CHAPTER VII—Incarnate Human Gods

[1315] A reminiscence of this evolution is preserved in the Brahman theology, according to which the gods were at first mortal and dwelt on earth with men, but afterwards attained immortality and ascended to heaven by means of sacrifice. See S. Lévi, _La Doctrine du sacrifice dans les Brâhmanas_ (Paris, 1898), pp. 37–43, 59–61, 84 _sq._

[1316] See above, pp. 240–242.

[1317] Monier Williams, _Religious Life and Thought in India_, p. 268. However, as to the son of the carpenter it is said that “his followers scarcely worshipped him as a god, yet they fully believed in his power of working miracles.”

[1318] W. Ellis, _Polynesian Researches_, Second Edition (London, 1832–36), i. 372–5.

[1319] W. W. Gill, _Myths and Songs of the South Pacific_ (London, 1876), p. 35.

[1320] Rev. Lorimer Fison, in a letter to the author, dated August 26, 1898.

[1321] F. A. Liefrinck, “Bijdrage tot de Kennis van het eiland Bali,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xxxiii. (1890) pp. 260 _sq._

[1322] A. C. Kruijt, “Mijne eerste ervaringen te Poso,” _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xxxvi. (1892) pp. 399–403.

[1323] _Satapatha-Brâhmana_, part ii. pp. 4, 38, 42, 44, translated by J. Eggeling (_Sacred Books of the East_, vol. xxvi.).

[1324] _Op. cit._ p. 20.

[1325] _Op. cit._ p. 29.

[1326] _Satapatha-Brâhmana_, part i. p. 4, translated by J. Eggeling (_Sacred Books of the East_, vol. xii.). On the deification of the sacrificer in the Brahman ritual see H. Hubert and M. Mauss, “Essai sur le sacrifice,” _L’Année sociologique_, ii. (1897–1898), pp. 48 _sqq._

[1327] S. Lévi, _La Doctrine du sacrifice dans les Brâhmanas_ (Paris, 1898), pp. 102–108; Hubert and Mauss, _loc. cit._; _Satapatha-Brâhmana_, trans. by J. Eggeling, part ii. pp. 18–20, 25–35, 73, part v. pp. 23 _sq._ (_Sacred Books of the East_, vols. xxvi. and xliv.).

[1328] See for examples E. B. Tylor, _Primitive Culture_,² ii. 131 _sq._

[1329] Pausanias, ii. 24. 1. In 1902 the site of the temple was identified by means of inscriptions which mention the oracle. See _Berliner philologische Wochenschrift_, April 11, 1903, coll. 478 _sq._

[1330] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxviii. 147. Pausanias (vii. 25. 13) mentions the draught of bull’s blood as an ordeal to test the chastity of the priestess. Doubtless it was thought to serve both purposes.

[1331] Bishop R. Caldwell, “On Demonolatry in Southern India,” _Journal of the Anthropological Society of Bombay_, i. 101 _sq._ For a description of a similar rite performed at Periepatam in southern India see _Lettres édifiantes et curieuses_, Nouvelle Edition, x. 313 _sq._ In this latter case the performer was a woman, and the animal whose hot blood she drank was a pig.

[1332] E. Thurston, _Castes and Tribes of Southern India_, iv. 187.

[1333] J. G. F. Riedel, “De Minahasa in 1825,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xviii. 517 _sq._ Compare “De godsdienst en godsdienst-plegtigheden der Alfoeren in de Menhassa op het eiland Celebes,” _Tijdschrift van Nederlandsch Indië_, 1849, dl. ii. p. 395; N. Graafland, _De Minahassa_, i. 122; J. Dumont D’Urville, _Voyage autour du monde et à la recherche de La Perouse_, v. 443.

[1334] F. J. Mone, _Geschichte des Heidenthums im nördlichen Europa_ (Leipsic and Darmstadt, 1822–23), i. 188.

[1335] J. Biddulph, _Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh_ (Calcutta, 1880), p. 96. For other instances of priests or representatives of the deity drinking the warm blood of the victim, compare H. A. Oldfield, _Sketches from Nipal_ (London, 1880), ii. 296 _sq._; _Asiatic Researches_, iv. pp. 40, 41, 50, 52 (8vo ed.); Paul Soleillet, _L’Afrique Occidentale_ (Paris, 1877), pp. 123 _sq._ To snuff up the savour of the sacrifice was similarly supposed to produce inspiration (Tertullian, _Apologet._ 23).

[1336] C. F. Oldham, “The Nagas,” _Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for 1901_ (London, 1901), pp. 463, 465 _sq._, 467, 470 _sq._ The Takhas worship the cobra, and Mr. Oldham believes them to be descended from the Nagas of the _Mahabharata_.

[1337] Maimonides, quoted by D. Chwolsohn, _Die Ssabier und der Ssabismus_ (St. Petersburg, 1856), ii. 480 _sq._

[1338] J. Biddulph, _Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh_, p. 97.

[1339] Lucian, _Bis accus._ 1; J. Tzetzes, _Schol. on Lycophron_, 6; Plutarch, _De E apud Delphos_, 2; _id._, _De Pythiae oraculis_, 6.

[1340] Plutarch, _Quaestiones Romanae_, 112.

[1341] Rev. J. Roscoe, “Further Notes on the Manners and Customs of the Baganda,” _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxii. (1902) p. 42.

[1342] C. Lekkerkerker, “Enkele opmerkingen over sporen van Shamanisme bij Madoereezen en Javanen,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xlv. (1902) pp. 282–284.

[1343] H. Vambery, _Das Türkenvolk_ (Leipsic, 1885), p. 158.

[1344] Plutarch, _De defect. oracul._ 46, 49, 51. The Greeks themselves seem commonly to have interpreted the shaking or nodding of the victim’s head as a token that the animal consented to be sacrificed. See Plutarch, _Quaest. conviv._ viii. 8. 7; Scholiast on Aristophanes, _Peace_, 960; Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, _Argon._ i. 425; and this explanation has been adopted by modern interpreters. See A. Willems, _Notes sur la Paix d’Aristophane_ (Brussels, 1899), pp. 30–33; E. Monseur, in _Bulletin de Folklore_, 1903, pp. 216–229. But this interpretation can hardly be extended to the case of the Delphic victim which was expected to shake all over. The theory of possession applies equally to that and to the other cases, and is therefore preferable. The theory of consent may have been invented when the older view had ceased to be held and was forgotten.

[1345] D. Chwolsohn, _Die Ssabier und der Ssabismus_, ii. 37; _Lettres édifiantes et curieuses_, xvi. 230 _sq._; E. T. Atkinson, _The Himalayan Districts of the North-Western Provinces of India_, ii. (Allahabad, 1884) p. 827; _Panjab Notes and Queries_, iii. p. 171, § 721; _North Indian Notes and Queries_, i. p. 3, § 4; W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India_ (Westminster, 1896), i. 263; _Indian Antiquary_, xxviii. (1899) p. 161; _Journal of the Anthropological Society of Bombay_, i. 103; S. Mateer, _The Land of Charity_, p. 216; _id._, _Native Life in Travancore_, p. 94; E. T. Thurston, _Castes and Tribes of Southern India_, iii. 466, 469; Sir A. C. Lyall, _Asiatic Studies_, First Series (London, 1899), p. 19; J. Biddulph, _Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh_, p. 131; P. S. Pallas, _Reisen in verschiedenen Provinzen des russischen Reiches_, i. 91; H. Vambery, _Das Türkenvolk_, p. 485; Erman, _Archiv für wissenschaftliche Kunde von Russland_, i. 377; “Über die Religion der heidnischen Tscheremissen im Gouvernement Kasan,” _Zeitschrift für allgemeine Erdkunde_, N.F. iii. (1857) p. 153; _Globus_, lxvii. (1895) p. 366. When the Rao of Kachh sacrifices a buffalo, water is sprinkled between its horns; if it shakes its head, it is unsuitable; if it nods its head, it is sacrificed (_Panjab Notes and Queries_, i. p. 120, § 911). This is probably a modern misinterpretation of the old custom.

[1346] Sir George Scott Robertson, _The Kafirs of the Hindu Kush_ (London, 1896), p. 423.

[1347] J. Moura, _Le Royaume du Cambodge_ (Paris, 1883), i. 177 _sq._ The practice in Tonquin is similar, except that there the person possessed seems only to give oracles. See _Annales de l’Association de la Propagation de la Foi_, iv. (1830) pp. 331 _sq._

[1348] Pausanias, x. 32, 6. Coins of Magnesia exhibit on the reverse a man carrying an uprooted tree. See F. B. Baker, in _Numismatic Chronicle_, Third Series, xii. (1892) pp. 89 _sqq._ Mr. Baker suggests that the custom may be a relic of ancient tree-worship.

[1349] C. S. Stewart, _A Visit to the South Seas_ (London, 1832), i. 244 _sq._; Vincendon-Dumoulin et C. Desgraz, _Îles Marquises ou Nouka-Hiva_ (Paris, 1843), pp. 226, 240 _sq._ Compare Mathias G * * * , _Lettres sur les Îles Marquises_ (Paris, 1843), pp. 44 _sq._ The general name applied to these human gods was _atuas_, which, “with scarce a modification, is the term used in all the Polynesian dialects to designate the ideal beings worshipped as gods, in the system of polytheism existing among the people. At the Washington Islands, as at other groups, the atuas, or false gods of the inhabitants, are numerous and vary in their character and powers. Besides those having dominion respectively, as is supposed, over the different elements and their most striking phenomena, there are atuas of the mountain and of the forest, of the seaside and of the interior, atuas of peace and of war, of the song and of the dance, and of all the occupations and amusements of life. It is supposed by them that many of the departed spirits of men also become atuas: and thus the multiplicity of their gods is such, that almost every sound in nature, from the roaring of the tempest in the mountains and the bursting of a thunderbolt in the clouds, to the sighing of a breeze through the cocoa-nut tops and the chirping of an insect in the grass or in the thatch of their huts, is interpreted into the movements of a god” (C. S. Stewart, _op. cit._ i. 243 _sq._). The missionary referred to in the text, who described one of the human gods from personal observation, was the Rev. Mr. Crooke of the London Missionary Society, who resided in the island of Tahuata in 1797. On the deification of living men see Lord Avebury (Sir John Lubbock), _Origin of Civilisation_⁴ (London, 1882), pp. 354 _sqq._

[1350] J. A. Moerenhout, _Voyages aux Îles du Grand Océan_ (Paris, 1837), i. 479; W. Ellis, _Polynesian Researches_, Second Edition (London, 1832–1836), iii. 94.

[1351] D. Tyerman and G. Bennet, _Journal of Voyages and Travels in the South Sea Islands, China, India, etc._ (London, 1831), i. 524; compare _ibid._ pp. 529 _sq._

[1352] Tyerman and Bennet, _op. cit._ i. 529 _sq._

[1353] W. Ellis, _Polynesian Researches_,² iii. 108. The Ethnological Museum at Berlin possesses a magnificent robe of red and yellow feathers with a feather helmet, also two very handsome tippets of the same materials. They were the insignia of the royal family of Hawaii, and might be worn by no one else.

[1354] J. Williams, _Narrative of Missionary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands_ (London, 1838), pp. 471 _sq._

[1355] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iii. 113 _sq._

[1356] Missionary Chevron, in _Annales de la Propagation de la Foi_, xv. (1843) p. 37. Compare _id._ xiii. (1841) p. 378.

[1357] G. Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 37, 48, 57, 58, 59, 73.

[1358] Hazlewood, in J. E. Erskine’s _Cruise among the Islands of the Western Pacific_ (London, 1853), pp. 246 _sq._ Compare Ch. Wilkes, _Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition_, New Edition (New York, 1851), iii. 87; Th. Williams, _Fiji and the Fijians_,² i. 219 _sq._; R. H. Codrington, _The Melanesians_, p. 122. “A great chief [in Fiji] really believed himself to be a god—_i.e._ a reincarnation of an ancestor who had grown into a god” (Rev. Lorimer Fison, in a letter to the author, dated August 26, 1898).

[1359] J. Kubary, “Die Religion der Pelauer,” in A. Bastian’s _Allerlei aus Volks- und Menschenkunde_ (Berlin, 1888), i. 30 _sqq._

[1360] Porphyry, _De abstinentia_, iv. 9; Eusebius, _Praeparatio Evangelii_, iii. 12; compare Minucius Felix, _Octavius_, 29. The titles of the nomarchs or provincial governors of Egypt seem to shew that they were all originally worshipped as gods by their subjects (A. Wiedemann, _Die Religion der alten Ägypter_, p. 93; _id._ “Menschenvergötterung im alten Ägypten,” _Am Urquell_, N.F. i. (1897) pp. 290 _sq._).

[1361] Diogenes Laertius, _Vit. Philosoph._ viii. 59–62; _Fragmenta philosophorum Graecorum_, ed. F. G. A. Mullach, i. pp. 12, 14; H. Diels, _Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker_,² i. (Berlin, 1906), p. 205. I owe this and the following case of a human god to a lecture on Greek religion by my friend Professor H. Diels, which I was privileged to hear at Berlin in December 1902.

[1362] Plutarch, _Demetrius_, 10–13; Athenaeus, vi. 62 _sq._, pp. 253 _sq._ Apparently the giddy young man submitted to deification with a better grace than his rough old father Antigonus; who, when a poet called him a god and a child of the sun, bluntly remarked, “That’s not my valet’s opinion of me.” See Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 24. For more evidence of the deification of living men among the Greeks see Mr. A. B. Cook, in _Folk-lore_, xv. (1904) pp. 299 _sqq._

[1363] Tacitus, _Germania_, 8; _id._, _Histor._ iv. 61; Clement of Alexandria, _Strom._ i. 15. 72, p. 360, ed. Potter; Caesar, _Bell. Gall._ i. 50.

[1364] Tacitus, _Germania_, 8; _id._, _Histor._ iv. 61, 65, v. 22. Compare K. Müllenhoff, _Deutsche Altertumskunde_, iv. 208 _sqq._

[1365] Strabo, vii. 3, 5, pp. 297 _sq._

[1366] J. Dos Santos, “Eastern Ethiopia,” in G. M’Call Theal’s _Records of South-Eastern Africa_, vii. (1901) pp. 190 _sq._, 199.

[1367] J. Dos Santos, _op. cit._ p. 295.

[1368] F. S. Arnot, _Garengauze; or, Seven Years’ Pioneer Mission Work in Central Africa_ (London, N.D., preface, dated March 1889), p. 78.

[1369] _Zeitschrift für allgemeine Erdkunde_, vi. (1856) pp. 273 _sq._ This is from a German abstract (pp. 257–313, 369–420) of a work, which embodies the results of a Portuguese expedition conducted by Major Monteiro in 1831 and 1832. The territory of the Maraves is described as bounded on the south by the Zambesi and on the east by the Portuguese possessions. Probably things have changed greatly in the seventy years which have elapsed since the expedition.

[1370] G. W. H. Knight-Bruce, _Memories of Mashonaland_ (London and New York, 1895), p. 43; _id._, in _Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society_, 1890, pp. 346 _sq._

[1371] Father Croonenberghs, “La Mission du Zambèze,” _Missions Catholiques_, xiv. (1882) pp. 452 _sq._

[1372] Ch. L. Norris Newman, _Matabeleland and how we got it_ (London, 1895), pp. 167 _sq._ These particulars were communicated to Captain Newman by Mr. W. E. Thomas, son of the first missionary to Matabeleland.

[1373] _Annales de la Propagation de la Foi_, lii. (1880) pp. 443–445. Compare Father Croonenberghs, “La Mission du Zambèze,” _Missions Catholiques_, xiv. (1882) p. 452.

[1374] R. W. Felkin, “Notes on the Waganda Tribe of Central Africa,” _Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh_, xiii. (1885–86) p. 762; C. T. Wilson and R. W. Felkin, _Uganda and the Egyptian Soudan_, i. 206; J. Macdonald, _Religion and Myth_, pp. 15 _sq._

[1375] V. L. Cameron, _Across Africa_ (London, 1877), ii. 69.

[1376] Mgr. Massaja, in _Annales de la Propagation de la Foi_, xxx. (1858) p. 51.

[1377] “The Strange Adventures of Andrew Battel,” in Pinkerton’s _Voyages and Travels_, xvi. 330; Proyart, “History of Loango, Kakongo, and other Kingdoms in Africa,” in Pinkerton, _op. cit._ xvi. 577; O. Dapper, _Description de l’Afrique_, p. 335.

[1378] Ogilby, _Africa_, p. 615; Dapper, _op. cit._ p. 400.

[1379] J. Adams, _Sketches taken during ten Voyages to Africa_, p. 29; _id._, _Remarks on the Country extending from Cape Palmas to the River Congo_ (London, 1823), p. 111. Compare “My Wanderings in Africa,” by an F.R.G.S. [R. F. Burton], _Fraser’s Magazine_, lxvii. (April 1863) p. 414.

[1380] W. Allen and T. R. H. Thomson, _Narrative of the Expedition to the River Niger in 1841_ (London, 1848), i. 288. A slight mental confusion may perhaps be detected in this utterance of the dark-skinned deity. But such confusion, or rather obscurity, is almost inseparable from any attempt to define with philosophic precision the profound mystery of incarnation.

[1381] J. Spieth, _Die Ewe-Stämme_ (Berlin, 1906), p. 419.

[1382] Rev. J. Sibree, “Curiosities of Words connected with Royalty and Chieftainship,” _Antananarivo Annual and Madagascar Magazine_, No. xi. (1887) p. 302; _id._ in _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxi. (1892) p. 218.

[1383] Rev. J. Sibree, in _Antananarivo Annual and Madagascar Magazine_, No. xi. (1887) p. 307; _id._ in _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxi. (1892) p. 225.

[1384] V. Noel, “Île de Madagascar: recherches sur les Sakkalava,” _Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_ (Paris), Deuxième Série, xx. (1843) p. 56.

[1385] W. W. Skeat, _Malay Magic_, pp. 23 _sq._

[1386] T. J. Newbold, _Political and Statistical Account of the British Settlement in the Straits of Malacca_, ii. 193. See above, pp. 362–364.

[1387] W. W. Skeat, _op. cit._ p. 29.

[1388] G. K. N[iemann], “Bijdrage tot de Kennis van den Godsdienst der Bataks,” _Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch-Indië_, iii. Serie, iv. (1870) pp. 289 _sq._; B. Hagen, “Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Battareligion,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xxviii. 537 _sq._; G. A. Wilken, “Het animisme,” _De Indische Gids_, July 1884, p. 85; _id._, _Handleiding voor de vergelijkende Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië_ (Leyden, 1893), pp. 369 _sq._, 612; J. Freiherr von Brenner, _Besuch bei den Kannibalen Sumatras_ (Würzburg, 1894), pp. 340.

[1389] W. Marsden, _History of Sumatra_ (London, 1811), pp. 376 _sq._

[1390] A. C. Kruijt, “Van Paloppo naar Posso,” _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xlii. (1898) p. 22.

[1391] F. Valentyn, _Oud en nieuw Oost-Indiën_, iii. 7 _sq._

[1392] J. Boot, “Korte schets der noordkust van Ceram,” _Tijdschrift van het Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig Genootschap_, Tweede Serie, x. (1893) pp. 1198 _sq._

[1393] Sangermano, _Description of the Burmese Empire_ (reprinted at Rangoon, 1885), pp. 63 _sq._

[1394] E. Aymonier, _Le Cambodge_, ii. (Paris, 1901) p. 25.

[1395] E. Young, _The Kingdom of the Yellow Robe_ (Westminster, 1898), pp. 142 _sq._ Similarly, special sets of terms are or have been used with reference to persons of royal blood in Burma (Forbes, _British Burma_, pp. 71 _sq._; Shway Yoe, _The Burman_, ii. 118 _sqq._), Cambodia (Lemire, _Cochinchine française et le royaume de Cambodge_, p. 447), the Malay Peninsula (W. W. Skeat, _Malay Magic_, p. 35), Travancore (S. Mateer, _Native Life in Travancore_, p. 129), the Pelew Islands (K. Semper, _Die Palau-Inseln_, pp. 309 _sq._), Ponape, one of the Caroline Islands (Dr. Hahl, “Mitteilungen über Sitten und rechtliche Verhältnisse auf Ponape,” _Ethnologisches Notizblatt_, ii. Heft 2 (Berlin, 1901), p. 5), Samoa (L. Th. Violette, in _Missions Catholiques_, iii. (1870) p. 190; J. E. Newell, “Chief’s Language in Samoa,” _Transactions of the Ninth International Congress of Orientalists_, London, 1893, ii. 784–799), the Maldives (Fr. Pyrard, _Voyage to the East Indies, the Maldives, the Moluccas, and Brazil_, Hakluyt Society, i. 226), in some parts of Madagascar (J. Sibree, in _The Antananarivo Annual and Madagascar Magazine_, No. xi., Christmas 1887, pp. 310 _sqq._; _id._, in _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxi. (1892) pp. 215 _sqq._), among the Bawenda of the Transvaal (Beuster, “Das Volk der Vawenda,” _Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin_, xiv. (1879) p. 238), and among the Natchez Indians of North America (Du Pratz, _History of Louisiana_, p. 328). When we remember that special vocabularies of this sort have been employed with regard to kings or chiefs who are known to have enjoyed a divine or semi-divine character, as in Tahiti (see above, p. 388), Fiji (Th. Williams, _Fiji and the Fijians_,² i. 37), and Tonga (W. Mariner, _Tonga Islands_, ii. 79), we shall be inclined to surmise that the existence of such a practice anywhere is indicative of a tendency to deify royal personages, who are thus marked off from their fellows. This would not necessarily apply to a custom of using a special dialect or particular forms of speech in addressing social superiors generally, such as prevails in Java (T. S. Raffles, _History of Java_, i. 310, 366 _sqq._, London, 1817), and Bali (R. Friederich, “Voorloopig Verslag van het eiland Bali,” _Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen_, xxii. 4; J. Jacobs, _Eenigen tijd onder de Baliërs_, p. 36).

[1396] A. Bastian, _Die Völker des östlichen Asien_, iv. 383.

[1397] S. I. Curtiss, _Primitive Semitic Religion To-day_ (Chicago, 1902), p. 102.

[1398] W. E. Marshall, _Travels amongst the Todas_ (London, 1873), pp. 136, 137; cp. pp. 141, 142; F. Metz, _Tribes inhabiting the Neilgherry Hills_, Second Edition (Mangalore, 1864), pp. 19 _sqq._ However, at the present day, according to Dr. W. H. R. Rivers, the _palol_ or milkman of the highest class is rather a sacred priest than a god. But there is a tradition that the gods held the office of milkman, and even now the human milkman of one particular dairy is believed to be the direct successor of a god. See W. H. R. Rivers, _The Todas_ (London, 1906), pp. 448 _sq._

[1399] Monier Williams, _Religious Life and Thought in India_, p. 259.

[1400] _The Laws of Manu_, vii. 8, p. 217, translated by G. Bühler (_Sacred Books of the East_, vol. xxv.).

[1401] _Id._ ix. 317, 319, pp. 398, 399.

[1402] _Satapatha-Brâhmana_, trans. by J. Eggeling, part i. pp. 309 _sq._; compare _id._, part ii. p. 341 (_Sacred Books of the East_, vols. xii. and xxvi.).

[1403] Monier Williams, _op. cit._ p. 457.

[1404] Monier Williams, _op. cit._ pp. 201 _sq._

[1405] Monier Williams, _op. cit._ pp. 259 _sq._

[1406] I have borrowed the description of this particular deity from the Rev. Dr. A. M. Fairbairn, who knew him personally (_Contemporary Review_, June 1899, p. 768). It is melancholy to reflect that in our less liberal land the divine Swami would probably have been consigned to the calm seclusion of a gaol or a madhouse. The difference between a god and a madman or a criminal is often merely a question of latitude and longitude.

Swami departed this life in August 1899 at the age of about seventy. It is only fair to his memory to add that the writer who records his death bears high and honourable testimony to the noble and unselfish character of the deceased, who is said to have honestly repudiated the miraculous powers ascribed to him by his followers. He was worshipped in temples during his life, and other temples have been erected to him since his death. See Rai Bahadur Lala Baij Nath, B.A., _Hinduism Ancient and Modern_ (Meerut, 1905), pp. 94 _sq._

[1407] E. Thurston, _Castes and Tribes of Southern India_, iv. 236, 280.

[1408] E. Thurston, _Ethnographic Notes in Southern India_ (Madras, 1906), p. 301.

[1409] Captain Edward Moor, “Account of an Hereditary Living Deity,” _Asiatic Researches_, vii. (London, 1803) pp. 381–395; Viscount Valentia, _Voyages and Travels_, ii. 151–159; Ch. Coleman, _Mythology of the Hindus_ (London, 1832), pp. 106–111; _Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency_, xviii. part iii. (Bombay, 1885) pp. 125 _sq._ I have to thank my friend Mr. W. Crooke for calling my attention to the second and fourth of these works. To be exact, I should say that I have no information as to this particular deity later than the account given of him in the eighteenth volume of the Bombay Gazetteer, published some twenty-five years ago. But I think we may assume that the same providential reasons which prolonged the revelation down to the publication of the Gazetteer have continued it to the present time.

[1410] Monier Williams, _op. cit._ pp. 136 _sq._ A full account of the doctrines and practices of the sect may be found in the _History of the Sect of the Maharajas or Vallabhacharyas_, published by Trübner at London in 1865. My attention was directed to it by my friend Mr. W. Crooke.

[1411] A. Harnack, _Lehrbuch der Dogmengeschichte_, i. 321.

[1412] F. C. Conybeare, “The History of Christmas,” _American Journal of Theology_, iii. (1899) pp. 18 _sq._ Mr. Conybeare kindly lent me a proof of this article, and the statement in the text is based on it. In the published article the author has made some changes.

[1413] D. Mackenzie Wallace, _Russia_ (London, Paris, and New York, N.D.), p. 302. The passage in the text is “a short extract from a description of the ‘Khlysti’ by one who was initiated into their mysteries.” As to these Russian Christs see further N. Tsakni, _La Russie sectaire_ (Paris, N.D.), pp. 63 _sqq._ Amongst the means which these sectaries take to produce a state of religious exaltation are wild, whirling dances like those of the dancing Dervishes.

[1414] J. L. Mosheim, _Ecclesiastical History_ (London, 1819), iii. 278 _sqq._

[1415] J. L. Mosheim, _op. cit._ iii. 288 _sq._

[1416] Mgr. Flaget, in _Annales de la Propagation de la Foi_, vii. (1834) p. 84. Mgr. Flaget was bishop of Bardstown, and his letter is dated May 4, 1833. He says that the events happened in a neighbouring state about three years before he wrote.

[1417] D. C. J. Ibbetson, _Outlines of Panjab Ethnography_ (Calcutta, 1883), p. 123.

[1418] G. Massaja, _I miei trentacinque anni di missione nell’ alta Etiopia_ (Rome and Milan, 1888), v. 53 _sq._ Compare Father Leon des Avanchers, in _Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_ (Paris), Vme Série, xvii. (1869) p. 307.

[1419] E. Aymonier, _Notes sur le Laos_ (Saigon, 1885), pp. 141 _sq._; _id._, _Voyage dans le Laos_, ii. (Paris, 1897) p. 47.

[1420] W. Robinson, _Descriptive Account of Assam_ (London and Calcutta, 1841), pp. 342 _sq._; _Asiatic Researches_, xv. 146.

[1421] Huc, _Souvenirs d’un voyage dans la Tartarie et le Thibet_, i. 279 _sqq._, ed. 12mo. For more details, see L. A. Waddell, _The Buddhism of Tibet_ (London, 1895), pp. 245 _sqq._ Compare G. Timkowski, _Travels of the Russian Mission through Mongolia to China_, i. 23–25; Abbé Armand David, “Voyage en Mongolie,” _Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_ (Paris), VIme Série, ix. (1875) pp. 132–134; Mgr Bruguière, in _Annales de la Propagation de la Foi_, ix. (1836) pp. 296 _sq._; Father Gabet, _ib._ xx. (1848) pp. 229–231; G. Sandberg, _Tibet and the Tibetans_ (London, 1906), pp. 128 _sqq._ In the Delta of the Niger the souls of little negro babies are identified by means of a similar test. An assortment of small wares that belonged to deceased members of the family is shewn to the new baby, and the first thing he grabs at identifies him. “Why, he’s uncle John,” they say; “see! he knows his own pipe.” Or, “That’s cousin Emma; see! she knows her market calabash” (Miss M. H. Kingsley, _Travels in West Africa_, p. 493).

[1422] Huc, _op. cit._ ii. 279, 347 _sq._; C. Meiners, _Geschichte der Religionen_, i. 335 _sq._; J. G. Georgi, _Beschreibung aller Nationen des russischen Reichs_, p. 415; A. Erman, _Travels in Siberia_, ii. 303 _sqq._; _Journal of the Roy. Geogr. Soc._ xxxviii. (1868) pp. 168, 169; _Proceedings of the Roy. Geogr. Soc._ N.S. vii. (1885) p. 67; Sarat Chandra Das, _Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet_ (London, 1902), pp. 159 _sq._ The Grand Lama’s palace is called Potala. Views of it from a photograph and from a drawing are given by Sarat Chandra Das. In the _Journal of the Royal Geographical Society_, _l.c._, the Lama in question is called the Lama Gûrû; but the context shows that he is the great Lama of Lhasa.

[1423] Thevenot, _Relations des divers voyages_, iv. Partie (Paris, 1672), “Voyage à la Chine des PP. I. Grueber et d’Orville,” pp. 1 _sq._, 22.

[1424] E. Pander (professor at the University of Peking), “Das lamaische Pantheon,” _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, xxi. (1889) p. 76; _id._, “Geschichte des Lamaismus,” _Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte_, 1889, p. (202).

[1425] Mgr Danicourt, “Rapport sur l’origine, les progrès et la décadence de la secte des _Tao-sse_, en Chine,” _Annales de la Propagation de la Foi_, xxx. (1858) pp. 15–20; J. H. Gray, _China_ (London, 1878), i. 103 _sq._; Dr. Merz, “Bericht über seine erste Reise von Amoy nach Kui-kiang,” _Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin_, xxiii. (1888) pp. 413–416.

[1426] Garcilasso de la Vega, _First Part of the Royal Commentaries of the Yncas_, bk. ii. chs. 8 and 15 (vol. i. pp. 131, 155, Markham’s translation). This writer tells us that the Peruvian Indians “held their kings not only to be possessed of royal majesty, but to be gods” (_ib._ bk. iv. ch. v. vol. i. p. 303, Markham’s Trans.). Mr. E. J. Payne denies that the Incas believed in their descent from the sun, and stigmatises as a ridiculous fable the notion that they were worshipped as gods (_History of the New World called America_, i. 506, 512). I content myself with reproducing the statements of Garcilasso de la Vega, who had ample means of ascertaining the truth. His good faith has been questioned, but, as I believe, on insufficient grounds. See below, vol. ii. p. 244 note¹.

[1427] Alex. von Humboldt, _Researches concerning the Institutions and Monuments of the Ancient Inhabitants of America_, ii. 106 _sqq._; H. Ternaux-Compans, _Essai sur l’ancien Cundinamarca_, pp. 14 _sq._, 19 _sq._, 40 _sq._; Th. Waitz, _Anthropologie der Naturvölker_, iv. 352 _sqq._; J. G. Müller, _Geschichte der amerikanischen Urreligionen_, pp. 430 _sq._; C. F. Ph. v. Martius, _Zur Ethnographie Amerikas_, p. 455; A. Bastian, _Die Culturländer des alten Amerika_, ii. 204 _sq._

[1428] See above, p. 356.

[1429] H. H. Bancroft, _Native Races of the Pacific States_, ii. 146.

[1430] _Manuscrit Ramirez: Histoire de l’origine des Indiens qui habitent la Nouvelle Espagne_, publié par D. Charnay (Paris, 1903), p. 107; J. de Acosta, _Natural and Moral History of the Indies_, ii. 505, 508 (Hakluyt Society, London, 1880).

[1431] J. J. M. de Groot, _Sectarianism and Religious Persecution in China_, i. (Amsterdam, 1903), pp. 17 _sq._

[1432] _Manners and Customs of the Japanese in the Nineteenth Century_: from recent Dutch visitors to Japan and the German of Dr. Ph. Fr. von Siebold (London, 1841), pp. 141 _sqq._

[1433] H. Radau, _Early Babylonian History_ (New York and London, 1900), pp. 307–317. Compare C. Brockelmann, “Wesen und Ursprung des Eponymats in Assyrien,” _Zeitschrift für Assyriologie_, xvi. (1902) p. 394; H. Zimmern, in E. Schrader’s _Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament_³ (Berlin, 1903), pp. 379, 639 _sq._

[1434] Ammianus Marcellinus, xxiii. 6, §§ 5 and 6.

[1435] C. P. Tiele, _History of the Egyptian Religion_, pp. 103 _sq._ On the worship of the kings see also E. Meyer, _Geschichte des Altertums_,² i. 2. § 219, pp. 142 _sq._; A. Erman, _Ägypten und ägyptisches Leben im Altertum_, pp. 91 _sqq._; _id._, _Die ägyptische Religion_ (Berlin, 1905), pp. 39 _sq._; V. von Strauss und Carnen, _Die altägyptischen Götter und Göttersagen_, pp. 467 _sqq._; A. Wiedemann, _Die Religion der alten Ägypter_, pp. 92 _sq._; _id._, “Menschenvergötterung im alten Ägypten,” _Am Urquelle_, N.F. i. (1897), pp. 289 _sqq._; _id._, _Herodots zweites Buch_, pp. 274 _sq._; G. Maspero, _Histoire ancienne des peuples de l’Orient classique: les origines_, pp. 258–267; E. Naville, _La Religion des anciens Égyptiens_ (Paris, 1906), pp. 225 _sqq._ Diodorus Siculus observed (i. 90) that “the Egyptians seem to worship and honour their kings as very gods.”

[1436] P. le P. Renouf, “The priestly Character of the earliest Egyptian Civilisation,” _Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology_, xii. (1890) p. 355.

[1437] A. Moret, _Du caractère religieux de la royauté pharaonique_ (Paris, 1902), pp. 278 _sq._; compare _ib._ pp. 313.

[1438] A. Moret, _op. cit._ p. 306.

[1439] A. Moret, _op. cit._ p. 310.

[1440] A. Moret, _op. cit._ p. 299.

[1441] A. Moret, _op. cit._ p. 233.

[1442] V. von Strauss und Carnen, _op. cit._ p. 470. On the titles of the Egyptian kings see further A. Moret, _op. cit._ pp. 17–38.

[1443] C. P. Tiele, _History of the Egyptian Religion_, p. 105. Compare A. Moret, _op. cit._ pp. 71 _sq._, 312.

[1444] In regard to the natives of the western islands of Torres Straits it has been remarked by Dr. A. C. Haddon that the magicians or sorcerers “constituted the only professional class among these democratic islanders” (_Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits_, v. 321). The same observation could be applied to many other savage tribes.

[1445] For example, amongst the Todas the medicine-man has been differentiated from the sorcerer; yet their common origin is indicated by their both using the same kind of magical formulas or spells to accomplish their different ends. See Dr. W. H. R. Rivers, _The Todas_, p. 271: “It seems clear that the Todas have advanced beyond the stage of human culture in which all misfortunes are produced by magic. They recognise that some ills are not due to human intervention, but yet they employ the same kind of means to remove these ills as are employed to remove those brought about by human agency. The advance of the Todas is shown most clearly by the differentiation of function between _pilikòren_ and _utkòren_, between sorcerers and medicine-men, and we seem to have here a clear indication of the differentiation between magic and medicine. The two callings are followed by different men, who are entirely distinct from one another, but both use the same kind of formula to bring about the effect they desire to produce.”

APPENDIX—Hegel on Magic and Religion

[1446] _Vorlesungen über die Philosophie der Religion_, i. 220 _sqq._ (vol. xi. of the first collected edition of Hegel’s works, Berlin, 1832). The coincidence was also pointed out to me by my friend Dr. J. M. E. McTaggart.

[1447] Similarly I have pointed out elsewhere (_Totemism and Exogamy_, i. 169 _sq._) that it is the unstable, apparently irregular, incalculable element in nature which the magician particularly aims at controlling, while so far as the course of nature is observed to be stable, regular, and uniform it lies comparatively outside the operations of magic. “To put it generally, the practice of magic for the control of nature will be found on the whole to increase with the variability and to decrease with the uniformity of nature throughout the year. Hence the increase will tend to become more and more conspicuous as we recede from the equator, where the annual changes of natural conditions are much less marked than elsewhere. This general rule is no doubt subject to many exceptions which depend on local varieties of climate. . . . But, on the whole, this department of magic, if not checked by civilisation or other causes, would naturally attain its highest vogue in the temperate and polar zones rather than in the equatorial regions; while, on the other hand, the branch of magical art which deals directly with mankind, aiming for example at the cure or infliction of disease, tends for obvious reasons to be diffused equally over the globe without distinction of latitude or climate” (_Totemism and Exogamy_, i. 170). The reason why the latter branch of magic tends to be equally prevalent in all parts of the world is, of course, that in all parts of the world human nature is equally unstable, seemingly irregular, and incalculable by comparison with the stability, regularity, and uniformity of nature.

[1448] I have not found the passage of Captain Parry which Hegel here quotes, whether from the English original or from a German translation. I should doubt whether the gallant English explorer would have spoken of an “empirical mode of existence,” which appears to me to savour rather of the professor’s lecture-room than of the captain’s quarter-deck.

[1449] G. W. F. Hegel, _Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion_, translated by the Rev. E. B. Spiers, B. D., and J. Burdon Sanderson, i. (London, 1895) pp. 290–298. Further, Hegel observes (p. 300) that “magic has existed among all peoples and at every period.”

END OF VOL. I

_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_.

WORKS BY SIR J. G. FRAZER, D.C.L., LL.D.

THE GOLDEN BOUGH

A STUDY IN MAGIC AND RELIGION

Third Edition, revised and enlarged. 8vo.