Tribes of South-East Australia, p. 401.

[356]Quoted by Frazer,Totemism and Exogamy, I. pp. 489 and 495.

[356]Quoted by Frazer,Totemism and Exogamy, I. pp. 489 and 495.

[357]A. W. Howitt,op. cit., p. 389.

[357]A. W. Howitt,op. cit., p. 389.

[358]C. G. Seligman,op. cit., p. 188.

[358]C. G. Seligman,op. cit., p. 188.

[359]VII. c. 16.

[359]VII. c. 16.

[360]The poet is closely allied at first to the wizard; for (besides that the greatest spells and oracles are versified) the poet is inspired. In Australia poets are sometimes carried by ghosts into skyland, where they learn songs and dances. Some compose awake; but the belief prevails that they are inspired in dreams by dead and kindred spirits. Their songs travel far amongst tribes that no longer understand the language. (Howitt,Native Tribes of South-East Australia, pp. 389 and 413.) Similarly in Fiji (Fiji and the Fijians, p. 98). “The poem is too wonderful for me”—such is the poet’s humility; “it was made by the gods”—such is his arrogance.

[360]The poet is closely allied at first to the wizard; for (besides that the greatest spells and oracles are versified) the poet is inspired. In Australia poets are sometimes carried by ghosts into skyland, where they learn songs and dances. Some compose awake; but the belief prevails that they are inspired in dreams by dead and kindred spirits. Their songs travel far amongst tribes that no longer understand the language. (Howitt,Native Tribes of South-East Australia, pp. 389 and 413.) Similarly in Fiji (Fiji and the Fijians, p. 98). “The poem is too wonderful for me”—such is the poet’s humility; “it was made by the gods”—such is his arrogance.

[361]Spencer and Gillen,Native Tribes of Central Australia, p. 526.

[361]Spencer and Gillen,Native Tribes of Central Australia, p. 526.

[362]Tylor,Primitive Culture, I. p. 125.

[362]Tylor,Primitive Culture, I. p. 125.

[363]Casalis,Les Bassoutos, pp. 299 and 340.

[363]Casalis,Les Bassoutos, pp. 299 and 340.

[364]Jounod,Life of a South African Tribe, I. 361. This “medicine” is the chief’s great store of magical force: its principal ingredients are the nails and hair of chiefs deceased, fixed together by a kind of wax.

[364]Jounod,Life of a South African Tribe, I. 361. This “medicine” is the chief’s great store of magical force: its principal ingredients are the nails and hair of chiefs deceased, fixed together by a kind of wax.

[365]Callaway,Religion of the Amazulu, p. 417.

[365]Callaway,Religion of the Amazulu, p. 417.

[366]W. Ellis,Polynesian Researches, II. p. 235.

[366]W. Ellis,Polynesian Researches, II. p. 235.

[367]De Div., II. c. 57.

[367]De Div., II. c. 57.

[368]Thomas Williams,Fiji and the Fijians, p. 190.

[368]Thomas Williams,Fiji and the Fijians, p. 190.

[369]Pausanias, IX. c. 10 (Frazer’s Translation).

[369]Pausanias, IX. c. 10 (Frazer’s Translation).

[370]Pausanias, I. p. 34.

[370]Pausanias, I. p. 34.

[371]Ibid., IX. p. 30.

[371]Ibid., IX. p. 30.

[372]Spencer and Gillen,Native Tribes of Central Australia, p. 523.

[372]Spencer and Gillen,Native Tribes of Central Australia, p. 523.

[373]A. W. Howitt,op. cit., p. 404.

[373]A. W. Howitt,op. cit., p. 404.

[374]Langloh Parker,The Euahlayi, p. 25.

[374]Langloh Parker,The Euahlayi, p. 25.

[375]Northern Tribes of Central Australia, p. 181.

[375]Northern Tribes of Central Australia, p. 181.

[376]Native Tribes of South-East Australia, p. 367.

[376]Native Tribes of South-East Australia, p. 367.

[377]This is unjust to the Australians. Amongst the Dieri (L. Eyre) wizards with renewed entrails communicate with supernatural beings, interpret dreams and discover murderers; but they also recognise spiritual communication with ordinary men in visions; not ordinary dreams, which are mere fancies, but those that are repeated; and these come from Kutchi, an evil spirit (Howitt,op. cit., p. 358). We may be sure the Greeks were mistaken in supposing that it was Amphiaraus who instituted divination by dreams.

[377]This is unjust to the Australians. Amongst the Dieri (L. Eyre) wizards with renewed entrails communicate with supernatural beings, interpret dreams and discover murderers; but they also recognise spiritual communication with ordinary men in visions; not ordinary dreams, which are mere fancies, but those that are repeated; and these come from Kutchi, an evil spirit (Howitt,op. cit., p. 358). We may be sure the Greeks were mistaken in supposing that it was Amphiaraus who instituted divination by dreams.

[378]Herodotus, I. cc. 107, 28.

[378]Herodotus, I. cc. 107, 28.

[379]W. E. Roth,Ethnological Studies, p. 154.

[379]W. E. Roth,Ethnological Studies, p. 154.

[380]Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 193.

[380]Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 193.

[381]De Div., II. cc. 33, 35.

[381]De Div., II. cc. 33, 35.

[382]Polybius, VI. c. 2.

[382]Polybius, VI. c. 2.

[383]Discourses, II. c. 7.

[383]Discourses, II. c. 7.

[384]De Div., II. c. 17; cf. c. 49.

[384]De Div., II. c. 17; cf. c. 49.

[385]Life of a South African Tribe, p. 521.

[385]Life of a South African Tribe, p. 521.

[386]Questiones Naturales, II. c. 32.

[386]Questiones Naturales, II. c. 32.

[387]De Div., I. c. 15.

[387]De Div., I. c. 15.

[388]Les Bassoutos, p. 248.

[388]Les Bassoutos, p. 248.

[389]Ling Roth,The Aborigines of Tasmania, p. 65.

[389]Ling Roth,The Aborigines of Tasmania, p. 65.

[390]Spencer and Gillen,Across Australia, p. 336.

[390]Spencer and Gillen,Across Australia, p. 336.

[391]Czaplicka,Aboriginal Siberia, p. 177.

[391]Czaplicka,Aboriginal Siberia, p. 177.

[392]The political importance of the wizard seems to have been first noticed by Spencer,Principles of Sociology, II. p. 178 (§ 474).

[392]The political importance of the wizard seems to have been first noticed by Spencer,Principles of Sociology, II. p. 178 (§ 474).

[393]Bellamy, quoted by Seligman,Melanesians of British North Guinea, p. 694.

[393]Bellamy, quoted by Seligman,Melanesians of British North Guinea, p. 694.

[394]Religion of the Amazulu, p. 40.

[394]Religion of the Amazulu, p. 40.

[395]Dudley Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 114.

[395]Dudley Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 114.

[396]Czaplicka,Aboriginal Siberia, p. 191.

[396]Czaplicka,Aboriginal Siberia, p. 191.

[397]E. Westermarck,The Origin and Development of Moral Ideas, ch. xlix.

[397]E. Westermarck,The Origin and Development of Moral Ideas, ch. xlix.

[398]The Sacred Shrine.

[398]The Sacred Shrine.

[399]Report of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. pp. 322-3.

[399]Report of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. pp. 322-3.

[400]Rivers,History of Melanesian Sociology.

[400]Rivers,History of Melanesian Sociology.

[401]Am. B. of Ethn., VII., “Ojibway Medicine,” by W. J. Hoffman; XI., “The Sia,” by M. C. Stevenson; XIV., “The Menomini Indians,” by W. Hoffman. For a collection of the facts see Frazer,Totemism and Exogamy, IV. ch. xix; and Hutton Webster,Primitive Secret Societies.

[401]Am. B. of Ethn., VII., “Ojibway Medicine,” by W. J. Hoffman; XI., “The Sia,” by M. C. Stevenson; XIV., “The Menomini Indians,” by W. Hoffman. For a collection of the facts see Frazer,Totemism and Exogamy, IV. ch. xix; and Hutton Webster,Primitive Secret Societies.

[402]Report of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, VI. p. 200.

[402]Report of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, VI. p. 200.

[403]Op. cit., p. 278.

[403]Op. cit., p. 278.

[404]Among Congo Cannibals, p. 251.

[404]Among Congo Cannibals, p. 251.

[405]Spencer and Gillen,Across Australia, p. 326.

[405]Spencer and Gillen,Across Australia, p. 326.

[406]Book VII. The witch, imitated from Circe and Medea by Ariosto, Tasso, Spenser, became a traditionary, romantic motive.

[406]Book VII. The witch, imitated from Circe and Medea by Ariosto, Tasso, Spenser, became a traditionary, romantic motive.

[407]Howitt,Native Tribes of South-East Australia, p. 388.

[407]Howitt,Native Tribes of South-East Australia, p. 388.

[408]Stefánson,op. cit., p. 403.

[408]Stefánson,op. cit., p. 403.

[409]Czaplicka,op. cit., p. 240.

[409]Czaplicka,op. cit., p. 240.

[410]Across Australia, p. 51.

[410]Across Australia, p. 51.

[411]Op. cit., p. 184.

[411]Op. cit., p. 184.

[412]Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle, II. p. 178.

[412]Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle, II. p. 178.

[413]The Primitive Bakongo, p. 216.

[413]The Primitive Bakongo, p. 216.

[414]Journal of the Anthropological Institute, XXIV., “Shamanism,” p. 144.

[414]Journal of the Anthropological Institute, XXIV., “Shamanism,” p. 144.

[415]Among the Indians of Guiana, p. 335.

[415]Among the Indians of Guiana, p. 335.

[416]Am. B. of Ethn., “Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees,” by J. Mooney, p. 323.

[416]Am. B. of Ethn., “Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees,” by J. Mooney, p. 323.

[417]W. Mariner’sAccount of the Tonga Islands, ch. xxi.

[417]W. Mariner’sAccount of the Tonga Islands, ch. xxi.

[418]Am. B. of Ethn., IX., “Medicine Men of the Apache,” by J. E. Bourke, p. 471.

[418]Am. B. of Ethn., IX., “Medicine Men of the Apache,” by J. E. Bourke, p. 471.

[419]Dudley Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 135.

[419]Dudley Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 135.

[420]Travels and Researches in South Africa, ch. i.

[420]Travels and Researches in South Africa, ch. i.

[421]J. Shakespeare,The Lushai Kuki Clans, p. 80.

[421]J. Shakespeare,The Lushai Kuki Clans, p. 80.

[422]Hose and McDougall,Pagan Tribes of Borneo, p. 120, andAm. B. of Ethn., XI. p. 417; XIV. pp. 97, 148.

[422]Hose and McDougall,Pagan Tribes of Borneo, p. 120, andAm. B. of Ethn., XI. p. 417; XIV. pp. 97, 148.

[423]D. Comparetti,The Traditional Poetry of the Finns, pp. 27 and 25.

[423]D. Comparetti,The Traditional Poetry of the Finns, pp. 27 and 25.

[424]Rhys,Celtic Heathendom, pp. 548-50.

[424]Rhys,Celtic Heathendom, pp. 548-50.

[425]The crystals forced into a wizard’s body, whether by spirits or by other wizards, are essential to his profession, and if they leave him his power is lost. “It is the possession of these stones which gives his virtue to the medicine-man” (Spencer and Gillen,Northern Tribes of Central Australia, p. 480 note). John Mathew says that, according to the belief of the Kabi (Queensland): “A man’s power in the occult art would appear to be proportioned to his vitality, and the degree of vitality which he possessed depended upon the number of sacred pebbles and the quantity ofyurru(rope) which he carried within him” (Eagle-hawk and Crow, p. 143). “Rope” was the property of the higher grade of medicine-men (substitute for snakes?), who had obtained it from the Rainbow in exchange for some of their pebbles. Certain pebbles, especially crystals, are independent magic-powers throughout Australasia and elsewhere, probably of much older repute than the profession of wizardry; and the wizard gets his personal power by having them inside him. Similarly, Jounod describes Bantu wizards as “endowed with magical power, or rather possessing enchanted drugs” (Life of a South African Tribe, p. 293): whereas we are often told that the occult art begins with the extraordinary personality of the wizard.

[425]The crystals forced into a wizard’s body, whether by spirits or by other wizards, are essential to his profession, and if they leave him his power is lost. “It is the possession of these stones which gives his virtue to the medicine-man” (Spencer and Gillen,Northern Tribes of Central Australia, p. 480 note). John Mathew says that, according to the belief of the Kabi (Queensland): “A man’s power in the occult art would appear to be proportioned to his vitality, and the degree of vitality which he possessed depended upon the number of sacred pebbles and the quantity ofyurru(rope) which he carried within him” (Eagle-hawk and Crow, p. 143). “Rope” was the property of the higher grade of medicine-men (substitute for snakes?), who had obtained it from the Rainbow in exchange for some of their pebbles. Certain pebbles, especially crystals, are independent magic-powers throughout Australasia and elsewhere, probably of much older repute than the profession of wizardry; and the wizard gets his personal power by having them inside him. Similarly, Jounod describes Bantu wizards as “endowed with magical power, or rather possessing enchanted drugs” (Life of a South African Tribe, p. 293): whereas we are often told that the occult art begins with the extraordinary personality of the wizard.

[426]Native Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 522-9.

[426]Native Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 522-9.

[427]Spencer and Gillen,Northern Tribes of Central Australia, p. 485.

[427]Spencer and Gillen,Northern Tribes of Central Australia, p. 485.

[428]Haddon,Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. p. 321.

[428]Haddon,Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. p. 321.

[429]E. im Thurn,The Indians of Guiana, p. 334.

[429]E. im Thurn,The Indians of Guiana, p. 334.

[430]Thomas Whiffen,The North-West Amazons, p. 181.

[430]Thomas Whiffen,The North-West Amazons, p. 181.

[431]Dudley Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 156.

[431]Dudley Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 156.

[432]Journal of the Anthropological Institute, XXIV., “Shamanism,” pp. 87-90.

[432]Journal of the Anthropological Institute, XXIV., “Shamanism,” pp. 87-90.

[433]Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. p. 322.

[433]Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, V. p. 322.

[434]J. G. Frazer,Belief in Immortality, p. 334.

[434]J. G. Frazer,Belief in Immortality, p. 334.

[435]W. H. R. Rivers,The Todas, pp. 256-7.

[435]W. H. R. Rivers,The Todas, pp. 256-7.

[436]Belief in Immortality, pp. 249, 269.

[436]Belief in Immortality, pp. 249, 269.

[437]For examples see Weeks,The Primitive Bakongo, p. 204; Dudley Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 149; Callaway,Religion of the Amazulu, p. 391; Hose and McDougall,The Pagan Tribes of Borneo, II. p. 115; Turner,Samoa, p. 342;Shamanism, p. 130; Carl Lumholtz,New Trails in Mexico, p. 24; T. A. Joyce,South American Archæology, p. 245; E. Westermarck,Origin and Development of Moral Ideas, II. pp. 650-2.

[437]For examples see Weeks,The Primitive Bakongo, p. 204; Dudley Kidd,The Essential Kafir, p. 149; Callaway,Religion of the Amazulu, p. 391; Hose and McDougall,The Pagan Tribes of Borneo, II. p. 115; Turner,Samoa, p. 342;Shamanism, p. 130; Carl Lumholtz,New Trails in Mexico, p. 24; T. A. Joyce,South American Archæology, p. 245; E. Westermarck,Origin and Development of Moral Ideas, II. pp. 650-2.

[438]Callaway,Religion of the Amazulu, pp. 384-6 and 404.

[438]Callaway,Religion of the Amazulu, pp. 384-6 and 404.

[439]Franz Boas, “The Central Esquimo,”Am. B. of Ethn., VI. (1884-5), p. 603.

[439]Franz Boas, “The Central Esquimo,”Am. B. of Ethn., VI. (1884-5), p. 603.

[440]W. W. Skeat,Malay Magic, p. 571.

[440]W. W. Skeat,Malay Magic, p. 571.

[441]A. Wiedemann,The Religion of the Egyptians, pp. 273-4.

[441]A. Wiedemann,The Religion of the Egyptians, pp. 273-4.

[442]A. M. Czaplicka,Aboriginal Siberia, p. 178.

[442]A. M. Czaplicka,Aboriginal Siberia, p. 178.

[443]J. G. Frazer,Psyche’s Task.

[443]J. G. Frazer,Psyche’s Task.

[444]Pp. 138-9.

[444]Pp. 138-9.

[445]Rivers,History of Melanesian Sociology, II. p. 156.

[445]Rivers,History of Melanesian Sociology, II. p. 156.


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